Sydney Sweeney appears to be making her feelings about Scooter Braun clear after reports claimed she had been advised to end their relationship. The “Euphoria” actress included an intimate photograph of herself kissing Braun in a new end-of-summer photo dump, offering fans another glimpse into their increasingly public romance. The affectionate update arrives shortly after claims that a powerful Hollywood agent allegedly told Sweeney she needed to dump the former music executive if she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress and businesswoman.

Sydney Sweeney Shares Intimate Kiss With Scooter Braun

Sweeney closed out the season by sharing a carousel filled with highlights from her summer. The collection featured moments from camping, scuba diving, wakeboarding, and the Venice Film Festival. However, the photograph attracting the most attention showed Sweeney, 29, locking lips with Braun, 45. The intimate snap made it clear that he was part of the memories she wanted to share publicly, despite the scrutiny surrounding their romance.

“One last summer dump,” Sweeney reportedly captioned the collection. Although the actress did not directly address any breakup rumors or outside criticism, the photograph suggested that she and Braun remain firmly together.

Sydney Sweeney Was Reportedly Told To ‘Dump’ Scooter Braun

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The romantic update comes after claims that Sweeney was advised to reconsider her relationship with Braun. The Blast previously reported that Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel allegedly told the actress she needed to end the romance if she wanted to be viewed seriously within the entertainment industry.

“Ari was telling her that if she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress and businesswoman, she needed to break up with Scooter,” a source claimed. Representatives for Emanuel strongly denied that the alleged conversation ever occurred. The warning was said to have been delivered before Sweeney left Paradigm Talent Agency and signed with Creative Artists Agency. Braun reportedly played a role in that career move by arranging a dinner between Sweeney and CAA agent Kevin Huvane. Whatever concerns may have been raised about the relationship, Sweeney’s latest post indicates that she has not allowed them to dictate her personal choices.

Scooter Braun Has Publicly Declared His Love For The Actress

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Sweeney’s photograph follows Braun’s own highly public show of affection. The former talent manager celebrated her 29th birthday with a romantic tribute featuring footage of them dancing and kissing.

“Happy birthday to the woman who is the exception to every rule,” Braun wrote. He praised Sweeney for showing him what a “true partnership” could look like and said she made him “smile harder, laugh louder, adventure more, and dream bigger.”

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Braun ended the message by declaring, “I love you,” and expressing his excitement about celebrating more milestones together. That tribute already presented the couple as happy and committed. Sweeney’s decision to include him in her latest carousel now adds another public display from her side of the relationship.

Sydney Sweeney And Scooter Braun’s Romance Has Grown Serious

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Sweeney and Braun have reportedly been romantically involved since 2025, following her split from former fiancé Jonathan Davino. Their relationship initially attracted attention because of their 16-year age difference and Braun’s controversial reputation in the entertainment business. Braun previously managed stars including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande before stepping away from talent management.

Despite the criticism, the romance has continued to become more serious. The pair has made several public appearances together, including during the Venice Film Festival, and Braun has reportedly introduced Sweeney to his children. Sources close to the couple have claimed that they are secure in their relationship and largely amused by the negative commentary surrounding it. One insider previously said Sweeney had “never been happier,” while another claimed Braun found speculation about their romance “comical.” Neither Sweeney nor Braun has indicated that the outside pressure has caused problems between them.

Sydney Sweeney Continues To Make Her Own Career Moves

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The kiss photo also arrives as questions continue to surround Braun’s possible influence over Sweeney’s expanding career. The actress recently changed talent agencies and has continued building a business portfolio outside acting. Her lingerie company, SYRN, has generated significant attention through a string of provocative campaigns, while her partnership with sports prediction platform Novig sparked another major controversy. Braun has reportedly supported those ventures and helped connect Sweeney with powerful figures in Hollywood. However, observers remain divided over whether his involvement strengthens her career or risks overshadowing her accomplishments.

Sweeney’s latest post does not settle that wider debate. It does, however, undermine any suggestion that she is preparing to distance herself from Braun because of the criticism. Rather than hiding the romance, the actress chose to include their kiss among the defining moments of her summer. The intimate photograph suggests that whatever Hollywood insiders or online critics may think about the relationship, Sweeney and Braun are continuing it on their own terms.

