Family-movie remakes fail in a more painful way than most remakes because family movies are built on trust. You are asking an audience to laugh, feel safe, feel moved, feel wonder, and maybe even cry a little, often in the same two hours. That balance is hard. And when the original does it, the world remembers it, and the remake doesn’t, that’s a frame break then.

The good ones understand childhood vulnerability, adult exhaustion, household chaos, tenderness, longing, embarrassment, forgiveness. The bad remakes usually think the original was just the premise. Big family. Magic dog. Orphan girl. Body-swap energy. Haunted house. Wooden boy. Lion cub. They keep the title, the brand recognition, the broad mechanics, and somehow lose the emotional temperature that made people love the first version. That’s why the 10 films below are easily the worst family movie remakes ever.

9

‘Yours, Mine & Ours’ (2005)

Image via Paramount Pictures

This remake is not the most offensively bad one here, though it is a perfect example of a movie mistaking volume for warmth. Yours, Mine, & Ours is a family-comedy setup about two widowed parents combining their massive households. It should be an easy emotional win if the writing understands friction properly. Too many kids, too many habits, grief disguised as bickering, the terror of change, the weirdness of suddenly having to make room for strangers in your own home, that is real material. Instead the movie mostly goes for noise.

And that matters more than people think. Family chaos should feel specific. Each child should slightly shift the emotional balance of the house. Here, the kids mostly blur into a collective racket machine, and the conflict never grows beyond surface sabotage and sitcom escalation. Frank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid) and Helen North (Rene Russo) are both likable enough, but the screenplay keeps flattening the premise into family-friendly pandemonium instead of letting it become about the actual difficulty of blending pain, pride, and domestic identity. A good family remake would let the house feel emotionally overcrowded before it starts feeling like home. This one just keeps dropping bodies into the frame and calling it heart.

8

‘The Shaggy Dog’ (2006)

Image via Walt Disney Pictures

What always hurts these remakes is when you can see the studio logic so clearly. “Funny dad turns into dog” feels like a safe family pitch. Fine. That can work. It is broad, silly, inherently physical, and built around a child-friendly fantasy of watching adult authority collapse into humiliation. But a story like this only really works if the transformation forces something emotionally useful out of the character. The dog curse should not just create slapstick. It should expose a father who has stopped listening, stopped seeing his family clearly, or gotten trapped in some brittle adult identity that needs to be broken open.

The Shaggy Dog remake sort of knows that and never commits to it. Dave Douglas (Tim Allen) spends the movie lurching through gag after gag while the script keeps half-heartedly gesturing toward workaholic-family-man repair. The result is thin in every direction. The comedy is too processed to feel anarchic, and the emotional arc is too undercooked to give the silliness any weight. Family fantasy is often about children watching grown-ups become more human. Here it is just a man in a collapsing professional life doing dog business until the movie decides it is time to be sincere. That is not enough.

7

‘Annie’ (2014)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

A new Annie absolutely could have worked. The story is durable. It is not just spunky orphan meets rich adult. It is about hunger for stability, public performance, loneliness hiding behind power, and the emotional danger of turning a child’s life into a solution for an adult’s emptiness. The original versions endure because beneath the songs and optimism there is real ache. Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) wants a home with the intensity of somebody who has had to build hope as a survival skill.

The remake keeps brushing against that and then running back toward branding. Annie is charming, and there are moments when you feel the movie almost understands the tenderness it needs. But the writing keeps turning the entire thing into image management, campaign mechanics, corporate modernity, and update-for-update’s-sake energy. Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) is written more as a contemporary type than as a man whose life has become emotionally airless enough for Annie’s presence to matter deeply. That shift weakens the whole center. The film keeps performing uplift rather than earning it.

6

‘Overboard’ (2018)

Image via MGM

Overboard has a built-in problem no remake can fully solve: the original premise is already morally warped in a way that only survives if the movie knows exactly how strange and dangerous its fantasy logic is. A spoiled rich person losing their memory and being manipulated into domestic labor can play as romance-comedy only on a very narrow tonal edge, where class resentment, humiliation, attraction, and fantasy all interact in a knowingly unstable way. The remake changes the gender dynamics, which at least shows some awareness of the original’s baggage, but the writing still cannot really crack the deeper issue.

The central relationship never develops the prickly, risky chemistry required to make the premise feel like anything except screenplay contrivance. Kate Sullivan (Anna Faris) can do frazzled warmth in her sleep, and Leonardo “Leo” Montenegro (Eugenio Derbez) brings some comic arrogance, though the movie keeps sanding everything down into a nicer, safer, blander shape. That sounds like an improvement morally, but it is death comedically and romantically. The whole thing becomes less offensive and more forgettable, which is not a great trade when what you needed was sharpness. Family-oriented remakes often get trapped by this exact problem: they soften the wrong edges and end up with no dramatic edges left at all.

5

‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ (2022)

Image via Disney+

What makes this one especially frustrating is that big family under pressure is such a fertile territory. A good version wouldn’t just be about the number of children but about circling the impossible logistics of love at scale, every kid wanting to feel singular in a household that cannot possibly meet every need cleanly, parents trying to hold together marriage, money, order, identity, and attention all at once. There is comedy in that, yes, but also genuine low-grade heartbreak that the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen skipped.

This remake feels like it confuses relevance with writing. It updates the family structure, updates the social framing, updates the household dynamic, all fine in principle, but it never turns those updates into dramatic life. The characters feel announced rather than discovered. The family rarely gels into a chaotic organism with its own emotional weather. Instead the movie keeps lurching from point to point, eager to signal what it is about without deeply dramatizing how this many people actually strain, wound, and hold one another. A family comedy does not become richer simply because it has more modern signifiers. It becomes richer when each clash in the house feels like it belongs to that house. This one never finds that specificity.

4

‘The Witches’ (2020)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Roald Dahl adaptations are dangerous because the tone has to be exact. You need nastiness, delight, child fear, grotesque exaggeration, and real storybook menace all moving together. Too soft and you lose Dahl’s bite. Too loud and you lose the child’s-eye terror of being small in a world run by cruel, absurd adults. Nicolas Roeg’s version understood that. It felt uncanny and ugly in the right way. The witches were funny, yes, but they were also socially violating. They made the world unsafe.

