Entertainment
One of the Biggest ’80s Horror Hits Was Almost Dead Before It Ever Hit Theaters
Where would the world be without Gremlins? The classic horror-comedy creature feature directed by Joe Dante and penned by Chris Columbus immediately took the world by storm when it was released in 1984, raking in over $212 million globally on an $11 million budget and spawning an entire franchise that spans a sequel, an upcoming legacy follow-up, the animated Secrets of the Mogwai prequel series, books, and more. Even now, there are plenty of people who still know who Gizmo is and that you never feed a Mogwai after midnight, and the original film’s impact has been felt in everything from Ghoulies to Stranger Things. Surprisingly, though, there was actually a Sliding Doors moment where Warner Bros. nearly ditched the massive hit before they even realized what they had.
During a panel at the Indiana Comic Convention attended by Collider’s Maggie Lovitt, original Gremlins star Zach Galligan reflected on his time with the franchise and the many facts of its creation that still amaze him. “One of the crazy things about Gremlins is, I’m still finding out stuff about the movie 40 years later that I just didn’t know,” he said, and that includes the fate that nearly befell the film. He recalled that Warner Bros. didn’t see Dante and Columbus’ vision at all when it was first presented. A few of the darker moments, in particular, like Kate’s (Phoebe Cates) story about how her father died, had them hesitant that it would resonate with general audiences. In their eyes, this had more of the feel of an odd, indie horror project rather than a multi-million-dollar hit.
However, what ultimately changed their minds was a pair of test screenings in California. It’s not altogether unusual for high marks with test audiences to change a studio’s mind on a project — recent examples include other horror hits like Smile and Evil Dead Rise, which both started as streaming titles before getting the bump to theaters — but these particular results were so off the charts that it required a complete re-evaluation of what Gremlins was and could be.
“One of the things I put in the book was the fact that Warner Brothers really was not high on Gremlins at all. They just thought it was a kind of… they didn’t get it. And when they saw the rushes of Phoebe Cates’ dead dad and the Santa Claus in the chimney thing, they were just like, ‘This is weird and sick and gross and never gonna fly.’ And apparently, according to Mike Fennel, the producer, they did one screening in Sacramento and the audience response was just absolutely psychotic. So they did another one down in San Diego. Obviously, it was gonna be sort of California-based because Warner Brothers is in Los Angeles or Burbank. And they start getting these test scores that were so off the charts that they had to suddenly go, ‘Oh my God, maybe we have something here.’”
‘Gremlins’ Built a Legendary Marketing Campaign From the Ground Up in Record Time
Such overwhelming fervor for the film created a brand-new problem for Warner Bros. Their lack of belief in Gremlins left them with little in terms of a marketing campaign or merchandise. Galligan recalled that, according to Fennel, there was hardly anything in place three months out from the film’s release date. Plans had to be made and executed fast to turn Gizmo into a household name and get everyone crazy for the Christmas Eve carnage the Mogwai would bring. What followed was an all-out sprint to turn Gremlins into a proper event and cement Dante’s creature feature as an icon of the 80s.
“And so there was literally, he said, March 1st — remember, the movie’s coming out on June 8th — there was no merchandising in place whatsoever. And by April 15th, in six weeks, they had suddenly… there was a mad rush, and you had the Hardee’s records, the five records that tell the story, and the Gremlin storybook, and the lunchbox, and then this, and the trading cards, and then that, and the Gizmos, and the peanut butter gremlin cereal that was terrible, and all of this stuff, it all just came exploding out because of these two screenings. They thought it was dead in the water. They thought they had nothing, and then suddenly they just put all of this marketing and stuff into a teaser trailer. So Gremlins was almost the movie that was almost really a throwaway.”
Although they haven’t been in theaters with a new installment since the less well-received Gremlins 2: The New Batch in 1990, the future of Gremlins is quite bright right now. Warner Bros. officially moved to revive the soft and furry magical creatures last year by announcing Gremlins 3 would be heading to theaters on November 19, 2027. Dante won’t be back at the helm, but the spirit of the franchise will live on through the returning Columbus, who now sits in the director’s chair, and Stephen Spielberg, who will again executive produce. The red-hot Final Destination Bloodlines duo Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein were also tapped to write the legacy sequel, though any plot details or cast remain under wraps at this time.
Gremlins can currently be streamed for free on Pluto TV. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the future of the franchise as work continues on the third film.