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Five seasons is no small miracle for a sitcom that feels like one of TV’s best-kept secrets. Fox’s Animal Control continues to blend the deliciously funny workplace chaos of Brooklyn Nine-Nine with the easy ensemble chemistry of Parks and Recreation. But amid the wild animal calls and shenanigans that give the series its own brand of nonsense from showrunners Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, and Dan Sterling, it’s also delivering one of its best seasons to date. After all, where else can you find a show that makes a puppy mill raid look like a Michael Bay movie, but ends with a $63 citation fee?

And maybe that’s the single-camera sitcom’s best part. The ensemble series led by Joel McHale is still very good at creating that sharp turn of humor, proving it’s one of TV’s greatest underrated comedies. With the first two episodes of its newest season made available for review, Animal Control wastes no time reminding us how it continues to be one of the funniest, most genuine comedies on network television. While all the adorable creatures, great or small, still cause trouble for Seattle’s Northwest Seattle Division, it’s the wonderfully dysfunctional crew that will keep you watching.

What Is ‘Animal Control’ Season 5 About?

Image via Bettina Strauss/FOX

With Animal Control Director Emily (Vella Lovell) suspended after her relationship with Officer Shred (Michael Rowland) came to HR’s attention last season, the Northwest Seattle Division begins Season 5 short on patience and stuck with a boss nobody wants. Emily is still in the trenches, and by trenches, we mean hitting the highs of baking like it was the pandemic all over again. Her hearing is weeks away, but in the meantime, Templeton (Gerry Dee) is making himself comfortable in her office. It’s obviously bugging TF out of Frank (McHale), who leads the team in a work stoppage, though his determination to oust the new lead is tested when the Seattle Seahawks’ mascot goes missing.

Despite being told he is barred from the rescue operation and Templeton enlists Daisy (Kyla Pratt), the job brings out Frank’s best instincts and his worst impulses. But as the office curmudgeon tries to work with Templeton’s lackey, he realizes the team has a bigger problem ahead of them in the form of short king, Roman Park (Ken Jeong), whose private animal control agency is moving into city territory. Suddenly, things like low service scores carry more weight than they usually would, sending the team into a panic in Episode 2’s “Crows and Lizard Legs.” But as the season progresses, the others have their own distractions, like Patel (Ravi Patel) dealing with his daughter’s new boyfriend or Victoria (Grace Palmer) trying to pass along a piglet she found.

Across its first two episodes back, Season 5 lets those personal stories stay delightfully messy while giving the whole precinct a shared concern: Argue over who’s in charge later, but first, make sure there’s still a precinct to run. It’s also a sharp way to spotlight McHale’s Frank as the team’s lead as the milestone season nudges him into a more selfless, altruistic mission to put not just the animals first, but the team he will never admit he loves.

‘Animal Control’s Ensemble Is Still One of TV’s Best

McHale knows exactly how much dignity Frank needs to lose before a scene gets funny. In the premiere, he guides the team through, basically, a work strike that feels like a righteous cause, but then lets his character’s excitement over the Seahawks’ missing mascot cut straight through it. As we see with his comedic timing, that balance in humor is best seen in the “Seahawks and Piglets” premiere’s cold open or the laugh-out-loud moment of him in Episode 2 screaming at the top of his lungs while cornered in a crawlspace with a furry creature. It’s also McHale’s signature dry humor that holds those extremes together while opening up another side of Frank audiences love.

Stepping up to what feels like a bigger role this season is Dee, who’s a strong match for McHale as he plays Templeton’s authority with absolute conviction — even when his latest precinct addition is a utility belt Daisy can barely carry. One of the premiere’s highlights is the hilariously bare-chested, grease-covered fight that is downright ridiculous, with squelching sounds that you can’t unhear. Meanwhile, Pratt levels up Daisy from spectator this season with an eager, sharp pace that gives her partnership with Frank and the others its own prickly rhythm.

Lovell is especially funny in the quieter scenes, giving Emily’s scone delivery such an earnest warmth that everyone’s strained politeness becomes the joke — even if there’s more to it than meets the eye. As the others find themselves juggling more than usual this season, Rowland lets Shred’s anxiety build in small steps as he finds an absorbing balance of being the supportive boyfriend still doing his job.

