Oscar-winning filmmaker Christopher Nolan has dedicated his craft to not only creating singular worlds and stories on screen, but doing so in a way that pushes beyond the limitations of what’s being done in film. Befitting of Homer’s enduring epic, The Odyssey, Nolan set out to once again navigate uncharted territory, filming entirely in IMAX and developing innovative ways to adapt the format to fit even the most intimate scenes. Talking with Collider’s Steven Weintraub, Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway and Spider-Man icon Tom Holland discuss the ambitious set and the “truly ingenious” tech Nolan employed to pull it all off.

In the movie, fellow Oscar-winner Matt Damon portrays Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who embarks on a treacherous 10-year journey home after the Trojan War. Through deadly obstacles and a seven-year layover on Calypso’s (Charlize Theron) mythical island, Odysseus’s one driving force is reuniting with his Queen Penelope (Hathaway) and his son, Telemachus (Holland). This cast of characters also includes Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, Zendaya as Athena, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, and more.

During their interview, Hathaway and Holland reveal the technique behind Nolan’s latest IMAX achievement and how it created a moment so private that Holland could have kissed his fellow Spider-Man: Brand New Day co-star, Bernthal. They also share how Nolan’s attitude on set creates an environment completely its own and allows the cast to step outside their minds, and how production designer Ruth De Jong helped facilitate Nolan’s grounded vision of the legendary Ancient Greece of The Odyssey.

How ‘The Odyssey’ Transported Its Cast and Crew Back in Time to Ancient Greece

“It felt like we were making movies how they used to be made.”

COLLIDER: First of all, this movie is incredible, and you’re both so fantastic in it. I wish everyone could see it the way I saw it in IMAX 70mm last night. It’s an experience. But I have to ask the most important question first, which is, can you explain to me exactly how Chris built the time machine that took you back to ancient Greece, to film on location?

ANNE HATHAWAY: Well, it was designed by Ruth De Jong, our production designer, so it was gorgeous.

TOM HOLLAND: On Tenet, right?

HATHAWAY: Yes, exactly. He took a lot of the tech that was developed for Tenet, and then we just climbed aboard.

HOLLAND: It did feel like we went back in a time machine, but a time machine that was both taking us to the future and to the past, which is so Chris Nolan, if you think about it, because the movie felt super nostalgic. It felt like we were making movies how they used to be made, but then also we were breaking barriers and breaking records with shooting an entire movie on IMAX and building this incredibly unique piece of kit to dampen out the cameras. So, it was this kind of weird experience of being nostalgic and futuristic at the same time.

If you could ask Homer one question about The Odyssey, what would you ask?

HOLLAND: “Do you think that I am a good Telemachus?”

Matt said something very similar.

HOLLAND: Oh, he did? [Laughs]

HATHAWAY: I would ask, “Do you think Tom Holland was a good Telemachus?”

HOLLAND: Nice. I like that.

Tom Holland Reveals How Christopher Nolan Uses “British Humor” To Ease Tension During Crucial Scenes

“Stop thinking about it. Just do it.”

Image via Universal Pictures

None of us will ever be on a set with Chris, hearing him direct. Was there a moment on set where Chris directed you in such a way that really helped shape the performance or make you reassess how you were playing the scene? What is it like to actually collaborate with him in that moment?

HOLLAND: I love how he can undercut the tension with almost super British humor. I had this one scene with Matt [Damon], which is arguably one of my most important scenes in the film. I don’t want to talk about it too much because it’s a big spoiler, but Matt and I were discussing the scene a lot, and he basically stuck his head in and went, “Oi, thespians, get on with it! I’m gonna be on the dog.” And I just remember being like, “Oh my God.” He just totally was like, “Stop thinking about it. Just do it,” and it completely alleviated any sense of stress that I had about the importance of the scene, because he had just made light of the situation.

I think what lots of directors would do is send the crew away and give you your time, and we could discuss it for an hour. You actually make yourself feel more pressure because you’re making people wait, whereas he’s like, “Forget about the pressure, bro. You’ll be fine. Just do it.”

HATHAWAY: “You’re not important right now.” [Laughs]

HOLLAND: Yeah, yeah, yeah! It’s like, the dog just nailed it. The dog did the most incredible work. There’s not a dry eye on the crew, and I have to follow the dog. But I saw him do it on a few occasions with a few different actors, where he just completely undercut the tension with humor, and it allowed a certain freedom in the following take.

Anne Hathaway Explains Why Most Movies Don’t Film Entirely in IMAX Like ‘The Odyssey’

The Oscar-winner also details the unique camera set up the Greek epic utilized.

Image via Universal Pictures

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Anne, you got to do the mirror system very early in the shoot or in the middle of the shoot. There’s a key scene with Matt where you’re using mirrors with this IMAX blimp. Can you tell people about this mirror system and what it was like as an actor to work with something so new and radical, but also intimate?

HATHAWAY: We shot the whole film on IMAX, and the reason that that’s never been done before is related to sound. You could make a silent film on IMAX; however, any film that has dialogue, the IMAX camera, because of the size of the film stock, is so loud when it goes through the shutter that it obliterates any dialogue, so you’d have to loop the entire thing, which is not the best experience.