- Release Date
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June 8, 1984
- Runtime
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106 minutes
- Director
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Joe Dante
- Writers
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Chris Columbus
- Producers
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Michael Finnell
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Zach Galligan
Billy Peltzer
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Phoebe Cates
Kate Beringer
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Overnight success Maxton Hall is coming back for a third — and final — season, but is every cast member returning?
The German-language TV drama, which premiered in May 2024, introduced viewers to an unlikely enemies-to-lovers romance between private school classmates Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) and James Beaufort (Damian Hardung). While attending their prestigious U.K. school, scholarship recipient Ruby unwittingly witnessed a secret that put her on the radar of the wealthy James.
Based on Mona Kasten’s book series, Maxton Hall quickly found record-breaking success, becoming the most-watched non-U.S. title during its first week on Prime Video. It was later renewed for a second — and then a third — season.
Prime Video confirmed that the final season would premiere in December 2026. Before its return, Hardung spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about the vision for the final chapter.
Damian Hardung and Harriet Herbig-Matten became close friends while playing love interests — James and Ruby — on Maxton Hall. The Prime Video series, which debuted in May 2024, is based on Mona Kasten‘s Save You book series. The six-part German-language TV drama introduced viewers to an unlikely enemies to lovers romance between private school […]
“[Them going into season 3 in a better place as a couple] would be my hope for them. They’ve been through so much. After all this, what else can there be that?” Hardung noted in November 2025. “That’s why the third book [which inspires season 3] is called Save Us. Because it’s about the two of them actually being together and fighting against the outer world.”
Keep scrolling to see which Maxton Hall stars are coming back for season 3 — and which aren’t:
Harriet Herbig-Matten
Herbig-Matten is reprising the role of Ruby in season 3.
Damian Hardung
Hardung was also filming scenes for season 3, which will wrap up Ruby and James’ love story.
Sonja Weißer
James’ sister, Lydia, is expected to be a major player in the final chapter.
Fedja van Huêt
Maxton Hall wouldn’t be what it is without James and Lydia’s father stirring up trouble in season 3.
From The Bear to Outlander to Outer Banks, TV fans are gearing up to say goodbye to their favorite shows in 2026. Outer Banks, which debuted in 2020, follows the conflict between two groups of teenagers in a coastal North Carolina town. The social divide is introduced with the wealthy residents (a.k.a. the Kooks) and […]
Justus Riesner
Alistair is due to return to the show in season 3.
Runa Greiner
Ruby’s family will continue to be explored in season 3 as Greiner returns to the show.
Martin Neuhaus
Ruby and Ember’s father will also likely be in season 3.
Julia-Maria Köhler
After Köhler originated the role of Ruby and Ember’s mother, Gina Henkel took over starting in season 2.
There is no hard-and-fast rule that specifies the number of seasons a show needs in order to be considered “great.” While greatness is often associated with shows that have expanded across many years, it’s rare to find consistency within anything that has expanded for far too long. There are very few shows in which every single season is a masterpiece, and there are no episodes that missed the mark. Brevity can be a good thing, especially for shows that have a tight and specific story focus in mind.
The unfortunate reality is that there are many great shows that are canceled before their times, as executives tend to make decisions based on ratings, and not critical acclaim. Although it is disappointing when a promising series has its legs cut off before it has the ability to reach its potential, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth revisiting and celebrating.
10
‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’ (2022–2023)
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty was one of the best sports shows ever made by HBO because it dramatized some of the most important events in NBA history. The success of the Los Angeles Lakers seemed like a miracle in the 1980s, but the series co-created by Adam McKay delved into the clashing personalities that caused its rise to prominence to be so unpredictable.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Los Angeles Lakers was filled with excellent performances, including an eccentric portrayal of Jerry Buss by John C. Reilly and a loaded depiction of Pat Riley by Adrien Brody, who was in the midst of his comeback. Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty contains some of the best basketball ever depicted on a dramatized show, but it also had the business intrigue and cultural discourse needed to engage non-NBA fans.
9
‘Pushing Daisies’ (2007–2009)
Pushing Daisies is a fun twist on the traditional procedural drama that has no shortage of comedy involved, as well as an interesting perspective on supernatural powers. While the protagonist Ned (Lee Pace) has the power to communicate with the recently departed, he can only do so for 60 seconds, and often risks putting the people he loves in danger. It’s a show that deals with wounded, challenged characters, but often puts them in humorous situations.
Pushing Daisies is a colorful, yet well-thought-out mystery series that has a multitude of talented guest stars and surprisingly profound depictions of loss, love, and the search for meaning. Although the show was unfortunately axed before it got the chance to put up a plethora of episodes, it did mark a promising start for showrunner Bryan Fuller, who would gain even more acclaim when he developed Hannibal for NBC.