The 2020’s The Witches remake turns so much of that into overstated spectacle. The Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) is swinging hard, and there is a version of this performance that could have worked inside a script with more tonal discipline around it. Instead everything feels pushed outward. The grotesque becomes busier rather than more disturbing. The story keeps explaining and elaborating when it should be tightening and poisoning the room. Even the child-transformation material, which should feel horrifying in a very primal way, gets swallowed by the film’s need to keep moving to the next piece of flamboyant business. Dahl should feel wickedly intimate. This feels inflated.

3

‘Pinocchio’ (2022)

Image via Disney

This one hurts because Pinocchio is not hard to identify conceptually. A naive being enters a world built to exploit naivety. Temptation, performance, laziness, vanity, bad adults, false freedom, moral testing, real sacrifice. It is one of the clearest fables Disney ever made. The original was a hit because every episode pressures Pinocchio’s soul in a different way. It is not merely episodic wandering. It is ethical formation through danger. The remake has the exact plot map and still feels dramatically undernourished, which is almost impressive in the worst way.

Geppetto (Tom Hanks) never gains the soulful ache he needs. Pinocchio himself looks hyper-rendered and technically there, yet the writing rarely gives him enough interior texture for his journey to matter beyond obligation. Worst of all, the story keeps flattening its own moral imagination. Pleasure Island should be terrifying because it understands that children often experience temptation as liberation before they understand consequence. Here it feels more like another checkpoint in a familiar IP itinerary. That is the recurring problem. The movie knows the stations. It does not know the fear, wonder, or sorrow that used to flow between them.

2

‘Home Sweet Home Alone’ (2021)

Image via Disney+

The original Home Alone was legendary because it takes one fantasy and one wound and locks them together perfectly. A child wants freedom from the humiliations and chaos of family life, gets it, enjoys it, then slowly discovers that freedom without love becomes eerie, and danger without adults becomes terrifying. Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin)’s traps are funny because they emerge from a child reclaiming agency inside fear. The burglars are dangerous enough to make the comedy pop and silly enough to keep the movie in family terrain. It is a miraculous balance.

Though it’s technically a sequel, Home Sweet Home Alone follows a formula so closely it’s essential a requel. It completely misses the emotional architecture. The kid is not written with the same clean mixture of irritation, vulnerability, innocence, and ingenuity, and the adults on both sides are rearranged in a way that fatally muddies the story’s energy. Once the supposed intruders are given sympathetic desperation in the wrong proportions, the whole defensive-comedy mechanism starts collapsing. The audience is left watching a child brutalize people the movie does not fully want to frame as real threats. That is disastrous writing for Home Alone. The original knew exactly who we were supposed to fear, root for, laugh at, and ache for, often all in the same sequence. This version seems confused about all of it at once.

1

‘The Lion King’ (2019)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The Lion King’s remake has to be number one because it is the purest example of a remake preserving the text while draining the life. On paper, the writing is the same, or close enough that people sometimes pretend the problem is only visual. It is not only visual. The realism approach exposes how much writing depends on expression, stylization, performance energy, musical lift, and the elasticity of animated feeling. The original is not just a sequence of plot beats about a lion cub losing his father and reclaiming his home. It is a myth written in emotional calligraphy. Every line, every song cue, every comic detour, every spiritual turn is shaped to make Simba’s shame, exile, avoidance, and return feel huge.

The remake keeps the skeleton and loses the blood. Characters say the same or similar words with less charge. Scenes arrive on schedule and land flatter. Scar’s manipulation feels smaller. Simba’s guilt feels less searing. “Hakuna Matata” becomes less a seductive philosophy of escape and more a required stop on the brand tour. Even the grandeur of return is weakened because the movie is so busy proving its realism that it cannot embrace the expressive exaggeration the story actually needs. This is why it belongs at the bottom. It proves, in the most expensive way possible, that family movies are not loved because of plot summary but because writing lives inside tone, movement, performance, rhythm, and feeling. Strip those away and you are left with a majestic-looking shell.

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The Lion King

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July 19, 2019

Runtime

118 minutes

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Writers

Jeff Nathanson

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The latest episode of “Euphoria” has viewers divided online after the show pushed even further into shocking territory with several explicit scenes involving Sydney Sweeney’s character, Cassie. Episode five of the HBO drama, titled “This Little Piggy,” followed Cassie as she fully committed to building an OnlyFans empire after separating from husband Nate, played by Jacob Elordi.

Throughout the episode, Cassie filmed increasingly provocative fetish content while friend Alexa Demie’s Maddy Perez helped manage and produce her growing online persona. The episode featured a string of highly sexualized scenes, including fetish-themed videos, roleplay content, and podcast appearances designed to boost Cassie’s online following.

Much of the episode focused on Cassie’s rapid rise as an online creator after leaving home to financially support herself. Maddy repeatedly encouraged her to lean into controversy and attention online, telling Cassie at one point, “The angrier these idiots get, the more money you make.” As Cassie’s subscriber count skyrocketed, the show depicted her filming increasingly bizarre and provocative requests from paying clients.

The episode also explored the emotional toll behind the attention, with Cassie still struggling emotionally over Nate despite her growing success online. Maddy eventually confronted her for continuing to financially support him, warning that he was becoming a “bread loser” rather than a “breadwinner.”

Wild Fantasy Sequence Became One Of The Episode’s Biggest Talking Points

One of the episode’s most talked-about moments arrived during a surreal fantasy sequence inspired by the 1958 cult film “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.” In the sequence, Cassie transformed into a giant version of herself towering over the city before interacting with a fan watching her online content through a window.

The bizarre scene immediately sparked reactions online, with many viewers calling it one of the most over-the-top moments in the series so far. Some viewers described the episode as “disturbing,” while others accused creator Sam Levinson of prioritizing shock value over storytelling and for “going too far.”

“They got Sydney Sweeney doing Godzilla p-rn on ‘Euphoria.’ wrap this sh-t up man,” someone else expressed. “I don’t know sh-t about ‘Euphoria,’ but I do know my mom watched last night’s episode full blast in front of everyone,” another said. “You are not alone in being weirded out by Sydney Sweeney’s giantess p-rn.”

