Apple TV’s Emmy-winning sci-fi drama has a new Pluribus series regular: Samba Schutte, who played the pleasure-seeking Mr. Diabaté in only two episodes of Season 1, has been promoted to the main cast for Season 2. Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter all reported the news on November 13.

The move says a lot about how much a small role can accomplish. Schutte’s screen time in the first season was limited, yet his character stuck with viewers and critics enough to earn him a Saturn Award nomination for best guest star in a television series.

Why Mr. Diabaté Stood Out

The premise of Pluribus is that a joyful alien-linked consciousness has absorbed most of humanity, leaving a handful of people unaffected. Rhea Seehorn’s Carol Sturka, a miserable romantasy novelist, is the most prominent of them, and she spends much of the first season trying to rally the others against the new order.

Mr. Diabaté is her foil. Described by Deadline as a Mauritanian man who chooses to see the bright side, he settles into a luxury penthouse suite at a Las Vegas resort and lets the transformed world wait on him. Polygon notes that he is one of the thirteen immune people, and that in Episode 6 he makes clear he has no intention of joining the collective. He just has no interest in giving up the perks of the new arrangement, either.

That contrast, with one immune person devastated and another thriving, gave the show a moral wrinkle. The apocalypse, it turns out, looks different depending on who is living through it.

What a Pluribus Series Regular Role Could Mean

None of the outlets reported plot details for the new season, so what a regular role means for the character is guesswork. Polygon floats two broad possibilities: he could become a willing or reluctant ally in the push against the collective, or his comfortable life could slowly erode until he is absorbed himself.

Schutte offered a clue to the character’s mindset in an earlier interview with Polygon. He said Diabaté sees himself partly as a humanitarian and a representative of humanity, and that he understands both the collective’s point of view and Carol’s. In Schutte’s words, the character plays the middleman, but “loves his new life way too much to sacrifice it.” A character stuck between sides, with plenty to lose, is the kind of figure a serialized drama can build on across a longer run.

A Season Built on Strong Momentum

The promotion comes as the show rides a wave of acclaim. Season 1 debuted on Apple TV in November 2025 and collected 18 Emmy nominations, winning six. Seehorn took the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama, and creator Vince Gilligan won for writing. The series also earned wins in picture editing, sound mixing, main title theme music and production design, and The Hollywood Reporter notes a Peabody Award as well.

Schutte joins a regular cast that already includes Seehorn, Karolina Wydra and Carlos-Manuel Vesga. The show is produced by Sony Pictures Television, with Gilligan among its executive producers.

Who Is Samba Schutte?

Schutte is a Dutch-Mauritanian actor, comedian and writer who was raised in Ethiopia. U.S. audiences may know him from the HBO Max pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death and the NBC sitcom Sunnyside. In the Netherlands, he worked as a writer and correspondent on the Dutch version of The Daily Show, and he won both the jury and audience prizes at the Leids Cabaret Festival. He has also done extensive game work, with credits including voice roles in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and several Call of Duty: Black Ops titles, plus writing on Battlefield V.

When Will Season 2 Arrive?

Not soon. Production is underway, but Apple TV has not announced a premiere date. Polygon reports that filming is expected to run more than 200 days, so viewers will likely be waiting a good while to find out how the newest Pluribus series regular fits into the story.

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File photo: Samba Schutte, Rhea Seehorn, & Vince Gilligan at 53rd Saturn Awards 2026-02 by Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

James Gunn has moved to quash the Man of Tomorrow rumors that have swirled since he and Peter Safran were announced as departing DC Studios, saying flatly that no one from Skydance has watched the Superman sequel.

Gunn made the comments in a Nov. 13 post on Threads. “There are a lot of untrue rumors going around, but one of them is that Skydance has seen Man of Tomorrow and that all sorts of sweeping changes are being made,” he wrote. He added that the only people who have seen the film are Safran and “a very small trusted group of friends and family,” and that stories built on that narrative “are false.”

What the Man of Tomorrow rumors claimed

The chatter began after the Nov. 9 announcement that Gunn and Safran would leave their co-CEO roles. Their exit surprised many, since both had been named to Skydance’s business leadership team when Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed in October. Former Marvel executive Jeremy Latcham is due to take over as DC Studios president and chief creative officer on Dec. 1.

