For years, I’ve been saying that YouTube creators, specifically those focusing on analog horror, will be the future of cinema. This past weekend, Backrooms proved my point, and I’m fighting back the urge to spend this entire article gloating about it. But the truth is, I have no right to brag. I’m just a guy who watches a lot of movies. The real hero of the story is Kane Parsons, who built out the Backrooms lore on YouTube and now has his name attached to a directorial debut that brought in $118 million on its opening weekend against a $10 million budget.
He proved the concept that I have been championing for some time now: kids on YouTube have their finger on the pulse, and Hollywood doesn’t.
So, does Backrooms live up to its hype? In so many words, yes. In addition to absolutely cleaning up at the box office, the film currently boasts an intimidating 90 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s worth noting, however, that the Popcornmeter score currently sits at 74 percent. As far as I could surmise, this dip in reception comes from long-time fans of the YouTube series who felt underwhelmed by the film.
Of course, you’ll get avid defenders of all things Backrooms saying that the haters “lack media literacy.” The problem is that nobody knows what “media literacy” means. People are allowed to dislike or feel underwhelmed by things that you like, and calling them “media illiterate” is just a cheap way to avoid engaging with valid criticism, and opening up a wider discussion on something that we’re all rooting for.
As somebody who has been following The Backrooms YouTube series since the early days, I think Backrooms played out exactly how I expected. But I am expecting more at some point, and I’m framing this review around its potential rather than what I got. Kane Parsons has said that he’s not finished, so let’s celebrate the fact that the concept has been proven and see where he takes it.
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Needs To Be Appraised Through The Lens Of Potential
There have already been countless thought-pieces on Backrooms, so here’s my take. Parsons triumphantly took his vision to the big screen, but it felt like there were caveats. Not in the form of studio interference or anything like that, but in the form of trying to get this thing to appeal to a wide, mainstream audience. The original series on YouTube is a niche thing for an online audience. Distilling its essence down to the most oversimplified terms, it’s found-footage content of a person running through an endless labyrinth of yellow corridors. The environment is oppressively liminal. Its eeriness comes from the fact that everything looks so familiar, yet so uncanny at the same time.
It’s House of Leaves, if House of Leaves could ever successfully be turned into a visual project (it can’t).
But therein lies the problem. While The Backrooms became incredibly popular with online communities, there’s no way to make it appeal to a wide audience without some concessions being made. Think about it. If you’re primed for innovative found-footage experiments set in a liminal hellscape, then you’re already all in.
For a wide release to work, however, there needs to be characterization and some semblance of a story arc. Yes, there’s lore about the Async Research Institute in the original web series, but that’s not enough to get the average person, who maybe watches two or three horror movies a year, invested. So what’s the solution? Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve).
The film tells the story of a bitter, divorced, alcoholic furniture store owner facing bankruptcy, and his accidental discovery of the Backrooms while searching for an electrical disturbance at Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire, the furniture store in which he currently lives after losing his house. There’s obvious tension between him and Mary, who doesn’t believe him when he says he found a seemingly endless stretch of yellow hallways beneath his store, and the film spends a lot of time playing with that dynamic and its inevitable fallout.
While Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve deserve all the praise that’s being thrown at them, their characters’ individual stories are not what drew people into the original YouTube series. It’s the liminal spaces and the never-ending sense of dread that something is always creeping around the next corner, ready to pounce, forcing you to run without thinking, only for you to find yourself even more lost and even more terrified. It’s a feedback loop of nightmare fuel that works exceptionally well in the form of an online mini series.
However, the concept of a Backrooms feature film first had to be proven to put Kane Parsons on the map. There needs to be an actual story to introduce this universe to a mainstream audience, and Will Soodik’s screenplay does so by giving us a compelling narrative about Clark, Mary, and the few other characters they interact with. They both experience a slow-burn psychological horror buildup driven by past traumas and present shortcomings, which manifest within the mysterious realm hidden beneath Clark’s furniture store. In my efforts to keep this spoiler-free, I’ll leave it at this: we get a good story, but I don’t think that’s what people want here.
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The Concept Has Been Proven, And We Need To Let It Grow On Its Own Terms
I’m conflicted in my assessment of Backrooms because I feel like Parsons and Soodik had a pretty impossible task ahead of them. They had to reconcile the sheer vibe and mystery of the YouTube series with a mainstream audience’s need for conventional storytelling. We’re talking about an intellectual property centered around an insidious company trying to map out an endless, theoretically impossible space that looks like an alternate reality that some people just so happen to walk into without any rhyme or reason.
