Vice President JD Vance’s journey to the White House wouldn’t be complete without his wife, second lady Usha Vance.

Long before being chosen as President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, JD developed a unique love story with Usha when they were both in law school.

Their relationship, however, took on the spotlight even more when the Vance family entered the White House on January 30, 2025.

In November 2025, the couple faced headlines when Usha was spotted without her wedding ring while visiting military training facility Camp Lejeune in North Carolina with first lady Melanie Trump.

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A spokesperson for Usha later released a statement to People that read, “[She is] a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.”

A few months later, in January 2026, Usha and JD announced that they’re expecting their fourth baby together.
The pair welcomed son Alec Vance in July 2026.

Keep reading to learn more about JD and Usha’s relationship timeline:

2010

When JD and Usha were both students at Yale Law School, the pair met when they joined a discussion group on “social decline in white America.”

In an interview with NBC News in 2017, Usha said she and JD took all of their classes together and were friends before they started dating.

When they were assigned to work on a brief together, Usha became even more impressed by his diligence.

“I’ve never seen anybody so starstruck,” their law school professor, Amy Chua, said of JD in an interview with NBC News. “It was love at first sight.”

2014

In 2014, the couple got married and held both Christian and Hindu ceremonies. (JD later converted to Catholicism in 2019.)

“There are a lot of things that we just agree on, I think, especially when it comes to family life, how to raise our kids,” Usha told Fox News in June about her interfaith marriage. “I think the answer really is that we just talk a lot.”

2016

JD released his bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. The book detailed his childhood in the working-class United States Rust Belt. It later became a 2020 movie directed by Ron Howard.

At one point in the book, JD recalled the time he “fell hard” for Usha at Yale. He described her as a “genetic anomaly” because she possessed so many ideal qualities.

He also admitted that he “violated every rule of modern dating” by telling her he was in love after one date.

2017

Vance and Usha welcomed their first child, son Ewan, in June 2017. The couple later welcomed their second son, Vivek, in February 2020, before welcoming daughter Mirabel in December 2021.

“We were blessed with an early Christmas present this year,” JD wrote via Instagram after Mirabel’s birth. “Everyone please meet Mirabel Rose Vance, our first girl. Mama and baby both doing great, and we’re feeling very grateful this Christmas season.”

August 2024

Amid the 2024 presidential race, Usha sat down with Fox News for her first solo interview.

During the chat, the future second lady was asked about her husband’s 2021 remark about the United States being run by “childless cat ladies.”

“The reality is, JD … made a quip in service of making a point that he wanted to make that was substantive,” she said. “What he was really saying is that it can be really hard to be a parent in this country, and sometimes our policies are designed in a way that make it even harder.”

January 2025

JD and Usha celebrated their new home in the White House with a familiar tradition.

“The inaugural balls are a beautiful, time-honored tradition of the Presidency,” JD wrote via Instagram at the time. “Usha and I were honored to join President Trump in celebrating the beginning of the new golden age of America. Now let’s get to work 🇺🇸.”

Related: Meghan Markle and More Stars Voting on Election Day Through the Years

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October 2025

Despite living in the White House, both JD and Usha wanted to give their kids a relatively normal Halloween by dressing up as a family.

“We hope you had a spooktacular Halloween!” Usha wrote via Instagram with photos from their celebration in Washington, D.C.

November 2025

Usha sparked divorce rumors after she was spotted without her wedding ring during a November 2025 visit to Camp Lejeune. A spokesperson for the Vances explained that Usha is “a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.”

The occasion came weeks after Erika Kirk embraced JD Vance during a public speaking event and noted that the Vice President shares “similarities” with her late husband.

December 2025

The Vice President addressed rumors of marital discord during a December 2025 interview with NBC News. He insisted that the pair’s relationship is “as strong as it’s ever been” and said of the rumors, “I think that we kind of get a kick out of it.”

“With anything in life, you take the good with the bad,” he also said. “You accept that there are some sacrifices and there are some very good things that come along with it, too. But our marriage is as strong as it’s ever been, and I think Usha’s really taken to it, and it’s been kind of cool to see how she’s developed and evolved in this new role.”

January 2026

Usha and JD announced via Instagram that they’re expecting baby No. 4.

“We’re very excited to share the news that Usha is pregnant with our fourth child, a boy,” read a statement joint shared via Usha’s Instagram. “Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July.”

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The statement continued, “During this exciting and hectic time, we are particularly grateful for the military doctors who take excellent care of our family and for the staff members who do so much to ensure that we can serve the country while enjoying a wonderful life with our children.”

July 2026

The couple announced that they welcomed their fourth child in a statement shared via social media, which read, “We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning. Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother.”

“The incredible military doctors and staff members of Walter Reed Medical Center and the White House Medical Unit have been a blessing,” the announcement continued. “We are deeply thankful for all they have done for our family.”

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 14 seconds ago

Right now, Ghost in the Shell has a new anime series, one that blends top-notch animation with heady stories set in a kind of cyberpunk dystopia. The new show is great, but it put me in the mood to go back to the original source code for this seminal animated franchise. Back in 1995, the original Ghost in the Shell movie premiered, and it blew everyone’s minds in every possible way. Like, this was the kind of movie you’d show skeptics who thought that anime was nothing but lowbrow fight scenes. Forget Dragon Ball Z, y’all; Ghost in the Shell is art, full stop!

