Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin; Courtesy of Amanda Stanton/instagram

Amanda Stanton

Amanda, who shares daughters Kinsley and Charlie with ex-husband Nick Buonfiglio, got engaged to Josh Murray while filming season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise in 2016. Their engagement didn’t last, however, and Amanda returned for Bachelor in Paradise season 4. While she had a fling with Robby Hayes, Amanda quit the show during week 4.

Amanda’s first post-Bachelor relationship with was Bobby Jacobs. While the duo moved in together in Laguna Beach in early 2019, they announced their breakup that April. During their relationship, Amanda was arrested for domestic battery after an altercation in Las Vegas, but the case and charges were later dismissed. She detailed her splits from Nick, Ben, Josh, Robby and Bobby in her 2019 book, Now Accepting Roses.

“I was talking to Jen Saviano. We think, as far as we know, we are the only two single people left from our season,” Amanda told Us in April 2020 while reflecting on season 20. “Everyone is either married, has a boyfriend or is engaged. Even people, like, that were sent home earlier on in our season.”

Amanda, who launched her Lani the Label clothing line in 2019, is still friendly with both Ben and Lauren.

“[Ben has] always been super sweet to me and kind. When I was going through a breakup or when my book came out or my clothing line launched, he always, like, texts me and says congratulations or wishes me a happy birthday,” she told Us.

Amanda went Instagram official with attorney Oren Agman in August 2020 after secretly dating for months. After their split, Amanda started dating Michael Fogel. Fogel proposed in December 2021. The pair wed in September 2022. Amanda announced in August 2023 that she was pregnant with her and Fogel’s first child, her third. Amanda and Fogel welcomed their daughter, Rosie, in January 2024.

Daveigh Chase’s father says the late actress remains “constantly” on his mind as he marks what would have been her 36th birthday. John Schwallier reflected on his daughter’s life approximately one year after the former child star died at 35. While the years preceding Chase’s death were marked by estrangement, addiction, and homelessness, her father said he continues thinking about her every day. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed acquired immunodeficiency syndrome as Chase’s cause of death, with chronic polysubstance use identified as a significant contributing condition.

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Schwallier reached out to the Daily Mail to acknowledge that his daughter would have turned 36 on Friday, July 24. “Every day I am thinking about her constantly,” he said.

Chase’s father also lamented how few personal photographs he has of the actress following years of estrangement. “The sad part is the only pictures I have of [Daveigh] is what I’ve printed on the internet, since her mother kept me away from her,” he claimed. Chase’s mother, Cathy Chase, has not responded to that allegation.

Despite the family conflict surrounding his daughter’s final years, Schwallier wanted the focus of his message to remain on Chase. “She was taken from this life way too early,” he said. “I just want to wish her a happy birthday today and [tell her] that she is on my mind every day.”

John Schwallier Recounts His Final Words To His Daughter

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Schwallier was in Las Vegas on June 16, 2025, when he received a call informing him that Chase was experiencing a medical emergency. Roy Hernandez, a man who identified himself as Chase’s boyfriend, allegedly told him that the actress was moving in and out of consciousness. Hernandez reportedly put the phone on speaker so that Schwallier could speak to his daughter.

“I just told her I love her and that I’ve been looking for you. I told her, ‘I have a place to take you if you make it out of the hospital,’” Schwallier recalled. “I said, ‘I’m on my way, I will be there in three or four hours.’ I made it to the hospital in about two and a half.”

When Schwallier arrived at the Los Angeles hospital, he said he was devastated by his daughter’s physical condition. “She must’ve weighed 65 pounds and looked even worse than that video going around,” he claimed. “I touched her thigh above her knee, and it was just bone.”

Her Father Hopes The Tragedy Raises Awareness

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Although Schwallier remains devastated by his daughter’s death, he said he hopes the medical examiner’s findings can encourage greater awareness surrounding HIV and AIDS. He previously admitted that he was not surprised when he learned the official cause. “I’m not surprised,” he said quietly.