So, what Chris, Hoyte [van Hoytema], Willie [D. Burton], our sound engineer, and a lot of other geniuses, frankly, worked on was they created a blimp to go around an IMAX camera that was really huge, and I think everybody had their different relationship with it. I thought of it as, like, a big, friendly giant. But the thing about it is, when you’re making movies, you have to be able to get close to the camera for eyelines, and an IMAX blimp surrounds the camera by several feet in all directions, so that makes it very difficult. What Chris and Hoyte and all the geniuses that I mentioned did was they rigged a mirror system, whereby it was a strategy of mirrors. So if Tom needed to see me, he was standing on one side of the lens, and I was behind it, looking into a mirror that reflected into a mirror that Tom could then see, that he would act with.

The thing that’s amazing about it is it was so beautifully designed that none of us actors felt like we were compromising ourselves to engage with a system that made us feel like our performances were outside of ourselves. All of our memories are, “No, I was just acting with you.” It was truly ingenious. It just goes to show that a lot of times when people talk about technology and technology in film, I hear a lot of opinions by people who have never made a movie before about how great tech is for film. I’m not anti anything, so I’m sure it’ll help in certain ways, but the fact that this piece of equipment, this new piece of tech, which is not reliant upon computers, was built by actual filmmakers who understood what it was that they were designing for, where all the form followed the function, it was genuinely a thrill. And if you’re film nerds like us, we couldn’t believe we were there.

HOLLAND: Yeah, it was crazy. I did a scene with Jon Bernthal, the whole thing on the mirror, and it made me forget that the camera was there because his face was floating in front of the camera. Whereas usually, you’re trying to forget that there’s a camera, an operator, a focus puller, and then the actor. It was like I could have kissed him, he was that close.

HATHAWAY: Did you?

HOLLAND: I wish I did. He’s handsome.

HATHAWAY: I mean, you guys are very close.

HOLLAND: We are very close.

The Odyssey opens in theaters and IMAX on July 17.

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Release Date

July 17, 2026

Runtime

172 Minutes

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This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Bold and the Beautiful shows Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) is furious that Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) and Katie Logan (Heather Tom) pushed the Hope for the Future launch ahead of his dad’s debut. That and the reveal of Shauna Fulton’s (Denise Richards) jewelry line and the big blue Hope for the Future diamond shocked Ridge, Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang), Logan, and all of the Foresters.

And since then, Ridge is making what seems like disastrous business decisions. He shelved the jewelry line, and he pushed off Eric Forrester’s (John McCook) couture launch indefinitely. And new spoilers for next week say Ridge goes after Bill.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge’s Revenge on Bill

So, right now, Bill’s flying high. Sales are flooding in. The critics loved Hope for the Future and Deke Sharpe’s (Harrison Cone) design work. The jewelry line is a smash. And the big blue diamond is a huge attention getter. Everything’s great over at Logan, aside from Brooke raging and smashing things up.

But once the dust settles, I expect that Hope’s going to stay at Logan and Brooke’s going to walk out mad and the Foresters try and decide what is next. I think Ridge is making bad decisions. Why should a major fashion house like Forrester Creations change their plans because of a startup? I think letting Katie’s launch with Hope derail the launch of Eric’s couture line just it’s a bad decision. It’s nuts. I think it makes Ridge and Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) look weak as leaders.

Honestly, so does shelving Electra Forrester’s (Laneya Grace) jewelry line because basically like Ridge and Steffy are admitting that Logan’s outdone them and their stuff is better. It’s bad business and I think it’s going to make them look bad in the fashion press.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge Takes Action

So, official Bold and the Beautiful spoilers say Ridge takes matters into his own hands with Bill and that could only mean designer Ridge is out for some kind of revenge. I expect him to hit back hard against Bill after Brooke comes back from the Hope confrontation sad and angry. Brooke shell shocked. She’ll be crying on Ridge’s shoulder about Katie stealing Hope from her. And I’m sure we’ll also hear more of Brooke telling Ridge it’s just like Katie stealing the Logan name, stealing Eric’s designs. You know, the ones Bill and Katie paid for. All that crazy talk she’s been doing.

And Ridge may decide he’s going to hit back hard at Bill. Not only because he and Katie took such a hard slap at Forrester Creations with the Hope blindside, but also because Hope’s betrayal has crushed Brooke. And she thinks Bill and Katie are the real villains behind this mess. They think she’s brainwashed Hope, like Logan is some sort of cult or something.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge’s Options for Payback

So, let’s talk about what Ridge might do when he goes after Bill looking for revenge. The first thing I would expect is obvious: for Ridge to storm over to Logan and confront Bill like Brooke went to confront Katie. I could see Ridge blasting Bill for luring Hope over to Logan and absolutely crushing Ridge’s wife Brooke. It could even get physical, like an all-out brawl. I mean, honestly, it wouldn’t be the first time Ridge and Bill fought physically. And Brooke slapped Katie recently and then physically attacked Katie again this week.

