Science fiction television got much braver after 2000. Networks and streamers increasingly trusted audiences with fractured timelines, morally compromised heroes, dense political systems, artificial consciousness, and entire episodes built around ideas that might take hours to fully unpack. The genre stopped needing to simplify itself just because it had a weekly schedule.

The best series from this period also understand that one clever premise cannot carry fifty hours of television, which is the main problem of shows that majorly came in the 90s. A world needs people whose decisions change it. Technology needs consequences. Politics need personal stakes. And when a show really gets all of that right, finishing an episode at midnight becomes an extremely dangerous decision. These 6 sci-fi TV shows were released in the 21st century and they’re my favorites.

6

‘Severance’ (2022– )

Image via Apple TV

Severance takes the familiar fantasy of leaving work at work and turns it into something horrifyingly literal. Employees at Lumon Industries can undergo a procedure that separates their workplace memories from everything outside the office, creating an “innie” who never experiences home and an “outie” who never experiences the job. Mark Scout (Adam Scott) enters that system while grieving his wife, then gradually discovers that Lumon’s immaculate corridors are hiding far more than an unusual employment policy. Apple renewed the series for a third season after its second became the platform’s most-watched series at the time.

The corporate satire is vicious, yet the show gains its emotional power from treating innies as full human beings instead of conceptual puzzles. Helly R. (Britt Lower)’s rebellion, Irving Bailiff (John Turturro)’s attachment to Burt Goodman (Christopher Walken), Dylan George (Zach Cherry)’s growing curiosity about his outside life, and Mark’s divided existence keep widening the moral problem. Even waffle parties and employee rewards become unsettling once Lumon controls the workers’ entire reality. Few current shows turn office furniture into this much psychological pressure.

5

‘Dark’ (2017–2020)

Image via Netflix

A child disappears from the German town of Winden in Dark, pulling four interconnected families into a mystery spanning generations. What initially resembles a missing-person thriller gradually exposes caves, nuclear history, family secrets, and a relationship with time that becomes increasingly complicated. Netflix’s three-season series follows that structure all the way through rather than stretching its mystery indefinitely.

The achievement is organizational as much as emotional. Parents, children, younger selves, older selves, and family relationships keep crossing until remembering who someone is can become its own intellectual workout. Yet the complexity always circles back to recognizable desires. People want to save children, undo mistakes, preserve relationships, or escape grief, and those understandable impulses repeatedly create larger problems. Dark rewards concentration more than almost any streaming-era series.

4

‘Black Mirror’ (2011– )

Image via Channel 4

Black Mirror has spent seven seasons taking recognizable human behavior and giving it slightly more dangerous technology. Its anthology format means one episode can explore artificial consciousness while another attacks social status, surveillance, digital grief, entertainment, or the temptation to preserve every memory. Netflix released six additional episodes with Season 7 in 2025, extending a series that has survived partly because its central anxiety keeps finding new material.

Its strongest stories understand that technology rarely creates the weakness being examined. Jealous people become more dangerous when memories can be replayed. Cruel people gain new tools inside virtual environments. Lonely people will accept uncomfortable compromises when software offers companionship. That grounding explains why episodes such as “The Entire History of You,” “San Junipero,” and “USS Callister” feel completely different while belonging to the same show. You can sample Black Mirror instead of committing to it chronologically, although one episode has a habit of becoming three.

3

‘The Expanse’ (2015–2022)

Image via Amazon

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The Expanse imagines humanity spread across the solar system while remaining stubbornly human about territory, resources, identity, and power. Earth, Mars, and the Belt have developed distinct political interests, and the discovery of the protomolecule introduces something genuinely alien into a civilization already struggling to avoid war. James Holden (Steven Strait) and the Rocinante crew eventually become caught inside conflicts much larger than the mystery that originally brought them together. Its sixth season carried that story through the war with Marco Inaros (Keon Alexander) and the Free Navy.

The universe feels unusually convincing because economics and physics influence daily life. Belters grow up in low gravity and develop their own culture. Ships accelerate hard enough to punish human bodies. Water, air, distance, and acceleration remain strategic concerns rather than decorative science. The political material has equal weight, especially when personal loyalties collide with planetary ones. The Expanse requires attention during its opening stretch, then suddenly you understand why fans became so attached to one battered little gunship.

2

‘The Orville’ (2017–2022)

Image via FOX

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The Orville begins with the crew of a mid-level exploratory starship traveling four centuries into humanity’s future, encountering new civilizations while dealing with the ordinary complications of working together. Early episodes lean heavily into workplace comedy, which initially made the show appear much lighter than its ambitions actually were. And right after that, it gets real. They get an AI that’s basically a living ChatGPT or Claude’s finest model. They touch on themes of time, stars affecting a planet’s living and punishment cycle, land on a planet that decides when somebody dies based on their social media rankings, and so much more.

One of the episodes of the show focuses on the crew landing on a planet that has a whole simulation of the real-world inside it. And the people living inside don’t even know they’re on a spaceship. That’s how mind-bending it gets. And oh boy, the ending is the literal AI war that we’re now so afraid of. That evolution is exactly why it ranks this high. The series can examine artificial life, gender, prejudice, democracy, cultural interference, war, and relationships while retaining a sincere belief that people can learn from one another. Isaac (Mark Jackson)’s place among the crew and the continuing Moclan (remember that viral 500 cigarettes clip?) stories give several of those ideas room to develop across years rather than resetting after one episode. Anyone who misses optimistic space exploration with genuine ethical arguments should give The Orville more time than its comedic reputation suggests.

1

‘Battlestar Galactica’ (2004–2009)

Image via Syfy Channel

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Battlestar Galactica begins after the Cylons, artificial beings originally created by humans, nearly eradicate civilization. A surviving fleet led by the aging Galactica searches for a new home while Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) protects the ships and President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) attempts to preserve civilian government. The situation becomes immediately more dangerous once survivors learn that some Cylons can appear completely human. The series ran from 2004 through 2009 after the story was relaunched through a 2003 miniseries.

From there, the show treats survival as a political and moral problem as much as a military one. Elections still have consequences during extinction. Faith competes with evidence. Security can become an excuse for cruelty. Episodes such as “33” establish that pressure almost immediately, while later conflicts keep testing whether democratic principles can survive fear. Adama, Roslin, Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Katee Sackhoff), Gaius Baltar (James Callis), Lee “Apollo” Adama (Jamie Bamber), and Number Six (Tricia Helfer) each approach that crisis from different emotional and ideological positions, giving the larger war a deeply personal shape. Battlestar Galactica can deliver enormous space battles, but the arguments afterward are often even better.

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Battlestar Galactica

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Release Date

2004 – 2009-00-00

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Directors

Wayne Rose, Michael Nankin, Rod Hardy, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Edward James Olmos, Robert M. Young, Jeff Woolnough, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Jonas Pate, Allan Kroeker, Anthony Hemingway, Jean de Segonzac, Marita Grabiak, James Head, Paul A. Edwards, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Brad Turner, Ronald D. Moore, Bill Eagles

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Get a rundown of Us‘ top stories making headlines in celebrity news, sports and entertainment on August 27, 2026. Here are the key takeaways:

• Kylie Jenner shut down viral pregnancy speculation on the Wednesday, August 26, episode of the “Better Half” podcast, admitting she doesn’t “feel the need to say anything ever” about rumors she’s expecting. The makeup mogul, who shares two children with ex Travis Scott and has been dating Timothée Chalamet since 2023, has grown accustomed to squashing online speculation amid her many high-profile relationships.

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• Sandra Bullock debuted a shoulder tattoo reading “LB²” at the Wednesday, August 26, European premiere of Practical Magic 2 in London alongside costar Nicole Kidman, sparking fan speculation the ink honors her children, Louis and Laila, and her late partner, Bryan Randall, who died in August 2023 after battling ALS.

• Rosie O’Donnell shared a photo on Instagram from her latest visit with daughter Chelsea O’Donnell at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, where Chelsea is serving an 18-month sentence for violating probation tied to 2024 drug-related arrests, alongside a text exchange between the pair. Rosie has said Chelsea is now sober and that the visit was their first meaningful conversation in a decade.

Edited by Samantha Benitz. Story produced with AI assistance

Gladys Knight has announced she’s scaling back her live performances “after much soul searching.”

The singer, 82, announced her career decision in a statement made via her Instagram account on Thursday, August 27.

“After much soul searching I’ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward,” she wrote. “I’ll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.”

She continued, “I’d like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this last three quarters of a century for making a little girl’s dream come true and supporting her every step of the way. I am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you. I hope to see your smiling faces out and about and on the road. God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.”

Related: Gladys Knight Responds After Son Accuses Her Husband of Abuse

Gladys Knight is pushing back at her son’s claims that her husband, William McDowell, has inflicted “mental and financial” abuse on her. Knight, 81, assured fans she is “healthy and happy” as she continues her Queens Tour alongside Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills. Her statement comes after her son, Shanga Hankerson, expressed to […]

Fans and followers threw their support behind Knight in the comments section, praising her for doing what’s best for her.

“Thank you for the memories and the melodies.🦋💜🦋You have blessed us so much. Relax and enjoy the fruit of your labor of 💜,” wrote one follower.

Another added, “You are world-class and one of the best altos I’ve ever heard. A true lover of the musical art! Thank you for all you’ve contributed to the world! ✊🏾🙏🏾”

The announcement comes after fans voiced concern after footage emerged of Knight appearing to be disoriented during some of her performances and walking off-stage without explanation.