Schwallier said Chase had become so emaciated that he initially struggled to believe the woman in the hospital was his daughter. “I was beside myself at first when I finally saw her,” he recalled. “I thought they were hustling me at first.” “I didn’t think it was my daughter.”

Deaths related to AIDS have declined significantly worldwide since their peak in the early 2000s. However, the material provided notes that some countries and regions have experienced increases in HIV infections or AIDS deaths in more recent years.

Daveigh Chase’s Mother Also Spent Years Searching

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Cathy has offered her own account of desperately searching for her daughter after losing contact. She said she regularly checked Google and Reddit for any indication of where Chase might be. Cathy and her younger son also reportedly drove through parts of Los Angeles and visited homeless encampments while following possible leads.

“It upsets me because people are saying I must’ve been a bad mother, but I never gave up on her,” Cathy said. “As a mother, you don’t give up on your child. I was hoping she would still come home.”

Cathy believes Chase’s struggles with addiction began after a motorcycle accident around 2016. The actress reportedly injured her back and was prescribed pain medication. “She was seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people. I never kicked my daughter out. She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs. That was the beginning,” Cathy claimed.

‘The Ring’ Star Became A Hollywood Child Prodigy

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Chase began appearing in commercials at 3 years old before moving into major film and television roles. Her big break arrived in 2002 when she voiced Lilo in Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch.” Her performance earned a Young Artist Award for best voice-over work in the pre-teen category. Chase later reprised the role in “Stitch! The Movie” and the animated television series.

She became equally recognizable for portraying Samara in “The Ring” alongside Naomi Watts. Her terrifying performance as the long-haired girl behind the cursed videotape earned her an MTV Movie Award for best villain in 2003. Chase also appeared in “Donnie Darko” and later played Rhonda Volmer across 32 episodes of HBO’s “Big Love.”

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is recuperating after reportedly suffering “significant injuries” in a July car crash.

“Kyle Shanahan was involved in a car accident last week where he suffered non-life-threatening injuries,” a Saturday, July 25, statement shared via the team’s social media read. “Coach Shanahan and the 49ers organization would like to sincerely thank all first responders involved for their efforts and care.”

Shanahan, 46, has been the head coach of the 49ers since 2017. The team kicked off their training camp ahead of the 2026-2027 NFL season earlier this week.

“Coach Shanahan will participate in team activities on a limited basis at the start of training camp while he recovers,” the statement added of Shanahan’s role in team prep for the next season. “Assistant Head Coach Chris Foerster, along with team coordinators, will handle head coach responsibilities during this period.”

Shanahan has not further addressed his injuries, which ESPN reported are “significant.” According to the outlet, the NFL coach “broke his nose, three ribs, his hand, needed over 40 stitches in his face and suffered a severe concussion.”

The Niners are currently gearing up for another NFL season with star athletes including Brock Purdy, Fred Warner, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk and Christian McCaffrey at the helm. The team’s football commitments even impacted McCaffrey’s pregnant wife, Olivia Culpo, childbirth plans.

“I scheduled [a C-section] on a day Christian has a slightly easier [day], basically it’s not an off-day for him,” Culpo, 34, said in a Thursday, July 23, TikTok video about her delivery intentions. “He’ll be able to come just for the birth and then, aside from that, he’ll have to go back. So, it’s going to be different [from] my first birth. I will be without my husband.”

Culpo and McCaffrey, 30, are currently expecting their second baby. They previously welcomed daughter Collette in July 2025, also during the running back’s training camp.

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Related: Christian McCaffrey Had Football on His Mind at Olivia Wedding, Coach Says

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On what should have been the happiest day of his life, Christian McCaffrey was thinking about football technique — at least according to his head coach.  San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan knows how competitive McCaffrey, 28, is, which means his star running back probably had other things on his mind on the day […]

“A common misconception is that football season starts in September when all the games start, but it really doesn’t,” Culpo acknowledged in her upload. “It starts at the end of July because that’s when they go to camp and it just goes right into the season.”