So, Ridge and Bill are both arrogant hotheads and they hate each other. So, I think they would do worse than the women did. Ridge is beyond furious and Bill is the best one to take it out on. It’s not like Ridge can go over there and punch Hope or Katie or something, but he can certainly pummel Bill and we’ve seen Ridge throw Bill off a balcony. I think that was when he slept with Steffy and Ridge found out. So, yeah, I think that he’s going to head over there and he could do something physically harmful to Bill.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge Goes the Legal Route

Another option that Ridge could try for payback is to pursue a legal remedy because Hope was still under contract with Forrester Creations when she signed a contract to work at Logan. And we could see Ridge siccing legal eagle Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) onto Bill and Katie. They might be able to get an injunction to prevent Logan from fulfilling the Hope for the Future sales orders.

I did take a glimpse at California contract law and in a creative field like fashion like Ridge and Katie are operating their companies in, usually there’s a non-compete clause. There’s a no moonlighting clause. However, I will say Bold and the Beautiful isn’t a soap that usually goes into legal remedies.

So, I think Ridge suing Bill and Katie’s company over Hope’s breach of contract is kind of a long shot to see, but it is feasible if this were the real world. But if Ridge sued over the Hope thing, I think that would make Forrester Creations look weak as well.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge Resorts to Sabotage?

Another route Ridge might take to deal with the threat of Bill and Katie’s company is just to make them look really bad to the public. Remember, Ridge recently commented on the poor construction of the Logan gowns at the launch. I also remember that Deke was told that one of the models dresses tore and Hope and Deke were really rushing out the designs. So, Katie’s team might have cut corners trying to get ahead of Eric’s launch.

And I could see Ridge working with Steffy on this. You know, one of them could contact a fashion influencer they know, have her buy a Hope for the Future dress, and then claim that the dress Katie sold fell apart on her. Ridge could ask the influencer to do a really nasty video hoping it’ll go viral about how Katie and Hope put out cheap knockoff versions when Forrester Creations puts out quality clothing.

That would really embarrass Bill. And to be fair, he is all about the bottom line. And he talked to Deke about making sure that the costs were under control when they were making decisions about materials and designs. So, this is one way I could see Ridge hitting back really hard at Bill and the company that he gave to Katie to punish them for Eric and Hope both doing launches over at Logan.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge Poaches Shauna?

Another thing I could see Ridge doing to hit back at Bill is trying some of the same type of moves that Katie’s been making when she’s been recruiting from Forrester. Ridge might try and steal somebody important from Logan. The first person I thought of was Shauna. I think Ridge might be able to steal her away from Bill and Katie.

Or I guess I should say Shauna’s the only one that Ridge possibly could steal. I don’t think anybody else would even be open to it. But if you remember, Shauna has always had a huge crush on Ridge. Back in the day with Quinn Fuller (Rena Sofer) encouraging her, we saw Shauna getting Ridge drunk in Vegas and she tricked him into marrying her.

So, Ridge might flirt with Shauna and try to lure her over to their side. You know, Ridge might offer to put Shauna in charge of the Forrester Creations jewelry line and have Electra reporting to her. That would be a typical Ridge thing to do. Plus, honestly, Electra isn’t experienced enough to head up the line anyway.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge Gets a Spy to Infiltrate Logan?

Now, one last thing I think could be really soapy for Ridge to do for revenge on Bill is to embed a spy over at Logan to constantly feed Ridge information that they can use to try and undermine Bill and Katie and their business. I could see Ridge asking Zende Forrester (Delon de Metz) to go over to Logan and tell Katie that with Hope for the Future gone that the Forresters, the other Forresters have pushed him aside.

And I think that Katie would believe that Zende was put on the shelf. Honestly, Katie and Bill might jump at the chance to hire a Forrester, but it would be ironic if Zende went over to Logan intending to spy for Ridge, but then Zende liked it better working for Katie and he betrayed Ridge and flipped the script on him. I think that would be super duper soapy.

We’ll see how it goes, but I do think Bold and the Beautiful is really kicking it up a notch for July sweeps. Bring on the brawls. Bring on the confrontations. So long as Ridge doesn’t throw Bill off a balcony at Spencer Tower, I think we’re good because I don’t think Bill would bounce back from that.

Anabelle’s unofficial welcome to the United States isn’t exactly warm and romantic.

In Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek of the Sunday, July 5, episode of 90 Day Fiancé, Shea, 54, appears to be more than excited to celebrate his birthday by welcoming his partner from the Philippines.

“But really, this is about Anabelle. I want everybody to meet Anabelle,” he tells a crowd of his friends. “She’s, like, the sweetest person in the world I love everybody here, and I just want everybody to meet her. I love you baby.”

While Shea’s intentions may appear to be pure, his daughter has a warning for Anabelle, 54, about how her partner acts when he has a few too many drinks.

“Anabelle’s never seen a lake party before and everybody being here,” the open and honest family member explains. “She’s happy right now, but I’m not too sure that she will be after seeing my dad’s actual side tonight.”

Cameras roll as Shea interacts with several female guests at the party, including Aspen.

“Aspen’s like, If I was 21 years old, you would have never been here,” he jokes. “No I love Anabelle but Aspen is the sweetest thing.”

His flirting continues into the night as he serves up some “apple pie for my pretty pie.”

“I know he’s drunk because he’s flirting to a woman right in front of me,” Anabelle shares in the preview clip. “He thinks that it’s not a big deal but for me, it’s a big deal.

