By Joshua Tyler
| Published 1 hour ago

In a world gone mad, we could all use a little simple, silly, innocent fun. You take your kids to the theater to relax and create a memory you’ll share together. You put on a streaming show to make them giggle while you make dinner. You buy a ticket with your friends to a big-budget blockbuster to watch guys battle with swords, forget how much you hate your boss, and stop worrying about whether AI is going to take away your job. 

That’s how most people view entertainment’s place in their life. For it to keep filling that need, they have to be able to trust it.

Unfortunately, entertainment can’t be trusted. The entertainment you watch has never been less interested in giving you what you want. It has other plans, and this has never been truer than it is right now, in 2026. 

This is the story of how The Muppets and The Odyssey intersected in 2026 to destroy the last shred of trust audiences had left.

Making Muppets Hate Kids

On the surface, 2026 seems like a perfect time for a revival of The Muppet Show. The original was a family classic that spawned a generation of wholesome, non-controversial entertainment. Exactly the kind of thing that’s been missing from the usual streaming offerings. 

So Disney hired legit Muppet fan Seth Rogen to revive the iconic show and released it to the world. 

Rogen’s new version of the classic variety series was immediately praised for the way it looks, sounds, and feels exactly like the iconic Jim Henson series from the 1970s and 1980s. On that front, it was a triumph. A perfect production. Except there’s one big difference: Jim Henson’s version was the ultimate in wholesome, family-friendly entertainment. Seth Rogen’s version only pretends to be. 

It’s normal for family-targeted shows to work in a couple of edgy jokes that’ll go over the heads of little kids who might be watching with them. That’s part of the fun for parents. 

However, what would you think if instead of one or two sly adult references in your Pixar movie, there were twenty? Or thirty? What if all those sly adult references were only about one specific inappropriate thing? At what point would you start thinking, “Hey, is this Pixar movie trying to tell my kids something?”

That’s exactly what Seth Rogen’s The Muppet Show starts doing in its very first episode. 

That episode number one is only thirty minutes long, but if you watch and keep track, you’ll discover at least ten sex references in those thirty minutes. Actually, not just references; most of them seemed to specifically revolve around celebrating full-on, willful hedonism and adulterous cheating.

There’s a joke where Sabrina Carpenter tells Kermit she likes kink. There’s an entire sketch that revolves around Piggy cheating on her lover. After that, it’s back to Sabrina Carpenter so she can brag to Kermit about banging a married man. Then there’s a segment with guest actress Maya Rudolph, who seems to be engaged in heavy petting with a grumpy Muppet in the audience. 

Two of the musical numbers, one of which is sung entirely by rats, are popular songs about sex. The third song has Piggy replace Kermit as the object of Sabrina Carpenter’s sexual desire, just to make sure the sex references weren’t all heterosexual. 

Defenders might argue these gags are structured so that little kids won’t realize what’s going on. But it’s a significant portion of the first episode, which is a very weird thing to do for your debut episode of The Muppet Show. It’s not the jokes themselves so much as the volume of them, crammed into a short thirty minutes of otherwise perfect Muppet silliness.

Seth Rogen doesn’t have any children, and he’s been loud about how happy he is to be childless. He doesn’t like them, doesn’t care about them, so even though he was supposed to make a show for kids of all ages, it’s clear that he decided to make one for adults and lie about it.

Sexualizing children has become common in family-friendly entertainment, and the people making that entertainment never warn parents about any of it before they see it. They do that because no one would buy a ticket if they knew Zootopia 2 featured a weird predator-prey orgy scene for no apparent reason.

Trojan Horse Messaging

None of this is an accident; it’s Trojan Horse Messaging.

Trojan Horse Messaging is a persuasion technique in which a message is packaged inside a trusted, harmless, or ideologically acceptable frame so that a different, contradictory, or more objectionable idea can be introduced without triggering the audience’s normal resistance. 

It doesn’t only apply to family films slipping in sexual content to groom children into adult behavior. Sometimes it’s ideological dishonesty.

Angel Films recently released a new animated version of the famous George Orwell novel Animal Farm. The original Orwell book is infamous for being entirely anti-communist, and Angel Films, which is theoretically a conservative movie studio, was happy to tout its movie as being equally anti-communist to its conservative, Karl Marx-hating audience. 

Except their movie isn’t really anti-communist. This new version of Animal Farm twists Orwell’s story into a parable about the dangers of capitalism, effectively Trojan-horsing parents into taking their children to learn one thing, while intentionally teaching them exactly the opposite. 

Trojan Horse Messaging isn’t limited to children; it’s being used on you, too. 

It’s why, ironically, director Christopher Nolan’s 2026 version of The Odyssey race-swapped Helen of Troy, despite the story being a Greek myth about Greek people and the iconic, foundational story explicitly describing Helen as being pale-skinned and Greek. 

Loving Hats In A Fedora Hating World

Replacing the most beautiful Greek woman who ever lived with an African woman isn’t an innocent act of creative casting. This is Iconic Reconditioning.

Iconic Reconditioning is the deliberate alteration of a beloved character’s defining symbol, trait, or image to shift audience attachment from the original meaning to a new, preferred one.

