Vikings’ Rondale Moore
Died From Suspected Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

Published
February 22, 2026
5:46 AM PST

Sara Ramirez celebrated the life of their late Grey’s Anatomy costar Eric Dane by sharing how he once selflessly supported a guest star on the medical drama.

On Saturday, February 21, Ramirez, 50, became the latest Grey’s Anatomy cast member to pay tribute to Dane, who died at age 53 on Thursday, February 19, following a battle with the neurodegenerative disease ALS.

Ramirez posted a “broken heart emoji” via Instagram and shared a video from trans activist and actress Alexandra Billings, who played Donna Gibson in the classic Grey’s Anatomy season 3 episode “Where the Boys Are.” The powerful episode dealt with Dr. Mark Sloan (Dane) supporting Donna when she was diagnosed with breast cancer while in the midst of transitioning.

In a 15-minute tribute, Billings recalled the way Dane showed her empathy on set and fought for her when her lengthy monologue was supposed to be cut. Per Billings, she shared with Dane how her real-life doctor would “touch my knee or he would hold me” while she was going through the process of transitioning in the 1980s.

Related: Eric Dane Died on 20th Anniversary of His 1st ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Episode

Eric Dane died on the 20th anniversary of his first appearance on Grey’s Anatomy. Dane’s loved ones confirmed his death in a statement on Thursday, February 19, following his battle with ALS, noting that the actor “spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, […]

“[The doctor] would let me know he saw me, no matter what we were talking about,” explained.

After sharing that memory, Dane held Billings’ hand during their scene to emulate the real support she’d received. Later, the director and writer informed Billings that they would have to cut her inspiring monologue for time reasons.

“[Eric] turns to me and he says very quietly, he says, ‘What are the five most important things you say in that monologue?’ … And I told him! I don’t remember what they were, but I told him one of them was about my wife, a line about my wife. And he said, ‘Say that and we’ll do a little improvisation,’” she remembered. “And he turned to the boom mic [operator] and he said, ‘What do you think?’ And from the back, you hear like little Muppets, ‘Yes, that’s a great idea!’ So they were all for it. And that’s what you see in the episode.”

Billings said that “it changed everything for me” when Dane fought for her character Donna to have that moment of catharsis.

“There was no reason in the world for him to do that. It didn’t have anything to do with him,” she said. “Time is money, especially in television. Eric Dane was one of the kindest, most empathetic humans I think I’ve ever worked with. I think that I could count on one hand the amount of times where I’ve left a set … and gone, ‘I can’t believe.’ Or, ‘That was extraordinary.’ And that was one of those times. Eric Dane showed everyone on that set what a true ally looks like. It’s not just talk.”

As she fought back tears, Billings went on, “An ally is present even when there’s danger in them being present. And that’s what Eric Dane did. I didn’t know him. I really didn’t know him but I absolutely knew him. And he will be missed. And I’m going to say something I didn’t get a chance to say to him: Thank you, Eric. Thank you. From all of us.”

Earlier this week, Patrick Dempsey admitted it was “hard to put into words” what his Grey’s Anatomy costar Dane’s death meant.

“He was the funniest man — he was such a joy to work with, and I want to just remember him in that spirit, because any time he was on set, he brought so much fun to it,” Dempsey recalled. “He had a great sense of humor. He was easy to work with. We got along instantly. First scene was him, you know, in all his glory, coming out of the bathroom with the towel on looking amazing, making you feel completely out of shape and insignificant.”

“We hit it off because it was never really any competition,” he added. “There was just this wonderful mutual respect, he’s wickedly intelligent, and I’m always going to remember those moments of fun that we had together and celebrate the joy that he did bring to people’s lives, and the real loss is for us who don’t have them anymore.”

Dane’s family announced on Thursday that he’d died nearly a year after going public with his ALS diagnosis. Per the Mayo Clinic, ALS is a nervous system disease that weakens nerve cells in both the brain and spinal cord and leads to a progressive loss of muscle control.

