Simone Biles is the GOAT for many reasons, including her game day style.

Biles has been husband Jonathan Owens’ No. 1 cheerleader ever since they started dating in 2020.

“[I] had been on the [dating app Raya] for a couple days and then she pops up. I’m like, ‘Lemme see who this is,’” Owens, who played for the Houston Texans at the time, said during a December 2023 appearance on “The Pivot” podcast. “I never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity [and I was like], ‘I’ll see what’s up.’”

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After the gold medalist slid into Owens’ DMs, they went on a date and instantly “hit it off.” After two years together, Owens proposed.

Less than one month after their April 2023 nuptials, football safety Owens signed with the Green Bay Packers. Throughout the 2023 NFL season, Biles cheered on her husband from the sidelines in customized Packers merch. When he joined the Chicago Bears the next year, Biles made sure to get decked out in accompanying gear for each game. Owens signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2026, which prompted his wife to share her pride via social media.

Keep scrolling to revisit every game day look Biles has worn to support Owens:

Hayden Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was detained after an alleged altercation in a local Greenville, South Carolina bar.

Hickerson, 37, was briefly detained after allegedly throwing a barstool on Saturday, September 13, a spokesperson for the Greenville Police department confirmed to Us. Hickerson was released on the scene and not charged. The police, however, confirmed that Brian’s brother, Zach Hickerson, was arrested for alleged disorderly conduct. Zach was later released on bond, per jail records viewed by Us. (TMZ was first to report the news.)

Additional information regarding the incident was not made available at the time of publication. Us reached out reps for Brian for comment.

Brian dated Panettiere on and off from 2018 to 2020, breaking up for good following a domestic violence incident in Wyoming. Brian was sentenced to one year in jail, which a judge ultimately suspended in exchange for one year of probation.

Related: Inside Hayden Panettiere’s On-Off Relationship With Brian Hickerson

In the years after they broke up, Hayden Panettiere’s relationship with Brian Hickerson was still complicated even at the time of her tragic death. “Hayden and Brian have been on and off for years, but have pretty much always remained in contact,” a source exclusively shares with Us of the pair’s history prior to her […]

Panettiere was found dead in August at the age of 36, with a local police report revealing that Brian and his brother were both at the scene when Panettiere died.

“After EMS officially declared Hayden deceased, I escorted Zach and Brian out of the apartment,” a police report obtained by Us read. “I observed Zach to be very emotional while EMS were working on Hayden. Brian did not become emotional until EMS declared her officially deceased.”

A cause of death for Panettiere, who reportedly suffered an apparent overdose, has not yet been publicly revealed.

Brian broke his silence on the Heroes alum’s death several days later.

“Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” Hickerson’s attorney Sloan Ellis told Us in an August 20 statement. “As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”

Related: Why Hayden Panettiere Hired Security When Ex Brian Hickerson Returned

Hayden Panettiere felt compelled to set firm boundaries with ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson in the months before her death, including taking steps to protect herself. “She helped him from time to time because he made her feel guilty, claiming he was trying to turn his life around, but couldn’t because she put him in jail,” a […]

In addition to Brian, Panettiere is survived by her parents and her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whom she shared with ex Wladimir Klitschko.

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“Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief,” Klitschko, 50, wrote in a social media tribute, mourning Panettiere’s death. “The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Sandra Bullock is recalling the not-so-glamorous start to her acting career.

During a recent chat with close friend Jennifer Aniston for Interview magazine, Bullock, 62, opened up about her acting comeback in Practical Magic 2, which comes four years after her roles in The Lost City and Bullet Train.

“Looking at these questions, it feels like you dropped out of making movies 30 years ago,” Aniston, 57, asked, to which Bullock replied, “I did, but I’m back.”

Aniston then asked Bullock whether she had made a “deliberate choice about the kind of career” she hoped to have, or if her idea of success simply “evolved” over time.

“I was in New York, I was a waitress, I was auditioning for every pervert that existed, asking me to drop my pants. I was like, ‘Nope, not the role for me,’” the Miss Congeniality actress recalled of the infamous culture within the entertainment industry. “I was working my way up. Every working actor thinks you will never work again so you just take what you can get and make the most of it.”

Bullock added that she only ever made an “intentional” choice regarding her career when she decided that she needed to branch out beyond the romantic comedy genre.

“I was getting so much s*** for them,” she continued. “And I took a role in this film called Crash.”

