By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 1 hour ago

Recently, Paramount made the surprisingly sudden decision to cancel Starfleet Academy shortly after the end of its first season. Starfleet Academy was designed to attract younger audiences, and it failed to do so. Its characters and storytelling drove away older fans while failing to capture that coveted youth demographic.

With any luck, Paramount will learn from this show’s failure and learn the truth behind the biggest lie in Star Trek. Namely, that the franchise must court younger viewers to survive. That’s never been true. In reality, simply following the blueprint for The Original Series is enough for new shows to attract both younger and older audiences, a formula that has worked for nearly four decades.

Fandom: The Next Generation

The most obvious example that the Original Series formula works is, of course, the success of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The show featured a new crew and new adventures, but at its heart, it was about the starship Enterprise and its mission to explore strange new worlds. We also got some entertaining new characters, but more of them are throwbacks to Kirk’s era than you might think. 

The android Data was clearly meant as a stand-in for Spock, and like the legendary Vulcan before him, his attempts to understand what makes humans tick served as a reflection of our own humanity. Riker was (as confirmed by the Season 2 Writer’s Guide) modeled after Captain Kirk. Worf was an ongoing reminder of Kirk’s old nemesis, the Klingons. Dr. Pulaski channeled much of Dr. McCoy’s famous crankiness, and even wunderkind Wesley Crusher was an echo of Chekov, whom Gene Roddenberry created to appeal to younger audiences.

Simply put, Star Trek: The Next Generation very explicitly modeled itself after The Original Series. Its success was so (ahem) out of this world that it launched the franchise’s Golden Age. An era that ended only when Paramount finally began deviating from its winning formula.

Playing The Hits

It’s not hard to see how Star Trek: Voyager similarly built off the formula of The Original Series. As with TNG, producers once again focused on an intrepid crew constantly making contact with new and exciting alien life. The premise that our titular starship was stranded on the other side of the galaxy helped this show channel TOS even more explicitly by bringing back the vibe of going where (in a quite literal sense) no man had gone before.

There were, of course, parallels with TOS characters: Tuvok is Spock 3.0 (no, I’m not counting Xon, and you can’t make me!), and the grumpy Doctor is Dr. McCoy 3.0 (albeit a holographic one). Harry Kim was, like Wesley and Chekov before him, an attempt to appeal to younger audiences. Interestingly, Voyager shared significant DNA with the highly successful Next Generation: B’Elanna Torres was a new iteration of K’helyr, TNG’s popular half-human, half-Klingon. Seven of Nine was an ongoing reminder of Captain Picard’s assimilation. Finally, Tom Paris was very explicitly based on TNG’s Nick Locarno character, who was also played by Robert Duncan McNeil. 

Even The Exception Followed The Rules

On paper, Deep Space Nine is the anomaly: as a show set on a space station, it is seemingly the antithesis of the Original Series formula. However, the early show still echoed the TOS focus of life on the frontier, and it echoed TNG more than you might think. The entire relationship between Cardassians and Bajorans was set up in TNG. It featured Miles O’Brien from the beginning, and it later added the fan-favorite TNG character, Worf. 

Finally, by Season 3, Sisko had his very own starship with which to engage in adventures on either side of the wormhole. The addition of Worf and the Defiant made DS9 more like The Next Generation (itself an iteration of The Original Series) than ever before. Uncoincidentally, these changes also made the show popular enough to earn a dubious honor: it was the last Star Trek show to get seven seasons.

The Pattern Is Clear

Star Trek: Enterprise was infamously canceled after four seasons. Its first two seasons tried to follow The Original Series formula, though audiences didn’t cotton to changes like Vulcans (save for the hottie in the catsuit) being complete jerks. Season 3 tried to modernize the series’ formula by focusing on an ongoing story clearly inspired by 9/11. Season 4 righted the ship with some stellar episodes, but the damage was done, and the show ended with one of the worst finales in TV history.