In the vacuum that followed, social media claims took hold. According to Variety, some posts suggested the film’s quality was behind Gunn’s departure, and others went further, saying Skydance might send the movie straight to HBO Max. Polygon notes that other accounts, citing anonymous insiders, said Skydance executives disliked what they had seen and planned to trim Easter eggs and other moments that supposedly overstuffed the picture. Polygon also observed that the sources behind those claims appeared to lean toward Skydance’s side.

Why Gunn’s denial is plausible, and what it leaves open

Gunn’s statement has a practical logic. Polygon reports the film only reached the assembly cut stage of post-production last month, and principal photography wrapped in August. A rough early cut is rarely shown beyond a tight circle, which makes it plausible that new management has not seen it yet.

Still, the denial is narrow. Gunn is rejecting the specific claim that Skydance has screened the movie and ordered changes. He is not saying how Skydance might approach the film once it does see it, and the studio has not publicly responded to these particular reports. Nor can his post settle the broader question of what happens to the shared DC universe he built once Latcham arrives.

Gunn is still on the job, for now

Gunn has said he will stay on to finish post-production on the film, and he has said he is writing another DC project. In an earlier statement he described his four years running the studio as “trying,” said he disliked the job’s “at-times corporate nature,” and said it had cost him the breaks he would normally take as a filmmaker. The Hollywood Reporter adds that he was also developing a third Superman movie before the leadership change.

The sequel stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, with Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Lars Eidinger as Brainiac, and Skyler Gisondo, Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, Isabela Merced and Adria Arjona in supporting roles. It is scheduled to reach theaters July 9, 2027.

Gisondo, who is also in HBO Max’s The People v. Gorilla Grodd, told The Hollywood Reporter that Gunn and Safran “really changed all of our lives,” adding, “there’s a lot I still don’t know.” That uncertainty probably explains why the Man of Tomorrow rumors spread so quickly. Until Latcham settles in and Skydance says something on the record, a post from Gunn is the only direct word fans have.

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File photo: James Gunn by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Noel Fielding statement, issued to the Sun, is a rare public act of regret from a comedian whose past double act with Russell Brand is now being re-examined. It comes days after Brand was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.

Fielding, who now presents The Great British Bake Off, said he was “horrified and deeply disturbed” by Brand’s crimes, which he said he knew nothing about until they became public. He called some of his own jokes with Brand “horrible and inappropriate” and said he “very much regret[s]” them.

What the Noel Fielding statement says

Fielding stressed distance. He said he had appeared with Brand on TV, radio and live charity shows, and that the pair “played it up for the cameras and in the media”. He described the relationship as professional rather than personal and said he had not been in contact with Brand “for many years”. He added that his thoughts were with the women “whose courage brought him to justice”.

The Guardian notes that Fielding has never been accused of misconduct, and there is no suggestion he knew of Brand’s behaviour towards women.

The resurfaced clips

The statement follows renewed attention on old broadcasts. One is a 2007 episode of Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year. Jonathan Ross suggested that Lily Allen, the only woman on the panel and then 21, was seated too close to Brand and Fielding. According to the Standard’s account, Fielding laughed and replied, “We’re not rapists.” Brand then asked him on air whether he had “done a rape”, and Fielding answered with a joke involving his Dracula cape. The Independent reports that Allen has previously called the episode horrendous and said she laughed along at the time because of the culture of the era.

Another clip comes from The Russell Brand Show on BBC Radio 2, also in 2007, where Brand joked about kissing an underage “grasshopper” and Fielding, a frequent guest and co-host, played along. The pair, who met at the NME Awards in the early 2000s, also performed charity gigs as The Goth Detectives.

A wider reckoning

Fielding is not the only figure being asked about his past association. Ross has also issued a statement through the Press Association, saying he was on friendly terms with Brand and with comedian David Walliams at one time and was “genuinely unaware of their conduct”. Walliams has been accused of sexual misconduct and denies any wrongdoing.

The Brand case is also still developing. The Guardian and the Standard report that six more women have accused him of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour in a Times and Sunday Times investigation, which the Times said it could not publish until the criminal case ended. The BBC adds that police are investigating rape allegations from two further women. It also reports that Brand has denied non-consensual sexual activity and is being held at HMP Wandsworth. The BBC has asked his legal representatives for a response to the latest allegations.