In August 2025, Knight insisted she is “healthy and happy” as she continues her Queens Tour after her son, Shanga Hankerson, expressed to People that he was concerned for her well-being on the tour.

Speaking to the outlet, Hankerson, 49, described her involvement in the tour as “detrimental” to her health and claimed her husband William McDowell — who is also her manager — encouraged Knight to embark on the tour. (McDowell has denied insisting that Knight should work.)

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“I’m sorry that my health and performances have been misrepresented,” Knight said in a statement shared with Us at the time. “I want my fans and those concerned to rest assured I am doing very well for someone who has been on stage for three quarters of a century, hard to believe, right? I’m healthy and happy and visiting friends and family these last few months. I’m excited to get back on the road with my sisters and on stage with The Queens Tour. See you soon.”

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Related: Gladys Knight Kicks Off Super Bowl LIII With National Anthem: Watch

Gladys Knight didn’t just play any hometown gig on Sunday, February 3: She sang the national anthem in front of thousands of spectators at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and millions of viewers watching at home to kick off Super Bowl LIII. As the 74-year-old belted out a soulful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a white […]

Hankerson told The Shade Room the same month that he was concerned about Knight’s memory, citing a time Knight allegedly wandered off from her hotel room before turning up “across town.”

“I don’t want my mom out on tour on a tour bus, wondering where she’s at,” Hankerson said in the August 13 story. “I don’t want that for her. That’s my mom, I truly love her and don’t care about her ever working a second longer while she’s alive. The direction that she’s going in is pushing her to her departure, and I don’t want to see that.”

With The X-Files back in the limelight again following the streaming release of The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn, fans are also flocking to some of the franchise leads’ other works, both old and new. Released on Hulu and Disney+ on August 14, 2026, Vrach Frankenshteyn is a director’s cut of the divisive 2008 original The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which restores previously removed horror elements.

Speaking of the franchise leads, Mulder and Scully, portrayed by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, respectively, are FBI Special Agents who investigate unsolved cases often revealed to be supernatural or extraterrestrial in nature. The character duo recently reunited in a new series from Dynamite Entertainment set to debut this winter. The project is said to mark The X-Files‘ return to comics in years and will explore previously untold cases that the two agents investigated between episodes of the original TV series.

While we await more release details about The X-Files comics series, one of Duchovny’s underrated sci-fi films seems to be attracting positive attention globally. According to FlixPatrol data, Evolution, released on June 8, 2001, is quietly dominating HBO Max’s global charts, where it currently ranks as the fourth most-watched movie right above the 2017 action fantasy King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. This is a big win for the 44% Rotten Tomatoes film after it failed to meet critics’ and audiences’ expectations when it was originally released. At the time, it grossed only $98.4 million worldwide against an $80 million production budget, but still managed to earn a cult following.

Is ‘Evolution’ Worth Watching?

Directed by Canadian filmmaker Ivan Reitman, Evolution sees Duchovny portray Colonel (Ret.) Dr. Ira Kane, a college science professor and disgraced top-level army researcher. When a large meteor crashes in the Arizona desert, witnessed by aspiring firefighter Wayne Grey, Ira, along with geologist Harry Block, investigate the crash site, discovering that the meteor has landed in a cave and secretes a strange blue liquid. Upon further study, they find that the meteor harbors extraterrestrial life that evolves rapidly and gives new meaning to the term survival of the fittest. David Diamond and David Weissman wrote the alien invasion film, based on a story by Don Jakoby. Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott, Ted Levine, and Julianne Moore also star in lead roles.

Evolution is available to stream on HBO Max. Follow Collider for the latest streaming news.

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Release Date

June 8, 2001

Runtime

101 minutes

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Writers

David Diamond, David Weissman

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Producers

Daniel Goldberg, David Rodgers, Jeff Apple, Joe Medjuck

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‘Fall’ and ‘floral dress’ may sound like opposites, but Halle Berry proves that the right style carries you from August barbecues to October vacations without a wardrobe overhaul. Berry’s summer-to-fall look is secretly on sale for only $20, and when we say it’s selling out, we mean it!

In a 60th birthday appreciation post, Berry glowed in an easy, flowy black maxi dress splashed with orange, brown and white blooms. Bare feet added to her effortless aesthetic. With this Amazon twin, you’ll channel the same energy, whether you pair it with sandals, boots or no shoes at all.

Get the Zeagoo Boho Maxi Dress for $20 (was $40) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

This Zeagoo Boho Maxi Dress features soft beige florals, drapey fabric and halter straps that lean into the boho spirit that Berry wears so well. The sleeveless design and rounded hemline add to the appeal.

Related: Jennifer Lopez Solved Our Transitional Wardrobe Woes With a $36 Dress Style

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Choosing what to wear from now through November isn’t an easy task, but Jennifer Lopez makes it incredibly simple, wearing a loose, polished shirtdress that stuns with flip-flops, sneakers and booties alike. Somehow, her chic look is only $36! Exploring Italy with her kids, Lopez wore a striped shirtdress with easy sandals and a headband. […]

Better yet, this chic maxi dress is lightweight enough for late-summer heat, but substantial enough to layer under a cardigan once the leaves turn. One happy shopper raved that “the fabric has a really nice weight and softness to it.” They added, “It drapes beautifully and doesn’t cling to the areas I’m more self-conscious about right now.”

Another five-star reviewer pointed out the forgiving cut: “There is room in the tummy apron area for comfort and camouflage! They are not see-through at all, but light enough for warmer weather.”

Throw this dreamy maxi dress on with sandals for brunch, add ankle boots and a denim jacket, or wear it on vacation and let the florals do the work. Berry would approve.

Get the Zeagoo Boho Maxi Dress for $20 (was $40) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

Looking for something else? Explore more chic dresses, and don’t forget to check out all of Amazon’s Daily Deals for more great finds!

UsNow Summer Sale Alert: These Chic Fashion Finds are over 30% off – Plus Free Shipping

Welcome to summer with our biggest sale of the year. This summer’s chicest dresses, tops and swimsuits are all over 30% + free shipping. Inventory is limited so hurry before they’re gone.

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Related: I Have Broad Shoulders — These Are the Fall Dress Styles I‘m Wearing

Genetics, daily activities, whatever the cause may be, I stand firmly in the broad-shoulder category. I accept it (and have learned to appreciate it), but shopping for chic seasonal dresses still throws me through a loop . . . until now. I recently cracked the shoulder-flattering code, and I now feel confident in nearly every […]

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Editor’s Note: The following contains major spoilers for all of Adults Season 2.

Perhaps no two people were better equipped to take on the mantle of the beloved “20-something New Yorkers hangout sitcom” genre. Adults follows in the tradition of classics like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and Girls while putting a distinctly Gen Z twist on things. With a unique take on dating, sexuality, and technology — not to mention a specific, ever-evolving vocabulary and sense of humor — it can be tricky to pin down the personality and dynamics of today’s young adults; Kronengold and Shaw have all but mastered it. Blending irreverent, edgy humor with unexpected warmth and genuine heart, Adults is a hilarious gem that will make you smile and cringe in equal measure. While Season 1 showed promise, Season 2 offers an even sharper, more confident, and rewarding journey with Samir (Malik Elassal), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), Issa (Amita Rao), and Anton (Owen Thiele).

Collider got the chance to do a deep dive with Kronengold and Shaw, talking all things Season 2. From Issa and Paul Baker’s mid-season break-up to Samir and Billie’s shocking finale hook-up, the duo spilled the tea on all of the fizzling and sparking romances in the group. The two also discussed the season’s biggest cameos and guest stars, both subverting and paying tribute to sitcoms that came before, what to expect from a potential Season 3, and much more.

That ‘Adults’ Prequel Episode Is Even More Important Than You Think

“What better way to welcome people back or welcome people for the first time?”

COLLIDER: I’m so excited to chat with both of you.

REBECCA SHAW: God, the feeling is so mutual. We’ve been so looking forward to this.

BEN KRONENGOLD: We’re so honored, and we love your writing, so we’re so excited.

Oh my gosh, thank you so much. Well, I absolutely loved this season.

SHAW: I’m so happy! We haven’t talked to anyone who’s seen it yet, so this is so fun.

I’m so honored to be the first! I want to start by talking about the prequel episode a little bit. I thought it was so interesting how that episode is essentially serving as a new pilot, since it is listed as the first episode of the show on Hulu. I’m curious if you can talk a little bit about how that decision came about to put it there in the line-up.

SHAW: It’s funny — we talked about it as two different things. One is that we get a lot of questions from fans about how this group met each other. I think that, in the lineage of the friend group comedies, some of them drop you in on a random episode on a random day where they’re getting up to some adventure, but we’re not seeing the group form. When we knew we had the opportunity to do a Season 2, we wanted to tell that story partly to give to the existing fans of the show, and then the other part of it really was: when you think about a Season 2, you think about, “How do we want to welcome new viewers into the show?” So that was the other side of it as well. What better way to welcome people back or welcome people for the first time than to show the fifth member of the friend group getting welcomed in?