Similarly, Palmer continues to sharpen that easy wit and carefree vibe, landing every joke through dry responses that never interrupt a scene’s rhythm. Patel continues to give his namesake character an endearingly stressed edge that brings a comically commanding intensity to scenes with his daughter Addy’s (Dayah Brar) boyfriend. Last but not least is Jeong’s Roman, who he plays with such a cheerful self-belief that his nonchalance feels like an asset to the character and one that adds another dimension of comic relief to every situation, especially as the precinct locks him as their target. With Roman being back, it’s clear everyone has a different way of getting a laugh, and they’re each as good at giving one another room to land it.

‘Animal Control’ Season 5’s Writing Is Funnier

Image via Bettina Strauss/FOX

One of the more interesting aspects of Animal Control this far into its network TV plunge is how there are real stakes that give room for its characters to really develop. Season 5 gives the precinct something more pressing than its usual arguments and shenanigans: The possibility that the team could lose its place to Roman’s private agency. What’s more grounded is how that threat has a foothold in reality, as cities can hand animal control services to outside organizations. This gives the precinct’s fight a little more bite than the usual workplace rivalry.

Not only does that threat change how the characters see their jobs and one another, but it’s clear they can’t afford to ignore what’s happening around them. Even with Emily trying her best to help where she can, the writing this season lets these loyalties show through all the bickering without prompting a big speech about friendships. Instead, the jokes do double duty, showing how much these people depend on one another even if they drive each other up the wall.

But better yet, the comedy has gotten funnier. The jokes come faster this season and still align with that signature slapstick style sprinkled in with a few sight gags. But the show still knows when to leave space for a deadpan reaction or an uncomfortable pause. The nearly 22-minute episodes move easily between an animal call, a workplace dispute, and someone’s personal crisis, with each plot reaching a charming end before the next begins.

Best of all, there’s more energy here than in a sitcom simply enjoying the company of familiar characters, thanks to some bonkers pairing that elevates the humor. Animal Control knows this crew well enough to put them under pressure and find fresh reasons for them to drive each other mad, and that’s a lovely place for a fifth season to be.

Animal Control airs Sundays on Fox at 8:30 p.m. EST and streams the next day on Hulu.

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Release Date

February 16, 2023

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Network

FOX

Writers

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Dan Sterling, Tad Quill

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Pros & Cons

• McHale’s dry timing makes Frank both ridiculous and easy to root for.
• The comedy is faster and funnier, with room for deadpan beats.
• Roman’s agency gives the precinct a shared threat with real stakes.

• Emily’s suspension keeps her away from the precinct, limiting the time Lovell gets to play off the full ensemble.

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Entertainment value is a subjective quality among different audiences, and the biggest discrepancy between fans and cinephiles is what constitutes “fun.” Although the term “fun” can be used in an almost disparaging way to describe or defend lazy blockbuster or franchise films that exist only to satisfy Internet commenters, cinema was created as a form of entertainment as much as it was a form of art, and there is no shame in making something that is unabashedly entertaining. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences that it had on the global box office has ensured that pure escapism is more desired than ever before, especially when audiences are seeking escapism. Although the box office has taken some significant hits in recent years due to factors that are beyond the control of any one studio, there does seem to be a conscious desire from audiences to turn cinemagoing into a communal experience once more.

There is a difference between films that are “fun” and “funny,” as there’s entertainment value in crowd pleasers that don’t necessarily need to be treated as outright comedies; this is of course complicated by the fact that Hollywood doesn’t frequently churn out midbudget comedies anymore, as they are more common to become streaming shows. At the same time, the industry has oddly begun to treat its blockbusters less like escapist entertainment and more like important pieces of narrative franchise building. When every film is simply a building block that is intended to tease whatever comes next in a cinematic universe, it can be harder to enjoy them as individual sections. There’s no rhyme or reason that describes what a “fun” film could be, but a discerning cinephile can usually point it out when they see it.

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‘Licorice Pizza’ (2021)

Image via United Artists

Licorice Pizza is a throwback to the San Fernando Valley-set dark comedies that Paul Thomas Anderson made early on within his career, but it’s not nearly as emotionally crushing as Boogie Nights or Magnolia. Anderson has always understood how to write irascible, energetic young people who dream farther than they can see, and Licorice Pizza is an uproarious romantic comedy that uses Los Angeles of the ‘70s as a playground to explore multiple avenues of popular culture. It’s one of the more unusual romantic comedies of the past 25 years, but it’s also one of the most honest and sincere; Anderson is unparalleled in his ability to take note of up-and-coming talent and give them opportunities, and the discovery of Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim made Licorice Pizza far more entertaining than it would have been with two established actors cast.