That’s an incredibly hard sell.
That’s like saying, “Hey Mom! You love horror. You have to check out this new movie.” And when she asks you what it’s about, you answer, “Hallways and stuff.” That’s not how a low-budget horror movie makes back 12 times its budget (and counting).
Knowing this, Soodik and Parsons give us Clark and Mary, along with Mark Duplass’ Phil, one of the researchers working for Async. It succeeds with a mainstream audience because it attaches a human element to a place that lacks humanity. And if you want up-and-coming filmmakers to have a chance at all, their debut can’t just appeal to your niche interests. Your mom, or whoever in your mind is a casual genre fan, needs to buy into it too.
So, did Backrooms live up to the hype? Absolutely. More importantly, it proved that esoteric concepts coming from teenagers on YouTube are helping pave the way for a horror renaissance, and we have Kane Parsons, who was 17 years old when he started posting the shorts to YouTube, to thank for that. He took something niche and put it in front of a wide audience, and generally speaking, they’re gobbling it up. Now that the concept has been proven, I hope Parsons is given total creative freedom he deserves to continue building this thing out.
For now, I feel confident in my assessment that Backrooms needed its storytelling to succeed and capture the world’s attention and imagination. Now that general audiences know what the Backrooms are as a concept, I think Parsons is smart enough to run with the premise and keep building it out however he sees fit. This is the start of something beautiful, and any disappointment you have about how the storytelling was handled in the film should be gut-checked with the following question: If the whole thing played out like an extended version of the YouTube shorts, would your mom even consider watching it?
In this case, we need to think about Backrooms, not in terms of the movie that diehard fans want to see, but rather the movie that mainstream audiences need to see.
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Backrooms saw its theatrical release on May 29, 2026.
Brazil saw two fatal airborne incidents unfold on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. And while the internet is still in disbelief, particularly over the bungee jumping failure, another tragic accident is being mentioned in viral reactions. A plane carrying a pilot and 11 passengers on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed in a field on Sunday (June 14) before bursting into flames. Authorities say everyone on board died.
The crash happened shortly after the skydiving plane took off from a local airport around 11:30 a.m. Skydive Kansas City was operating the private plane, Dennis Jacobs said. He is the acting airport manager and the director of the Bates County Emergency Management Agency. The plane appears to be a single-engine turboprop plane.
“It had just taken off and made a left turn” before the crash, Jacobs said. “In my opinion, I think it was losing power, and he was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose first and caught fire.”
Sky diving companies operate in the region eight or nine months of the year. The season usually starts in late March or early April and lasts into October or November. Someone answering the phone at Skydive Kansas City declined to speak to a reporter from The Associated Press.
The crashed occurred on a sunny day in the area. Data from the digital flight tracking company FlightAware shows the plane had already completed two short flights on Sunday before the crash. Two more successful flights were logged Saturday, and five on Friday, according to FlightAware.
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It’s not yet known what factors may have contributed to the crash, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said. Additionally, those details will be part of the investigation carried out by NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) officials.
Missouri Officials Believe Crash Could’ve Been An “Accident”
The Pacific Aerospace 750XL that crashed is a model that’s popular for skydiving. It also has proven useful for carrying cargo, aerial surveying and medical evacuation flights. The aircraft can carry more than 4,000 pounds and is capable of taking off and landing on short runways, according to the manufacturer. According to FAA records, the plane was built in 2010.
Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson emphasized that the public is safe and this “appears to be an accident.” However, the exact cause of Sunday’s crash won’t be clear for a year or more until the NTSB publishes its final report.
Emergency personnel investigate the site of a plane crash at the Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, Mo., Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said poor maintenance has been a factor in a number of previous skydiving plane crashes. That’s because these companies are not held to a high standard under FAA rules. Guzzetti said skydiving companies are governed by the same rules as any private plane owner. It’s not governed by the more stringent rules that charter flight operators and airlines adhere to.
“There’s been a whole history of skydiving accidents for inadequate maintenance and deficient safety culture,” said Guzzetti who used to be a crash investigator for both the NTSB and FAA.
The NTSB has previously raised concerns about the weak oversight for skydiving operators in past crash investigations. The agency said after a 2019 crash that killed 11 people in Hawaii that the FAA’s regulatory system isn’t strong enough to ensure the safety of skydiving flights. The small airport serves around 30 aircraft, all privately owned, including crop-dusting companies and skydiving operators, Dennis Jacobs said.
