The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Mikayla Matthews has a lot more to say about Taylor Frankie Paul calling her out as a “snake friend.”

“Could probably write a book on everything I’ve had to say on this. Nothing I said denied that she’s experienced pain, trauma, or difficult things, there’s literally no question about that,” Matthews, 26, wrote in the comments section of a fan video discussing the drama between her and Paul, which was shared via Instagram on Sunday, May 10. “Two things can be true. Someone can be hurting and still hurt people around them in the process.”

Matthews added that she “never” wanted to see Paul “fail, suffer, or be canceled.”

“It was about no longer wanting to publicly participate in or normalize a cycle that was affecting everyone around it, especially where children and repeated violence were involved,” she responded.

Matthews also called Paul out for claiming that someone had been a bad friend to her.

“What also won’t fly with me is the bad friends and snake friends narrative. Especially when so many of us spent years putting genuine care, time, energy, and emotional labor into trying to support her through incredibly toxic situations,” she wrote. “Like the weeks that we took away from our newborn stage, not even months postpartum, but weeks postpartum To check in on her and support her journey going on The Bachelorette, even though we knew she wasn’t taking it seriously and she wasn’t ready to go on it.”

Matthews also pointed out that she’s been battling her own issues recently, as she confirmed her separation from husband Jace Terry during season 4 of Mormon Wives earlier this year. She subsequently relocated to Hawaii to treat her ongoing chronic illness battle. (She and Terry, 30, share four kids.)

, “To take years out of our lives, time away from our families, from our own mental sanity, from our own healing, from many of our own ‘Mother’s Day’ moments, to put a friend and their trauma first out of genuine friendship and care, just to have it diminished and shat on while it gets chalked up to an attitude of ‘I can do what I want and say whatever I want’ while it is hurting people around them is toxic and destructive behavior,” Matthews argued. “Compassion cannot only exist when it benefits one person.”

While Matthews and Paul are not in the best place at this moment, she clarified that she still wishes her former friend the best.

“I have not once attacked her character or tried to tear her down the way everyone so badly want people to believe I have,” she explained. “If anything, I’ve consistently acknowledged that she loves her kids and that she has a good heart and I want nothing more than for her to be happy and healed.”

The Mormon Wives costars have been going back and forth since earlier this month when fans accused Matthews of not being supportive of Paul and costar Jessi Draper during their difficult times.

Paul has been dealing with multiple legal issues over the past few years stemming from domestic disputes with her ex Dakota Mortensen. The exes were both granted protective orders against each other by a judge last month and Paul currently does not have custody of the pair’s 2-year-old son, Ever. Draper, for her part, is in the middle of a divorce with her estranged husband, Jordan Ngatikaura. Ngatikaura, 31, filed for divorce from Draper in March. (Paul is also mom to daughter Indy and son Ocean, whom she shares with ex-husband Tate Paul. Draper and Ngatikaura share kids Jagger and Jovi.)

While Paul and Draper have continued to make headlines over their ups and downs, Matthews addressed claims she hasn’t been asupportive costar or friend on Saturday, May 9.

“I have felt absolutely sick to my stomach and horrible for what everyone involved must be feeling and going through,” Matthews wrote via Instagram while defending herself. “However, it is not my job to enable poor or dangerous behavior from either party, especially when children are involved. That doesn’t mean I don’t love them or want the best for their individual futures. It just means I cannot sit here and pretend it’s OK that years of destructive behavior are now being discussed more than ever online and turned into a ‘pick a side’ game.”

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The following day, Paul entered the chat by calling Matthews a “snake friend” on social media.

“It’s Mother’s Day so I’ll say whatever I want. As if it’s not already the worst time. I have [sic] STILL have ‘friends’ kicking me while I’m already down and calling it ‘setting a boundary’ and then BLAMES ME for being upset and responding,” she wrote via Instagram on Sunday. “That’s called shaming and attack while I had a moment to breathe and she knew that.”

Paul continued, “Not once have [I] called myself a ‘victim’ but I’m HUMAN and have breaking points. What a snake friend just did to me in the public eye after everything she just witnessed … the lack of empathy and silence was loud enough.”

