For Susie Evans, freezing her eggs was an especially emotional experience.

“When I started my injections, I knew I was going to vlog the process, but I was coming off of a really tough week,” Susie, 32, said in a Friday, August 14, YouTube video, introducing the footage from her procedure. “I was super emotional. My little sister was diagnosed with cancer last year, and earlier that week, she FaceTimed me [when] she had shaved her head from chemo.”

As the Bachelor Nation alum prepared to begin her fertility injections, she also internally faced persistent anxiety.

“I was battling with this anxiety of, ‘Am I a good enough sister? Am I a good enough daughter?’ [I was] feeling guilt for living so far away,” Susie said of settling in California away from her family’s native Virginia. “All of these overwhelming thoughts and feelings [were] creeping into my head. ‘What am I doing with my life? Should I be in L.A.? Am I doing the right thing? Am I ever going to find somebody here?’ I was just dealing with so much stuff.”

Related: Bachelor Nation’s Susie Evans Starts ‘Very Emotional’ Egg-Freezing Journey

Bachelor Nation alum Susie Evans is getting candid about her fertility journey as she prepares to freeze her eggs. “I officially started hormone injections in preparation for my egg retrieval in about two weeks,” Evans, 32, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, May 2, sharing footage of one of her pre-procedure injections. “Yesterday was very emotional […]

Despite the emotional toll, Susie still feels that she made the correct — and personal — decision to freeze her eggs.

“[For] someone like me who wants to be a mom [and] I dream of having a family someday, but I’m 32 going on 33 pretty soon,” she said. “That’s not to say that five years from now, I’m not going to have a totally natural, healthy pregnancy without having to use these eggs. You never know what’s in store for you, but the thing that I love about it is that it’s taking control of what you can, right now.”

Susie continued, “I know that my eggs are going to be the youngest, the healthiest, most pristine that they’ll ever be. So, why not get a batch of them put aside in case I need them in the future?”

Related: Celebrities Who’ve Opened Up About Freezing Their Eggs

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Over the years, celebrities have opened up about freezing their eggs — including medical and personal reasons for taking control of their fertility. “Doing ovarian reserve is important for me, because I’m fortunate enough to have that as an option,” Halsey said during an April 2018 The Doctors appearance, noting she made her choice after […]

Susie announced in May that she was beginning the process of freezing her eggs, which involved introducing an influx of hormones into the body to trigger the ovaries to release eggs.

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“I officially started hormone injections in preparation for my egg retrieval in about two weeks,” she captioned Instagram footage of the process. “Yesterday was very emotional for me starting the medication. I felt a combination of fear, sadness and immense gratitude for the science that makes this possible and for the opportunity to freeze my eggs.”

Susie noted that she decided to go through the egg-freezing journey because she’s “still figuring out the marriage and kids chapter” of her future.

“I look at the life I’ve built and the blessing of having the option to freeze my eggs and I feel incredibly grateful,” she stated at the time. “So without further ado, let’s get these eggs on ice, y’all!!!”

Social media users are reeling from the tragic, sudden loss of Hollywood staple Hayden Panettiere. The actress, best known for roles in classic productions like “Remember the Titans,” “Bring It On,” “Nashville,” and more, passed away at age 36. While the details surrounding her unfortunate passing remain unknown, her fans are honoring her life and legacy.

A representative for the beloved actress recently confirmed that the mother of one died at 36, according to The Blast.

“She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” the rep said.

Her father, Skip Panettiere, told ABC News that the family has requested privacy as they take time “to process this unimaginable loss.”

Hayden Panettiere’s Fans Have Flooded Her Last Instagram Post With Heartwarming Messages

Panettiere was last active on Instagram in July 2026, posting a picture of herself with director and podcaster Randall Slavin. The post now has over 5,000 comments, many in the last hour, featuring tributes to the late actress.

“This is the most shocking news. I remember seeing one of your first roles in Remember the Titans. Loved your work in Heroes as well. Rest easy and may god be with you, Hayden,” someone posted, while another wrote, “My stomach hurts. I’m trying to understand this. Like dude no.”

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Another user reflected on Panettiere’s extensive career, which began in the ’90s, praising her for essentially raising a generation of young adults. “I hope she’s at peace; she deserved so much better from this world,” they posted.

This is a developing story…

Elizabeth Olsen and husband Robbie Arnett don’t like to show off their romance — in fact, the couple have taken serious steps over the years to stay out of the public eye.