“[Eric] will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always,” his rep said. “Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time.”

Dane was survived by two daughters, Billie and Georgia, from his marriage to Rebecca Gayheart. A GoFundMe was set up to support his daughters on Friday, February 21, and has already raised more than $274,000 towards a $500,000 goal.

Former Prince Andrew
Don’t Even Think About Being King!!!

Published
February 22, 2026
5:17 AM PST

It can be a significant commitment to watch a television show that is relentlessly bleak because of how demanding a binge experience may be. While watching a film about serious subject material can be draining, it only requires a viewer to commit to a single story that has a resolution. Committing to watching a dark or disturbing show every week, or consuming it all if it is released at once, means that the material has to be incredibly compelling to justify the emotional punishment.

Television has become a bolder medium within recent years, so it is not a surprise that some of the most distressing dramas were made more recently when shows were allowed to include more graphic content that wouldn’t have been allowed within a more restricted era. Here are the heaviest television dramas, ranked.

10

‘This Is Going to Hurt’ (2022)

Image via BBC

This Is Going to Hurt is one of the best medical dramas of all time because it does away with all the clichés that have become common within hospital shows. Rather than painting the healthcare industry in a positive light and overlooking the issues that doctors face, This Is Going to Hurt explored the life of an overworked, brilliant OBGYN worker (played by Ben Whishaw) who faces emotional turmoil while trying to assist his patients.

This Is Going to Hurt isn’t just a compelling exploration of the failings of the contemporary healthcare industry, but a surprisingly moving study on how bigotry and homophobia were sadly an issue in contemporary Britain. Those who love The Pitt owe it to themselves to check out This Is Going to Hurt, even though it’s not an easy watch by any stretch of the imagination.

9

‘Andor’ (2022–2025)

Image via Disney+

Andor is by far the darkest Star Wars story ever told, and it’s hard to even believe that it takes place in the same connected universe as something more family-friendly like The Mandalorian. While anyone with a passing knowledge of the series knew that the show was going to end on a downbeat note because Cassian (Diego Luna) sacrifices himself at the end of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it was surprising the degree to which Andor paralleled and predicted real political events.

Andor masterfully examined how a fascist, military government like the Galactic Empire could commit a genocide and dissuade any resistance groups from doing anything about it by pitting them against one another. Even if it leads to a happy conclusion in the original Star Wars trilogy, Andor puts the dark subtext of what George Lucas created into reality.

8

‘Mr. Robot’ (2015–2019)

Image via USA Network

Mr. Robot may be a wildly entertaining series because of its frequent twists and turns, but the subject material is quite heavy. The character of Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) is tormented by a traumatic past that includes abuse at the hands of his father (Christian Slater), and uses his pain to fuel a hacktivist society aimed at bringing powerful people to their knees.

Mr. Robot gets darker with each progressive season, as there are major characters that die, and other twists that may be shocking. The brilliance of what Sam Esmail achieved with the series was that he didn’t deny the corruption and unfairness of contemporary society, and explored (for better or worse) why people like Elliot were compelled to take a stand against the forces of capitalism and fascism that threatened to extinguish the rights of those who didn’t have any means to protect themselves.

7

‘The Knick’ (2014–2015)

Image via Cinemax

The Knick is a very realistic medical drama from Steven Soderbergh, a filmmaker who is no stranger to making dark films. The series explores the origins of contemporary medical science during the beginning of the 20th century, and shows how hospitals were completely ill-equipped to deal with the spread of infectious diseases.

The Knick was aware of the social and political issues that were dealt with in hospitals at the time, acknowledging how racism and classism made it hard for doctors to do their work. It’s also one of the most visceral examinations of addiction ever seen on television, as Clive Owen gave an awards-worthy performance as a brilliant physician who was unable to suppress his urges. As with many Soderbergh projects, the commitment to realism is what made The Knick truly unforgettable, especially when compared to other medical dramas.

