Fall means it’s time to break out the tall black boots, and if you’re like Margot Robbie, you’re prepping your wardrobe now (actually, last week). Robbie’s black boots are incredibly sleek, and we found the chic, polished look for 45% off on Amazon!

Filming the Ocean’s Eleven prequel in Paris, the actress was spotted leaving the set donning a classy two-piece outfit, a roomy Chanel bag and simple black boots. The below-knee length plays nicely with midi skirts, trousers and the shorter hemlines that keep sneaking back into rotation. Robbie pulled this quintessential fall style out well before the leaves turn, and at only $60, we’re following suit.

Get the LifeStride Xtrovert Knee-High Boots for $60 (was $110) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

These LifeStride Xtrovert Knee-High Boots have become a low-key favorite among reviewers. With a low 1.25-inch block heel, a built-in stretch panel and a water-resistant faux leather finish that manages surprise rain, these boots are as practical as they are stylish.

Better yet, these box-checking boots come in regular and wide versions. One happy shopper raved, “They fit perfectly on my extra-wide calves, which is hard to find. They’re comfortable, well-made and easy to wear all day.” That kind of fit and flexibility is rare at any price point, let alone this one.

The durability and comfort keep coming up in reviews, too. “I only buy this brand because the boots literally last for many years,” another fan wrote.  They added, “These boots are comfy (I’m on my feet most of the day).”

Rock this fall must-have with a tee and jeans, a soft sweater dress or your favorite outfit set, and you’ve basically got Robbie’s off-duty formula. Grab these timeless tall boots on sale now and wear them through April!

Get the LifeStride Xtrovert Knee-High Boots for $60 (was $110) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

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

UsNow Summer Sale Alert: These Chic Fashion Finds are over 30% off – Plus Free Shipping

Welcome to summer with our biggest sale of the year. This summer’s chicest dresses, tops and swimsuits are all over 30% + free shipping. Inventory is limited so hurry before they’re gone.

Shop the UsNow Summer Sale –>

Related: Nobody Would Ever Know These Rich-Looking Flats Are as Comfy as Sneakers

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If you’re bored with sneakers, you’re not alone. There’s a reason the streets of New York City, Los Angeles and London are overflowing with polished flats, which are a classy and equally versatile alternative. We found 13 luxe-looking pairs that deliver the comfort of sneakers, and seriously, you’ll wish you found them sooner. These timeless […]

Tony Romo is taking “full responsibility” following his OWI arrest last month.

A spokesperson for the CBS Sports NFL analyst, 46, told multiple outlets on Thursday, August 27 that “Tony accepts full responsibility for his actions and has taken proactive steps to ensure that this isolated civil matter is properly resolved.”

The statement continued: “We are working with local authorities to bring this matter to a close and we are communicating with CBS about next steps.”

CBS Sports placed the lead NFL color analyst on leave in July — one week after his arrest in Wisconsin on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence.

Related: J.J. Watt Breaks His Silence About Tony Romo’s Arrest After Taking Over Job

J.J. Watt addressed Tony Romo’s arrest last month, which led to the former Houston Texans star taking over Romo’s spot in the CBS Sports broadcasting booth.  “Haven’t said much because it’s not the circumstances you’d hope it would happen under, but I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with a legendary […]

“Tony Romo is on leave from his role at CBS Sports until further notice,” a CBS representative said in a statement to Us on July 31.

Romo was pulled over in Milwaukee at around 8 p.m. on July 23, after participating in the Wisconsin Amateur Championship golf tournament.

He was issued a citation for “refusing to take test for intoxication after arrest,” according to court documents viewed by Us.

Additional citations came for Romo allegedly having an “open bottle of an alcoholic beverage” on the passenger’s side of his Jeep, discovered when the vehicle was searched before it was towed away, and for passing vehicles in a “gore area,” which separates interstate traffic from cars entering from an on-ramp.

After allegedly failing field sobriety tests at the scene – as seen in body cam footage obtained by Us – he was taken into custody and a court date has been set for September 21, one day after CBS’ Week 2 NFL slate. Romo has not spoken publicly about his arrest and Us has previously reached out to his attorney for comment.

An officer at the scene told Romo she believed he was intoxicated due to his “red glassy eyes” and an “odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage.”

After placing Romo on leave, CBS told NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport that JJ Watt will take Romo’s place in his absence.

Posting about his role via X on August 11, Watt, 37, expressed his enthusiasm over the appointment.

“Haven’t said much because it’s not the circumstances you’d hope it would happen under, but I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with a legendary team in Jim Nantz, Tracy Wolfson, Jim Rikhoff and the entire CBS lead crew,” Watt wrote. “See you in Minnesota!”

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Related: Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Breaks Silence on Former QB Tony Romo’s DUI Arrest

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has thrown his full and unapologetic support behind his former quarterback, Tony Romo, in the wake of his July arrest on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence. “Been talking to him,” Jones, 83, told Fox 4 Dallas-Fort Worth’s Mike Doocy on Saturday, August 1. “I love him. […]

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The same day, CBS Sports president David Berson said the network had still not made a definitive judgment about Romo’s future.