KRONENGOLD: This is the first time we’ve gotten to talk to someone about the response, but it’s been so heartening and so exciting to see people eat up this lore. What we really set out to do was make these two meet-cutes happen. Season 2 is a lot about these relationships and this love triangle, and we had it in our heads, “What if we pulled off a double meet-cute?” So now seeing fans use that language and be like, “Oh my gosh, the day that Paul Baker met Issa was also the day that he met Anton, and these two very different but both very valid relationships formed.” It was a cool opportunity to give viewers that a few weeks before coming into Season 2, where Issa and Paul Baker’s relationship is going to fall apart, and the Anton/Paul Baker relationship is going to blossom. It was a cool opportunity, and very cool of FX to allow viewers to experience it in this unique way.

Did you always know that Paul Baker met the group in this way, or were there other pitches that you considered besides the marathon?

KRONENGOLD: Oh, that’s such a good question.

SHAW: You know, it’s a funny thing. We knew we wanted to tell a marathon story. That’s been something that, from the beginning in the writers’ room — from Season 1 — we’ve talked about. It feels like such an iconically New York experience. The part that we started with was knowing that we wanted Paul Baker to have a special moment with Issa and a special moment with Anton, so that was really where the idea was built out of. That sort of formed the framework. We really wanted to see the group through Paul Baker’s eyes. We really wanted to watch what it feels like to be a newcomer in this friend group and see the delusional ridiculousness of the way that they interact with each other, but more than anything, the way that they really love each other and stand up for each other.

KRONENGOLD: We live in New York, so walking around New York and spending time in our 20s in New York is such fodder for Adults episodes. We went to the marathon. We had a friend who was running in our early twenties, and we waited for her at the finish line, and we expected the world to be like, “What a triumph of human resilience and the spirit of these incredible athletes.” And then we started hearing screams, and we looked to the side, and there was a runner cramped up, vomiting. That was why we always wanted to do a marathon episode. You never see the person who’s collapsing in the restaurant afterwards. We were like, “If Paul Baker would run a marathon, he’d probably do it without much training.” It’s such a “Rachel in the wedding dress” thing — such a vibrant way to crash into this group — so that’s sort of how it came together.

Would you ever go back further and do a high school episode, maybe Pen15 style? We got a little bit of that in “The Scrub.”

SHAW: Oh my god, I would love to watch an episode of Billie and Samir in high school together. That’s a great idea.

KRONENGOLD: It’s such a great idea. Now we’ll have to give you co-credit.

Season 3! I’m ready for it.

KRONENGOLD: It is always a really interesting conversation about who is going to play the younger versions of these characters. The writers and we looked back at our own embarrassing Facebook posts, and we were like, “We all still look perhaps too much like we did at the time,” so we sort of realized that our actors were going to be able to pull it off. Then again, I will say that we did use a mix, I’m realizing, because the actor who played Samir actually was not Malik, but he looked so much like Malik that I’ve encoded it in my mind as Malik. But the casting challenge of how to drop back into high school for Billie and Samir would be really fun and interesting.

‘Adults’ Isn’t Afraid to Break the Fourth Wall — Here’s Why

“There is that way of speaking that sort of acknowledges the ridiculousness and the stagedness of the way that we all move through the world.”

Image via FX

I loved Issa sort of breaking the fourth wall in the Season 2 premiere by saying, “We’re doing a oner!” It’s especially fun because a lot of comedies are these mockumentary-style things. Obviously, you don’t do that, but you do play with style and form a little. I’m curious if you can talk about breaking the fourth wall and doing some fun things with that.

SHAW: Adults has always dabbled a little bit in surrealism. I think it’s something that our generation is really comfortable with — maybe it’s because we spend so much time on the internet and consuming media. We are all used to jumping in and out of that fourth wall a little bit, but we try to keep the rules fairly consistent between the characters, and for us, Issa is the character who winks at the fourth wall. It feels very true to who she is. Despite seeming sort of flippant sometimes, she is a little more in on the joke than we realize. Even with our friends, sometimes we’ll say things that almost imply we’re breaking the fourth wall. You know, people will be like, “But I would never do something like that. Cut to later, I’m doing…” There is that way of speaking that sort of acknowledges the ridiculousness and the stagedness of the way that we all move through the world. So I think for us, Issa is really the character who does that.

KRONENGOLD: I was thinking the other day, in fact, about how she’s also the character who’s never seen any movies. You’d think those things would be mutually exclusive, but I actually am kind of delighted by the fact that she is incredibly media literate, because to be media literate nowadays does not necessarily mean you’ve seen a lot of films.

SHAW: Issa’s seen a lot of things in 15-second increments, but she has absolutely no context for them.

KRONENGOLD: She’s seen and heard a lot of references to things, which is kind of how she emits her media back out into the world. You’re totally right. She mentions that they’re doing a oner. She also mentions in the first episode that the fact that Paul Baker doesn’t have social media is canon, and she talks about spinning off in the finale of this season, so she’s very much tapping away at that fourth wall in a way that’s very fun and traces back to the first season, too.

I have to ask, what movies do you think she has seen?

SHAW: Good question. Nobody’s ever asked us that before!

KRONENGOLD: I think that she has seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is a big plot point in Episode 4 of this season. However, that’s a TV show, of course. I, literally moments before this, was watching the new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, so it’s top of mind, but I wonder if Issa wouldn’t have watched that. I think she’s probably a fan of anime and read manga in her youth, but I do think that, when she started Avatar: The Last Airbender — the new movie — and realized it was a movie and not, in fact, a 23-minute episode, she was probably done.

SHAW: I think Issa thinks she’s seen Sophie’s Choice, but the more questions you ask her about it, the more you realize not only has she not seen it, but she doesn’t even know what the choice was. She had a dream once that she has, and it’s encoded in her head.

‘Adults’ Creators Break Down Season 2’s Most Shocking Break-Ups and Hook-Ups

“In some ways, the love story of the season is Issa and Anton.”

I’m going to be honest, I usually dread acid trip episodes, but this one might have been my favorite episode of the season. It felt very much like a modern twist on Friends’ “The One Where Everyone Finds Out.”

SHAW: I’m so honored.

I really was really getting those vibes. I’m curious, did you intentionally either pay tribute to or try to subvert the “drug trip episode” when writing this?

SHAW: That’s exactly right. We were really tickled by the idea of doing a drug episode where you never actually see any of them high, in the same way that often, with our friends, the pregame at the house is more fun than the actual party. We loved the idea of all the magic that happens in the half hour when everyone’s so tense waiting for the drugs to hit and all of that expectation. I feel like that anxiety leads to such weird behavior sometimes, and we knew that at the midpoint of the season, big feelings in this love triangle needed to come to a head, so it felt like such a natural time to do it and such a natural ticking time bomb to put on top of it. Everything has to be said before the acid hits. The raccoon has to be out of the house before the acid hits.

The other really fun challenge about the episode was trying to do something that’s basically in real time. The episode was written by Sanaz Toossi, who’s an absolutely brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. She also wrote the dinner party episode last season, and we thought it had a similar spirit — it’s a very contained episode and something that we’re really watching play out without cuts to other plot lines in the same way that we do in other episodes. It was such a fun one to give her, and she just knocked it out of the park.

That’s obviously a huge episode. That’s when we have Issa and Paul Baker finally break up, and it’s exactly halfway through the season. I’m curious, why did it feel like the right time? Were there ever conversations about doing it earlier or doing it later, or was it always the midpoint?

KRONENGOLD: It always was the midpoint. I think the first half of the season, we wanted to kick the tires on this relationship that we sort of took for granted in the first season — and frankly that these two characters, Issa and Paul Baker, took for granted as well. In the first episode, we realize that there are trust issues. In the second episode, we realize that there are chemistry issues. And in the third episode, we realize that…

SHAW: They’re not really picturing a future together.

KRONENGOLD: Exactly. And those are just cracks, right? They are cracks in the foundation of a relationship that I think one day would have exposed themselves, but we wanted to obviously explode it in a really big, climactic, Adults-y way, so it all does lead up to that fourth episode where the insecurities that have formed inside of their relationship and the lack of communication allow for this hugely chaotic schism. Anton is sort of in the wrong place at the wrong time — or, depending on how you look at it, at the right place at the right time.

SHAW: In Season 1, we see Paul Baker and Issa being really cute together, but we don’t interrogate that relationship. We don’t see that foundation, and we don’t have reason to believe that they’re going to spend the rest of their lives together. I think what felt very true to our friends and to the writers in the writers’ room as we were talking about it was, I think, sometimes on TV, people talk about things right away as soon as they happen. I’ll speak for myself: when I’m dealing with conflict, it usually takes a couple of weeks of marinating, maybe living in denial for a little bit, and hoping it goes away on its own, and then eventually realizing that these feelings are coming to the forefront. When we thought about Issa’s place in this love triangle, it didn’t feel truthful to either her character or to our friends to feel like she would immediately sit down and want to have a mature conversation with them about it. It felt much more truthful that it would simmer, and she’d be — for the first time — realizing things about her relationship and herself and what she wants. We loved the way that scene turned out where Paul Baker and Issa are sitting on the bed together, and they’re actually both telling each other why the relationship isn’t right for the other person, which, in some way, is the most aligned we’ve seen them in four episodes.

I really loved the decision to have her in that finale not be jealous and possessive. She was so supportive of Paul Baker and Anton, and I thought that was a really cool subversion. It felt very true to her and also this generation. I’m curious if we could talk about that choice to have her be the one to lead them to each other.