The Noel Fielding statement does not explain how or why the jokes were made, and it does not address the wider culture that let them air. But by calling them “horrible” rather than dismissing them as products of their time, Fielding has gone further than a simple denial of any personal link to Brand. Whether others who shared a stage with Brand follow suit may become clearer as the further allegations unfold.

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File photo: Noel Fielding – Vince Noir Mirrorball (cropped).jpg by Ella Mullins, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The latest Russell Brand allegations arrived just days after the comedian was jailed, as The Times and Sunday Times published an investigation in which six more women accuse him of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour. The claims are allegations only. Brand has not been tried over them, and the newspapers say he did not respond by an agreed deadline.

Brand, 51, was sentenced on Monday 9 November to 10 years and six months in prison. He had been convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, relating to incidents between 2004 and 2009. He was cleared of two other rape charges and one of attempted indecent assault. The new reporting could not be published until the criminal case ended, to avoid prejudicing the trial.

What the six women allege

According to the newspapers, the accounts span roughly 2005 to 2015. One woman, who says she had an on-off relationship with Brand in the late 2000s, alleges he continued to have sex with her after she said “No, stop”. She says he later apologised in person and by text. “I justified it in my head by saying to myself: at least he admitted it,” she told the paper.

A second woman says she told Brand during sex in 2007 that it was painful and asked him to stop, and that he did not. She alleges he afterwards said: “Tonight was consensual. Nobody did anything they didn’t want to do.”

A third, a fan who met him after a 2013 show at The Chapel in San Francisco, claims he “manhandled” her and forced his hand down her trousers. “I didn’t resist. I just sort of let it happen,” she said. A fourth says Brand approached her at a music festival in 2005 and offered to pay her for sex.

The remaining accounts involve alleged humiliation and an alleged grab. A woman who won a BBC 6 Music competition and appeared on his show in 2006 says Brand later told her to lick a toilet seat and became angry when she refused. A woman who worked at a London venue in 2015 says a member of his staff told her “Russell wants you” and directed her to the disabled toilets. She says Brand grabbed her when she went in with toilet paper.

Brand’s response and the wider fallout

The Times says it took “extensive steps” to corroborate the claims and that no source was paid. Brand’s lawyer reportedly said he would consider “injunctive relief” but sent no substantive reply. Brand has long denied wrongdoing and maintains that all his relationships were consensual. At trial he described his past conduct towards women as “awful but lawful”. On Thursday he shared a “Free Russell Brand” petition on X.

These are not the only developments since the verdict. The Metropolitan Police says several people made fresh criminal allegations during the trial, and officers are assessing them. NME reports that the force is investigating two further rape allegations. Brand’s former partner Jemima Goldsmith has also publicly accused him of “violence, coercive control and abuse”, a claim reported by NME that he has not been reported as answering.

Pressure on the media industry

The Russell Brand allegations have now spilled into politics. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the media industry needs to “look at itself” and “step forward” to protect women and girls, citing both Brand’s conviction and separate misconduct allegations against comedian David Walliams. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told MPs ministers “would not hesitate” to act if existing protections prove inadequate. Deadline reports she has called an emergency meeting with BBC director general Matt Brittin and other industry leaders.

In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Bennathan called Brand a “sexual predator” whose fame shielded him until 2023, when Channel 4 and The Times published allegations about him. He praised the “determination and bravery” of the women who came forward, saying that whatever women wear or drink, “they retain the right to say ‘no’.”

For now, the new claims sit outside the courtroom. Whether any lead to charges depends on the police assessments under way, and on whether any of the women choose to pursue them formally.

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File photo: Russell Brand in 2025 (cropped).jpg by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Dept Q crew member has died after being seriously injured at FirstStage Studios in Leith, Edinburgh, in an incident that has prompted inquiries from Police Scotland and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The man has not been named.

What we know about the incident

Emergency services were called to the studio at about 3pm on Thursday after a report of a seriously injured man. He was pronounced dead a short time later. The Independent and The Standard, citing police, say this happened at the scene. Police Scotland said the death is not being treated as suspicious, but that “inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.” Beyond that, the sources do not say how the man was hurt.

Left Bank Pictures, the production company behind the Netflix crime drama, confirmed that the man worked on the show. A spokesperson said the company was “deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic death of a member of our Dept Q crew.” The statement added that its thoughts were with his family, friends and colleagues, and that support was being offered to those affected. Netflix referred a request for comment to Left Bank.