She continued, “If this is who really Shea is, I don’t want to live my life like this.”

When a new season of 90 Day Fiancé kicked off in May, viewers immediately met Shea, who was described as a local celebrity in his town of Paducah, Kentucky.

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Related: ‘90 Day Fiance‘ Couples Status Check: Who Is Still Together?

90 Day Fiancé has been captivating audiences since its premiere in 2014 — and has more success stories than viewers might think. The TLC reality series follows hopeful couples who have applied for or received their K-1 visas and must get married within 90 days in order to stay in the United States. Thank You! […]

“He’s wealthy and a well-known realtor famous for his southern charm and rowdy lake parties, but when he meets Anabelle, a shy, attentive and warm Filipino caretaker, he quickly falls in love,” TLC described. “She’s the yin to his yang. Anabelle loves to take care of her man with fully body scrub downs, dressing him from head to toe and even cutting his toenails.”

Their relationship, however, is tested when Shea’s meddling daughter and troublemaking ex-wife resurface to stir gossip and expose his past infidelities.

Find out if their love story can withstand the drama when 90 Day Fiancé airs on TLC Sundays at 8pm ET. Stream episodes the next day on HBO Max.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 28 seconds ago

Who do you think Marvel’s most underrated villain is? The answer is Baron Zemo, the Big Bad of Captain America: Civil War. He didn’t have superpowers or high-tech gear; instead, he just had a big brain and a burning hatred for the heroes who had ruined his life by getting his family killed. In this way, he’s the most relatable villain in the entire MCU. After all, who wouldn’t want to burn the entire world down if it meant getting revenge on those who took everything from you? Later, the villain returned in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, where he helped create a hilarious meme (“he’s out of line, but he’s right”).

Sadly, Zemo has not returned to the MCU since then. While he could make a surprise appearance, he’s not one of the many characters confirmed to appear in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. Now, however, the villain has returned (sort of) in the last place you’d expect to find him. Zemo actor Daniel Brühl recently appeared in a German trailer for Marvel’s collaboration with Magic: The Gathering. As an added bonus, he actually looks more comic book accurate than he ever looked in the MCU!

The Legend Of Zemo

The entire trailer is in German, but don’t worry: the video above has English subtitles, so you can follow along. The first thing you see in the trailer is Daniel Brühl dressed as Baron Zemo. This includes wearing a very striking purple trench coat. While this might make MCU fans think about other villains (most notably, the Purple Man from Jessica Jones), the garment is meant to be an homage to how Zemo dresses in the comics, where he always wears a purple mask and (mostly) purple clothes. Brühl doesn’t mask up in the commercial, but for longtime comics nerds, it’s fun to see him rocking his signature color.

The trailer begins with Brühl surveying his Marvel-themed Magic: The Gathering Cards. Unsurprisingly, he is putting together a villain deck. We then cut to the bespectacled leader of a group of Magic players. He is alarmed that someone (in this case, Zemo) has already pulled a Thanos card, and he calls his buddies to help assemble a powerful hero deck. The drama (including a brief supervillain speech from Brühl) is very tongue-in-cheek and mostly serves as an excuse to show off various cards (many of which do, to Hasbro’s credit, look very beautiful).

A More Comic Accurate Fit

The plot culminates with Zemo calling the leader of the heroic players, demanding to meet. alone, at sundown. Initially, it looks like they are about to engage in a Wild West-style duel, only using cards instead of guns. The other man brags about all of the hero cards he brought with him while Brühl looks down, quite confidently, at his Baron Zemo card. The last thing we see is a comedic shot of the two actually sitting down and playing Magic, where Brühl is surprised that the other player managed to destroy his Loki card.  

So, is this a canonical MCU appearance from Baron Zemo? Nope. The commercial intentionally avoids giving the character a name; instead, it simply hints at who he is through the character’s outfit and his preference for the Zemo card. The biggest hint, of course, is bringing back Daniel Brühl, who is having the time of his life here. Maybe he’s actually a fan of Magic: The Gathering, or maybe he just gives every project his all. Either way, his performance in this silly commercial is just as great (and just as weirdly intense) as his performance in Captain America: Civil War.

Whether or not you’re likely to buy Marvel’s Magic: The Gathering cards (personally, I tapped out of this game when half of the releases switched to licensed IPs), this commercial is fairly charming. It captures the emotional highs and the goofy lows of getting with your buddies (and maybe even your frenemy) for a fun bit of tabletop gaming. Mostly, though, this commercial is fun because of Daniel Brühl. His performance is charming and charismatic, leaving Marvel fans to ask Kevin Feige just one question: when are you going to bring back Baron Zemo for real?

Roomies, Alicia Brown is speaking out—but not in the way some people may have expected. As the legal drama involving Francesca Amiker continues to unfold, Brown is making it clear she’s taking a different approach while the case plays out.