The same thing happened to Star Trek: Discovery. While that show’s early days had its detractors, most fans agree that the first two seasons were the best. The show channeled TOS in some provocative ways, including illustrating the brutality of Starfleet’s earlier war with the Klingons and the horrors of the Mirror Universe. Audiences also loved the introduction of a young Captain Pike and Spock so much that they headlined Strange New Worlds, the beloved spinoff that is popular explicitly because it’s modeled so heavily after The Original Series.

Conversely, Star Trek: Picard didn’t get good until its final season, and that’s because it finally became one big cast reunion for The Next Generation. This season reunited our favorite TNG characters and even focused on familiar bad guys like the Borg. Fans loved this season so much that they practically begged Paramount to give us a Star Trek: Legacy spinoff series. Meanwhile, Starfleet Academy deviated from the formula entirely, focusing on different characters (young, vulgar cadets) and a different setting (the titular academy). Nobody begged for more; in fact, the show was canceled after one season due to low viewership.

The Blueprint Is There, Will Paramount Actually Use It?

There you have it, folks. While each new Star Trek series gives the franchise a new coat of paint, it’s clear that the most successful shows are the ones that draw heavily from The Original Series or its successor show, The Next Generation. Some worry that sticking to a 60-year-old blueprint means that things will get repetitive and boring, but that’s the brilliance of Gene Roddenberry’s amazing creation: it allows for endless different stories, technologies, alien races, and so on. Fans just want the characters encountering all of this to be in the vein of Kirk and Picard’s iconic Trek through the stars.

Now, Paramount is on the cusp of reinventing this franchise yet again. Doubtlessly, there will be plenty of internal debates about the direction new shows and movies should take. Sadly, NuTrek, with its astonishing failure rate, is a startlingly expensive example of what not to do. From the most hardcore fans to the most casual viewers, nobody wants another slick sci-fi show that is Star Trek in name only. 

By sticking to Roddenberry’s successful blueprint, Paramount can reinstate a new golden age for the franchise. Otherwise, they risk destroying their most vital IP and fully driving away the fans they will so desperately need when the dust finally settles on these endless mergers and acquisitions. If that happens, though, the Star Trek fandom has a handy catchphrase they should go ahead and start practicing: “Kurtzman, when the Trek fell!” 

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 33 seconds ago

Supernatural felt like it was on the air forever, 15 seasons and 327 episodes is an incredible run, but it’s even more impressive for a genre show. That’s why it’s hard to remember, but way back in the second episode, “Wendigo,” Alden Ehrenreich made his acting debut as the young Ben Collins, and while he’d go on to star in Weapons, Ironheart, and Beautiful Creatures, his most infamous role was no fault of his own. Ehrenreich starred as young Han Solo in Solo, the most unneeded prequel of all time, and a film that destroyed the entire Star Wars side-story project Disney had been pursuing, which is a little ironic, as his very on-screen role was so good, it helped turn Supernatural into the juggernaut it would become.

Sam And Dean Take On One Of Supernatural’s Best Monsters

“Wendigo” is the second episode of Supernatural. which means it had the task of setting the tone and format for the rest of the series. The pilot introduced characters, set up the world, and established stakes, but “Wendigo” was the first real Monster of the Week episode. Back before it was a battle against demons and angels, the show mined folklore and urban legends for its villains, and the Algonquian legend of the Wiindigoo, a ravenous, gigantic, emaciated cannibal, made for the perfect introduction to the Winchesters. 

Alden Ehrenreich’s Ben Collins is wandering in the wilderness with his older sister, Hayley, as they try to find their other brother, Tommy, who went missing. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) find the siblings, and thanks to their dad’s journal, deduce it was a Wendigo that took Tommy. The Wendigo they find isn’t a furry, bestial monster, instead it’s closer to the actual tradition, a strange-looking, gaunt, humanoid that has more in common with Slender Man than Big Foot, but it’s also one of the best-looking monsters of Season 1.

The episode plays out as you’d expect, with Sam and Dean losing horribly to the beast before they outsmart it and snatch victory from its ravenous jaws of defeat. Supernatural eventually got stuck in a rut with subsequent episodes playing out in the same fashion, but given its later seasons’ emphasis on the mythology arc, it’s refreshing to go back and see such a simple Monster of the Week story that lets Sam and Dean be, well, Sam and Dean, going up against a beast from classic folklore.