SHAW: In some ways, the love story of the season is Issa and Anton. We always knew that they had this really special friendship, and they’re so fun to watch together. They really understand each other, and love each other, and call each other out more than other members of the group do with each other. We always knew that, because Anton is a character who has his walls up and often doesn’t allow himself to go for what he wants; he needs his best friend to tell him that it’s okay — not just because she’s Paul Baker’s ex, but because she knows him better than anyone, and she is often the source of his confidence and empowerment. We really wanted that moment when they’re holding hands, running down the street together with the music swelling underneath them, to be romantic in its own right. That’s their friendship love story coming to a head. That’s their happy ending.

I’m so excited to get to see Paul Baker and Anton finally explore what’s been building. It’s two seasons in, which is not the slowest burn, but in today’s day and age, it really does feel like one. Can you talk to me a little bit about what we might see from them in the future?

SHAW: One of the many reasons we are really excited and feel like we have a lot more stories to tell is that it’s so fun to watch two characters have this big, climactic moment together, but as we know, life gets complicated. We were very intentional about the fact that we don’t see them behind closed doors at the end of that episode — we see two other people instead. There are a lot of open doors left creatively to explore within that. These are two characters with very strong personalities, who have these big feelings but also exist in a friend group of five people. A lot can go right, and a lot can go wrong.

I love that you mentioned that we see two other people behind that door. I feel like that one was more unexpected, but the seeds have definitely been planted. There have definitely been little breadcrumbs of that. Can you tease whatever you can about that, too? That’s a really interesting twist that was more shocking but definitely checks out character-wise.

SHAW: Thank you for saying that.

KRONENGOLD: It’s very different, right? We called it Schrödinger’s fuck in the writer’s room. [Laughs] We wanted to create the scenario where either couple could have been behind the door. We wanted to build to where your eye is on Anton and Paul Baker — that’s where we wanted to direct you. But when the door opens, because of the room swap that happened earlier in the season — we love that episode written by Sarah Naftalis, one of our EPs — one of the amazing sleights of hand that takes place is that Paul Baker and Samir now share a bedroom. Once we realized that we could take advantage of that and open the door to another couple, it was kind of too delicious to pass up. Billie and Samir, unlike Paul Baker and Anton, haven’t been thinking about this exactly. This hasn’t really been under the surface for them. What we’re finding is two people in very specific moments in their lives where this choice, as big and potentially reckless as it is, does fit in this current moment, but that does not mean it’s gonna make sense when they wake up in the morning. We want to play with that level of potential for mistakes, frankly.

SHAW: There are a lot of reasons you sleep with your best friend. Some of them are because you’re going to get married one day, and some of them are because you’re having really big feelings on a big, emotional night, and I think Billie and Samir don’t know which one this is right now. That, I think, is the question mark that we really want to leave the season on. There’s going to be a lot of big feelings to come that next morning, and whether or not they have the maturity to handle them is really anyone’s guess.

KRONENGOLD: I’ll add one quick thing, which is that Samir went through a breakup, of course, but more than just going through a breakup, he went through a breakup after realizing that being a boyfriend to someone is a big source of his self-worth. Billie, on the other hand, had to reckon with what it might be like to have her best friend, who she grew up with and has lived with, go away and realize the potential for that loss felt different than she expected.

SHAW: The thing we talked about with Billie this season was the idea that she’s spent two seasons now really trying to look ahead and figure out what to change about her life. And I think it took the thread of her life changing to realize that this has actually been some of the best months of her life. She, maybe for the first time, has really been happy and really relaxed. I think the instinct to want to hold onto that however possible is a really great one, and Lucy played it so beautifully.

KRONENGOLD: I love when she turns to Paul Baker when she knows Anton is running home to tell him his feelings for him, and she says, “Forget what you’re supposed to do. What would make you happy?” That’s a very different Billie than we met in Season 1 or even the start of Season 2. Now, she’s thinking about what in this current moment makes her happy, even if it’s not the most responsible choice. And that’s how we find her in that bedroom.

I also really loved Issa and her fellow weird little guy, the librarian. Is there potential for that to turn into something, or are we to assume that’s a more temporary thing?

SHAW: I don’t know. All I’ll say is that Issa has done a lot of growing this season. We’ve learned a lot about her, and for the first time in some ways, we are seeing someone who matches her weird. We love Mia Fowler, who plays Margot, and we’d be really excited to explore what it would look like for Issa to be in a relationship with someone who is, in some ways, more of a mirror and a match for her.

Oh, I would love that as well.

From Julia Fox to Jake Shane, ‘Adults’ Creators Spill on Those Season 2 Cameos

“She is an absolutely next-level, bar-none performer.”

Image via FX

There were so many fun cameos this season. We had Julia Fox, we had Raven-Symoné, we had Jake Shane, we had the man-on-the-street interviewers, which killed me.

SHAW: We were pinching ourselves that we got to do that.

Who was the most difficult for you guys to land?

SHAW: Logistically, planning that man-on-the-street day was awesome. We had one day to shoot all of those scenes in New York. It was a small crew, and we were running around with Jack Innanen. We had scheduled all of these interviewers back-to-back in, like, three square blocks of Manhattan, and then we ended up in Brooklyn for Julian Shapiro-Barnum’s last cameo. It was just so fun. It’s hard to act! I’m not the first person to say this, but I think even when you’re playing yourself, you really have to give into the naturalism of it, and then to interact against someone playing a character is a whole different skill set. And each and every one of those interviewers, I thought, did such a beautiful job. It was really so fun.

KRONENGOLD: And the lack of script guidance, I think we have to take personal responsibility for it because we were just like, “We’re on their turf, and they know their voice, and they know their show.” So we were the helpful writers being like, “Here’s a suggestion, but you should really just improvise,” and each and every one of those people all showed up so ready, so game. We got more than we knew what to do with.

It made it feel so lived in. I love how much sense of place you get with that. Were there any cameos you tried for that didn’t work out this season?

SHAW: I’m gonna punt on the question, only because we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

KRONENGOLD: But yes, there’s one that comes to mind that we’re still determined to get. And the color that I’ll give is that it’s very fun to think of the show as a sandbox for Gen Z comedians and personalities to come in and either act in one of their first things, play themselves, or see an actor take on a totally different version of themselves. Shout-out to Gaten Matarazzo, who showed off such a different side of his comedic chops, which are so, so deep and seemingly endless. I think audiences are going to be really surprised to see what he brings. So that kind of cameo — which is beyond a cameo; it’s really a guest star — that’s always so exciting for us.

That leads right into my next question because Zosia Mamet was maybe my favorite guest star this season. It felt so fitting, obviously because of her involvement in Girls. Can you talk about her character? I’m obsessed with the mean therapist.

KRONENGOLD: She transforms. For someone who plays such an iconic character, she is an absolutely next-level, bar-none performer, and she showed that in this finale. When she walks through that door, you don’t think of Shoshana. You really don’t. She is this force and this real threat to the group. She’s this really sophisticated woman who’s in town helping her dad with his campaign, but she is on the Upper East Side on her kids’ school board. When we, as fans of Girls, picture what Shoshana is up to today, it is not this person. Hats off to Zosia for coming in and, in a really limited amount of time, establishing this character that we’re really intrigued to see more of. I think audiences will be really intrigued to see more of her, too.

SHAW: Issa got her card. I’m just saying. And we know Issa and Anton do not have a therapist.

‘Adults’ Creators Talk Writing a K-Pop Song and Leaning Into Physical Comedy

“Our actors take funny so seriously, which is one of our favorite things about them.”

Image via FX

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Oh my God, please. I need this so badly. I have to ask about “Hiccup (Body Go Crazy).” What were the conversations, and what was the process of writing a K-pop song like?

SHAW: We are such K-pop fans, and I think we had to disavow ourselves of the notion that we would be able to successfully write a K-pop song, but luckily, neither can Carly. We knew we wanted to learn more about Carly, Samir’s girlfriend, because a big part of Samir’s growth this season is learning about what he’s like as a boyfriend and as a supportive partner. We wanted to really challenge that and to throw a wrench in it and figure out that it’s easy to support your partner when you feel like they’re making good decisions, but what does it look like when you disagree with something they’re doing? Or if you want so badly to help them, but the right thing to do is say, “Hey, I think you’re making a mistake”? That was really, emotionally, where this episode came from.

And then when we got into the idea of it, the reason the episode’s called “Pop Girly” is because so many of our writers were realizing that we all know these people from different chapters of our lives who’ve had sort of an ill-advised singing career. Out of nowhere, they woke up one day, and it’s like, “Oh, okay. I guess you released a self-made music video now.” We really wanted to do that. We talked with our director, Paul Briganti, about those iconic movies where you hear one song over and over in terms of pieces of it. I love “That Thing You Do.” It’s one of my favorite movies. So the idea of picking a song that will become a little bit of an earworm, even if at first you’re laughing at it, was a really fun challenge.

KRONENGOLD: We worked with this composer, who was a genius and threaded this needle beautifully. The lyrics were written in the script by Rob Rosell, who wrote the episode, and expanded on by the room, but we really needed to rely on a composer who could thread that needle.

SHAW: “Make it bad enough that Samir is doing the right thing by telling his girlfriend to stop.”

KRONENGOLD: “But not so bad that Carly is on some other plane of existence.”

SHAW: We needed it to be the kind of song that, if you wrote it, you would listen back and be like, “Is this maybe awesome?” But the answer is no.

