Entertainment
‘Dutton Ranch’ Director Explains How the Beth and Rip Spin-Off Felt Like Making ‘Yellowstone’ Season 6
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Marshals.]
Summary
Director Greg Yaitanes has entered the Yellowstone universe by putting his stamp on episodes of the CBS series Marshals, which has already been picked up for Season 2, and the upcoming Paramount+ series Dutton Ranch. In Marshals, a widowed Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, headed by his former Navy SEAL buddy Cal (Logan Marshall-Green), combining his tactical training with his cowboy skills in bringing range justice to Montana. While over on Dutton Ranch, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) will continue their journey of survival, no doubt with plenty of chaos and drama surrounding them.
Collider recently got the opportunity to chat one-on-one with Yaitanes (Presumed Innocent, House of the Dragon, House) about coming into the world of Yellowstone as a big fan, and how the spin-offs/sequels are most similar and different from not just the original series but each other. During the interview, he talked about reuniting with Quarry star Marshall-Green while directing the first two episodes of Marshals, why he’s drawn to the character of Kayce Dutton, how he felt about the way Monica’s death was handled, the challenges of shooting the big action sequence in episode two of Marshals, why Dutton Ranch felt like a season of Yellowstone, and whether there could be crossovers with the Dutton family in the future.
We also got to discuss how far into Season 2 development they’d gotten on Quarry before the plug was pulled on the series, his time on Banshee, what most impressed him about working with Anya Taylor-Joy on her upcoming Apple TV series Lucky, and why working with Nicolas Cage on the Spider-Noir TV series was a dream come true that he hopes to repeat if there’s a second season.
‘Marshals’ Marked a Reunion for Actor Logan Marshall-Green and Director Greg Yaitanes, After Making ‘Quarry’ Together
“We would all do another season in a heartbeat.”
Collider: I love that you’re reuniting with Logan Marshall-Green by directing episodes of Marshals, but it also reminds me of how salty I am that we never got more episodes of Quarry. Have you gotten over that fact?
GREG YAITANES: We wrote Season 2, and we were on track for Season 2. For a variety of reasons, it didn’t move forward, which was gut-wrenching. We had the scripts. We had a great arc. We just lost Tom Noonan a few weeks ago. The great thing is that it’s a show you could pick up 10 years later with that character. There’s no expiration date. The novels actually are around now, in terms of Logan’s age. Now, Logan’s on a smash TV show, so getting him would be impossible. I had lunch with (co-creator) Michael Fuller, yesterday, actually. It was supposed to be me and (co-creator) Graham [Gordy] and Michael, and Graham’s travel changed, so we didn’t get to have lunch with them. But we’re still in touch. We would all do another season in a heartbeat. It would be perfect. Every single person involved would do it. That said, it was really lovely to see Logan on Marshals and be able to get the opportunity to work with him again.
You said that the scripts were written for Season 2 of Quarry. Were there things that you had been looking forward to getting to do with the second season?
YAITANES: Oh, my God, it was a great season. It was going to be great. The specifics, I don’t remember all the details, but we did have a writers’ room, we wrote the scripts, and we had versions of all the scripts for the season. And then, right in the middle of the process, that’s when we got word that we weren’t moving forward. It was disappointing. But what’s nice is that, 10 years later, I’m on Zooms and people still bring it up. It is meaningful that it had an impact.
Was Season 2 going to have the same tone and vibe, or was it going to be bigger in any way?
YAITANES: It was going to be a pretty direct continuation of where we were. I think we were going to pick up a year later. There was a great story to be had.
It makes me feel lucky that I got a complete four-season story for Banshee. I wonder if that could even happen now.
YAITANES: It was a great time to tell that story the way we told it and how we cast it and a number of things that we did would be almost impossible today. There was a great article written about everything that conspired to have Cinemax not quite work out. It really bummed us all out because I really thought that could have been a great network for high and elevated pulp. I don’t know how it would have survived all the various things that are going on in the industry today. But back then, when they were making The Knick and Quarry and Banshee and Outcast and Strike Back, I just kept imagining that this would be a seven-day-a-week, two-shows-a-night of incredible programming. That would have been something I would have died to have had as a network when I was a teenager.
Even Warrior.
YAITANES: Can’t forget Warrior.
All those shows were so good. It felt like a channel that was just invented for my taste.
YAITANES: Someone someday will talk about it. It will be like ‘70s cinema for TV when they look back on all the great stuff that was on Cinemax at one time.
‘Marshals’ Review: A Bold New Dutton Spin-Off Officially Rewrites Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’
Luke Grimes leads the charge in this Dutton-verse sequel that is full of network potential.
How did you end up directing Marshals? Was it because of Logan Marshall-Green, or was that a coincidence?
YAITANES: No. It was a long process. I met (executive producer) David Glasser at 101 about three years earlier, and we had wanted to work together. They wanted me to come do some of their shows, and I really wanted to do something from the ground up with them. And then, I was watching MobLand and realized that was also being produced by 101. I wrote David, and I think I just happened to be in his head at the right moment, at the right time, and I got the call to take a look at Marshals and see if I’d be interested. I was an insane fan of Yellowstone. I had watched all the prequels and I had watched the other series, all in real time, week to week, so I knew the world. I got the material and showed up for a meeting relatively quickly. Spencer Hudnut was really great to collaborate with. Everything just vibed on the call. It was three years in the making.
‘Marshals’ Director Greg Yaitanes Was Drawn to the Soulful Nature of Kayce Dutton
“I loved working with Luke [Grimes].”
What do you find most interesting about Kayce Dutton as a character at the center of this story?
YAITANES: I also did a block of Dutton Ranch, right after I finished Marshals. When I read it, I didn’t know it was a broadcast pilot. That’s how good I thought the material was. It had such humanity and breathing and just the room to explore themes. I felt like it was a great father-son story when I read the script, and that’s what brought me to it. I thought, wherever Yellowstone was going, this was the continuation because it played like that. When I found out it was broadcast, I hadn’t done broadcast TV for 15 years, since House, so I thought this was a great way to reenter that space again, to a place where I cut my teeth and built things. Kayce is such a soulful character. I don’t know or remember what season and episode it was, but his walkabout episode sold me, as a man trying to work through what he’s carrying. I was really interested.
My first question when I got the scripts, as I was reading them, was, “How are they going to undo Kayce’s happy ending?” He really had a beautiful finish at the end of Yellowstone proper. And I was really moved to see, “Okay, life has gone in another direction.” I almost feel like [episode two] is really the pilot, and [the pilot] was the bridge between Yellowstone and Marshals. [Episode two] is really the show you’re going to be watching. I directed that episode, as well. I loved working with Luke [Grimes]. And then, to have Logan as your wingman, there’s such a deep bench with the cast. Tatanka [Means], I brought from Banshee. He was on Banshee when his dad passed, who was also on Banshee. It was great. I loved working with Spencer, and we had a lovely shorthand.
Fans of Yellowstone definitely seem to feel a certain way about Monica’s death. Were there conversations about how to handle that?
YAITANES: This is why it didn’t strike me as a pilot. There was no exposition about Monica’s death in the pilot. It was exactly what it would be like a year or two after the death of the character. You would be talking about the circumstances around it versus talking about the thing. What was really important was that we had her picture for the protest, and she was lovely to give us permission for that. That was a really critical piece to that scene. That’s what I thought that scene was about.
It feels like there could have been an episode that included Monica and would have shown us what happened to her. It was interesting to see that it was not handled that way.
YAITANES: Yeah, that’s all Spencer. Those conversations definitely preceded me. Immediately, being a single dad to a son, which was something I could personally connect to, having been a single dad at various times in my life, I felt that the way it was handled and the humanity in which it was handled was really beautiful, and I wanted to be part of it.
Things get heated in the latest Dutton drama as Kayce deals with old family secrets.
Have you thought about the parallels between Quarry and Marshals? You have these characters at the center of both stories that have been to war, they’ve had to kill people, they’ve had violence affect and ripple through their lives, and they’re also more likely to be quiet and internal. They seem like kindred spirits in a lot of ways. Is that something that was even on your mind?