Speaking with Harper’s Bazaar in 2018, the WandaVision actress, who doesn’t have a social media presence, explained that when she did use the apps, she never felt comfortable with personal posts. “Every day I think I should delete it,” she told the outlet.”I find myself putting something private up there and I think, ‘This is stupid, why did I do that? I should delete it immediately.’”

Olsen stayed true to that idea when it came to her relationship with indie pop musician Arnett, as the pair have remained relatively quiet about the timeline of their romance since first meeting in 2017 while vacationing in Mexico.

Olsen reportedly moved pretty fast with the Milo Greene musician, as they were instantly taken with each other, taking their relationship public in August 2017.

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The couple waited a few months before going public with their partnership. In August that year, while speaking with radio show host Sway for his morning show, the Ingrid Goes West actress proudly stated, “My boyfriend’s in a cool band called Milo Greene!” When Sway asked, “Did you just shamelessly plug your boyfriend’s bang?” she replied, “Yes I did, because I really like ‘em and I really like him.”

Olsen and Arnett were officially engaged by July 2019, quietly tying the knot the next year.

Scroll down to relive the highlights of Olsen and Arnett’s romance:

Legendary New York Yankees star Tommy John has died. He was 83.

“The New York Yankees mourn the passing of Tommy John, who was a bedrock of our rotation during his time in pinstripes and a longtime favorite of Yankees fans,” a Sunday, August 16, statement via the team’s official X account read. “While his incredible longevity and post-surgery achievements changed the fortunes and trajectory of countless athletes around the world, it also overshadowed his excellence as a pitcher, which included consecutive 20‑win seasons with the Yankees.”

The obituary continued, “We pause to remember the totality of his legacy — his competitiveness and skill, his penchant for conversation, his kind and gracious nature, and his stature as an athletic and medical pioneer. The Yankees extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

Tommy is survived by his wife, Cheryl John, and their children Tamara, Tommy III and Travis. (Tommy and Cheryl were also parents of son Taylor, who died in 2010 at the age of 28.)

Related: Sports Moments That Tugged at Our Heartstrings

Getty Images (4) Sometimes, sports really have a way of tugging at our heartstrings — and 2024 had more than its share of special moments. In baseball, Freddie Freeman, the World Series MVP, returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers to a standing ovation after leaving the team to look after his son in the ICU, […]

Cheryl confirmed to The New York Times on Sunday that Tommy died after a private battle with bladder cancer.

Tommy, who never publicly disclosed his cancer diagnosis prior to his death, skipped the Yankee’s Old-Timers Day earlier this month amid his then-undisclosed health issue.

“I want to thank the Yankees organization and the Steinbrenner family for giving me this opportunity to say goodbye to everyone, along with all the friends and family who followed me throughout my 26-year career,” Tommy wrote in a statement shared via the Yankee’s social media pages on August 8. “Thanks to Dr. [Frank] Jobe, who saved my arm and made it possible for me to continue pitching.”

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Related: Celebrity Deaths of 2026

Hollywood mourned the deaths of some of its most legendary stars in 2026. In June, legendary music executive Clive Davis also died at age 94 following a hospitalization for an upper respiratory infection. The following month, G.R.L. member Lauren Bennett died at age 37, while Bonnie Tyler died at 75. Emergency!‘s Randolph Mantooth and Police […]

Jobe, who died in 2014, performed the first ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction on Tommy in 1974, replacing his torn elbow ligament with a then-revolutionary tissue graft. The procedure restored joint stability, so Tommy could continue pitching.

“That surgery has since gone on to save the careers of countless pitches, including many of the very best in the game today,” he wrote at the time. “Thank you to all the fans who supported me and my teammates for 26 years. I will never forget you. The day I left for my first job as a pitcher, my father looked at me and said, ‘Good luck, Tommy. Just remember one thing: whether you make it big in the big leagues or you don’t, you’ll always just be Tommy John from Terre Haute, Indiana.”

Tommy concluded, “I’ve never forgotten those words. Thank you and God Bless.”

New York Knicks player Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods’ Malibu wedding was a star-studded affair.

The couple tied the knot in California on Saturday, August 15, per photos obtained by Page Six. Woods stunned in a strapless ballgown while Towns opted for a black tuxedo. In one image, Towns and Woods kissed as he dipped her on the grass. All of the guests wore black for the nuptials.

The pair have yet to publicly comment on their wedding. Us reached out to reps for both Towns and Woods.

The celebration occurred two months after Towns and the Knicks won the 2026 NBA Finals. Six years prior, Towns and Woods began dating after meeting through mutual friends.

“The right person will bring a lot out of you. We have been friends for a long time,” she told Extra in 2020. “Naturally, we both connected about losing a parent at a very young age … so it was a very organic relationship that we’d been best friends for a while.”