It’s hard to see what’s really happening with The Odyssey through the race angle of the situation, so let’s put a different frame on it. 

Imagine a new Indiana Jones where Indy throws away his Fedora in favor of wearing baseball caps. Then imagine the movie was made only because the filmmakers behind it hate Fedoras and want to make other people hate them, too. 

Maybe the new baseball-cap-wearing version of Indiana Jones is well-acted and has amazing special effects. It wouldn’t matter; nobody would support it because it’s not Indiana Jones anymore. It’s some other guy in a different hat. People would hate it. No one would defend it, and the same people who made excuses for The Odyssey would be the ones leading boycotts against Indiana Jones and his baseball cap.

Christopher Nolan’s motives are no different from those of our hypothetical, fedora-hating Indiana Jones director. Only, instead of targeting your feelings on hats, he’s out to change your standards of beauty by stealing the most beautiful woman who ever lived label and applying it to someone totally different. He’s out to change your view of Western culture by rewriting its foundational stories and then pretending nothing happened. He’s using the story of the Trojan Horse, as an actual Trojan Horse, to screenwash you into sharing his worldview. 

This isn’t a guess; it’s a fact. The movie’s cast went out and promoted the film by talking about how much they hate the source material because it’s too male or too white, or whatever, and Christopher Nolan himself admitted that the movie isn’t even based on Homer’s classic story but instead on a politically motivated, feminist reinterpretation of it, written in the modern era. Nolan says one of his primary goals in making the movie was to persuade his audience into abandoning what he deems as “cultural prejudice.” He wants to “do away with some of those assumptions.”

Imprisoning Your Audience With Betrayal

That might seem like at least they’re being honest about what kind of movie The Odyssey is, but most of these comments are being buried and hidden by its marketing campaign, which tells the potential audience that this movie is exactly the opposite of what it really is. There’s a reason the movie’s definitely not blonde Helen of Troy is only shown in a one-second flash in The Odyssey’s trailers, and it’s the same reason Seth Rogen pretended he was making a family-friendly version of The Muppet Show, while doing the exact opposite. 

Because Seth Rogen’s version looks and feels so much like The Muppet Show, it’s likely many parents didn’t watch close enough to realize their kids are being fed a steady stream of sexualization. In the same way those parents saw Muppets and hit play on streaming, most people who buy tickets for The Odyssey will only see the trailers touting it as the next movie from the guy who made Inception and Oppenheimer, before making their decision. They’ll have no idea they’re wheeling Chris Nolan’s Trojan Horse directly into their brain.

It doesn’t matter if The Odyssey is good. It doesn’t matter if The Muppet Show is good. It doesn’t matter if you think the creatives did a good job making Star Trek’s message-heavy Starfleet Academy or the latest, diverse take on Lord of the Rings. The debate over the morality of this kind of screenwashing is not a question of storytelling. It’s a question of honesty.

At issue is something much, much bigger than opinions on joke quality or petty debates about skin color. What matters is whether filmmakers have the right to use screens to surreptitiously change or manipulate minds in ways their viewers would not consciously approve of.

Audiences have expectations. Bill your film as a comedy, and they expect to laugh. Position it as a horror movie, and they’ll rightfully be looking forward to a few scares. That doesn’t mean anyone expects to know the details of your story before they’ve watched. But it does mean people expect your intent in making your product to match their reasons for consuming it.

It’s like filling Pepsi cans with lemonade and then excusing it by telling consumers to stop complaining because it’s really good lemonade. It’s the dishonesty that’s the problem, not the quality of the liquid in the can. 

When you lie to your audience about what you’re doing, you aren’t just manipulating them. You make them into the worst kind of slave: people who think they’re choosing freely, while you’re quietly stealing their free will.

Fantasy has been a popular genre on television for a long time now, but it’s really ramped up in recent years due to the success of various series in the early to mid-2010s. This has kick-started a trend across all streaming platforms, with many producing their own high-budget fantasy stories in order to bring unique worlds to life in such a way that wouldn’t have been possible just a few short decades ago.

However, with so many fantasy shows debuting over the last 10 years, it can be hard to pick just one. Many have risen above the standards of their station and have become moneymaking behemoths for their respective networks, garnering millions of viewers and rave reviews. These are the best fantasy TV shows of the last 10 years, which have earned their titles either due to their success or their inherent quality.

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‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ (2022–Present)

Image via Prime Video

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is based on the vast legendarium written by J. R. R. Tolkien, which was later curated by his son, Christopher Tolkien. The show has generated a lot of buzz online, with many not particularly fans of how the story goes completely off the rails and tries to spin its own narrative rather than focusing on any of the stories that Tolkien actually wrote.

Despite this criticism, however, the series has been a massive success and is actually one of the most popular series on Amazon Prime Video. Two seasons in, and many of the most popular characters from Tolkien’s works have appeared, with much of the lore being expanded upon. While many Tolkien fans are less than impressed with this show, many casual viewers have come to enjoy it for what it is, especially for its high production value and brilliant acting performances.