“It’s an evolving situation and we are still assessing,” Berson said at NFL on CBS media day. “There is no timetable or final decision at this time.”

Berson added, “We have to consider the impact on our image and our brand. That’s very important to us. The focus should be and needs to be on our presentation and this great product and not on any others. Fortunately, we have a deep bench and everybody is stepping up.”

Robert De Niro has spent decades in the spotlight, but the Oscar-winning actor has also taken on one of his most important roles away from Hollywood: fatherhood. The esteemed actor is a father of seven children, and in a recent interview, he opened up about the challenges of raising a large family while balancing an enduring career in entertainment.

Robert De Niro is reflecting on his life as a father to seven kids, and while he does his best, he acknowledges that he still has feelings of self-doubt when it comes to being present.

The actor’s latest role is that of a retired police detective who is forced to reconnect with his estranged son in the Netflix thriller, “The Whisper Man.” While promoting the film, De Niro spoke with PEOPLE about his own experiences, saying he doesn’t know if there’s a secret to fatherhood.

“It’s just managing it all. And there’s no way around not feeling a little guilty about not being there at times you should, or you think you should,” the 83-year-old actor said.

De Niro explained that becoming a parent means jumping into the role and figuring things out along the way.

The Actor Has 7 Children Between The Ages Of 3 And 54

De Niro has seven children with four different women. He married Diahnne Abbot in 1976, and together they had Drena and Raphael. The couple divorced in 1988.

The actor welcomed twins, Julian and Airyn, in 1995 with his then-partner, Toukie Smith. The couple was together for about eight years, but they never married. They parted ways in 1996 and remained co-parents.

In 1997, De Niro married Grace Hightower, and they had two children, Elliot and Helen Grace. The actor and flight attendant divorced in 2018.

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In 2023, De Niro’s partner, Tiffany Chen, gave birth to a daughter they named Gia.

The actor shares a close bond with his children and has made an effort to remain present in their lives.

Robert De Niro Has Repeatedly Expressed Love For His Children

His career took off in the early ’70s, and he starred in several hit films in the years following, including “Mean Streets,” “The Godfather II,” “Taxi Driver,” “The Deer Hunter,” and “Raging Bull,” to name a few. He has remained active in the industry for more than six decades and continues to take on new projects well into his early 80s.

Over the years, the veteran actor has shared glimpses of how he is as a father. In a 2024 interview on “The Chris Wallace Show,” De Niro talked about fatherhood, sharing that despite his busy career, he always put his children first. “I was busy, of course, but I always loved my kids,” he said, adding that he tries his best to be a good father. “I’m going to put on my gravestone, ‘I tried my best’,” he noted.

In 2025, the actor shared some parenting advice with Entertainment Tonight, saying, “The main thing is to support your kids. You have to support them, period. And they have to know that you support them. Always.”

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Raphael De Niro Talks About Being Raised By His Parents

Raphael, De Niro’s eldest son, is a luxury real estate broker and businessman. In 2017, he shared how his parents, who were both in the entertainment industry, wanted him to learn about responsibility.

Despite having an A-list celebrity as a father, Raphael said he held various jobs before entering the real estate world, including folding rugs at a store, working as a production assistant for De Niro, and serving as a busboy at Nobu, which his father co-owns.

“My parents felt it was good for me to get some responsibility. They were worried that I’d become a typical Hollywood kid,” Raphael told The Real Deal.

The father and son are also business partners, co-owning The Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca along with other partners.

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Airyn Said Her Father ‘Should Be The Standard’

Airyn De Niro came out as transgender in April 2025, and shortly after, De Niro said, “I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is. I love all my children,” per The Blast.

Airyn shared that she has received “nonstop” support from her father, who expressed his happiness that she had found someone who loves her for who she is. “He’s very good at being a dad, not just that, [but also] accepting people from all walks of life,” Airyn told Them.

She further stated that De Niro “should be the standard” when it comes to fatherhood.

Jennifer Lopez is seemingly showing little interest in slowing down, with a major business deal adding to an already demanding year for the entertainer.

The 57-year-old singer and actress is balancing music, movies, beauty ventures, brand partnerships and plans for another international tour, even as significant changes unfold in her personal life.

While her ability to remain one of Hollywood’s busiest stars continues to bring lucrative opportunities, people close to Jennifer Lopez are said to be concerned about her suffering a “burnout.”

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Lopez has filled 2026 with one project after another and reportedly has no plans to ease up.

Alongside preparing for an international tour next year, she has two movies to promote, “The JLo Show,” centered around her recent Las Vegas residency, and crime thriller “The Last Mrs Parrish.”

According to the Daily Mail, her tight schedule is helping her navigate major changes in her private life. Following her difficult divorce from Ben Affleck, Lopez has remained single, while her twins are preparing to leave for college.

A source told the news outlet that the transition has been emotional, but keeping occupied has become a source of comfort for her.

“She is working her tail off because she wants to stay busy, though there is some concern she may burn out,” the insider said, adding that work is how Lopez keeps herself grounded during this period.

Another source described her as someone who would rather “wake up at 5 am and put in a 14-hour day” than spend her time sitting at home, but cautioned that such a routine could eventually leave her completely exhausted.