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Family & Loved Ones Reportedly Witnessed Crash
Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said that some of the occupants’ family members witnessed the crash. Clergy and volunteers went to the site to assist relatives, Anderson said. Also, on Sunday afternoon, officials were working to identify all victims and notify their next of kin.
A heap of blue and silver mangled metal lay in the grass near Butler Memorial Airport. Meanwhile, a massive lineup of emergency vehicles gathered on a nearby street. Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration were also on scene Sunday afternoon, Anderson said.
The wreckage of a plane crash burns in a field in Butler, Mo, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (Mid America News Review via AP Photo )
Emergency responders put out the fire in the wreckage soon after the crash, Jacobs said, calling the scene “brutal.” First responders also checked the area under the flight path and did not find anyone who might have tried to jump out before the plane came down, he said.
HBO’s House of the Dragon has slowly but surely been settling into its stride, even though many may agree that it is time for a change. The adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Targaryen history, Fire & Blood, took its time setting up the generational trauma that was necessary to tell this story.
Even so, Season 3 is fast approaching, and the Dance of the Dragons has not reached its pace. Though the Targaryen civil war has had battles, the war itself has been a long time coming. Performances from Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith have kept viewers locked in, but House of the Dragon is about to see the end of an era as it finally discards the long-standing tradition that has defined the show for two seasons.
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‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1 and 2 Was a Slow-Burn Set-Up
House of the Dragon’s predecessor, Game of Thrones, made its mark with an expansive ensemble cast and a high-stakes world that got to blood and guts pretty early on. House of the Dragon was meant to be the antithesis after the long-running fantasy series came to a close. There needed to be a change to separate the two George R.R. Martin creations, and House of the Dragon did this by introducing a slow-burn drama that would go on to inform the highly anticipated Dance of the Dragons.
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Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz Which Lord of the Rings Character Are You? One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed
The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide.
💍Frodo
🌿Samwise
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👑Aragorn
🔥Gandalf
🏹Legolas
⚒️Gimli
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👁️Sauron
🪨Gollum
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01
You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders.
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02
Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis.
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03
Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it.
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04
What does “home” mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are.
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05
When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not.
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06
Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it’s knowing which questions to ask.
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07
How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind.
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08
Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen.
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09
You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character.
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10
When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories.
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The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earth
The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.
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💍 Frodo
🌿 Samwise
👑 Aragorn
🔥 Gandalf
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🏹 Legolas
⚒️ Gimli
👁️ Sauron
🪨 Gollum
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You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don’t have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.
You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you’d do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.
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You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.
You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.
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Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.
You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don’t do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.
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You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you’re not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.
You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.
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Constant warfare takes a backseat to the political intrigue and building of drama that fans of A Song of Ice and Fire understand will come to a boiling point. House of the Dragon cleverly starts when the infamous Half-Year Queen is a teenager. Portrayed by Milly Alcock, Rhaenyra Targaryen lives a comfortable life until her mother dies, and her father marries her best friend, Alicent. Because Rhaenyra is the only heir to King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and female, this is almost designed to lead to a civil war.
Indeed, Alicent has male heirs, but the genius of House of the Dragon is that it wasn’t a death sentence on its own. What would eventually cause the Targaryens to wage war against each other were years of hostility and parents passing on their hatred and prejudices to their children. Parental abuse causes the civil war, not dragons, which is a fascinating way for the spin-off to differentiate itself from Game of Thrones. HBO wins this one as the tension was effectively built. However, Season 3 is ready to dive headfirst into the war that fans have all been waiting for once and for all.
‘House of the Dragon’ Is Ready for the Battle of the Gullet to Explode
The deaths of the Queen Who Never Was, Rhaenys, and Meleys were heartbreakers for Team Black, but these were small battles in House of the Dragon Season 2. Even the brutal strike against Aegon’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) manhood was a small price to pay in the greater scheme of things. Fans want to see Criston Cole (Fabien Frankle) get his just deserts and for Daemon to saddle up. Especially after the baffling decision to keep the Rogue Prince in a fever dream for the large extent of Season 2, it’s time to take up arms.
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House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal promises that it’s about to happen. The Game of Thrones spin-off is apparently leaving this slow-burn storytelling behind and starting a new era of guts and glory. The bloody battle from Fire & Blood, known as the Battle of the Gullet, is reported to take place in Episode 1 of the third season. In the book, this is a huge strike against the Blacks, but it results in heavy casualties on both sides. This is the moment that everyone has been waiting for and will herald in a new age of the long-awaited Targaryen civil war.