KRONENGOLD: I just have to say, Rachel Marsh gives one of my favorite performances of the season. When the group is listening to the song for the first time, she could have played it super embarrassed. She could have played it beyond proud, delusionally proud. Instead, she plays it like, “Is this anything?” It was so vulnerable and funny, and you feel for her, and it kicks off a truly emotional arc where Samir then has to muster the courage to tell her, “No, this is nothing,” which is a hard conversation to have.

My friend, who is also watching the screeners, and I were like, “This is coming for our Spotify Wrapped.”

KRONENGOLD: We should release it.

SHAW: I want to release that song.

KRONENGOLD: We’re proud of it.

The show is very stunt-heavy, from Samir chasing Issa around with the injection to Anton swinging Billie around at the club. Can you talk about integrating physical comedy? I feel like that’s sort of a lost art in a lot of comedy shows today.

KRONENGOLD: We are suckers for physical comedy. It makes us laugh so hard. You’re totally right that you don’t see it a lot on TV, but some of our favorite sitcom moments are Monica wrestling Rachel to get the eyedrops in her eyes or Leslie Knope and the cast of Parks and Rec on the ice. It’s deeply rewatchable. It gets us every single time. And luckily, we have performers on our show who are really, really funny physical comedians. I don’t think it was part of our original conception of the show, honestly, but watching the way that Owen moves through the world and sort of embodies his bits and his physicality, watching Amita be this modern-day pratfall master, and Malik — shout out to him — there’s always a bit with Malik. He does this really hilarious bit that is “ape pretending to be human.” They inspire us with their physicality on set. It’s harder to envision it for a character when you’re first writing a pilot because you’re mostly focused on their voice, but the more we get to know them, the more we get to write to their wild physical attributes.

Lucy’s a hilarious stunt dancer. In Episode 2, she kills us with the crazy dancing she does when she’s trying — and obviously failing — to impress these younger kids. Jack with Paul Baker and the Baker dichotomy with this secret persona. He completely transforms his physicality when he goes into this bro mode, so we had a lot of fun playing with that this season, too.

SHAW: It’s funny because physical comedy can often feel quite big, but to do it really well takes so much practice and intentionality, and our actors take funny so seriously, which is one of our favorite things about them. All of the beats of that injection montage and the later moments where Samir’s chasing Issa around the house and tackling her with the needle — we worked with wonderful stunt coordinators to choreograph every bit of it, but they also found things on their own. There was a certain point where our assistant director had to ask them to stop practicing off to the side. They were so worried that someone was going to get hurt because they were just taking each other down over and over like siblings wrestling. They were doing such a great job, and we think it really shows in the final product.

There are the big physical moments, but also something like the moment in “Raccoon,” where Billie and Samir decide that they’re not going to futz, and then we watch both of them immediately turn and walk into various rooms to meddle in their friends’ love lives. One thing we knew in the structure of the story was we wanted them to sort of mirror each other’s physicality. We wanted Billie and Samir to have a similar walk, which we called the futz walk, so we got together with Lucy and Malik before we started shooting that day and basically said, “Look, we have some ideas of the emotion that comes behind this. You’ve made a pact, and you feel a little bad about it, and you’re really trying to move quickly, but you’re trying to act casual and do it in a very intentional way. But really, what matters to us is just that you guys are doing the same thing, so can you work together and come up with something that works for both of you that feels true to both of your characters?” And they came up with the futz walk, and it’s one of our favorite moments of the season.

Adults Season 2 is now streaming on Hulu.

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Release Date

May 28, 2025

Showrunner

Ben Kronengold, Rebecca Shaw

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Directors

Anu Valia

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Writers

Sarah Naftalis, Allie Levitan

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  Lucy Freyer

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  Billie Schaeffer

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Any film is either a comedy or a drama, and though both genres have produced several of the greatest films ever made, dramas in particular have delivered the movies that are most often counted among the biggest masterpieces the Seventh Art has ever seen. These are genres all about serious conflicts, characters clashing, and dialogue propulsing the story and plot forward.

For the purposes of this list, genre films will be excluded. Here, dramas will be considered non-comedy movies where the main focus is on emotionally-driven conflicts between characters and realistic struggles, leaving things like plot-driven thrillers, fantasy and sci-fi films, and horror movies off the table. Whether it’s an underrated biopic like Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters or a hyper-acclaimed classic like The Godfather, history’s greatest dramas are all essential viewing for cinphiles the world over.

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‘Cinema Paradiso’ (1988)

Image via Miramax Films

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and of the Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Prix, Giuseppe Tornatore‘s Cinema Paradiso is not only the greatest Italian drama in history, but even one of the greatest films of all time. With its wonderful coming-of-age tale featuring one of the best depictions of childhood in movies, it’s no wonder why it has aged as well as it has.

Beautifully emotional without ever feeling saccharine, hopelessly romantic without ever feeling naive, and delightfully long without ever feeling excessive, Cinema Paradiso works simultaneously as a love letter to the movies and as one of the best of the ’80s. Anchored by Tornatore’s emotionally stirring direction and Ennio Morricone delivering one of the greatest musical scores in film history, it’s an international classic that everyone should watch at least once in their lives.

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‘Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters’ (1985)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

The biopic genre is one that has become increasingly tired and trite over the years. At some point, directors started feeling comfortable delivering movies that felt more like cinematic version of a Wikipedia article than like an actual encapsulation of a subject’s life and work. That isn’t the case with Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, a revolutionary masterpiece written and directed by screenwriter-turned-filmmaker Paul Schrader.

Mishima is one of the most underrated drama movie masterpieces the world has ever seen. Its director uses surrealism and creative elements from the books created by writer, martial artist, and model Yukio Mishima to create a drama that genuinely feels like it captures Mishima’s spirit perfectly. Impeccably written, visually stunning, and entirely unique, it’s right at the peak of what biopic dramas have to offer in the arthouse space.

8

‘Persona’ (1966)

Image via AB Svensk Filmindustri

Rarely has history seen filmmakers quite as great or influential as Swedish legend Ingmar Bergman, one of the most impactful directors in the history of European cinema. There are sprinkles of surrealism across all of his wonderfully complex, emotionally riveting filmography, but nowhere are those sprinkles more intense than in Persona. Fittingly, it happens to arguably be Bergman’s magnum opus.

Persona is one of the best psychological dramas in history, and a must-see for all those who love arthouse dramas. Magnificently directed by Bergman in full control of his craft, full of haunting black-and-white images, and bolstered by Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann‘s performances, it’s a masterpiece about identity, duality, and gender which only keeps getting better with age.

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‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)

Image via Universal Pictures

Steven Spielberg is the father of blockbusters and a master of popcorn genre flicks, but it just so happens that his best film to date is a biopic drama through and through: the World War II period piece Schindler’s List, one of the most powerful war movies of all time. It deservedly earned Spielberg his very first Best Director and Best Picture Academy Award victories.

It’s impossible to know where to begin singing Schindler’s List‘s praises. Spielberg’s direction is beautifully humanist and necessarily hopeful, but he never shies away from the purely harrowing nature of the material. John Williams‘ score is probably the most haunting he has ever composed for a motion picture. All the performances, from Liam Neeson to Ralph Fiennes, are absolutely flawless. All around and from top to bottom, Schindler’s List is one of the greatest drama movies the war genre has ever seen.

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‘The Shawshank Redemption’ (1994)

Image via Columbia Pictures

Frank Darabont is perhaps the best creative that Hollywood has at its disposal when it comes to adapting Stephen King stories, and it just so happens that The Shawshank Redemption is perhaps the most notorious Stephen King movie that’s better than the book. It has been sitting as the highest-rated movie of all time on IMDb for many years, and that’s likely to continue being the case for many more.

It’s fully deserved praise, too, because The Shawshank Redemption is much more than just a drama movie. It’s a wonderfully emotional study of themes like justice, redemption, and male friendship, one told with such passionate love for life that it’s impossible not to be infected by it. Full of memorable set pieces and unforgettable performances, Shawshank Redemption really is one of the most perfect dramas the big screen has ever seen.

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‘The Godfather Part II’ (1974)

Image via Paramount Pictures

How do you follow up what many refer to as the greatest film of all time? By making a sequel that some people think is even better, of course. Francis Ford Coppola set the bar sky-high for himself going into The Godfather Part II, but saying that he exceeded those expectations would be an understatement. Part prequel, part sequel, this is considered by some to be the greatest crime drama of all time.

The Godfather Part II is pretty much universally accepted to be one of the best American movies of the ’70s. Even though its being part period piece and 100% a gangster film may lead some to argue that it’s more of a genre movie, the focus is never on its genre conventions, but rather on its characters and their conflicts—and how flawlessly that focus is pulled off by Coppola and his team.

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‘Citizen Kane’ (1941)

Other cinephiles point to Orson Welles‘ Citizen Kane as the greatest film of all time, and it isn’t exactly easy to offer arguments to disagree with them. After all, upon release, Welles’ jaw-dropping big-screen debut was unlike anything else Hollywood had ever seen. It may not seem so revolutionary by modern standards, but Citizen Kane is still the peak of what the filmmaking art form has to offer.

One of those movie masterpieces that were ahead of their time, Citizen Kane still feels remarkably modern thanks to its groundbreaking non-linear structure, its unforgettable visuals, its many incredible performances, and its thematically and emotionally powerful script. Golden-Age Hollywood rarely—if ever—produced dramas this timeless and worthy of the utmost praise.