The Singer Previously Suffered A ‘Nervous Breakdown’

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Fears about Lopez pushing herself too hard are particularly concerning to her inner circle because she has previously experienced the consequences of an overwhelming workload.

In 2002, while filming the thriller “Enough,” the entertainer reportedly reached a point where exhaustion and insufficient sleep left her unable to continue normally.

Years later, Lopez admitted that she had been juggling music, movies, and numerous other responsibilities when the pressure finally caught up with her.

“I was suffering from a lack of sleep. And I did have a kind of nervous breakdown,” she recalled, per the Daily Mail.

The situation became so severe that Lopez said she froze while inside her trailer and lost the desire to do anything.

“I was like – I don’t want to move, I don’t want to talk, I don’t want to do anything,” she explained. The experience offered an early example of how her intense work ethic could take a personal toll when combined with little opportunity for rest.

Jennifer Lopez Reportedly Landed A Massive $20M Dolce & Gabbana Deal

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Lopez’s hectic work schedule continues to pay off financially. She is set to become the face of a new Dolce & Gabbana campaign through a deal expected to earn her more than $20 million, alongside other perks.

According to a source close to the star, “She got a huge paycheck for that, over $20 million, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of clothing and accessories,” as well as a first-class trip to Italy with her sister and entourage.

The campaign has yet to be officially unveiled and is reportedly being kept under wraps.

An insider described Lopez as the central figure in a glamorous advertisement photographed in Italy and said landing such a major modeling contract at 57 was a source of pride for the singer.

The Singer Has Her Eyes Set On Billionaire Status

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Lopez has already accumulated an estimated fortune of around $400 million, but she reportedly has much bigger financial ambitions.

With multiple income streams spanning entertainment, beauty, fashion and endorsements, the star is said to be interested in eventually joining the billionaire ranks.

“Jennifer would love to be a billionaire, sure, it would look good on her,” a source revealed. The insider added that Lopez is pleased she continues commanding substantial earnings at this stage of her career.

Her schedule throughout 2026 demonstrates the scale of that ambition. She began the year with her “Up All Night” Las Vegas concert and a JLo Beauty launch before moving into music releases, another Vegas performance, Coachella, movie promotion and several fashion collaborations.

The summer also brought appearances at Paris Fashion Week, another beauty product launch and her high-profile work with Dolce & Gabbana.

Jennifer Lopez’s Pricey Glam Squad

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Looking camera-ready comes with a hefty price tag for Jennifer Lopez. The singer reportedly spends more than $2 million a year maintaining an extensive beauty and wellness team.

Her routine is said to include professional makeup every morning, daily facial treatments, and full-body lymphatic drainage massages. Personal trainers are also kept on staff, allowing Lopez to exercise whenever her schedule permits.

“These people are on call day and night, even between shows, to make sure every inch of her is flawless,” a source said, per Star Magazine.

The team also consists of several people in each role so members can take time off while Lopez continues receiving round-the-clock attention.

Although their hourly rates are described as “astronomical,” the insider claimed the annual expense hardly affects her finances, saying, “She earns $40 million a year, so it doesn’t make a dent, and it’s a business expense too.”

Gospel singer Tina Campbell is being ruthlessly trolled online by fans after revealing her monthly income is less than $5,000. The “Get Up” singer is in the middle of a messy divorce from her estranged husband, Glendon “Teddy” Campbell, and revealed she survives on less than her soon-to-be ex.

While Tina’s husband pulled the trigger on their marriage in early April 2026, this isn’t the first time that their business has been shared with the world. A decade ago, Tina starred in a reality show, “Mary Mary,” alongside her sister, Erica, and issues about her relationship and her partner’s infidelity were a major part of the storyline.

According to court documents revealed by TMZ, Tina reportedly works 20 hours a week and earns $4,976 each month. In the documents, Tina stated that her monthly expenses are double what she brings in.

The singer’s monthly expenses include $4,100 per month in rent, $266 in health care, $1,800 on groceries, $2,200 on utilities, $208 on her husband’s cell phone, $100 on laundry and cleaning, $150 on education, $1,308 on car maintenance, and $400 on charity and other bills.

Elsewhere in the legal documents, Tina said her ex brings in $7,500 per month as a professional drummer.

Glendon Filed For Divorce In April 2026 After Two Decades Of Marriage

TMZ revealed in April 2026 that Tina and Glendon’s relationship was headed for divorce after the latter filed the papers in a Los Angeles court. In the docs, Glendon said that he and Tina, who wed in 2000, had been separated since June 2024.

The pair share two children, and while Glendon isn’t requesting full custody, he asked the court to establish visitation and to determine spousal support during the process.

Tina clapped back with her own legal filing in August 2026, telling the judge that she wants primary custody of her children and also is also seeking to block the court from awarding either of them spousal support.

Glendon Allegedly Cheated With One Of Tina’s Employees

This isn’t the first time that the spotlight has been cast on Tina and Glendon’s relationship. In 2015, the “It’s Personal” singer spoke with Steve Harvey about the struggles she’s faced and claimed that her husband had been unfaithful to her.