This conflict is known as the bloodiest war in Westeros history and is blamed for the eventual extinction of the dragons. It is so monumental that it is referred to many times in Game of Thrones, though with differing perspectives. With only one more season confirmed to close out Rhaenyra’s story, the time to strike is now. House of the Dragon has had fans waiting for some time to see this war come to fruition, and it looks like fire and blood are finally here.
Footage of Rihanna Dippin’ It Low For A$AP Rocky During Night At Magic City
On the evening of Sunday,June 14, The Shade Room obtained footage of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky during their apparent date night at Magic City strip club in Atlanta, Georgia. In the clip, Rihanna was seen hitting the pole and dropping it low.
The Footage Is Turnin’ Heads
Social media users slid in TSR’s comment section, droppin’ reactions to Rihanna dippin’ it low for A$AP Rocky.
Instagram user @jayeleigh_ wrote, “Strip club dates do be fun as hell, they ain’t wrong 😂😂😂”
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While Instagram user @hennessy_._ added, “I know a baby free night when I see one 😍👏 @badgalriri”
Instagram user @regin3 wrote, “Should’ve played pour it up”
While Instagram user @_suckafreesi added, “This is considered a concert and I woulda bought tickets to this 🙁”
Instagram user @bryttain_ wrote, “Ri about to end up prego again, no more music from her but it’s ok. Fenty made her a billionaire, I wouldn’t make another song either 😂”
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While Instagram user @simonechanell_ added, “Ri is exactly who she think she is and how I be out with my man when I have one 😂😂”
Instagram user @i_lovesmiling wrote, “Still can’t distract us from the fact her bd was wearing a thong😂😂but go RiRi🔥👏🏽💯”
While Instagram user @shidrika added, “Idc what yall saying i’m trynna go w my man 😂😂😂”
Instagram user @temporary.alcoholic wrote, “If I go get wings and see riri I’d be so happy lol”
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While Instagram user @thecoreyshow added, “She said she’d work the pole before working the mic. Yall never getting that album.”
Before Footage of Rihanna Dippin’ It Low For A$AP Rocky At Magic City, She Already Had The Internet Talkin’
As The Shade Room previously reported, Rihanna already had the internet talkin’ before dippin’ it low for A$AP Rocky. Last week, footage surfaced of her doing ‘fit check while on the street. In the clip, she shouted Rocky out a few times, calling him her “baby daddy” and dropping some spicy words.
Repo: The Genetic Opera started its life in 2002 as a stage play that was then turned into a 2008 musical film by writer and star Terrance Zdunich. It was never a mainstream hit due to a very limited theatrical release, even earning supporting actress Paris Hilton a pair of Razzies for her performance, but Repo became a cult classic for its ensemble cast, catchy music, and compelling story. It was also very prescient, both for its cyberpunk worldbuilding and for its predictions about humanity and the pursuit of perfection.
Great, Another Subscription …
The movie takes place after an epidemic has struck the world, skyrocketing the megacorporation GeneCo to public prominence as they lease out organs similar to the way dealers lease cars. Should someone not be able to pay for their organ, the Repo Man is sent to collect the body part, regardless of the consequences. With all the medical operations going on, cosmetic surgery has also become insanely popular, but the pain of repeated surgery has created an addiction to the painkiller Zydrate.
But GeneCo’s CEO, Rotti (Paul Sorvino), is terminally ill in a way that no money can fix. His three children, Luigi, Pavi, and Amber Sweet, bicker King Lear-style over the inheritance of the company, but Rotti doesn’t want to leave it to any of them. Instead, he wants to leave the company to Shiloh (Alexa Vega of Spy Kids fame), the daughter of Nathan and Rotti’s ex-fiancée Marni. Shiloh has a rare blood disease that she inherited from Marni.
Marni died years ago from Rotti’s murderous and jealous meddling and has been blackmailing Nathan (Anthony Stewart Head) ever since by framing him for the death. Nathan is his head Repo Man, a fact that Shiloh is unaware of. Rotti’s blackmail doesn’t end there, either. Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman) is a famous singer and the spokesperson for GeneCo, held hostage by eyes provided to her by Rotti. She was Marni’s best friend and wants to retire, but leaving GeneCo means a visit from the Repo Man, and Nathan doesn’t want to do the job.
