Some Netflix movies are a slow burn, and find an audience slowly. This is not one of them. The streamer’s latest animated fantasy adventure already had a huge opening weekend, but its first full week has pushed it into even bigger territory. Not bad for a movie about two creatures swapping bodies and being forced to deal with the kind of interspecies drama that family movies love almost as much as emotional third-act revelations.

Swapped has now broken the record for the highest weekly viewership ever for a Netflix animated movie. According to Tudum, the film pulled in 38.7 million views over the past seven days, making it the clear No. 1 title on Netflix’s weekly English-language movie Top 10. That comes after the movie debuted with 15.5 million views in its first three days, which already gave Netflix its best animated movie opening since Leo in 2023.

Directed by Nathan Greno, Swapped follows Ollie, a tiny woodland creature voiced by Michael B. Jordan, and Ivy, a majestic bird voiced by Juno Temple, after the two magically switch bodies. Their strange new situation forces them to understand why their two species have been divided for so long, while also turning the movie into a big, bright fantasy adventure about empathy, perspective, and the nightmare of suddenly being built entirely wrong for your own life.

The cast includes Tracy Morgan (30 Rock, The Longest Yard) as Boogle, Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop, The Neighborhood) as Caloo, Justina Machado (One Day at a Time, Jane the Virgin) as Calli, Ambika Mod (One Day, This Is Going to Hurt) as Violet, Lolly Adefope (Ghosts, Shrill) as Lily, and Táta Vega (The Color Purple, The Lion King) as Ollie’s Grandma.

What’s ‘Swapped’ About, Really?

The film’s director, Nathan Greno, recently sat down with Collider and was effusive in his praise about the work the cast had done in the film. According to Greno, Temple brought sadness and vulnerability to scenes he thought he already understood, while Jordan’s process changed the way Greno thinks about directing voice performances at all.

“And then Mike… it’s Mike. I mean, Michael B. Jordan is, I mean… the way he records, I’ve never experienced anything like that, and it’s kind of changed the way I even direct now, when I’m going forward. It’s, like, his way of working and his way of, like, finding the truth within the lines. Both of them change the course of the movie 100%.”

Temple, speaking to Collider’s Steve Weintraub, added that the message of the movie was an important one for her, and that she hopes kids took a lot from it. “I hope that they feel the absolute importance and need for friendship we’ll have throughout life. It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you come from, what you do, your friends are always going to be integral to making your life better, bigger, and more beautiful,” said Temple.

Swapped is streaming now on Netflix.

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Release Date

May 1, 2026

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Runtime

102 minutes

Director

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Nathan Greno

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Emma Roberts and Evan Peters reunited publicly this week for the first time in years, but fans quickly noticed tension between them during their on-stage appearance. The exes appeared together on Wednesday at Disney’s Advertising Upfront showcase in New York City to help announce Paul Anthony Kelly’s addition to Season 13 of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story.” The former couple shared the stage alongside fellow “AHS” stars Sarah Paulson, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, and Angela Bassett. However, eagle-eyed fans noticed Emma Roberts and Evan Peters noticeably keeping their distance from one another during the presentation.

The “American Horror Story” announcement marks the first time Roberts and Peters have worked together publicly since 2018. Their relationship began in 2012, when the pair met while filming the comedy-drama “Adult World.”

By 2013, the actors had officially gone public with their romance and made their red carpet debut together at the Golden Globe Awards. However, their relationship quickly became one of Hollywood’s most talked-about romances following a highly publicized domestic violence incident later that same year.

Police Were Called During Roberts And Peters’ 2013 Incident

According to TMZ, police were called to the couple’s hotel room in Montreal in July 2013 after someone reported a fight between Roberts and Peters. When officers arrived at the scene, Roberts, who was 22 at the time, was reportedly arrested after police allegedly observed Peters with a bloodied nose.

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There were also rumors circulating at the time claiming Roberts may have bitten the “American Horror Story” actor’s ear during the altercation, though TMZ sources denied those allegations. Roberts was taken into custody before being released from jail just hours afterward. Peters, who was 26 at the time, ultimately declined to press charges against the actress.