The crime drama film Crash, which premiered in 2004, starred Bullock as Jean Cabot, the wealthy wife of a Los Angeles district attorney whose worldview is shaken when the couple is carjacked at gunpoint by two Black teenagers. The movie, directed by Paul Haggis, explored complex racial and social tensions and won an Oscar for Best Picture. It also marked Bullock’s shift from rom-coms to more serious roles after starring in the classics While You Were Sleeping (1999), Two Weeks Notice (2002) and others.

“It was a genius film,” Bullock told Aniston of Crash. “I wanted to start flexing other muscles.”

Bullock admitted, however, that she misses the days when she primarily did comedies.

“I want to do nothing but that now,” she shared. “Some people want to bring sexy back. We’re going to bring the funny back.”

Bullock’s breakout role came in 1994, when she played Annie Porter in the action thriller Speed opposite Keanu Reeves. She went on to star in several box office hits, including Miss Congeniality (2000), The Blind Side (2009), The Proposal (2009) and Gravity (2013). Her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side earned Bullock her first and only Oscar win for Best Actress. (Bullock was later nominated for the award again for her role as Dr. Ryan Stone in Gravity.)

Related: ‘Practical Magic’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Practical Magic’s spellbinding tale of the Owens sisters’ quest to break their family curse isn’t just a film for the Halloween season — although it’s a must-watch during the fall. The 1998 film starred Sandra Bullock as Sally Owens and Nicole Kidman as Gillian Owens, both of whom are unlucky in love thanks to a […]

Though Practical Magic initially bombed at the box office upon its 1998 release, having grossed $68 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $75 million, the film later became a beloved cult classic.

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“We thought, ‘This is going to be such an amazing film. People are going to love it.’ And then it got quiet. It got quiet,” Bullock recalled to Variety at the August 31 premiere of Practical Magic 2. “[They] were like, ‘How many women in a film do you need? How many tones do you need? What kind of film is this?’”

Practical Magic starred Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters Sally and Gillian, respectively, who must navigate their family’s generational curse dooming any man who falls in love with them to an untimely death. The pair reprised their roles in the sequel, which premiered in theaters on Thursday, September 10.

“It just happened,” Kidman, 59, told the outlet of the sequel. “It was more like serendipity, and it came, and we were ready, and everything fell into place. It’s like in life — you try to force things, it doesn’t work. You have to wait, be patient, and we [were] both kind of open to it.”

Off Campus’ Belmont Cameli has enthusiastically praised costar Ella Bright amid online rumors of a falling out.

“Everything about Ella makes the perfect Hannah [Wells],” Cameli, 28, said of Bright, who stars opposite him in the Prime Video series, during an E! News interview on Saturday, September 12. “I mean, she’s fantastic, she’s an incredible actress and she’s the best person for that character by far.”

The kind words come after unfounded rumors of a feud began circulating online amid production on season 2 of the romantic drama earlier this year. Social media users noted at the time that Cameli, who plays Garrett Graham, appeared to delete or archive several Instagram grid posts that featured Bright, 19.

During Cameli’s chat with the outlet, he stated that he’d maintained a fun-filled rapport with Bright after forming a firm friendship with her during the filming of season 1. “I’ve been calling her “Wellsy” a lot, which is really fun,” he said. “And she always rolls her eyes … ‘What’s up Wellsy?’”

Last week, Cameli made a rare comment about navigating his rising star, acknowledging that fans of the show are bound to have opinions on his private life. “Being an actor, everybody has something to say about your performance, but then they also have everything to say about what’s happening in your personal life, too,” he said in a joint interview with Macklin Celebrini for The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, September 10.

He continued, “Look, if you’re a fan of the show, the thing that I’m so proud of and pour my heart and soul into, then that’s f***ing awesome. But the way our show popped, there’s another level to fandom these days, especially with the internet. Sometimes there’s a real venom to the way people put you under microscopes. You feel constantly observed.”

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Despite the negativity he’s picked up on, Cameli told the outlet that he’s learning how to deal with his growing public profile. “I’ve been pretty good with handling that. You can say whatever you want about me or people in my life, but it’s not going to affect me because I’m fully aware of what my reality looks like and feels like,” he explained, adding that “mean things” said about him are “just all noise.”