Sam Levinson Previously Addressed Cassie’s OnlyFans Storyline

Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie Howard has been at the center of some of “Euphoria” Season 3’s most talked-about moments, thanks in large part to her increasingly chaotic OnlyFans storyline.

Throughout the season, Cassie has leaned fully into bizarre online personas while trying to grow her subscriber base, from posing with dog ears inside a makeshift “dog house” to filming baby-themed content complete with pigtails. At one point, her housekeeper, Juana, was even pulled into helping shoot the videos before Alexa Demie’s Maddy Perez eventually took over as Cassie’s manager.

As backlash surrounding the storyline continues to grow online, creator Sam Levinson previously weighed in on the creative direction during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humor, but what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it,” Levinson said.

Sydney Sweeney Previously Shut Down Criticism Over ‘Euphoria’ Backlash

Long before Cassie’s controversial OnlyFans storyline sparked debate online, Sydney Sweeney was already defending “Euphoria” against criticism surrounding some of the show’s more graphic and provocative scenes.

Back in 2023, the actress addressed the backlash head-on during a cover interview with Variety, making it clear that she and her co-stars were never afraid to speak up if something crossed a line. “You have me, you have Zendaya, you have all of these very strong-minded, independent women. If we didn’t feel comfortable with something, or we saw something we didn’t like, we’d all speak up,” Sweeney said.

‘Euphoria’ Season 3 Finale Set To Make HBO History

As if Episode 5’s horrifying ending wasn’t enough to leave fans shaken, HBO has now confirmed that the Euphoria Season 3 finale is about to make television history. According to the network, the upcoming finale will run a staggering 93 minutes, officially making it the longest TV episode HBO has ever aired.

The supersized finale will break records previously held by “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon.” For comparison, “Game of Thrones”‘ longest episode, Season 8’s “The Long Night,” came in at 82 minutes, while “House of the Dragon”’s Season 2 finale ran 73 minutes.

Viva Vanderpump! Sin City is about to get a little more glam, thanks to Lisa Vanderpump.

“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star is bringing her brand of glamour, drama, and decadence to the world-famous Las Vegas Strip with a new limited series reality show that gives a behind-the-scenes peek at what it takes to open a hotel with the famous Vanderpump name.

The “Vanderpump Rules” spin off will give fans a look at her newest business, The Vanderpump Hotel, as it gears up for opening day, something fans near and far are anxiously awaiting.

On Monday, May 11, Bravo announced Vanderpump’s newest venture during NBCUniversal’s 2026 Upfront presentation. “Vanderpump Rules: Lisa Las Vegas” will take fans behind the scenes as Vanderpump’s new hotel gets ready to open to the public.

“Lisa Vanderpump has been ruling over the Las Vegas Strip for years now, with three hotspot restaurants serving up chic cocktails in her signature whimsical settings,” the official Bravo description reads. “Now she is expanding her Vegas empire through the opening of her high profile namesake hotel.”

It continues, “In this limited series, we follow the behind-the-scenes dash to make the property worthy of the Vanderpump brand. LVP shares what inspired her newest enterprise and pulls back the curtain on the down-to-the-wire drama.”

The series will culminate at the hotel’s opening party, and of course, there will be fan-favorite Bravolebrities in the house to celebrate alongside Vanderpump.

The Vanderpump Hotel Is Gearing Up For Opening Day

Sin City is about to get even more glam thanks to Vanderpump!

The Vanderpump Hotel has been the talk of the town for months now, as it reimagines The Cromwell into a reality TV worthy place to spend nights unwinding and refreshing while visiting Sin City. And of course, Vanderpump is bringing her signature style to every part of this hotel. The reality TV star has a hand in glamming up everything from the in-room amenities to the casino floor, rooms, and everything in between.

The website has a special message for fans from Vanderpump.

“Well My Darlings, We’re almost ready. You’ve been sitting at my tables for years. You’ve let me feed you, pour for you, and send you home full and happy. But here’s the thing that’s been quietly keeping me up at night: you had to leave,” the message on the homepage reads. “So. I did something about it. Welcome to my little love letter in Las Vegas — an intimate boutique hotel that is, in every way, an extension of everything I’ve always believed in: beauty, warmth, and the feeling that someone genuinely thought about you before you arrived. You don’t have to go home anymore, you can stay.”

The New Hotel Will Have The Reality Star’s Signature Touches

The property will feature custom furnishings and lighting crafted exclusively by Vanderpump Alain, and fans will absolutely notice personal touches around the property from Vanderpump herself.

“Lisa’s passion for creating unforgettable destinations is unmatched, and it’s exciting to see her continuing to make her mark on Las Vegas with a boutique hotel that now bears her name,” said Sean McBurney, Chief Commercial Officer and Regional President of Caesars Entertainment. “Lisa has proven how distinctively she can transform a space with each restaurant she opens, and The Vanderpump Hotel builds on that vision in an entirely new way. Guests from around the world will soon be able to experience her signature style, elegant taste and meticulous design detail through a hotel experience unlike anything else on The Strip.”

When the hotel was first announced, Vanderpump shared her vision via a press release sent to The Blast.

“Taking the next step from restaurateur to hotelier and partnering once again with Caesars Entertainment on another extraordinary project has been such an exciting chapter for me,” Vanderpump said, according to the press release. “Our vision was to create a room that feels like a true retreat, a calming escape just steps from the energy and excitement of the casino floor. The guest rooms are as beautiful as they are serene.”

The Reality Star is Not New To Vegas

The Vanderpump Hotel isn’t the reality star’s first venture in Las Vegas. A longtime presence in the city, she’s now expanding her empire from bars and restaurants into the hotel space.

The hotel business may be new territory for Vanderpump, but fans, Vegas locals, and visitors to the city know all about her trendy bars and restaurants.

She opened Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesars Palace in March 2019, Vanderpump à Paris at Paris Las Vegas in April 2022, and Pinky’s by Vanderpump at Flamingo Las Vegas in December 2024.

Fans Are Ready To Visit Vegas And Stay At The New Hotel

The new hotel already has an Instagram page with more than 28,000 followers. The page description reads, “Unique, boutique & unmistakably Lisa Vanderpump. Now welcoming May arrivals to Las Vegas.”