From All-Time Great To All-Time Flop

Following the success of “Wendigo,” Supernatural became a hit, and Alden Ehrenreich hasn’t had to stop working yet. Supernatural fans should at least check out Beautiful Creatures, based on the young adult novel of the same name, where he plays a teen who falls in love with a young witch. It’s Southern Gothic, giving it a sense of style and charm that what should have been his breakout film, Solo, completely lacks. 

It’s not Ehrenreich’s fault that Solo was a failure. Asking him to play one of the most iconic roles in movie history that made Harrison Ford a movie star was an impossible task. The fact that he does as well as he does is a testament to his acting ability and his own natural charm. Solo was the victim of studio interference.

Supernatural had to overcome its own periods of studio interference, and its spin-off, The Winchesters, also had a rough start to production. Years after it finally came to an end, it’s fun to look back at the saga of Sam and Dean and realize how good we had it. Two brothers, a 1967 Chevy Impala, and a Monster of the Week became one of the greatest genre shows in history.

Jen Shah was indicted for her alleged role in a long-running telemarketing scheme while filming season 2 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.

Bravo viewers met Shah during season 1 of RHOSLC, which filmed in 2019 and aired in 2020. She quickly became a polarizing character on the franchise, with fans questioning her job and need for several assistants.

“People will come to me and I’ll invest in their companies, so we have got a lot of different investments, all different kinds of things,” Shah said of her career on Access Hollywood’s “Housewives Nightcap” in November 2020. “I’ve been able to do it because what I’ve been able to carve out, the niche I’ve been able to carve out in the direct response marketing world.”

Not long after production began on season 2 of RHOSLC — which also starred Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose, Heather Gay, Lisa Barlow and Mary Cosby — news broke on March 30, 2021, that Shah and one of her assistants who appeared on the show, Stuart Smith, were arrested in Utah.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Every defendant in the case has pleaded guilty to their respective charges as of July 2022, when Shah became the final defendant to change her plea. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a plea deal. After Shah was convicted, she was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. Shah reported to prison in 2023, and was later released in December 2025.

Scroll through for a breakdown of the charges and everything we know about Shah’s legal drama:

This is an ongoing article that was originally published in March 2021 and last updated on April 1, 2026.

Brittany Renner seemingly wants all the smoke behind Paul Jermaine Washington III, her son with PJ Washington. She went from jokingly defending him a couple of days ago to blasting his parental involvement. Things escalated when PJ seemingly took sides in the internet beef between Renner and his wife, Alisah Chanel. Meanwhile, some internet users found themselves on Rashad Scroggins‘ Instagram page.

After photos of their friends-to-lovers journey disappeared from their IG feeds, the people had questions under his other posts. This time, the internet clocked it. Scroggins told his followers he’s single and “dodged a missile.”

RELATED: Oop! Brittany Renner Drops SPICY Reply To PJ Washington’s Wife Alisah Chanel Over Her Reaction To A Joke

Brittany Reacts To PJ Washington’s Selfie With His Wife Alisah

After Brittany and Alisah’s back and forth on IG Stories and in The Shade Room’s comment section, PJ Washington seemingly stepped in. He reminded the public via his IG Stories that Alisah is the one — the ring is secured! After TSR posted the sweet selfie, Brittany hopped on her IG Stories to clock PJ about not replying to a message about their son, Paul. She had texted him, “What are your plans after the season ends? Did you have dates in mind you wanted to get Paul?” Washington seemingly hadn’t responded and the timestamps suggest Renner texted him a few days prior.

“Despite the dead eyes, I am glad to see your thumbs aren’t broken and you’re alive and well. While we have a moment, can we get back to the question at hand @pjwashington,” Renner wrote in her post.

Social Media Users Flood Brittany Renner’s Recent Boo With Breakup Comments

Brittany’s internet tussle with Alisah and PJ had folks on social media asking about her own love life. She and Rashad Scroggins debuted their relationship earlier this year. Last TSR reported, he had shared a post about their mountain trip in late December. Their sweet, and often joint, posts continued through Valentine’s Day. He was even in the podcast episode where she revealed she had dropped her child-related case in California against PJ Washington.

