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Eric Dane and Alyssa Milano had a brief romance that turned into a decades-long friendship.

Dane and Milano dated in the early 2000s before he landed a role on Charmed, which starred Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan. After splitting up, Dane went on to marry wife Rebecca Gayheart in October 2004. Milano, for her part, wed husband David Bugliari in August 2009.

Following their split, Dane and Milano remained cordial over the years. In April 2025, Dane revealed he was diagnosed with ALS. The Grey’s Anatomy alum died the following year at age 53.

“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world,” a statement from the Dane family read. “Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight. He will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered always.”

After news broke of Dane’s death in February 2026, Milano paid tribute to her late friend.

“I can’t stop seeing that spark in Eric’s eye right before he’d say something that would either make you spit out your drink or rethink your entire perspective,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “He had a razor-sharp sense of humor. He loved the absurdity of things. He loved catching people off guard.”

Keep scrolling for a look inside Dane and Milano’s friendship over the years:

2000s

Alyssa Milano and Eric Dane dated in the early 2000s. The pair enjoyed a night out at the 2003 premiere for the movie Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.

2003-2004

Eric Dane joined the cast of Charmed in season 5. Dane played Jason Dean, who was a love interest for Milano’s character Phoebe Halliwell. Dane was on the WB series for two seasons.

2024

During a July 2024 episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, Eric Dane opened up about his past romance with Alyssa Milano.

“I had a massive crush on Alyssa when I was 14. By the time I was 28, and we were dating, I wasn’t a child anymore and she was a person. A lovely wonderful person,” he recalled. “We dated for a little bit and she was obviously doing the show Charmed. She asked me if I wanted to be on it. I think I ended up doing like 10 episodes.”

Dane joked that his role was limited because they “broke up” in real life.

2026

After news broke of Eric Dane’s death, Alyssa Milano sent her condolences to his family in a touching tribute.

“When it came to his daughters and Rebecca, everything in him softened. He carried them with him even in rooms where they weren’t present,” she wrote via Instagram. “You could see it in the way his voice changed when he said their names. A breathtakingly beautiful family.”

Milano also looked back fondly on her memories with Dane.

“The spark. The mischief. The tenderness he kept guarded but never totally hidden,” she continued. “He convinced me to get my pixie cut and my nose piercing. He also was with me on the walk when we found Lucy, my beloved rescue chihuahua. He called me “Milano,” as if it was the only part of my name that mattered. My heart is with the people who were lucky enough to be his home.”

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Pitt Season 2 Episode 7 and includes discussion of sexual assault.

The Pitt has baked certain principles into its modus operandi from the start: depicting realistic operations, highlighting rare conditions and overlooked organizations, and confronting for-profit healthcare’s systemic failures. If the series didn’t keenly understand that characters must carry a story’s themes, not the other way around, then its efforts would likely fall short of its daunting agenda.

This week, Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) and a new patient, Ilana Miller (Tina Ivlev), are the vehicles through which Season 2’s seventh episode broaches sexual assault. The series has delicately touched upon human trafficking and suspected child abuse before, but Ilana’s case exemplifies The Pitt‘s “form follows function” style at its most profoundly, searingly humane — detailing a medical procedure, assisting an overlooked patient, and confronting pervasive cultural harm with the sensitivity, integrity, and urgency it requires.

‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Avoids Stereotypes With the Series’ First Sexual Assault Patient

Before filming The Pitt Season 2, LaNasa studied at both the Rape Treatment Center and the Stuart House. She told US Weekly, “It’s the place that I would want to go or bring my loved one if something like that were to happen to them. […] I’m asking every way to do something so that it looks accurate. But the response makes me realize how much thought and care go into every single aspect of the exam, of the interview, of all of it. They even gave me feedback on the dialogue.”

LaNasa’s preparation suggests she grasped the ferocious moral responsibility at hand, as does episode director Uta Briesewitz and co-writers Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman and R. Scott Gemmill‘s painstakingly precise construction. Dana’s tenderness, while professional, isn’t condescending or performative. She takes her time explaining every step of the extensive program for Ilana’s sake; she considers her patient’s well-being and strives to alleviate as much fear and intimidation as humanly possible, not protract Ilana’s dehumanizing torment.

Where many less adept series have diminished the aftermath of a rape into a plot device with a swift resolution, Episode 7’s exacting care legitimizes Ilana’s visceral trauma. And in a disarmingly effective choice, Pierre-Geyfman and Gemmill switch to another scene before Ilana describes the circumstances in any detail beyond the location. Most of the intimate forensic gathering also occurs offscreen, while the narrative context and camera blocking ensure Ilana’s brief nudity reads as non-sexualized as the series’ standard approach to graphic anatomy. The Pitt regards a fictional survivor’s humanity with the highest esteem. Choosing respectful restraint over graphic exploitation means both the societal indictment and the interpersonal empathy the series strives to convey leave a far more eviscerating impact.