Evan Peters Once Called Emma Roberts His ‘Best Friend’

At one point, Peters openly praised working alongside Roberts while filming the hit FX anthology series. “It’s really amazing,” Peters told PEOPLE after wrapping “AHS: Coven.” “You’re at set, and you’re in a city that you don’t really know that well. It’s nice to have your best friend there to go to dinner with and check out the city.”

He added, “On set, if you’re having a bad day or whatever, you can go to somebody and talk to her, and she’s right there. You don’t have to wait until you’re done working, so it was nice.”

Emma Roberts And Evan Peters Split For Good In 2019

Although the couple briefly got engaged, Roberts and Peters called off the engagement in 2015 and continued an on-again, off-again relationship for several more years. The pair officially split for good in 2019 after seven years together.

Following the breakup, Roberts admitted that dealing with a public split under the microscope of social media was difficult. “I think that no matter who you are or what you do or wherever in the world you are, anything ending is hard,” Roberts told Cosmopolitan in 2019. “Losing something is hard.”

“Growing up is hard,” she continued. “Sometimes it makes me sad that I can’t have a private moment … Because of Twitter and Instagram, there’s a whole other element where everybody can comment on what you’re doing, and no one knows the real story. That’s hard.”

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Since their split, both stars have seemingly moved on. Roberts is now engaged to actor Cody John, while Peters was most recently linked to Natalie Engel, but reports surfaced last year that they had split.

‘American Horror Story’ Season 13 Is Bringing Back Major Fan Favorites

The upcoming 13th season of “American Horror Story” is already shaping up to be one of the franchise’s most star-studded installments yet. During Disney’s upfront presentation, it was revealed that actor Paul Anthony Kelly will officially join the new season following his breakout role as John F. Kennedy Jr. in Ryan Murphy’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.”

As expected with the long-running FX horror anthology, plot details for Season 13 are still being kept tightly under wraps. However, Kelly is joining an absolutely stacked cast that already includes Emma Roberts, Sarah Paulson, Gabourey Sidibe, Billie Lourd, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Jessica Lange, Ariana Grande, Kathy Bates, and Leslie Grossman.

The Walking Dead has proven itself to be the franchise that just won’t die — and fans wouldn’t have it any other way. In November 2022, the original series trotted past the finish line after an incredibly successful 11-season run. In cases like these, it’s always hard for audiences to say goodbye, but their break from the zombie-ridden universe was a short one, thanks to the announcement of several offshoots. Following the success of its three initial spin-offs, The Walking Dead continued to branch out after the final nail closed the coffin on the original series, which gave fan-favorite characters a chance to continue their storylines in new, exciting, and unforeseen places.

For starters, there was the arrival of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which, in its debut season, followed Norman Reedus’ titular character to the shores of France. In the three seasons since, viewers have tagged along with the motorcycle-riding zombie-killing baddie across Europe, with his bestie Carol (Melissa McBride) also eventually coming along for the adventure. There was also The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, a one-season wonder that showcased the undying love between Andrew Lincoln’s Rick and Danai Gurira’s Michonne Grimes. And then there is The Walking Dead: Dead City, a show that had the fandom talking from its first announcement, thanks to its main characters Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

For two seasons, the show has followed Negan and Maggie’s journey from enemies to trusted friends with a third batch of episodes slated to roll out this summer and further dig into their unlikely bond. Today, as part of Collider’s Exclusive Summer Preview event, we’ve got a brand-new look at the primary characters, who look like they’ll be as thick as thieves in the next installment.

Lucille Makes a Comeback

In our sneak peek image, we see what will undoubtedly be a goosebump-inducing moment for longtime viewers of the franchise. In the image, Negan and Maggie take a break from destroying their common foes while cracking open a few beers together. Highlighting the growth that has happened for the latter since the Season 2 finale, the shot depicts Maggie passing Negan’s beloved barbed wire-covered bat Lucille back into the hands of its rightful owner. Considering that Negan used Lucielle to beat the life out of Maggie’s husband Glenn (Steven Yeun) all the way back in Season 7 of the flagship, the moment is a monumental one for both of the title’s leading characters.

Check out our new look at The Walking Dead: Dead City above and stay tuned for more to come from Collider’s Exclusive Preview Event.