Related: Off Campus’ Ella Bright Addresses Speculation Belmont Cameli Archived Pics

Off Campus star Ella Bright is addressing speculation surrounding her costar Belmont Cameli’s social media feed. Eagle-eyed fans recently noticed that Cameli, 28, appeared to delete or, at the very least archive, several promotional photos featuring Bright, 19, from his feed. Us can confirm that the Along for the Ride actor currently has other images […]

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Both Cameli and Bright spoke to Us in May about their fondness for one another while filming the beginning of Off Campus. “Doing a job like this would be so miserable if you didn’t like your costar,” Cameli exclusively told Us at the time. “We are so lucky. Ella and I are really, really good friends. We get along so well and we spend a ton of time together on set.”

For Bright’s part, she said, “Honestly, we just have so much fun. It’s so cool to be able to go on this journey with everybody who just cares so much about this show and these characters. Everyone is here for the same reason. It definitely loosens the pressure a lot, because you’re sharing it with all these really great and talented people.”

Aaron Rodgers threw some not-so-subtle shade at his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates and NFL officials after the team’s season-opening victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

“I think we did a lot of good things out there,” Rodgers, 42, told sports commentator Pam Oliver while speaking to reporters after his Sunday, September 13, win. “We had a chance to be really, really explosive. We had a couple drops, a couple off targets, a couple non-calls, looked like penalties.”

The Steelers defeated the Falcons 20-13 in their season opener at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Despite their win, the Steelers endured a few sluggish moments that included unnecessary penalties and dropped passes.

“We had a 40-yard PI. It could have been a touchdown,” Rodgers continued of his teammates’ play on Sunday. “We had a couple other ones — could have been big plays. So, you know, we were just a little bit off. But they got a good scheme.”

The quarterback added, “It’s good to be out of here. One and zero.”

Rodgers also opened up about reuniting with coach Mike McCarthy, who spent 13 seasons leading the Green Bay Packers during Rodgers’ tenure with the team. McCarthy, who was fired by Green Bay in 2018, took over as the Steelers ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

“I’m enjoying it for sure,” Rodgers told Oliver. “To be back here with Mike, about to give him this game ball, which will be really special.”

Rodgers also gave a shoutout to linebacker T.J. Watt, brother of retired defensive end and future hall-of-famer J.J. Watt, noting that he played an “unbelievable” game.

“He’s been on a different level this entire camp. I’m so proud of him. I love the way he leads,” he continued before shouting out defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, whom Rodgers called “the epitome of a Pittsburgh Steeler.”

Related: Aaron Rodgers, 42, Gets Honest About Potential Retirement Ahead of Big Game

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers knows he may be about to play his last game on Sunday, January 4. Ahead of the Steelers’ do-or-die regular season finale against the Baltimore Ravens — one that Pittsburgh needs to win to make the playoffs — Rodgers, 42, reflected on his impending free agency and potential retirement decision. […]

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“To be able to share this team with him, to be able to share in the leadership opportunity is really, really special in my last year, and I’m just so thankful for just the opportunity [to] back out here and play the game I love with guys I really respect and love as well,” Rodgers concluded.

Sunday’s game marked the last first game of Rodgers’ NFL career as he enjoys his final run after 22 seasons. (The athlete was drafted in 2005 by the Packers and spent 18 seasons with the team until 2022. He moved on to New York Jets for two seasons, 2023 and 2024, before finishing up his career with the Steelers beginning in 2025.)

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Rodgers confirmed his retirement in May, telling reporters at the time, “Yes, this is it.”

Later, Rodgers shared how he hopes to spend his retirement, teasing that he’d like to start a family with his mystery wife, Brittani.

“I’m hopefully going to be supporting my pregnant wife because we’re going to start a family and I am not going to be making a lot of appearances or statements,” he told Adam Schein of SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio on Tuesday, September 8. “And I’m looking forward to a life of quiet after 22 years in the pros and three in college and getting my body healed up and working on a family. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Former NFL running back LeShon Johnson has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a deadly dogfighting ring.

Johnson, 55, received 60 months in prison, along with three years of supervised release and a $30,000 fine, on Thursday, September 10, after he was convicted of six dog fighting-related charges for his role in a dogfighting operation that resulted in the “death or serious bodily injury” of hundreds of pit bulls.

Johnson was previously found guilty in August 2025 of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act’s prohibitions against possessing, selling, transporting, and delivering animals to be used in fighting ventures.