While McCaffrey will likely be unavailable to help with newborn duties, Culpo stressed that she has a “village” of family, friends and a nanny to step in amid her husband’s absence.

“I’ve actually been so emotional lately,” Culpo added on Thursday of her pregnancy journey. “Christian’s leaving for the season, [which] is so sad. Everything feels overwhelming.”

Katy Perry is slamming President Donald Trump’s administration after the official White House TikTok account featured her hit song “Firework” in a video highlighting ongoing U.S. military strikes in Iran.

“I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes,” the singer, 41, wrote via X on Saturday, July 25. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”

She continued, “I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments. To see a message of self-worth and upliftment weaponized to soundtrack destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for. My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”

On Thursday, July 24, the White House shared unclassified footage of U.S. airstrikes on what appeared to be Iran military infrastructure. The video, which showed the missile strikes in black and white, is set to Perry’s song, focusing on her “boom boom” and “even brighter than the moon” lyrics. (Perry sold the rights to her music in 2023 for a reported $225 million.)

Related: Donald Trump’s White House Admits to Trolling Media With Taylor Swift TikTok

The White House has the internet talking after using one of Taylor Swift’s hit singles on TikTok despite President Donald Trump’s online feud with the pop star. On Monday, November 3, the official White House TikTok account posted a video of President Trump, 79, and his administration largely based on Swift’s No. 1 hit “The […]

“Iran has been warned,” the White House captioned the video. When asked to comment on Perry’s claim she was not consulted about the use of her song in the video, a spokesperson for the White House referred Us to a video shared via X featuring Perry cosplaying as an American soldier for a previous music video.

@whitehouse

Iran has been warned. 🎆

♬ original sound – The White House

Trump, 80, and his administration are facing increased scrutiny over the unpopular decision to go to war with Iran — according to a July Washington Post-ISOS poll, 68 percent of Americans say the war in Iran is not worth fighting. Despite the U.S. military’s overwhelming might, Iran has been successful in closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway for various goods, causing gas prices and the cost of other necessary items to skyrocket.

To date, Trump has claimed at least 32 times that the war was ending, near an end or over, yet the conflict wages on with no end in sight as his Department of Defense requests an additional $67 billion in supplemental funding.

Perry, for her part, is just the latest in a growing list of performers and entertainers to condemn Trump and his White House for using their art without their explicit permission.

“Please do not ever use ⁠my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous ​nonsense. Fck [f***] ice,” Ariana Grande wrote in direct response to a June, pro-immigration enforcement video shared by the White House featuring her son “Bye.” After a spokesperson for the singer, 33, confirmed to Us it was, in fact, Grande who wrote the comment, the White House removed the audio from the controversial video.

Singer Kesha also slammed Trump and the White House for using her song “Blow” in another pro-war TikTok Video prior to the conflict in Iran.

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“It’s come to my attention that The White House has used one of my sons on TikTok to incite violence and threaten war,” she wrote in March. “Trying to make light of war is disgusting and inhumane. I absolutely do NOT approve of my music being used to promote violence of any kind.”

White House director of communications, Steven Cheung, responded to Kesha at the time, claiming performers were simply “falling for this.”

“This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about,” Cheung claimed, before using Trump’s signature social media sign-off. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

HBO has developed a reputation for making must-see television that becomes monocultural, but one of its greatest shows ever was never a major awards contender. Despite the praise that it received from television critics, The Wire was underrated throughout its entire run and had to be fought to get renewed. It received only two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for its five seasons, and (at the time) had no major stars involved. The Wire isn’t just a great work of television but a groundbreaking leap forward in modern storytelling, offering sharp sociopolitical critiques through brilliantly written drama. The fact that The Wire exists is a miracle, as is the fact that the series is still so relevant 25 years after its debut.