Towns and Woods announced their engagement in December 2025, sharing photos of the NBA player popping the question while on a balcony. “Marry Christmas 🎄❤️💍,” the post read at the time.

Scroll down to see all the celebrities in attendance at Towns and Woods’ wedding:

Hailey and Justin Bieber

Hailey was seen wearing a gown with halter straps and styling her hair in an updo as she stood next to Justin, who opted for a classic suit and black tie, per DeuxMoi.

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet

The Kardashians star, who recently celebrated her birthday on vacation with her family, smiled and held hands with Chalamet as they walked outside. Kylie stunned in a black dress with a tight-high slit in the front and cut-outs on the waist, while Chalamet opted for a button-down top and black leather jacket.

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor

Stiller, a longtime and dedicated Knicks fan, looked dapper in a black suit at the event. DeuxMoi reported that his wife was also in attendance.

Jaden Smith

Smith opted for a black suit as he stood beside Justin.

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Michael B. Jordan

The actor was photographed sitting as he sported a black suit.

Teyana Taylor

Taylor stunned in an updo and placed a sweatshirt over her outfit.

Nicolas Vansteenberghe and Olandria Carthen

The Love Island USA stars were spotted sitting next to each other at the wedding, per DeuxMoi. (Us confirmed last month that the pair split after one year of dating.)

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Taylor Frankie Paul is addressing how she feels about her “enemies” amid her ongoing legal issues with ex Dakota Mortensen and his roommate Cru Eaton.

“Bible says to pray for our enemies too and I hate to admit how difficult it is to genuinely pray for those people,” Taylor, 32, wrote via her Instagram Story on Saturday, August 15. The reality TV star did not identify anyone by name.

Alongside the message, she shared a photo featuring the former Bachelorette lead with her arms crossed as she looked down at the floor.

“This is probably what I looked like,” she wrote. “PS not AI, can google this.”

While Taylor declined to specify who she was referring to, her upload comes amid ongoing tension between her, Dakota and Cru. In 2023, her ex was involved in a domestic violence case with Taylor, who ultimately took a plea deal in order to avoid possible jail time.

Three years later, Taylor was involved in a separate altercation with Dakota later investigated by Utah’s Draper City Police Department. The pair have denied each other’s allegations. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to file criminal charges against Taylor.

The mom of three temporarily lost custody of the exes’ 2-year-old son, Ever, though she has since been awarded visitation rights from a judge. (Taylor also shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6, with ex-husband Tate Paul.)

The judge also issued mutual protective orders to both Taylor and Dakota. Last month, Taylor also filed a temporary order of protection for “civil stalking” against Eaton after he allegedly posted footage of the exes fighting without her consent. The judge signed off on a three-year order.

Earlier this month, a Utah judge granted Taylor a continued stalking injunction against Cru during a court hearing. After the ruling, Cru exclusively told Us that it was a “bummer that the injunction didn’t get lifted” because he believes he’s “protected by the First Amendment.”

Dakota, meanwhile, returned to social media earlier this month after a brief hiatus and shared that he is “in a better place right now.” In a separate clip shared via his Instagram Story, Dakota said he would be speaking “about things” sometime in the future.

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“I don’t feel like this is the time to do that. I think I have a lot more important things to focus on. And that is where my energy is. I will continue to make sure I focus on the things that matter the most right now. That being said, with social media, I don’t know what this is going to be like.”

He continued, “I’m going to do it just for fun just like I always have and I feel like if it’s mentally not good for me, then I will take a break. I’ll be gone. I will be so far gone, you’ll never see me again. For the people who that’s a dream come true, you’re welcome. God Bless.”

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

Jordyn Woods and New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns are officially married!

Woods, 28, and Towns, 30, said “I do” in Malibu, California, on Saturday, August 15, according to photos obtained by Page Six. The influencer looked radiant in a strapless ballgown and a lengthy veil as she kissed Towns, who looked dapper in a black tuxedo.

Woods and Towns have yet to publicly address their nuptials. Us has reached out a rep for both for comment.

The pair’s big day comes nearly two months after Towns celebrated the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Finals victory.

Related: Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns’ Relationship Timeline

From friends to lovers, Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns have supported each other through numerous ups and downs over the years. The former best friend of Kylie Jenner made waves in February 2019 when she and Tristan Thompson kissed while he was dating Khloé Kardashian. While Woods and Jenner had a falling out over the […]

“Trying to find the right words because I’m still overwhelmed with emotion. These guys were so locked in that I woke up this morning still saying 0-0, waiting for Game 6,” Woods gushed over Towns and his team’s championship win in a June Instagram post. “Watching this team all season has been unbelievable, not just because of their undeniable talent, but because they’re even better people than they are players.”