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‘The Witcher’ (2019–Present)

Image via Netflix

The Witcher has been having a bit of a rough go lately, what with its main actor being recast and reviews only seeming to get worse as time goes on. When it first started, however, this series was a major hit. At the time of its release, Game of Thrones had just ended, and people needed another dark fantasy series to fill the void. The first season of The Witcher proved to be exactly what people needed.

Unfortunately, since then, it has taken a bit of a decline in quality and has grown more and more removed from the source material written by Andrzej Sapkowski. Story-wise, the show is about a professional monster hunter called a Witcher who travels throughout a high fantasy world seeking bounties. This allows the show to depict some truly terrifying and grotesque beasts from various aspects of folklore, which is definitely one of its strong suits. While it may be struggling at the moment, The Witcher was a great series when it first started, and is still one of the best of the last 10 years.

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‘Good Omens’ (2019–2026)

Image via Prime Video

Good Omens is a fantasy comedy series that has shockingly only received two seasons in the six years since its release. The show is based on a novel written by both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Pratchett, in particular, became known for his Discworld novel series, a hilarious parody of typical fantasy tropes that has been a massive hit with fans of the genre.

While Good Omens doesn’t belong to the Discworld universe, it bears much of Pratchett’s similar style of humor, which has helped it appeal to seasoned fans of the novels and newcomers alike. The story follows an angel and a demon who have formed a forbidden friendship and who are determined to prevent the coming end of the world, despite their organizations’ desire to let the natural order of things progress. Comedic, endearing, and at times, even a little raunchy, Good Omens is a wonderful comedy series with a touch of magic that demands to be seen.

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‘Wednesday’ (2022–Present)

Image via Netflix

Wednesday is the spin-off of The Addams Family that has taken the pop culture world by storm in recent years. Starring Jenna Ortega as the titular character, the series follows Wednesday and her family as they encounter various conflicts. The family is known for being eccentric, preferring doom and gloom to bright and preppy aesthetics, with some of their family members even being paranormal creatures.

The original sitcom run of The Addams Family in the ’60s reigns supreme as the greatest incarnation of the brand to date, but Wednesday is honestly a close second, as it brings back many of the most beloved and feared characters from the franchise while shifting its focus to one of its most popular characters. With a brand-new cast, intricate sets, and all the aspects of comedy and horror present in the original, Wednesday is one of the most explosive entries in the fantasy genre in years.

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‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ (2023–Present)

Image via Disney+

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is based on the novel series of the same name by Rick Riordan. Following two disastrous movie adaptations in the early 2010s, this Disney+ series tried, quite successfully, to get the brand back on its feet. This adaptation is much more faithful than the original movies and has so much more of the charm and wit that the books had, likely due to Riordan himself having a heavier hand in the show’s production.

The story follows Percy (Walker Scobell), a troubled youth who discovers he is a demigod, the child of a Greek god, and is sent to Camp Half-Blood to learn the skills he will need in order to survive in this dangerous, hidden world. Throughout the show, Percy and his friends face off against various adversaries from Greek myth, including Gorgons, Furies, and the Chimera. It’s a refreshing TV show that fans of the books seem to love, and which has scored very well with critics.

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‘One Piece’ (2023–Present)

Image via ©Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection

One Piece is a live-action remake of the original anime series of the same name, which has been running since 1999. The series really hit the ground running and managed to maintain its momentum in its recently released second season. It’s been a massive critical success, earning high scores from newcomers and veteran fans alike.

The story is set in a fantastical world populated by pirates, who are all competing to find a missing piece of an ancient map, which will supposedly lead to the world’s greatest treasure. The main character is Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), a young and rambunctious pirate who has eaten a Devil Fruit, which allows him to stretch his body like rubber. The series has wonderfully quirky humor, high seas adventure, and superb action, which all contribute to its astounding success.

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‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ (2019)

Image via Netflix

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is a prequel series to the 1982 Jim Henson film. This series takes audiences back to the weird and wonderful world of Thra, with elaborate sets and intricate puppetry. The story details how the Dark Crystal cracked and gave rise to two new species: the sage-like Mystics and the villainous Skeksis. Much of it follows how the Skeksis rise to power and form their own empire, enslaving the native Podlings and Gelflings of the planet using the power of the Dark Crystal.

Like the original film, this series is vibrant and absolutely beautiful. Updated film technology makes the meticulously designed sets and puppets feel that much more real and interesting to look at. Despite earning the seal of approval from critics and audiences alike, Netflix unceremoniously cancelled the series after just one season, which many fans still haven’t forgiven them for.

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‘The Wheel of Time’ (2021–2025)

Image via Prime Video

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The Wheel of Time is adapted from a series of 15 novels by Robert Jordan, which was later finished by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan’s untimely death. The story centers on a chosen individual known as the Dragon Reborn, a being who is said to wield immense magical power. As the end of the world approaches, the Dragon Reborn is destined to either save the world or to destroy it.

It got off to a bit of a rocky start, but each subsequent season only proved to get better and better. The third season was definitely its best and attracted millions of viewers. It’s a travesty that Amazon Prime Video decided to cancel it right as it was hitting its stride. This sparked an enormous fan campaign online to try and save the show, which goes to show how many people adored it. While some die-hard fans of the novels weren’t impressed with how different it was, the series attracted a lot of new fans to the brand and ended up being pretty incredible towards the end of its run.