That podcast page is gone now. Also, sometime this week, their couples’ posts disappeared from their pages. And fans noticed. Two days he shared photos of himself on IG with the caption, “Everything should be cool.” Since then, the comment section has been flooded in with breakup speculation.

@juricafit wrote, “Big bro. She don’t want to be saved. Cole told us.”

“What happened? I liked you 2 together 😢,” @exceptionalerin added.

“Tell the truth, you knew what you were signing up for G 😅,” @earthtola_ commented.

“Why you deleted the pics of yall together?” @reginajackk asked.

@damsel_not_distressed added, “You got out in time! She’s already back to the messiness 🙄.”  

“Females don’t understand that men get tired and fed up too! A man with boundaries is a different beast! 💪🏼,” @oohkathylee commented.

@gannicus_kd_wilson wrote, “U can’t call the girl trash now my n*gga the world tried to warn u and tried post how much u was in love naw take that L now @rashadscroggins.”

Rashad Scroggins Confirms He’s “Single,” Says He “Dodged A Missile”

Rashad Scroggins left his comment sections scrambled. Looking for answers. He even kept his cone of silence amid Brittany Renner blasting her ex-boyfriend and his wife. Then, on Tuesday (March 31), he finally spoke out on video and in the comment section.

In videos on IG Stories, Rashad shared a general message about life being “full of surprises and interesting at the same time.” Then, he admitted that he was “really loud before,” and it’s a switch-up to go quiet. To him, though, “some stuff is not worth you going forward it.” 

“When you take that step back and there’s still chaos around the corner. When you enter somebody’s life, you hope to change, you hope to grow, you hope to make it better. I want to be better as a person, but some people, they just want to do the same thing over and over and over…they’re stuck in a loop and they can’t figure out that I need to do something different.”

He then told his viewers to never get stuck in life, and to keep moving forward. Up to that point, he hadn’t dropped any names and he kept the same energy in follow-up clips.

“I’m a big believer that idle time is the Devil’s playground. If you want to be a stay-at-home wife or you don’t want to work, you’re going to have issues. You have to do something with your time. I’m not saying stay-at-home wife is out, but you have to do something productive with your time. I pray for everybody, I hope they get happy.”

Rashad also acknowledged that he’s speaking in riddles and refused to get into specifics. He added:

“Mannnn, everybody told me,” before laughing. “My God look out for me man…I dodged a motherfing missile, do you hear me? I dodged all the ruckus…Thank you, thank you.”

RELATED: Issa New Couple? Social Media Reacts As Mystery Man Shares Mountain Trip Memories With Brittany Renner (VIDEOS)

In his follow-up, Scroggins said that people have to pay attention to what they have, including their own skills, rather than trying to eat off of what someone else has.

“Life is still gonna require you to do something or you’re going to feel an internal, deep hole that nobody’s gonna be able to fill. You’re going to think you need money, a jet, Rolls Royce, a chef, whatever you think that you need, it ain’t gonna be it. You need to figure out your purpose,” he said while filming outside. Adding, “To be clear, I’m single. I’m chilling, safe. Peaceful. Listening to birds. Just calm. Yes, that’s the story.”

Rashad said a lot of things transpired in a couple of days, but he didn’t go into details about what. Again, he never name-dropped Brittany Renner, but later made a reference to her. After defending the expression of his feelings, he said he was “kinda scared” to speak out because he wants “no smoke” with “her.” He said, “I just wish the best for her…but two things could be true.” 

Rashad Scroggins announces that he’s single. As previously reported, he was linked to Brittany Renner last December as they shared moments from a trip to the mountains. (📸: @gettyimages) ✍🏾: #TSRStaffJW pic.twitter.com/D7a4tjwRle

— TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) April 1, 2026

Advertisement

RELATED: Brittany Renner Reacts After Alisah Chanel Alleges She’s Pregnant, Refused To Let PJ Washington See His Son And Begged For $150

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 1 hour ago

The latest trailer for Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock, Jason Momoa, and Eve Ridley, has been released, and I take back everything I said about the previous teaser trailer. Everything about the old trailer indicated a disrespect for the Superman source material and a rebellious girl-boss operating under the slogan, “Truth. Justice. Whatever.”