Licorice Pizza plays out like a series of memories, and the segmented, free-flowing progression of events makes for a wonderful string of anecdotes that capture all the highs and lows of a single summer. Although there are a number of great cameos and brief appearances by more established names, Bradley Cooper’s role as Jon Peters is arguably the funniest that he has been since The Hangover.

5

‘Hit Man’ (2024)

Image via Netflix

Hit Man is a deviation for Richard Linklater because it was the first time he was working in the espionage dark comedy subgenre, even if it was based on a Texas Monthly article in the same way that his underrated 2011 film Bernie was. Hit Man works because it is a film about audience expectations that explores how silly the fundamentals of cinema would be if they were taken seriously; Glen Powell stars as a geeky college professor who goes undercover as various fake assassins in order to help law enforcement catch those who would hire a hit man, but he ends up getting in too deep when he falls for a woman (Adria Arjona) who wants to actually have her abusive husband killed. It’s a startling effective romantic-comedy that doubles as a subversive noir, with Arjona perfectly embodying the persona of a modern femme fatale.

Hit Man signified that Powell was a true talent on the rise who was interested in transforming himself physically in order to wear different disguises, which is something that he would do once again in Chad Powers and The Running Man. It’s nonetheless an impressive achievement on Linklater’s part that Hit Man retains the “hangout” sensibilities of his best work, all whilst taking some dark twists.

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‘Challengers’ (2024)

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

Challengers exists within several genres that Hollywood has declined to thoughtfully develop in recent years, as it’s a gripping sports film, a twisty erotic thriller, and a hilarious romantic comedy about three highly motivated, competitive people who can’t help but be drawn to one another. Luca Guadagnino has certainly made films that are more existentialist and weird, but Challengers is an unabashed work of populist entertainment that features better craftsmanship than anything else this decade. Between the absorbing camerawork, the hypnotic editing, and the instantly iconic musical score, Challengers is a burst of momentum that crashes competing ambitions into one another.

Challengers is a perfect sports film that doesn’t require existing knowledge of tennis to be enjoyed, but does show enough nuance in its exploration of the sport to suggest that Guadagnino did his research. It’s also the rare love triangle film where there isn’t an obviously misplaced party in play, as there is reason to equally invest in the performances by Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist.

3

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)

Image via Paramount Pictures

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Top Gun: Maverick is the sequel that seemed like it would never be made because of the decades of rumors and tragic passing of original director Tony Scott, which seemed to rule out the possibility of Tom Cruise ever returning to reprise his role as Pete Mitchcell. Although it would have been very easy for Top Gun: Maverick to fall into the same trap that had doomed several other legacy sequels that essentially just played out as lazy recreations, Joseph Kosinski molded a perfect reboot because it saw Maverick transitioning into become a mentor figure to the group of young pilots, including Rooster (Miles Teller), the son of his former best friend Goose (Anthony Edwards).

Cruise proves again why he is one of the best movie stars of all-time, but Top Gun: Maverick also managed to identify some of the other rising talents out there, including Powell, Monica Barbaro, and Lewis Pullman.

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‘Project Hail Mary’ (2026)

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

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Project Hail Mary is a perfect modern take on the space opera adventure because it is, ironically enough, a film about humanity where the main character is isolated from the rest of Earth on a mission to deep space. Although science fiction has become a genre in which there is far more “doom and gloom” than optimism about what the future can hold, Project Hail Mary takes an appropriate approach of recognizing the problems that mankind faces and telling an inspirational story about people of different backgrounds coming together to do something for the collective good of life itself. It’s a perfect companion piece to The Martian, another film based on a sci-fi novel from author Andy Weir that was adapted by Drew Goddard. It’s one of the many recent films that truly demands the scope of IMAX projection, showing that a film of this size can still contain a tremendous amount of artistry.