8
‘Vice Principals’ (2016–2017)
Vice Principals is another comedy masterpiece from Danny McBride and Jody Hill, who have made some of the funniest HBO shows of all time. Unlike the other two shows that they made for the network, Vice Principals was always designed to be a two-season event with a strict ending. The series is focused on two narcissistic vice principals, played by McBride and his future The Righteous Gemstones co-star Walton Goggins, who attempt to conspire their way to the top after they are both passed over for a promotion.
Vice Principals needed to be only two seasons, because the humor got so dark and cruel that it could have been taxing after too long. However, McBride is a genius when it comes to depicting flawed characters, and Vice Principals does a great job at showing audiences that they should be laughing at the characters, and not with them.
7
‘The Knick’ (2014–2015)
The Knick is a show that unfortunately fizzled out because of its network, as it debuted on Cinemax before it was ever known for doing anything prestigious. Created by Steven Soderbergh, the series starred Clive Owen as a brilliant, yet irksome doctor in the early 20th century who tries to manage a high-profile medical laboratory whilst battling a severe addiction to cocaine. The series also marked an early role for Eve Hewson before her breakthrough with Disclosure Day.
The Knick is impressive with its attention to detail and has been cited by medical professionals as being the most accurate show about its subject matter. Although the series gave a tremendous amount of insight into how emerging medical sciences were handled within this period in time, it’s also a sharp exploration of a different time in American history in which every level of infrastructure was subjected to biases and corruption.
6
‘Tokyo Vice’ (2022–2024)
Tokyo Vice was a brilliant noir series based on the memoir of the same name by Jake Adelstein, who became the first American journalist to get a serious job at the most powerful news publication in all of Tokyo. Adelstein is played by Ansel Elgort, and the series shows how he becomes allies with a powerful cop (Ken Watanabe) as they investigate cases of corruption linked to the Japanese mafia.
Tokyo Vice is a spiritual constitution of everything that Michael Mann has done, as the legendary filmmaker produced the series and also directed the pilot episode. Tokyo Vice may have been canceled far too soon, but the two seasons that exist are among the most polished, technically advanced, and thematically radical pieces of filmmaking to ever be created in the streaming era. It should be a must-watch for all crime buffs.
5
‘Flight of the Conchords’ (2007–2009)
Flight of the Conchords is one of the funniest and most underrated HBO shows, and one that continued the network’s tradition of making cheeky comedies that constantly broke the fourth wall. As was the case with Curb Your Enthusiasm, Flight of the Conchords has its two stars playing fictionalized versions of themselves in a series that parodies what their daily lives look like.
Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie star as the real members of a New Zealand folk duo who try to make it in America, where they experience all sorts of career setbacks, embarrassments, and failed gigs. While it’s a treat for those who loved the band of the same name, as Clement and McKenzie have actually toured as “Flight of the Conchords,” the show has something to say for anyone who has pursued an artistic career in a challenging field.
4
‘Rome’ (2005–2006)
Rome was one of the earliest examples of what HBO could do with a significant budget when tasked with recreating a rich mythology, and it laid the groundwork for what the network would do with Game of Thrones. Although the history of the Roman Empire is vast and complicated, Rome found a clever way of retelling the most important events; the first season was largely focused on the rise and fall of Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), and the second showed the aftermath as it resulted in an alliance with Egypt.
Rome was able to explore the perspective of all different classes within the Roman era, with Ray Stevenson giving the best performance of his career as a former prisoner who becomes a noble warrior. Although it’s disappointing to think of what Rome could have accomplished had it continued, the two seasons that did air are too perfect for any HBO fan to miss out on.
3
‘The Rehearsal’ (2022–2025)
The Rehearsal is the most radical and creative enterprise that Nathan Fielder has ever embarked upon, which is saying something when considering how many risks that he has taken throughout his career. What genre The Rehearsal actually belongs to is even up for debate; while it may seem framed like an investigative documentary or reality show, The Rehearsal develops into a psychological thriller as Fielder pries deeper into human nature and attempts to unpack the inherently performative components of human interaction.
The Rehearsal is absurdist without being parodical, and is able to be genuinely thought-provoking whilst still being highly entertaining. Although there have been rumors about what a third season might look like, it is very hard to imagine Fielder topping the ending of Season 2, in which he developed actual research that could change the airline industry for good.