“Testimony at trial showed that Johnson … had been running a major operation since at least 2007 that bred and sold fighting dogs for profit,” read a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Johnson, who previously ran “Krazyside Kennels,” referred to his new operation, based out of Broken Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma, as “Mal Kant Kennels.” Evidence showed that the athlete “bred and trafficked hundreds of dogs for the purpose of dog fighting around the country.”

Authorities had seized 190 dogs from his property — the largest number ever seized from a single individual in a federal dog fighting case, according to the release.

Evidence also showed that Johnson had advertised many of his dogs as “champions” and “grand champions,” meaning they had won three or five fights, respectively. He is also said to have sold litters of puppies from favorable fighting bloodlines and “stud fees” for the right to breed with one of his male dogs. Proceeds totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In a statement, Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said that Johnson would “face justice for building another particularly egregious and violent dog fighting scheme.”

“As Johnson was well aware, dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states,” the statement continued. “To anyone attempting to build violent and illicit business schemes: you can run, but you can’t hide from the Department of Justice.”

Related: Former Eagles Player Died of Head Trauma, Stab Wounds in Apparent Homicide

Former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Kevin Johnson died at age 55 of “blunt head trauma and stab wounds,” the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has determined. His death is being investigated as a homicide. Johnson was found dead on Wednesday, January 21, at a homeless encampment in Los Angeles after officers responded to a report […]

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Johnson previously pleaded guilty in 2004 to Oklahoma dogfighting offenses in a separate case.

Johnson’s attorney, Billy Coyle IV, told ESPN that he had asked for probation for his client, arguing that Johnson had “zero criminal history points” — which doesn’t take into account past cases — and is a “medically compromised human being” suffering from severe dementia and Parkinson’s disease. In a pre-sentence memorandum, Coyle said Johnson has had a daily caretaker for the past two years.

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“The main point was just to show the court that he’d been out on bond for pretrial release for over two years,” Coyle told ESPN. “He’s got no infractions whatsoever. He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t smoke. I don’t think the necessity of sending him to prison or jail was necessary.”

A final decision to appeal the sentencing has not yet been made.

Johnson played in the NFL from 1994 to 1999 with the Green Bay Packers, the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants. He also played for the now-defunct Chicago Enforcers in the XFL’s only season in 2001.

Nkechi Diallo, the controversial figure formerly known as Rachel Dolezal who notoriously claimed to be Black, is following a new career path.

“The cap & gown🎓and a new title! 💋,” Diallo, 48, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, September 12, alongside photos of herself wearing a graduation cap and gown and holding a personalized desk sign reading, “Nkechi Diallo, Certified Sex Coach.”

Diallo said she graduated from The Sexology Institute’s “300+ hour certification program” and has subsequently opened her own “online intimacy and relationship coaching practice,” called Bandwidth.

The Sexology Institute confirmed to Us on Sunday that Diallo has graduated from their program and is certified as a sex coach.

“This work is personal,” Diallo continued in her post. “As a single mom of three boys, I know what hypervigilance, burnout, and carrying the mental load do to connection — and I believe joy, closeness and aliveness in your body aren’t luxuries. They’re capacities we can design, develop and expand.”

Diallo added, “Bandwidth is for the people who’ve poured into everyone else: single parents, parents of neurodivergent kids, and folks whose work lives at the margins. Together we clear the static, make room for what matters, and expand your bandwidth for a life that’s authored — not absent or performed.”

The photos showed Diallo sporting a black cap and gown, a red stole and black fishnet tights. Diallo also included a professional headshot for her Bandwidth business.

“Certified. I did it! Woohoo, my office is open!” she wrote over the images.

Diallo is a former college instructor who made headlines in 2015 after claiming to be a Black woman for years despite having a white mother and father. Her parents, Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal, told Spokane newspaper The Spokesman-Review at the time that Diallo began to “disguise herself” after adopting four Black children.

Diallo doubled down regarding her identity, telling the outlet, “There’s a lot of complexities … and I don’t know that everyone would understand that.”

Amid backlash over her claims, Diallo resigned as president of her chapter of the NAACP and lost her part-time teaching job at Eastern Washington University.

“Everything I do is connected to other people, so I don’t know how to assess the damage other than within my own mind,” she told Vanity Fair in July 2015. “It’s taken my entire life to negotiate how to identify, and I’ve done a lot of research and a lot of studying. I could have a long conversation, an academic conversation about that.”

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Diallo told the outlet that she felt she “didn’t mislead anybody.”