RELATED: New Footage Allegedly Shows Big Tigger Assaulting His Wife Amid Protective Order (VIDEO)

Alicia Brown Says The Receipts Will Speak

Just one day after V-103 personality Francesca Amiker filed a federal defamation lawsuit against her, Alicia Brown broke her silence through a statement released by her legal and public relations team. While declining to respond to the allegations directly, Brown said she has been advised by counsel to refrain from discussing the case publicly as several legal matters remain ongoing. Instead, her team insisted that “the receipts, including text messages, evidence, and the legal process will speak for themselves.” They added they’re confident the truth will come out in court—not on social media.

Alicia Claims The Full Story Isn’t Out Yet

Brown’s response follows Amiker’s claims that she falsely accused the radio host of being Big Tigger’s mistress. She also allegedly linked her to injuries Brown reportedly sustained. According to the lawsuit, Amiker is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and a jury trial. Brown’s team also said her main focus remains protecting her family, especially the children they claim witnessed multiple altercations, some of which were allegedly recorded. The statement closed by thanking supporters for their continued prayers and patience, saying Brown will speak publicly when it’s “appropriate and legally advisable” to do so.

Here’s What Sparked Francesca’s Lawsuit

RELATED: Alicia Brown Shares Message About “False Narratives” As Big Tigger Is Reportedly Ordered To Stay Away From Her & Their Kids

Las Vegas may not be hosting World Cup matches, but you’d never know it walking through Circa Resort & Casino on Fremont Street. The place has been absolutely packed with fans from every corner of the globe, turning the property into its own personal World Cup fanfest — and the celebrities have been showing up in a big way.

No, that’s not the setup to a joke. The two Hollywood heavyweights were in Vegas for pre-production on their new Martin Scorsese-produced series The Roman when they decided to catch the NBA Finals — inside the world’s largest sportsbook, no less. The duo was spotted hanging with Circa Owner/CEO Derek Stevens as the New York Knicks took down the San Antonio Spurs. Iconic doesn’t even begin to cover it.

32 Million Followers, One Epic Rooftop Party

Social media giant Luisito Comunica — who has his 32 million followers — took things to a whole other level, reserving Circa’s sky-high Legacy Club for an exclusive watch party as Mexico faced South Korea. The 60th-floor panoramic views of Las Vegas were just the backdrop — his tequila brand Gran Malo was flowing, Spanish-speaking influencers were everywhere, cameras were out, and Mexico pulled off the win. During halftime, Luis and his crew were spotted at Mega Bar watching a flair show poured straight from Gran Malo bottles before linking up with Derek Stevens to toast Mexico’s first goal. Somebody call a director, because this night had scene written all over it.

Barry Bonds Just Made His Daughter’s Engagement Even More Legendary

Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Bonds doesn’t do anything small — so when his daughter Aisha got engaged, he reserved a private room at Barry’s Downtown Prime to celebrate in style. The whole family came out, and both chef Barry and Derek Stevens personally stopped by to offer their congratulations. The night wasn’t over after dinner, though. The Bonds crew took over the corner at Legacy Club, where they were treated to a lit-up celebration sign and a bottle of champagne with the Vegas skyline glittering behind them. Romance? Absolutely. Legendary? Without question.

UFC Champ Johanna Jedrzejczyk Hits the Red Carpet

Former UFC strawweight champion Johanna Jedrzejczyk turned heads on the red carpet outside Barry’s Downtown Prime, arriving with her sisters, family, and CAA agent Jennifer Goldstein for a night out. The group was all smiles on their way in — and even more so on the way out, stopping for photos before heading into the evening.

Vegas Didn’t Need a Match To Win

No official World Cup games. No problem. Circa has single-handedly turned Downtown Las Vegas into the hottest watch party destination on the planet, and the stars keep coming back to prove it. Anyone still refusing to call this a sports town? It’s time to reconsider.

Days of Our Lives hint that Holly Jonas’ (Ashley Puzemis) health issues could prove fatal as her arsenic poisoning worsens and Tate Black (Leo Howard) just said that Holly’s mom, Nicole Walker (Arianne Zucker), was back in the US and had landed in Chicago.

However, it seems like a long shot that we are getting Arianne Zucker back. We’re seeing Holly’s health go from bad to worse with EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel), the only one who knows that it’s arsenic killing her. And with Nicole in town and EJ in deep trouble, this is getting good.

Days of Our Lives: Holly’s Arsenic Crisis and the Nicole Question

So, Holly said she was feeling better, but that was a blatant lie that she told to Tate so that he would leave and go do what he needed to. She didn’t want him to worry about her. But then when he left, Holly curled up in a ball in agonizing pain. We know that Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) told Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) that it would be three to five days to get the test results back, but EJ already has test results.

His guy George said that their water sample came back fast because they knew what to test for: arsenic. As of now, Sarah has no idea what is causing the symptoms or how to treat Holly. And Sarah’s scared that Holly might die like her patient Destiny did. And when EJ asked George, “Won’t Holly recover from the arsenic?” George gave EJ very bad news. So, George said Holly’s doctors may not be able to save her because they don’t know that they need to be treating arsenic poisoning. So, it’s getting worse and she may die. And that leaves EJ in a real pickle.

Days of our Lives: Brady Suspects a Relapse

Right now all Brady and Sarah know is that Holly had Coriseal in her system and was drinking a lot of water. So, Brady wonders if Holly might be using illegal drugs again, just that she might have relapsed because of all this stress, including Sophia’s death and Amy Choi’s (Shi Ne Neilson) lawsuit. And EJ’s doubly stressed because George saw Brady on Smith Island, and George said Brady was taking a water sample.