Regulators are involved

The HSE told the BBC it was “aware” of the incident. In a statement reported by Deadline, which cited STV, the regulator said it was liaising with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Police Scotland. In Scotland, the procurator fiscal investigates sudden or unexplained deaths. The involvement of both bodies suggests a formal examination of the circumstances, though no findings have been reported and nothing in the sources points to a cause or to anyone being at fault.

Reports differ slightly on the production’s status. The BBC and Deadline say filming on the latest series wrapped at the facility last month. A photo caption in The Independent describes the second season as currently filming. Deadline noted that film sets stay busy after cameras stop rolling, with work such as wrapping up and dismantling sets often continuing. None of the reports say what the man was doing when he was hurt.

A significant Scottish production hub

FirstStage was started by Jason Connery, son of Sean Connery. It took over an empty former warehouse in Leith in 2020. The BBC describes the “big blue shed” as having five sound stages plus production office space, and says Screen Scotland put £1m towards the initial set-up. The studio’s website lists work for Netflix and Amazon Prime, including the drama The Rig and the Bafta-nominated film The Outrun. Part of Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War was also shot in the building before it became a dedicated studio.

Dept Q stars Matthew Goode as DCI Carl Morck, a difficult detective exiled to a police station basement to lead a cold case unit. Adapted from Jussi Adler-Olsen’s novels by Scott Frank, it has been one of Netflix’s biggest hits outside the US. The first season aired in May 2025, and a second was commissioned the following year.

For now, the picture is incomplete. The man’s identity, the cause of his injuries and the findings of the police and HSE inquiries have not been made public. Further details are expected to emerge as those inquiries progress, and the loss of a Dept Q crew member is being felt across a close-knit production community.

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File photo: Film studios, Leith Docks – geograph.org.uk – 8320607.jpg by Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

KPop Demon Hunters tour tickets go on general sale at 10am local time on Friday, November 20, giving fans a week to prepare for one of the biggest arena runs ever built around an animated film. Netflix and AEG Presents announced the Golden World Tour on November 13, promising more than 150 performances in nearly 50 cities across 2027 and 2028.

When KPop Demon Hunters tour tickets go on sale

There are several ways in. Mastercard cardholders get first access, with a presale opening at 10am on Wednesday, November 18. A fan presale follows the next day, November 19, and fans must register on the tour website to take part. General sale then opens on November 20. Tickets in every presale window start at 10am local time.

The tour opens on June 5, 2027, at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. The first phase covers North America, the UK and Europe. Dates for Asia Pacific and Latin America have been promised but not yet released.

The North American and European route

The North American leg runs through June, July and August. Stops include Newark, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, Oakland and Tacoma. Los Angeles gets the biggest allocation, with three shows at Crypto.com Arena on July 30 and 31, including a matinee. Many other cities get two-show stops, often with an afternoon performance.

Europe follows in September and October, with arenas in Zurich, Milan, Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Oslo, Cologne, Brussels, Paris and Dublin.

The UK portion, in October 2027, adds up to seven performances:

• October 12: Glasgow, OVO Hydro
• October 16: Birmingham, Utilita Arena (matinee and evening)
• October 19: Manchester, AO Arena
• October 22: London, The O2
• October 23: London, The O2 (matinee and evening)

What fans will actually see

The organisers describe the show as an interactive concert rather than a standard gig. The animated trio HUNTR/X (Rumi, Mira and Zoey) are to be brought to life through what the announcement calls “cutting-edge performance innovations”. The Saja Boys and Derpy Tiger will also appear. Live-action performers, stunts and choreography are promised, along with songs from the film and what the organisers call “special performances”. Amy Tinkham, whose past credits include Cirque du Soleil’s Songblazers and a Disney Descendants/Zombies tour, is leading the creative direction.

The announcement does not say who will sing. The vocalists behind HUNTR/X are EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, and none has been confirmed for the tour. Nor does it say whether there will be new music or how much of the show will be animated. Fans have raised those questions online, and Polygon noted that the announcement leaves many of them open. Anyone wary of paying for KPop Demon Hunters tour tickets before those details emerge may be tempted to wait. Demand, though, could make waiting risky.