YAITANES: There’s definitely a theme and a pattern to the things that I’m attracted to, which is quiet, internal men, carrying a lot and trying to navigate things with the tools they were given, and always striving for better.
Something that runs through Banshee and Marshals are these intertwined communities. With Banshee, we had the Amish community, and with Marshals, you have the reservation. What do you find most interesting about that aspect of the story?
YAITANES: We’re not pandering to anybody. That’s just what makes the world lived-in. If you watched all six seasons, or Season 5A and 5B, of Yellowstone, then you’re going to come loaded with a certain amount of information. And if you’re not, you’re going to catch up. You can enter this show having never watched one Taylor Sheridan show. And if you have, it will be a richer experience, but you will not be dinged for not having been there. In fact, what’s exciting is that this is an entry point for people to then go discover Yellowstone, which makes me thrilled. If they like this enough to want to know more about Kayce, then you have six seasons of a prequel waiting for you.
Real Navy SEAL Consultants Work as Advisors for the Story and the Action Sequences in ‘Marshals’
“At every point, you have a guide for how to do things.”
You’ve shot action sequences and violence for the screen, and particularly in Quarry and Banshee, the action had a very realistic feel to it, as far as the toll it can take. How different was it to do action sequences for Marshals, for a broadcast network TV series? You have a very complex action sequence in episode two.
YAITANES: I loved planning that. Michael Friedman was my second unit director on that, and he’s intimately familiar with the Sheridan universe, in terms of Lioness and Landman, and every other thing he touches. So, having him in my corner was a great collaboration on that. I really studied Yellowstone and the studio has a really helpful document of the pillars of the things that make Yellowstone, Yellowstone, that they kept for the prequels and they branched out. At every point, you have a guide for how to do things. What I always appreciate about the violence and the action is that it’s grounded. It’s not overly stylized.
Banshee was highly stylized and pulpy. Everything in Yellowstone is grounded and comes from a real place. People get punched and hurt. My favorite part of the action is that we get to tap into the Navy SEAL background to Kayce. That allows for all this tactical work. We have real Navy SEALs there. Ryan Sangster was our advisor, and he’s great. I would just say, “What would they do? How would they come up on the trailer or the zone of death? How would they go about it?” We would approach it like, “Okay, this is really happening. Where would your guys be?” And he’d be like, “Well, I’d have a person there, and I’d have a thing here, and I’d make sure of this.” And I was like, “Great, that’s what we’re doing.”
That scene goes from horses to a big shootout and then back to Kayce being back on a horse.
YAITANES: That was so fun. I wanted it to be like Raiders of the Lost Ark. When I was showing people what I wanted it to be, that sequence had to be as fun as something out of Raiders. I definitely got out of the grounded and made it a little more pop and fun for that sequence because it had to be. You can’t have Kayce chasing an SUV [on a horse] and not have a good time with it. It was so cool.
‘Yellowstone’ Spin-Off Showrunner Explains Why They Had To Kill Off a Main Character in Episode 1
“We had to shake up his life.”
Did you feel like you had the time you needed to shoot all of that?
YAITANES: Nope. One of the shocks was just coming from my streaming schedule back to my broadcast schedule. That said, because of shows like Banshee, I’m really good at being able to matrix the units and the work so that the sum of the parts is greater than you could expect. We were incredibly strategic. Anytime Luke wasn’t in the zone of death scene, he was on horseback with the other unit. We were trading him and moving around and had blocked out the day in a very strategic way. It was two days, that whole sequence. Everything you saw was shot over two days, sunup to sundown.
It was so interesting to have that sequence end with him shooting the guy that’s already dying. It’s a moment that brings you back to the reality of what Kayce is dealing with, after the exciting action sequence ends.
YAITANES: Yeah, it gets real. He’s a complicated character. He’s got a badge, but he’s still exacting his own form of justice. It keeps the audience perfectly destabilized for what Kayce might do. You can’t fully understand him, which I appreciate. That moment particularly grabbed me. When I read these scripts – I read the first two when I took my meetings – those were the kinds of things that pulled me right in.
‘Marshals’ and ‘Dutton Ranch’ Each Draw From ‘Yellowstone’ in Completely Different Ways
“[‘Dutton Ranch’] has the best parts of what I loved about ‘Yellowstone.’”
You talked about also directing episodes of Dutton Ranch. Are you just all-in on the world of Yellowstone now?
YAITANES: I was halfway through shooting on Marshals, and Glasser was like, “Hey, you’ve done the down and dirty, scrappy version of Yellowstone. Come do our other show.” That was a completely different, but equally rewarding experience. I loved Kelly [Reilly] and Cole [Hauser] and Annette [Bening] and Ed [Harris] and everybody. That cast is just so terrific. I had time. It’s artful. It’s just a different kind of show. It’s much more of a drama and a soap. It has the best parts of what I loved about Yellowstone. Each one was Yellowstone in completely different ways, but each completely honest to the original series. My entry point into the Sheridan universe was starting with Yellowstone and then branching out. I really appreciate David Glasser’s taste. I watched The Agency. I watched MobLand. I watched them all. I’m interested in working with people of good taste.
What did you see as the biggest similarities and differences between the two shows, Marshals and Dutton Ranch?
YAITANES: The biggest similarity is that I’m following each of the surviving siblings of the original series. When you get into the ranch portion of each show, you’re on common ground. That’s what they have in common. And then, how we’re dealing with the human drama and the vulnerability is Yellowstone in both shows. The themes that everybody’s working with, like how everybody deals with their inner torment and how they exorcise it is different for Beth than it is for Kayce. They’re equally compelling offshoots of the original.
Which episodes did you direct for Dutton Ranch?
YAITANES: I did the second block. I did episodes three and four. Christina Voros did the opening two and the end two. It was really fun. It was a lovely invitation. Dutton Ranch has more continuity of crew from the original series. There was something fun about trying to create Yellowstone without a lot of the same craftspeople. Michael, David, and some other people came in to really give us a boot camp on what Yellowstone is and how to execute on it.
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Universe Enters a New Era With ‘Dutton Ranch’ First Look
The next chapter of the Yellowstone universe has reportedly wrapped filming.
I spoke to Luke Grimes recently, and we were talked about how it would be cool to see Kayce and Beth together again at some point, and he said that he didn’t know if it would work better to bring her into Marshals or to send him over to Dutton Ranch.
YAITANES: That’s a really good question. We talked about that a lot because each wanted to be on the other show. I feel like Kayce should go to Dutton Ranch. That feels like something that I would lose my shit over as a fan. That would be pretty cool. I just don’t know, in the world of what Marshals is, if Beth coming in would fit into that quite as well. Kayce would just naturally fold into Dutton Ranch because there’s a tonal similarity to the original Yellowstone. A lot of the people involved with Dutton Ranch really felt like they were making Yellowstone Season 6. Marshals is much more genre and guns-forward and those kinds of cool things.
Director Greg Yaitanes Is Excited for Viewers To See the Upcoming Apple TV Series ‘Lucky,’ Starring Anya Taylor-Joy
“When I got the call about that, I was all over it.”
With what I’ve seen of Lucky, that’s another project that looks badass, but this time with a woman, with Anya Taylor-Joy, at the center of it. What drew you to that? What do you love about that character and what she brings to the role?
YAITANES: I’ve wanted to work with Anya since I saw The Witch, and it was Jonathan Tropper again, so when I got the call about that, I was all over it. I got to meet Cassie Pappas, who was showrunning with Jonathan. It was just a great character. And then, my daughter is obsessed with Drew Starkey, from watching Outer Banks. It was Annette [Bening] again and Clifton Collins, and our collaboration was 30 years in the making. And it was Timothy Olyphant and Aunjanue [Ellis-Taylor]. It was a deep bench of great actors in an L.A. crime story. The bench is so deep on that show. It was very similar to how I felt on Presumed Innocent. I’d just go to work every day and look at who was going to be working with who, and it was just exciting to know what I was going to get to do with these pairings. Everybody on the callsheet was a great actor, so watching them work together was a pleasure.
What most impressed you about Anya Taylor-Joy and the work that she does in the series?