“The person who it was, she used to work for me, and so, that broke my heart. She was like a godmother to my children,” Tina said. “She had access to my home, to come get my kids, and all that kind of stuff. She was very intermixed in my family.”

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Tina said that she made her husband call the employee so she could confront her; however, the alleged mistress “hung up the phone,” essentially confirming her fears. “So I had my answer. It broke my heart, it devastated me, so I spazzed out,” she said.

How The Alleged Cheating Scandal Helped Tina Campbell Get Her Spark Back

Three years after spilling the behind-the-scenes tea about her marriage, Tina said she had learned a lot about herself. While working through the cheating was hard, it reminded her that there was beauty on the other side of pain.

“It was empowering for me to go through that in the public eye and then make it to the other side,” she said. “There was a lot of prayer and counseling. But now I’m stronger.”

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News of Tina’s monthly income had Mary Mary fans buzzing, with some trolling the “God in Me” singer and even borrowing her own lyrics to urge her to keep fighting for a brighter day.

“It’s time to get back in the stu & turn that pain into prosperity,” someone wrote, while another said, “You gotta take the shackles off your feet so you could dance, boo.”

A third wrote, “Call your sister now and get that Mary Mary tour going,” and a fourth joked, “How much the booking fee then?! Tryna see something.”

With a career spanning more than five decades and dozens of published works, calling Stephen King a seasoned writer barely does him justice. Although he is best known for horror, King’s greatest strength lies in transforming ordinary fears into deeply unsettling stories. His monsters may be supernatural, but the emotions driving them are often painfully human.

However, horror is only one part of King’s appeal. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated versatility, exploring genres, characters, and themes that don’t rely on traditional scares. Whether he’s writing about grief, ambition, or human nature, King finds ways to interpret everyday themes into new trepidations. With that said, here are 10 Stephen King books that are 10/10 masterpieces.

1

‘The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger’ (1982)

Image via Donald M. Grant, Publisher

Like many authors at the height of their career, King was more than capable of creating a multi-book series, with The Dark Tower being his most popular. Its first book, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, kicks things off by introducing Roland Deschain, a mysterious gunslinger chasing the legendary Dark Tower across a bizarre, dying world.

The Gunslinger, and the rest of the series, is basically King’s answer to The Lord of the Rings. It’s packed with adventure and shows off plenty of experimentation on King’s part, combining Western, fantasy, horror, and sci-fi into one strange cornucopia. While it isn’t the strongest book in the series, The Gunslinger lays the groundwork for its creepy, post-apocalyptic world and sets up a much bigger story to come.

2

‘The Green Mile’ (1996)

Image via Signet Books

The Green Mile follows death row supervisor Paul Edgecomb and John Coffey, a gentle giant convicted of murdering two young girls. As Paul gets to know him, he discovers Coffey possesses mysterious abilities that challenge everything he believes about justice and guilt. Meanwhile, the prison houses dangerous inmates, cruel guards, and unexpected friendships that make the death row unforgettable.

King might be famous for showing the worst in people, but The Green Mile does the opposite. King introduces a great deal of humanity into an unforgiving environment. He challenges people’s perceptions of the prisoners, presenting readers with difficult questions about whether certain prisoners deserve to die despite their crimes or deserve a second chance.

3

’11/22/63′ (1963)

Image via Scribner/Stephen King

English teacher Jake Epping gets the unimaginable chance to travel back to 1958 through a mysterious portal. His friend Al thinks Jake could use it to stop John F. Kennedy’s assassination and maybe prevent decades of tragedy. Jake takes on the mission, but his little stint gets complicated when the alternative timeline promises him a better life.

At a whopping 800+ pages, 11/22/63 is a lengthy read. Plus, time travel isn’t exactly the most innovative concept, as it’s pretty common in sci-fi. But it’s hard to resist King’s meticulous research into the period, which he pours into his fictional writing to create a terrifying alternate reality filled with war, political extremism, violence, and natural disasters.

4

‘The Shining’ (1977)

Image via Vintage

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There’s a reason why Stanley Kubrick chose to adapt The Shining (apart from the urgency to make a commercial hit). A classic study of how the human psyche manifests through our surroundings, The Shining follows Jack Torrance as he moves his family to the isolated Overlook Hotel. Looking for a fresh start, it seems like his demons decide to tag along.

The Overlook Hotel is a sight to behold, with decades of history marked by dark events such as mob hits and personal tragedies. But the phantom apparitions haunting these hallways are none other than Jack projecting his baggage, trapping him in a toxic cycle of self-destruction that heightens the tension when his family is involved.

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‘The Dead Zone’ (1979)

Image via Hodder & Stoughton

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They say that great power comes with great responsibility, and the same applies to Johnny Smith from The Dead Zone. As a child, he discovers that he has the gift of clairvoyance. But after an accident leaves him in a five-year coma, he awakens with a much stronger sense of this ability.

A single physical touch allows Johnny to glimpse people’s pasts and possible futures. It’s a lot for an ordinary high school teacher to take in, but he tries to use his abilities for good. However, tampering with future outcomes always comes with consequences. It’s reasonable for him to use his powers to help solve cases in his small town, but when the fate of the world is in jeopardy, that’s when the book truly raises the stakes.