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Release Date

June 18, 2023

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AMC

Directors

Kevin Dowling, Loren Yaconelli

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Writers

Brenna Kouf

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Franchise(s)

The Walking Dead

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Musical biopics are difficult to get right. Usually, they’re under so much pressure to please fans that they bend the truth or leave out key facts, flattening complex lives into neat, digestible arcs. Rather than being real flesh-and-blood people with deep flaws alongside their talents, their subjects are more often like waxworks at Madame Tussauds (a charge that some have leveled at the recently released Michael).

Nevertheless, a few of these films do a fine job. Seemingly doing the impossible, the musical biopics on this list capture the exhilarating highs of artistic creation alongside the psychological costs of fame. These films strive to reveal the real people behind the legendary songs, offering an intimate portrayal of larger-than-life figures.

‘Rocketman’ (2019)

Image via Paramount Pictures

“I’m still standing.” Rocketman rejects the traditional biopic structure almost immediately, framing Elton John’s life as a surreal, musical therapy session. It opens with Elton (Taron Egerton) entering rehab, dressed in one of his flamboyant stage outfits, before unraveling his past through elaborate fantasy sequences tied to his songs.

Instead of mechanically moving from the cookie-cutter beats of “childhood hardship” to “fame” to “addiction” to “redemption,” the film transforms the star’s inner life into a full-blown fantasy musical. Events are not presented as they happened, but as Elton experiences them. This approach allows the film to explore its subject’s mind in a way a straightforward narrative never could. On top of that, Egerton deserves praise for his remarkable performance: he’s convincing in the big dramatic moments and shows off great vocal chops to boot. His Oscar snub remains among the worst in recent memory.

‘Love & Mercy’ (2014)

Image via Lionsgate

“I just wasn’t made for these times.” Paul Dano turns in a strong performance here as the young version of Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson, while John Cusack is solid too as his older self. Like Rocketman, Love & Mercy gets a little experimental with its narrative structure, splitting the story across two timelines. One thread follows the young Wilson at the height of his creative powers, crafting the groundbreaking album Pet Sounds. The other focuses on an older Wilson, struggling under the control of a manipulative therapist (Paul Giamatti).

The movie’s treatment of mental illness is sensitive, in large part thanks to Dano’s fine work. He captures both Wilson’s childlike enthusiasm for music and the anxiety slowly consuming him. In particular, he really communicates the intensity of the musician’s creativity: the obsessive layering of sounds, the strange sonic experiments, and the near-spiritual pursuit of beauty.

‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ (1980)

Image via Universal Pictures

“I’m Loretta Lynn, and I sing.” Coal Miner’s Daughter follows Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek, disappearing into the role brilliantly) from her poor upbringing in rural Kentucky to her rise as one of country music’s most iconic voices. What sets it apart is its attention to detail. The early years are given as much weight as the later success; her struggles and growth are depicted honestly.

Director Michael Apted clearly tried to avoid both romanticization and judgment, which comes through most clearly in the way the movie explores Lynn’s marriage to Doolittle Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones). The relationship is loving, volatile, frustrating, and messy all at once. Doolittle helps launch Loretta’s career, yet he’s also controlling, immature, and frequently destructive. Jones’ complex performance refuses to flatten the man into either a pure villain or a supportive husband stereotype.

‘A Complete Unknown’ (2024)

Image via Searchlight Pictures

“People keep asking who I am. I’m still figuring that out.” A Complete Unknown focuses on only the early years of Bob Dylan‘s (Timothée Chalamet) career, which gives it more time to go deep. The young musician transitions from folk purist to something more ambiguous and controversial, and his ambitions place a strain on his professional relationships as well as his romance with Sylvie (Elle Fanning).

An Oscar-nominated Chalamet is handed an incredibly challenging role, but makes it look easy. On top of singing the songs himself and nailing them, he also captures Dylan’s infamously mercurial nature. The artist’s motivations remain partially obscured, his persona shifting depending on context. In the process, A Complete Unknown also creates a vivid snapshot of the cultural moment surrounding Dylan’s rise, including the expectations placed on him and the backlash to his artistic evolution.