YAITANES: It’s really good. I directed episodes two and three of Lucky, which was almost like doing part two of the pilot. It’s a very continuous, interesting story that has got a lot of complexity to it. Anya is great at bringing that kind of nuance and humanity. There’s also something other and unknowable about her that makes me always lean into what she’s doing and what she might be thinking. Just to get to see her every day and be able to craft that performance with her was such a treat.
Her face and her eyes are just incredible. I feel like they do so much work.
YAITANES: Anytime, anywhere that she ever does something else, I’m there.
Directing Episodes of the Prime Video Series ‘Spider-Noir’ Was a Dream Come True for Greg Yaitanes
“I am such a noir nut.”
It’s interesting that you did episodes of Spider-Noir because that feels like a bit different of a project for you. What were the challenges specific to doing that series?
YAITANES: I am such a noir nut that when it came up to the plate, my film school self was all over it. I just ate up noir and it heavily influenced my early work. To be able to dial into and be able to create something that was in the spirit of that was awesome. And then, Nic [Cage] is incredible. I collected comic books from 13 to 18, and then a bit in my 20s. Comic books were truly my escape. There were four different Spider-Man comics, and every week I could get a Spider-Man fix. To imagine that I, who went as Spider-Man for Halloween or played Spider-Man when we would do imaginary play, could go back in time to my 14-year-old comic book-reading self that I would be directing a Spider-Man TV show, I’d think that I was a pretty lucky guy at that point. I really won.
Nic Cage seems like somebody who is just a big kid who doesn’t know how to not have fun.
YAITANES: He’s a big kid. He brought that energy. He was off-book for every episode. He was the first to set. He was the kindest to everybody. He was just terrific. He would just give you great ideas. He could take direction beautifully. He was just a dream. I have literally been watching him since before high school. I had to fangirl him at the beginning. I showed him that my wife has the original painting that became the poster for Valley Girl. I got my fangirling out of the way at the beginning.
He seems totally down for that, though.
YAITANES: He’s down. He’s so funny. We were between takes, and I was like, “Did you ever go to Japan to make commercials?” And he was like, “Oh, my God!” and he got his phone to show them to us and was cracking up with us. He’s in on all of it.
Nicolas Cage’s ‘Spider-Noir’ Leaves the Door Open for Season 2 and Beyond [Exclusive]
Cage is “a spider pretending to be a person” in the upcoming live-action series.
Do you feel like you’ve gotten your fill of noir, or do you feel like you need to do more now because of that?
YAITANES: Oh, my God, if that show has a second season, I’m going to be the first to raise my hand and go back. Every day, I had a great time. I came home from work so excited. I did the final two episodes, so they’re pretty spectacular. I cannot wait for everybody to see it.
- Release Date
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2026 – 2026
- Showrunner
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Spencer Hudnut
- Writers
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Spencer Hudnut, Tom Mularz, Dana Greenblatt
Marshals airs on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+.
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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
If you know much about Star Trek: Voyager, then you know that nobody on the cast complained quite as much as Garrett Wang. The Ensign Kim actor sometimes had very righteous gripes, like when he revealed how the writers allegedly fat-shamed him and Robert Duncan McNeil by writing their recent weight gain into a script. Sometimes, his complaints are shocking, like his unsubstantiated claim that he was told to underact by Rick Berman in order to make the show’s aliens seem more realistic.
In fact, when he repeated a version of that complaint to a TV Guide reporter, who dutifully reported that a Star Trek actor was badmouthing his own TV show. To this day, Wang is convinced that this snafu is why he never got a chance to direct. Fortunately for the actor, not all of his complaints fizzled out. If we had never complained about the writing for his character being boring, then rockstar writer Brannon Braga would never have created “Non-Sequitur,” arguably one of the best episodes to ever feature Ensign Kim.
The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease
What is “Non-Sequitur” about? In this tale, Ensign Kim awakens in San Francisco to discover that he never joined the Voyager crew and, thus, never got stranded in the Delta Quadrant. He still has his memories from his time aboard ship, but it’s easy enough to forget all of that in the arms of his hot girlfriend. But his absence from Voyager also meant that Tom Paris lost his spot on the ship, becoming a drunken loser with no purpose. In the ultimate “bros before hoes” moment, Kim teams up with Paris to restore the timeline, ensuring that their bromance will continue on the other side of the galaxy.
“Non-Sequitur” is a very solid Star Trek: Voyager story, especially if (like me) you’re a big fan of both Harry Kim and Tom Paris. As it turns out, though, this episode would never have been written if Garrett Wang hadn’t complained to writer and producer Brannon Braga. As the actor confessed to The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, this episode “was the result of me going into the production office and saying….When is Harry gonna get the girl? When is he gonna have the action?” Braga responded, “Don’t worry about it,” and went on to create “Non-Sequitur.”
Too Cool For Pool
Generally speaking, Wang was quite happy with the finished result because it delivered everything he wanted. The altered timeline of “Non-Sequitur” gave Ensign Kim a cute girlfriend, and it let him kick a little butt once he decided to return reality to the way things were before. He also gets to become a full-on action hero, stealing a runabout, escaping Starfleet pursuit, and even beaming out into the vacuum of space, all in a desperate bid to restore the timeline.
However, this wouldn’t be a Garrett Wang story if there wasn’t one more complaint. According to the actor, he asked Brannon Braga to intersperse all the action and romance “throughout that year,” hoping Kim would become a more dynamic character throughout Season 2. Instead, Braga “put it all in one episode.” Fortunately, “Non-Sequitur” served as a fun showcase for Wang’s abilities as an actor, one that almost (but not quite) made up for what he really wanted: a promotion for his eternally underused, eternally underacting ensign.
It’s not easy to make a thriller show as gripping, suspenseful, mysterious, and engaging as all the best ones always are; and it’s even more complicated to make a thriller show where every single episode, no matter what it contributes to the show’s overall narrative, is an absolute masterpiece. Thankfully, for fans of thriller television, however, there are noteworthy masterpieces that achieve such a feat.
These are all among the greatest thriller shows of their respective era. Some HBO classics, like Oz, others modern British gems like Broadchurch, others excellent miniseries like The Night Of. No matter what subgenre of thriller it belongs to or what kind of story it tells, a show that manages to deliver banger after banger over the course of its run is one that’s an instant must-see.
‘Broadchurch’ (2013–2017)
Created by Chris Chibnall, the British crime drama Broadchurch stars the legendary David Tennant and Olivia Colman, who play two detectives solving a case that sends the media into a frenzy. No one does crime dramas like the Brits, and this one is easily among the nation’s best. Well-shot, slow-paced, and exquisitely mysterious, it’s a masterpiece that everyone who loves the genre should check out at least once.
Every single episode of Broadchurch is phenomenal, as proven by the fact that each of the show’s three seasons was met with great critical acclaim. This is one of the best detective TV shows with great acting, building an atmosphere of small-town intrigue that’s as gripping as it is emotionally compelling. Every episode of this masterful police procedural feels like it’s effectively building up to something greater.
‘Narcos’ (2015–2017)
One of Netflix’s first original shows was Narcos, a crime drama chronicling the exploits of Pablo Escobar, played by Wagner Moura, and the many other drug kingpins who plagued Colombia through the years. It’s one of the most nearly-perfect crime shows ever made, bolstered by a star-studded cast and writing so great that it hardly matters that the show is practically devoid of any sympathetic characters—you can’t help but be fascinated by their conflicts.
Over the course of three exceptional seasons, Narcos remained high-concept drama television-making at its most ambitious and addictive, helping to popularize the concept of binge-watching in the streaming era. Every episode is sharply written and acted, mostly well-researched, and richly complex, making for a series that feels like it keeps evolving into something bigger after every single episode cuts to credits.
‘Bodyguard’ (2018)
The BBC political conspiracy thriller Bodyguard is one of those single-season thriller TV show masterpieces that show why the genre is so widely acclaimed. Led by Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes, who deliver a pair of towering lead performances, it’s a show so exceptional that fans have been clamoring for a second season for years. Whether it will ever actually materialize remains to be seen; but even if not, it’ll still be remembered as one of the best thriller series of the 2010s.