6

‘Pet Sematary’ (1983)

Image via Doubleday

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The moral lesson in Pet Sematary is plain and simple: never challenge grief. The novel follows Louis Creed, a Chicago doctor who moves his family to the small Maine town of Ludlow. Although their new house is picturesque, it sits dangerously close to a busy road where speeding trucks regularly kill animals.

This actual pet cemetery behind Louis’ family home is a star in itself. When a deceased cat they buried returns to life, it gives Louis an idea after a similar tragedy occurs to his family. However, Louis’ inability to deal with his grief becomes the catalyst for the disasters that follow, proving that there is a reason why the dead should remain dead.

7

‘Carrie’ (1974)

Image via Doubleday

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Not all evil descends from hell. Sometimes the worst demons are waiting at school. Carrie follows reserved teenager Carrie White, whose social interactions are limited to her overzealous religious mother. With no experience of how the “real world” works, Carrie is chastised by her peers for her awkwardness, inadvertently forcing her telekinetic powers to come out.

Carrie is one of King’s most grounded works, mainly because readers can recognize the all-too-familiar teenage experience of being bullied. Revenge is never the right answer, but Carrie never wanted this life. That makes her redemption — though violence is certainly not the answer — one of the most satisfying conclusions, especially after all the pain she is forced to endure against her will.

8

‘The Stand’ (1978)

Image via Doubleday

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Only King could have written about COVID-19 decades before it actually happened, so much so that he had to “apologize” for it. The Stand starts off with a deadly, man-made virus that makes its way out of a government laboratory. While authorities try to contain it, it’s too late — more than 99% of the world’s population is wiped out.

The Stand shows that apocalypses don’t happen overnight. It’s weeks and weeks of collapse. The same can be said for the human psyche. When entire nations fall apart, survivors need some kind of belief to hold on. It’s here that King introduces one of his famous recurring villains, who take advantage of humanity’s fears for their pleasure.

9

‘Salem’s Lot’ (1975)

Image via Vintage Publishing

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Ben Mears returns to Jerusalem’s Lot, hoping to write about the creepy old Marsten House. But something is bugging him about his childhood town. Before long, Ben notices something wrong with the town as its residents begin disappearing and turning into vampires, turning his homecoming trip into a horrific haunt.

But the vampires aren’t the only thing making Salem’s Lot frightening. The town is already filled with corruption, betrayal, and people willing to look the other way. The vampires simply bring those darker sides into bigger manifestations. Even religion offers little protection, showing that evil can exist anywhere, including among people who are supposed to be good.

10

‘Misery’ (1987)

Image via Viking

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After novelist Paul Sheldon crashes his car during a snowstorm, he wakes up injured in the home of Annie Wilkes, a woman who claims to be his fan. However, Paul realizes Annie is no lifesaver — she’s keeping him hostage. With his legs injured, he’s forced to keep writing his Misery series according to her demands.

Misery takes obsessive fandom to a level, showing what happens when admiration turns into control. Unlike today’s stan culture, which is mostly expressed through the Internet, there’s no screen protecting Paul from Annie. He’s trapped with her, while she controls his medication, threatens him, and uses violence to get what she wants.

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Release Date

November 30, 1990

Runtime

107 minutes

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Producers

Andrew Scheinman

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Season 2 of Dark Matter opens on more than a dozen bodies laid out in a row, every one of them Jason Dessen in a different set of clothes. It’s an efficient way to remind viewers where Blake Crouch‘s Apple TV adaptation left off two years ago, and it’s a fair warning about what’s coming, because the new season has more versions of this man than it can find room for.

Here, we’ll do you the favor of recapping Dark Matter’s first installment. Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), a physicist and professor walking home one night in Chicago, gets abducted into an alternate version of his own life by, well, himself — or, at least, the version of himself who chose the career over domesticity. That Jason built a device called the Box that moves people between parallel universes, then used it to take Jason’s wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) and son Charlie (Oakes Fegley). The first season is a tense, stakes-laden chase through infinite realities as Jason fights to get home, only to discover that dozens of alternate Jasons had the same idea. It ends with the family fleeing into the Box together, letting Charlie choose their destination so no other version could follow.

Season 2 of that journey starts well. The Dessens have had seven months in a world that finally seems safe before an alternate Jason turns up at their door, claiming to be the original. The family runs, picks another door. By the second episode, the season is also tracking Amanda (Alice Braga) and Ryan (Jimmi Simpson) trying to find their way back, Leighton Vance (Dayo Okeniyi) chasing his vision of a perfect world, and Blair (Amanda Brugel) trying to stop him.

Nobody Is Getting Enough of Jennifer Connelly, Including ‘Dark Matter’ Season 2

Edgerton was the reason that Season 1 held together, and that hasn’t changed. He stays watchable even when the show around him buckles under its own ambition. The trouble is that the Jasons he’s inhabiting this time have drifted so far from one another that recognizing them as the same man takes work the story doesn’t reward. Our Jason sinks deeper into his obsession with the Box. The other one has partnered with an alternate Leighton on a plan to strip technology and ideas out of healthier universes and haul them home to fix their own broken one, a project he has convinced himself is altruistic.