Shiloh sneaks out of her sickbed and becomes more aware of the real world around her, and she is guided by GraveRobber (Terrance Zdunich), a wily Zydrate dealer who knows all the ins and outs of the city. As the swirling whirlpool of life under GeneCo begins to suck everyone in, secrets kept for generations find their way to the surface. Blind Mag’s final show brings everyone together as the future of the company hangs in the balance, affecting not just Shiloh and Rotti’s feuding heirs, but the fate of everyone’s organs and lives.
Unfairly Underrated Modern Classic
As a film, Repo: The Genetic Opera is a work of art that deserved better than an arthouse release in only seven theaters. Zdunich presented audiences with a rich world of visual despair and economic scarcity. It has the vast scale of an opera, its setting oscillating between wealthy urban dwellings and the dark spaces of a city built on the bones of the dead. The story is intimate in scope, following the struggle between two men grieving over a long-deceased woman, while also being grand in scope, by making those men a king and his chief enforcer. Their personal clash affects more than just their own lives, with fallout affecting all of humanity.
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Zdunich’s cyberpunk vision hits us at our deepest core by making our very organs a commodity and our bodies a palette that can be altered at will. The poor struggle to stay healthy while the wealthy try to ward off aging and make themselves as beautiful as they can. Everyone is addicted to painkillers to ward off not only the physical pain but the agony of the world around them. If this all sounds familiar, that’s not an accident.
Yet somehow, this operatic tragedy manages to be uplifting through its rock music soundtrack. Each song illustrates the character singing it, from the nearly sinister GraveRobber to the conflicted Nathan and the angry Shiloh. Rotti is grave and majestic in his secretive and nefarious plans, and Brightman’s performance as Blind Mag intertwines love, determination, and awareness of her own mortality in a moving mosaic.
Paris Hilton Knew The Assignment
As a viewer and a fan of this film, I was surprised to find out for this article that Hilton’s performance as the cosmetic surgery-obsessed Amber Sweet was so disliked as to earn her Razzies. The celebrity is indeed largely playing herself: the spoiled daughter of a rich father, using her inherited wealth in an attempt to promote her own fame. However, Hilton turns up the heat in her onscreen appearances, portraying a woman who is as desperate for perfection as she is flailing to be a sultry seductress and pop singer.
Even at her worst, the real-life Hilton has never been as cunning or as selfish as her portrayal of Amber Sweet. Her performance and singing are actually really good, especially in the self-deprecating Shakespearean climax, and her scenes are some of the most memorable in a movie stuffed with incredible visuals and songs. It seems to me that she was awarded the Razzie more because of who she was than how she performed.
Of course, it is the interplay between Head and Vega that takes center stage. Vega was a perfect choice at that point in her career, transitioning as she was from Spy Kid to grown woman. She portrays Shiloh’s growth from a coddled young girl to an independent woman with all the growing pains that such a transition causes. Not a little girl anymore, she rages through punk and metal styles before evolving into an adult, just like a typical teenager, but also mature enough to carry the ending of her story. She clashes with Head, seeing only a father who doesn’t understand her and not the secrets beneath.
Nathan, meanwhile, is a heart-wrenching bundle of regret for his lost love, hatred for his job, and desire to protect Shiloh at all costs. Head’s performance as the titular tragic figure in the story is a stark reminder that the recently deceased actor was more than just Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Nathan is very well aware that he is one of the villains of the story, and Head performs this inner conflict as deeply through his singing as his acting. His tribute to Marni is emotionally one of the strongest songs in a film that tugs at the heart at every moment.
REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA SCORE
Repo: The Genetic Opera is a cult classic whose soundtrack finds its way around, drawing more people to the movie. It is an underrated film that deserves a wider audience, especially in honor of Anthony Stewart Head. Fortunately, it is available for free on Tubi as of this writing, and once the songs get stuck in your head, you can listen to the soundtrack on Spotify.
Matthew Needham with his hands folded in ‘House of the Dragon’Image via HBO
Despite suffering the metaphorical dragonfire of George R. R. Martin‘s ferocious pen, it looks like the series about which he has been most heavily critical since his work began being adapted is proving him wrong, following the release of reviews for House of the Dragon Season 3.
The latest season has debuted with a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 31 reviews, which makes it one of the best-reviewed seasons in the wider Game of Thrones franchise so far, and a huge W for the prequel ahead of its June 21 premiere on HBO. The new season is the penultimate installment of the series, bringing the Dance of the Dragons closer to realization as the wipeout of the Targaryens looms.