While not directly based on a true story, The Wire was created by the former journalist David Simon, who had spent over a decade on the crime beat in Baltimore, Maryland before he got into television. Simon had absorbed a lot of information about the systemic issues facing different institutions in the city he loved, and he had the insight to understand how they were all connected. That The Wire was inspired by some of the real people and circumstances Simon experienced made the show even more realistic and helped connect to the larger ideas that he was hinting at. The Wire was a show of the moment when it originally aired, but now it serves as an origin story for current societal woes.

‘The Wire’ Is a Different Type of Crime Epic

While it was hardly the first crime show that attempted to take a more grounded perspective, The Wire’s most radical quality is the enormity of its perspective. The series doesn’t frame any group of characters as “heroes” or “villains,” and employs a massive ensemble without a focal protagonist. It’s not just that The Wire depicts the “war on drugs” from the perspective of both cops and criminals, but that the show puts both of their goals in context; economics is what drives the entire series, as city spending policies and the profit to be made off of illegal substances only exacerbate the violence that puts innocent people in the crossfire. While Simon shows an incredible degree of cynicism in institutions and what they represent, he displays nothing but empathy for individuals, no doubt inspired by his experiences as a journalist. That the show was able to toggle between the various members of such a stacked cast is still an incredible feat, given that there are prominent characters that are absent for major story arcs and episodes.

The Wire had the goal of being informative, but the series understands that an audience needs to be taught how to watch it. Simon’s approach to structuring the seasons was such a great device, because he was able to steadily increase the complexity and widen the aperture. Season 1 is solely focused on the drug trade, but each subsequent installment adds a new degree of infrastructure that fits into the larger story; Season 2 examines the role of the shipping ports within drug trafficking, Season 3 looks at how local elections influence policy, Season 4 shows how elementary-age children are wrapped up within criminal activities, and Season 5 allows Simon to critique his own industry by showcasing the corrupt practices of journalists who write misleading or fictitious stories. Slowly growing the ensemble was a smart way to ensure that viewers didn’t get overwhelmed, and it makes The Wire more rewarding upon a rewatch. Although there was some criticism at the time that Season 2 was “boring,” its ideas about honorable people being corrupted set the stage for the political and educational subtext that follows.

‘The Wire’ Changed Prestige Television

The Wire would be the first of many projects that Simon created for HBO that addressed topical issues, but the show stands out for capturing a specific moment in time. Unlike television shows that try to be relevant and quickly feel antiquated, The Wire can be viewed today as a period piece about the escalation of division within the Bush era. Many of the concepts that Simon hints at would become major topics of discussion in the decades that followed, including gentrification in Black communities, corruption within law enforcement, and sensationalistic news stories that contributed to stereotyping.

The Wire is the rare show that ends just as strongly as it begins because all five seasons are masterpieces and don’t feel derivative. Season 3 is so precise and methodical in its breakdown of how local politics work that the emotional undercurrent of Season 4 hits like a ton of bricks because it shows the direct consequences of who is elected. The show’s pilot, “The Target,” is a masterclass in setting tone, and the finale, “-30-,” is both introspective and ambiguous, allowing the audience to make their own judgments about what Simon was trying to say. Although the influence of The Wire can be felt in how many current dramas are made, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t just as entertaining to watch today.

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 2 days ago

LEGO has been making incredible licensed playsets for years, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, both Marvel and DC, and, you know, any other nerd franchise you can think of. Thanks to Brent Waller, an inventive Australian fan who happens to work as a 3-D artist, The X-Files made it through the LEGO Ideas process and will soon become a reality. To celebrate, LEGO brought back Gillian Anderson as Agent Scully for a fun sneak peek trailer:

Recreate Mulder’s Office In Your Office

The X-Files LEGO set clocks in at 1,478 pieces, and includes eight minifigs: Mulder and Scully, Skinner, The Cigarette Smoking Man (or Carl Busch to get around the whole “Smoking” thing), Mr. X, Agent Krycek, a Gray Alien, and best of all, The Flukeman. It’s a two-layered set with the FBI office on the bottom, and then a forest up top complete with a hovering UFO. As evidence that this was designed by a fan, Mulder’s office includes pencils sticking out of the ceiling and sunflower seeds. There are also new tiles that show the “I Want To Believe” poster and “The Truth Is Out There.”