The key to the success of Project Hail Mary is the sincere connection between its two leads, as Ryan Gosling makes for an empathetic, funny teacher-turned-astronaut, and James Ortiz created one of the greatest modern puppet characters with Rocky. That such a big film is staked on such a simple and sincere connection is tremendously brave, but it’s a reminder of just how sharp writer/directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller can be (and begs the question of what their version of Solo: A Star Wars Story would have looked like). Although Project Hail Mary isn’t a spoof, as it includes some deeply emotional and harrowing moments, it’s nearly impossible to get to the end of the film without breaking out into a smile.

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‘Splitsville’ (2025)

Image via Neon

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Splitsville is one of the most audacious and uproarious original comedies of the decade because it unleashed the potential of the writer/director team of Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, who also co-star in the film as best friends who become involved in the others’ respective spouses, played by Adria Arjona and Dakota Johnson. What begins as a hilarious look at male insecurity becomes an increasingly absurdist farce that involves sabotage, scandal, and one of the most surprisingly well-staged fight scenes there has been in a comedy film in quite some time.

Splitsville is equally sympathetic and searing with its characters, as it thoroughly understands the complexities of a longstanding relationship where certain truths become questioned. Although neither character ends up looking particularly good, Splitsville revels in the fact that the characters are sincerely emotional and not bottled up. Thanks to creative needle drops and some brilliant staging of setpieces, Splitsville is a European-styled comedy that examines the absurdity of the modern American social hierarchy.

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Splitsville

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Release Date

August 22, 2025

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Runtime

105 minutes

Director

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Michael Angelo Covino

Writers

Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino

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It’s the season of crime on streaming, with the recently released Unabomber movie jumping to the top of the Netflix viewership charts. Meanwhile, the latest seasons of Guy Ritchie‘s The Gentlemen and MobLand are enjoying continued success on their respective platforms, while another face-off unfolds on MGM+. The Westies, a crime drama series headlined by J.K. Simmons and Titus Welliver, had been enjoying relative freedom for the past several weeks, facing competition only in the form of the sci-fi series From. More recently, however, a new crime series has offered a fresh challenge to The Westies, replacing it as the number-one series domestically on MGM+.

The new show is a limited series based on a popular podcast; both the source material and the TV spin-off are fronted by Jon Hamm. The show appears to be following in the footsteps of Ryan Murphy‘s popular anthology series American Crime Story, American Horror Story, and American Sports Story. Based on a real incident from the 1970s, the new series follows the standoff between a disgruntled man and the authorities after he takes a mortgage broker hostage following a dispute. The hostage taker, played by Giovanni Ribisi, demands to be interviewed by a radio host played by Hamm.

Titus Welliver and Jon Hamm Worked Together on a Crime Classic

The series in question is American Hostage, and according to FlixPatrol, it’s now the most-watched title on the MGM+ charts. Also featuring Mireille Enos, the series has aired three episodes so far, and has pushed The Westies down the leaderboard. American Hostage now holds a stellar 93% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with Collider’s Meredith Loftus describing it in her review as “a crime thriller you don’t want to sleep on.” Meanwhile, The Westies appears to have settled at a 78% score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “What The Westies lacks in originality, it makes up for with a sturdy crime story, compelling characters, and a cast that knows how to handle the genre.” Incidentally, Hamm and Welliver played pivotal supporting roles in Ben Affleck‘s critically acclaimed heist movie The Town, which was released in 2010. Recently, Hamm has been acclaimed for his central performance in Apple TV’s Your Friends & Neighbors, while Welliver has become a household name thanks to Prime Video’s Bosch, which could be eyeing a return. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Release Date

September 20, 2026

Network

MGM+

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Directors

Adam Arkin

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Writers

Abby St. Clair, Eileen Myers, Shawn Ryan

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Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher eventually became one of the most controversial casting decisions in modern action movies, but here’s the weird part: he wasn’t originally attached to play him at all. According to Lee Child, Cruise’s involvement with Jack Reacher began behind the scenes, years before he decided he wanted to step in front of the camera.

Speaking exclusively with Collider ahead of his new Reacher novel, Child revealed that Cruise initially became involved through Cruise/Wagner Productions as an investor. He already knew the books and believed a movie adaptation had potential, but playing Reacher wasn’t initially part of the plan. “Cruise was not attached to it as an actor or producer,” Child told Collider. “He was an investor. He knew the series. He thought, ‘Yeah, this will probably fly.’ He wanted to be an investor, and Cruise/Wagner was the production company.”