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‘His Dark Materials’ (2019–2022)

Image via HBO

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His Dark Materials is an adaptation of the novels of the same name by Philip Pullman. This is actually the second attempt at adapting them, as there was a movie in the 2000s, but it never received a sequel due to how awful it was. This HBO original series was a much more faithful and exciting adaptation of the beloved fantasy novels, and was curated with such love and care that it’ll make book readers giddy over all the tiny details and Easter eggs.

The story is set on an alternate version of planet Earth, one ruled by a shadowy and oppressive corporation. In the midst of chaos, one girl is destined to bring down the corporation and save the planet. The show is rife with magic, fantastical creatures, and even some aspects of steampunk, so it’s really unlike most fantasy series. It might be a bit underrated as far as HBO series go, but it’s worth every second of watch time.

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‘The Dragon Prince’ (2018–2024)

Image via Netflix

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Ordinarily, fantasy shows with a lot of lore behind them usually have some sort of source material to fall back on, typically a novel or series of novels. The Dragon Prince is an exception in this regard, as it is completely original. The story takes place on the continent of Xadia, where a war has broken out between the magical elves and dragons and the non-magical humans, who are conquering as much territory as they possibly can.

The 3D animation in this series is absolutely stunning, and it makes sure to use lots of bright and unconventional colors to really give it the feel of being magical. The series received a whopping seven seasons before the showrunners decided the story was complete and brought it to a close. While it is a touch underrated, fantasy fans have come to adore this series, which is precisely why it lasted as long as it did.

Shania Twain blames her no-show at Taylor Swift‘s wedding on Harry Styles!

The vocalist explained why she did not join the celebrity lineup at the singer’s wedding to her NFL footballer partner, citing work commitments to her former boyfriend as the reason.

Shania Twain has been a longtime fan of the Grammy winner, praising her amazing work ethic and commitment to art, much like Taylor Swift has praised her all these years.

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The Canadian singer, in a catch-up with ETalk on Tuesday, July 14, expressed that she would have gone miles to be there because it would have been such a lovely experience. In an interesting twist, Twain revealed that she was held up fulfilling contract terms with Styles.

The former One Direction singer onboarded Twain to perform on the opening night of his 12-show residency at Wembley Stadium in London. Styles’ show clashed with Swift’s July 3 wedding, which was held at Madison Square Garden.

Styles and Swift dated between 2012 and 2013 in a highly publicized relationship, and their split fueled several conspiracy theories. Twain, in the interview, however, shared that she might redeem this moment during Styles’ wedding if he asks for her attendance at the event in advance.

Ironically, Styles’ current partner, Zoë Kravitz, was seated at Swift and Kelce’s wedding, partying with the couple until the middle of the night. 

Twain Highlighted Similarity Between Her And Taylor Swift’s Journey

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In 2024, Twain made some confessions in an interview with Haute Living about how she carved out a name for herself in the entertainment industry. The singer stressed that the whole time she was trying to be her original, authentic self, embracing her expressiveness with confidence.

As shared by PEOPLE, Twain then revisited instances where Swift had praised her in the past, praising her dedication and commitment to herself and her craft. Although people often call Swift an ambitious artiste, Twain added that her reality is much more than that, in her words: 

“She’s an extremely hard worker, and I’m sure she’s got giant goals. But it’s not all about ambition: it’s about passion and committing yourself to your passion.” Twain also established that they are similar in their approach to career goals, embracing perseverance and reaping the rewards.

Inside Harry Styles’ And The ‘Shake It Off’ Singer’s Defunct Relationship

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Styles and Swift have continued to maintain a mutual friendship over a decade after they dated. As shared by TODAY, the end of that relationship birthed Swift’s “1989” album, which came two years after their relationship.

Towards the end of 2012, rumors swirled about a possible romance between the duo when Styles spoke about Swift’s personality during an interview. By December, the pair were spotted walking together in Central Park before One Direction performed at MSG, where Swift married Kelce.

The relationship between Styles and Swift finally became clear on New Year’s Day in 2013, when they were spotted kissing during “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” in New York’s Times Square.

That same January, Swift was pictured alone on a boat leaving the Virgin Islands days after they both arrived there. She later referred to the incident in her song “Is It Over Now.”

Zoë Kravitz Earned All The Praises For Styles’ Renewed Happiness

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The actress and Styles began dating last year after they were spotted together in August 2025, and they engaged 8 months later, in April 2026. Sources also confirmed to PEOPLE that the couple have matching tattoos and have carried their unbreakable bond into their individual exploits.

The couple also prioritize spending quality time together outside their busy schedules by going on outdoor dates. “Zoë is so supportive of him, and every time both of them are free, they spend as much time together as possible,” an inside source continued.

Sources in the couple’s circle raved about the extent of their support to each other, adding that they have talked about wedding plans. Kravitz has been supporting Styles on his “Together, Together” world tour in support of his fourth studio album “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.”