One of the ways we can tell Ghost in the Shell is art is that it inspired some of our greatest filmmakers to experiment with different kinds of stories. Without this early cyberpunk adventure, the Wachowskis would never have made The Matrix, and James Cameron would never have made Avatar. For that matter, Steven Spielberg would never have made A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. Just what is it about this legendary anime that has inspired so many creators, and where can you see its influence on the big screen? No need to scour the ‘net with your artificial body; just keep scrolling to fill your cyberbrain with all the knowledge fit to download.

Hack The World

The plot of Ghost in the Shell is that Motoko Kusanagi, who works for Public Security Section 9, must investigate a mysterious villain known as the Puppet Master. This Big Bad has the ability to hack into the brains of just about anyone, making him hard to find, much less to stop. Kusanagi and her team may be the only ones who can eliminate this threat for good. Along the way, however, she will learn some uncomfortable truths about her own government, all while tackling crunchy questions about consciousness, autonomy, and what it means to be truly alive in an increasingly postmodern world. 

Ghost in the Shell is one of the most influential anime movies ever created, one that has inspired a growing number of sequels, TV shows, and even a fairly forgettable live-action movie. But what most fans of this film don’t realize is how much of an influence it had on other creators and their works. Perhaps the greatest example is The Matrix: the Wachowskis were inspired to create their own world where human consciousness could be digitally uploaded, forcing a protagonist to question the nature of both reality and consciousness. How deeply does the anime influence the later film? Get this: even the green Matrix code is inspired by prominent green text from Ghost in the Shell!

The Most Influential Anime

It pretty much doesn’t get more blatant than The Matrix, which the Wachowskis pitched by handing the Ghost in the Shell script to Joel Silver and saying “we want to do this for real.” Many years later, the anime inspired James Cameron to create Avatar, though his film involved transferring a human mind into an organic alien body rather than a ghost shell. While that’s a fairly big difference, Cameron explored similarly existential concepts as Ghost in the Shell. This includes how much of our identity is tied to our physical selves and how much our perspective changes when we look at the world through (quite literally) new eyes.

Even Steven Spielberg, Hollywood’s greatest director, was inspired by Ghost in the Shell. It directly inspired A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, a movie in which the lead character deals with the major philosophical question of the earlier anime: does an artificial being still possess a soul? The fantastic technology of Ghost in the Shell also inspired the future tech of Minority Report, where (as in the anime film) it is misused by nefarious agents. How much did Spielberg love this animated film? For better or for worse, he spearheaded the effort to buy the live-action rights so that DreamWorks, his own company, could bring the film to life.

A Genuine Work Of Art

This brings us back to why Ghost in the Shell is art. Certainly, it fits the more conventional definitions of the term: the movie is jaw-dropping beautiful and perfectly written. But it also meets the more comprehensive definition of art because it became a foundational text to the entirety of the sci-fi and cyberpunk genres. Just as we wouldn’t have Star Wars without earlier films like The Hidden Fortress, we wouldn’t have The Matrix without Ghost in the Shell. When you think about just how insanely influential that Keanu Reeves movie was, you get a better idea of how big this anime’s cultural footprint really is.

Care to experience what is possibly the most influential sci-fi movie of all time? Do you want to ponder philosophical questions about mind, body, and soul, or maybe explore the fractured nature of human consciousness? Or (and no judgments here), maybe you just want to see the hottest protagonist in anime history wandering around Japan like an unstoppable, one-woman army? No matter the itch, you’re just a click away from scratching it: Ghost in the Shell is currently streaming for free on Tubi!

Apple TV might not have the biggest streaming library, but it’s definitely become one of the best places to find high-quality television. In fact, the platform houses some of the best original series of modern times and has steadily built an impressive track record of releasing shows that take creative risks rather than play it safe.

Of course, committing to a new series isn’t always easy, especially when they have been without a clear ending in sight. Fortunately, the brilliant Apple TV shows on this list have five seasons or fewer that deliver some of the best storytelling the medium has to offer.

10

‘Presumed Innocent’ (2024–Present)

Image via Apple TV

Presumed Innocent technically tells the oldest story in the book, but manages to make it feel completely fresh. The legal thriller is based on the bestselling novel by Scott Turow and follows chief deputy prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose life unravels after his colleague and former lover Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve) is brutally murdered. Rusty is initially assigned to help prosecute the case, but once his affair with Carolyn comes to light, he quickly becomes the prime suspect. The evidence keeps piling up, and Rusty has to fight to prove his innocence as his family and career fall apart under the weight of it all.

Now, Presumed Innocent could have easily been a standard courtroom thriller, but it never treats the murder as the only mystery worth solving. Every episode digs deeper into Rusty’s relationships to expose new motives, hidden resentments, and uncomfortable truths that make almost every major character feel like a believable suspect. Gyllenhaal delivers one of the strongest performances of his career and consistently leaves the audience unsure whether Rusty is an innocent man trapped by circumstances or someone truly capable of dark deeds. The series builds its suspense through this moral ambiguity, where almost everyone feels innocent and guilty at the same time.