She continued with a message just for Towns, “To my soon-to-be husband and best friend: you did it. I couldn’t be more proud of you. Watching the humility you’ve carried through every high and low, the way you put your faith before everything else, the sacrifices you’ve made, and the joy you’ve brought to every moment has been so inspiring. No ego. Just hard work, gratitude, and an unwavering belief.”

Woods further gushed about the couple’s “journey” to the coveted NBA Finals stage.

“You always said, ‘When I get my ring, I’ll get you yours,’,” Woods said, referring to Towns’ Christmas 2025 proposal. “Somehow it happened exactly that way. Two rings in one year. 💍💍.”

Throughout Towns’ playoff run, Woods remained steadfast as she supported her now-husband, always with a Knicks-colored orange clutch by her side. (The handbag, crafted by Woods’ eponymous label, had been heralded as the team’s lucky charm.)

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“As much as I’d love to give all the credit to the @woodsbyjordyn bag for its undefeated playoff run and unanimous MVP performance, there’s no denying how special this team truly is,” Woods continued. “Forever proud. 🏆🧡💙.”

Towns and Woods have been together since 2020.

“Me and Jordyn met years ago knowing common people and just became friends,” Towns explained during a joint interview on Woods’ Regular-ish show via Instagram in 2021. “And ever since then, our relationship grew where we became more than friends. I’m not saying [it] in that way, but just best friends. Then, we started having a deeper relationship. It just so happened, COVID came and kind of brought its challenges and it kind of forced us to either pick where our relationship was going to go as friends or something more, and we chose the latter.”

Kylie Jenner is celebrating her 29th birthday by vacationing alongside her famous sisters.

In a Saturday, August 15, Instagram post, Kylie, 29, shared a series of snaps from her birthday festivities, including one image of her smiling with sister Kendall Jenner.

In another pic, Kylie and Kendall, 30, sported athletic wear, bandanas and goggles while posing with sisters Kim Kardashian and Khloé Kardashian. Kylie was seen taking a “birthday ride” with Kim’s boyfriend, Lewis Hamilton, as the pair drove an ATV on a dirt course.

The bash included several odes to Kylie, including a coconut that read, “Happy Birthday Kylie” and a banner that was placed over a window with the same message.

Related: Kylie Jenner Gushes Over 28th Birthday Bash: ‘Best Birthday Ever’

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“Hello 29 >,” Kylie captioned the upload, to which Khloé, 42, commented, “I had the most magical time with the most magical birthday girl 💖.” Mom Kris Jenner also wrote, “Happy 29 my girl!!!! 🙏😍❤️.”

Khloé, for her part, also shared a lengthy birthday message celebrating Kylie.

“Happy birthday to my world class poker player baby sister 🤍,” she wrote via Instagram earlier this month. “Kylie, I swear in another lifetime I was your mother. I don’t care how old you are, you will forever be my baby. I know I’ve loved you long before this life and I’ll love you long after it. My sister by blood, my best friend by choice, and one of the greatest loves of my life. I know in every lifetime, every reality, every realm, we will always find one another.

She continued, “Watching you become the woman you are makes me so incredibly proud and emotional. The mother, friend, sister, daughter, businesswoman you are inspires me endlessly. You light up spaces you aren’t even in by the mention of your name. You’re hysterical, gentle, loving, lighthearted, patient and so much fun and yes, obviously the most gorgeous but your heart will forever be the most beautiful thing about you.”

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Related: Kylie Jenner Shares Photos of 28th Birthday Celebrations With Her Kids

Kylie Jenner was surrounded by love as she turned 28 last month. The Kylie Cosmetics founder — who celebrated her birthday on August 10 — shared a series of photos from her various birthday celebrations in an Instagram post on Thursday, September 4, including snaps with her two children, Stormi, 7, and Aire, 3. (Jenner […]

Khloé wrote that she knows how “rare of a bond all of ours is,” and she will “never take it for granted.”

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“What a blessing that I get to do life with you the way that we do,” she concluded. “My forever baby. My forever bestie. My forever soulmate. My forever 🤍. I love you beyond words.”

Kylie previously celebrated her birthday with a “Princess Kitty” themed bash, inviting her friends — including Hailey Bieber — to her home in California for the festivities.