Harry Styles Rumored To Start A Family Soon 

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The Grammy winner has reportedly begun planning for the next phase after his engagement to Kravitz, which may involve welcoming a little one soon. As shared by The Blast, Styles has never hidden his love for kids as he previously took a break from performing to be a part of his niece’s life, an experience that changed his perspective on life.

In January, an insider had revealed that the singer really wants a baby, and now that he is settling down with Kravitz, it may have intensified. Styles was beyond excited to be part of that experience as he watched his niece blossom. 

“My sister had a baby, and at any other time in my life, I would have missed a lot of that. It was really obvious that was where I wanted to be,” the singer had explained previously. As for his relationship with Kravitz, everyone in his circle has testified to the positive influence she has had on his life as he has begun to open up more.

On paper, The Rock doesn’t necessarily sound like a movie we’d be celebrating 30 years later. Released in 1996, The Rock centers on a rogue Marine general (Ed Harris) who seizes control of Alcatraz with some of his men, threatening to attack San Francisco with chemical weapons unless compensation and proper honors are given to the families of soldiers who have died under his command. Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery play two of the people assigned to stop him — an FBI scientist and a British spy who has successfully escaped the notorious prison in the past, respectively. It’s a straightforward script that almost feels like Hollywood playing into its worst impulses. However, it is in the execution where The Rock really shines, creating something that stands alongside Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Heat, and The Matrix as one of the defining action movies of the modern blockbuster era.

It’s hard to say whether The Rock would as well as it does if not for the strong work by Cage, Connery, and Harris in the lead roles, but the three actors uplift this film above what one might think of it by reading just a plot summary. All together, it’s 1990s action film-making at its purest, with the cast fully embracing the cliché nature of the film’s plot, while also knowing when to focus on the moments that demand seriousness. By fusing these performances with stylized action, humor, and drama, The Rock feels timeless.

The Cast of ‘The Rock’ Elevates It Beyond a Clichéd Action Thriller

In The Rock, Cage portrays Dr. Stanley Goodspeed, a neurotic FBI biochemist who is brilliant in a lab but utterly hopeless when thrust into the field. Paired with Cage is Connery, who plays John Mason, a former British spy who has been locked up in prison for decades after being caught stealing US intelligence, and is the only man to ever break out of Alcatraz alive. They make for the perfect odd couple, with each bringing their own flair to the character that balances the other perfectly. Connery’s dry wit paired with Cage’s manic energy creates one of the most entertaining action duos of the decade. Even during quiet moments in between gunfire and explosions, the conversations remain engaging because these two actors are getting the best from one another, and you can feel it.

13 years after his last James Bond film, Connery is still channeling his iconic spy character, making even the most rudimentary exposition-laced dialogue into something more. He does this so well and with such charm that it’s led to some fan theories that the Mason character is actually James Bond himself. Meanwhile, Cage’s Stanley Goodspeed is anything but calm, cool and collected. Given that his expertise is in test tubes rather than guns, he panics, makes mistakes, and in contrast to Connery, spends much of the film simply trying to survive. Cage leans into his neuroses, and helps create a protagonist that we latch onto not just for his intelligence, but also because he is the audience surrogate.

On the flip side, there is Ed Harris’ General Francis X. Hummel. Harris portrays Hummel with a quiet dignity, rather than as a cartoonish villain, providing a nice counterbalance to Connery and Cage. Hummel’s circumstances are tragic and his goals noble, though his methods are indefensible. As a career soldier, one who has pulled the trigger and killed many times before, he does not relish violence. Rather, he is a product of his violence, and much of the film revolves around him being increasingly reluctant to carry out his threat. Harris’s brilliant portrayal of the film’s moral conflict is what sets The Rock apart and gives it an emotional complexity not seen in other movies of its genre.

‘The Rock’ Understands That Action Movies Should Be Fun

Image via Hollywood Pictures

Despite the heavy thematic elements present throughout, The Rock knows that, at its heart, it is an action movie designed to see the good guys win and the bad guys lose. The screenplay never becomes a parody of itself, but it also never apologies for how absurd it is. For confirmation, one needs only look at Nicolas Cage launching one of the bad guys (portrayed brilliantly by the late Tony Todd) out a window using a missile while calling him “the Rocket Man.”

Its ultra-quotable dialogue makes the film endlessly re-watchable, and when paired with practical effects that still hold up even in the modern CGI era, The Rock sets the standard for what makes an action movie truly work. Even supporting characters are given memorable roles, helping to prop up the heroes and flesh out their characters.

As we honor The Rock‘s 30th anniversary, it remains one of the textbook examples of how to make an entertaining action movie that also has weight. In an era where more and more action movies begin to feel formulaic, The Rock understands that spectacle isn’t enough. Great action needs interesting heroes, villains, and crafty dialogue to make sure that the movies are elevated above the norm.

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The Rock

Release Date

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June 7, 1996

Runtime

137 minutes

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Writers

David Weisberg, Douglas S. Cook, Jonathan Hensleigh, Mark Rosner

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The biggest names in sports took a time out from playing to celebrate the 2026 ESPY Awards — and there were plenty of A-list couples in attendance.

Host Marcello Hernández, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live, was among the first to arrive at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City on Wednesday, July 15, to toast to the best in the business.