So what changed? Christopher McQuarrie. After years in development, McQuarrie wrote the screenplay that would eventually become Jack Reacher. Child remembers being hugely impressed by the script, and Cruise apparently had the same reaction. “After six years, a screenplay was written by Christopher McQuarrie, who’s a shit-hot guy,” said Child, in something of an understatement. “| mean, a great, great writer, great movie man. The screenplay was so good, and it was circulated amongst all the interested parties. Obviously, I got a copy. Cruise got a copy as an executive producer, and so on. Cruise read it and thought, ‘Wow, this is great. I want to play this guy.’ And that’s where it started rolling.”

Tom Cruise Wasn’t Supposed To Be Jack Reacher

Image via Paramount Pictures

The backstory behind how the movie got made makes the whole thing a lot more interesting. This wasn’t a series that Cruise had earmarked for himself the whole time; he just found a series he wanted to see become a movie franchise. But the script was just too good to turn down, and when Tom Cruise says he wants to play a part, he usually gets what he’s after. Of course, that created a problem nobody involved could ignore, because Child’s Reacher is described as a physically enormous man, while Cruise very obviously isn’t. The decision nevertheless paid enormous dividends for the books, which helped build the franchise into a worldwide phenomenon. Cruise was one of the world’s biggest movie stars, and Jack Reacher introduced Child’s character to audiences who had never picked up one of the novels. Child recalled that shortly after the first movie arrived, eight of his older paperbacks simultaneously landed in the Top 10.

Jack Reacher is available to rent or buy digitally. Lee Child was speaking exclusively to Collider in support of Chain Reaction, the latest Jack Reacher novel, which arrives October 20. Child will also co-write Zero Margin, the first Frances Neagley novel, with Yasmin Angoe, arriving in spring 2027. Sign up for a free trial of Audible to listen to the Reacher novels and more.

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Release Date

December 21, 2012

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2h 10m

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Sylvester Stallone is recalling a past stay at a mental institution as a teenager.

“In my age group, the teenagers, if you ever snuck out to see a girl or do something like that, you’d be reprimanded by being taken to a place called Park Lodge or the Snake Pit,” Stallone, 80, told The New York Times in a profile published Saturday, September 26, repeating claims mentioned in his new memoir, The Steps, about his experience at Devereux Manor High School. “On the outside it looked like a big, old Tudor home from the ’20s, and then you walked inside and you entered the heart of insanity.”

He continued, “The smell, the filth, people running around naked, clawing, hands tied, drooling. This is what they thought would impress you never to break the rules again.”

According to Stallone, he was once remanded to a psychiatric ward for “a couple of weeks.”

Related: Sylvester Stallone Details Robert Patrick Reunion on ‘Tulsa King’ Season 3

Sylvester Stallone and Robert Patrick’s past working relationship made for an “easier” time on the Tulsa King season 3 set. “Because we know each other, we can speak in shorthand,” Stallone, 79, told Us Weekly exclusively ahead of the Paramount+ show’s premiere on Sunday, September 21. “Robert is one of these actors — which I […]

“It was wild, but this to me, was one of the better things that happened, too,” the action star recalled. “I said, ‘I know they’re going to try to break me.’ I was attacked there. They tried to rip my groin off.”

Stallone claimed that he was sent to the facility alongside a fellow student nicknamed Jay Bird.

“He was big, had no hair, always naked, rotten teeth. They called him Jay Bird because he was always naked as a jaybird,” he told The Times. “And I go into the bathroom on the way to the food mess hall, and he comes in and comes around me and he’s like ripping on my throat and he is going into my pants and grabbing my groin.”

Stallone continued, “Then, the two guards come in and they’re beating the crap out of him with razor straps. I go, ‘What the hell is wrong with him?’ And they say, ‘You’re in a crazy house, boy. Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s crazy.’”

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Related: Sylvester Stallone Talks Donald Trump’s Hollywood Ambassador Appointment

Sylvester Stallone is addressing President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to appoint him as a special ambassador to Hollywood. “Well, it just happened. I was watching TV one night, and they go, ‘So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be …’ And I went, ‘What?’” Stallone, 80, recalled to The Sunday Times in an interview […]

Following the alleged attack, Stallone said he took “a much better lesson” from the incident.