Yet the new trailer, released March 31, 2026, reveals a lot more about the plot and the source of Supergirl’s anger. A story that was indicated to be about Kara, aka Supergirl, helping an alien girl named Ruthye avenge the death of her father becomes much more poignant when you know that the murderer has also poisoned Krypto, Supergirl’s faithful canine that she’s had since her days on Krypton.

Supergirl’s John Wick Arc

The dog is all she has left of her former home, since Kal-El is more like a human from living on Earth since infancy. Kara is a young girl grieving and literally the only person she knows who remembers her planet. Under those circumstances, she’d probably tell us to get over any problems we might have with her rebelliousness, and her John Wick reaction is just as forgivable as with the Keanu Reeves hitman.

The girl power theme from the previous trailer can now be forgiven now that we know the director is Craig Gillespie, famous for The Powerpuff Girls. Supergirl seems to ask the question, “What if Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls grew up, lost everything in Townsville, and is now in a race against time to save her beloved pet?” Ruthye seems to stand in as a demure Blossom, and there’s probably enough of Bubbles to go around for both of them. The style of the movie is signature Gillespie, a live-action rendering of his cartoon universes.

Advertisement

Jason Momoa Brings The Boom

There’s also plenty of room for the boys. Superman makes an actual appearance this time, rather than having his picture peed on by Krypto, and it is clear that he is worried about his cousin. He wants her to embrace the planet as he has, but she isn’t having any of it because she is too bitter about losing Krypton.

However, the objective highlight of the trailer is Jason Momoa as Lobo. If there was any actor born to play this role, it was Momoa, who looks exactly like his comic book counterpart. His perfectly fitting appearance is nothing compared to what we get to see of his performance during this trailer as he rolls in on his skull-adorned chopper to trade barbs with the movie’s heroine. If this trailer is any indication of what his performance is going to be like, it won’t be long before fans are clamoring for a stand-alone spinoff movie centered on Lobo.

Filled with color that hasn’t been dampened by sepia, bright explosions, and really cool outer space scenes, Supergirl looks a lot more promising the second time around than it did the first. Hopefully, it delivers on the promises of its trailer.

---

By Robert Scucci
| Published 15 seconds ago

With all the Harry Potter buzz lately, everybody’s writing about the franchise, its future, J.K. Rowling, and so on. I don’t really have anything new to add to the conversation, so this is my warped way of inserting myself into it. I’ve read the books and seen the films. They didn’t define my childhood, but I remember enjoying them. They’re fine, but they were one-and-done for me. I’ve never been big on young adult fantasy, but sometimes it’s nice to feel like you’re part of the zeitgeist, so you play along to understand the references.

This line of thinking led me to Tubi (home of Amityville Death Toilet), where you can stream The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens. This movie falls into the “mockbuster” category, meaning it was produced to capitalize on the success of the wildly popular Harry Potter franchise, and for no other reason.

This movie, in so many words, is a blatant Harry Potter knockoff that hasn’t publicly disclosed its finances, but I’ll describe as hilariously low budget. It’s filmed in Canadian strip malls, you can spot crew members reflected in mirrors, and the CGI looks like something anybody could throw together after a day or two button-mashing in Blender. Oh yeah, and Roddy Piper is basically a Hagrid/Dumbledore stand-in, so on all fronts this cinematic experiment is something you need to know about.

Codex! Scriptoria! Please! 

The entirety of The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens is narrated by Mandy Finch (Ciara O’Hanlon), the bookworm of the group, basically functioning as Hermione in this universe (yes, there’s a sequel, Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes). Mandy recalls the events we’re about to witness, which immediately tells me they all lived to see another day, otherwise somebody else would be narrating.

We’re introduced to our hero, Willard “Billy” Owens (Dalton Mugridge), who, on his eleventh birthday, realizes he’s a wizard after buying a magic wand from Roddy Piper’s William Thurgood for $11.