‘Control’ (2007)

Image via Momentum Pictures

“Love will tear us apart.” Control tells the story of Ian Curtis (Sam Riley), the lead singer of Joy Division. We watch him rise from a quiet young man to the frontman of a band on the verge of breakthrough success, before his life unravels under the weight of illness and emotional turmoil. Here, director Anton Corbijn (who handled music videos for acts like Depeche Mode and Nirvana) strips the musical biopic down to something stark, almost skeletal.

Shot in black and white, the film feels intimate and unadorned, refusing the usual mythologizing that surrounds tragic artists. Instead, it focuses on Curtis as a person: he’s awkward, conflicted, often overwhelmed by forces he doesn’t fully understand. In particular, Riley especially excels at showing the disconnect between Curtis onstage and offstage. During performances, he becomes magnetic, yet away from the microphone, he seems exhausted and withdrawn.

‘Walk the Line’ (2005)

Image via 20th Century Studios

“Looks like you’re going to a funeral.” A Completer Unknown‘s James Mangold also directed Walk the Line, featuring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash. Based on two non-fiction biographies of Cash, we follow the Man in Black from his early years through his struggles with addiction and his relationship with June Carter (an Oscar-winning Reese Witherspoon). Their dynamic evolves naturally, shaped by mutual admiration and frustration, and their bond becomes the movie’s emotional core.

Both leads are fantastic, significantly elevating the film above the more standard biopic it might easily have been. At the same time, Mangold deserves props for the seamless way he integrates the music into the film, and how deftly he balances the story’s darker elements (particularly substance abuse and grief) with moments of warmth and humor. Walk the Line consistently frames Cash’s self-destruction as connected to unresolved trauma and spiritual emptiness.

‘La Vie en Rose’ (2007)

Image via Icon Film Distribution

“I regret nothing.” Marion Cotillard took home the Best Actress Oscar for her work here as French singer Édith Piaf, and rightly so. She doesn’t so much play the musician as become her, capturing her voice and mannerisms with uncanny accuracy. Even more impressively, she recreates the star’s presence, the way she occupies space and, later, the way she carries pain. Indeed, few performers could convincingly portray the artist’s youthful fire and her physical collapse in old age. In the later scenes, Cotillard appears literally twisted from illness.

On the aesthetic side, in telling Piaf’s story, La Vie en Rose embraces a fragmented, almost impressionistic structure. Rather than following a linear timeline, it moves back and forth through her life, capturing moments of triumph and despair in equal measure, often one right after the other. Piaf’s rise from poverty to international fame is intertwined with personal loss, leading to an intense, almost surreal experience.

‘Amadeus’ (1984)

Image via Orion Pictures

“God, why have you chosen me to suffer?” Amadeus reframes the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce) through the eyes of his rival, Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). Salieri obsesses over Mozart, whose genius he both admires and resents. In the process, what could have been a dry history lesson instead becomes something intense and deeply psychological. It makes for a remarkable study of artistic ambition and seething resentment.

Both leads are excellent in very different ways. Abraham makes Salieri simultaneously sympathetic and monstrous, his envy slowly mutating into a kind of spiritual rage. Hulce, by contrast, is pure chaos: childish, impulsive, sexually immature, obnoxiously loud, and socially reckless, a far cry from the dignified marble-statue image often associated with classical composers. All in all, Amadeus is both sharply intelligent and endlessly entertaining, packed with great moments and, of course, powerful music.

Not blue, not white! Katie Holmes stepped out in New York City rocking retro purple jeans. Unconventional, yes, but so incredibly chic. The pants gave Holmes’ style a vintage flair, and we found the fun look for 30% off on Amazon.

In an iconic head-turning outfit, Holmes paired purple jeans with a simple black cardigan, matching sneakers and an oversized tote bag. The pants popped against Holmes’ black outfit, making them the spectacle of the sidewalk. As long as you have a black top and these purple Levi’s, you’ll channel the same bold energy — guaranteed.

Get the Levi’s High-Waisted Mom Jeans for $56 (was $80) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

Levi’s High-Waisted Mom Jeans come in a gorgeous purple wash that captures Holmes’ playful yet polished aesthetic. The vintage-inspired pants feature a flattering high waist and a tapered leg that keeps the silhouette looking sharp. The cotton-and-elastane-blend fabric also lends just enough stretch to sit comfortably without sacrificing the structured look.