6

‘Ozark’ (2017–2022)

Image via Netflix

Ozark is the rare drama show that has a very twisted sense of humor, yet still has dramatic twists that are quite serious. What’s most remarkable about the series is that it showed no concern about the character being likable; Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) is a bad guy who is involved with even shadier members of the Mexican drug cartel, and his wife Wendy (Laura Linney) proves to be even more sinister when she becomes the “Lady Macbeth” of the series.

Ozark was frequently willing to get quite controversial by including graphic murder, torture, emotional abuse, and assault, as there seemed to be nothing off-limits. In fact, Ozark may have become so popular because it was willing to go to dark places that most dramas wouldn’t even think about going to, even during the boom of aspirational content within the streaming wars.

5

‘The Leftovers’ (2014–2017)

Image via HBO

The Leftovers is about as upsetting as one might imagine based on its premise; the series explores the aftermath of an inexplicable global event in which a small fraction of the population disappeared without a trace. Although The Leftovers is a mystery that follows how the survivors attempt to seek answers when science and faith both come up short, it’s also a devastating portrayal of how hard it can be to piece back together a shattered life.

The Leftovers is immensely affecting because of how strong the performances are, as none of the science fiction components make the characters any less dramatically authentic. While some of the show’s fans interpreted its final episode, “The Book of Nora,” to be slightly optimistic, there are so many distressing and disturbing moments sprinkled throughout the entirety of The Leftovers that it is certainly not for the faint of heart.

4

‘Six Feet Under’ (2001–2005)

Image via HBO

Six Feet Under set a precedent for HBO’s ability to tell compelling drama shows that weren’t tinged with a crime element. While it could have felt like a more traditional family melodrama, Six Feet Under presented a grim (albeit occasionally funny in a dark way) examination of the lives of a family that owns a funeral home.

There’s a major death in every episode of Six Feet Under, and the range of reactions that they inspire leads to some of the show’s most interesting insights about the facets of human nature. Nonetheless, even the most life-affirming moments in Six Feet Under wrestle with the inevitability of death, with the show’s finale “Everybody’s Waiting” being a standout because of a perfect montage that shows the fates of all of its characters in the weeks, months, years, and decades afterward.

3

‘The Wire’ (2002–2008)

Image via HBO

The Wire has been praised by real journalists, politicians, and law enforcement officials because of how realistically it portrayed the realities of the drug trade. Creator David Simon was a former reporter for the crime beat in Baltimore for well over a decade, and used his experience to inspire a powerful, searing look at the ways in which drug-related crime impacted local communities, trade, politics, education, and reporting. The Wire was relevant when it first started airing, and it feels even more important today.

The Wire dealt with harrowing issues such as the neglect of children, drug addiction, violence against unhoused people, and abusive tactics utilized by cops. While viewing all five seasons in their entirety is a rewarding experience because of the many great characters, The Wire is nothing but an authentic depiction of the world as it is, and not what one may want it to be.

2

‘Top of the Lake’ (2013–2017)

Image via Sundance Channel

Top of the Lake is an unusual drama series that had an unexpected continuation when creator Jane Campion decided to develop a second season many years after the first installment had been thought to be a miniseries. What was most surprising about the renewal of Top of the Lake was that it was hard to imagine how the series could be sustainable with such a dark premise; the series frankly deals with a murder investigation involving a young woman, and does not shy away from issues of sexism, abuse, and trauma.

Top of the Lake has a realistic approach to storytelling that may be familiar to those who have seen Jane Campion’s films. While the first season of the show at least has some catharsis in its ending, the second (which was subtitled Top of the Lake: China Girl) is almost unwatchably bleak.

1

‘The Shield’ (2002–2008)

Image via FX

The Shield was groundbreaking television because it served as an alternative to the ways that law enforcement had been depicted in the media up until that point in time. While cops had traditionally been presented as sympathetic and honorable, The Shield presented the ultimate anti-hero in Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), a corrupt member of the Los Angeles Police Department who uses his position as the leader of Strike Force to wield dangerous authority without ever being subjected to serious repercussions by his superiors.