Pulpy, psychologically complex, and almost overwhelmingly suspenseful, the whole show feels like a ticking time bomb whose time of explosion is a total mystery. That keeps every episode brimming with tension, which allowed Madden and Hawes to really show off their acting chops, and directors Thomas Vincent and John Strickland to display a masterful understanding of what makes a thriller show like this work.
‘Dark’ (2017–2020)
Dark is a show so complex, so profoundly layered, and so intentionally mind-bending that you almost need a notebook to keep track of the whole thing as you watch. But it’s also incredibly addictive, wildly creative, and tautly written. So tautly written, in fact, that it’s worthy of the utmost admiration that over the course of three incredible seasons full of paradoxes and parallel universes, the writers managed to culminate in one of the best sci-fi show finales of the last 10 years, which left no loose ends and zero plot holes.
That’s precisely what makes it so that Dark‘s every episode feels like a masterpiece; one that simultaneously adds to the greater whole yet feels entirely self-contained. It’s one of the most impeccably constructed sci-fi series of all time, and there isn’t a single moment in it that’s not visually impressive, full of fascinating characters, and rewarding in its intellectually challenging nature.
‘Mindhunter’ (2017–2019)
Fans of the practically-flawless Mindhunter are still upset that Netflix cancelled this Joe Penhall and David Fincher true-crime masterpiece after only two short-lived seasons. However, that makes it so that this is one of the best crime shows to binge in a single week, which has to count for something. Whatever the case, this gem about a pair of FBI agents who launch a research project to interview imprisoned serial killers and understand their psychology will forever be remembered as one of the greatest crime shows of the 2010s.
Instead of functioning as a case-of-the-week type of show, Mindhunter intelligently makes its story feel like a more serialized, masterfully slow-burning psychological drama. That format, mixed with the psychological depth and complexity of each episode, as well as the excellent performances and production values, makes it so that the whole show makes you go “that was a masterpiece!” after every single cut to credits.
‘Dexter: Resurrection’ (2025–Present)
Showtime’s Dexter was one of the most popular crime shows on television throughout its whole run from 2006 to 2013—at least until the series got to its finale, one of the most hated of any mainstream 21st-century show. Seven years later came Dexter: New Blood, a sequel that tragically also had a finale fans despised. Now, we’re getting Dexter: Resurrection, and so far, things are looking remarkably promising.
Irrefutable proof of that is the fact that this threequel is one of the highest-rated shows of the 2020s on IMDb, with an impressive score of 9/10. This is, of course, still a pretty new show, and there will be plenty of chances for it to go off the rails in the future (knock on wood). At the moment, however, Resurrection‘s every episode has been a masterpiece, much like all fans of Dexter were hoping.
‘Oz’ (1997–2003)
Oz is not only one of the best prison shows ever made, but also one of the most groundbreaking crime dramas and thrillers in the history of the small screen. It was the first one-hour dramatic television series produced by HBO, and it ran for six consistently masterful seasons. It’s hugely commendable that a show which has almost 60 episodes doesn’t have a single one that’s anything less than a masterclass of dramatic television.
The show invented prestige television before The Sopranos established the term itself, with a relentlessly intense tone and a delightfully theatrical structure. As brutal as it may often be, though, Oz tackles its themes and complex characters with tremendous courage and admirable humanism. That heart of gold is what makes it such a perfect show, where every single episode is a must-see.
‘The Night Of’ (2016)
If there’s any network that has constantly proven to be a master of crime and thriller miniseries, it’s HBO, whose The Night Of is far and away one of the greatest miniseries of the 21st century thus far. Based on the first season of the 2008 British series Criminal Justice, the show stars an incredible Riz Ahmed, whose tour-de-force performance anchors the whole thing throughout.
It’s one of the most nearly-perfect thriller shows ever, a hyper-focused slow-burn tragedy that turns the police, legal, and court work of its story into some of the juiciest drama imaginable. Every episode evolves the story in a way that’s irresistibly engrossing, all done with a technically stunning atmosphere and a structural tightness that even most miniseries aren’t capable of achieving.
‘Chernobyl’ (2019)
The HBO miniseries Chernobyl is not for the faint of heart. In exploring the story of the 1986 nuclear disaster in the titular Ukrainian city, the show holds back no punches, making it an absolutely brutal watch. But as stomach-testing as it may be, Chernobyl is still a masterpiece; and over the course of its five episodes, it builds itself up as perhaps the greatest miniseries in history.
It’s no surprise that every single one of Chernobyl‘s episodes is among the highest-rated TV episodes on IMDb. Form, theme, and structure are all perfectly aligned in this beautifully acted, visually striking, technically faultless gem of a show. Scary, thrilling, suspenseful, and deeply dramatic, it’s one of the greatest masterclasses in thriller television that the world has ever seen, without a single dead spot in any of its episodes.
‘Breaking Bad’ (2008–2013)
Even 13 years after its conclusion, many people still call Breaking Bad the single greatest TV show ever made—and for good reason. Created by the brilliant Vince Gilligan, it serves simultaneously as a gripping character study, a suspenseful drug crime thriller, and an adrenaline-pumping neo-Western that does all manner of fascinating things with the tropes of every genre it falls into.
It is, indeed, one of the best TV drama masterpieces of all time, and it’s not even close. The story of Walter White and Heisenberg (Bryan Cranston) is one as engrossing as it is tragic, and every single episode contributes something absolutely essential to that arc—yes, even “Fly,” the show’s lowest-rated episode on IMDb, which is consequentially one of the most underrated episodes in TV history. Some are slow-burning, some are action-packed, some are hugely suspenseful, some are emotionally cathartic; but every single episode of Breaking Bad is an undeniable masterpiece.
Breaking Bad
- Release Date
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2008 – 2013-00-00
- Network
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AMC
- Showrunner
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Vince Gilligan
- Directors
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Vince Gilligan, Michelle Maclaren
Entertainment
Snape calls Harry Potter 'racist as hell' in “SNL” sketch mocking new HBO series: 'The Proud Boy Who Lived'
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“Somebody stole something… and the number-one suspect is Black Snape?”
Sullivan’s Crossing has gone through some surprise cast changes — and twists — but is the hit show returning for season 4?
Based on a book series by Robyn Carr, Sullivan’s Crossing follows neurosurgeon Maggie (Morgan Kohan) as she returns to her hometown in rural Nova Scotia. She finds herself reconnecting with estranged father, Sully (Scott Patterson), newcomer Cal (Chad Michael Murray) and more members of the community.
Sullivan’s Crossing was previously renewed for a fourth season, which premiered March 22, 2026, on CTV. After airing in Canada, the hit show will follow up with April 20, 2026, on The CW and then on Netflix presumably in the summer once the show wraps up on cable.
Before its premiere, Us Weekly broke the news in March that Patterson would not be reprising his role when season 4 returns.
“Season 3 of Sullivan’s Crossing ended with Sully leaving for Ireland, beginning a new chapter in his life. Season 4 picks up the next day, with Sully still overseas,” Sullivan’s Crossing executive producer and showrunner Roma Roth exclusively told Us. “While he isn’t physically present in this season, the character remains an important part of the world with the potential to be included in future seasons should that align with the ongoing creative.”
In response, Patterson hinted at what caused his surprising departure, writing via Instagram, “The creative differences were becoming untenable and I just sadly realized that the show was not something that I could agree to continue.”
Scott Patterson isn’t the only Sullivan’s Crossing star who has made a shocking departure from the show. Based on the book series by Robyn Carr, Sullivan’s Crossing centers around neurosurgeon Maggie (Morgan Kohan) after she moves back home to rural Nova Scotia to reconnect with her estranged father, Sully (Scott Patterson). The brief getaway turns […]
Patterson clarified it wasn’t his choice to leave Sullivan’s Crossing.
“It’s unfortunate that it is now being implied that they moved on from me/Sully when the fact is the complete opposite, and those who sadly already have spoken out are also fully aware of this fact, and yet chose to say otherwise,” he continued. “I was not intending to make any statement but the fans of the books and the show deserve to know the truth as I have always been respectful of those who support this industry by watching and loving these characters we are so dang lucky and blessed to portray and bring to life.”