9

‘Shrinking’ (2023–Present)

Image via Apple TV

Shrinking is a comedy series that balances humor with genuine heart. The dramedy, created by Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel, and Brett Goldstein, follows therapist Jimmy Laird (Segel), whose life falls apart after the sudden death of his wife. That leads to a unique kind of meltdown where Jimmy throws all professional boundaries out the window and starts telling his patients exactly what he thinks instead of sticking to therapy-appropriate responses. His unconventional methods begin changing their lives in unexpected ways, but that also forces Jimmy to confront his own fractured relationship with his teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell).

At the same time, his mentor, Paul Rhoades (Harrison Ford), and colleague Gaby (Jessica Williams) try to keep things from completely spiraling out. As chaotic as this premise is, Shrinking is honest with its characters’ emotional arcs. Everyone in the show is dealing with some form of grief, and the story gives them the room to make mistakes and slowly find their way forward. This balance between heartfelt drama and hilarious comedy is hard to pull off, but Shrinking makes it look effortless. Of course, the show’s brilliant ensemble deserves a lot of credit for its success, but through its touching storytelling, Shrinking is one of Apple TV’s most rewarding originals.

8

‘Pachinko’ (2022–2024)

Image via Apple TV+

Pachinko is one of the most ambitious family dramas of all time. The series, based on Min Jin Lee‘s bestselling novel, spans nearly a century and follows four generations of a Korean family whose lives are shaped by sacrifice, war, and displacement. The story begins in Japanese-occupied Korea with Sunja (Yu-na Jeon, Minha Kim, and Youn Yuh-jung), whose unexpected pregnancy forces her into a life-altering decision that ultimately changes the course of her family’s future. From there, the narrative stretches across decades and moves between Korea, Osaka, and Tokyo as Sunja’s descendants struggle to build lives for themselves while facing discrimination, poverty, and the lasting consequences of their family’s past.

Pachinko is brilliant in the way it treats history through the lens of ordinary people. Rather than focusing on major historical events themselves, the series shows how those events shape families across generations. The show’s nonlinear storytelling constantly draws parallels between different eras to show how the hardships of one generation are passed down to the next. The show tells an intimate story on an epic scale, and that’s what makes it one of Apple TV’s most remarkable masterpieces.

7

‘Silo’ (2023–Present)

Image via Apple TV+

The sci-fi genre is pretty crowded right now, but Silo still holds its own. The series, based on Hugh Howey‘s bestselling novels, is set in a dystopian future where the last 10,000 people on Earth live inside a massive underground silo because they believe that the outside world is too toxic for human life. The story follows engineer Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson), who begins investigating a series of suspicious deaths after the sheriff breaks one of the community’s oldest rules and willingly leaves the silo. This leads to Juliette uncovering long-buried secrets about the silo’s history, the people running it, and the lies that have kept generations living in fear.

The great thing about Silo is that it never rushes to explain its biggest mystery. Every season of the show carefully expands the world and reveals just enough information to keep the audience guessing. Juliette is the perfect guide through this world built on secrecy and control because she approaches everything with curiosity instead of the blind obedience that is expected of her. The show has a four-season plan to adapt Howey’s complete trilogy, and it’s already feeling like one of those stories that stay with the audience forever.

6

‘Pluribus’ (2025–Present)

Image via Apple TV

Pluribus is another science fiction show on Apple TV that has taken the world by storm. The series, created by Vince Gilligan, takes a familiar post-apocalyptic premise and turns it completely on its head. The story follows fantasy novelist Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), one of the few people left untouched after a mysterious extraterrestrial virus transforms almost all of humanity into a peaceful collective consciousness known as the “Others.” Unlike most apocalypse stories, the world isn’t consumed by violence or chaos. Instead, it has become eerily calm, with the hive mind insisting that assimilation will ultimately make everyone happier. However, Carol refuses to surrender her individuality and begins searching for a way to reverse what has happened before the last remnants of humanity disappear forever.

What makes Pluribus so fascinating is that it never presents its central conflict in simple terms. The Others aren’t mindless monsters, nor are they presented as outright villains. This ambiguity makes every encounter Carol has with them feel more unsettling than a traditional sci-fi battle. Gilligan constantly raises new questions about identity, free will, and what it actually means to be human without sacrificing the momentum of the story. Pluribus currently just has one season, which means the show is extremely addictive and easy to catch up on.

5

‘Widow’s Bay’ (2026–Present)

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Widow’s Bay is one of the most original horror-comedy series to come out in years because of how hard it commits to both genres. The Apple TV series, created by Katie Dippold, follows Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), the skeptical mayor of a struggling island town off the coast of New England that has spent generations being defined by stories of curses, ghosts, and supernatural disasters. Tom is determined to change that, though, and launches a major campaign to attract tourists so the world can see that Widow’s Bay is a charming seaside destination. Unfortunately for him, the island seems intent on proving its legends are real. When increasingly bizarre and terrifying incidents begin occurring,

Tom is forced to investigate the town’s history alongside his assistant Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), Sheriff Bechir (Kevin Carroll), and a cast of eccentric locals who have spent their entire lives accepting the curse as fact. Before they even know it, the audience is laughing and feeling truly unsettled at the same time. Every episode peels back another layer of the island’s mythology while introducing new supernatural threats that somehow feel connected to a much larger mystery. The show’s quirky humor makes the horror even more effective because the characters never feel like archetypes. Widow’s Bay is an incredibly easy binge, and by the time the credits roll on the finale, it’s hard not to immediately want another trip back to the strangest town on TV.