The comedian brought girlfriend Ana Amelia Batlle Cabral with him before emceeing the show for the first time.

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Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim and her NFL star boyfriend, Myles Garrett, meanwhile, brought the heat when they stepped out in the Big Apple before heading into the venue to see who would win big off the field.

Fellow Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin turned heads in all gold as she attended the event with fiancé Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.

Scroll down to see the hottest couples at the 2026 ESPYs:

Although over a month has passed since the announcement was made, it seems that the pieces are still being picked up from the explosive news that Doctor Who had been put out to competitive tender. Despite the now-previous showrunner Russell T. Davies confirming that a Christmas special had been penned for 2026, and strong rumors that the hunt for a new titular Time Lord was underway, the rug was pulled from beneath Whovians’ feet when it was confirmed that not only was Doctor Who not going to return, but neither of those suggestions was true.

“This decision was not taken lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for fans,” read a statement from the BBC at the time of the announcement. “We are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show, which ensures that when the TARDIS lands once more, it does so in all its glory.” The dust settling on this has allowed many to realize the benefits of the decision, especially following Davies’ disastrous second stint as showrunner, which included constant backlash, a lackluster partnership with Disney, and the strange early exit of star Ncuti Gatwa.

The time following the announcement has also allowed the incoming Director General of the BBC, Matt Brittin, to prepare his own statement on the show’s future, which was made all the more worrying when the former Google executive confirmed that the entire company would face major cuts under his tenure. “That’s a show that has regenerated multiple times in its 60-plus year history, and we’ll do so again,” Brittin said as the BBC published its annual report. “I think that’s one of the great things about the 100-year history of the BBC. We can do that, and we can creatively renew shows that people love, and we’ll be working hard on that right now.”

Russell T. Davies’ Post-‘Doctor Who’ Project Is Going Stateside

One man definitely looking to move on from the Doctor Who noise is Davies, who recently delivered his first post-Who project in the UK to great acclaim. Titled Tip Toe, the drama starring five-time Emmy winner Alan Cumming earned rave reviews from critics, being called “an urgent state-of-the-nation drama” by Radio Times. Later this year, U.S. fans will have the chance to catch Davies’ new series as it was confirmed recently that it will soon stream on Starz.

You can stream the most recent Doctor Who seasons on Disney+. Stay tuned to Collider for the latest updates.

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Release Date

2024 – 2025-00-00

Network

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BBC One

Directors

Alex Pillai, Peter Hoar, Ben Chessell, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Donoughue, Amanda Brotchie, Dylan Holmes Williams

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Writers

Steven Moffat, Pete McTighe, Kate Herron, Inua Ellams, Juno Dawson

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Franchise(s)

Doctor Who / Whoniverse

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Marcello Hernández showed off his comedic chops while hosting the 2026 ESPY Awards — and nobody was safe from his jokes.

The Saturday Night Live star, 28, opened the Wednesday, July 15, ceremony — held at David H. Koch Theater in New York City’s Lincoln Center — with a good-natured monologue filled with sports-centric jokes. He started off by mocking Tiger Woods following the golfer’s recent DUI arrest in Florida.

“I want to congratulate Caleb Williams, the quarterback for the Chicago Bears, who will be on the cover of the new Madden video game,” Hernández began. “Congratulations to Caleb — and Tiger Woods will be on the cover of Grand Theft Auto.”

The comedian also used a reference to the New York Knicks’ recent NBA Championship win for a dig about Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick‘s 48-year age gap with girlfriend Jordon Hudson.

Related: Who Is Marcello Hernandez Dating? Meet the ‘SNL’ Star’s Girlfriend Ana

Marcello Hernández delivered insightful dating tips in his American Boy stand-up special on Netflix, which he’s likely putting into practice. “Women are very scary and they live a violent life behind-the-scenes,” Hernández joked in his 2025 Netflix special, referring to ladies getting waxed. “A woman getting ready to leave the house is one of the […]

“The Knicks won their first [NBA] championship since 1973. To put it into perspective how long ago that was, in 1973, hockey players didn’t wear helmets,” Hernández pointed out. “Basketball had no three-point line and, in 1973, Bill Belichick was the age his girlfriend [Jordon Hudson] is now.”

When he was met with a tense response, the comedian replied, “That’s where you all draw the line?”

Boxer and influencer Jake Paul was also zinged, with Hernández quipping, “I must say it’s an honor to be here among so many incredible athletes … and Jake Paul, Jake, that’s just a joke. Don’t fight me. My dad and my stepdad are here and they’re both over 50 and I know that’s how you like ‘em.”

He even took a shot at last year’s ESPYS host Shane Gillis, whose hosting stint was divisive with viewers.

“I want to shout out last year’s host, Shane Gillis, who is watching this show like a true American,” Hernández said. “On his couch, drinking a beer while a Hispanic guy does his job.”

Prior to Hernández’s monologue, the ESPYs ceremony opened with a musical performance of “Show Starts Now” by the Savannah Bananas.

In June, ESPN announced that Hernández would make his hosting debut at the 2026 ESPYs. (He was announced as the “first-time and therefore undefeated host” during Wednesday’s show.)