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The early reviews suggest that Season 3 is bigger, bloodier, and more confident than the first two seasons, with critics praising its spectacle, character work, and improved momentum. That is especially notable after Season 2 drew frustration for building toward war without fully delivering on the scale many fans expected. Based on the first reviews, Season 3 does not seem to have that problem.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
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🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
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You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
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The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
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You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
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Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
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The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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How Good is ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3?
Collider’sTherese Lacsongave Season 3 an 8/10, writing, “… as it is now, despite all the stumbling blocks along the way,House of the Dragonis still spectacle TV worth tuning in for.”CBR’sKatie Dollalso gave the season an 8/10, praising the show’s momentum: “In its penultimate season, the show is finally escaping the runway to reach an exhilarating destination of political intrigue, savvy spectacle, and juicy characterizations.”Screen Rant’sAngel Shawwas similarly positive, giving the season an 8/10 and writing, “So long as this momentum continues, we can certainly count onHouse of the Dragonseason 3 to prove us wrong aboutGame of Thronesendings.”MovieWeb’sMelody McCunegave the season 4/5, hailing the focus on war at last by writing, “Strap in, folks. It’s all sword-clashing, fire-breathing action from here on out, with a smattering of political machinations for good measure.”
The cast of House of the Dragon Season 3 includes Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers) as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith(Doctor Who) as Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One) as Alicent Hightower, Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk) as Aegon II Targaryen, Ewan Mitchell (Saltburn) as Aemond Targaryen, Steve Toussaint (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) as Corlys Velaryon, Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) as Otto Hightower, Fabien Frankel (Last Christmas) as Criston Cole, and James Norton (Happy Valley) as Ormund Hightower.
House of the Dragon Season 3 premieres June 21 on HBO.
Star Wars fans have been treated to two new projects so far in 2026, one on Disney Plus and one on the big screen. The first Star Wars project to emerge from hyperspace was Maul — Shadow Lord, the critically acclaimed Disney Plus series starring Sam Witwer as the famous Dark Side Force user. Maul — Shadow Lord was renewed for Season 2, and Witwer has since confirmed that fans won’t have to wait too long before a new batch of episodes is streaming on Disney Plus. Star Wars fans have also been returning to the theater for the first time since 2019 thanks to the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is well on its way to becoming the lowest-grossing Star Wars movie ever. It was thought that Ahsoka would premiere before the end of 2026, but it has since been confirmed that the show will return in early 2027.
In addition to Rosario Dawson in the lead role of Ahsoka Tano, the first season of the hit Disney Plus show also starred the late Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll and Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati. Sakhno is expected back in Season 2, but Stevenson has been recast with long-time Game of Thrones star Rory McCann, famed for his role as The Hound. However, one Ahsoka Season 1 star who has officially confirmed she will not be back in Season 2 is Claudia Black, who portrayed Mother Klothow. During an interview last year with Bleeding Cool, Black explained her departure from the show, saying that Disney refused to pay her a fair salary as a single mother:
“I’m going to be transparent. They picked up Season 2, they picked me up with it, and then Disney, which is structuring things differently these days, could not pay me what I needed to be paid as a single mother to keep all my responsibilities going at home in Los Angeles, because they were filming in London. It was not something that I could make happen, and therefore, I had to bow out for Season 2. It was very sad for me.”
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Collider Exclusive · Star Wars Quiz Which Force User Are You? Light Side · Dark Side · Or Somewhere Between
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The Force is not a binary. It is a spectrum — from the serene halls of the Jedi Temple to the shadowed corridors of Sith space. Ten questions will reveal where you truly fall. The Force has always known. Now you will too.
🔵Jedi Master
🟡Padawan
🔴Sith Lord
⚫Inquisitor
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⚪Grey Jedi
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01
What is the Force to you? Your relationship with the Force defines everything else.
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02
When you feel strong emotions — anger, grief, love — what do you do? The Jedi suppress. The Sith feed. Others choose differently.
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03
The Jedi Council gives you an order you disagree with. You: How you handle authority reveals your alignment.
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04
You are offered forbidden knowledge that could give you enormous power. The cost is crossing a moral line. You: The dark side’s pull is never more than a choice away.
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05
Your approach to training and learning is: A student’s habits become a master’s character.
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06
In a duel, your lightsaber fighting style reflects: Combat is the purest expression of a Force user’s philosophy.
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07
A defeated enemy lies at your feet, powerless. You: Mercy — or its absence — is the truest test of alignment.
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08
The Jedi Code forbids attachment. Your honest view on love and bonds: The source of the greatest falls in the galaxy.