2
‘Andor’ (2022–2025)
Andor is the best piece of Star Wars storytelling since Return of the Jedi and one of the most ambitious, satisfying works of drama in the 21st century. Although it is technically a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Andor gets into the heart of how the Rebel Alliance emerged from a group of warring resistance groups, becoming a powerful force that resisted the Galactic Empire when it was willing to commit genocide upon innocent planets.
Andor offered an opportunity for Diego Luna to flesh out his role after not being given much to do in the previous film, but it also featured many new characters that instantly became some of the best in the entire Star Wars universe. Stellan Skarsgård was a standout as Luthen Rael, a spymaster who secretly connects defiant members of the Imperial Senate with rebel fighters.
1
‘Mindhunter’ (2017–2019)
Mindhunter is one of the most thoughtful and insightful explorations of criminal behavior ever created, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise when considering that showrunner David Fincher has directed some of the best serial killer films of all-time. Loosely based on the autobiography of the former FBI profiler John Douglas, Mindhunter stars Jonathan Groff as Holden Ford, a brilliant field agent who develops a research initiative into unpacking the psychology of killers and criminals.
Mindhunter weaves in different true stories and depicts several real killers, but also focuses on the mental effects that these disturbing investigations have on both Ford and his partner Bill Tench (Holy McCallany). Mindhunter may have ultimately been too niche and expensive for Netflix to renew for a third season on the budget that Fincher had been asking for, but that doesn’t make it any less of a masterpiece.
Mindhunter
- Release Date
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2017 – 2019
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Joe Penhall
- Directors
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David Fincher, Carl Franklin, Andrew Dominik, Andrew Douglas, Asif Kapadia, Tobias Lindholm
Entertainment
Timothée Chalamet’s Criminally Underrated Coming-of-Age Romance Is Finally Streaming Free
Of all the surprises at this year’s Academy Awards, Timothée Chalamet missing out on the Best Actor prize for his performance in the sports drama Marty Supreme was one of the most high-profile. Just weeks before the ceremony, the Call Me By Your Name star was the bookies’ favorite, only for some controversial, headline-grabbing comments to put his chances under scrutiny. Then, on the night, the victory went the way of Michael B. Jordan for his performance in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, with the rest of the nominees including Ethan Hawke for his leading role in Richard Linklater‘s Blue Moon, Wagner Moura for his starring performance in The Secret Agent, and Leonardo DiCaprio for Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.
After missing out on the prize in the past two years, will Chalamet finally win gold in 2027? There’s a chance he returns as a nominee, with the actor about to headline one of the year’s biggest films. Released on December 18, the same day as Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three will cap off Denis Villeneuve‘s acclaimed adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s Dune novels, with Chalamet returning as the head of House Atreides. Chalamet stars in the film alongside an eye-catching cast, which also includes Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Anya Taylor-Joy, and more. Villeneuve is directing once more from a script he co-wrote with Brian K. Vaughan.
As excitement continues to build for this space opera that ranks as the most exciting adaptation of 2026, huge quantities of tickets are being sold, even selling out its initial release of limited IMAX 70mm tickets across in just minutes. The film is ready to tackle much darker themes than the first two installments, as the consequences of Paul’s rise to power shake the very foundations of their world, all culminating in one epic conclusion.
An Underrated Chalamet Movie Is Coming to Free Streaming
If you want to get in the Dune mood and are looking for a lesser-spotted Chalamet performance to help, a free streamer will have you covered next month. Starting July 1, you can watch Hot Summer Nights for free on Plex. This neo-noir thriller is an A24 movie, with Chalamet often teaming up with the entertainment company on projects such as Marty Supreme and Greta Gerwig‘s Lady Bird. Hot Summer Nights, directed by Elijah Bynum, partners Chalamet with the brilliant Maika Monroe as the free-spirited McKayla.
Hot Summer Nights is streaming on Plex this July. Stay tuned to Collider for the latest streaming stories.
- Release Date
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July 27, 2018
- Runtime
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107 Minutes
- Director
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Elijah Bynum
Justin Hartley has starred in plenty of famous movies and TV shows over the years, but even years removed from its series finale, one of the most famous of all time is This Is Us. The star-studded series was written and created for TV by Dan Fogelman, who also recently reunited with star Sterling K. Brown for the twisty Hulu sci-fi thriller, Paradise. Fogelman has recruited plenty of his long-time collaborators for roles in Paradise, but Hartley has not yet joined the cast of the series. The star is also known for his role as Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, in the 2000s Superman series, Smallville, and while his original appearance was divisive among fans, there are some who have pushed for him to return as the character in James Gunn’s new DCU.