Why the demand looks so strong

Netflix points to the film’s numbers. Released in June 2025, KPop Demon Hunters became the streamer’s most-watched film ever, with more than 670 million views according to NME. Netflix’s chief marketing officer, Marian Lee, said it has spent 63 consecutive weeks in the Global Top 10. She also said “Golden” has passed 2 billion Spotify streams and that the soundtrack holds the record for the longest run at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Soundtracks chart. “Golden” has won an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe.

The franchise is still growing. Netflix recently released 78 minutes of bonus content, and a sequel is in development. NME reports it is not expected before 2030 and will get a theatrical release alongside its streaming debut. For now, the tour is the main way to keep the fandom going. Fans planning to buy should check the registration details for the November 19 fan presale and decide which window to use before the November 20 general sale.

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File photo: Crew of KPop Demon Hunters on April 1, 2026 01.png by 티비텐 TV10, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Taylor Swift’s CMA Awards performance on November 18 will be her first at country music’s biggest night since 2013, the Country Music Association announced Friday. It brings the pop superstar back to the genre and the city that launched her career.

Swift is nominated for Single of the Year for “I Knew It, I Knew You,” a song from Toy Story 5. The nod is her 26th career CMA nomination. According to Deadline, the track is her first new song in more than a decade marketed as country to reach No. 1 on U.S. country radio.

Why this CMA Awards performance is a big deal

Swift’s relationship with the show goes back 20 years. She first attended in 2006 and won the Horizon Award, now called New Artist of the Year, in 2007. In 2009 she became the youngest artist ever named Entertainer of the Year, a record that still stands. Rolling Stone counts 11 more CMA wins since that first trophy.

Her last performance came in 2013, when she sang “Red” with Vince Gill and Alison Krauss and received the Pinnacle Award. She returned in 2016 as a presenter, handing Garth Brooks his Entertainer of the Year trophy. Rolling Stone noted that the 2013 “Red” set worked as an unofficial farewell to her country era, before she went fully pop with 1989 the following year.

She had telegraphed the return. After nominations were announced, she posted on Instagram Stories: “LOOKS LIKE I HAVEN’T YEE’D MY LAST HAW THANK YOU CMA!!!! See you there Nov. 18.”

A packed lineup in Nashville

The 60th annual ceremony, hosted by Lainey Wilson for a third straight year, airs live from Bridgestone Arena at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, and streams on Hulu the next day. Ella Langley leads the nominations with nine and is among the performers, alongside:

• Miranda Lambert
• Kacey Musgraves
• Luke Combs
• Chris Stapleton
• Tim McGraw
• Megan Moroney
• Zach Top
• Mumford & Sons, who make their CMA debut

Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Halestorm, Hardy and Marcus King will salute Brooks & Dunn, this year’s recipients of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. The show will also include a tribute to Dolly Parton, which Rolling Stone and The Standard describe as honoring the late singer. Rolling Stone says the performers for that segment haven’t been announced. It also says that, despite rumors Swift might appear in it, the outlet has confirmed she is not part of it.

A busy stretch for Swift

The Nashville homecoming follows an October ceremony in which Brad Paisley inducted her into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Standard reports she is the youngest person ever inducted. In her speech, she credited the “fundamentals and the foundation” she learned in Nashville for her ability to “genre-hop.”

The Hollywood Reporter notes that the show falls two days after Grammy nominations are announced, where Swift is expected to be a major contender. It also says “I Knew It, I Knew You” is viewed as a top contender for an Oscar nomination for best original song. For a singer who has spent much of the past decade in pop, this CMA Awards performance is a notable return to the country stage.

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File photo: Taylor Swift at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (3).png by iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Barbara Broccoli, the producer who has steered James Bond for decades, has been named the first female film school president in the history of the UK’s National Film and Television School (NFTS). She takes over in February from Oscar-winning producer Lord David Puttnam, who becomes president emeritus.

The announcement, reported on 12 November by the BBC, Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, ends more than five decades of Puttnam’s involvement at the top of the Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire institution. The NFTS was founded in 1971 by director Colin Young, who began with about 25 students. It was renamed the National Film and Television School in 1982 to reflect its widening curriculum.