Related: Gwyneth Paltrow Called It — White Denim Season Is Already Here

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If you’re waiting to wear your white denim pants until Memorial Day, don’t! Gwyneth Paltrow brought hers out early, and the fashion world is following suit. These classic white wonders nail Paltrow’s look, and unlike her (presumably designer) denim, they ring up at just $36. A few days ago, Paltrow posted a photo of herself […]

The popular Levi’s jeans have tons of five-star ratings from shoppers, including this reviewer with a pear-shaped body. “I’ve been on the hunt for a flattering and comfortable pair of jeans with a great fit. These fit the bill,” they wrote. “Most jeans I try on have the dreaded gap in the back. And if they don’t, then they’re unbearably uncomfortable or tight. These are made of good denim, and they fit my waist and legs perfectly.”

Another shopper shared, “I’ve tried over ten pairs of different Levi’s and these are the most comfortable and flattering.”

Styling these pants is where the fun begins. Copy Holmes and pair them with black for a downtown-cool moment, or add a summery twist with a white tee and nude flats. They look surprisingly classy with a crisp button-up shirt, too, so you may even wear these purple pants for casual Fridays at the office.

Purple jeans sound like a commitment, but they function like your favorite blue ones, just with a lot more personality. Snag the New York rich mom staple for 30% off below!

Get the Levi’s High-Waisted Mom Jeans for $56 (was $80) at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate at the date of publication but are subject to change.

Pitchfork and its senior writer, Alphonse Pierre, had Team Breezy heated on Tuesday (May 12) following a review of the ‘BROWN’ album. Pierre gave the project a 1.3 score, calling it “a real piece of sh*t.” While he hasn’t addressed the viral backlash to the review, Chris Brown finally broke his silence! Tank, whose Team Breezy all the way, also threw a lil’ shade at Pitchfork.

RELATED: Challenge Who?! Tank Defends Chris Brown After Social Media User Questions His Musical Range (PHOTO)

What Did Alphonse Pierre Say About ‘BROWN’ Via Pitchfork? 

The question really should be…what DIDN’T he say?! Alphonse Pierre held nothing back, choosing to analyze Chris’ entire history in the music industry rather than just the album ‘BROWN.’ From the beating of Rihanna in 2009 to Chris Brown’s attempts at public redemption since, it’s all in there. More than 2,000 words trashing ‘BROWN’ less than one week after its release on May 8. The summary line alone, which opens the Pitchfork article, goes HAM. It reads, “Chris Brown’s soulless, hit-chasing new album doesn’t justify his return to the public eye.”

In the copy, Pierre said Brown has positioned himself as the “victim of the media conspiring against him.” Simultaneously, Pierre claims the singer uses his fans’ “nostalgia for his youthful innocence” and his “cool…backflips” to convince them of “his version of history.” The senior writer emphasized that Chris has used the “battering of Rihanna” to “give his music an emotional complexity it didn’t have before the incident.” That’s been the case in all his music since 2009, including ‘BROWN,’ Pierre argues. Being a Chris Brown fan turned into rooting “for a talented Black man to triumph, regardless of the truth.” 

“It was to view his physical abuse of women as a rite of passage on the journey to becoming a man,” Alphonse Pierre wrote. Adding, “All of the overstuffed albums and Billboard hits he’s racked up since then are tainted with that context. None more than BROWN, which isn’t romantic or funny or sexy or sultry or dancey or soulful or vulnerable or honest or creative or inspired whatsoever. It’s soulless, hit-chasing music with nothing going for it if you aren’t personally invested in the Chris Brown culture wars.”

All that said while also being the first time Pitchfork has reviewed the singer’s music in at least 6-7 years? Skipped over at least three projects to land on the idea that “Not every musical legend deserves to be a martyr.” Those are facts that Team Breezy is holding on to and calling out! Meanwhile, Pitchfork has been radio silent on the backlash, while continuing to promote the article on X with captions like, “This album is a real piece of shit,” and “Soulless, hit-chasing music with nothing going for it.” 

Alphonse Pierre also hasn’t stepped up to defend the words he wrote. On X, he pushed it out once with the caption, “Went a little long on 20 years of Chris Brown and his new album, ‘Brown.’”