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09
Why do you use the Force at all? What’s the point? Purpose is the difference between a knight and a weapon.
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10
At the final moment — light side or dark side pulling at you — what wins? In the end, every Force user faces this moment. What does yours look like?
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Your Alignment Has Been Determined Your Place in the Force
The scores below reveal how the Force sees you. Your highest number is your true alignment. Read on to understand what that means — and what it will cost you.
🔵 Jedi Master
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🟡 Padawan
🔴 Sith Lord
⚫ Inquisitor
⚪ Grey Jedi
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Disciplined, compassionate, and deeply attuned to the living Force, you have walked the path long enough to understand its demands — and accept them. You lead not through authority alone, but through example. You have felt the pull of the dark side and chosen otherwise, every time. That is not certainty. That is courage.
You are earnest, powerful, and brimming with potential — and you know it, which is both your greatest asset and your most dangerous flaw. You act before you think, trust your gut over your training, and sometimes confuse impatience for bravery. The Masters see something in you, though. The question isn’t whether you have what it takes — it’s whether you’ll be patient enough to find out.
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You are not simply dangerous — you are certain, and that is worse. You have decided what the galaxy needs, and you have decided you are the one to deliver it. Your power is genuine and formidable, earned through sacrifice that would have broken lesser beings. But examine your victories carefully. Every Sith believed their cause was righteous. The dark side’s cruelest trick is that it agrees with you.
You were forged in fire and reshaped by those who found you at your lowest. You serve, because service gave you structure when you had none. Your allegiance is not to an ideology — it is to survival and to the master who gave you purpose. But there is something buried beneath the conditioning. The Jedi you hunt? You recognize them. Because you remember what it felt like before the choice was taken from you.
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You have looked at the Jedi Code and the Sith Code and found both of them incomplete. You walk the line not out of indecision but out of conviction — you genuinely believe both extremes miss something essential. The Jedi don’t fully trust you. The Sith think you’re wasting your potential. They’re both partially right. But so are you.
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What Else Do We Know About ‘Ahsoka’ Season 2?
Practically nothing is known about the plot of Ahsoka Season 2 at this time. Hayden Christensen is confirmed to reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker in the series, as well as other members of the Rebels gang, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla and Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren. The show was written and created for TV by Dave Filoni, who has now assumed the role of President at Lucasfilm.
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Check out the first season of Ahsoka on Disney Plus and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Season 2.
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Release Date
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August 22, 2023
Network
Disney+
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Directors
Steph Green, Jennifer Getzinger, Peter Ramsey, Rick Famuyiwa
Summer is officially glow season, but some of your favorite warm-weather habits could actually be sabotaging your skin.
To find out what not to do this summer, ET caught up with celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. John Layke, who shared the biggest skincare mistakes he sees during the hottest months of the year and how to avoid them.Dr. John Layke/Instagram
First up: Overdoing it with heavy active ingredients.
“During the peak summer months, skin is more sensitive to the sun when using retinol, so decrease the frequency of usage to 3 days per week and ensure multiple reapplications of sunscreen,” Layke says.
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But that doesn’t mean you should break up with retinol altogether just because the sun is out. Layke recommends reaching for the ProRetinol Age Rewind from his Beverly Hills MD line with Dr. Payman Danielpour to help maintain a smooth complexion.Beverly Hills MD
“It helps increase cellular turnover, leading to fresher, healthier skin,” the Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Group doctor explains.
And while everyone loves a good serum, sunscreen like his brand’s Sheer Radiance SPF Drops remains the foundation of any summertime skincare routine.
“Appropriate sunscreens, which contain protective actives like zinc oxide can mechanically protect the skin from overexposure of UV rays, especially when using a retinol. … Some of the biggest mistakes I see is the lack of reapplication when being in the sun, especially during peak hours of 10am and 2pm, when UV rays are strongest,” he explains.
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Beverly Hills MD
And if you’ve been putting off a laser treatment until fall, you may not have to.
“As long as people are aware that protecting the skin is paramount, microneedling or laser resurfacing can be done at any time of the year. This means no direct exposure for 6 weeks following the treatment to avoid any untoward hyperpigmentation that may occur in the healing skin,” he notes.
For those seeking an instant refresh, Layke points to HydraFacials as a seasonal favorite.Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Group/Instagram
“It will improve the texture of the skin temporarily and leave a noticeable glow.”
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If you’re seeking something beyond a quick glow-up, Botox remains a popular option year-round, though summer plans may impact the longevity of your results.