Hartley has had one show occupying most of his time in the last few years, though, and that’s Tracker. He first put on the boots of Colter Shaw in the first season of the CBS procedural back in February 2024, and there was such an intense demand for the show that it was brought back for Season 2 before the end of the year — it’s not often fans are treated to two seasons of one TV show in a single calendar year. Tracker is confirmed to return for Season 4 before the end of this year, but even before its global debut, the show is surging on Paramount Plus in multiple countries. Tracker may not be putting up the same viewership numbers as any of Paramount’s Taylor Sheridan shows, but it’s still quietly becoming one of the most-watched procedurals on TV.
Is Jensen Ackles in ‘Tracker’?
Jensen Ackles does have a vital role in Tracker as Russell Shaw, Colter’s Shaw’s brother who always seems to know just when to show up and help. Russell Shaw actually faked his death in the second episode of Season 3, and fans were led to believe for weeks that he actually was dead, but this has since proven not to be true. Details about Tracker Season 4 are being kept under wraps right now, but it would be surprising if Russell Shaw didn’t feature in at least a few episodes.
Check out the first three seasons of Tracker on Paramount Plus, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Season 4, which is coming to CBS later this year.
- Release Date
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February 11, 2024
- Showrunner
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Elwood Reid
- Writers
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Ben H. Winters, Hilary Weisman Graham
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Justin Hartley
Colter Shaw
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Fans of WWII storytelling have been spoiled for choice this year, with the sleeper hit Pressure recently being released on the PVOD market, where it’s competing against World War II with Tom Hanks. The epic, 20-episode documentary series is midway through its run, which is being billed as the most exhaustive series about the war ever made. World War II with Tom Hanks is currently the number one most-popular series on the domestic iTunes chart, according to FlixPatrol. Meanwhile, Pressure has emerged as a hit in its own right. Starring Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott, the movie grossed approximately $15 million in its domestic box-office run, during which it outgrossed last year’s Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe. Another WWII-era drama is currently available to stream in the United States on Paramount+, but you might want to rush, as it’ll be removed from the platform soon.
The movie in question premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival a decade ago, and was headlined by Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson. They played a real-life couple who launched a protest against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime in 1940, after their son died in the war. The movie was directed by Vincent Perez and also features Daniel Brühl in a prominent supporting role. It now holds a 58% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where it doesn’t have an official consensus. However, critics were clearly mixed on it. While one critic called the movie “overlong” and “melodramatic,” the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw described it as “well-carpentered.”
Watch the Fact-Based WWII Drama on Paramount+ Before It’s Too Late
We’re talking about Alone in Berlin, which was released theatrically in 2016 in Germany, and in the following year in several other territories across the world. The movie is currently available to stream on Paramount+, but it’ll be removed from the streamer on July 12. Gleeson was recently seen as the villain in Prime Video’s critically acclaimed superhero series Spider-Noir, which remains hugely popular on the streamer even weeks after its release. Thompson, on the other hand, was seen in the sleeper hit film The Sheep Detectives, which has quietly grossed around $125 million worldwide and is now available on Prime Video. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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February 15, 2016
- Runtime
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103 minutes
- Director
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Vincent Perez
- Writers
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Achim von Borries
- Producers
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James Schamus, Michael Scheel, Paul Trijbits, Stefan Arndt, Uwe Schott, Norman Merry, Peter Hampden, Christian Grass, Marco Pacchioni
Love Island USA‘s Aftersun hosts Ciara Miller and Tefi Pessoa finally clarified what “French fries” meant after the code word was used to describe a sex act.
During the Saturday, June 27, episode of the show, Tefi asked what Trinity Tatum meant by that phrase before mimicking a manual sex act with her hand. Ciara confirmed she was right, adding, “French fry — two fingers.”
The Sunday, June 21, episode briefly showed Kenzie and Corbin hooking up in bed. The next morning, Trinity said she heard someone performing “French fries,” which sounded “too wet” to just be a kiss. In a confessional, Kenzie confirmed she shared a heated exchange with Corbin.
“I was definitely getting some French fries. Feeling good,” she gushed. “We were probably doing a bit much honestly but I feel a strong connection with Corbin. We probably got a little bit carried away.”
Love Island USA introduced a new code word when “French fries” was used to describe a sex act between Kenzie Annis and Corbin Mims. The Sunday, June 21, episode briefly showed Kenzie and Corbin hooking up in bed. The next morning, Trinity Tatum said she heard someone performing “French fries,” which sounded “too wet” to […]
Based on the footage, French fries hinted at manual sex acts such as a hand job. Viewers, meanwhile, pointed out that it likely meant an appetizer ahead of a full meal.