4

‘Bad Sisters’ (2022–Present)

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Bad Sisters is one of the darkest comedies on television, where the audience just can’t help but root for its protagonists. The Apple TV series follows the Garvey sisters, Eva (Sharon Horgan), Grace (Anne-Marie Duff), Ursula (Eva Birthistle), Bibi (Sarah Greene), and Becka (Eve Hewson), whose lives have always revolved around protecting one another. The villain in the story is Grace’s manipulative and emotionally abusive husband, John Paul Williams (Claes Bang). When his behavior becomes increasingly worse, the sisters gradually begin entertaining the thought that if John Paul were no longer around, all of their lives would be better. The central story unfolds across two timelines.

One follows the sisters’ increasingly desperate attempts to deal with John Paul, and the other takes place after his death, when two insurance investigators begin questioning whether it was really an accident. Now, the audience knows who the victim is from the beginning, but the series builds its suspense around how he died. Every episode of Bad Sisters makes John Paul more insufferable, to the point where the audience almost understands why the ladies would want him dead. The show’s greatest strength is that it never lets its dark premise overshadow its characters. Beneath all the murder plots and twists, Bad Sisters tells a heartwarming story about family and the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love.

3

‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ (2026–Present)

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Margo’s Got Money Troubles is one of the funniest and most emotionally honest dramedies Apple TV has recently released. The series is based on Rufi Thorpe‘s novel. It follows college dropout and aspiring writer Margo Millet (Elle Fanning), whose chaotic affair with her married English professor leaves her unexpectedly pregnant. Margo is determined to raise her son on her own, but quickly realizes that things aren’t going to be as easy as she thought. In a desperate moment, she makes an OnlyFans account, inspired by advice from her estranged father, Jinx (Nick Offerman), a former professional wrestler who unexpectedly reappears in her life.

From there, the show follows Margo and her dad as they try to figure life out when everything seems to be falling apart. The show thrives on the idea of radical empathy and presents every major character as a flawed person who is doing their best. Even when Margo makes questionable decisions, it’s impossible not to understand where she’s coming from and root for her as she navigates her messy family, motherhood, and ambition. The show refuses to judge its protagonist for the choices she makes. It finds humor in Margo’s increasingly chaotic life without ever undermining the genuine struggles she’s facing. The show has been renewed for Season 2, which means now is the perfect time to catch up on Margo’s messy, funny, relatable, and surprisingly inspiring life.

2

‘Severance’ (2022–Present)

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Severance is unlike anything else on TV right now. The Apple TV sci-fi thriller takes a brilliantly original premise that also happens to be a sharp corporate satire. The story follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott), an employee at the mysterious Lumon Industries, where workers voluntarily undergo a procedure known as severance that permanently separates their work memories from their personal ones, creating two completely distinct identities. Their “innie” exists only inside the office and knows nothing of the outside world, while their “outie” has no idea what actually happens during the workday. Initially, the solution appears to be the answer to a great work-life balance.

However, this carefully controlled system begins to unravel after the arrival of a rebellious new employee, Helly R. (Britt Lower), whose refusal to accept her reality forces Mark to question everything he has been told about Lumon and the true purpose of the severance program. It’s interesting how Severance builds its entire mystery around the question of what people do at work. Every answer the show delivers complicates things further and makes Lumon’s sterile office hallways feel all the more unsettling. The show explores large philosophical ideas about identity and free will but grounds itself in something almost everyone can relate to. Severance has established itself as one of the smartest and most original TV shows with just two seasons, and things are only going to get better as the mythology deepens.

1

‘Ted Lasso’ (2020–Present)

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Ted Lasso is a feel-good comedy that one just can’t dislike. The Apple TV series follows optimistic American college football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), who is unexpectedly hired to manage AFC Richmond, a struggling English Premier League club, despite knowing almost nothing about soccer. Ted quickly realizes that his appointment wasn’t based on his qualifications at all because Club owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) secretly hopes his inexperience will cause the team to fail as part of her plan to get back at her ex-husband.

However, instead of giving in to the pressure, Ted slowly wins over his skeptical players, coaching staff, and the entire club through kindness, empathy, and an unwavering belief that people can become better than they think they are. Don’t be fooled, though, because the show isn’t naive in its optimism. The narrative acknowledges anxiety, failure, and heartbreak, but does so in a positive light. Every major character in the show experiences moments of growth, and that’s what makes Ted Lasso such an uplifting and emotionally satisfying watch.

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Ted Lasso

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Release Date

August 14, 2020

Network

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Apple TV

Directors

Declan Lowney, MJ Delaney, Erica Dunton, Matt Lipsey

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The YA demographic remains one of the most elusive for streaming services because the rules change every couple of years. What worked in the past is not guaranteed to work in the future. However, Prime Video has quietly been positioning itself as the ultimate destination for all kinds of teen and YA shows. From The Summer I Turned Pretty to We Were Liars, Off Campus, and Every Year After, the streamer has delivered some of the most popular teen shows of this decade. And the streaming service seems to be doubling down on book-to-series adaptations. Still, other streaming services have not been left behind, chief among them Netflix.