“This is related to the increase in outdoor physical activity, which has been shown to decrease the longevity of neurotoxins due to an increase in the metabolism of this purified protein.”Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Group/Instagram
But before you head inside after a day at the beach or pool, don’t forget one simple step: rinse off.
“Excess chlorine exposure in a pool, or salt exposure to the skin can cause irritation and dryness. Make sure to rinse soon after swimming to avoid.”
Veteran ABC 7 anchor Bill Ritter is opening up about the frightening first symptoms that led to his early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and the emotional reality of stepping away from the anchor desk after more than two decades. Just days after announcing his retirement from WABC-TV, Bill Ritter revealed he initially dismissed troubling memory changes before ultimately realizing something more serious was going on.
Instagram | Bill Ritter
Appearing on “Good Morning America” on Monday, Ritter shared that he first noticed symptoms nearly two years ago. “I realize I was forgetting people’s names and places,” Ritter recalled. “Didn’t know why this was happening.”
The longtime journalist said his wife, Kathleen, noticed changes as well, though he initially believed his demanding work schedule was likely to blame. In an effort to reduce stress and improve his sleep, Ritter began scaling back his responsibilities at ABC 7, first stepping away from the station’s 11 p.m. broadcast and later exiting the 5 p.m. newscast so he could focus solely on anchoring the 6 p.m. show.
“I was sleeping for the first time at night; for the first time in 25 years,” Ritter explained. “Finally getting a decent night sleep and it wasn’t getting better.”
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That’s when Ritter decided it was time to seek answers. “We said, ‘I gotta get tested,’ ” he recalled. “And that really was an important thing. A lot of people say, ‘I’m fine, don’t worry about it, I’m going to be fine.’ No. You gotta go do this.”
Ritter Says He Was ‘Scared’ After Diagnosis
Ritter admitted his diagnosis immediately brought thoughts of his father, who died with Alzheimer’s disease in 1998. “My first reaction was, I thought about my dad,” Ritter said. “That was immediate. He just popped into my head.”
“And then a couple of seconds later, I was scared,” he continued. “I don’t mind saying that. It was scary. Because it was like, ‘Wait a minute, I’m supposed to be doing this. What’s going on here?’ ”
The Emmy-winning broadcaster said his focus quickly shifted to his family and how the disease would affect them moving forward. “I quickly moved into husband/dad place,” Ritter said. “Because Alzheimer’s really affects the family most. As a dad and a husband, I said, ‘I gotta deal with this. This is my family. And that’s what I’m really worried about.’ ”
“They’re the real tough ones in this,” he added. “My kids say, ‘Dad, you’re so brave in all this.’ And I’m not the one who is brave. It’s my kids and my wife who are the brave ones. That’s really the real case here.”
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Bill Ritter Says Honesty Led To His Retirement Announcement
Instagram | Bill Ritter
Ritter first revealed his diagnosis during Friday’s Eyewitness News at 6, announcing it would be his final night anchoring the program. “After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I have Alzheimer’s,” Ritter told viewers. “It’s ‘early stage’ Alzheimer’s, and they say the treatments I’m getting are keeping it at bay. For now. But there is no guarantee, because there’s no cure yet for Alzheimer’s. So, unless someone finds an amazing cure, and soon, tonight will be the last newscast I anchor.”
The longtime ABC 7 personality became emotional while explaining why he chose to be transparent with viewers. “My job as a journalist is to speak honestly to the public,” Ritter said. “Truth and facts is what we deal with. I figured I owed it to the viewers to be honest about this.”
Ritter Isn’t Leaving Journalism Behind
Although Ritter is stepping away from the anchor desk, he made clear he has no plans to retire completely. Instead, the veteran broadcaster will remain with ABC 7 in a new role focused on covering Alzheimer’s disease and other related illnesses, including the financial and emotional toll they take on families.
“I think we have an opportunity,” Ritter said while reflecting on the overwhelming response he received after sharing his diagnosis publicly. “There was such an outpouring this weekend of love and support. This disease, obviously, doesn’t care what your politics are because we’re all in this together.”
Bill Ritter Plans To Raise Alzheimer’s Awareness In New Role
Looking ahead, Ritter said he hopes to continue using journalism to bring awareness to the disease while helping others feel less alone.
“After this interview, I’m going to go to our Monday morning meeting at 9 a.m. … and then I’m going to go to my desk and have day one of the new job,” Ritter said. “And that will be to bring people into the tent, because I think that’s what we want.”
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