Love Island USA originally premiered in the U.K. in 2002 before it expanded worldwide with various spinoffs, including Love Island USA on Peacock. The series follows a different group of singles every season who have to pair off in order to stay in the show’s luxury villa.
The contestants — referred to as Islanders — live in isolation in a villa and are under constant video surveillance. They must be coupled up to remain on the show and stand a chance at receiving the$100,000 prize.
While finding a connection that you want to explore more intimately isn’t out of the question, season 7 of Love Island USA seemed to set some sort of record with the amount of times Islanders were caught hooking up — until season 8.
From Hannah Fields and Pepe Garcia to Huda Mustafa and Jeremiah Brown, the reality stars found ways around having to address their sexual encounters for all of America to hear.
“We had a code name for intimacy,” Hannah exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2025. “We would say, ‘How was your journey? What was this journey like?’ Huda [started it when she] said something like, ‘Oh, I had a journey. My journey went all the way.’”
Season 8 escalated the sex that took place in the villa with multiple couples going all the way while sharing a bedroom in the villa. The potential has only escalated with Casa Amor being introduced halfway into Sunday’s episode.
New episodes of Love Island USA are released six days a week — except for Wednesdays — on Peacock.
Join Us Weekly and Bracketology.tv in our first-ever Love Island USA fantasy league! This is your chance to predict who you think will win Season 8 and rank the Islanders weekly based on how confident you are that they will survive the next elimination. You will be playing against our editors, get access to exclusive content and have the chance to win fun prizes. Sign up for free today!
Vanderpump Rules alum Tom Sandoval broke his silence amid his legal dispute with ex-girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson and her father.
On Saturday, June 27, Sandoval, 42, and Robinson, 33, were both in the company of police at the Los Angeles area residence they both shared as they separately removed items from the home. During one heated moment captured by TMZ, a woman — presumed to be Robinson — could be heard telling Sandoval, “I f***ing hate you. Just like all of your ex-girlfriends, nobody likes you.” (Sandoval previously had a contentious breakup with Ariana Madix after he confessed to cheating on her with their Vanderpump Rules costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.)
As he left the premises, Sandoval briefly spoke with TMZ about why he and Robinson were both at the property at the same time.
“Victoria and her father were just issued an immediate move out order, a restraining order … The police are here to make sure [they leave],” he explained.
Tom Sandoval and Victoria Lee Robinson. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for ABA
Asked if he thought the dispute would be resolved “today,” he swiftly replied, “No.”
Law enforcement sources told the outlet the police were present simply to keep that peace between both sides and that no laws were broken.
Us Weekly has reached out to representatives for both parties for comment.
On Thursday, June 24, Sandoval requested a domestic violence restraining order against Victoria and her father, J. Will Robinson, accusing them of “verbal and physical abuse” during a confrontation on June 3.
The Traitors star wrote a lengthy declaration to the court where he accused Will of attacking him. He also alleged that Victoria struck him in the face during a heated confrontation over whether she was recording him without permission.
“I am seeking a restraining order against [Will] based on the verbal and physical abuse he has perpetrated against me, the most recent incident being on June 3, wherein he grabbed me and restrained me, chased me into the bedroom and punched a 12-inch hole in my spare bedroom door where I was barricading myself,” Sandoval wrote in his impact statement. “I am afraid of [Will] and his daughter and request the Court’s protection.”
Fresh off his run on season 3 of The Traitors, Tom Sandoval has settled back into normal life. That means he’s spending plenty of time with his girlfriend, Victoria Lee Robinson. After his split from Ariana Madix, Sandoval, 42, is happy to “grow together” with Robinson, 32. “Victoria is a very strong and supportive woman […]
Per Sandoval, Will “put his face in the hole in the door and smiled telling me he will ‘f***’ me up, ‘destroy’ me and called me a ‘motherf***er.’” Police arrived and arrested Victoria, with Sandoval acknowledging that he helped bail her out of jail.
“Ms. Robinson was arrested when it became clear that she had attacked me. As I saw her being arrested, in the heat of the moment, I asked the police officers the process by which she could be bailed out,” he wrote. “I even foolishly accepted Ms. Robinson’s phone call from jail and lent her mother financial assistance for the bail. In hindsight, I deeply regret that decision.”
Sandoval made a litany of other allegations of physical and emotional abuse against the Robinsons, as well as accusing Victoria of tampering with his devices and using a GPS tracker on his car.