Seasons 1 through 3 of Sullivan’s Crossing are currently streaming on Netflix. Season 4 premieres on The CW April 20 at 8 p.m. ET
FBI Special Agent Brittany Garcia is the one who provided the “facts” presented in the criminal complaint against Pooh Shiesty, his father Lontrell Williams Sr., rapper Big30, and six others. The doc is 31 pages long, accusing the group of conspiring to and committing kidnapping. It spares no details about what allegedly happened to at least three victims, including Gucci Mane. From a Staples pit stop to fingerprint evidence left behind, here are seven WILD criminal allegations pulled from the complaint pages!
RELATED: Prosecutors Reveal Everything Allegedly Stolen By Pooh Shiesty & His Conspirators In Gucci Mane Kidnapping Case
For context, here are the names of everyone accused: Lontrell Williams Jr. (Pooh Shiesty), Lontrell Williams Sr. (Pooh’s dad), Rodney Wright Jr. (Big30), Demarcus Glover, Damarian Gipson, Kordae Johnson, Darrion McDaniel, Terrance Rodgers and Kedarius Waters.
1. Pooh Shiesty’s Dad Allegedly Printed Contract At Staples
As previously reported, Pooh Shiesty allegedly held Gucci Mane at gunpoint, forcing him to sign and date his contractual release on January 10. About two hours before arriving at the studio to meet Gucci Mane, Pooh Shiesty and Williams Sr. stopped at a Staples in Frisco, Texas (pages 12-13). That visit is listed as probable cause in the federal government’s case.
Surveillance footage shows the dad entering the store at 1:50 p.m. after parking near the front. After entering Staples, he walked straight to the copy/printer machines. Investigators pulled a receipt that shows a transaction at 1:59 p.m. at the printer/copy section, the same time Williams Sr. was near the machines.
“Due to the close timing of this visit to Staples prior to the offense, the fact that Williams Sr. went straight to the printing area of the store, and the timing of the receipt confirming a transaction occurred while Williams Sr. was at or near these printers, investigators believe that Williams Sr. and Williams Jr. went to Staples for the purpose of printing off the contractual release that was presented to R.D. (Gucci Mane),” the criminal complaint says, page 13.
2. Pooh Allegedly Stole Gucci Mane’s Wedding Band
The kidnapping and robbery of Gucci Mane and other victims allegedly happened in two rooms: the studio control room and recording room. Shortly after entering the building at 3:43 p.m., the nine defendants split up. Pooh asked Gucci to speak privately, and those two, plus Big 30 and Williams Sr. went into the recording room while two victims and six alleged co-conspirators stayed in the control room.
Inside the private room, Pooh Shiesty allegedly forced Gucci Mane to sign and date his release form at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Big 30 recorded a video of Gucci announcing the “release” on a cellphone. After he got his contract signed, Pooh Shiesty then robbed Gucci Mane of his wedding ring, watch, earrings, and cash.
RELATED: From Co-Signs To Controversy: A Look Back On Pooh Shiesty And Gucci Mane’s Business Relationship (VIDEOS)
3. Co-Conspirators Watched TV With The Victims Before Robbery
As mentioned, six alleged co-conspirators and two victims, M.M. and B.P., were in the studio control room during the contract signing. They were all chilling, watching football together. B.P. offered the alleged conspirators liquor purchased earlier that day. At least two of them poured up in red Solo cups. M.M. peeped the tense scene in the recording room and texted Gucci’s head of security. However, it seemingly didn’t lead to immediate action.
“M.M. and B.P. could see inside the recording room and initially believed R.D. and Williams Jr. to be discussing business, but as M.M. saw the conversation intensifying, he texted C.W. (who was still in the music studio’s lobby),” per the criminal complaint (page 6).
4. Pooh Shiesty Allegedly Held A Gun To A Victim’s Head
After the forced contract signing, Gucci Mane, Pooh, Pooh’s dad and Big30 left the recording room and joined the others. That’s when Demarcus Glover, Damarian Gipson, Kordae Johnson, Darrion McDaniel, Terrance Rodgers and Kedarius Waters allegedly pulled out “handguns or AR/AK style pistols” on M.M. and B.P.
B.P. was robbed of his wallet, chain and 1017 necklace. Also, Darrion McDaniel allegedly threatened to shoot him for moving, but Pooh Shiesty told him not to, per complaint pages 7-8.
Speaking of Pooh Shiesty, we know he allegedly pointed a gun at Gucci Mane. However, he also “placed the barrel of a firearm to the back of B.P.’s head and ordered him and [Gucci] to leave the control room and the studio through the west entrance of the office building,” per page 9. Gucci responded by asking his two security guards, who had forced their way in but were outnumbered, to escort them to his vehicle.
5. Alleged Co-Conspirators Left Fingerprints At The Crime Scene
As said, two alleged conspirators accepted B.P.’s offer to drink liquor in the control room. Those Solo cups later helped investigators place two men at the crime scene. On Jan. 16, 2026, a Forensic Fingerprint Expert ran latent prints from the scene through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The results came back the same day. Damarian Gipson left his left ring finger on a Solo cup, while Terrance Rodgers left his right thumb on another Solo cup, per complaint page 18. In addition to surveillance footage, the latent prints put both men at the crime scene.
6. Pooh Had His Shiesty On During The Kidnapping & Robbery
During this alleged kidnapping and robbery, Pooh Shiesty stayed true to his stage name! In the criminal complaint (page 19), Gucci Mane, M.M. and B.P., who all identified Pooh by his legal and stage name, described what he was wearing during the offense. He allegedly wore “a black Nike brand ‘shiesty’ mask, black hooded shirt, and black pants.”
7. Alleged Conspirators Flexed Stolen Goods On Social Media
Surveillance footage from the studio building allegedly shows Terrance Rodgers exiting with M.M.’s stolen Louis Vuitton bag. A few days later, on January 15, Rodgers allegedly posted a video on the Instagram account @_Damfool375, wearing a “Batman” Rolex that looked similar to the one M.M. reported stolen and provided proof of purchase and photo evidence of.
Additionally, M.M. identified Demarcus Glover‘s Instagram account as @_twinncmo_. The morning after the kidnapping and robbery, Glover shared an Instagram Stories post flexing “a large amount of cash and a Rolex visually similar to the one stolen from M.M.” Also, he tagged his location in the post as Dallas, Texas, per complaint page 23. Later that same day, Glover and Damarian Gipson appeared in a video “flashing large amounts of money and a watch,” per complaint pages 23-24.
Several days later, on January 17, another IG Stories post showed Glover “with a Rolex that appears identical to the one stolen from M.M.” In the post, he claimed he “got a new rope.” Two days after that, on January 19, Glover posted videos “wearing a necklace with a ‘1017’ pendant that appears identical to the one stolen from B.P.,” per complaint page 24.
RELATED: Surveillance Images Show Key Moments From Gucci Mane Kidnapping As Pooh Shiesty’s Lawyer Speaks Out (PHOTOS)
What Do You Think Roomies?
Former “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah is getting candid about how her reported crimes had a major impact on her two sons, Sharrieff Jr. and Omar.
Jen Shah was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in 2022 after pleading guilty to her role in a telemarketing fraud scheme that left a number of elderly and vulnerable victims emotionally scarred.
Why Jen Shah Had Her Two Sons Write Impact Letters To Her While She Was In Prison
Speaking with PEOPLE in her first interview since being released from custody, Shah, 52, stated that she took many steps to fully understand how her reported crimes affected more than just her.
To start, the former Bravo star said that she asked her family, Sharrieff Shah, and their two sons to write impact letters to her, detailing how her reported actions made them feel.
“I needed to know how I hurt them,” Shah said. “I needed them to be honest with me and tell me everything. I needed to hear that raw feedback, because that’s the only way you grow and heal. You can’t get better if you don’t know what you did.”
Jen Shah Said Her Children Were Apprehensive About Writing Impact Letters To Her
Shah explained that her sons, who were showcased in the first three seasons of “RHOSLC,” didn’t feel comfortable telling their mother about how she hurt them.