While they haven’t posted much to the page just yet, there are some little peeks at what people can expect. Vegas businesses and fans have taken to the comment sections to leave their thoughts.

The official Vegas Instagram page wrote, “This feels very meant to be.” Gordon Ramsay, fellow Vegas restaurant owner, said, “Can’t wait to see.” Caesars Palace wrote, “Welcome, neighbor.”

“All of my girly dreams have come true,” one viewer wrote. Another added, “The Queen does it again!!”

The hotel is currently taking reservations on the website.

Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.Marvel has had a rocky road with their Disney+ original shows, but there have been a few bright spots lately, specifically with the return of Daredevil. 2025 introduced Daredevil: Born Again, which reintroduces fans to the titular hero and his exploits in the MCU. However, this darker and tragic series is all about power, which comes in many shapes and sizes, but one of the most interesting is strength, as this is a superhero show.

Superhero series are all about the heroes and beating up bad guys, and while Daredevil: Born Again is much more nuanced than that, fans do still love a good brawl. That is why this list will rank the strongest characters who have appeared in the first two seasons of Daredevil: Born Again based on known feats, fighting potential, memorable moments, powers, abilities, and overall strength. Uatu the Watcher technically appeared, but this list will exclude him since he didn’t fully appear.

10

Angela Del Toro (White Tiger II)

Played by Camila Rodriguez

Image via Disney+

Fans want to see more superheroes, and Daredevil: Born Again has already introduced a younger hero with lots of potential. After the death of her uncle, Angela Del Toro (Camila Rodriguez) took up the mantle of White Tiger, hoping to assist in the fight alongside Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Daredevil (Charlie Cox).

Some of the strongest characters in this series are vigilantes, but Angela is still young and lacks experience, putting her at the bottom of this list. However, the power of the amulet is strong, giving her superhuman speed, strength, and agility. White Tiger II is a fan-favorite comic character with lots of potential in the MCU, and Daredevil: Born Again is only the start of her story.

9

Jack Duquesne (Swordsman)

Played by Tony Dalton

Image via Disney+

Mayor Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) had united New York City because of his hard stance on vigilantes, and his first example was going to be Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton), a rich socialite who becomes the Swordsman at night. He was smeared during the days leading up to the trial, but after escaping custody, he supplied Daredevil and the resistance with endless funds.

Initially introduced in Hawkeye, one of the best superhero TV shows, Swordsman is a fun character and a decently powerful vigilante. His sword-fighting technique is elegant and strong, able to fend off armed guards with ease. Swordsman may not be one of the strongest characters, but he is a street-level threat who handles crime with grace.

8

Bastian Cooper (Muse)

Played by Hunter Doohan

Image via Disney+

Kingpin has always been the main villain in Daredevil, but Daredevil: Born Again introduced a new threat, Muse (Hunter Doohan). This serial killer has a twisted passion for art, using the blood of his victims to create his masterpieces. Underneath the mask, Bastian Cooper is a martial arts master with a twisted fascination for his therapist, Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva).

Fans didn’t expect this serial killer to be that proficient a fighter, but his martial arts past made him a formidable foe who fought toe to toe with Daredevil. Muse was an excellent Daredevil villain who could have been handled better, but his lasting impact in season two shows potential. Daredevil: Born Again could use some more villains, and Muse proves that by being a terrifying enemy.

7

Buck Cashman

Played by Arty Froushan

Image via Disney+

Kingpin always has a right-hand man to do his dirty work. In the original series, it was Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore), and in this one, it is Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan). This former British operative found new work in the American underworld, and while he seems cold, calculated, and dedicated to the job, he had a budding friendship with Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini).

Buck isn’t a vigilante or superhero. In fact, he doesn’t have any abilities whatsoever, but superpowers are overrated, as he has proven to be the most effective character in the series. With just a gun and a sense of purpose, Buck has handled countless characters, even if they aren’t superpowered. Even so, he can probably handle some heroes or vigilantes because he has never failed a job.

6

Hector Ayala (White Tiger)

Played by Kamar de los Reyes

Image via Disney+

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As mentioned earlier in this list, Angela Del Toro is the new White Tiger, but her predecessor, Hector Ayala (Kamar de los Reyes), is also one of the strongest characters in Daredevil: Born Again. Season 1 had a few vigilantes, and one of the most interesting was White Tiger, who possesses an amulet that enhances his strength. While he was let go after trial, he was murdered after court by a task force member.

Hector Ayala doesn’t have an extensive combat history, but the amulet is the source of his power, and it instantly made him a powerful vigilante. With plenty of crime-fighting experience, White Tiger would be able to beat any normal person and maybe some actual vigilantes, but as proven by his final appearance, he can be killed fairly easily.

5

Jessica Jones

Played by Krysten Ritter

Image via Disney+

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The Marvel Netflix shows were fantastic, and one of the best was Jessica Jones, so it was only a matter of time until the titular hero appeared in the MCU. Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again introduced Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) by having her take down a group of mercenaries sent after her and her daughter. Now teaming up with Daredevil, it seems her powers are fading.

Jessica Jones is the most complicated character to rank, because normally she would easily be number one, but the second season introduced her powers fading in and out. This complicates matters since she isn’t consistently powerful. However, Jessica Jones is still shown to be powerful, ruthless, and more than capable. Her power fluctuations put her lower than expected, but she is still one of the strongest characters in Daredevil: Born Again.

4

Benjamin Pointdexter (Bullseye)

Played by Wilson Bethel

Image via Disney+

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One of the most surprising storylines of Daredevil: Born Again is Bullseye’s (Wilson Bethel) redemption arc, and while he may never be fully redeemed, fans are happy to see him working with Daredevil. After killing Foggy (Elden Henson) at the beginning of the first season, Bullseye has his sights set on Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer) after she tried having him killed, and the mayor.

Bullseye doesn’t have any enhanced strength, but his military experience makes him a proficient fighter. However, his main superpower is his inhuman aim and precision, which allows him to make any household object a lethal weapon. Bullseye is one of the greatest MCU villains, and this season has further proven his storytelling potential alongside his skills that make him a strong Marvel character.

3

Frank Castle (Punisher)

Played by Jon Bernthal

Image via Disney+

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Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), also known as the Punisher, is a lethal vigilante who briefly appeared in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again. However, his absence in Season 2 has left fans wondering where he is, but they are soon to find out with The Punisher: One Last Kill and Spider-Man: Brand New Day set to feature the vigilante and highlight what he has been up to.