The Shield presented complex and thoughtful ethical debates because there were instances in which Mackey’s extreme tactics were necessary to take down even more loathsome villains. However, the arc of the show ultimately leaned in a tragic direction, resulting in one of the bleakest, most unsparing finales in television history, with the haunting finale episode “Family Meeting.”

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The Shield

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Release Date

2002 – 2008

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Directors

Guy Ferland, Scott Brazil, Clark Johnson, Dean White, Stephen Kay, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, D. J. Caruso, Nick Gomez, Paris Barclay, Peter Horton, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Philip G. Atwell, Terrence O’Hara, Billy Gierhart, Brad Anderson, Craig Brewer, David Mamet, Davis Guggenheim, Frank Darabont, Gary Fleder, John Badham, Leslie Libman, Michael Fields, Scott Winant

Writers

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Shawn Ryan, Glen Mazzara, Charles H. Eglee, Kim Clements, Kevin Arkadie, Gary Lennon, John Hlavin, Lisa Randolph, Reed Steiner, Angela Russo-Otstot, Diego Gutierrez, Ted Griffin, Elizabeth Craft, Emily Lewis, Jameal Turner, Renee Palyo

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Royal watchers learned in October 2025 that King Charles III stripped his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — formerly known as Prince Andrew — of his royal titles and evicted him from his lavish home.

The former prince’s spectacular fall from grace has been tied to his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor told BBC’s Newsnight in 2019 that he met Epstein through the disgraced financier’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, though he denied any wrongdoing. (Epstein was convicted of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute in 2008 and was later arrested on federal sex trafficking charges weeks before his death by suicide in August 2019. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking charges.)

In that same 2019 interview, Mountbatten-Windsor insisted he did not regret his friendship with Epstein despite the damage to his reputation.

“Now, [I] still [do] not [regret it] and the reason being is that the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn either by him or because of him were actually very useful,” Mountbatten Windsor told Newsnight. “He himself not, as it were, as close as you might think, we weren’t that close. So therefore I mean, yes, I would go and stay in his house but that was because of his girlfriend, not because of him.”

Related: King Charles Heckled Over Prince Andrew’s Ties to the Late Jeffrey Epstein

King Charles cannot escape the continued media attention on his brother Prince Andrew’s longstanding friendship with the late convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein. “How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?” an individual shouted at Charles, 76, as the royal greeted the public outside Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire on Monday, October 27, per footage shared […]

The fallout from Mountbatten-Windsor’s 2019 interview led him to step back from his royal duties in November 2019, though he was eventually stripped of his titles by King Charles in October 2025 as continual revelations emerged. In February 2026, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by Thames Valley Police on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, with King Charles later calling for a “full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated.”

Keep scrolling for more about the way Charles and other royals reacted to Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship with Epstein.

How Is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Connected to Jeffrey Epstein?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor told BBC Newsnight host Emily Maitlis in a 2019 interview that he met Jeffrey Epstein through the convicted sex offender’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. (Ghislaine’s father, Robert Maxwell, was part of the media establishment in the U.K. as owner of the Daily Mirror and The London Evening News prior to his death at age 68 in 1991.)

While Mountbatten-Windsor never faced criminal charges over his alleged involvement with Epstein, he was sued for sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress by Virginia Giuffre in 2021. Giuffre alleged that Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to Mountbatten-Windsor following a night at Tramp nightclub in London in 2001.

“I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever,” Mountbatten-Windsor insisted to Newsnight.

However, Mountbatten-Windsor reached a private settlement with Giuffre in 2022 after she sued him for sexual assault and battery. (He did not admit any fault as part of the settlement agreement though he agreed to make a substantial donation to Speak Out, Act, Reclaim, a charity supporting sex trafficking victims.)

Mountbatten-Windsor claimed that he visited Epstein at his New York penthouse in December 2010 to formally end their friendship. At the time, Epstein had recently completed his 18-month prison sentence for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.