Connelly, meanwhile, gets the season’s most gutting material and not nearly enough screen time to do it justice. Her Daniela is unraveling, growing more paranoid with every door they open. Connelly plays that fear so raw, you wish the show would just park the camera on her face and let her work. Instead, the plot keeps yanking us elsewhere. Simpson gets the funniest line of the season while he and Amanda are stuck in a world too colorful and too polite to trust. “No one’s getting banged here,” he says. “They’re just generously knocking.” There’s also an agent named Macnamara (Chris Diamantopoulos) working the case of the bodies, a man who belongs to no named law enforcement agency but does enjoy the donuts. He only matters when he’s actually on-screen, a problem so many characters in Dark Matter share.

‘Dark Matter’ Season 2 Keeps Interrupting Its Best Ideas

Here is where Dark Matter Season 2 starts to lose us. The show is wrestling with enormous questions about identity, regret, and whether the desire to be a better version of yourself is ambitious or destructive. Episode 3 digs into this when Jason 2 seeks ethical counsel about his multiverse project, and the answers he gets cut right to the core of what the show wants to be about. A man created a cosmic disaster because he couldn’t handle living with regret. He built a metaphysical portal to shop for a better reality. That’s both a ridiculous exercise in human hubris and an oddly relatable desire, but Season 2 has no room to sit with any of it.

There’s so much plot crammed into each hour that the ideas get raised and then dropped. The worldbuilding is inventive, and then it’s gone in ten minutes. The clearest sign of the trouble is a small detail in that same episode, when the Dessens get matching tattoos so they can tell which versions of each other they belong with. The audience could use the same system. Keeping up with which Jason is which, which Leighton is which, and which world any of it is happening in turns into a season-long physics test you’re always studying for and never feel like you’ll pass. Once the confusion pulls you out of the emotional stakes, getting back in is difficult. It’s hard to care about a character when any version of them might turn out to be a worse copy. Dark Matter raises that question on purpose, but it just hasn’t built anything sturdy enough to hold the answer.

There’s a Great Sci-Fi Show Buried Somewhere in ‘Dark Matter’ Season 2

Image via Apple TV

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There are still real thrills. A chase sequence in Episode 3 unloads a heavy amount of exposition with enough momentum that it plays as a set piece instead of homework, and it starts to make sense of why Jason is being hunted across timelines. A major reveal about how the Box operates midway through the season produces its sharpest sci-fi turn, the kind that reminds you why this premise grabbed readers in the first place. What’s been made, in this case, cannot be unmade.

But Dark Matter Season 1 worked because it had a clean emotional throughline underneath all the sci-fi machinery: a guy trying to get home to his family. Season 2 fractures that into a dozen competing threads, and the result is a show with plenty of big ideas and big consequences but not enough small, human stakes to connect them. The performances keep pulling you back in, and the plot keeps shoving you out the door before you’ve had time to feel anything.

Dark Matter Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV.

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Release Date

May 7, 2024

Network

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Apple TV+

Directors

Jakob Verbruggen, Alik Sakharov, Roxann Dawson, Logan George

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Writers

Blake Crouch

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Pros & Cons

• Joel Edgerton makes a handful of very different Jasons worth watching.
• All the physics talk pays off if you can keep pace with it.
• The show is swinging at enormous questions about identity and regret, and even when it misses, the ambition is more interesting than most sci-fi playing it safe.

• Tracking which version of which character you’re watching becomes a chore that actively pulls you out of the story.
• The show hops between alternate realities so quickly that none of them develop the stakes they need to matter.

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[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Silo Season 3.]

Apple TV’s masterful adaptation of Hugh Howey’s book series, Silo, has earned acclaim from critics and viewers alike, with Collider’s Tania Hussain calling the show’s penultimate season “a new standard for what prestige sci-fi can be.” As with every adaptation, however, there will always be creative departures from the source, and for creator and showrunner Graham Yost, one of the biggest came in the fate of the formidable Bernard Holland, portrayed on screen by Academy Award winner Tim Robbins.

Instead of perishing in the fire, as in the books, Silo gives Holland a second chance, providing the antagonist with the possibility of redemption. In this interview with Collider’s Steven Weintraub, Robbins discusses this divergence from the original story, when he was first made aware of his character’s surprising fate, and why he was most interested in exploring this fresh take on Holland. Robbins also talks about the physical challenges of portraying Holland, why the role resonated with him, and why a show like Silo speaks to audiences on a different level today.

Tim Robbins Calls Bernard’s Change from the Books a Gift

He also discusses the dangers of being a “truth teller.”

Image via Apple TV

COLLIDER: What’s interesting is that Graham [Yost] has changed what happens to Bernard from the book to the show in that in the book, he dies in the fire, and in this, he survives. When did you find out that there would be a big change coming?

TIM ROBBINS: Toward the middle of Season 2, I was tipped off about what happens in Season 3.

What was your reaction reading all the scripts of Season 3 and seeing the arc?