A handover between two of British film’s best-known producers

Puttnam’s credits include Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields and Midnight Express. He said he was “over the moon” to be handing over to a “hugely respected figure”. He described the presidency as a “lovely job” and said he had tried never to interfere. He also called Broccoli a close friend, and said the handover repaid “the last of the many debts” he owed his own predecessor, Richard Attenborough.

Broccoli called it “a tremendous honour” to follow Puttnam. She said she had been involved with the school for many years and had “seen first-hand the extraordinary talent it develops”. The school said her appointment builds on her longstanding relationship with the NFTS and her commitment to championing emerging talent. NFTS chair Sophie Turner Laing called it a “landmark moment” and thanked Puttnam for his “unwavering belief” in the school.

Timing tied to the Cubby Broccoli Building

The new film school president arrives just ahead of a major milestone for the campus. The Cubby Broccoli Building opens in January 2027, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. It is named after her father, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, who established the Bond franchise. Broccoli officially named it earlier this year.

According to the BBC, the expansion adds 25,000 sq ft of teaching space and will house new courses in costume design and hair and make-up. It will also widen apprenticeship opportunities and provide the school’s first purpose-built, fully accessible student accommodation. Broccoli linked the two events in her statement. “My father believed in the power of filmmaking and in giving talented people the opportunity to succeed,” she said.

A pivotal moment for Bond, too

The appointment comes as Broccoli’s role in the franchise is changing. She produced nine Bond films with her half-brother, Michael G. Wilson. The pair handed creative control to Amazon MGM Studios in a deal reported in February 2025. Deadline notes they received an Honorary Academy Award in 2024, and that the industry is awaiting Amazon’s announcement of who will succeed Daniel Craig as 007. Craig has previously praised Broccoli’s “passionate and protective determination”.

The sources do not say how Broccoli will divide her time between the school and her other work, and none outlines specific plans for her presidency. The school’s own statement stresses her industry knowledge and her “passion for developing new voices” as the NFTS seeks to strengthen its position in film, television and games training.

The school has also been reshaping its leadership. Deadline reports that producer Pippa Harris and YouTube UK boss Alison Lomax joined the board last month. For a school that began with a couple of dozen students, a new building and a new film school president arriving within weeks of each other mark a clear generational shift.

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File photo: Barbara Broccoli – AI Probably Nothing To Worry About – Tribeca Film Festival 2026 03 (cropped).jpg by Jorge Jaramillo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Ariana Grande red carpet appearance fans have been waiting on finally happened Wednesday night, when the singer and actor arrived at the New York premiere of Focker-in-Law with her boyfriend, dancer and photographer Ricky Álvarez, at her side. It was the first time the pair had posed together on a red carpet since rekindling their romance this year, and photographers captured them embracing, whispering to one another and sharing a kiss at the Beacon Theatre.

A Rekindled Romance, Ten Years On

Grande and Álvarez met around 2015, when he was a backup dancer on her Honeymoon Tour. They dated for roughly a year and split in 2016. Grande later name-checked him in her 2018 hit “thank u, next,” singing that she “wrote some songs about Ricky, now I listen and laugh.”

That line has since been revised. This summer the two were spotted together in Austin, Texas, after one of Grande’s Eternal Sunshine tour shows, and further sightings followed in Florida, New York and London. By August they were Instagram official, and Grande showed off a new tattoo reading “I do love you,” which Vogue noted seemed to echo an inscription on Álvarez’s collarbone.

Grande also used the song to hint at where things stood. At one show she sang, “We always find our way back.” By the tour’s final night in London, the lyric had become “I’m tryna make him my last.”

Why This Ariana Grande Red Carpet Moment Matters

The outing carries extra weight because of the timing. Grande’s representative said in August that she would step back from public life after the tour, citing “endless, ongoing public scrutiny.” She also withdrew from the planned London revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, in which she was to star opposite her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey.

Against that backdrop, this was her first major public return, and she chose to share it with her partner rather than appear alone. The film opens in theaters on November 25. It is the fourth entry in the Meet the Parents franchise and also stars Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and Skyler Gisondo. Owen Wilson, Chris Redd, Eduardo Franco and Beanie Feldstein were among the cast at the premiere.

The Look: Vintage With a Backstory

The fashion drew almost as much attention as the couple. Styled by Law Roach, Grande wore a 1990s Badgley Mischka gown in pale silver-grey plaid, with spaghetti straps, a fitted bodice scattered with tiny floral embellishments and a full, ruffled skirt. Harper’s Bazaar reported that it came from Jellybean Vintage. She paired it with silver hoop earrings and wore her hair in a sleek updo tied with an ivory ribbon.