Bottom line is Nicole’s back in Illinois. Holly’s dying and EJ’s family company is to blame for at least two deaths and possibly three if Holly doesn’t pull out of this. And Tate told Holly to expect Nicole to come see her soon, but unless they’ve done a temporary recast, I doubt we’re actually going to see Holly’s mom.

Arianne Zucker was suing Days and Sony and Albert Allar and Ken Corde and I think some others. They settled out of court with Arianne, but networks usually don’t rehire people that sue them. I’m team Arianne on this. However, I really doubt that she’s back. I mean, fingers crossed, but it seems a slim chance.

Days of our Lives: Nicole May Not Be Seen

And it seems crazy to think about, but they could have written this so Nicole’s stuff is all off-screen. We could hear Holly got a visit from her mom, but then she left to take a shower. Or EJ comes in and says, “Oh, I just talked to Nicole and she’s really mad about Holly’s illness.” Crazy stuff like that. A recast would make a lot more sense because Holly needs to be able to feel her mom’s arms around her comforting her because she’s scared. She’s in pain. And right now, Nicole, Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan), and their son Jude all live in Paris.

They did an off-screen Nicole return when Holly had her high school graduation. If you remember, we only saw Greg Vaughan as Eric, and they mentioned that Nicole’s mad at him and didn’t sit near him at the ceremony and then left.

Days of our Lives Lawsuit

Again, if you don’t recall the whole backstory to this, Arianne Zucker sued them, alleging sexual harassment, discrimination, and I think hostile work environment as well. And this was after Albert Allar was accused of some pretty icky stuff behind the scenes. And there was that bloodbath when he reportedly fired so many actresses. Nicole was written off mid 2023 after about 25 years on Days of Our Lives.

And Arianne alleged that her firing was in retaliation for her complaint. She claimed there was a toxic work environment for women on the set of Days. Nicole Walker’s last air date was July 29, 2024, almost two years ago now. The court case settled in October of 2025, but the terms were never made public. But Albert Allar’s side claims that he only settled to get it over with.

Days of our Lives: Perfect Timing to Bring the Real Nicole Back

Usually settlements like that come with a gag order. So, Arianne Zucker wouldn’t be able to talk about the terms of the settlement. And longtime Days of Our Lives fans obviously would love to have the real Nicole back to Salem. And this storyline would be the perfect time for it to happen.

But there’s no way of knowing if Arianna Zucker would even be open to coming back to Days. Although Albert Allar was fired, Ken Corde, the guy who should have been preventing these alleged bad things from happening, is still very much in place. But since it is July sweeps, if they were going to bring back Arianne’s Nicole, now would be the time to do it.

Days of Our Lives: Holly’s Survival and EJ’s Cover-Up

We know, however, that Holly’s not sticking around. Her portrayer Ashley Puzemis and scene partner Leo Howard, who plays Tate, were both fired from Days when they came back from Christmas break at the beginning of this year. But that should put their exit dates closer to September than right now.

So, I tend to think Holly survives. I’m expecting Tate and Holly to maybe exit together in the fall. We could see her deciding that she’s had enough of Salem after the Sophia Choi (Rachel Boyd) and Amy drama. So, Holly may enroll in the Sorbonne since she was accepted there, and Tate follows along to teach self-defense to the French or something.

I think it would be great to see Arianne Zucker return as Nicole Walker, even if it was just for a handful of episodes, but again, I doubt it. I also expect we’re about to get some scenes from that big summer promo like the ones with EJ screaming at Sarah that she doesn’t need his help and EJ’s firing Sarah. The likely situation is Holly being the catalyst, and we know that by the end of this week EJ enlists Johnny DiMera’s (Carson Boatman) help with the DiMera drug mess and he is soon breaking into and searching Sarah’s office.

Days of our Lives: More Drama Ahead for Holly

So, I doubt that EJ fires her this week, or else Johnny wouldn’t have to sneak into Sarah’s office to look around. Plus, we know that Holly’s going to survive this arsenic crisis, but faces more drama soon. Another scene from the big promo has Tate and Holly back up at the hospital.

And she’s insisting that those pills aren’t mine. And in front of Sarah, we’re going to see Holly raging at Tate. Holly screams at Tate to get out when he asks Holly if they can just talk about it, knowing she’s not going to die. That points to Nicole’s return maybe being an off-screen thing.

Plus, I think Days fans would probably rant and riot if they recast Nicole, especially after how the actress was allegedly treated. Fans raged when Arianna was fired. So, EJ probably is going to find a way to get word that Sarah needs to be treating Holly for arsenic poisoning. You know, maybe EJ can speed up the lab test results so Sarah will know what to do for Holly.

Days of our Lives: Holly Survives the Poisoning

And if you look at the current storyline, it certainly seems dire and it points to Holly really needing her mom Nicole. But when you look at the timeline for Ashley Puzemis’s exit and the spoiler scenes from the summer promo, it’s pretty easy to figure out that Holly recovers.