3

‘The Godfather’ (1972)

Image via Paramount Pictures

As incredible as The Godfather Part II may be, there’s simply no beating The Godfather, regarded by a staggering number of people as the single greatest feature film of all time. Indeed, it’s one of the most universally beloved movies ever, a masterpiece that Francis Ford Coppola was initially reluctant to make but which ended up being widely accepted as his magnum opus.

The Godfather is the crime drama par excellence, an exquisitely character-driven and technically masterful gem that deconstructs the American Dream in ways that cinema had never seen before. From its game-changing performances, to its stunning visuals, to Coppola’s faultless direction, it has aged like fine wine in virtually every sense that matters.

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‘High and Low’ (1963)

Image via Toho

Akira Kurosawa is praised by many cinephiles not just as the greatest Japanese filmmaker of all time, but at times even the greatest filmmaker in general. He was, of course, a director best known for his contributions to the samurai genre, but he also dipped his toes into several other genres over the course of his career—including dramas like High and Low.

This is another instance of a film whose status as an adrenaline-pumping thriller may lead some to count it as a proper genre film, but Kurosawa keeps the focus on the characters and plot rather than on genre conventions so intensely that High and Low deserves to be counted among the greatest dramas in film history. Structurally, tonally, thematically, and in every other sense, it’s one of the boldest and most essential pieces of dramatic filmmaking in history.

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’12 Angry Men’ (1957)

Image via United Artists

There’s a strong argument to be made that 12 Angry Men is not only the greatest feature film of Hollywood’s entire Golden Age, but perhaps even the greatest drama in film history. It is, at the very least, the peak of the many must-watch movies of the 1950s, a single-location psychological drama which proves that you don’t need a gargantuan premise or a dozen sets in order to make an absolutely timeless masterpiece.

Indeed, thanks to the many complex and layered ways in which 12 Angry Men explores ideas of justice and guilt, it’s a movie that doesn’t seem to age in the slightest. From its performances to its exceptional black-and-white cinematography to its universally compelling writing, it’s one of those dramas which prove just how remarkably close the Seventh Art can come to genuine perfection.

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12 Angry Men

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Release Date

April 10, 1957

Runtime

97 minutes

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Director

Sidney Lumet

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Writers

Reginald Rose

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A brand-new Miss USA has been crowned at one of the biggest beauty pageants of the year.

Miss Virginia was crowned the winner on Thursday, August 27, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami. Competing against 50 other women, Justus Kelley wowed the judges with her brains, beauty and talents.

Kelley’s win marked a history-making moment at the event as she became the first mom – as well as the first married woman – to be crowned Miss USA.

In 2023, the event changed the rules that previously prevented women with children from winning the pageant. The rule change also removed the age cap that was previously in place.

Related: Miss North Carolina USA 2026 Stripped of Title After Alleged Racist Posts

The Miss USA Organization has announced that Brittany Boltinhouse, who was crowned Miss North Carolina 2026 in June, has been stripped of her title after she allegedly made racist remarks in resurfaced social media posts. “Today, Brittany Boltinhouse’s reign as Miss North Carolina USA 2026 came to an end,” Thom Brodeur, chairman and CEO of […]

Following tradition, the competition began earlier in the week with a preliminary costume show. Contestants dressed up in attire representative of the state they were representing.

During the preliminaries, contestants modelled both swimwear and evening gowns, while also undergoing closed-door interviews to assess their communication skills, intelligence and personality.

The ladies lucky to make it to the final portion of the competition Thursday faced a variety of judges, including The Shade Room founder Angelica Nwandu, Miss USA 2016 DeShauna Barber-Echols, Michelle McLean, Madison Anderson, So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Mia Michaels and celebrity talent manager Steven Grossman.

The seventh and final judge was the viewer at home who had the opportunity to score the contestants live during the Top 20. (Miss USA was streamed live on Queen Beauty Network.)

Ultimately, hosts Ian Ziering and Kenya Moore had the honor of announcing the winner in front of a variety of special guests, including The Valley star and Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez Booko.

“Today we will welcome a new Miss USA into the sisterhood 😍,” she wrote via Instagram on Thursday. “I’m honored to be here celebrating the 75th anniversary of Miss USA. Let’s do this!”

Hours before a new Miss USA was crowned, organizers gave thanks to Audrey Eckert for all the work she did in the last year.

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Related: The Biggest Beauty Pageant Scandals and Controversies of All Time

Beauty pageants aren’t always pretty. Competitive events from Miss USA to Miss Universe have all had their fair share of scandals and controversies over the years. In 1984, Miss America Vanessa Williams famously gave up her crown after nude photos were published in Penthouse. Years later, in 2006, Miss USA Tara Conner kept her sash […]

“Audrey, from the moment you became Miss USA, you stepped into this role with such grace, strength and authenticity. You brought a warmth and heart to this year that made your reign completely your own 🤍,” organizers wrote via Instagram. “You used your voice to inspire others, led with intention and represented Miss USA in a way that made us incredibly proud to stand beside you.”

The statement continued, “Your reign may be ending, but the impact you’ve made will always remain a part of Miss USA. Your story is only getting started. Once Miss USA, always Miss USA 👑✨.”

The winner of Miss USA has officially advanced to the Miss Universe competition, which will be held in Puerto Rico later this year.

“Charmed” aired for eight seasons on The WB, running from 1998 until October 2006. Now, almost two decades later, one of the stars of the beloved series, Holly Marie Combs, is opening up about why she’s no longer taking roles in Hollywood. This comes after she launched a rewatch podcast dedicated to the show in 2022.

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Combs opened up about the current state of her career and her decision to take a step back from Hollywood during a recent episode of her podcast, iHeart’s “The House of Halliwell.” Notably, the “Charmed” alum revealed that multiple factors led her to essentially retire from acting.

She began, “It was a lot of family.” After that, the 52-year-old explained, “During COVID, we had three teenagers. Well, it was three teenagers and a preteen in the house, and it was just mayhem and chaos.”

Then, Combs also admitted that she hadn’t been the biggest fan of some of the roles she had been presented with. According to her, “The stuff that I was getting and coming across my desk was just nothing that I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is really great. I need to do this.’”

She added, “And being in, you know, that 40 to 50 range, the job pool gets even smaller and smaller. And I feel like the roles get a little less interesting.”

The ‘Charmed’ Alum Sometimes Misses Acting

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Combs continued discussing her career, stating that her friends have attempted to “pull [her] out of retirement.” However, she leads a busy life in Washington State with her husband, Mike Ryan, and three kids. Plus, the actress also owns and operates a barbecue restaurant, Cattle Point BBQ in Friday Harbor, Washington.

Still, despite the fulfilled life, Combs admitted, “I miss it occasionally because, like you said, there’s those moments when you’re involved, and you’re acting and you’re working that are just, I think it’s like being present.” 

She then said, “That’s what escapism is. And we get to escape into this different character with a different set of situations than our own life. And there is something about being in that moment that is quite peaceful, even if you’re doing something highly dramatic.”

However, she’s not ruling out a return to the screen once her kids are older. According to her, “I’ll be sitting around with a lot more time on my hands.”

Holly Marie Combs Hasn’t Appeared In A Significant Role Since 2017

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Combs may be best known for her role as Piper Halliwell on “Charmed,” but she had a career before and after the series ended. Notably, several years before the WB show began, she appeared in over 80 episodes of “Picket Fences” as Kimberly Brock.

She appeared in several projects after “Charmed,” with the most significant being “Pretty Little Liars,” which ended in 2017. However, as she stated on her podcast, her career shifted in the years leading up to COVID, with her featured in only a “Grey’s Anatomy” episode in 2019, “Pretty Little Wine Moms Re-watch” in 2020, and a COVID-19 special in 2020.

Combs Paid Tribute To Shannen Doherty Following Her Passing

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Shannen Doherty starred in the first three seasons of “Charmed” alongside Combs and Alyssa Milano. Sadly, the actress passed away in July 2024 following a battle with metastatic breast cancer. She was 53. Following her death, Combs took to Instagram to issue an emotional tribute to her former costar and “best friend.”

She said, “My better half of 31 years. There is a hollow in my chest, and I can’t seem to catch my breath. A part of me is missing, even though I know exactly what you would say to me right now. I know exactly what you would tell me to do right now.”

After that, Combs spoke about Doherty’s legacy, stating, “I know your undying spirit will live in me and my kids who you loved as your own. They will walk with your sense of purpose and pride. They will be truthful and stand up for what is right. No matter what, and zero f-cks given. Your fire will live on in them and the many other Charmed ones you helped raise.”

She concluded, “My most ardent champion. My loyal protector. My best friend. You taught me the meaning of family. You were and will be forevermore my sister. I love you.”

Shannen Doherty Was Set To Join Holly’s Podcast

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Before her death in July 2024, Doherty was set to join the “House of Halliwell” podcast alongside Combs, Brian Krause, and Drew Fuller. The actress had managed to record five episodes, which were released after her passing.

Per Variety, Combs and the other podcast hosts said in a statement, “This show, this character, this podcast meant so much to Shannen she couldn’t wait to share it with Charmed fans everywhere. We want to honor her memory, and fulfill Shannen’s wishes by airing the first five episodes she recorded before her passing.”

It continued, “She was passionate about this project and proud to have played Prue Halliwell; we hope these episodes offer some comfort for everyone who loved her. Prue, your memory remains, and your magic lives on.”

At our most recent screening, Collider was proud to invite readers to an advanced showing of Ridley Scott’s new science fiction thriller, The Dog Stars. For the event, Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub had the privilege of speaking with Scott for an exclusive Q&A, where the influential filmmaker candidly revisited some of his most iconic contributions to cinema, from his clash with studio executives on Alien to the unscripted origins of one of Blade Runner’s most memorable scenes.