“Happy bday eve to meeee 🩷 i had my dream princess kitty bday night 🤭🩷🎀 my heart [is] so full 🩷🩷 i love my life and my friends,” she wrote via Instagram, sharing a photo of her in a pink bodycon dress, matching feather-adorned stilettos, boa and feather-trimmed tiara.

What do you first think of when you hear the name “Green Lantern”? Is it the power ring and the colorful suit? Maybe it’s Phil LaMarr‘s John Stewart from the Justice League animated series, or the previous live-action movie attempt with Ryan Reynolds? Whatever your expectations are, it’s probably best to stifle them for the time being. Lanterns is what happens when HBO adapts a fantastical DC character. Rather than the usual intergalactic adventures, the series is a slow-burn take on the Green Lantern mythos that has been aptly described as akin to both True Detective and Training Day, with longtime superhero Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) showing newcomer John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) the ropes. It’s an oddball take, to be sure, but there’s certainly potential.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 1 Begins With a Call to Fearlessness

Lanterns‘ first episode — penned by creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King — begins not in the present, but 30 years ago in 1996. While waiting for their father to get home, a young John Stewart (Cairo Cash Lee) and his brothers watch as Green Lantern, a former test pilot and veteran named Hal Jordan, is interviewed on 60 Minutes. The segment reveals that Hal is Earth’s first Green Lantern, chosen because he has no fear. (How all of this works in relation to Superman, since Lanterns supposedly takes place in the DC Universe, is still a mystery.) When John’s father (J. Alphonse Nicholson) arrives home, his brothers scatter. John Sr. then takes his youngest son outside, grabs an apple, and shoots it off the boy’s head — the whole time, young John remains as cool as can be. “Are you afraid?” his father asks. “No, sir,” John replies. Talk about a complicated upbringing.

Two decades later, Lanterns picks back up with John in 2016, when he meets with Hal — who is both late and hungover after achieving peace on a nearby alien world — for some training. The pair have only been at this for two months, but it’s clear that there’s frustration between them. Hal can’t seem to take anything seriously, and John can’t help but take everything that way. Still, the latter deals with his mentor’s belligerence, which today results in Hal jumping out of a moving car and sending John (armed only with the power ring) straight off a cliff. Not exactly the world’s most gracious teacher. John survives the wreck by making bubble wrap with the ring and immediately calls his father. “Just stay the course, and this job is yours,” John Sr. reminds his son, which also makes us curious about the dynamic between these two.

While heading toward Hal’s favorite taco stand, John is met by what he later deems a “Halogram” — a backup of Hal’s consciousness attached to the ring, also played by Chandler. This backup, from 2006, is what the Halogram compares to the “Cloud,” which wasn’t really a thing until a year or two later, but we’ll let it slide. In any event, the Halogram reveals that the Green Lanterns are supposed to back up their consciousness more regularly than Hal has been, which is curious in itself, but also divulges something else to John: “There’s hail in Rushville, Nebraska.” When the trainee reunites the ring with its owner, he passes on the strange phrase, and Hal takes off into the sky without a moment to lose.

Six hours later, John arrives in Rushville himself to find police scattered around the high school football field where a shooting has taken place. Enter: local sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald). Although she’s already informed Hal that he has no jurisdiction (since there are no aliens present), Hal strongly believes he’ll be taking over the case soon enough. Despite the sheriff’s warnings to stay away, neither Lantern can do it: Hal due to his stubbornness, and John because of an unspoken desire to prove himself. Of course, Hal sees the ambition in John’s eyes through that tough and silent exterior. “This is my job, and as long as I’m alive, that ain’t changing,” the veteran Green Lantern reminds him.

Hal Jordan Has No Trouble Breaking the Rules in ‘Lanterns’ Episode 1

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It isn’t long before John notices something that Hal already clocked before he arrived: one of the bystanders is not like the others. A man in short sleeves — having ditched his warm clothes when everyone else can see their breath — stands by with the other locals, trying to blend in. John wishes to defer to Kerry’s chain of command and goes to tell the sheriff, only to find she already knows. Unfortunately, John has drawn attention to himself, spooking the suspect in the process. A chase through the school gym ensues before John knocks the suspect to the ground and Kerry arrests him — refusing to allow Hal an interrogation. Seemingly defeated, Hal decides the best thing to do next is to get a drink, and from what little we know about the space cop at this point, that seems on brand.