Waller explained in interviews that he first put together Mulder’s office back in 2014 while watching the show. Trying to capture The X-Files in a single LEGO diorama is impossible, but when you think about it, the office and a UFO encounter do hit the high points. The minifigs changed from the original LEGO Ideas submission, and there’s no Tooms trapped in a vent, but it looks fantastic.

The LEGO Ideas Program Is Filled With 90’s Nostalgia

The X-Files set went through the LEGO Ideas program, where fans upload their designs, and if they earn over 10,000 votes, LEGO designers will take a look at it and see if it can become an official set. Also in the works from the program are the Griswolds’ House from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and the Megazord from Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, while past sets were made including E.T., Jaws, Seinfeld, and Friends. To say that the LEGO Ideas program has been a hit would be an understatement.

Anyone who buys The X-Files set from August 4th through the 10th will also receive a bonus gift: Scully’s Lab from the FBI Academy. It’s significantly smaller, only 221 pieces, but can combine with the main set to add to the diorama. As for the price, The X-Files set will be available for $199.99, proving that, again, nostalgia comes with a price.

It’s great to see Gillian Anderson back as Dana Scully, even if it’s only for a commercial, but then again, The X-Files revival series wasn’t exactly beloved by fans of the original run. A new, updated take on the series is in the works by Black Panther writer/director Ryan Coogler. Recent rumors point towards it being a movie rather than an ongoing series. Until we know for sure, fans can finally enjoy putting together their favorite FBI field agents in LEGO form, and who knows, if the set does well enough, maybe we’ll get a LEGO version of the Peacock’s house from “Home!”

You can buy The X-Files set directly on LEGO.com.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 10 seconds ago

Back in the ‘90s, Deep Space Nine seemed like an insane idea for a spinoff of The Next Generation. Like, there’s a space station instead of a ship? And it just sits there instead of boldly going anywhere? Plus, some of our most important characters include a spy, a terrorist, and a Space Jesus? On paper, all of this sounded like it would be a disaster. But DS9 ultimately became something far better than a TNG spinoff. It became, in fact, the best Star Trek show ever made. That didn’t happen right away, though, as it took the show some time to find its voice.

Fittingly enough, the biggest early challenge was differentiating DS9 from what came before. The commanding officer of these shows is always the de facto main character, so it was important to make sure Sisko was very distinct from Picard. Season 1 made a token effort to do this; we see how much Sisko actively dislikes the Enterprise captain in “Emissary” and that he has a much more direct way of dealing with Q in “Q-Less.” However, it wasn’t until the Season 2 episode “Second Sight” that the writers established that Picard was “the explorer” and Sisko was “the builder,” which helped them transform DS9 into Trek’s best show.

Humanizing Star Trek’s Most Complicated Character

The plot of “Second Sight” is that Commander Sisko meets and falls in love with a mysterious woman. He can’t find much information about her, and he is suitably shocked to meet another woman who looks exactly like his new gal but who has no memory of ever meeting him. With the help of Dax, Sisko learns that the woman he fell in love with is actually a telepathic projection from this other woman; she is unhappy with her marriage to an egotistical terraformer, but her people mate for life, so she feels stuck. The psychic projection is killing her, and her husband ultimately sacrifices himself so she can be happy.

One of the most interesting things about “Second Sight” is that it was (according to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) originally written to be a Bashir story, with the horndog doctor being the one who falls in love with a mysterious woman. It was then-showrunner Michael Piller’s idea to make this a Sisko episode instead. His primary concern was that Deep Space Nine had made the commander a very aloof figure, and he wanted to humanize his character. Along the way, he hoped to more fully define Sisko in a way the show never had before.