“I didn’t deceive anybody. If people feel misled or deceived, then sorry that they feel that way, but I believe that’s more due to their definition and construct of race in their own minds than it is to my integrity or honesty, because I wouldn’t say I’m African-American, but I would say I’m black, and there’s a difference in those terms,” she added.

Diallo later drew attention again in February 2024 when she was fired from a teaching position in Arizona after administrators discovered her OnlyFans account.

The Apothecary Diaries has never needed sword fights or supernatural powers to keep its audience guessing. The anime instead follows Maomao, an exceptionally clever apothecary whose knowledge of medicine and poisons repeatedly pulls her into dangerous mysteries within the imperial court. Her habit of noticing what everyone else misses has made the series one of anime’s biggest recent hits.

The story began as a light novel series written by Hyuganatsu before expanding into manga and anime adaptations. Its combination of palace intrigue, slow-burning romance, and elaborate investigations also makes it unusually well-suited to an interactive adaptation. Maomao is finally getting the opportunity to solve those cases with some help from players.

Koei Tecmo and Gust have officially announced The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother, the franchise’s first console game adaptation. The mystery adventure will feature an original story conceptualized by Hyuganatsu and send Maomao across the rear palace, pleasure district, and capital city. It is scheduled to arrive in early 2027 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

Maomao Has Five New Mysteries To Solve

Image via OLM

The story begins shortly after Maomao starts working as a maidservant in the rear palace, where rumors spread about incidents collectively known as the “Five Mysteries.” These include a faceless eunuch, a storehouse that mysteriously wails every night, and garments suddenly turning deep red. Jinshi tasks Maomao with investigating the strange events using her medicinal knowledge, observation skills, and talent for finding evidence. Maomao later befriends a traveling actor named Guanyu while visiting the pleasure district, but his personal troubles gradually pull her into another unfolding drama. After the Shi clan’s rebellion is defeated, a similar collection of incidents known as the “Five Curses” begins affecting residents throughout the capital. The investigation eventually leads Maomao to a masked vigilante claiming to be the imperial younger brother, despite Jinshi insisting the impersonator is not him.

Players will investigate incidents, gather evidence, present theories, and solve each mystery as the two apparent conspiracies begin connecting. The structure sounds like a natural extension of the series, where the real satisfaction comes from watching Maomao assemble small, easily overlooked details into an answer everyone else failed to see. The False Imperial Brother does not have an exact release date yet, but it will bring Maomao’s latest investigation to consoles and PC in early 2027.

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Release Date

2023 – 2025-00-00

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Network

Nippon TV, RAB, TVI, YBC, JRT

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Directors

Jun Owada, Akira Koremoto, Erkin Kawabata, Shintaro Itoga, Kentaro Fujita, Yukihiko Asaki, Tsuyoshi Nakano, Masahiro Matsunaga, Akira Shimizu, Yuushi Ibe, Yuu Kinome, Kyohei Yamamoto, Takanori Yano, Tadao Okubo, Misu Yamaneko

Writers

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Yuko Kakihara, Misuzu Chiba, Hitomi Ogawa

Franchise(s)

The Apothecary Diaries

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• 
• 

  Takeo Otsuka

  Jinshi (voice)

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CBS is returning in full force this fall with a stacked schedule of daytime premieres from The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless and more.

The network released its official daytime guide ahead of each show’s return. Drew Carey’s 20th season as the host of The Price Is Right kicks off September 21, with the addition of Wild Wheel Wednesday.

“During the Showcase Showdown, contestants will have the chance to win not only over $100,000, but also a special prize chosen by Drew, making every spin of the Big Wheel even more thrilling,” read a press release. “Themed episodes this season include Veteran’s Day, Halloween, Earth Day, Breast Cancer Awareness, Pet Adoption Week, Pride, Cinco De Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Week.”

Host Wayne Brady is back with Let’s Make a Deal with a brand new game of Cash Course.

Related: Daytime TV Changes, Casting Swaps, Cancellations and Premieres Explained

Daytime TV has gone through many changes — including heartbreaking cancellations and surprising casting swaps — ahead of the fall season. One major shakeup took place at ABC, when DeMarco Morgan and Eva Pilgrim both left GMA3. Pilgrim then moved to Inside Edition, which came after ABC News grouped its overnight programming and GMA3 with […]

“A ball-rolling obstacle course where Traders line up green and gold balls on a custom-designed course for a guaranteed chance to win big cash, with the opportunity to take home a grand prize of $10,000 — but look out for the spinning duck, stone toad and the octopus!” the press release continued. “This season also marks a major milestone for Let’s Make a Deal, with the show celebrating its 3,000th episode with Brady as host. The milestone will be commemorated with a special episode airing in January 2027.”