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“When I came out of there and was standing before the school principal and he said, ‘You learned your lesson?’ I said, ‘I learned a lot more than that lesson. A much better lesson: You can’t break me,’” he stated. “So when I got to [New York City in my 20s] and everything that came after that, I always felt I was unbreakable in that way. My heart could be broken, like every human being, but I’m talking about will.”

Stallone attended Devereux Manor High School, an educational institution in Pennsylvania run by Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health foundation. A rep for Devereux told The Times that they respect Stallone’s “right to tell his story his own way” and are “sorry for any trauma he remembers experiencing” without directly commenting on the accusations.

The Steps hits bookstore shelves Tuesday, September 29.

There were plenty of NBA Finals jokes to go around when Jalen Brunson’s New York Knicks teammates crashed his Saturday Night Live season 52 premiere monologue.

“Tonight, I’m going to approach hosting [SNL] the same way as I approached the Knicks’ Finals games,” Brunson, 30, vowed on stage in Studio 8H on Saturday, September 26. “The first three-quarters of the show are going to be god awful, the last sketch is going to be amazing.”

The point guard was soon interrupted by Knicks teammates Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart asking questions from the studio audience.

Brunson poked fun at Towns’ propensity for nearly fouling out during the NBA Finals in June, assuring him that you cannot “foul out of SNL.”

Related: Jalen Brunson Talks Taylor Swift Wedding at MSG, Controversy About Fandom

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson joked that his team’s miraculous NBA Championship run might have played a role in Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce picking Madison Square Garden as their wedding venue.  “Maybe. Maybe,” Brunson, 29, said last week at Variety’s inaugural Sports & Entertainment Studio in New York. “But knowing how weddings work, […]

“So I could be here like the whole show? Nice,” Towns declared.

Anunoby, 29, quizzed Brunson on whether he remembered “in Game 4, when you took that shot at the end and missed it?”

“Yeah, you tipped it in,” Brunson replied, with Anunoby quipping, “Oh yeah, that was awesome.”

Hart, 31, was most concerned with reports that Brunson took a $113 million pay cut in the summer of 2024 to stay with the Knicks.

When Brunson confirmed that figure was correct, Hart asked, “Wow. So, is that money still up for grabs?”

Hart also finally offered an explanation for the viral clip of him poking Brunson in the butt while they were celebrating their NBA Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs in June.

“[I did it] because it was funny,” Hart joked.

Earlier in the monologue, Brunson referenced another pop culture touchstone that took place at Madison Square Garden over the summer.

“The new [NBA] season is just a couple of weeks away and I gotta say it’s going to be pretty cool to be back at Madison Square Garden,” he said. “Looking around like, ‘Wow, just a few months ago this was the exact spot where Taylor [Swift] and Travis [Kelce] got married!’”

Prior to his SNL hosting debut, Brunson admitted on Tamron Hall on Monday, September 21, that he was “probably not” prepared to make his sketch comedy debut.

“I’m being honest with you: I have no idea what I’m walking into, but I know it’s going to turn out great,” he said.

The athlete shot down the possibility of singing on SNL, though he left a little wiggle room for a potential dance number.

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“I’m not gonna say no to that. Maybe,” he teased.

Brunson has joined a pantheon of NBA greats who have hosted SNL throughout the show’s 52-year history, including Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Charles Barkley.

Saturday Night Live continues on NBC Saturday, October 3, at 11:30 p.m. ET with host Dakota Johnson and musical guests Turnstile. New episodes can be streamed Sundays via Peacock.

I used to think suspense needed a ticking clock or a killer on the loose to actually work. Turns out the shows that get under my skin the most don’t need any of that, they just take their time and trust you to sit in discomfort with them. Every single show on this list is built around someone pretending to be a different person than they actually are, creating a thrilling story for you to sit with.

I’ve recommended these six shows to people the most, and they are also the ones I’ve had the hardest time explaining why afterward. Something about them just stays with you longer than it should. A single dinner scene or a quiet conversation in a car does more damage here than an actual chase scene manages in most other thrillers.

6

‘The Americans’ (2013–2018)

Image via FX

Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys) run a normal suburban household with two kids in 1980s Washington D.C., and they’re both undercover KGB agents nobody around them has any reason to suspect. Their next-door neighbor, Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), happens to be the FBI agent actively hunting Soviet spies just like them, and he has no idea he’s friends with two of the exact people he’s looking for.