Starring Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin, The Dog Stars is Ridley’s study on what makes life worth surviving. After a virus devastates Earth’s population, a young pilot, Hig (Elordi), allies himself with a military survivalist, Bangley (Brolin). They create a homestead and protect it against the brutal survivors known as Reapers, living one moment to the next in vigilance. When Hig receives a mysterious transmission, however, he sets out on a mission to track down its source in hopes of a future worth surviving for. The movie also stars Margaret Qualley, Benedict Wong, Allison Janney, and Guy Pearce.

In his conversation with Collider, which you can watch in the video above or read in the transcript below, Scott not only reflects on his own remarkable career, but looks back on his early beginnings alongside his brother, filmmaker Tony Scott, honoring his on-screen legacy. He also discusses his time at the Royal College of Art, how commercial advertising forged his singular process on and off-set, his decades in Hollywood, and more.

Ridley Scott Reveals the Tony Scott Movies He Considers His Brother’s Best Work

“How could we possibly know that the two of us were preparing a threshold for the future in film?”

Custom Image by Zanda Rice

COLLIDER: Sir, I really mean this sincerely: You’ve directed some of my favorite films of all time. I really want to thank you for your contributions to cinema.

RIDLEY SCOTT: Thank you.

I’m here to talk about you and your work, but I was also a huge fan of your brother Tony’s work. If someone has never seen something by your brother, Tony, what is the first film or films you’d like them to watch and why?

SCOTT: I’m 21. My brother’s 15. Already, I’m giving away the game. I’m at the Royal College of Arts, which is the best art school, maybe in the world today, with such fellow students as David Hockney. Francis Bacon would pop in and lecture us. It’s at that kind of level. I’ve done four years provincially. I’m in my final year, and I discovered a Bolex in a cupboard in the department. I’m doing design, and I say, “Can I borrow the Bolex for the Easter holiday coming up?” “Why?” “I want to fiddle about.” “Well, you can’t. There’s no script. You can’t have the camera.”

So that weekend, bizarrely, I wrote a script. The script was read on the Monday, and the tutor said, “Wow,” and gave me the camera and 65 pounds of spools of negative. I went up north for the Easter holidays to an unsuspecting brother, who all he wanted to do was sit, doing bugger all. I said, “We’re making a movie. You’re in it. You’re going to help me carry equipment and get sandwiches.” We went off to Seaton Carew and made a movie called Boy and Bicycle.

The end of the film was made. The film was pretty good, but during the movie, the boy who’s playing truant for the day summarized the whole experience of the day. Instead of being about freedom, it was about self-examination and reflection of who he is at 15. The kid in this dingy hut says on voiceover, “I’ll remember this day when I’m 80, and it will all seem like yesterday.” Now, that kid was Tony Scott, who would later do Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop. So, how could we possibly know that the two of us were preparing a threshold for the future in film?

It’s amazing.

SCOTT: That’s still on the BFI. You press a button, you get the film.

So you’re saying Top Gun or Beverly Hills Cop?

SCOTT: No, I’d say The Hunger or One of the Missing. He did two of the best student films I’ve ever seen, and I was in the one, One of the Missing. It was the Confederate Army in the Civil War. We had a cannon — we made it in Yorkshire because they have the only cannon which is Confederate in Yorkshire, so we went and made the film. I won’t tell you about the story, but Tony made that. It’s brilliant.

Ridley Scott Reveals the Moment He Knew ‘Alien’ Was Truly Terrifying

He discusses how The Duellists led to one of the most iconic sci-fi movies of all time.

Image via 20th Century Studios

One of my all-time favorite films, and for so many people, their favorite film is Alien. You never really know when you’re making something how it’s going to turn out and how it’ll be received, so at what point did you realize that this was a very special film that was going to change the game?

SCOTT: By the time I make the movie The Duellists, I’m 40, and I’m on my third Rolls-Royce. I’m very, very well off from advertising. At 38, I realized, “My God, I’m never going to make a movie.” Alan Parker was suddenly making a movie, Adrian Lyne was suddenly making a movie, and they were really my competitors.

I took a public domain story called The Duellists, about two hussars, had it written, paid for that, went to David Puttnam because I couldn’t get it going, and said, “I need help.” David said, “David Picker at Paramount.” We went there. Cut a long story short, we got it made.

The film got a prize at Cannes, and then from that, Sandy Lieberson, who I think was a big agency at that point, spotted the film and said to Alan Ladd Jr., “I know you’re looking for a director for Alien. This is the guy.” That’s how I got the job. So I was fifth choice for Alien. They’d offered it to Robert Altman. How do you offer Robert Altman Alien? He must have said, “What?” So, that’s how I got Alien.

When did you realize that that film resonated with so many people and was a lot of people’s favorite movie?

SCOTT: Even though my reputation in advertising and my position in advertising was major, I went to Hollywood, and no one knew who you were because we only did 30-second pieces of work. Commercial advertising in those days with Alan Parker, Tony Scott, Adrian Lyne, and me, and Hugh Hudson were works of art. We turned advertising into an art form. We influenced the way films looked, for sure.

So, I’m so experienced in that and so not used to having people query what I’m going to do, this and that, and I had a bad time doing Alien because the nature of executive power in Hollywood I’d never experienced before. I never had anyone question me before, so I had to eat it and make the film nevertheless. So, the doing of Alien was not a happy one because I’m the camera operator, as well. But I stood my ground, so I gave as good as I got.

It was a trial. Me shooting was a trial, and I ate the thought that, “Fuck you. How dare you?” Seriously. “Fuck you.” I knew what I was doing. I got [H.R.] Giger into it, and without Giger you would never have the film. Great cast, but without that monster, you don’t have a movie. So I flew to Switzerland and persuaded him and his mother to come with me to Shepperton to make the film.

So, you still don’t know. The film goes out, and it’s a major engine. What I got out of it was, by the time you see it so many times, you kind of get bored, so I’m in screenings in St. Louis, and I walked down the side and watched along the side. And as we approached the famous breakfast scene, people are already doing this [ducks head] because they know something awful is going to happen. Once that egg explodes in his face, they’re now in absolute abject terror, and they haven’t seen the alien yet. And now he’s suddenly on the kitchen table coughing, and people I saw getting down underneath the seat. Now, that is not healthy. I found it quite distressing that it was going that far. So, right there, it sets your responsibility as a filmmaker: should you be going that far? And that was it.

Ridley Scott Reveals How Rutger Hauer Rewrote ‘Blade Runner’s Most Iconic Speech

“Tears came to my eyes.”

Image via Warner Bros.

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I definitely have to touch on Blade Runner because it’s Blade Runner. One of my favorite scenes in the film and one of my favorite scenes in cinema is Rutger Hauer on the roof delivering the “Tears in Rain” monologue. I’m just curious if you could reminisce a little bit about filming that scene. Did you realize at the time how much the dialogue of what he was saying was going to resonate, with the rain and the way you filmed it?

SCOTT: Of course, because I’m so experienced by now, between 2,000 commercials, The Duellists, Alien, Blade Runner. Are you kidding? These are the first three films. And I cast Harrison Ford, who hadn’t really emerged yet, and hadn’t cleared away from the Millennium Falcon, and his film, Indiana Jones, hadn’t come out.

The night they were going to pull the plug on me, this is the last night, and they’re pulling the plug, and it was 1:00 in the morning, and Rutger said at lunchtime, “I’ve written a speech. Can you come around to my trailer? I want you to hear it.” So I go around, and instead of Hampton Fancher’s “It’s time to die,” there’s this thing: “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe.” The poetry. And actually, I don’t know if it was because it was 1:00 in the morning, but tears came to my eyes, and I said, “Dude, we have to do it. You’ve got to do it.”

He went out there, and it was pouring rain. He sat there and gave this beautiful speech. Harrison gamely and appropriately sat there and absorbed it and took it in. Then it followed with Gaff saying, “It’s too bad she won’t live. But then again, who does?” Some exec said, “What the fuck does that mean?” I said, “It means you’ll die, you moron.”

Trust me, this is going in a book. I mean, it’s crazy what happens. It’s really, as well, probably my all-time, staggering genius — at 21, he made Citizen Kane; I made Boy and Bicycle for £65 at 21. Not even the same shadow of his shoe. So, that’s genius.

Do you have a favorite filmmaker or a favorite film?

SCOTT: I would have to go way back to Citizen Kane. [Akira] Kurosawa. The Norwegian [Ingmar Bergman], almost everything he did — Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal, etc. All of that. David Lean. David Lean’s Great Expectations through to Lawrence [of Arabia]. They are major, major, major filmmakers, where everything was just right.

Then came along Stanley Kubrick, who blew me away, not with the first World War film, but more with, but more with, honestly, 2001. Now, 2001, I was working down in the city. At lunchtime, I snuck out, saying, “I don’t feel well,” and I went to a theater for the first week. The theater was empty, so I sat in the 70-mm theater with an empty room, packed a cigarette, and watched 2001. People aren’t aware of this, but it was the first time a computer was ever mentioned and housed AI, and the massive message from the film is that the company, the corporation, feels that the information from the journey is more important than the crew. They’re expendable. So, we use that in Alien.

Kubrick’s a genius, and so ahead of everything in terms of what he put on film.