The top of this list can go any way, with each character having their own strengths, but Punisher’s brute strength and unrelenting motivation make him more dangerous than most. With a massive kill count, Frank Castle is one of the most effective anti-heroes in the MCU, and he has further established himself in Daredevil: Born Again. Fans can’t wait to see what the Punisher does in One Last Kill.

2

Matt Murdock (Daredevil)

Played by Charlie Cox

At long last, the star himself finally appears on this list, which is only natural since Daredevil is one of the strongest street-level vigilantes. After losing Foggy Nelson, Matt nearly killed Bullseye, sending him into a reclusive state, focusing solely on the law. However, with Fisk now running for mayor, the only way to stop him is for Daredevil to return.

Daredevil: Born Again is one of the best MCU TV shows, and it is all because of the titular hero and his desperate style that feels grittier, raw, and more dangerous. This unhinged fighting, when paired with his enhanced senses and expert combat skills, creates one of the most powerful street-level characters Marvel has to offer. This season has further shown his unrelenting desire for justice that he will have to achieve through his skills as a hero.

1

Wilson Fisk (Kingpin)

Played by Vincent D’Onofrio

Image via Disney+

If Daredevil is the second-strongest character in his own show, then the only one stronger must be the main villain, which is, of course, Kingpin. The king of street-level crime himself has worked his way up to becoming mayor of New York City, and while his initiative to clean up the streets of vigilantes has won public favor, his own goals are something much darker.

Daredevil and Kingpin are relatively interchangeable, but the latter takes the edge because of his increased training and display of feats, which puts him equal to many heroes. His brute strength seems superhuman, and his cunning ploys mixed with his brutal style make him even more dangerous. Plus, after losing Vanessa, he has nothing holding him back, making him one of the most dangerous characters in the MCU.

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Daredevil: Born Again

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Release Date

March 4, 2025

Network

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Disney+

Showrunner

Dario Scardapane

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Directors

Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff

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It’s on, Bravo fans! During NBC’s annual Upfront event, the network made huge announcements about the status of some of its most exciting shows. In addition to the return of Bravo staples, including “Married to Medicine” and “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” the Bravosphere is in for even more fun, as a few new series were revealed as well. And that’s not all, as the network is gearing up for the return of major players, including NeNe Leakes and Vicki Gunvalson. Check it out below.

NBC’s annual Upfronts events always bring good news, and today was no different. According to Bravo’s The Daily Dish, several of the network’s biggest series were renewed for additional seasons.

In addition to the productions mentioned above, “Summer House,” “Below Deck Down Under,” “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” “Southern Charm,” “The Valley: Persian Style,” “Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition,” and “Top Chef” received series renewals.

Other shows, such as “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” “The Real Housewives of New York City,” and “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” had earlier renewal announcements, according to The Blast.

Bravo Has A Stacked Lineup For The Summer 2026 Slate

A handful of shows will also make a splash in Bravo’s summer 2026 lineup. The “Summer House” spin-off, “In The City,” starring Kyle Cooke, Lindsay Hubbard, and Amanda Batula, will premiere in the coming weeks, while “The McBee Dynasty,” “Below Deck Mediterranean,” and “The Real Housewives of Orange County” will air in June and July 2026.

Speaking of Orange County, the new batch of episodes will include Gunvalson as a full-time cast member. For those unfamiliar, the OG of the OC was fired from the network back in 2020. Cohen, however, offered her a spot on the main cast during BravoCon 2025, according to The Blast.

“… I miss filming. I missed my girls. I missed the joy of being an Orange County Housewife,” she said.

Leakes Is Returning To Bravo After Many Years Away In August 2026

Along with Gunvalson, Leakes is also making her grand return to Bravo after leaving “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” in 2020. While Leakes will not be a full-time cast member on any show (yet), the outspoken reality star will be featured in the franchise’s 20th-anniversary spin-off, “Roaring 20th.”

The program will follow “a group of beloved Housewives from across the years embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, making their way through some of the most memorable locations in the franchise’s history,” according to a press release.

Throughout the episodes, the ladies will travel from Orange County, ending on the East Coast. Each episode will also feature appearances from fan favorites who will “pay tribute to the past, embrace the present, and look toward the many miles still ahead.”

Leakes will have a heavy presence in the Atlanta episode, according to The Blast. Her appearance came as a surprise to many viewers, given that the 58-year-old had sued the network for racial discrimination.

Despite that, both parties were able to come together for a greater cause. “People are very happy about it. Listen, we are going to be celebrating 20 years of Housewives, and it would be hard not to without her, and so I’m happy about it,” Cohen said.

“This has been a really long, long journey, and gosh, I’m happy, overjoyed to say that I will be returning to Bravo. I almost can’t believe the words that are coming out of my mouth. I’m so happy. I’m excited to see all of you girls. It’s going to be a time. Yes! B-tches, I am back. Now pick your faces off the floor. OK!? See you on Bravo. Love you,” Leakes shared.

‘Next Gen NYC’ Is Coming Back For Season 2

Bravo lovers can also expect to see more of the “Next Gen NYC” cast when the series returns to the network with new episodes on June 24th at 9 PM EST.

Season 2 will feature returners Ariana Biermann, Riley Burruss, Emira D’Spain, Brooks Marks, Ava Dash, Gia Giudice, Georgia McCann, Charlie Cakkour, Shai Fruchter, and Hudson McLeroy. They will be joined by newcomers Rowan Henchy, Liam Obergfoll, and Kendall White.

Based on the series synopsis, the new slate of episodes is “anything but chill.” The cast will take viewers on a ride, as they touch on “lingering scandals,” navigate “messy breakups,” and the ever-changing dynamics within their friendships.

“Eager to carve out their own identities, they’re determined to make it on their own terms while also navigating the pressure to curate the right vibe, the right circles, and a feed that keeps up with the life they’re chasing. In a world driven by image, ambition, and constant visibility, they quickly learn that making it is one thing — holding onto it, and each other, is another,” the description continued.