The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and more fan favorites are returning as well. Keep scrolling for a full breakdown of when each show premieres:

Tuesday, September 8
The Bold and the Beautiful 1:30 p.m. on CBS

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Monday, September 21
Let’s Make a Deal 10 a.m. on CBS
The Price Is Right 11 a.m. on CBS

Thursday, October 8
The Young and the Restless 12:30 p.m. on CBS

Tuesday, December 29
Beyond the Gates 2 p.m. on CBS

Editor’s note: The below interview contains major spoilers for Lanterns Episode 5.

HBO’s Lanterns is officially heading into its final stretch of episodes, but it seems as though there’ll be no getting out of the 2016 story without several explosive twists. In an hour that would normally play out at the very end of a superhero movie, Episode 5 brings Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart’s (Aaron Pierre) investigation in Rushville to a head as the identity of the Manhunter is revealed.

The reason things have been so peaceful can all be tied back to the day Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan) came into town, using her power to both heal William Macon (Garret Dillahunt) and save Kerry Kane’s (Kelly Macdonald) life, as well as seemingly strike several other bargains to keep Rushville safe and quiet. It’s no wonder, then, that the locals are willing to fight to the death to protect her — and for a time, it even seems like John is on Zoe’s side if it means getting the Green Lantern ring for himself. Yet once the smoke clears, and John ultimately leaves the ring in the custody of the Guardians, very few characters have made it through unscathed.

Ahead of the Lanterns premiere, Collider had the opportunity to speak with several members of the cast and creative team, including Dillahunt and Jagannathan. Below, the co-stars discuss the biggest twist surrounding Zoe’s true origins, Dillahunt’s most revealing scene of the series, why Zoe’s interest in John Stewart runs much deeper than the opportunity to manipulate a Lantern candidate, and more.

COLLIDER: Garret, I have to start with you. This is a Deadwood house, first and foremost. It was a thrill to get to see you back on a horse. I was curious about what it felt like to get to play a modern cowboy in Lanterns.

GARRET DILLAHUNT: Well, I love that. I’ve been fortunate to be on so many Westerns and Western-adjacent kinds of shows. In fact, the wrangler on this, his name is Todd Forsberg; I’ve worked with him two or three times before this. I recommended him for this job because we also got to shoot in L.A., which was unusual, and his ranch is in Piru, so this was the closest job he’d ever had. I also know he’s got beautiful animals, and they’d be so well-trained. I loved it. I felt very comfortable on it, and it’s just a great character in this weird little universe they’ve created, this weird little town.

Poorna Jagannathan Was Shocked by Who She Was Really Playing in ‘Lanterns’

“I can’t describe the feeling. I’ve never had [it] in my entire life.”

Image via HBO Max

Speaking of great characters, Poorna, the twist surrounding who you’re really playing — my jaw was on the floor, and I have a feeling viewers’ jaws are going to be on the floor.

POORNA JAGANNATHAN: You think mine wasn’t?

I was going to ask you what your reaction was to not just reading it in the script, but what was the conversation like when you were told who you were really playing?

JAGANNATHAN: They didn’t tell me! I read it in the script. Yeah, they didn’t tell me.

DILLAHUNT: I can’t believe that. It’s amazing.

JAGANNATHAN: And when I died in the car, I was like, “Okay. It’s been a great ride. Loved being part of this universe. Thank you for having me.” And then when the last page happened, and it was revealed that I was a Manhunter, I was confronted by my own mind. I just assumed it’d be a man. I assumed it’d be a white guy. You know what I mean? When I read a script, I’m so good at figuring things out. I feel like I have such a good grip on that — I was completely shattered when I read that. I was like, “Holy shit.” Everything I knew so far was just gone. I texted and called Carly Lane Chris Mundy at, like, midnight, screaming.

DILLAHUNT: You were screaming while you texted?

JAGANNATHAN: Both. I texted, and then I called, and then I screamed, and then I left an audio message. But I can’t describe the feeling. I’ve never had [it] in my entire life.