An alleged video of the incident subsequently emerged, which appeared to show Sandoval shoving Will into a lit fire pit during a scuffle. He then seemingly fled into the home, with Will following him.
On Friday, June 27, Will filed his own request for a restraining order against Sandoval, alleging that he suffered a ruptured disc in his back, as well as a broken thumb and elbow and a wound on his heel. A court ruled against him initially, stating on Friday that it needed “more information at a properly noticed hearing” before any final decision could be made.
Despite the recent box-office underperformance of Shelter, Jason Statham remains one of the last remaining action stars who can pull audiences on the strength of his name alone. Shelter has been killing it on the home video market, first on PVOD and then on streaming. As we speak, it’s the number one movie on the domestic Starz chart, according to FlixPatrol. Several of his other recent films, particularly The Beekeeper and A Working Man, are essentially fixtures on the streaming charts. Statham’s next offering is The Beekeeper 2, which will be released during the period of the year that he seems to have staked out for his movies: January. Until then, however, his fans can keep themselves entertained with items from his back-catalog. One of Statham’s most overlooked movies is currently available to stream on Paramount+ in the United States, but it won’t stick around for much longer.
The movie in question was released in 2013, but it was originally conceived as part of the Rambo franchise by Sylvester Stallone. The action icon had recently worked with Statham on The Expendables, a franchise that he would eventually attempt to hand over to Statham several years later. The 2013 action movie was written by Stallone himself, and it also featured Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth, Frank Grillo, and James Franco as the villain. Directed by Gary Fleder, the film was a solid success, grossing $51 million worldwide against a reported budget of $22 million.
Here’s How Long You Have Left to Watch Jason Statham’s Action Movie on Paramount+
We’re talking, of course, about Homefront, which features Statham as a former DEA agent who gets sucked back, John Wick-style, into his dangerous past life while living quietly in Louisiana. The movie holds a 42% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “While it boasts a capable cast, the disappointingly dull Homefront hearkens back to classic action thrillers without adding anything to the genre.” Like most Statham movies, Homefront‘s audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is higher than its critics’ score: 61%. This is perhaps one of the many reasons behind its sustained success on streaming. The movie will remain available to stream on the Paramount+ streaming service until July 1. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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November 27, 2013
- Runtime
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100 minutes
- Director
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Gary Fleder
Tom Bateman joining the film adaptation of The Love Hypothesis is a casting of epic proportions if you know the Star Wars — and Reylo — lore, but how are the two connected?
Ali Hazelwood‘s The Love Hypothesis was an overnight success when the book was published in 2021. But to some Star Wars fans — at least if you rooted for Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) — it might have sounded familiar after getting its start as fanfiction.
According to the synopsis, The Love Hypothesis follows Olive as she tries to convince her best friend into thinking her dating life is great. To help with the lie, she pretends to date her professor, Adam, and the twosome try to make everyone around them think they are in love. But soon, they start to forget that their feelings are supposed to be fake.”
The Love Hypothesis becoming a mainstream hit paved the way for it to be developed into a movie, which is where things get interesting. In October 2022, it was announced that a film adaptation of the novel was in development and three years later Lili Reinhart joined the cast. It wasn’t until her onscreen love interest — Bateman — was announced that people pointed out the irony.
Does the actor fit the book? Chalk this up as a question readers ask every time a new film adaptation is announced. From Scarlett O’Hara to Bella Swan, Harry Potter to Mr. Darcy, the casting of well-known, well-loved book characters is a delicate art. For every actor fans embrace, there’s another they want to cast […]
Bateman isn’t just known for his roles in Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and Based on a True Story. He has also been married to Ridley since 2023. Yes, the same actress who inspired the fanfiction that then was redeveloped as The Love Hypothesis.
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the connection — including what Ridley has said about The Love Hypothesis:
What Inspired ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
Before Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis was in fact The Love Hypothesis. It was originally a fan fiction story about Rey and Kylo Ren from the new Star Wars movies. Similar to Fifty Shades of Grey getting its star as Twilight fan fiction, The Love Hypothesis was a story posted to Archive of Our Own with the title Head Over Feet.
“My agent started reading my fanfiction on AO3 and then she reached out with a DM. She was like, ‘I saw that you wrote something about maybe pulling some of your fics and reworking them. And I wanted to tell you that I’m a literary agent and I would love to see you some of your manuscripts, if you’re interested in it,’” the author told Collider in 2021. “And so that’s how I took the fanfiction of mine that I thought was the most reworkable and I sent it to her and then I signed with her. And then after approximately 70 billion more revisions, both with her and an editor … we got a lot of RNRs [revise and resubmits] that didn’t pan out but made the book better, because we got really good feedback.”