Brand New Shows Will Premiere On The Network Soon

Adding even more excitement to the Upfronts, Bravo announced brand-new shows coming to the network, including Lisa Vanderpump’s “Lisa Las Vegas” and “Secrets, Lies, and Texas Wives.”

Vanderpump’s series will follow the restaurateur as she opens her first hotel on the famous Las Vegas Strip, while the latter will follow a “tight-knit circle of glamorous women” raising families, running ranches, and balancing their hectic schedules as Southern socialites.

University of Missouri football star Ahmad Hardy is in stable condition after being shot at a concert in Mississippi on Sunday, May 10, the school has confirmed.

“Ahmad is deeply loved by his teammates, coaches, friends, family and fans,” the Tigers’ athletic department wrote in a statement shared via social media on Monday, May 11. “We will continue to stand beside him and his family through this difficult time, offering our love, prayers, strength and support.”

The statement continued, “A timeline for his return to football activities is unknown at this time. Mizzou Athletics will provide more information on his status when it becomes available.”

Hardy, 20, is “alert” and “moving around,” as of Monday morning, a source told ESPN’s Pete Thamel, adding there is “optimism that he will play football again.”

Related: Ole Miss Football Player Corey Adams Dead at 18 After Fatal Shooting

Collegiate football star Corey Adams has died. He was 18. “We are devastated to learn that Corey Adams, a freshman on the team, passed away last night in Cordova, Tennessee,” a Sunday, July 20, statement from the University of Mississippi’s football team read. “While our program is trying to cope with this tragic loss, our […]

Hardy is a running back for the Tigers and in 2025, his first season with the program, led the team in rushing yards, carries and touchdowns. He topped 100 yards in each of his first five games with Missouri last season, earning the Doak Walker Award for the National Player of the Week in Week 3 after rushing for three touchdowns against the University of Louisiana.

Before transferring to Missouri, Hardy spent his freshman season at the University of Louisiana Monroe, where he was named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the all-conference first team.

The shooting comes less than two months after he welcomed his first child, son Ahmad Hardy Jr. He shared a photo of himself holding the newborn via X on March 2, writing, “Welcome : Ahmad hardy jr 💙🫶🏾,” alongside the pic.

“No feeling like it,” he told 247Sports in March. “I love my son. I can’t wait to see him today.”

The school has not said what concert Hardy was attending, but the rising junior is an Ona, Mississippi native. His Mississippi roots gave Missouri’s game against Mississippi State University last season extra meaning, as he rushed for a career-high 300 yards and three touchdowns.

Related: LSU Football Alum Devonta Lee Dead at 26, Mother Reveals Tragic Detail

Former Louisiana State University football player Devonta Lee has died after a years-long battle with cancer, his mother, Lacresia Brown, confirmed to local Arkansas TV station KTVE on Thursday, February 26. He was 26. Lee played three seasons at LSU from 2019 to 2021, winning a national championship with the Tigers as a true freshman. […]

“I’m from Mississippi,” Hardy told reporters at the time. “A lot of teams didn’t recruit me coming out of high school, so it was kind of personal. But then, again, like I told the guys, the seniors, I was doing it for them.”

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In addition to being a standout football player, Hardy is also an accomplished horse trainer. He owns four of them and told 247 that when his playing days are over, he hopes to become a vet.

“Whenever I get done playing, I’ll probably train horses for the rest of my life,” he added.

The Tigers will open the 2026 season on September 3, at home against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

James Cameron is not only one of the most successful filmmakers of all-time, but also a major Hollywood innovator who revolutionized visual effects and created the template for what is considered to be a modern blockbuster. Even though Cameron pushed the boundaries of what was possible with the science fiction genre, True Lies was a spy film that predated the ’90s resurgence of the genre when James Bond returned in Goldeneye a year later, and Tom Cruise starred in Mission: Impossible a year after that. Even though Cameron had already forged a relationship with Arnold Schwarzenegger through their work on The Terminator and its sequel, True Lies asked the Austrian action star to step outside of his comfort zone and play a flawed family man. The result was a film that offered all the action and spectacle that a summer blockbuster necessitated, but also included a surplus of heart.

Schwarzenegger’s plays Harry Tasker in True Lies, an international secret agent who has to mask his identity by pretending to be a lowly computer hardware salesman to everyone, even his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) and their daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku). It’s amidst his pursuit of an international terrorist organization that True Lies merges its espionage storyline with the family comedy, as Harry’s attempts to rekindle his marriage go disastrously awry. True Lies is a rarity because it is genuinely suspenseful, even if much of the humor feels fairly tongue-in-cheek. It’s also a feat of technical wizardry that has aged well because how it utilizes filmmaking components that aren’t entirely reliant on visual effects.

‘True Lies’ Was a Self-Aware Espionage Thriller

Cameron is often not given nearly enough credit for his skills as a writer, as True Lies is very clever in how it creates tension between Harry and Helen. Harry has to make his life seem as boring and uneventful as possible in order to avoid attracting suspicion, which only makes Helen believe that he isn’t being emotionally engaged with her; it wouldn’t make sense for someone in a fairly mundane line of work to be involved in so many international trips, especially when he doesn’t really explain to her what his work entails. Helen understands that Harry has been withholding, which she perceives as disinterest. Although the ‘90s were an era in which cheating was stigmatized in films, Helen’s willingness to have an affair with the shady car salesman Simon (Bill Paxton) is a genuinely heartbreaking moment for Harry when he realizes that he hasn’t been there for his family.

Even though Cameron had given Schwarzenegger his most famous role with the T-1000 in The Terminator, True Lies featured a more challenging performance because he had to show vulnerability. Few movie stars in the history of Hollywood have had as much charisma as Schwarzenegger, but Harry is a character who is flawed as both a husband and a spy, as he often assumes that he has to bottle his emotions and prevent others from helping him. The beauty of the film is that Harry unlocks his potential to be a better hero by working alongside Helen, and that they become closer as a couple as a result of saving the world together. Cameron has frequently put empowered female characters at the center of his films, and True Lies was one of his many blockbusters that prominently included themes of maternity. Helen isn’t weakened in any way by the fact that she is a mother, as it’s her love for their daughter Dana that gives her even more strength and courage to do the right thing.