Sisko The Builder

Piller’s partner in crime was Deep Space Nine writer and future showrunner Ira Steven Behr. He and Piller “had conversations about making Sisko the builder, on establishing the difference between him and Picard, the explorer. Sisko is a builder, he stays with a project until the finish.” This had a transformative effect on the writing staff and helped them craft better stories for the commanding officer. “That helped us to see Sisko in a whole lot of different ways. He’s a guy who’s solid and real and human,” Behr said.

Honestly, this insight is quite brilliant. What they said about Picard was perfectly in line with the captain we saw in The Next Generation. Why didn’t Picard stay to work on the family vineyard with his brother? Later, why didn’t he take the underwater research facility gig after recovering from assimilation? Because, like Kirk before him, Picard’s first, best destiny is exploring the final frontier. By contrast, Sisko is a family man. He was hesitant to take the Deep Space Nine assignment, but once he was there, he could never leave because he wanted to build a better world for his son, his crew, and the people of Bajor.

What The Worlds Need Now, Is Love, Sweet Love

So, where does “Second Sight” come into these revelations about who Sisko is as a character? Simple: giving Sisko a new romance develops his character, showing how he’s attempting to move on from the tragic death of his wife. Additionally, this plot helps viewers identify with the character. We may not know what it’s like to be a Starfleet officer or a Space Jesus, but everyone watching at home knows what it’s like to fall in love. After this, Sisko progressively became the emotional center of Deep Space Nine, anchoring killer stories like “Far Beyond the Stars” with the sheer weight of his relatable humanity.

None of that would have happened, though, if the show’s best writers hadn’t gone out of their way to make Sisko as different from Picard as they possibly could!

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 27 seconds ago

You’ve heard of The Netflix Effect, how a show available to stream on Netflix will suddenly surge in popularity and bring in new viewers, most famously this happened with Breaking Bad. You, the discerning movie watcher that you are, may also be aware of the Blank Check Bounce, when al of a sudden, the long-running podcast about director’s filmographies will suddenly be available on streaming. And yet, it was The Flop House, a bad movie podcast airing since 2007, that pulled off the impossible and has pushed Jem into the Amazon Streaming Top 10. 

One Flop House Episode And Jem Is Trending

The Flop House co-host Dan McCoy, a former writer for The Daily Show,  has an unironic love for Jem that he forced upon his co-hosts Elliot Kalan, writer for DC’s Harley Quinn comic and showrunner for Netflix’s upcoming Ghostbusters cartoon, and Stuart Wellington, a New York bar owner, Warhammer nerd, and the world’s biggest Castle Freak fan, along with the listeners of the July 18th episode. For over 90 minutes, Dan explained in detail what Jem is, broke down two of the most absurd episodes, and explained why she’s truly, truly outrageous. 

Jem aired on Saturday Mornings from 1985 through 1988, and then in reruns for years after, as a counter to Transformers and G.I.Joe, both aimed at boys, Jem was aimed at girls. Behind the scenes, it was the same company and production teams at Hasbro, Sunbow Productions, and Marvel Comics, working on all of them. 

Jem herself is Jerrica Benton, CEO of Starlight Music, who was also secretly the rock superstar Jem. Using an advanced AI computer called Synergy, Jessica transforms into Jem, predating Hannah Montana by 20 years. With her band The Holograms, they have episodic adventures each week that usually put them up against The Misfits, the evil counterparts to Jem and the Holograms. You better believe that every episode includes 2-3 incredibly catchy song sequences that are peak 80s. 

An Insane Cartoon Nostalgia Trip

Dan McCoy was quick to point out during his rundown that this is the show he’ll toss on late at night when he needs to relax and get to sleep. Jem is, as with most Saturday Morning Cartoons, incredibly formulaic, even if the individual episodes are insane. He made Stuart and Elliot attempt to guess what happens at the end of “Journey Through Time,” a time-travel episode where Jem and the Holograms rock through the Renaissance, the Blitz, and Woodstock. It was topped by “The Presidential Dilemma” which has the band working with the President to solve the mystery of the D.C. Marauder. 