Billy Owens learns that the magic word is “please.” Roddy Piper uses what looks like Microsoft PowerPoint technology to spell words like “Codex” and “Scriptoria” in his antique shop. There’s another kid named Devon (Christopher Fazio), who’s clearly meant to be a Ron Weasley surrogate, but his presence is so inconsequential that I’m only mentioning it to prove I actually sat through this entire movie to impress you. And I did without bumping it up to 1.5x speed for reasons I’ll never fully understand.

The kids learn that Sumerian prankster god Loki is going to seize their small town of Spirit River if they don’t intervene, so naturally, they go to the library, where they try to hide from a security guard by talking loudly and waving their flashlights around. There’s a CGI fire at William’s shop, and then there’s a dragon.

At one point, because there’s clearly no budget, Billy tries to get out of doing chores by waving the wand at his parents. You think something cool is about to happen, but instead his father just looks the other way and Billy hides under a coat. Everybody saves the day, and we get one of those “To Be Continued” cards, threatening us with a sequel.

You Have To Be A Special Kind Of Person To Subject Yourself To This

The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens is hardly a movie. Though its runtime is 84 minutes, the last 10 are bloopers and credits. The amount of nothing that happens here is insane, and the little effort that went into it is still disproportionate to the story it’s trying to tell. If you’re wondering who movies like this are made for, the answer is me. It’s so stupid that I can’t help myself.

Actually, now that I think about it, this movie does serve a purpose. If you’re one of the millions of people upset about the new Harry Potter trailer, just fire up The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens on Tubi to remind yourself that it could be so much worse.

The Valley‘s Zack Wickham teased more might be revealed about Amanda Batula and West Wilson‘s shocking romance.

“Well, I will say that one of our friends’ cousins was on a vacation,” Zack said on the Tuesday, March 31, episode of SiriusXM’s Smith Sisters Live. “And met [Summer House star] Jesse Solomon and he just told her everything and then she told me.”

Zack continued: “So, I’m like, if what he told her is real, then brace yourselves, America. Sorry Jesse, I didn’t mean to throw you under the bus. I’m not saying anything publicly, but oh, my God.”

Rumors swirled that Amanda, 34, and West, 31, were hooking up shortly after she announced her split from husband Kyle Cooke in January. (West, for his part, has had an on-and-off connection with costar Ciara Miller since 2023.)

Earlier this month, Amanda denied having any potential involvement with another costar. “It’s not going to happen. I’m not touching any of my cast members,” she said on the “Trading Secrets” podcast. “Love them dearly, but I’m good.”

West later said he was “just hanging out” with Amanda on an episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

“She’s single now,” he noted. “That’s [a] very important person to me and I care about her a lot. That’s a friend.”

As the rumors progressed, Amanda and West confirmed on Tuesday that their relationship status changed.

“We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity,” read a joint social media statement. “It was never our intention to purposely hide anything. Given the complicated relationship dynamics involved and the scrutiny that comes with being on a reality show, we needed a little space to process things privately before speaking on it.”

Related: Summer House‘s Ciara Miller, Amanda Batula and West Wilson Drama Explained

The  Summer House cast drama is raising eyebrows with Bravo fans. Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke announced in January that they decided to separate after four years of marriage. “After much reflection, we have mutually and amicably decided to part ways as a couple,” their joint statement read. “We share this with a heavy heart […]

Advertisement

Amanda and West broke down how their connection evolved from friendship to more.

“We’ve shown up for each other as friends over the years, through all the highs and lows, and what’s developed recently was the last thing either of us expected,” they continued. “Our connection grew out of a genuine, longstanding friendship, which made it especially important for us to approach this with care.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

The statement concluded: “As our feelings evolved, we wanted to take time to understand exactly what we were feeling. We also recognize that this has had an impact beyond just us and never wanted our actions to cause any hurt or be perceived as careless. We truly appreciate the understanding and respect as we navigate this.”

After news of their romance broke, a source exclusively told Us Weekly, that Ciara, 30, is “heartbroken by this,” adding, “Her and Amanda were very close and she feels more betrayed than ever by both of them.”

A second source told Us, “Ciara cut off both Amanda and West after finding out.”