‘True Lies’ Is Pure ‘90s Escapism

The chemistry between Schwarzenegger and Curtis is remarkable, but True Lies has a stacked cast filled with great actors, ensuring that each of the most minor characters has something memorable to do. Paxton is genuinely hilarious as a complete scumbag, showing once again why he was such a great collaborator with Cameron. Tom Arnold also provides a lot of humor to the film with his role as Harry’s partner, but he has a critical role in the story itself, and is not solely utilized for comic relief. Art Malik, who had previously played the main villain in the Bond film The Living Daylights, is also perfect as the antagonist Salim Abu Aziz — there’s often a tendency to give bad guys some sort of tragic backstory, but True Lies simply presents a villain who is evil for the sake of it.

Even though Cameron has not ended his reign as the “King of Blockbusters,” as the recent success of Avatar: Fire and Ash indicates, True Lies feels like a film that couldn’t be made today. It was based on an obscure French comedy, but was presented to audiences as an original story that wasn’t part of an established franchise. The movie was carried by the weight of its leads in Curtis and Schwarzenegger, and few could sell a film of this size purely on their involvement. There’s also the fact that True Lies felt a bit more innocent in its depiction of terrorism and urban devastation, and has been colored in a completely different context in the aftermath of 9/11. Although there has been no shortage of fans that have begged Cameron to consider making a sequel, True Lies may be a product of the ‘90s that will never be replicated.

Bold and the Beautiful 2-Week Spoilers for May 11-22 2026 see Hope Logan (Annika Noelle) scrambling with a dirty new plan to screw over Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), but her stepsister hits back hard.

Bold and the Beautiful Spoilers for Monday, May 11th: Liam Afraid Hope Will Back Down

Monday, May 11th, we’ve got Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) worried that Hope is having doubts and second-guessing herself and her future. He doesn’t think she’s appreciated at Forrester Creations, and he really wants her out from under Steffy’s thumb. But if you think about it, Hope has literally never worked anywhere else. Not that I can remember. So, I’m sure there’s some trepidation about going into the unknown.

Plus, this week she tells Liam that she is very proud of Hope for the Future and says that she’s going to fight for it. So, basically, Hope wants everything to go her way and, you know, once again, she’s willing to shake up the power structure at Forrester Creations to get what she wants, which is Hope for the Future back online. And, you know, Steffy’s right. She’s not a team player. But also, Hope is right to some extent because I think Steffy is enjoying taking a personal slap at Hope.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge Gets an Offer

Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) gets an offer he can’t refuse from Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang). She’s trying to seduce Ridge into giving her Steffy’s job. Now, Brooke knows Ridge doesn’t have the Forrester shares to force this change. And Brooke told Hope she doesn’t want to mess up Ridge and Steffy’s relationship. Yet, that’s exactly what Brooke is doing. And she won’t stop pushing until Ridge agrees to try. So Brooke is pressing Ridge to give Steffy a new title and then put Brooke in her place. But co-CEO is where the decisions are made. So where exactly is she suggesting they put Steffy? In marketing, finance, something like that. If Brooke gets her way, Steffy could end up ranking lower than COO Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor). And you know, Hope would love that.

Donna Logan (Jennifer Gareis) tries to get Katie Logan (Heather Tom) to put the Logan family above business. Donna really doesn’t want Katie to hire Hope because she knows Brooke will lose it. Little do they know, Hope’s trying to start a Forrester civil war on top of the Logan civil war that is already raging.

Tuesday, May 12th on B&B: Brooke Seduces Ridge & Steffy is Blindsided

Tuesday, May 12th, Brooke shows Hope a different side of herself. Maybe a more ruthless side, fighting for her, you know, what she wants selfishly. I wonder if Brooke’s going to try and play the destiny card and tell Ridge that it’s their fate to run Forrester Creations together like his parents did. Basically, Brooke’s using every manipulative tool in her tool belt, which is under her lingerie. You know, she is trying so hard to bend Ridge to her will. And I’m very bothered that she’s using her sexuality to do it. However, that’s in line with her character. So yeah, not surprised.

Steffy’s caught off guard when Ridge approaches her with this Brooke nonsense. Steffy tells Ridge that Brooke has earned her spot at Forrester in terms of being in management, but Steffy makes it very clear that Brooke will not get her job, and Steffy demands that Ridge tell her he understands that Brooke can’t just make this power grab. This week, after the tense Steffy chat, Ridge reports back to Brooke at the Logan Mansion, and she looks none too pleased at Ridge’s lack of progress with forcing Steffy out so she can take her job on Bold and the Beautiful.

Bold and the Beautiful Spoilers Wednesday, May 13th: Brooke & Hope Move Forward

Wednesday, May 13th, Hope and Brooke make a new path forward. If she tells Hope that Ridge talked to Steffy, who pushed back hard, I could see Hope telling Brooke they need to push forward, find another way, and that means going to Eric Forrester (John McCook) to convince him to use his shares to side with Ridge so that they can knock Steffy aside. With Eric, they could make it happen. Brooke may even ask Donna to help her sway Eric, although I don’t know if Donna’s going to be on board with that.

After Steffy’s understandable negative reaction to being asked to just hand her job to Brooke, we are going to have Ridge facing some doubts. Steffy might make Ridge doubt Brooke since what she demanded that he do by pushing Steffy out in favor of Brooke is pretty unreasonable. And I’m guessing Steffy knows the root of this problem is Hope and her line. So, Ridge may tell Steffy if she hadn’t laughed in Hope’s face, things might not have gone this far.

Thursday, May 14th on Bold and the Beautiful: Bill & Katie Worry

Thursday, May 14th, we’ve got Katie and Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) actually concerned about Brooke’s power grab. So, I wonder if they worry that she will convince Ridge to set Steffy aside, which means that Hope might stay at Forrester Creations when they want her to join them at Logan. Plus, Miss Dylan (Sydney Bullock) gets a formal new job offer at Forrester Creations. If she accepts, she’ll be working with Daphne Rose (Murielle Hilaire) on the fragrance line as her assistant. And obviously, she’s going to say yes.

This week, Remy Pryce (Christian Weissmann) is back up to Forrester, peeking through an office door, looking stunned as Dylan and Electra Forrester (Laneya Grace) are chatting and happily hugging like best friends again. I expect more threats from Remy after he sees this because it’s something he can use to leverage and basically tell Dylan, “Go do this Deke Sharpe (Harrison Cone) thing or else I’m going to ruin what you have rebuilt with Electra.”