ROBBINS: What a gift to be able to play a completely different version of Bernard, who has been altered not only physically because of the injuries from the end of Season 2, but also just a complete makeover internally. Realizing that up until that point, his entire life was a lie, that’s a great arc to play as an actor. That’s a gift. That’s one of those rare moments where you get to play someone whose whole worldview has been shattered, and he realizes that he’s been used by a system that did not have his best intentions in mind, or, for that matter, the best intentions of the silo.

If Bernard could talk honestly to the people of the silo for one minute, what do you think he would actually say?

ROBBINS: That’s the danger of the truth teller. That’s why they are silenced. That’s why they’re marginalized. That’s why they’re excluded from society. Someone who’s been inside, who has seen the internal machinations of power and can expose power for what it is, that’s the most dangerous person. So, I believe if he could talk to the entire silo, he’d just lay down the truth, and in essence, he knows there’s no way to accomplish that, but he can associate with people that can carry the truth on when he’s gone.

Tim Robbins Was Ready for Bernard’s Redemption Arc

He also discusses the challenges of filming through recovery.

Image via Apple TV

Talk a little bit about filming your death scene in Episode 9. Did they purposely save that for your last day of filming or near to one of the last things?

ROBBINS: No, I still had to do other things after the death scene. It was just the way things are scheduled. But you get used to that as an actor. You could be playing the end before the middle, you know? So, you just have to be clear on what your beats are and where you are, as far as the character’s development goes.

The other challenge I had was that I was in various stages of recovery throughout the course of the season, so the voice had to be modulated from severely injured to getting better.

I wanted to ask you specifically about your voice because your performance is just so good on the show, but especially this season. Can you talk about finding that voice and what it was like on your vocal cords when you were doing it?

ROBBINS: It wasn’t great, but I always made sure that we could nail the takes pretty early and not do thousands of them, and it was fine. The mindset was that every time I did a scene, I had to be in severe pain. Even later, as he healed, that pain is still there, and that’s pretty intense. You just gotta commit to it. The good news is that I’ve done it long enough that I know how to conserve my energy for the moment when the camera rolls and not torture myself too much so that I’m actually hurting myself. In the past, I might have hurt myself in order to achieve what I’ve done. [Laughs]

Do you think Bernard enjoyed his role in the silo, or if he could go back in time and not take the job in IT, do you think he would not take the job?

ROBBINS: If he knew what he knew at the end? Probably not. The thing about power and influence is it kind of sucks you in gradually. You become more and more trusted to become in the inner circle of knowledge, and by the time you’re there, you don’t even know you’ve been corrupted. It’s the slow drip. It’s the frog in the pot of water that’s slowly boiling. By the time you realize what’s being done, you’re already cooked.

What fascinated me about this role was getting inside the mind of someone in a position of influence and power who has rationalized the way they live. Everyone tells themselves they’re virtuous. Every bad guy has acted from virtue and special knowledge. That special knowledge makes them someone who has to perform tasks that are difficult, but they convince themselves they’re sacrificing in order to retain their power, rather than compromising in order to maintain their power. It’s a curious thing, and it happens all the time. It’s why we have people leading us down terrible roads that are justifying their behavior by saying, “It’s a big lie for the greater good. We must tell this lie because if everyone knew what was really going on, they wouldn’t be able to handle it.” And that’s such a condescending, patronizing way that always leads down a road that leads to terrible destruction and war and death.

So, I was really interested to get inside that head, but also to be able to play the third season, where I was able to move towards redemption. The idea that once certain truths have been presented to you, you start to see the world in a different way, and from that point forward, you have a choice. You can either ignore them and retain your power, or you can try to salvage what soul you have left by becoming a truth-teller.

Tim Robbins on How ‘Silo’ Reflects Our World Today

“Trauma only is healed by shedding light on it and dealing with it.”

When did you realize that people really love the show? Because everyone I know who watches it is very passionate about the series.

ROBBINS: Well, that’s great to hear. I kind of suspected that it was going to happen when I first read the script, because what it was doing was telling the story metaphorically, or in a fiction set in the future. It was telling the story of what we were going through right now. We started shooting this at the tail end of the two-year lockdown, and here I was reading a script that was talking about a society that’s locked down, that has rules about information that if people go against the narrative, they are either excluded from society on a sub-level of the silo or they’re kicked out of the society completely by going outside.

That rang very true to me as someone who had questions about why we were in this lockdown for so long. It’s unprecedented in world history what happened a few years ago. Never before in history was the entire world shut down. So, for me, and I’ve experienced it through the work that I do in education with The Actors’ Gang, seeing the trauma that the kids went through and the recovery that they’re going through, the arts are very effective in bringing sentient beings back to life. Having experienced that, I realize that trauma doesn’t go away by ignoring it or saying it didn’t happen or just saying, “Let’s move on. Let’s just forget that that happened.” Trauma only is healed by shedding light on it and dealing with it.

What great drama can do, from its inception back in Greece thousands of years ago, when they would do plays that would talk about what had just happened in their society — great death and destruction from war or famine, or great pain and suffering from a plague that had just ravaged Athens — they would perform these plays and the citizenry would come out, and there would be a community that dealt with the trauma and put it out into the light and asked big questions about it. They experienced a mutual catharsis that allowed them to move on as a society. You can’t move forward without acknowledging what just happened.