While Netflix has broad generational appeal, teen dramas like Elite, Outer Banks, Heartstopper, and Ginny & Georgia have proven that the streamer also knows what people want. Many of the aforementioned shows have ended or are nearing their natural conclusion, but Netflix has replacements lined up. This next one is comparable to Off Campus meets Maxton Hall meets Gossip Girl. The series focuses on a young woman whose world is upended, and she must adapt to her new reality.

Miku Martineau plays Teagan in the series titled Crew Girl. The 16-year-old’s world changes overnight when her family is caught up in a scandal that forces them to relocate to the East Coast. Teagan is forced to abandon everything she had worked for, including her rising status in single sculls rowing. On the East Coast, she joins Easton Prep, a prestigious school that smells of old money, and competition is the order of the day. Teagan has a choice to make: abandon her rowing dreams or join the school’s team. The catch is that Easton Prep does not have a girls’ rowing team, so if she wants to compete, she must train with the boys.

‘Crew Girl’ Is the Epitome of Modern Teen Shows

This is where things get interesting. An elite school with rich kids breeds arrogance and entitlement. Meanwhile, a girl on a boys’ rowing team is a spectacle more distracting than many would want. Additionally, the boys’ team has a very arrogant captain. Between trying to earn her place on the team and dealing with her family’s escalating problems, Teagan has a lot going on. The last thing she needs is to find herself in the middle of a love triangle with the team captain, Josh Regis (Sam Braun), and Cam Dillinger (Kyle Clark), the quiet and overlooked local whose intense drive makes him the team’s unsung hero. Vivian Lin serves as the showrunner of Crew Girl. Other cast members include Jessica Paré and Thomas Cadrot.

Crew Girl hits Netflix on Thursday, September 10. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Release Date

September 12, 2026

Network

Netflix

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Showrunner

Vivian Lin

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Directors

Alysse Leite-Rogers, Norman Buckley, Jacquie Gould, Simon Barry

Writers

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Jennica Harper, Julian Doucet, Vivian Lin

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Cast

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  Jessica Pare

  Ella Emerson-Tao

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 6 seconds ago

As an elder millennial, I have a lot of respect for Kevin Smith. When the filmmaker has something to say, he often creates weirdly profound movies. Clerks is funny, sure, but it also perfectly captured the malaise of getting older and still not knowing what you want to do when you grow up. Chasing Amy had some of the best sex jokes ever put on film, but it also shone a spotlight on the insecurities that can destroy even the strongest relationships. Heck, beneath its many sacrilegious punchlines, even Dogma had powerful things to say about faith, redemption, and embracing the divinity within our flawed, human shells.

When Smith doesn’t have much to say, you are left with self-indulgence and little else. Beyond its charming characters, for example, Mallrats had little to offer but verbose jokes aimed squarely at pot-smoking English majors. One of the worst offenders was Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, a movie whose only redeeming quality was its banger of a soundtrack. As a fan of the director, I was really hoping that earlier outing would be as bad as it could possibly get, but Smith later outdid himself in the worst possible way. The follow-up film, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), is an absolutely awful sequel that barely deserves to be called a movie.

Coming Down From The High

The plot of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is that Bluntman and Chronic are getting a reboot film from director Kevin Smith. Because of this and a surprise court ruling, Jay and Silent Bob have lost the rights to their own name. The two erstwhile stoners hatch an insane plan to head to California and keep the film from being made, thus winning back their names. Once these not-so-young men head west, they discover something shocking: Jay has a daughter he never knew about from a previous girlfriend. With the help of this gal and her band of enthusiastic weirdoes, our heroes hope to blaze (in every sense of the word) their way through Hollywood.

There’s no gentle way to say this, but Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is a hot mess from top to bottom. To start with, our titular duo is played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, neither of whom is a very good actor. They work as zany side characters in movies like Clerks, where their lack of skill as performers gives them a kind of rough-around-the-edges authenticity. But as leading performers, they are seriously lacking, something that is made even clearer by the sheer number of big-name cameos in this film.

Nepo Avengers, Assemble!

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot has appearances from just about everyone in Smith’s beloved Viewaskewniverse. The movie features cameos by Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Justin Long, Rosario Dawson, and more. Several franchise newcomers are also big names, including Joe Manganiello, Fred Armisen, and Val Kilmer. While most of these established stars aren’t in the film for very long, they don’t need much screen time to act absolute circles around Mewes and Smith. Conversely, our dimwitted duo seems like Oscar winners compared to Harley Quinn Smith. She plays Jay’s daughter in the movie, but in real life, her father is Kevin Smith.

As a family guy myself (and not just because I’m working on a Peter Griffin waistline), I understand the director’s impulse to try to make his child a star. Unfortunately, the result is a perfect storm of sh*t: the collective talent of the bigger stars of this film leaves the younger Smith looking even more out of place than her famous father. But even if she were the best actor in the world, performing in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot would be an uphill battle because she is dealing with one of the worst comedy scripts ever written.

He Needs To Talk About Kevin

Sadly, this isn’t a so-bad-it’s-sometimes-good sequel like Mallrats. Nor does it descend into full schlock like Tusk, which might have made it perfect to watch when imbibing Jay and Silent Bob’s favorite drug. Instead, this reboot is just kind of there: most scenes just feel like excuses to bring old characters back, and the result is less like a feature film and more like a series of shorts held together by forced punchlines. Beyond allowing for reunions with many of his previous actors, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot exists for one reason: so Kevin Smith can offer half-baked (pun very much intended) homages to his own life and career.