“I started doing comedy 10 years ago in Cleveland, Ohio, and I would take the train 12 hours to New York to sell comedy tickets on the street in Greenwich Village in exchange for stage time,” he said in a statement at the time. “It is an honor and frankly feels crazy to be hosting the ESPYs this year in New York. I’m sure the energy is going to be great.”

“Marcello is one of the most electric young comedians today. His genuine enthusiasm for sports and his ties to New York City make him a natural fit to host this year’s ESPYs,” added Craig Lazarus, ESPN vice president and ESPYs executive producer. “We are excited to partner with him to celebrate the best moments in sports and look forward to the fresh take he’ll bring to the show.”

Hernández’s sports background extends back to his days as a collegiate soccer player at John Carroll University in Ohio. He ultimately quit during his sophomore year to pursue comedy after attempting to juggle classes in the day and soccer practice and comedy clubs at night.

“I had to tell my team with tears in my eyes that I’m quitting,” he recalled in a USA Today interview earlier this month. “That drove me to work hard because I was like, ‘If I’m going to quit something that I’m kind of good at, I should get really good at this new thing.’”

Related: Meet Marcello Hernandez’s Parents, Who Have Supported His Comedy Career

Marcello Hernandez’s parents are his muse. Hernandez was born and raised in Miami, Florida, by his mom, Isabel, and his stepdad. His mom and dad divorced soon after immigrating to America, but the Saturday Night Live star has remained close with both of them, as well as his stepfather. “I have two dads and a […]

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According to Hernández, he’s “probably better now at comedy than I ever was at soccer.”

His decision to chase his comedy dreams paid off as he’s become a breakout star on Saturday Night Live since joining the NBC sketch series in 2022. Despite leaving soccer in his rearview, he recognizes the similarities between the sport and the iconic show.

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“Soccer’s a full-time job because you’re taking care of your body and I think that SNL is a full-time job because of the schedule, but also you’re taking care of your mind, you’re trying to write stuff,” he said. “It’s a much more mental game than a physical game but pretty demanding for sure.”

This summer, Hernández has been enjoying the FIFA World Cup action. In June, he took in the Colombia vs. Portugal match in Miami with Matt Damon and John Leguizamo. Rather than stick strictly to sports talk, Hernández used the opportunity to pick Damon’s brain about acting.

“You’re next to Matt Damon for long enough that you’re like, ‘If I don’t say something, I’m an idiot,’” he recounted. “So I ask questions and I try to get some game from him. When I played soccer, if I was ever with somebody that was playing on a better team or older than me, you try to ask them questions.”

Sofía Vergara spent her birthday looking like a yacht wife — probably because she was on a yacht and wearing the uniform, a chic red bikini that radiated sass. We found her summer look for only $20!

In an Instagram post, Vergara posed in a classic, sexy-yet-tasteful red bikini. It didn’t have sequins or dramatic details, but rather a simple silhouette and a tie front for style. She looked like she wandered off a Positano postcard, as do we when we wear her timeless swimsuit style.

Get the Rajputana Two-Piece Bikini Set for $20 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

This Rajputana Two-Piece Bikini Set nails the vibe, featuring the same triangle-top design, tie-front detail and adjustable straps for practicality. Removable padding is just a bonus.

The bottoms are high-cut and adjustable, which means you can dial in the coverage instead of wrestling with a fixed size. One five-star shopper wrote, “I’ve purchased many bikinis, but never have been as happy with the bottoms. These are perfect. Very flattering on the rear. I ordered almost every color.”

Another happy fan shared, “I have hip dips with a short torso and it’s really challenging to find a bathing suit that sits where/how I need it to while looking flattering . . . I packed 10 bathing suits for a six-day Hawaii trip and ended up only using this one the entire time.”

So no, you don’t need a yacht-wife budget to channel Vergara’s energy. Whether you’re vacationing abroad or sunning in a friend’s backyard, anywhere with a lounger and a cold drink will do.

With this celeb-approved bikini style in tow, all you have to do is show up.

Get the Rajputana Two-Piece Bikini Set for $20 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

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

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Related: Kate Hudson Wore the Chicest Bikini Style for Women Over 40

Kate Hudson is having the Greek summer of everyone’s dreams, and it starts with the right swimsuit. Instead of a frumpy one-piece, Hudson wore a sassy red bikini style that stuns on all ages, including after 40. And right now, you can get her look with this $26 swimsuit set on Amazon. In an Instagram […]

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Some people only care about golf when someone in expensive plaid pants is losing his mind over a three-foot putt. That’s the whole appeal of the sport, really: rich men in tiny white gloves coming undone on a perfect green, one missed shot away from a full tantrum. The Hawk, Will Ferrell‘s first television comedy for Netflix, is built almost entirely around that kind of meltdown — and that alone is enough of a winning premise before Lonnie Hawkins ever tees off.