At a local bar, John inquires about how Hal got the ring in the first place, believing that the Green Lantern ought to have proven himself rather than the whole thing being up to chance. Hal tells him that he was abducted from his bed by a green bubble before a voice asked if he was afraid. When he responded in the affirmative, the bubble shot him to rural Nebraska, where he met his dying predecessor. Anyone familiar with the Green Lantern mythos could probably tell you the rest. The alien, named Abin Sur, gave him his power ring and inducted him into the Green Lantern Corps. His last words were either “good luck”… or something a bit more colorful. It’s here that Hal expresses his belief that the Guardians never wanted anyone coming near Earth, which is why he thinks Abin Sur’s crash was intentional — and why he set up the “Halogram” in the first place, keeping tabs on the same place that the sector’s last Green Lantern died.

All of this is a preamble to the real reason Hal picked this particular bar, though. After paying to play “Brand New Key” by Melanie on the jukebox three times in a row, he picks a fight with a few locals to purposefully get himself thrown in jail, hoping to interrogate the suspect while there. After Hal leaves John behind with the ring, the trainee starts talking with a local woman (Poorna Jagannathan) about his potential as a Green Lantern. Although Earth only gets one Green Lantern at a time, John insists that he’s only being trained as a backup. It isn’t long before Kerry arrives to take Hal into custody, and afterward, John sleeps with the woman from the bar. The next day, John arrives to pick up Hal at the police station, but the Lantern’s whole operation was a bust. Suspecting his true intentions, Kerry locked him in the broom closet so he couldn’t speak to the witness. As Hal is arraigned, his lawyer, Billy Macon (Jason Ritter), arrives and settles his bail on behalf of his father, William (Garret Dillahunt), who invites the Lantern to his ranch for dinner that evening. Oh, and Billy just so happens to be Kerry’s husband.

Hours later, Hal and John arrive at the Macons’ ranch. The whole thing is like a cross between Yellowstone‘s Dutton Ranch (though without a breathtaking mountain backdrop) and a militia compound, full of armed guards and plenty of mysterious buildings. There’s no telling what Macon has hidden on the premises. It isn’t long before the pair join up with Bill and Kerry, who introduce their son Noah (Cary Christopher). After Hal offers Kerry a beer, she warns him that her father-in-law is not the sort of man they want to owe. Upon meeting said father-in-law, William, he reveals to the Lanterns that he’s only a caretaker for the property and can’t identify his employer due to an NDA. As it turns out, William bailed Hal out because of his belief that aliens will one day eradicate mankind from Earth, just like the Native Americans were removed from this land before them.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 1 Wraps Up With a Flash-Forward to a Darker Fate

Image via HBO

As Hal mingles with Macon, John finds young Noah throwing a football. He teaches the boy how to aim (by not aiming, really), and it’s here that he learns that the boy’s grandmother (and Macon’s wife), Zoe, is the same woman he slept with the night before. However, Macon seems to know all about his wife’s extramarital affairs, hinting at it in his farewell to John and Hal. Their meeting, however, as well as an exchange between Macon and his daughter-in-law, helps secure Hal an interview with the suspect. What that particular conversation involved, we have no idea, but as Hal observed earlier, she appears to be a woman stuck in a debt of some kind…

The next morning, Hal and John arrive at the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Department to speak with the suspect, a truck driver named Waylon Sanders (Chris Coy). Although Kerry insists that Waylon is human, John tells her that there are currently 14 different alien species out there that can pass as human. (A fact Hal probably told him on Day 1.) In the interrogation room, Hal quizzes Waylon on some classic Nebraska football trivia, which he passes without a problem, almost as if he’s memorized a Wikipedia entry on the subject. When Hal switches gears to pop culture with Harry Potter, however, Waylon can’t answer a simple question about Hogwarts. After a few more questions, Waylon switches gears and all but confirms that he’s an alien, noting that his intentions were meant to be hidden from the Green Lantern Corps. The alien tells Hal that he has a bomb attached to his skeleton that he can activate with a thought — and then does so. The explosion rocks the sheriff’s station, though Hal contains the blast with his power ring, having proved that this is an alien-related crime after all.

Here’s where Lanterns gets especially interesting. The episode jumps forward to 2026, where a ringless John arrives in Rushville in the dead of winter. The Macons’ ranch has been decimated, which is curious. Under the cover of darkness, John reunites with Kerry, who’s still the sheriff, outside the football stadium. She takes him up to the same bleachers where they observed that crime scene a decade ago. Sitting there, covered in snow, is a bloody (and dead) Hal Jordan — and it doesn’t seem like he’s been dead for very long. John looks for the power ring on his mentor’s hand, but it’s already gone.

New episodes of Lanterns air Sundays on HBO.