SCOTT: I previewed Blade Runner, and it was disastrous. “Why is it always raining?” And I’m sitting there thinking, “Fuck you.” I promise I didn’t invent a world of grunge that people hadn’t seen before. I’m taking from New York and Hong Kong because New York at that point was scruffy, dirty, and filthy, and Hong Kong was medieval.

Later this year, at the Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will give you an honorary Oscar, which is about fucking time.

SCOTT: It is about fucking time.

What does it mean to you getting this Oscar later this year?

SCOTT: It means a lot. I mean, I have to be graceful and say, “Yes, it’s terrific. Thank you very much.” A few people lobbied for me to get this, and I thank them, and I am honored.

I love IMAX. Why is it so important to you that people watch [The Dog Stars] in IMAX?

SCOTT: Because I’m an image maker and images are my life. Images, honestly, can be as strong as a verbal narrative, sometimes stronger. I think Lyne was probably one of the great exponents of the image, where the dialogue was secondary. The story is traveling with the image, right? Usually with orchestration and music. But with image, the larger the screen, the better. It’s that simple. If it was wrap-around, bring it on.

I love IMAX and the way it brings you into the movie. You’ve worked with actors like Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Sigourney Weaver, Harrison Ford, Joaquin Phoenix, Matt Damon. It’s a massive list of people. Who challenged you the most creatively while making a movie?

SCOTT: Oh, none of them, really. They were all, at the time, new. Relatively. Sigourney brand-new. Russell, three films in from L.A. Confidential. Russell was cast with my friend Michael Mann, who’s editing the thing about the tobacco industry. He said, “I know you’re going to do the Roman Empire. I know you’re going to do sword and sand, and everyone’s waiting for it to be a disaster, but I know you’re going to pull it off. You should meet this guy. He should be your leading character.” So I met with Russell and history was made.

Yeah, that movie turned out kind of okay.

SCOTT: Yes. [Laughs]

Image via DreamWorks/Everett

You shoot with a lot of cameras. You have a very unique way of working. It clearly works. What’s the biggest mistake a director makes when they spend months over-rehearsing actors?

SCOTT: I mean, every man for himself. Every man has his own way. I neither had a film school nor did I have an acting school or a drama coach. I was a very, very good designer, which I adored. I got a big job at BBC. I didn’t even go as an assistant; I went straight as a designer. I was in there as a major designer because I got first-class honors from Royal College of Art, and all that nonsense, and I majored as a designer.

I used to scare the shit out of directors because I’d design a set like that, and they’d shoot in the corner. I said, “Listen, I don’t mind you shooting in the corner on two chairs, but tell me. I don’t want to waste money building a fucking set.” So, I was called into the employment division of BBC, and he said, “Listen,” he said, “You scare the shit out of directors.” I thought, “Oh, here we go.” He said, “How do you feel about a BBC director’s course?”

So, I got a director’s course that lasted six weeks. I learned process and six cameras, live, in studio work. You’re allowed to do a short program of your choice to see what you’ve learned. They don’t go out; everyone watches the next take. Because I’m a designer, because I’m an operator by then, as well, I do a potted version of Paths of Glory — and I pulled it off. So, I got a TV show on Monday. That’s what happened. It’s crazy.

It’s crazy.

‘The Dog Stars’ Is More Interested in What Makes Life Worth Living

“There was an in-built, subtle but beautiful optimism.”

You’ve made survival stories before, from Alien to The Martian. What did The Dog Stars allow you to explore about survival that those films didn’t?

SCOTT: You look into yourself. I think, as a survivor, I would make sure I did. I would react in a way that would protect me. Because I’ve been under that situation before — I’m not going to tell you what it was — but I had to, I had to pull a gun, and it worked. So I had to arrest people. Seriously. So, I know I’ll do it. That’s it. That’s the answer. I was tested, and I would do it.

You’ve made plenty of films about people trying not to die, but The Dog Stars seems more interested in asking what makes staying alive worthwhile. Was that distinction important to you?

SCOTT: Dog Stars, to me, was surprising in that there was an in-built, subtle but beautiful optimism — a man who could only remember how lucky he was to have a wife and a dog. Then he lost the wife, but he still had the dog as the memory of the wife. He wondered where he could go next.

Again, the humorous side of the trip was Bangley, Josh [Brolin], and he, it’s the odd couple. It’s Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. I think Jack Lemmon says, “If you tidy up that ashtray one more time, I’m gonna brain you with it.” So, it’s two men who were thrown together having to live together, and the appearance is they irritate each other, but actually, when Hig says, “I’ve got to go. I’m going to leave,” suddenly the tough guy gets vulnerable and says, “You know, you might have told me.” [Laughs] And when he leaves, he bangs on the window to say, “I’m sorry you lost your dog.” He does that and walks away. Right there, it’s very touching, but it’s humorous.

It helps when you have two very talented actors.

SCOTT: I’m always looking for an edge into humor, wit.

Sure. How did you decide how much of the apocalypse to show versus…?

SCOTT: Well, “apocalypse” suggests an explosion.

How much of the virus to show?

SCOTT: Well, a virus and the 2008 financial abyss — if you’d had an apocalypse happen right there, maybe the group that looks after whether we should be taking injections or not collapses so suddenly, you’d have a wave of fear. Once you have fear, you have anarchy, and then you’d have chaos in a heartbeat.

I felt in 2008, I could feel and see the financial abyss that all the banks looked at, as well. It’s stupidity and greed. So in the film, if you really want it, it’s all there. Right now, globally, in third-world countries, this happens worse than I portrayed in the film every day as we speak. People don’t know that. They’re that stupid.

Ridley Scott’s Advice to Young Filmmakers Is Exactly as Blunt as You’d Expect

The filmmaker also discusses his process, from the edit to collaborating with cinematographers.

Image via Paramount Pictures

I love talking about editing because it’s the final rewrite and it’s where a movie comes together. Say you get in the editing room with this. Who do you trust for honest feedback?

SCOTT: They don’t. We don’t speak. I sit in the rushes. And I’ve seen it. I’ve seen my rushes in the trailer. I’ve got eight cameras. I’ve got eight monitors. So, I’ve seen it. So before I say, “Right, move on,” I go, “Roll it. One, two. Two, two. Three, four. I’ve got it.” So I’ve cut it in the editing room and in the trailer.

Now, you can only do this if you’ve got a very good editor. I then don’t go near that. Every Saturday, I go in to see where we are now. Good editing is more in the rough cut. You’re feeling the scene. And even great editors are already laying on a little bit of possible score. All great editors have ears for music.

Then, by the time I finish a film, I will then say, “I want to see the director’s cut in three weeks.” Not nine months. Not six months. Three weeks, I’ll see the director’s cut.

When you have a cut like that, who do you like to show it to who will give you honest feedback?

SCOTT: Well, I’m the good feedback. I’m very self-critical, so when I’m watching the cut, do not look down to write on a piece of paper because you’re missing the fucking film. I tell the studio sitting with me, “Don’t write. I’ll just say ‘there,’ and you make a note.” So I’m watching it, going, “There. There. There.” Afterwards, with the footage number, I go right in and look at him and say, “What was wrong here was…” So, I’m in a way a clean computer. I’m not glued up with sitting in the dark in an editing room where all you do is get stodgy.

Same with the mix. I used to sit in the mix. In all the houses, the mix gets louder. Your ear goes in and says, “Is that loud enough?” when you’re way beyond what you should be. So, I keep clean and go in when they’re ready to watch it. I can be a perfect critic, going, “That, that, that.”

You could work with any cinematographer you want, but you worked with Erik Messerschmidt. You’ve worked with him in the past. What was it about Erik’s work that said, “I want him for this?”

SCOTT: All of it. I tend to watch good people do good things. [David] Fincher used him a lot, and Fincher’s great. So I watched that and thought, “Hmm.” Then he finished with Fincher, so I said, “Do you want to go?” And he said, “Sure.”

Dariusz Wolski and I have done five films together. I think he’s getting a bit fed up with me telling him where I want to put the camera. Then John Mathieson said that silly thing, so I went to Erik, and I said, “You want to do it?” He said, “Yeah.” So he was in shock I was doing two takes — from David Fincher.

I’ve heard from many people that they have to get used to your style, which is a lot of cameras and fewer takes, but you have all that coverage.

SCOTT: Listen, personally, I’ve already done 2,000 commercials. I did the big one for Steve Jobs, the first one he ever did in 1984. It’s the first time Jobs ever advertised his computer. It’s a major ad.

It’s one of the most famous commercials of all time.

SCOTT: That’s it. That was the year I was well into doing commercials, but I’m done. And then I was asked to come back, and I went back and did it. But I think with all that, you become so sophisticated in communication and what you can get away with, and what you don’t need. So, I’m very aware of that. So in my boards, I tend to do a bit of the elimination in board form.

The other thing I’m curious about is there must be people watching this Q&A who are up-and-coming filmmakers who will eventually tackle their first big movie. You’ve tackled so many of them. If they were in the room right now, what advice would you share with them on what to do when making your first big film?

SCOTT: Don’t do a big film. Do a small film. Grow into a big film.

But if they’ve done smaller films, and they’re now making their first big movie?

SCOTT: Then be relentless, be a jerk, and don’t give in. There will always be somebody telling you what not to do. If you’ve done a film by then, you already know a lot.

The Dog Stars is in theaters and IMAX now.

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Release Date

August 28, 2026

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Runtime

119 minutes

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