A bit of background on Ferrell’s latest meme-able disaster: Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins was the number one player in the world in 2004, a three-time major winner whose reputation has slid from legend to punchline. His body is telling him to retire. His heart insists he’s one stroke away from the greatest comeback golf has ever seen. One more major would complete his career Grand Slam, and Lonnie treats that long shot as something he’s owed by the universe. The series is created and executive produced by Ferrell alongside his Gloria Sanchez partners Jessica Elbaum and Alix Taylor, plus Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman‘s T-Street and a bench of others, with the PGA TOUR signed on as a partner. How a real sports organization agreed to attach its name to this guy is its own small mystery, but the result is Ferrell’s meanest creation yet, planted in a wildly uneven sports comedy that, thanks to its sharpest stretches, is still well worth the swing.

‘The Hawk’ Turns Will Ferrell Into Golf’s Biggest Jerk

The Hawk introduces Ferrell’s Lonnie mid-catastrophe, barreling toward a PGA stop in an absurdly oversized tour bus in a race against the clock that plays like cinema’s least dignified action scene. Within minutes, he’s cooing at a golf ball like some kind of phone sex operator and guzzling what is very obviously not water from a sports bottle. He maxes out his ex-wife’s credit cards and then won’t sign the divorce papers. He’s openly, pettily jealous of his own son. By the time the opening credits roll, the picture of him is clear: This is a man who cares about winning and, as far as we can tell, nothing else.

That single-mindedness is also the show’s way into golf itself, a sport it clearly finds both fascinating and ridiculous. The world Lonnie moves through is all corporate sponsorships, country-club snobbery, and grown men treating a bad round like a world-ending tragedy, and The Hawk is happy to let him be the ugliest thing in it. He’s not a fish out of water so much as the purest version of everyone around him, minus the manners. When the show trains its eye on that culture, on the branded tournaments and the polite cruelty of the people running them, it’s sharper than it is anywhere else.

The Hawk is clearly angling for the shelf that holds Ricky Bobby and Jackie Moon, but never quite reaches it, because it’s chasing a harder, sadder joke than either of those guys ever told. The reason Ricky Bobby worked, the reason Talladega Nights remains the high point of the Ferrell sports comedy universe, is that Ricky was a himbo. He was an earnest idiot too dense to realize he was torching his own life for a checkered flag, and that obliviousness kept everything light. Lonnie is also both an idiot and obsessed with winning, but the key difference is that he knows exactly what his obsession costs. He understands the price of every bad decision but just makes it anyway. That’s a bleaker setup, and a trickier one, because it asks you to keep laughing at a man who has run out of excuses. The son in question is Lance (Jimmy Tatro), golf’s designated golden boy and the living version of everything Lonnie can’t stand about the next generation.

Where Lonnie runs on liquor and Carrabba’s, Lance chugs creatine, cold-plunges his feelings, and meditates his way up the leaderboard. Tatro plays him like a walking wellness ad (with unacknowledged chaos simmering underneath), and the contempt running in both directions gives the show the bite it needs whenever the jokes start to sprawl. By the third episode, Lonnie has made the PGA cut and immediately blown an event, brawling with a bunker and nearly taking out an elderly spectator, while across the country Lance racks up win after win at a Charles Schwab event. The contrast of one Hawkins falling apart while the other climbs is The Hawk at its most pointed.

‘The Hawk’ Is at Its Best When Fortune Feimster and Molly Shannon Take Over

Lonnie’s one flicker of decency shows up as Sam (Fortune Feimster), a DIY mechanic he finds “fixing cars” in a Walmart parking lot and promptly hires as his new caddie, mostly because she tells him to eat a Milky Way every time he feels his blood pressure spike. The wary but genuine friendship between these two mismatched people is the closest The Hawk comes to a heart. Every scene they share makes the case for what this series could be if it trusted sincerity even half as much as it trusts a crass dick joke.

Molly Shannon, as Lonnie’s estranged wife Stacy, is the other reliable bright spot. Stacy has poured herself into launching a hard iced tea brand called Teed Off, and Shannon plays her as a woman who has decided every moment of her life, no matter how inappropriate, is a chance to move product. She turns opportunism into an art form, and she’s very funny doing it.

Is ‘The Hawk’ Worth Watching?

Image via Netflix

The trouble is that The Hawk keeps reaching for more than it can hold. There’s a whole rival subplot with Luke Wilson‘s Golden Fisk, the smug pro who has beaten Lonnie twice, plus Chris Parnell‘s tour board member, Katelyn Tarver‘s influencer fiancée, and David Hornsby as Stacy’s obviously gay new boyfriend, and the show piles on cameos and storylines faster than it can sustain any of them. The tone wobbles too, never quite landing on whether viewers are supposed to be appalled by Lonnie or rooting for him, which is a hard needle to thread, even with someone as charismatic as Ferrell filling his spiked golf shoes.

The Hawk doesn’t hit the giddy highs of Ferrell’s best sports comedies, and it’s missing the clean comic logic that made Talladega Nights so watchable, but when it’s fun, it’s really fun, and there’s a lot to be said for the fact that Ferrell, this deep into his career, still throws himself at a bit with zero regard for how he comes off. That level of commitment is truly impressive, and, when paired with the episodes’ half-hour runtime, it makes The Hawk easy to justify watching in the end.

The Hawk is now streaming on Netflix.