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Release Date

August 16, 2026

Network

HBO

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Directors

James Hawes

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Pros & Cons

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• Kyle Chandler was pretty perfectly cast as Hal Jordan.
• The Hal and John dynamic is interesting as is, though I hope it lightens up a bit.
• A small-town alien mystery with DC superheroes? I’m in.

• A Green Lantern show really shouldn’t be ashamed of its aliens, even if they’re supposed to be in hiding.
• The studio that made Superman should have no problem doing a Green Lantern series that feels, well, a bit more like Green Lantern. Just because the movie was bad doesn’t mean the concept is!

Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Westies Episode7.

The world of The Westies has no clear good guys and bad guys, but instead just a whole lot of people who are trying to survive. While New York City’s violent Irish gang wreaks havoc throughout New York City, FBI Special Agent Birdie Polk (Jessica Frances Dukes) would rather put a stop to their crime operation. She decides to lean on Officer Glenn Keenan (Titus Welliver) and the history he has with Westies leader Eamon Sweeney (J.K. Simmons) to try to further her own agenda, but he gave up on enforcing the law and his own self-respect years ago. If she can remind him of who he was before his morality blurred, maybe they can work together to turn things around.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Welliver and Dukes discussed why Polk has decided that Keenan is the guy to help her achieve her goals, the complicated relationship Keenan has with his son, why Dukes loves her character, what she’d like to learn about Birdie, and Sweeney’s intense reaction to being humiliated. Welliver also revealed what his last cop character, Harry Bosch, would think of Officer Keenan, and why he’s most excited about when it comes to the upcoming prequel series Bosch: Start of Watch.

FBI Agent Polk Is a Master Manipulator Who Knows Exactly What She’s Doing With Officer Keenan in ‘The Westies’

“She specifically sought him out.”

Image via MGM+

COLLIDER: Jessica, from the beginning, your character seems to be aware, or at least suspicious, that Keenan is not 100% on the up and up. Is that just intuition on her part? Has she heard things? Do you feel like she fully understands the extent of his corruption?

JESSICA FRANCES DUKES: I think she knows. She specifically sought him out. She needed the right person to infiltrate. This was a time when nobody was talking. Nobody was talking to the Feds. Nobody was talking to the cops. It was unheard of. It was against the rules of the neighborhood. But when you meet somebody so broken, that has so much success in them, there’s that middle line in that character that you can try to reach and grab onto. I think she’s using that middle line as a game. She also has leverage. She knows he has lost so much, and he’s got one more thing that he could lose. And so, she’s a master manipulator. She has created this entire game, and he is a piece in it for her. So, I believe she knows exactly the extent of who he is, and that’s why he’s the perfect person for the job.

I love that she just doesn’t seem fazed by whatever he does. Titus, in Episode 3, Keenan’s son says to him, “The only good cop is a dead cop,” before your character punches him. He’s trying to have this moment with his son that really spirals and ends with violence. How did you feel about that moment?

TITUS WELLIVER: They’re estranged. They’ve been estranged for all these years. And suddenly, he’s thrust back into it, and Birdie is the catalyst for that. When she shows him the photograph of his son with Eddie Breen, who’s Sweeney’s Leftenant, there’s a sudden consciousness. It’s not that he suddenly has this enormous swelling of paternal responsibility, but I think more than anything, we find Keenan as a guy who doesn’t care anymore. He doesn’t care about anything, and least of all, he doesn’t care about him. Suddenly, this magnifying glass is waved over his son. I don’t think that he’s a guy who goes, “Here’s my last chance at redemption.” He just doesn’t want this for his kid.

All that this man understands is the law of the jungle. And so, when he’s disrespected by his son, that is the norm. He puts hands on him because that’s all he knows. There’s a later scene in which he addresses that. We worked very hard on the writing of that scene when he says, “I never should have put hands on you,” and he apologizes. That’s really the glimpse into who Keenan was, at one time. It’s using the relationship with Danny as a catalyst to get that out there because this isn’t a guy who would ever talk about himself. Even when Polk is laying it all out with his dossier in front of him, he’s not responsive to it. It’s almost like he doesn’t even acknowledge it. It’s brutal, but I think it’s very, very real. I saw plenty of kids get tuned up by their parents as a kid. We’re in a very different time period now.

Jessica, I think it would be interesting to see and learn more about what it’s been like for your character in this world, as a woman, and as a Black woman. What do you think it was like for her, coming up and coming into the position that she’s in, in the series?