The characters and their motivations — everyone has these layers that are gradually peeled back the more we get to know what’s going on in this small, unassuming town. Garret, Macon is a character who certainly puts on a very specific outward persona to the rest of the world, but as we later learn, it’s hiding some very complicated, complex motives. He’s also willing to go to some great lengths, I would say, to throw Hal and John off a particular scent, including a very memorable scene where you are stripping down in front of everyone.

DILLAHUNT: It is memorable.

JAGANNATHAN: What do you remember about it?

What stands out most in your mind from preparing to film that scene, filming the scene — and also, did you get to keep the sketch of yourself afterward?

DILLAHUNT: [Laughs] Yeah, I didn’t want that sketch. But it was a fun scene. It was certainly a challenge. I thought those days were over. But I knew that Zoe had healed Macon. He still has the scar from his port from when he was battling cancer, and then he became this sort of preternaturally fit old man, and so I felt an onus to try and get in as good a shape as I could, and so I worked really hard, and barely ate that day, and sipped water and ate rice cakes and all that stuff.

JAGANNATHAN: His workout routine to get fit started that morning. [Laughs] No, he trained for [it] a lot.

DILLAHUNT: It was great. It was weirdly… I don’t need to do them every day, but it was a very supportive set and well-lit, and they took good care of me, and I think the scene works. It’s funny, it’s weird, it’s uncomfortable.

JAGANNATHAN: But we were all at the scene. We were like, “Holy shit, this is happening.” We were so excited to be at the scene.

What’s really going on in the town slowly starts to be revealed through the characters, and everything that they really feel like they owe, Poorna, to your character. Once you found out who you were really playing, how did you want to approach the Manhunter? Because it feels like villain is not really the right term. There’s definitely an antagonistic presence that she brings to the show, but I think her motives are a lot more complicated than that. So, how did you try to wrap your head around how best to portray her?

JAGANNATHAN: I think superhero is also not the right term, then. Both the antagonist and protagonist are very complex and flip between both poles. And I agree, for me, she’s an extraordinarily sympathetic character who is a victim of so many things, including just her own programming.

But I love that scene on the top of [Episode] 5, the contract that she makes with Sheriff Kane, with Kelly [Macdonald]’s character, which is, “I did this for you because down the line, I might need something from you, someone who is willing to go the distance for me.” And there’s a real feeling she’s made that contract with every single person in that town, which is why they go so hard to protect her and fight for her.

So, it’s an unexpected foil. It’s an unexpected arrangement. That’s what I love about it. The way that Chris really explained it to me is that she’s the only surviving Manhunter out of everyone, and she takes different forms, and really is here as a human with human emotions and human feelings — but her need to survive she puts above everyone and everything else, which is what makes her slightly different.

‘Lanterns’ Poorna Jagannathan Explains the Deeper Layers Beneath Zoe and John’s Connection

“She is showing John Stewart who she really is in as many words as she can…”

Image via HBO

Previously, I know you spoke with my colleague, Perri [Nemiroff], about doing a love scene for this show. The one that really stands out to me as having so much going on underneath it is the moment with Zoe and John in the hotel room. It feels like a goodbye of sorts. It also feels like she’s trying to tell him things without really telling him things. How did you and Aaron [Pierre] want to approach all the complex emotions at play?

JAGANNATHAN: I was not aware of that layer, that she was telling him who she was, until the day of shoot. With the writers, we were just figuring stuff out, and I didn’t know that. But it is. She is showing John Stewart who she really is in as many words as she can, and she’s saying, “This is who I am, and it’s not bad. So, leave town. Who you are expecting to find is not who you think. It’s me. So, just leave, or you will get killed.” Because she knows what Macon is capable of, she knows what she’s capable of, she knows the mandate of the town, and so she wants John Stewart to live. She wants that. She is in love with him, as well.

DILLAHUNT: Well. She likes him.

JAGANNATHAN: [Laughs] Yeah. So, it’s a very moving scene. I don’t know if you picked it up, but it’s also where John Stewart picks up what she’s put down. It’s like all these things swirling in his mind actually solidify at that moment, and she also knows who she is.

I think even the ending where there’s a gun pointed at her head, and she looks up, and she sees John Stewart, it’s just… she’s never been outmaneuvered. She’s had to survive for so many lifetimes, but she’s never been outmaneuvered. So it’s that wonderful game-recognizes-game moment.

New episodes of Lanterns premiere Sundays on HBO.

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Lanterns

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Release Date

August 16, 2026

Network

HBO

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