Dana Guides ‘The Pitt’s Realistic and Compassionate Approach to Sexual Violence

The one chilling detail that does emerge wordlessly confronts the patriarchal structures that continually enable and perpetuate rape culture. Ilana once considered her drunken attacker a friend; both of them attended the Fourth of July barbecue alongside their wider social circle. Male acquaintances and family members constitute the majority of documented real-world perpetrators. Almost as many individuals and institutions choose to protect violent abusers, citing alcohol impairment as some blameless excuse for actively chosen cruelty. Viewed from a macro lens, the survivors don’t matter.

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The two also explain Whitaker’s newfound confidence and what Santos’ polarizing personality is really rooted in.

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But they matter to Dana. Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) and Emma Nolan (Laëtitia Hollard) help form a crucial support network, but it’s the tough-as-nails charge nurse with astounding compassion who operates as Ilana’s focal point. There’s never a moment where her experience as a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner becomes a disaffected routine. She reassures Ilana of her safety and her power over the situation, requests her consent at every turn, and provides every possible resource. One woman reaches across an invisible emotional gulf to comfort another, palpably anguished woman.

Unsurprisingly, Dana’s tireless advocacy and protective instincts keep guiding Emma by example. Last week, Emma asked Dana why she remains in this profession despite the cost to her spirit. Patients like Ilana answer the younger nurse’s question. To that end, the moment Dana grants her white-knuckled composure a private reprieve is a staggering example of LaNasa’s understated brilliance. Make no mistake, though, because Episode 7 couldn’t prevail without Ivlev’s remarkable work. Her tremulous, defensive physicality actualizes Ilana as an achingly vulnerable human who happens to represent a diverse community. The Pitt Season 2 has eight episodes left, yet this week immediately cements itself as something haunting and unspeakably necessary.

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The Pitt

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Release Date

January 9, 2025

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Network

Max

Showrunner

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R. Scott Gemmill

Directors

Amanda Marsalis

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  Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch

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By Robert Scucci
| Published 6 seconds ago

I love a solid B movie as much as the next guy, but sometimes low-budget charm isn’t enough to sustain a feature-length film. For every Alienator and Dead End Drive-In, there’s something like 1993’s Mandroid, a movie that muddies the waters with a ham-fisted sci-fi plot. Mandroid has all the right trappings but none of the execution, making it one of those films that’s not “so bad it’s good,” but rather “so bad you start wondering why you’re still watching.”

It’s not that Mandroid is inherently terrible. It has potential. But it’s such a mess thanks to less-than-adequate acting, laughable special effects, and a plot that barely makes sense even though you understand exactly what it’s trying to accomplish.

A Remote-Controlled Robot Riot

Set in post-Cold War Russia, Mandroid centers on Dr. Karl Zimmer (Robert Symonds) and his partner Drago (Curt Lowens), who develop the titular robot. In simple terms, Mandroid is a human-sized machine controlled through a headset and gloves, essentially turning its operator into a real-world avatar. The idea is to use the robot to conduct scientific experiments too dangerous for humans, specifically to synthesize a powerful superconductor by combining volatile substances.

Zimmer, along with daughter Zanna (Jane Caldwell), sees enormous practical applications for Mandroid. They intend to hand the technology over to the United States in good faith with assistance from Agent Joe Smith (Patrik Ersgard) and Dr. Wade Franklin (Brian Cousins), who have ties to the CIA.

Drago, however, has more sinister ambitions. He plans to steal Mandroid and sell it to the military for his own gain. The tension between these two camps escalates into a violent showdown, with only one clear victor by the end. Will Mandroid be used in pursuit of scientific progress, or will it be reprogrammed into a killing machine unlike anything we’ve seen before?

Mandroid Looks Pretty Cool, Though

Despite its lack of meaningful effects work, Mandroid itself looks cooler than it has any right to. It’s a sleek, black humanoid robot, and while it’s obviously a guy in a suit, the design is futuristic enough to sell the premise. Once the central conflict kicks in, the screenplay’s ambition quickly outpaces what’s actually on screen because the budget simply isn’t there for the kind of epic showdown it’s aiming for.

That’s where B movie charm usually saves the day. Films like Alienator succeed because they lean into their camp. Even when the acting is shaky, the schlocky delivery lands with audiences who value concept and charisma over execution.

There’s usually something tangible to grab onto with a great B movie. I’m disappointed to say Mandroid doesn’t quite have that X-factor. It’s fine for what it is, but the material might have worked better as a short in an anthology series instead of a full feature. The nuts and bolts are there. The assembly just leaves a lot to be desired.

As of this writing, Mandroid is streaming for free on Tubi.