So, Nicole isn’t needed for a deathbed scene and then needs to be there when her daughter dies or anything. It almost feels like Days writers are trying to score more July Sweeps attention by even bringing up Nicole’s name, but never put it past them that they wouldn’t do a recast for a couple of days, even if it would tick off fans with a whole new Nicole. I mean, heck, Ken Corday might even do it as a slap at Arianne Zucker for suing him.

Julie Chen is gearing up for her 28th season as host of CBS’ hit reality competition series “Big Brother,” which returns Thursday, July 9, at 8 p.m. ET. While this season’s houseguests remain under wraps, that hasn’t stopped “BB” fans from trying to crack the code. With this year’s “Time Trip” theme, online speculation has centered on the possibility of returning players or other familiar faces. But as the “Big Brother” motto goes, expect the unexpected.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming season, host Chen reminded fans not to believe everything they see online. “It’s a big production, and people talk and yada yada,” she said.

“Some of you might be right what you’re speculating. Some of the stuff online might be accurate. Some of it is dead wrong. But there’s only one way to find out if what you’re hearing is true or not, and you gotta be there [on premiere night],” she added.

Julie Chen Teases The New ‘Big Brother’ House

Before the start of every “Big Brother” season, Chen gives fans a house tour and shares behind-the-scenes secrets about the season’s theme. This year, though, Chen is keeping her cards close to her chest, revealing that even she has been kept in the dark about some of the upcoming twists.

“Everything is so top secret and so last minute. I didn’t even see all the rooms yet!” she exclaimed. “But I’ve been told. And the room I didn’t see, it sounds horrendous.”

While she didn’t give anything away, Chen teased that the houseguests will be in for a rude awakening when they enter the “Big Brother” house next week, saying the secret room “sounds not fun.” At the same time, she said it’s what players must do if they want to win the whopping $750,000 grand prize.

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“But you know, if you wanna win three quarters of a million dollars — no pain, no gain,” she said.

What Else Can Chen Share About The ‘Big Brother’ House This Year?

And that’s not all. According to Chen, there are even more twists and turns built into the house’s architecture, specifically the dining room table. In her interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 56-year-old said that the house’s dining table is actually a Lazy Susan and will be “integral” to the game.

“Let’s just say this year’s Lazy Susan is anything but lazy and has so much more to it that I can’t even describe, but it’s integral to the theme this year,” she said.

Julie Chen Shares More About The Season’s Theme … ‘Time Trip’

Regarding the season’s “Time Trip” theme, Chen said fans shouldn’t assume they know what it means. According to her, it could mean things go “backward,” or they can “go forward.” The host also said it could have pros and cons for someone’s game.

“So some people are gonna love it. Some people are gonna hate it. ‘Big Brother’ is so hard to win these days. There’s never been a formula, but the challenges have just leveled up because these people, they think they know the game,” she said.

“They practice at home with their version of the wall and this and that. So we have to keep it difficult. I wouldn’t last one day in that house,” she continued.

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Will Season 28 Of ‘Big Brother’ Feature Familiar Faces?

As for casting, Chen teased that “Big Brother” fans could see some familiar faces when the new season premieres on July 9.

“I can say that if you love Big Brother and you’re a decent fan, it’s gonna register a big reaction,” she said. “Definitely big.”

Chen went on to say that “some people are gonna be very excited” about the cast, and some may say, “‘Oh boy.’”

“And I will say that if you are a lover of the top reality shows out there, then I think you’re gonna be very happy. Very, very happy,” she finished.

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Young and the Restless exciting new spoilers for next week have Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) being in critical condition after a brutal attack and Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) making another big move as CEO of Chancellor.

There’s blood, there’s trouble, and major drama the week of July 6th. We have got the latest Y&R spoilers including action for Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott), Holden Novak (Nathan Owens), Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters), and many more.

Young and the Restless: Jack’s Brutal Attack and Rescue Mission

Now, let’s talk about the hot plots coming the second full week of Sweeps. So, let’s start with the Abbotts because there’s life and death drama for a couple of them at the end of this week and going into next week.

So, at the end of this week, Jack and Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) have this whole big plan that they have cooked up and they are going to thwart Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) and they’re going to save Diane from the evil doctor. So, Jack is at the mansion distracting Patty while Kyle goes over to Markham’s house after they lured the psycho shrink away. So, Kyle broke a window to get inside and he’s thrilled to see Diane, but they can’t go back the way he came because the way he came there were the crazy dogs.

And Kyle brought a bunch of beef for Markham’s psycho dogs, but he says they’ve likely finished it all by now. And with the doors all locked, there’s not a safe way out. And then Markham returns. So, Diane hides Kyle out of sight. And then Diane’s getting all flirty with Markham, asking him to pour wine, talking about their dinner she made them. Leaves him with some hors d’oeuvres. And Diane tells Markham that she’s got feelings for him, and he says he has feelings for her, too.

Young and the Restless Spoilers: Diane’s Plan Works

So, after Diane walks out, Markham tries one of the hors d’oeuvres. Then he goes to kiss Diane. She tells him to sit down. Markham’s woozy and Diane tells the sicko shrink that she drugged him and she calls for Kyle. So, after Markham passes out, they search him and find his keys. Then Kyle and Diane take off.