Bold Spoilers for Friday, May 15th: Hope’s Using Brooke

Then on Friday, May 15th, Brooke hopes that Ridge will make the right choice. Brooke has decided she is the right choice and that Steffy is the wrong choice. But to be honest, Brooke pulling this because Hope got her worked up is not only beyond the pale, although I can see how Steffy’s owed a bit of heat for targeting Hope personally. But to me, this is looking like a total redo of the coup plot, but with a twist. It’s Brooke being used by Hope this time instead of her using Carter. And I wonder if Steffy is gonna fire Hope because she realizes she is behind this, which would only amp Brooke up more.

Zende Forrester‘s (Delon de Metz) frustrated with his job at Forrester Creations. Steffy said that Zende is a team player for understanding the focus on Eric’s new couture line, but it seems like Zende was bottling things up because he snaps and furiously tells Carter that he designed an entire collection that’s never going to see the light of day. So, I wonder if the COO reassures Zende and agrees that yes, it’s an issue or he may just throw Steffy under the bus and say it shouldn’t have gone like this.

Week of May 18th-22nd on B&B

All right, the week of May 18th through the 22nd, the very last day of May sweeps, by the way, is Wednesday, May 20th. Zende is close to a breaking point this week. And I wonder if Hope will enlist him and ask Zende to tell Ridge that Brooke should replace Steffy. You know, Hope may be doing some campaigning behind Steffy’s back to try and encourage Ridge to appoint Brooke co-CEO. Dylan is excited about her new job with Daphne on the fragrance line, but Remy could ruin everything, and Dylan may soon have to go reluctantly talk to Deke on Remy’s behalf. But of course, Dylan needs to hide that she’s his cousin, or it’ll all seem very suspect.

Bill and Katie may try to sweeten the deal for Hope to lure her over to Logan. I wonder if Katie will support Brooke or talk smack about her trying to grab Steffy’s job since Brooke has been so mean to Katie lately. Eric may find himself in a very tough position stuck between Brooke and Steffy.

I’m not sure that Ridge would ask his dad to take sides, but I’m betting Brooke and also Hope would ask him to take sides. Look for an update on Daphne and Carter’s baby making plans. Hopefully, we’ll get an update on Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig) and Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) soon. Donna is nerve-wracked about what lies ahead and Steffy and Hope’s feud is back and worse than ever.

By TeeJay Small
| Published 20 seconds ago

FX’s The Bear is one of the most frustrating shows on TV right now. After delivering two seasons of top-tier television, the show seemingly went too mainstream, causing a series of behind-the-scenes issues which effectively ruined both season three and four, in my opinion. Thanks to studio interference and writer turnover, the narrative of The Bear has completely stagnated over the past few years, resulting in long, drawn-out montage sequences, season-long arcs that go nowhere, and a show that focuses more on “vibes” than strong characters and interesting material.

On occasion, The Bear will do a standalone episode that isolates these issues and gets us back on track. Season three’s flashback episode “Napkins,” which focuses entirely on Tina, is a great example of this. Likewise, the brand new spin-off episode “Gary,” which has been released on Hulu as a standalone project, manages to cut out all of the most annoying parts of The Bear, including the presence of its protagonist, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), and give us something we can actually enjoy watching.

No Carmy? No Problem!

At its core, The Bear is a show about a struggling restaurant run by a whiny little emotionally stunted crybaby named Carmy. Despite being an exceptionally talented chef, Carmy is tormented by his trauma, which includes his mother’s bipolar disorder, emotional abuse from his former boss, and the loss of his brother, Mikey, who took his own life before the narrative kicked off. I’m not trying to minimize any of these things, because that’s obviously a lot for a person to take on. Still, I just don’t buy Carmy’s emotional process, which offers a lot of cinematic style over substance.

In the first season, Carmy frequently clashes with fan-favorite character Richie, portrayed by Fantastic Four‘s Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Richie was Mikey’s best friend before he died, and he carries a massive chip on his shoulder. In “Gary,” we get to see a bit more of that relationship during the good old days, before everything fell apart. We’ve caught glimpses of this before via brief flashbacks, but we’ve never had this much time to sit with the lifelong friends and watch them develop their bond, which is central to The Bear’s tone.

A True Bromance Breakdown

“Gary” specifically follows Richie and Mikey (Jon Bernthal) as they embark upon a road trip from Chicago to Gary, Indiana. On the way, they jam out to some tunes, share a few laughs, and even find themselves in an emotional tug-of-war that recontextualizes some of Richie’s edgiest moments from the first season of The Bear. By the end of the hour-long special, we see just how codependent their relationship had become, and how their relationship was challenged by Mikey’s worsening drug addiction. For my money, it’s the best thing to come out of the show since season two’s “Fishes.”

One of the reasons that “Gary” works so well is that the special eliminates Carmy as a character. Fans of The Bear have complained for years that Carmy is the least interesting element of the show, especially since his entire arc now revolves around this idiotic idea that no man has the ability to manage a job and a girlfriend at the same time. Truly revolutionary stuff. Instead of focusing on a guy that really just needs to go to therapy, “Gary” highlights a pair of relatable men who are stunted by their own bromance with each other, and unable to let it go due to their own self mythologizing nostalgia.

A Creative Partnership That Makes Sense

Another reason that “Gary” feels like such a breath of fresh air is that the special was actually written by Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal themselves. The pair of actors have incredible chemistry together both as performers and creative minds, which can likely be attributed to their many shared projects.

Before they were best buds on The Bear, Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal played another dynamic duo in Netflix’s The Punisher series. Since then, they have maintained a real-life friendship and performed on stage together multiple times. They’re currently slated to lead a Broadway rendition of Dog Day Afternoon together in June.

“Gary” feels like the first step in getting The Bear back on track. The special has tons of heart, some amazing feel-good moments, and a fair share of gut-punches that perfectly deliver on what made the first two seasons of the series work. Now that we know season five will be the show’s last, we can only hope that Christopher Storer and crew conclude things gracefully, with enough love and care for the characters to reach “Gary’s” high-water mark. “Gary” is streaming on Hulu now.