“I have always … ever since this has happened and since this has become, as it were, public knowledge that I was there, I’ve questioned myself as to why did I go and what was I doing and was it the right thing to do?” Mountbatten-Windsor told Newsnight. “Now, I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together.”

Mountbatten-Windsor admitted that he’d had “a number of people counsel” him over whether it was appropriate to visit Epstein’s home in the wake of his conviction.

“I took the judgement call that, because this was serious, and I felt that doing it over the telephone was the chicken’s way of doing it. I had to go and see him and talk to him,” he said.

He added, “I said to [Epstein] … ‘Look, because of what has happened, I don’t think it is appropriate that we should remain in contact,’ and by mutual agreement during that walk in the park we decided that we would part company and I left, I think it was the next day. To this day, I never had any contact with him from that day forward.”

His friendship with Epstein faced a new level of scrutiny when a paparazzi photo from Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein’s Central Park conversation was published by the New York Post in 2011. As a result of the scandal, Buckingham Palace announced in July 2011 that Mountbatten-Windsor had resigned as a U.K. trade envoy.

Any attempt by Mountbatten-Windsor to put the scandal behind him with his 2019 Newsnight interview failed. The TV special only intensified coverage of the scandal, leading to Mountbatten-Windsor formally stepping back from his royal duties in November 2019.

“It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstance relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support,” he said. “Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.”

While Mountbatten-Windsor was slowly reintegrated into royal functions a few years later, a new round of allegations erupted with the publication of Andrew Lownie’s tell-all 2025 book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

Multiple U.K. outlets published private emails that Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly sent to Epstein in 2011, which contradicted his statement that he’d cut off communication with the financier after visiting his New York City home in December 2010. In one purported email, the prince allegedly wrote to Epstein that they were “in this together and will have to rise above it.”

Mountbatten-Windsor said in October 2025 that he would stop using his royal title as the Duke of York.

“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Mountbatten-Windsor said in a statement to Us on October 17, 2025. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”

He continued, “With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

Once again, his pledge did little to quiet the scandal, so Buckingham Palace confirmed days later that King Charles III planned to strip his brother of his royal titles and force him to move out of his home at Royal Lodge, which Mountbatten-Windsor acquired in 2003 as part of a “peppercorn lease.”

Later that year, Mountbatten-Windsor was accused of asking his taxpayer-funded security detail to investigate Giuffre prior to their 2022 legal settlement. The Metropolitan Police announced in December 2025 that it would “take no further action” against Mountbatten-Windsor over the historic accusation.

“The Met remains committed to thoroughly assessing any new information that could assist in this matter,” a police spokesperson said.”To date, we have not received any additional evidence that would support reopening the investigation. In the absence of any further information, we will be taking no further action.”

There were new disclosures in January 2026 as part of three million documents released by the Justice Department in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which included a photo obtained from the Epstein estate of Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours over an unknown woman. (The Justice Department provided no context on where or when the photo was taken. The unidentified woman’s face was redacted to protect her privacy.)

Mountbatten-Windsor reportedly moved out of Royal Lodge in February 2026. He is residing in a temporary property on his brother Charles’ privately-owned Sandringham estate while his permanent home is undergoing renovations.

Thames Valley Police confirmed to Us on February 19, 2026, that its officers had “arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office.” Mountbatten-Windsor’s name was not mentioned in the police statement due to national guidance.

Mountbatten-Windsor stands accused of sharing confidential information with Epstein while acting as a U.K. trade envoy from 2001 to 2011. Per the Crown Protection Service, those found criminally liable of “serious wilful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held” can face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

What Did Queen Elizabeth II Say About Prince Andrew’s Connection to Jeffrey Epstein?

The Telegraph reported that Queen Elizabeth II partially funded her son Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s $16 million settlement to dismiss his sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit in 2022. The queen’s contribution reportedly came from her private Duchy of Lancaster estate so as not to draw criticism about public funds being used.