It’s a testament to how many Floppers are out there that a week later, Jem is still in the Amazon Prime Top 10 Shows.Missing from any Top 10 is Jem and the Holograms, the historic flop that left theaters two weeks after it debuted in 2015. The only thing keeping it from the all-time lists is that it was so cheap to make, only $5 million, which is significantly less than a true adaptation of Jem should cost. 

The Flop House is available to stream on all major podcast platforms, and is part of the Maximum Fun Network.Every other Saturday they talk about a bad movie, and in between, they do exactly what Dan McCoy did with Jem and talk about whatever they do for a “mini” episode. The quotes had to be used as the Jem deep dive went on for longer than the runtime of Jem and the Holograms, but it’s a fantastic episode that is best paired with a binge of the 80s classic on Amazon Prime Video.

Jem is available on Amazon Prime Video.

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 7 seconds ago

If your social media feed is like mine, it’s been filled with people saying “No one told me that Masters of the Universe was this much fun!” Closely followed by “I tried to tell everyone not to let He-Man go the way of Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves!” The thing is, that the first attempt at a live-action He-Man in 40 years was never going to be a box office hit. It didn’t matter. It was destined to be a streaming hit on Amazon Prime, where it’s been at Number One since debuting, and that is what Amazon was planning on all along. Thankfully, to the streamer, it’s a success, and now we can brace for spinoffs and sequels.

Masters of the Universe bounced around Hollywood for decades before Amazon MGM scooped it up in 2023 and finally made it happen. When it made $113 million, far below expectations, Amazon’s Domestic Distribution Chief, Kevin Wilson said: “this opening is exactly the kind of critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy—building awareness and engagement that will carry well beyond the theatrical window.” That’s what happened, and now, Amazon is having the last laugh. 

Masters Of The Universe Was Destined For Amazon Prime

Fans of the He-Man franchise were upset over the lack of promotion Amazon put behind the film this past Spring. There weren’t a lot of commercials, though the press tour was successful and endeared the cast to the fanbase (except for Jared Leto), but now we can see that Amazon was waiting for the streaming debut. Now there’s commercials everywhere celebrating the film’s launch on Amazon Prime Video. The theatrical release was a fun throwaway to the fans. Streaming was the goal. 

Nicholas Galitzine stepped into the fur-lined underwear of Adam Prince/He-Man, and after acknowledging the original, Dolph Lundgren, he made the role his own. Masters of the Universe is a campy, unserious sci-fi fantasy romp very similar to Honor Among Thieves, and Galitzine holds it all together with a charismatic performance that matches the wild tone. Camila Mendes (Veronica from Riverdale) turned Teela into her second breakout performance. The entire cast, including Idris Elba, Morena Baccarin, and Alison Brie, understood the assignment.

Amazon’s Invested In The Future Of He-Man

Director Travis Knight has a talent with 80s properties. First he directed Bumblebee and salvaged Michael Bay’s Transformer universe, and now he cut the Gordian Knot that has been Masters of the Universe. After his stop-motion fantasy Wildwood comes out, it will be interesting to see if Amazon keeps him onboard for the inevitable sequel, and as teased in the film, the She-Ra spinoff. 

Netflix has been lambasted over not bringing their movies to movie theaters, but Amazon may have shown precisely why it can be a smart move. Kevin Wilson was right. The theatrical run gained the positive press they wanted to ensure a massive debut when it was available on streaming. Now there’s no sharing revenue with movie theaters, no arguing with foreign distributors, only subscribers to their own streaming service. If only Paramount would acknowledge the rabid fanbase for Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves the way Amazon has with Masters of the Universe, but if nothing else, at least one more trip to Eternia is coming.