“They were like, ‘Dad, I don’t want to hurt mom’s feelings,’” Shah said, later revealing that she had second thoughts about what she was asking of them.
However, Shah’s husband, known as “Coach” to Bravo viewers, told their children that being honest about their feelings was for the best.
“And Coach told the boys, ‘You’re doing this for Mommy,’” she said.
Jen Shah Cried Many ‘Tears’ After Hearing What Her Sons Had To Say To Her
Shah eventually received her sons’ impact letters and got the chance to hear them aloud during a group session.
According to her, hearing their confessions was an emotional experience. “… there were a lot of tears,” she said, describing the moment as “hard.”
“But I needed to hear it,” she continued. “And I think that’s one of the reasons that we have grown closer as a family — because we had those difficult conversations, and I have faced those things head-on. I knew that there was hurt and pain, but you kind of wanted to be like, ‘Let’s sweep it under the rug.’ But I chose to tear that scab off and that wound and pour salt in it, if you will.”
Shah’s Victims Spoke Out About Her Reported Crimes In 2023
Shah’s children weren’t the only ones impacted by her reported crimes.
The reality star’s victims spoke with Good Morning America in 2023 about the scheme and revealed the heartbreaking ways the scheme upended their lives.
One elderly victim said she invested more than half of the savings she had for retirement, about $47,000, into the fraudulent program Shah’s team sold her.
A 44-year-old Iowa resident said she filed for bankruptcy after charging more than $40,000 on multiple credit cards.
Ralph Hallock, a World War II veteran, died by suicide after losing more than $100,000 in the scheme.
US Attorney Damiian Williams called Shah a “key participant” in a nationwide scheme that offered victims services of no value.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York claimed Shah was “not ignorant” of what was going on behind the scenes.
They went on to say that Shah “directed others to lie,” delete text messages and electronic documents, and claimed she even “moved some of her operations overseas and she tried to put computers and other evidence beyond the reach of the investigation.”
Shah Apologizes To Victims In First Interview Since Her Release
During her interview, Shah addressed her victims directly, admitting she was “wrong” for her role in the scheme.
“I made wrong decisions. I should have done things differently. I should have been more diligent. And I’m deeply remorseful and sorry for my actions and for my part. I take full responsibility,” she said.
At another point during the conversation, Shah said she was “sorry,” adding that her public interview was a step toward “accepting responsibility.”
Fans are sending Gabrielle Union love and prayers as she confirmed her father, Sylvester “Cully” Union Jr.’s passing. The actress shared the heartbreaking news in an emotional post on social media.
RELATED: Still THAT Couple! Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wade 11th Years Of Marriage, Leaving Us In Our Feelings (VIDEO)
Gabrielle Union Shares Heartfelt Tribute Amid Her Father’s Passing
Late on Saturday night, Gabrielle Union shared the sad news of her father, Sylvester “Cully” Union Jr.’s passing on Instagram. She posted a video showing throwback moments with him, along with photos of him spending time with her daughter, Kaavia James Union Wade, and her husband, Dwyane Wade. In her caption, she told fans he passed away on Friday, April 3 after struggling with dementia. She said nothing prepared her for the loss and explained how the disease kept her holding onto hope that the man she once knew would return.
“First it’s repeating words or forgetting little things here or there, then BOOM, he can’t swallow or walk. The them that you know gets smaller and smaller. You hold out hope for sustained eye contact or a smile; even a hand squeeze can make you feel like they could come back to you “normal” at any second. It’s brutal and it’s what he experienced, but it wasn’t who he was,” Union wrote.
Union Reflects On Her Dad’s Legacy
Gabrielle Union went on to praise her father, sharing that he made friends everywhere he went and always brought life to any room. She highlighted his strong work ethic and reflected on the many lessons he taught her over the years.
“Through every step of his life, my Dad was surrounded by love and support from his ever-growing village. I swear he never met a stranger, just friends he hadn’t met yet. A lifelong, die-hard Nebraska fan, he taught me the values of teamwork, a fierce work ethic, and that you are only as strong as your weakest link, so tend to them first,” Gabrielle continued.
She also called her sisters heroes for their unwavering support and thanked the medical teams for giving him the best care. Union also said she will miss her father but knows his love for her is eternal. “I know I’m not the first or last Daddy’s girl to go through this, and I’m sending love and healing to anyone suffering the loss of a parent. I know his love is eternal and will find me in every realm.”
Social Media Sends Gabrielle Love & Prayers
After Gabrielle Union shared the news of her father’s passing, fans flooded The Shade Room’s comment section with reactions. Many offered condolences, while others shared their own experiences of losing loved ones to dementia.
Instagram user @thegiftofkay wrote, “Wow you truly never know what battles people are carrying.”
Instagram user @aprnbeauty wrote, “Sending condolences this is sad 😢”
While Instagram user @simplyjonettad wrote, “The joy he must have given you, the smiles are demonstrated all over your face. Sending my condolences 🕊️”
Then Instagram user @createdbydarby wrote, “With Dementia, you lose the person twice. Praying for anyone else’s family that’s been impacted by this horrible disease.”
Another Instagram user @amazingly_jenjen wrote, “It’s brutal 😢😢I’m dealing with that with my mom and I cry everyday 🙏🏾💔”
Instagram user @tasha_s_sayless wrote, “Dementia is brutal 😞 Hope there’s a cure someday.”
Then another Instagram user @kimmymar wrote, “Losing a Parent is devastating 😢. Some take theirs for granted !! Love on them while you have them 🙏🏽”
Finally, Instagram user @w1ll1am_m05l3y wrote, “Very sorry to hear about your Father’s passing. I send my deepest condolences and please know that your family is in my prayers 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾”
RELATED: Still That Gworl! Social Media Goes WILD Over Gabrielle Union’s Flawless Unfiltered Selfie (PHOTO)
What Do You Think Roomies?
Blake Lively appeared nervous in a resurfaced interview clip where she was asked about her chemistry with Justin Baldoni on the set of “It Ends With Us,” and how she was “sometimes the intimacy coordinator” in certain scenes they shared together.
It comes after a judge dismissed most of the actress’s claims against her former co-star, including the sexual harassment charges she leveled against him.
Sources say Blake Lively plans to fight till the end, but there are concerns that the aftermath of the case may negatively impact her Hollywood career.
Blake Lively Was Asked To Weigh In On How She Acted As An Intimacy Coordinator
An unearthed interview clip has seemingly revealed the awkward moment Blake Lively got visibly nervous and uncomfortable when she was asked about her on-screen bond with Justin Baldoni.
The former co-stars have been at loggerheads since 2024, when the 38-year-old actress filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him and also accused him of launching a smear campaign to tarnish her image.
In the clip, Lively sat down beside “It Ends With Us” creator Colleen Hoover and co-star Brandon Sklenar, and was asked to weigh in on her chemistry with Baldoni and how she seemed to have been the coordinator of some of their intimate scenes.
“Talk to me about how sometimes you were even the intimacy coordinator in some of those sexier scenes,” an Access Hollywood journalist asked.
“That shouldn’t be happening, by the way, I just want to be clear,” Lively replied, per the Daily Mail. “You should not be the intimacy coordinator, and you should definitely hire intimacy coordinators, which we did have, thank goodness.”
The Actress Looked ‘Flustered’ In The Resurfaced Clip Discussing Intimate Scenes With Justin Baldoni
After Lively’s response about hiring intimacy coordinators, the interviewer doubled down on her question, telling the actress she was teaching Justin “how to pull” her in.
However, the “Gossip Girl” star became “flustered” and asked the interviewer where she had seen such a scene play out, putting up an awkward laugh while toying with a strand of her hair.
The book author, Hoover, then added, “I actually saw that too, that was on Instagram yesterday.”
“Yeah, I mean, I think romance is really important,” Lively replied before going on a short rant about how, as actors, they’re supposed to tell the story well and make people “feel,” but they’re supposed to do it in a way that’s “safe and respectful for all.”
A Judge Dismissed Most Of Blake Lively’s Claims
Four months after the awkward interview, Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set of the film, which he denied and countersued her.