Unfortunately, this is another area where this sequel falls flat. Smith’s later film Clerks III does a much better job of looking back on his life and wringing something heartfelt out of all the d*ck and fart jokes. But Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is the worst of both worlds because its broad, deeply unfunny comedy flattens every emotional moment into something flat and brittle. At the same time, the director’s attempts at poignant depth keep the movie from fully embracing stupid slapstick that might, at the very least, earn a smile from time to time.

Let’s Blow This Joint

You won’t smile much while watching Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. You won’t frown, either. Instead, you’ll spend most of your time looking at the screen, head tilted in horrified anticipation at each new scene. Who will be the next famous actor Smith trots out instead of telling a story? What ‘90s-ass punchline will he drop on you next with the full force of your best friend’s pog collection? How else will he screw up the pacing while giving us the cinematic equivalent of a 12-year-old’s “isn’t this so deep” fanfiction?

These are just a few of the questions you’ll ask while watching this film. This is a natural side effect of your mind wandering in its naked attempt to escape the once-funny world of Kevin Smith. Still, there’s a lot here for superfans to glom onto, and it provides unexpected closure to several of this universe’s most beloved characters. Maybe that sounds like something you’d enjoy, or maybe you just want to give your brain a chance to get away from it all. Either way, it’s time to grab the remote and practice your best “snootchy-bootchies!” war cry, because Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is currently streaming for free on Tubi.

JAY AND SILENT BOB REVIEW SCORE

The 2026 FIFA World Cup came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday, July 19, with Spain and Argentina squaring off in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

After a tied match at 0-0 at the end of scheduled time, Spain emerged the victor — and squashed Lionel Messi‘s World Cup reign — securing their second World Cup Final win in extra time, 1-0.

Spain’s victory came in front of a sold out MetLife Stadium with scores of soccer dignitaries and celebrities in attendance, including President Donald Trump, who was loudly boo’d after Jennifer Hudson‘s rendition of the U.S. national anthem.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump, 80, would be at the final on Thursday, July 16, despite not attending any other matches played in the United States.

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“We look forward ⁠to the final match on Sunday, ​and I know ‌the President ‌looks forward to attending,” she said. “This is a fitting conclusion to a tournament that showcased America’s ability to host the world on the grandest stage.”

The World Cup final turned out to also be a showcase of some of the best soccer players in the world, including Argentina’s Messi.

Messi, 39, entered the match with confidence, having already won a World Cup with Argentina in 2022.

“We’ve been the best over these past four years, either you like it or not, and no matter what anyone says,” he said after Argentina defeated England in the semifinals on Monday, July 15. “Once again, we’ve established ourselves among the top two teams in the world. That proves that everything we’ve done is no fluke and that nothing was handed to us.”

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He added, “Reaching two consecutive World Cup finals is something very few achieve, and this group did it. If we had lost to England, there would have been people coming out to spout some nonsense, but we didn’t give them the chance.”

On the other side, Spain entered on a mission itself as a country that has won the World Cup only once, in 2010.

“It means a lot, because we have only been [to the final] twice in our history so we want to win the World Cup,” Spanish defender Rodri said after Spain’s semifinal win over France on Tuesday, July 14. “We need to rest now and see what we can improve because we want to win the next one.”

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Episode 5.The Game of Thrones universe has a new villain in town, and he’s already proving to be popular, as evidenced by all the memes comparing him to Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Ormund Hightower (James Norton) has made a big impression with his House of the Dragon debut, not just for his propensity for unique smells and over-the-top outbursts, but also because of the threat he represents. With both Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) missing, Ormund seeks to raise Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as the rightful heir to the throne, but even in their absence, Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) grip on the newly occupied King’s Landing is slipping.

From rats throughout the Red Keep to a rapidly depleting treasury, things aren’t going well for the new Queen, and those troubles only continue in the show’s fifth episode. It’s another chapter that maintains the slower, more methodical pace of last week, though it moves the needle a bit more with new character dynamics that could very well turn the tide of the ongoing conflict.

Criston Is Fighting a Losing Battle in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Episode 5

With no sign of Daemon or his dragon Vhagar at Harrenhal, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), his companion Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), and their soldiers are left with no true leader. Sure, Ormund has a foothold and a potential new heir to the Iron Throne, but he is miles away and not easy to reach. While they earn a small victory in ambushing a Stark camp, the men are tired, and they soon engage in more than a few difficult elements, such as some traps that leave their horses completely incapacitated.

The soldiers might have been better off had they stayed at Harrenhal, because it turns out Aemond has been residing in the derelict castle the entire time, being nursed back to health by the resident witch, Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). While he’s now being plagued by visions in the same way Daemon (Matt Smith) was, he is in relatively good health, as proven when he saves Alys from some bounty hunters who thought they could easily claim his head. Now all that remains is for Aemond to track down his faithful dragon Vhagar, whom he feels like he is nothing without. Little does he know that Rhaenyra is already on the hunt for the beast herself.