According to British Vogue, Roach said he bought the dress months ago because it evoked the era of the original Meet the Parents. That gave the Ariana Grande red carpet look a neat tie to the film itself. Álvarez kept things relaxed in a black blazer over an open-collared white shirt, rolled dark jeans, a belt and brown loafers.

Public Affection, Offline and On

Álvarez marked the night on Instagram with a selfie of the two, captioned “Fockers.” Vogue reported that they have also been seen cheering on runners at the New York City Marathon, and that Grande recruited him for a lip-product guessing game on Instagram for her R.E.M. Beauty line.

Grande has been careful about how much of her life she shares, so the couple’s first red-carpet appearance offers a rare look at a relationship she has largely let her lyrics and her tattoo describe.

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File photo: Ariana Grande – 33269922185.jpg by Emma, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Anthony Clark death, confirmed on Wednesday, marks the loss of a comic who rose from the Boston stand-up circuit to anchor one of network television’s most durable family sitcoms. Clark, best known as Greg Warner on CBS’s Yes, Dear, died Tuesday at 62.

News of his passing came from his longtime friend and former co-star Mike O’Malley, who posted a tribute online. Outlets differ on where: Rolling Stone and Variety cite X, while The Hollywood Reporter cites Instagram. Reports also differ on the cause. Rolling Stone, citing Deadline, said it is believed to be complications from pneumonia, while The Hollywood Reporter said a cause was not immediately available.

A tribute from a friend and fellow comic

O’Malley’s post was personal rather than promotional. He recalled watching Clark sell out shows in Boston in the mid-1990s, when O’Malley and his future wife were dating, and said he was “a fan before I was a friend.” He described Clark as “one of those comics who is laughing along with you at the absurdity of his stories and observations.” The two had spoken by phone about three weeks before Clark’s death, O’Malley wrote, and Clark “had us laughing loudly once again.”

Greg Garcia, co-creator of Yes, Dear and the creator of My Name Is Earl and Raising Hope, also paid tribute in a statement to Deadline. He said Clark had “the most insane sense of humor” of all the funny people he has known, adding that “the things that would come out of his mouth were so unexpected and hilarious.”

From Lynchburg to Boston to CBS

Clark was born April 4, 1964, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and kept the accent that went with it. He studied mass communication at Emerson College in Boston, graduating in 1986, and won a top college comedian award from the American Collegiate Talent Showcase while he was there. Boston became his base. By the early 1990s he was part of a wave of emerging stand-ups that included Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K. and Dave Attell, all of whom appeared in a 1995 Young Comedians special.

Television followed quickly. After an early screen credit on American Playhouse in 1991, he landed his first lead role in 1996 on NBC’s Boston Common, playing a Virginian who moves to Boston and ends up working for a college student union. The show ran two seasons. Film and TV credits included Dogfight, The Thing Called Love, The Rock, Ellen and Soul Man.

The role that defined his career

His best-known part arrived in 2000 with Yes, Dear, which followed two young couples with sharply different approaches to parenting. Clark played the more buttoned-down Greg opposite O’Malley’s wilder brother-in-law. The cast also included Jean Louisa Kelly, Liza Snyder and Billy Gardell. Critics never embraced the show, but audiences did. It ran six seasons on CBS through 2006, totaling 122 episodes, and had a long afterlife in syndication. Variety once called it the “little-comedy-that-could” during a 2005 renewal push.

After the series ended, Clark hosted the sixth season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2006, then largely stepped away from show business. Rolling Stone reported that he spent the past two decades in real estate, and O’Malley wrote that Clark “invested his money well and essentially retired” once the sitcom wrapped.

In a 2006 interview with The Comic’s Comic, Clark explained the pull of live comedy: “There’s no director. There’s no writer. No producer. There’s just you.” He added that he didn’t know why people found him funny, “but I’m glad they do.”

As details of the Anthony Clark death continue to emerge, the tributes from those who knew him point to the same quality: a comic whose own laughter made audiences laugh harder.

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File photo: Anthony Clark Ambigouos – lolflix.jpg by LOL Comedy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.