However, her case suffered a blow recently after Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 charges she filed against him, including the sexual harassment charge.
The judge ruled that she could not pursue certain sexual harassment claims under federal law because she was technically an independent contractor rather than an employee during the production.
He also explained that the claims didn’t hold water under California laws because the filming where the actor allegedly sexually harassed her was carried out in New Jersey.
“None of these acts or occurrences provides the ‘substantial connection’ to California needed to sustain Lively’s sexual harassment claims,” Judge Liman wrote in his 152-page opinion.
That leaves the actress with three charges to pursue, namely breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation, which will all proceed to a civil trial in New York on 18 May.
The Actress Is Not Backing Down Despite Legal Setback
Meanwhile, sources close to the “A Simple Favor” actress have shared that she’s not backing down and plans to fight till the end.
A member of her legal team, Sigrid McCawley, recently stated that the case “has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy” Lively’s reputation.
Explaining that Lively plans to testify during the trial and would continue “to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation,” McCawley noted that the reason the sexual harassment charge was dropped was “not because the defendants did nothing wrong,” but because of some technicality in the case.
Lively herself also spoke out on the loss, stating, “The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I brought this case because of the pervasive RETALIATION I faced, and continue to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others.”
She continued in her statement, “I hope the Court’s decision shows others that, as unfathomably painful as it is, you can speak up.”
“I will never stop doing my part in fighting to expose the systems and people who seek to harm, shame, silence, and retaliate against victims,” the actress added.
Justin Baldoni’s Lawyers Revealed They Are ‘Very Pleased’ With The Recent Development Amid Their Legal Battle With Blake Lively
Baldoni’s lawyers have also expressed their satisfaction with the recent development while restating their commitment to seeing the case through in court.
“We’re very pleased the court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and every claim brought against the individual defendants: Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel,” lawyers Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach told the Daily Mail.
“These were very serious allegations, and we are grateful to the court for its careful review of the facts, law, and voluminous evidence that was provided,” they continued.
The lawyers added, “What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.”
The fantasy genre as a whole is often associated with feel-good, magical adventures that can be experienced by audiences of all ages. Even the films that veer into more widely-appealing blockbuster filmmaking like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have inherent strengths to younger audiences. However, while many of the most popular fantasy movies may be for audiences of all ages, that hasn’t stopped filmmakers from creating some striking fantasy experiences tailor-made for adult audiences.
Whether it be through overwhelming blood content, overt sexual content, or difficult and uncomfortable themes, these fantasy films bring the magic of the genre to its brink in bringing to life films that are the complete tonal opposite of their family-friendly brothers. These films have managed to be celebrated as masterpieces of the genre through their blending of high-concept fantasy elements with a more mature execution that is required of filmmaking that can’t be appreciated by kids.
10
‘The Northman’ (2022)
While not a horror film like his other cinematic masterpieces, Robert Eggers‘s The Northman is still one of the most ruthless and blood-soaked fantasy films to have ever been released. The film follows the young prince of a Nordic kingdom having his path to glory cut short after his uncle betrays his family, murdering his father and kidnapping his mother. After escaping and spending years honing his craft as a Viking warrior, the prince returns on a path of vengeance against his uncle.
The magnitude and scale of this Viking epic helps make it one of the most explosive fantasy action films out there, feeling both grounded in its style and visuals while also bombastic in its execution. The film also doesn’t hold back in terms of the gruesome nature of Vikings as a whole, with the first act pillaging scene especially going all out, not just in terms of ruthless action, but top-notch violence and gore. This entertaining Viking film has cemented its status as the go-to cinematic outing of the historical fantasy icons.
9
‘Mind Game’ (2004)
Japanese animation has been a source of exceptional family-oriented fantasy masterpieces for generations now, with the likes of Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro being among the most acclaimed animated fantasy movies of all time. Conversely, Mind Game is a premier example of how Japanese anime is also capable of creating wild, unrestrained adult stories within the fantasy genre. However, the film’s adult content never gets in the way of the overwhelming fantastical energy that it overwhelms the audience with.
The film follows an awkward loser who, after an encounter with the Japanese mafia, ends up losing his life in the most embarrassing way possible. However, this only proves to send him on a journey to heaven in back, unexpectedly having a second lease on life that he decides to live to the absolute fullest, not held back by any sense of danger or embarrassment. It makes the absolute most out of the creativity of the fantasy genre while also filling itself to the brim with lots of violence and sexual content.
8
‘Flesh + Blood’ (1985)
While Paul Verhoeven is often celebrated for his various sci-fi masterpieces with the likes of directing Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers, Flesh + Blood predates all of these films as a wildly underrated 80s fantasy film. The film follows a band of medieval mercenaries taking revenge upon a Lord by kidnapping the woman his son is engaged to. As plague and warfare are laying waste to the kingdom, the mercenaries decide to bunker down in a castle and await the impending counterattack from the Lord.
Flesh + Blood goes all out in terms of showing off the brutality and gruesome nature of the fantasy medieval period, not sugar-coating the ruthless nature of its mercenary characters or their actions. While Verhoeven’s signature sense of wild spirituality and satire makes the film a fun watch, this doesn’t take away from the deeply mature nature of its content, including an overwhelming amount of gore and sexual violence.
7
‘All of Us Strangers’ (2023)
While many of the most adult-oriented fantasy films will go about their adult content with an overwhelming amount of gore or sexual content, All of Us Strangers is more squarely focused on grounded, mature themes and symbolism designed for an adult audience. The fantasy drama follows a lonesome man who, after a chance encounter with his mysterious neighbor, finds the rhythm of his everyday life forever altered. As he takes a visit to his childhood home to recollect his mind, he ends up making an unlikely connection with his parents despite them dying when he was a child.
While the fantasy elements are certainly more subdued compared to the types of wild, high-concept fantasy worlds that normally find success in the genre, they are present enough to amplify the emotional weight and thematic resonance of the film as a whole. All of Us Strangers certainly has its fair share of sex scenes and on-screen drug use that make it not worth watching for kids, but young audiences wouldn’t connect with the film’s more philosophical filmmaking anyway.
6
‘Excalibur’ (1981)
Standing as the gold standard for many R-rated fantasy masterpieces for generations, Excalibur has the exact right mixture of classic fantasy storytelling with wild, R-rated action and violence that made the film a massive hit and an icon of 80s fantasy. The film chronicles the life and death of King Arthur (Nigel Terry), following his quest to bring together the Knights of the Round Table and various other quests across the medieval era.
Excalibur continues to have a substantial legacy in the decades following its release, often being considered one of the first true examples of a great R-rated fantasy film and one of the go-to adaptations of the quests of King Arthur. While the Arthurian tales have been adapted to more family-oriented experiences over the years, Excalibur has a sense of brutality and weight to its action and setpieces that do justice to the dark, medieval energy of the film.
5
‘The Witch’ (2016)
One of the absolute simplest yet most effective ways to create a striking, memorable fantasy movie experience that shouldn’t be viewed by children is to mix the fantasy elements with the horror genre. In terms of sheer craft and execution of utilizing fantasy and magical elements to create a bone-chilling horror experience, nothing comes close to the masterfully woven brilliance of Robert Eggers’ debut film, The Witch. A film that helped catapult the very notions of elevated horror that persist in modern horror, The Witch is a masterclass of tension and slow-creeping dread.
The film is as much about the haunting witchcraft elements looming over the family as it is about the aggressive infighting and distrust that breaks the family apart in the wake of pain, loss, and overall confusion as to how and why these things are occurring to them. It proves to be one of the most grounded and gritty takes on a witchcraft story to date, tactfully utilizing its fantasy elements for maximum emotional impact.
4
‘The Green Knight’ (2021)
While it may seem a bit backward to tell a gritty, adult take on a classic Arthurian tale that is often taught to young children, The Green Knight massively excels thanks to its evolution and growth of this tried-and-true classic fantasy story to the modern era. The film largely follows the classic tales of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) most notably his daring quest and game against the Green Knight, with his looming fate being held over him for the majority of the film.