Joe Weisberg, a former CIA officer himself, created the show, and that real intelligence background shows in how mundane and procedural the actual spy tradecraft looks on screen. Russell and Rhys became a real couple during filming, which adds an odd layer to how convincing their fake marriage looks. The finale is widely considered one of the best series endings ever written, quiet, devastating, and completely deserved.

5

‘Hannibal’ (2013–2015)

Image via NBC

Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), an FBI profiler with an unusual gift for getting inside a killer’s head, starts working with a psychiatrist named Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) who’s quietly manipulating him the entire time. Bryan Fuller shoots the murders here like fine art installations, blood arranged into deliberate, painterly compositions instead of standard crime-scene gore.

The show works as a prequel to the world of Silence of the Lambs, though it barely resembles a typical crime procedural by the time it finds its own rhythm. NBC canceled it after three seasons despite strong reviews, and fans still argue it never got the ending it actually deserved. The relationship between Will and Hannibal has a charged, intimate quality that fans have spent years dissecting online.

4

‘Mr. Robot’ (2015–2019)

Image via USA Network

Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a cybersecurity engineer with crippling social anxiety, gets recruited by a mysterious anarchist hacker named Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) to help take down the corporation controlling most of the world’s debt. Sam Esmail wrote and directed nearly every episode himself, an unusually hands-on approach for a show running multiple seasons.

The hacking scenes are technically accurate that real security researchers have praised the show for getting details other TV shows are always fake. A major twist eventually reveals something about Mr. Robot’s actual identity that recontextualizes basically every scene that came before it, without the show ever cheating to get there. Malek’s performance holds the whole unreliable narrator structure together, since the audience only ever knows exactly as much as Elliot’s own fractured perspective allows.

3

‘Dark’ (2017–2020)

Image via Netflix

Children start disappearing from a small German town called Winden, and what looks like a simple missing-persons case slowly grows into a time loop connecting four generations of the same interconnected families. Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese created the show together, and the family tree gets so complicated that characters eventually turn out to be their own ancestors, cousins, and children all at once.

Fans built entire spreadsheets and diagrams just to keep track of who’s related to who across which specific decade. The show jumps between 1888, 1921, 1953, 1986, 2019, and beyond, and every timeline still feels too real despite the sheer mechanical complexity underneath it. It’s one of the most intricately plotted shows ever made, full stop, in any language.

2

‘Mindhunter’ (2017–2019)

Image via Netflix

Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), two real-life inspired FBI agents, start interviewing convicted serial killers to figure out what actually makes them tick, back when criminal profiling barely existed as a field. Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton), one of the killers they interview repeatedly, delivers some of the most quietly disturbing dialogue in the whole show without a single act of on-screen violence.

David Fincher directed and produced most of the episodes, and the interview scenes run long on purpose, letting the dread build through conversations. The show got canceled after two seasons despite strong reviews, and Fincher reportedly said continuing it would’ve needed a budget nobody was willing to give him.

1

‘Fargo’ (2014–2024)

Image via FX

Each season of this show tells a mostly standalone story set somewhere in the Upper Midwest, borrowing the tone of the original Coen Brothers film without ever directly adapting its actual plot. Noah Hawley created the show, and the first season alone turns an ordinary insurance salesman into someone capable of real violence, mostly because a chaotic hitman named Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) decides to destabilize his entire life for fun.

That anthology structure means the show can completely reinvent its cast, setting, and time period every season without ever losing its specific blend of dark comedy and sudden brutal violence. New characters and a new ensemble show up each time, but the same sense of ordinary people getting pulled into something much bigger than themselves stays consistent throughout. Ten years and five seasons later, it’s still finding new ways to tell essentially the same story about how quickly an ordinary life can spiral out of control.

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Fargo

Release Date

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2014 – 2024-00-00

Showrunner

Noah Hawley

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Directors

Dana Gonzales, Michael Uppendahl, Noah Hawley, Dearbhla Walsh, Sylvain White, Randall Einhorn, Adam Arkin, Adam Bernstein, Colin Bucksey, Jeffrey Reiner, Matt Shakman, Mike Barker, Scott Winant, Donald Murphy, John Cameron

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  Dan Willmott

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  Buck Olander

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