What I feel is great about Silo is that it tells this story once removed, and that is why I believe the audience has responded so strongly to it. We need this. This is part of what drama is: to tell stories, to bring light into the traumatic events that we’ve just experienced.

Silo Season 3 is available to stream on Apple TV.

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Release Date

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May 5, 2023

Network

Apple TV

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Showrunner

Graham Yost

Directors

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Morten Tyldum, David Semel, Michael Dinner, Aric Avelino

Writers

Graham Yost, Hugh Howey, Jeffery Wang, Lekethia Dalcoe

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It’s been two years since Johnny Gaudreau was killed alongside his brother Matthew Gaudreau, but for his widow, Meredith Gaudreau, it still feels like yesterday.

“It’s just always replaying in my head,” Meredith, 34, told People on Thursday, August 27, of the moment she learned that Johnny and Matthew were struck by a vehicle while riding bikes in New Jersey on August 29, 2024.

Meredith explained, “Sometimes I find myself kinda just zoning out. And I think about what I am thinking about and it’s that night. You know, it haunts me.”

She noted that although some time has passed, Johnny’s death feels fresh as she raises their three children without him by her side.

Related: Meredith Gaudreau Recalls the Final Words She Said to Late Husband Johnny

Meredith Gaudreau emotionally reflected on her final moments with her late husband, Johnny Gaudreau, before his tragic death last year. “He kissed all of us goodbye, just in the driveway of his parents’ house,” Meredith said in an interview clip shared by Good Morning America on Tuesday, August 12. “That was the last time I […]

“It’s playing in my head all the time. I’m thinking about John 24/7,” Meredith shared, revealing she’s doing all that she can to honor his legacy. “I think about him that moment a lot and think about the better moments too whenever I see our kids. They’re a nice reminder to — I remember the nicer times.”

News broke in August 2024 that Johnny, a NHL hockey player, and his younger brother, Matthew, were involved in a fatal biking accident. The siblings were 31 and 29, respectively.

Sean M. Higgins was accused of killing both men, admitting to drinking prior to the tragic accident.

Related: Meredith Gaudreau Recalls Moment She Found Out Husband Johnny Had Died

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Meredith Gaudreau penned an emotional letter about Johnny Gaudreau’s tragic death nearly a year after he and his brother were killed while cycling together in New Jersey. “I was in shock. I was keeled over for days sick to my stomach,” she wrote of the moment she found out Johnny had died in the letter, […]

In December 2024, Higgins was indicted on two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, one count of tampering with physical evidence (fourth-degree) and leaving the scene of a fatal accident (second-degree). He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has a pre-trial conference scheduled for September 16.

During her husband’s funeral in September 2024, Meredith revealed that she and Johnny were expecting their third baby.

The couple, who tied the knot in September 2021, welcomed daughter Noa and son Johnny Jr. in September 2022 and February 2024, respectively. Their third child, son Carter, was born in April 2025.

Matthew also left behind a wife, Madeline Gaudreau, whom he wed in July 2021. The couple was expecting their first baby at the time of his death. Their son, Tripp Matthew, was born in December 2024.

In the two years since the family’s massive loss, Meredith told People she’s leaned on her siblings and parents as well as Johnny’s parents and siblings as well as her sister-in-law Madeline.

“We talk about him every day,” Meredith said of her late husband. “There’s things around town here, I’ll tell Noah and Johnny, and Carter of course, he’s just so young, ‘This is daddy’s favorite ice cream place. He used to always get M&Ms on his ice cream.’”

She noted that she also frames “little candid pictures” and puts them next to the places where they were taken, like a photo of Johnny blowing out his birthday candle at their kitchen table.

Related: Meredith Gaudreau Reveals Who Told Her About Husband Johnny’s Death

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Meredith Gaudreau had “a bad gut feeling” before hearing the news of husband Johnny Gaudreau’s death. During the Thursday, March 12, episode of Kylie Kelce’s “Not Gonna Lie” podcast, Meredith recalled the night she found out that Johnny had died. Meredith told listeners that Johnny’s uncle was the one who delivered the news of his […]

“I can see the kids pick them up and can kind of start putting two to two together,” Meredith explained.

Meredith added that she has also kept Johnny’s memory alive by keeping his possessions close by.

“His clothes are all still in the closet. His shoes are on the shoe rack,” she revealed. “[The kids] wear his shoes. They play with his hats. I’ll still wear some of his sweatshirts. I’ve kept everything.”

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Meredith isn’t the only one honoring Johnny and Matthew daily, their mother, Jane Gaudreau, exclusively told Us in April that they were preparing for the 2nd Annual Gaudreau Family 5K Run/Walk & Family Day.

The event, which took place in May in New Jersey, benefited the newly established Gaudreau Family Foundation, created to honor the enduring legacies of the brothers.

“I don’t think people throughout the hockey world — throughout South Jersey to Columbus to Calgary — I don’t think they realize how much they did for us,” Jane shared. “By them talking to us and bringing them into their world and seeing what they could do for us or how they could help keep John and Matty’s legacies alive, they just helped us so much with our grief.”