How Does Reylo Fit Into the ‘Star Wars’ Equation?
The Star Wars sequel trilogy introduced viewers to a new generation of characters — and relationships. The Force Awakens, which premiered in 2015, hinted at a potential romance between Rey and Finn (John Boyega) after they joined the Resistance in an effort to take down the First Order.
In the next two films, Finn’s story line was put on the back burner as Rey’s unexplained connection with Kylo Ren took center stage.
“I don’t think [their relationship is] all one thing,” Driver explained to Entertainment Weekly in 2019. “Part of the fun of playing it is the boundaries of it keep changing. At times it’s more intimate, sometimes less intimate. Sometimes it’s codependent. And then it’s, obviously, adversarial.”
Meanwhile, Ridley questioned what kind of future the pair could have together. “I do know about Reylo. I don’t know how I feel about it because everyone’s talking about the toxic thing of a relationship when it’s essentially emotional [abuse]. It’s a tricky road,” the actress told fans at Star Wars Celebration that same year.
She added: “I do feel like, deep down, Kylo thinks what he’s doing is right and he doesn’t think he’s wrong, but he has also killed so many people. So I can’t really get behind in that, in a personal way. Maybe there’s redemption. Who knows? Maybe we explore that in the film.”
In The Last Jedi, Rey and Kylo Ren shared a kiss before the villain’s ultimate demise. They don’tend up together, however, since Kylo Ren dies by the end of the movie.
What Hints at Reylo Have Remained in ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
After being published online in 2018 as Head Over Feet, the main characters were renamed Olive and Adam (in honor of Adam Driver) once the story turned into a novel. The Star Wars references were also cut but the cover still features characters designed to resemble Driver and Ridley.
Who Stars in ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
In July 2025, Reinhert announced her involvement in the film adaptation as an executive producer and star. Her onscreen love interest was announced days later and it was none other than Ridley’s real-life husband. The movie will be released on Prime Video on September 23.
Have Daisy or Adam Spoken About ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
Ridley was asked about the connection while speaking to Collider in 2023, to which she replied, “I mean, honestly, for anyone to just write a book is so impressive, let alone a New York Times bestseller, let alone something inspired by something I was part of. That’s very thrilling.”
She continued: “So, thank you, if anyone’s reading this. Whoever wrote The Love Hypothesis and The Hurricane Wars. Wow. F***ing cool.”
Bateman, meanwhile, gushed about his wife’s support for his work when asked by ExtraTV in June 2026.
That loving feeling! Courteney Cox’s romantic past is full of bright stars and big names, which echoes her career.
After dancing in the dark with Bruce Springsteen in 1984, the Alabama native landed the role of Monica Geller on Friends in 1994 — and she rose to superstardom shortly after.
As the show took off, Cox’s off-screen dating life became as exciting as some of her onscreen romances. While Monica was hooking up with the likes of Tom Selleck’s Dr. Richard Burke and Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing on the comedy, the actress was cozying up to some of Hollywood’s leading men.
“Relationships are tougher than I thought,” the Cougar Town alum told USA Today in 1997, after ending a six-year relationship with Michael Keaton. “And I’ve got a lot of work to do on myself.”
At the time, the Dirt star revealed she hadn’t given up hope on actors successfully dating one another, adding, “The most important thing is to be with someone who’s creative and passionate about what they do.”
Cox later took her own advice, by marrying fellow Scream star, David Arquette in 1999. The two were together for more than a decade before announcing their split in October 2010. Once the divorce was finalized, the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective actress opened up to Ellen DeGeneres about her dynamic with Arquette outside of marriage.
“He’s my best friend in the world,” Cox said of her ex-husband in January 2013 on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “I love him.”
The actress did, however, recommend that people try to avoid divorce if possible, noting that in her case it happened to work out. “He is my best friend and we’ve both grown and changed, and I think we both appreciate each other more,” Cox added. “I hope he does. I do.”
That same year, the Bedtime Stories actress found love again with musician Johnny McDaid, whom she got engaged to after six months of dating. The two called off their engagement in 2015, but later rekindled their romance.
“Well, we love each other and we are — yes, we’re happy!” Cox told Us Weekly exclusively in May 2016. McDaid gushed about his love to Us saying, “I know that I’ve never loved like I love this woman.”
News broke on June 27, 2026, that the actress and musician officially called it quits after more than a decade together. Multiple media outlets, including People and the Daily Mail, reported on the split.
Scroll down to see which famous faces Cox has been linked to over the years:
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