DUKES: I studied a fabulous woman named Sylvia Mathis, and she was the first Black woman to graduate from the Academy in ‘76. She was a lawyer. She was top of her class. She was smart. And they were like, “You know what? I think you’d be great at the Bureau.” She came in as the first Black woman to graduate successfully and was put right into a task force. And so, playing Birdie allows me to imagine, if she had the opportunities that others had in that time, who would she be and how would she run that room? I get a chance to play that in this, as well as pay homage to every single law enforcement that helped take these families down and bring some sort of order to New York. It’s fun to play power in this role.

If you could have an episode that follows her, would you want it to be a flashback of what she’s experienced in her past, or would you want to know what she does on a day off?

DUKES: I want to know what’s in it for her and I want to know why New York is hers, as well. We see these territories and we see these families that are holding onto something important. I believe she’s protecting her home, just as much as they are, and I would love to see why.

For Titus Welliver, It’s Important That His ‘The Westies’ Character Stays True to the World He’s Living In

“As soon as it goes to violence, he’s immediately activated.”

Titus, what was your reaction to finding out that Keenan was going to have a scene where he gets beaten up by Sweeney’s guys and pissed on by one of them? That was quite an interesting moment that I wasn’t expecting because I just figured they would just leave him there. I didn’t know it would continue that much further. What was your reaction to that moment?

WELLIVER: That’s called great artistic license. That’s not something that was a hallmark of the Westies, but that ultimate act of disrespect and disgrace is really emblematic of that character. Ultimately, that was a big mistake. In that moment, that’s when you see Keenan really spring into action. When he realizes that he’s in trouble, he’s going to take as many of those guys with him as he can. He has the skill set of being a former Force Recon Marine, so he’s very adept at close-quarter hand-to-hand combat and does the best he can, but he’s completely overwhelmed. He takes a savage beating, and then he’s pissed on at the end of that, whether he’s even aware of that.

I’d played that whole idea that he was more or less out of it by the time that guy pisses on him, but he’s heard it or whatever. When it all comes full circle is when that’s unleashed. [Birdie] has that great line when she says, “You took him into custody, but now he’s in a coma.” And Keenan says, “He resisted arrest.” It speaks volumes about what that’s all about. It’s neighborhood stuff, which is great because that’s very true to the nature of who these characters are. It’s betrayal. And then, here’s the comeuppance. It’s like, “I’m not afraid of you.” Keenan doesn’t even blink. As soon as it goes to violence, he’s immediately activated.

What do you think Harry Bosch would think of Glenn Keenan?

WELLIVER: He’s the kind of guy Harry would lock up. He’s a disgrace to the badge. I think that even though they would share the history of both having served well, Bosch would just say, “You’re bent, man. You’re beyond redemption. You’re just a criminal now.” And Harry would lock him up. Harry would not be interested in the psychological or the trauma of his past. He’d be like, “No, this is who you are, and this is where I find you now. I’m not interested in what a great cop you were. You’re not a good guy. You need to be taken off the street.”

Titus Welliver Is Excited To See What Cameron Monaghan Does With the Prequel Series ‘Bosch: Start of Watch’

“[Harry Bosch is] just such a rich, profound character that it’s great. I’m thrilled for him.”

Image via Showtime

When it comes to the upcoming prequel series, Bosch: Start of Watch, what are you most curious about? How do you feel about a character that you are so deeply connected to being played by someone else? Is that a surreal experience?

WELLIVER: I’m excited because we created the whole Bosch universe, ultimately. They’ve spun Ballard off, and that’s its own thing. It’s an extension of Bosch, but it’s not. Start of Watch is the brainchild of one of our writers, Tom Bernardo, and Cameron Monaghan is a staggeringly talented actor. I’m thrilled for him. I’m excited to see what he does. It’s a tremendous responsibility. I had the responsibility of already taking a character from these globally successful books of Michael Connelly’s, to breathe life into him. And then, you add that onto it and Cameron’s got like the double dose of that. But I know that he’s doing a phenomenal job. All reports back are that he’s great.

This is the OGs of Bosch-land, with Tom Bernardo, and you have Stephen Kay directing, Sharat Raju directing, and Jamie Boscardin and Henrik Bastin producing. It’s a perfect storm. His backstory is very, very interesting. In the way that you see re-releases of shows, this will create a whole different kind of thing where people will go, “Let me watch this chronologically.” Or they’ll start with Start of Watch and then hear about it and go into Bosch. I’m just thrilled because I think the character of Harry Bosch is a gift. He was a gift to me, and he’s a gift to Cameron. The responsibility is there, but it’s just such a rich, profound character that it’s great. I’m thrilled for him.

The Westies is available to stream on MGM+.

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Release Date

July 12, 2026

Network

MGM+

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Showrunner

Chris Brancato

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