Aegon Is Fed Up in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Episode 5

Another family member who wants to see the Kinslayer dead is his own brother Aegon, who lost his throne and even parts of his body to Aemond’s intentional attack on him and his beloved dragon Sunfyre. The former king will stop at nothing until his traitorous, power-hungry brother is dead, but that puts a bit of a dent in the plans of his travel companion, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham). Larys is also more than tired of their current circumstances, and he immediately levels with Aegon, telling the king what he really thinks of him. The two ultimately return to Rook’s Rest, but Aegon is forced to stab the rogue soldier who discovers the crown he’s been carrying around in his satchel. They also reunite with a loyal ally to the Greens in Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), who somehow survived the Battle of the Gullet after being thrown overboard by Admiral Lohar (Abigail Thorn).

Back in the not-so-peaceful hamlet of Tumbleton, Ormund is continuing his lessons in cruelty and power with young Daeron, priming the relatively innocent young ward to become a bloodthirsty killer. Ormund’s notorious temper flares once again when Daeron beats him in the Westeros equivalent of chess, but then he tells the boy prince to never apologize for claiming a victory.

A Serial Killer Is on the Loose in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Episode 5

Image via HBO Max

In the Red Keep, Rhaenyra is still “awash” with all manner of difficulties, with her chief concern being the location of Aemond and his dragon. However, a schism begins to form between her and Daemon when two Goldcloak guards turn up dead while patrolling the streets, and in a particularly gruesome manner at that. Despite being given a direct order from his queen and wife to find Aemond and Vhagar, Daemon refuses in favor of hunting the people responsible for the murders (who, it turns out, have been receiving orders from Ormund via raven). You know the conversation is serious when Rhaenyra and Daemon are arguing while speaking only in High Valyrian.

Following the revelation of Helaena’s (Phia Saban) pregnancy, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is trying to do everything in her power to find a way out of their predicament, even going as far as to terminate it by requesting the same tea from Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan). When Helaena refuses to drink it, Alicent then hatches a plan to escape by any means necessary, only for them to be caught by Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) while attempting to sneak out of the Red Keep dressed as maids.

The episode ends with a speech from Criston trying to rouse his tired and struggling soldiers amid their doomed campaign. Back in King’s Landing, Helaena finds a secret passage that could serve as her and Alicent’s way out of the Red Keep, but they soon find themselves trapped inside the castle’s walls when they reach a dead end. Meanwhile, Daemon stumbles upon the horrific sight of a dozen Goldcloak soldiers slaughtered and staged around a dinner table, with the ominous message of “A feast for traitors” written in blood behind them.

House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 5 is streaming now on HBO Max.

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Release Date

August 21, 2022

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HBO

Showrunner

George R.R. Martin

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Directors

Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel

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Writers

Gabe Fonseca

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• 
• 

  Fabien Frankel

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  Ser Criston Cole

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Pros & Cons

• Finally, Aemond is back in action.
• Rhaenyra and Daemon’s new rivalry is compelling.
• Alicent and Helaena’s dynamic continues to impress.

• Ormund is more goofy than intimidating.
• Criston doesn’t have a whole lot to do right now.

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany Mahomes, were the quintessential matching pair while enjoying their 2026 World Cup Final outing.

For the Sunday, July 19, championship game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Patrick, 30, donned a blue long-sleeve shirt with a white collar that featured three white stripes down the side. (Spain ultimately beat defending champs Argentina, 1-0, in extra time.)

He paired the look with a matching blue baseball cap and sunglasses as he sat beside Brittany, also 30, who opted for a white short-sleeve shirt with a collar and three blue stripes down the side. She styled her hair in a slick back updo, with strands of hair framing her face.

Brittany took to her Instagram Story on Sunday to share a selfie of the couple smiling for the camera as they sat in a private box. Brittany also shared clips from the star-studded halftime show, which featured performances from Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and more.

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Earlier this month, Patrick and Brittany had a date night at Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s wedding to Taylor Swift. The pair also opted to color-coordinate for the special occasion in New York City, with Patrick wearing a navy suit with a bowtie as Brittany rocked an ice blue gown.

Patrick and Brittany have been married since 2022 and share daughters Sterling, 5, and Golden, 18 months, and son Bronze, 3. Last month, Brittany got candid about how being a mom of three has shaped her outlook on life.

“Being a mom changed so many things in my life and changed how I looked at so many things,” Brittany told Yahoo Entertainment in June. “It really reshaped and redefined a lot of things in my life.”

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She continued, “It’s made me more intentional, more purposeful and, honestly, more motivated to keep going and keep showing my kids that there are no boundaries in front of you. You can achieve anything. You can be a part of anything that you want to. You need to dream big and understand that you have to work hard and do the hard things to do the fun things.”

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Brittany went on to reflect on the example she wants to set for her children.

“I think when you become a mom, you learn to say no to things that aren’t as important and focus on what’s best for your life and your family,” she said.

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, have expanded their family yet again with the birth of their fourth baby.

“We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning. Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother,” Vance, 41, and Usha, 40, announced via a joint statement shared via X on Sunday, July 19.

“The incredible military doctors and staff members of Walter Reed Medical Center and the White House Medical Unit have been a blessing,” the announcement continued. “We are deeply thankful for all they have done for our family.”

JD and Usha have been married since June 2014. The couple previously welcomed son Ewan in June 2017, son Vivek in February 2020 and daughter Mirabel in December 2021.