Chris Brown Claps Back At Review With THIS Energy

Before Tuesday was over, Chris Brown broke his silence on what Pierre had to say. And if anyone was expecting a sad message from Breezy? Don’t. “F*ck that,” is what the singer said.

“We kicking a*s goddammit. We ain’t letting up, imma keep my foot on their neck and we ain’t stopping,” Chris Brown said, mentioning his and Usher’s upcoming R&B tour and other secret projects. “I don’t give a f*ck what these n*ggas talking about. I know exactly who my fans is and I know exactly who hearing this album. If you not my fan, I don’t want you to listen to my sh*t.”

He ended his clap back by suggesting that his non-fans listen to someone like Zara Larsson, a Swedish R&B singer and songwriter.

Tank Seemingly Shades Pitchfork As Internet Reacts To Pierre’s Review 

Like Chris Brown, Tank had similar energy for Pitchfork and its ‘BROWN’ review. On X, he responded to a tweet asking whether he had cussed the publication out yet for the 1.3 rating. Tank replied, “Pitch who?..” adding laughing emojis.

Fans were expecting him to go off, given that just last week he heavily defended Chris after a social media user claimed Breezy needed to be challenged, saying “CB is a musical genius if you’ve really followed the music. This style isn’t new to him it’s only new to you..lol.” 

SWIPE BELOW TO SEE REACTIONS TO THE ALBUM REVIEW.  

RELATED: See The Sweet Mother’s Day Messages Shared By The Mothers Of Chris Brown’s Children (PHOTOS)

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 7 seconds ago

The MCU television projects on Disney+ have something of a bad rap among elements of the fandom. Some resent these shows for feeling like homework that you have to watch before you can enjoy the next movie. Others resent these series for playing it safe rather than pushing the creative envelope. However, one blunt reason some fans dislike these shows is that they usually aren’t that good. For every groundbreaking series like WandaVision, it seems like we get ambitious, cinematic failures (like Secret Invasion) or superfluous side quests (like Echo). It’s enough to make you start asking whether the MCU still has the juice or if showrunners are just going through the motions.

Recently, however, something very ironic happened. The Season 2 finale of Daredevil: Born Again ended up with a 9.5 rating on IMDB, meaning that it’s currently tied with the first episode of Loki (“Glorious Purpose”) as the highest-rated television episode of the MCU. Normally, that would be a good sign, one that indicates that Marvel’s writers, directors, and showrunners have learned from past mistakes and know how to give the people what they want. Unfortunately, they learned this lesson too late, as viewership for Daredevil: Born Again has absolutely plummeted from last season.

The Devil Went Down (In Ratings)

The Season 2 finale of Daredevil: Born Again (“The Southern Cross”) was quite the crowd-pleaser. Without getting into spoilers, it involved a shocking showdown as Matt Murdock testified against Wilson Fisk in court. Meanwhile, we got a more traditional showdown when Matt donned the devil horns and teamed up with Jessica Jones to throw down against the various forces of the Kingpin. Audiences loved the whole thing so much that this episode currently has a 9.5 on IMDB, which ties it with the series premiere of Loki. That sounds absolutely great until you take a closer look at some other, very sobering numbers.

As I wrote about before, Daredevil: Born Again had 652,000,000 minutes watched in its first five weeks. That was actually a significant drop from Season 1, which had 1.44 billion minutes watched in the same time frame, indicating that the hit show had lost over 54 percent of hours watched from season to season. However, both seasons pale in comparison to Loki, which had 731 million minutes viewed in the premiere week for Season 1. In other words, Tom Hiddleston’s antihero show had a sizeably larger audience for one episode than Daredevil: Born Again had for more than half of its second season.

Superhero Fatigue No More?

This leads to an obvious conclusion that may spell doom for Marvel. To the audiences who have already tuned out of MCU movies and shows, quality is no longer the issue. Recently, Peter Safran, co-CEO of DC Studios, made the bold claim that superhero fatigue doesn’t exist and that audiences are simply suffering from “mediocre movie fatigue.” It’s a clear swipe at Marvel, one that allows him to imply his rivals have been losing money by simply pumping out crappy content. While that’s obviously true in some cases, the audience drop-off for the highly-rated Born Again (which just gave us the most beloved MCU television episode in years) proves quality doesn’t guarantee clicks. 