However, a spokesperson for Queen Elizabeth told People in February 2022 that Buckingham Palace “never commented on the financial aspects of the Duke’s private legal affairs and won’t be now.”

One month earlier, Buckingham Palace revealed that Queen Elizabeth was revoking Mountbatten-Windsor’s military titles. Her rebuke came after more than 150 British military veterans wrote an open letter to the monarch asking her to strip Mountbatten-Windsor of his service awards.

“With the queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the queen,” the palace said in a statement in January 2022. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”

Queen Elizabeth died at age 96 in September 2002.

How Did King Charles III React to Prince Andrew’s Connection to Jeffrey Epstein?

King Charles III initially held back from addressing the growing scandal around his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, amid new allegations in Andrew Lownie’s bombshell 2025 book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

While Mountbatten-Windsor agreed to stop using his royal title in October 2025, the king finally stepped in days later with his own royal decree. The king confirmed that he was essentially evicting Mountbatten-Windsor from his home at Royal Lodge, where the former prince lived since 2003.

“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence,” reads a Buckingham Palace statement shared with Us Weekly on October 30, 2025. “Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”

In a February 2026 statement, the palace noted, “The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct.”

The palace continued, “While the specific claims in question are for Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police, we stand ready to support them as you would expect. As was previously stated, Their Majesties’ thoughts and sympathies have been, and remain with, the victims of any and all forms of abuse.”

Following Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest in February 2026, King Charles released a statement confirming that he’d “learned with the deepest concern the news about [the arrest of] Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.”

“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation,” King Charles said in a statement to Us. “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course. As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”

How Did Prince Edward React to Prince Andrew’s Connection to Jeffrey Epstein?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s younger brother, Prince Edward, became the first member of the royal family to personally address the Epstein scandal in February 2025. During a Q&A for the World Governments Summit in Dubai, he was asked how he was “coping” with the continual controversy.

“I think it’s important always to remember the victims,” Prince Edward answered. “And who are the victims in all this? A lot of victims in all this.”

How Did Prince William and Kate Middleton React to Prince Andrew’s Connection to Jeffrey Epstein?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s nephew Prince William and his wife, Princess Kate Middleton, released a statement as new documents from the Epstein files continued to go public.

“I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations,” a spokesperson for the Prince and Princess of Wales shared in February 2026. “Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”

If you’re wondering whether Glen Powell and Margaret Qualley’s underhyped crime thriller How to Make a Killing is going to deliver anything more than hot-people-doing-crimes energy when it hits theaters this weekend, the easiest answer is hiding in director John Patton Ford’s filmography. Specifically, his last feature, a takedown of capitalism that orchestrated one of the most effective on-screen identity shifts of the last decade. He took Aubrey Plaza – long typecast as pop culture’s patron saint of disaffected, deadpanning weirdos – and turned her into something far more unsettling: a bonafide dramatic threat.

That transformation happened in Emily the Criminal, Ford’s lean, nerve-wracking thriller that doubles as the most honest student-loan horror movie ever made. It’s a film where debt is a living thing, a cancer slowly eating away at a person, forcing them to do uncharacteristically terrible (and clinically insane) things. Plaza plays the titular cash-strapped millennial who stops waiting for capitalism to reward her patience and starts testing how much it’ll let her get away with instead. Emily gives her the performance of her career, but it gives us a preview of how wild, ridiculous, and sharply insightful Ford’s storytelling can be. And now’s the perfect time for a re-watch.

Aubrey Plaza Breaks Bad in ‘Emily the Criminal’

When we first meet Emily Benetto in Emily the Criminal, she’s already losing. She’s $70,000 in student debt, locked out of stable employment by a minor assault charge, and stuck cycling through catering gigs where she delivers artisanal salads to tech workers whose salaries probably equal her loan bill. Early on, she bombs a job interview in spectacular fashion, unable to convincingly perform the optimism employers expect. It’s a small scene, but it establishes everything: Emily isn’t failing because she lacks ambition or ability, but because the system is rigged against her.