It would be one thing for the film to simply retell the original Arthurian stories exactly as they were originally told, yet with a mixture of dynamic visuals and storytelling craft from director David Lowery, this medival classic becomes a modern-day fantasy masterpiece. A major part of this upgrade comes in its adoption of more adult themes and visuals, most notably in more visceral violence and sexually charged moments. It’s also probably the only medieval film to feature literal ejaculate on-screen, so that has to count for something.
3
‘Evil Dead II’ (1987)
In terms of fantasy horror filmmaking that holds nothing back in terms of not only gore content but electrifying screen-presence and entertainment, Sam Raimi is in an absolute league of his own, with no singular film exemplifying this quite like Evil Dead II. It builds and improves upon the original film in just about every conceivable way, not only in terms of technical craft but in terms of overall filmmaking and stylish execution. It’s one of the most bombastic horror comedies ever made, reveling in its madness and blood-soaked glory every step of the way.
While Evil Dead II may ironically have the same wild, goofy nature of a cartoon that children would absolutely love to watch, the overwhelming abundance of gore and violence easily makes this a difficult watch for any child. Still it’s this frankly over-the-top usage of blood that has made the Evil Dead franchise as a whole so iconic among horror fantasy films, with this initial sequel still being the absolute height of the franchise.
2
‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999)
One of many strange and otherworldly concepts brought to life by legendary screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Being John Malkovich takes its fantasy premise to its absolute extremes in terms of psychological examination and reflection upon human nature as a whole. The film follows the consequences of the discovery of a mysterious portal that allows people to enter the mind of acclaimed actor John Malkovich, as people find themselves becoming obsessed with experiencing the world through Malkovich’s eyes.
The initial fantasy premise is already wild enough as is, yet the film takes so many strange twists and turns that it becomes an intricate work of art, with each moving piece building off of each other to create a striking and highly memorable portrait. It’s already well too complicated for many children to experience, and that’s before considering the fair amount of sex scenes featured in the film. This perfectly written fantasy movie continues to be some of the absolute best that the genre has to offer in a contemporary setting.
1
‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
No singular filmmaker has so distinctly cemented himself as one of the head visionaries of gothic, dark fantasy filmmaking made for adults like Guillermo del Toro. It would be incredibly easy to fill this entire list with masterful adult-oriented fantasy films that the visionary has directed, yet for the purposes of this list, nothing comes close to his timeless dark fantasy masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth. It stands as the absolute pinnacle of what an adult-oriented fantasy film can be, unrestrained by having to appeal to young children and creating a stylish, otherworldly exploration of madness and thematic perfection.
Pan’s Labyrinth has grown to be so beloved and acclaimed in the two decades since its release that it is often considered the definitive height of dark fantasy as a subgenre of traditional fantasy storytelling. The visuals still hold up tremendously to this day, as its beautiful original world building is second-to-none and exemplifies the very best that fantasy filmmaking is capable of.
If you’re tired of watching Oscar nominees and blockbuster megahits, you’ve come to the right place.
Streaming services are particularly great at staying up to date on all the biggest must-see movies, but they also have plenty of features that deserve a little more love.
As the experts in all things streaming, Watch With Us has devised a guide for the best underrated movies you can find on platforms like HBO Max, Netflix and more.
Our first pick is Mistress America, a quirky indie comedy starring Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke.
This April, Peacock has added some fantastic new movies to its already great library. There are all sorts of movies from across the genre spectrum heading to Peacock. Laugh-out-loud comedies, riveting dramas, immersive sci-fi experiences and high-quality kids flicks. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email Please enter a valid […]
New college student Tracy (Lola Kirke) has trouble adjusting to her new life at Barnard in New York City, and so reaches out to her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig), who lives nearby. Tracy becomes beguiled by Brooke, whose freewheeling life is seen by Tracy as aspirational. As the two young women cavort through the city together, Tracy suddenly finds creative inspiration for her writing. But things go south when Brooke discovers Tracy has been using her life as fodder for literary material.
Wacky, fast-paced and warm-hearted, Mistress America is fronted by two sensational and charismatic performances from Gerwig and Kirke, carried by a typical sharp yet gentle direction from Noah Baumbach. While not quite on par with Baumbach and Gerwig’s previous collaboration, Frances Ha, Mistress America is nevertheless a fantastic melding between the two lovers and artists who co-penned the screenplay together. Baumbach brings out Gerwig’s natural charm alongside the director’s signature dark sense of humor.
While enjoying a romantic getaway at her married boyfriend Richard’s (Kevin Janssens) luxury home in the desert, Jen (Matilda Lutz) sees her excursion interrupted by the unannounced arrival of Richard’s strange friends, Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchède). Though the friends are there to take part in a seemingly innocent hunting trip with Richard, tensions between the foursome progressively increase until things turn deadly. It leads to a shocking act of violence that leaves Jen clinging to her life. But when she comes to, she sets out on a quest to enact revenge on her tormentors.
Before French director Coralie Fargeat helmed the Academy Award-nominated The Substance, she directed this efficient little revenge thriller that served as an impressive feature debut. Revenge subverts tropes of the exploitation and rape/revenge genres to craft a highly affecting feminist film that is taut, stylish and fearless. Led commandingly by Lutz, Revenge offers a new perspective on a male-dominated film genre.
Loosely adapted from the 2016 novel of the same name by Iain Reid, I’m Thinking of Ending Things follows a young woman (Jessie Buckley) who travels with her boyfriend, Jake (Jesse Plemons), on a snowy, stormy night to visit his parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis) at their rural farmhouse. However, on the drive there, the woman ruminates on her misgivings towards their relationship and whether she should break things off. When the two arrive, their seemingly innocent trip becomes dark, surreal and constantly transforming.
Though I’m Thinking of Ending Things sports a deeply unconventional and even experimental narrative, the movie is eminently engaging, as mysteries pile on top of mysteries on top of inconsistencies and questions. Ultimately, the myriad of unanswered questions posed by the movie are less important than the mood and atmosphere they create, and the psychological horror that unfolds before viewers. Ultimately, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an utterly unique experience that will leave you unsettled in the best way.
A spaceship named Covenant is on its way to the planet Origae-6 for colonization. On board are colonists and human embryos in cryogenic stasis, but when an unexpected solar flare damages the ship, several colonists are killed. Some of the crew wake up alongside an android named Walter (Michael Fassbender), and during repairs, they divert their course to an uncharted planet when they discover a human broadcast. The planet is home to the sole survivor of the disastrous Prometheus mission from years ago, David (Fassbender), but neither he nor the planet is as hospitable as they appear.
Both of Ridley Scott‘s Alien prequels are vastly underrated, but perhaps more so is Alien: Covenant, which manages to be far darker, creepier, more violent and also funnier than Prometheus. Between both movies, Scott does an excellent job of expanding the world and lore of the original Alien movies and the origins of the terrifying Xenomorph, with fantastic cinematography, production design and sense of atmospheric horror. Plus, Fassbender’s dual performance as David/Walter is a weird and erotically charged wonder.
Con artists Theresa (Debra Winger) and Robert (Richard Jenkins) have spent their time as parents training their only daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), to swindle and scam her way through life while treating her more as an accomplice than as their child. After concocting a scam involving lost airplane luggage, Old Dolio and her parents meet a charming young woman named Melanie (Gina Rodriguez). Though Melanie willingly joins in on the family’s schemes, her involvement ends up changing Old Dolio’s life forever.
Streaming subscribers are going to have a lot to watch in April, and it may take some serious time management skills to catch everything good. Netflix and Apple TV are debuting new seasons of Beef and Your Friends & Neighbors, respectively. Meanwhile, Prime Video is bringing The Boys to a conclusion after five seasons. Hulu […]
True to director Miranda July‘s signature off-kilter style, Kajillionaire is a strange but bewitching comedy-drama film that manages to be sad, funny and deeply heartfelt all at once. The film is led by a singular performance from Wood, and her monotone, deadpan characterization manages to pair beautifully with Rodriguez’s perkier, more naturalistic portrayal. Wood transcends caricature to create a character that is deeply human in a bittersweet story about the need for connection.
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