A big audience drop was expected, but not this big, so what gives? Some fans stopped watching due to the show’s slow-burning pace and the repetitive nature of the constant Kingpin/Daredevil battle. Others are waiting to just binge the season in one go. Of course, some stopped watching the show (legally, at least) because the House of Mouse increased subscription costs right before the new season dropped. The final theory is that superhero fatigue is very real, and the constant glut of new shows and films has made it hard for the average Marvel maniac to care about any one show (no matter its quality). 

Hell’s Kitchen Cools Down

Whatever the exact reason, all of this spells trouble for Marvel Studios, which is hoping that Avengers: Doomsday will bring back the halcyon days when each new movie was a critical and commercial smash hit. But we’re living in a post-Endgame world, one in which there’s too much supply and not nearly enough demand. For years now, many have thought as Peter Safran did: that Marvel can regain its former glory by simply making something worth watching. But Daredevil: Born Again’s universally-loved, barely-watched Season 2 is proof that even the best shows and movies may not be enough to restore the most ambitious cinematic universe ever made to its former luster.

a sad twist of fate, or just karma for years of squandered opportunities? That, true believers, is up for you to decide.

Although the characters of The Big Bang Theory are fans of all things sci-fi, particularly Star Trek, the franchise they live in remains mostly grounded. The original sitcom that started it all ran for 12 seasons, following the evolving relationships, scientific pursuits, and other antics of friends Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Raj (Kunal Nayyar), and Howard (Simon Helberg), ending with the four finding fulfillment in their lives and careers. Prequel spin-offs Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, meanwhile, have since fleshed out Sheldon’s past and the history of the Cooper family to massive success for CBS. Now, though, the nerdy series is one step closer to entering a realm its scientist friends could’ve only dreamed of.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced during its annual upfront presentation in New York that Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, the latest Big Bang Theory spin-off starring Kevin Sussman‘s kindly comic store owner Stuart Bloom, is set to premiere on HBO Max on July 23. Series co-creator Chuck Lorre previously described the series as “something the characters on The Big Bang Theory, would have loved, hated, and argued about,” placing Stuart in the middle of a multiversal disaster requiring a sci-fi adventure of epic proportions to prevent the end of all things. Unfortunately, he’s not very good at it. At least he has the help of his girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), geologist Bert (Brian Posehn), and pain-in-the-ass quantum physicist Barry Kripke (John Ross Bowie) along the way.

Along with the release date, the first official teaser was revealed, showing just how woefully unprepared this quartet of “really incompetent Doctor Whos” is to become heroes. The trouble begins after Stuart breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, inadvertently kickstarting the multiversal apocalypse and thus, his journey to save it. From there, the recognizable elements and characters of The Big Bang Theory are twisted to fit into a much more action-packed and special effects-heavy adventure across different worlds, unlike anything else from the franchise, or Lorre, for that matter. Naturally, they wind up in a fair bit of trouble along the way, threatening to end Stuart and co’s journey before it even gets interesting. A new, sci-fi backdrop hasn’t changed the sense of humor, though, combining the same brand of comedy with bigger-budget spectacle for something truly out of this world.

‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ Reunites ‘The Big Bang Theory’s Creative Minds

Making Stuart Fails to Save the Universe after co-creating the flagship sitcom and its two prior offshoots took Lorre out of his comfort zone, but, like Stuart, he didn’t have to do it alone. His Big Bang Theory partner, Bill Prady, reunites with him at the helm of the sci-fi show, alongside Zak Penn, who brought the blockbuster action experience, having previously written for The Avengers, X2, Ready Player One, and more. Danny Elfman also came aboard to compose a new theme. This will be a big step-up for Stuart and his pals after playing second fiddle to Pasadena’s four biggest nerds, but there’s a chance that the friends, or other characters like Kaley Cuoco‘s Penny, could appear in the alternate universes they visit. The possibilities are endless, given the sheer scope of this series under the Warner Bros. Television umbrella.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe kicks off its ten-episode run on HBO Max on July 23. New episodes will follow every Thursday. Check out the first official teaser in the player above.