Meanwhile, over at the Abbott mansion, Patty’s being creepy, trying to get Jack to do intimate activities with her. And it seems like he’s pretty confident that Kyle succeeded because Jack stops even playing Patty’s reindeer games. He’s fending her off as Patty’s talking crazy about them still being married. And she tells Jack that Diane needs to pay for cheating with him when Patty and Jack were married decades ago.

Then Patty gets more aggressive and blames Jack for her winding up in the psych hospital. And Patty says she ended up there because he cheated with Diane. She’s making threats, telling Jack to join her upstairs. Patty dropped her robe, appeared nude downstairs, and then went and crawled into bed upstairs waiting on him.

Young and the Restless Spoilers: Patty Flips Out

So, Jack texts Kyle and then tells Patty that Kyle got Diane out, and they are on their way home. So, Jack’s feeling very cocky and he tells Patty that he tricked Markham, sending a text from her phone. Patty’s enraged and says Jack broke her heart again and now Diane’s got a death sentence because of him.

Patty isn’t buying it, though. She’s doubtful. So, she calls Markham to check it out and Diane answers his phone. So, Patty freaks out and then Jack tells her, “Get out of my house.” Jack’s talking to Diane and Kyle and says, “Patty’s gone and he’s going to burn everything in the house that she touched.”

But guess what? Patty’s not gone. She just went to get a knife. So, she gives Jack a kiss and then stabs him in the gut. And Patty says they will be together forever in the afterlife.

So, Kyle and Diane are racing home and Kyle wants to know if his mom is coming to the mansion or if she wants to go back to the Genoa City Athletic Club. And Diane says she loves Jack and is ready to come home.

Young and the Restless: Jack’s Medical Crisis and Nikki’s Recovery

But next week, it looks like Kyle and Diane walk into a nightmare bloodbath scene. Spoilers for the week of July 6th on Young and the Restless have Kyle and Diane coming home to the Abbott mansion and calling out for Jack, but they don’t hear him. They don’t see him.

So, Diane wonders if Jack left and went somewhere, but then they hear the sound of glass breaking. So, after Patty stabbed him, Jack is clearly bleeding out. Other spoilers say his life is on the line and Patty is nowhere near done with Diane.

But also, Jack’s sister, Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson) is back. She returns next Friday for Jack’s medical crisis caused by Patty. So, I’m willing to bet that the Newmans don’t want to tell Nikki about Jack’s stabbing and his life hanging in the balance while she is still recovering.

But once Nikki finds out what Patty did, I think she will rage at Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) because he is the only reason that Patty’s back in town and that Jack might die. And of course, we know that he’s not going to die, but still, it’s the principle of the thing.

Young and the Restless Spoilers: Nikki’s Out of Surgery

And speaking of Nikki, we know she made it through surgery, okay. But we don’t know the fate of her eyesight. But Stephanie Simmons (Vivica A. Fox) releases Nikki from the hospital next week and as expected, she is not going back to the Genoa City Athletic Club, at least not as far as she knows.

So, we predicted that Victor would bring her home and would set up the ranch to accommodate her new accessibility issues. And once she comes home, we’ll see. Nikki’s eyes are both still bandaged up. So, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Nick (Joshua Morrow) are there to get Nikki settled in.

What I wonder is if Nikki thinks that Victoria and Nick are taking her back to her room at the Genoa City Athletic Club or if Nikki realizes that she’s at home, the home that Victor tossed her out of. So, also next week, it looks like her estranged husband is making decisions about her medical care, and Nikki may not like that at all.

Young and the Restless: Cane’s CEO Moves and Holden’s New Role

We’ve also got more action coming for Cane Ashby as CEO of Chancellor. And we know that he has already hired Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) to head up R&D. And Lily Winters (Christel Khalil) is certain that it’s not going to work out and she’ll have to fire Billy in the end.

But the week of July 6 on Young and the Restless, we’ve got Lily and Cane talking to Holden Novak. Despite Devon Hamilton Winters (Bryton James) being a jerk about both Cane and Holden, we’re going to see Lily pressing forward with what she wants to do. So, Lily asks her new brother Holden what are his plans career-wise going forward. And he tells Lily he really has no idea.

If you remember, Devon already chastised Holden and told him not to think that Lily is some sort of meal ticket for him. I mean, it’s not like Holden is broke. His mom is a very successful doctor. But Cane tells Holden that he thinks he can remedy Holden not knowing what is next.

Young and the Restless Spoilers: Holden Goes Back to Working for Cane?

Now, if you recall, Holden worked for Cane before. It was Holden that handled all of Cane’s real estate transactions in Genoa City, all the buyups that he was doing. Remember that was back when Cane was still doing his international business work. So, obviously Cane knows that he can trust Holden. And I’m sure that Lily wants to keep Holden close and set her brother up for success. I’m honestly enjoying the Lily and Holden, you know, just discovered that we’re siblings dynamic.

I’m also enjoying Cane and Lily’s rekindling romance that we’re getting right now. The only issue with any of this is whenever doom and gloom Devon shows up to be an angry jerk and throwing off everybody’s vibes. It should have been Devon under the chandelier on the Beyond the Gates crossover.