The vice president and second lady announced in January that they were expecting their fourth baby.

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“We’re very excited to share the news that Usha is pregnant with our fourth child, a boy,” the pair said in a statement shared via Instagram. “Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July.”

The statement continued: “During this exciting and hectic time, we are particularly grateful for the military doctors who take excellent care of our family and for the staff members who do so much to ensure that we can serve the country while enjoying a wonderful life with our children.”

JD and Usha are the first vice presidential couple to welcome a baby while in office since Schuyler Colfax — who served during Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency — and his wife, Ellen Colfax, in 1870.

Months before revealing their pregnancy news, JD and Usha faced split rumors when she was spotted without her wedding ring.

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“[She is] a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives a lot of baths and forgets her ring sometimes,” a rep for Usha told People in November 2025.

The following month, JD insisted to NBC News, “Our marriage is as strong as it’s ever been,” adding that he and Usha “get a kick” out of the speculation about their relationship.

“With anything in life, you take the good with the bad,” he said in December 2025. “You accept that there are some sacrifices and there are some very good things that come along with it too.”

While JD admitted that navigating rumors about his marriage could be “tough,” he revealed that Usha also made light of the situation by joking about leaving her wedding ring behind before a public outing.

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“She was like, ‘Oh, if I don’t go back and get them, there’s going to be some ridiculous psycho who talks about it on social media,’” he elaborated. “And I was like, ‘Let them. It’s not even worth the trip to run back upstairs.’ So we actually have a little bit of fun with it. And we thought that whole viral social media cycle was kind of funny.”

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Prior to the marital speculation, Usha opened up about her and JD’s family plans.

“I don’t think we would have gotten married if we didn’t both know that we were going to have kids,” she told Meghan McCain during a June 2025 episode of the “Citizen McCain” podcast. “We both independently were very interested in it, so that was never in question. By the time we were married, we knew we were going to have kids. The number, though, that was the question.”

She continued: “I think what we had decided at the outset is, ‘We’ll have two, and then we’ll see how we feel after that.’ I thought, maybe, I would have two kids and would think I’m done, but I just liked having the two kids so much that I think I ended up being the driver for three.”

Manosphere influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, are speaking out via their lawyer following their most recent arrest for alleged sex trafficking.

“Days ago, Andrew and Tristan Tate exercised their constitutional rights by visiting the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. They held meetings about their UK party, the midterms, and 2028. They also met with friends and members of Congress,” the brothers’ attorney, Joe McBride, claimed via a written statement shared with Us Weekly on Sunday, July 19, before claiming that the so-called men’s rights advocates are currently being held as “political prisoners” on “American soil” in a “5×12 cell” in “solitary confinement.”

“Make no mistake about it: they are being punished for daring to exercise their First Amendment Rights,” the legal representative’s statement continued. (The brothers both face several counts of rape, sexual assault and arranging or facilitating sex trafficking in addition to 21 previous charges related to sexual violence and sex trafficking. They have not been charged with anything pertaining to free speech.)

“They are also being hunted by a despotic UK Government that wants to bury them in a foreign prison for the rest of their lives,” McBride also claimed in his written statement. “We met with them today. They are dressed in orange jumpsuits like Al Qaeda terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. Two innocent men, charged with nothing in America, dressed like enemy combatants.”

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The controversial influencer and his sibling were both arrested in Miami on Saturday, July 19, after the U.K. government filed new rape and sex trafficking charges against them.

“We have decided to prosecute Andrew and Tristan Tate for further offenses including rape, arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation and offenses relating to indecent images of a child,” Malcolm McHaffie, head of the U.K. Special Crime Division at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), announced at the time. “These charging decisions followed receipt of a further file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police and bring the total number of alleged victims in this case to seven.”

The pair were apprehended by U.S. Marshals ahead of a scheduled bareknuckle boxing event they were expected to host. Andrew now faces “seven further counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm,” per the CPS. He has also been cited for 19 additional alleged offenses involving indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.

His brother Tristan, meanwhile, faces additional charges for one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Per the Crown Prosecution Service, prosecutors chose to move forward with 21 previous charges in addition to fresh counts related to four additional alleged victims. These additional incidents allegedly occurred between July 2010 and August 2017 in London. The Tates are due to appear in a federal court early next week to begin extradition proceedings to the U.K., per the Associated Press.

In his written statement, the brothers’ lawyer called the Florida AG James Uthmeier a “low-testosterone deep state asset who hates free speech” and a “sad joke of a man who can’t get over the fact that we wiped the floor with him last year” — a continuation of the brothers’ public back-and-forth with the attorney general after Uthmeir announced his office would be launching an investigation into the brothers’ alleged misconduct in last year.

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“This is un-American and unconscionable,” McBride added. “Love Andrew and Tristan or hate them. It does not matter. When American citizens can be caged for their politics, every single one of you is next.
Mark my words, today it is Andrew and Tristan.”

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McBride then evoked President Donald Trump, who has continued to lie about the 2020 presidential election results, in which he lost to Democratic nominee and then-former Vice President Joe Biden, claiming the election was “stolen” or “rigged” despite failing to provide any evidence to support his claims.

“Tomorrow it will be Trump. Then it will be you,” he claimed. “We have court first thing tomorrow. Let your voices be heard. Speak out. Now.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.