Her entry into crime happens almost accidentally. A coworker connects her with a low-level fraud ring run by Youcef (Theo Rossi), who recruits financially desperate young people to act as “dummy shoppers.” The job is simple: use a fake credit card to purchase expensive electronics, hand them off, and walk away with a few hundred dollars. Emily’s first attempt is shaky, but when it ends with her walking out of the store with cash in hand anyway, something shifts.

From there, the film turns the WTF meter all the way up to 10. Emily becomes more involved in Youcef’s operation, moving from small retail scams to higher-risk thefts that involve luxury cars and violent confrontations. But nothing deters her, and by the end of this thing, Emily’s become a twisted form of what the system wanted all along: an adaptable, opportunistic, ruthless entrepreneur driven by the bottom line. She is, finally, good at her job.

A Comedy Icon Becomes a Crime Thriller Antiheroine

Image via Roadside Attractions

Before Emily the Criminal, Plaza had perfected a very specific magic trick: making antisocial detachment aspirational. She delivered punchlines like she was doing audiences a favor by participating at all. Her run as April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation is still the clearest example of that. April treated every job and every interaction with an authority figure like mildly annoying inconveniences. She openly resented her coworkers, blankly endured small talk, and did it all with such flat calm that it somehow made it even funnier than if she’d pushed for the laugh. Emily the Criminal takes that familiar detachment and, for the first time, treats it as a survival skill instead of a joke.

Plaza plays Emily with blunt practicality. She never pushes you to sympathize with Emily, but she does make you understand how Emily justifies each step of her criminal undertaking. She pays attention. She listens. She adapts. And Plaza plays everything so controlled that you’re always guessing how Emily will handle the next risky grift-gone-wrong. It marks a clear shift in how the actress uses her screen presence. The same deadpan restraint that once made her feel aloof now makes her unpredictable, in the best way. As the film’s director, Ford didn’t create that ability, but he did build a vehicle that allowed her to use it fully.

In How to Make a Killing, you can see Ford playing with the same ideas he explored in Emily the Criminal. His characters don’t suddenly snap into moral gray zones, they slide into them, adjusting their reasoning until things that once seemed unthinkable start to feel like the most obvious choice. Sometimes, committing a crime is the best kind of problem-solving.

The Thread Between Ford’s Films

At least, that’s what Powell’s character believes. He plays Becket Redfellow, a working-class guy from New Jersey with a seriously complicated family history. His mother, Mary, was disowned by her ultra-wealthy upstate New York family when she got pregnant with him. On her deathbed, she tells him one line that drives the whole movie: “Get the life you deserve.” That’s basically Becket’s north star. Fast forward to adulthood, and Becket runs into his childhood crush, Julia (Qualley), who grew up in that same rich world. The reunion stirs something in him, and he starts poking around his family. Long story short: he figures that if he starts bumping off the Redfellow clan, he could end up inheriting the fortune he’s technically owed. It’s a black comedy crime story, but it’s smart about its social commentary. Ford finds ways to layer in critiques of class, capitalism, and the weird ways people justify wanting more than what they have in between the comedic mishaps and half-assed murder plots.

Its tie to Emily the Criminal is that both films are about characters who are pushed into morally gray spaces by circumstance. And in both cases, the thrill comes less from the crime itself and more from watching someone figure out how to survive and manipulate a system that’s stacked against them. Ford gets that. That’s why his work with Plaza was so electric, and why his new film is worth keeping an eye on. He understands that desperation can fuel some pretty fantastic cinematic fireworks.

Emily the Criminal is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.

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Emily the Criminal

Release Date

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August 12, 2022

Runtime

97 Minutes

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Director

John Patton Ford

Writers

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John Patton Ford

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It’s National Margarita Day, so we’re serving up a Hollywood hottie who knows her tequila. Toss back these clues and see if you can spit out the celebrity name!

She ain’t no housewife, but she may act desperate. She launched her tequila brand in 2021.