The video game adaptation renaissance shows no signs of stopping, both in movies and on television. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently the highest-grossing movie of 2026 and is nearing the $1 billion mark, while Mortal Kombat II has received a much more positive reception than the first chapter. On the TV side, The Last of Us and Fallout are leading the charge with prestige-level technical prowess and storytelling, with plenty of others in development like Prime Video‘s adaptations of God of War and Tomb Raider.

However, before all of those, there was Adi Shankar‘s Castlevania — a brilliant anime-inspired series that was widely praised by both critics and fans. Because of that success, Shankar later found even more praise with his critically acclaimed take on Capcom’s Devil May Cry, which boasted drop-dead gorgeous animation, a stunning and surprisingly complex world, and one of the best villains to ever appear in a video game series or movie. Now, Season 2 has finally arrived, and while it doesn’t hit quite as hard as its inaugural season, it is still a rip-roaring, demon-slaying adventure from start to finish.

What Is ‘Devil May Cry’ Season 2 About?

The U.S. has officially declared war on Hell itself, with the full backing of the shadowy Uroborus corporation, which is funding an armed conflict against the demonic realm of Makai and its leader, Mundus (Ray Chase). However, the founder of Uroborus, Arius (voiced by Graham McTavish, who previously played Dracula in Netflix’s Castlevania), runs into some trouble thanks to Mundus’ most feared soldier — a half-human, half-demon swordsman known as Vergil (Robbie Daymond). Vergil also happens to be the brother of everybody’s favorite demon-slayer for hire, Dante (Johnny Yong Bosch), who is taken out of cryo-stasis to once again help Lady (Scout Taylor-Compton) save the world.

The most surprising aspect of Devil May Cry Season 1 was how it went to great lengths to — for lack of a better term — humanize Makai and the demon realm, even to the point of drawing comparisons to the real-world political sphere. That trend continues in Season 2, with the war on Makai’s treatment striking some eerie parallels. Once again, Devil May Cry, despite being an over-the-top show about fighting demons, is still willing to take that extra step to have some insightful commentary.

Dante Isn’t Given as Much To Do in ‘Devil May Cry’ Season 2

Also similar to Season 1, the side characters often steal the show, especially now that the franchise’s fan-favorite, Vergil, has finally arrived. Where Dante is carefree and boisterous, his brother and arch-rival is hyper-focused and relentless, and the series does a great job of showcasing the character’s immense power that makes him so beloved in the games. Since Vergil and Dante are up there with Scorpion and Sub-Zero or Ryu and Ken as one of the great video game rivalries, their relationship here is also well-fleshed out, dynamic, and difficult to predict, making the V-Man a great addition to the cast.

Lady is just as dynamic with her bad puns and one-liners, feeling oddly fitting in a wacky series like this, but the strong focus on the side characters kind of leaves Dante in the dust. That was somewhat of an issue in Season 1, but its story and supporting characters were so compelling to the point where Dante’s level of investment in this world still felt appropriate. Now, though, it feels like the main character of the series is taking a backseat to a lot of more compelling storylines.

It also doesn’t help that Season 2 has the unenviable task of following up The White Rabbit (Hoon Lee) — a truly sensational antagonist who was a delight to watch every time he was on-screen. McTavish has the bravado and moustache-twirling to match that role, but Arius’ backstory and overall role in the plot aren’t nearly as compelling as Lee’s incredible turn as Season 1’s villain. He’s not a horrible antagonist by any stretch, but he doesn’t make as big a splash either.

‘Devil May Cry’ Is Still One of the Most Beautiful Video Game Adaptations Ever Made

Image via Netflix

Season 2’s decision to sideline Dante in his own story is a true bummer, and one that really needs to be addressed in a potential Season 3. That said, it’s somewhat easy to forget that drawback because of just how drop-dead gorgeous Devil May Cry is from start to finish, and Season 2 is just as visually striking as the first. The bright, detailed, and vibrant art style that made Castlevania consistently stand out is amplified and then some here, making for some of the most stunning animation currently on streaming.

That, of course, lends well to Season 2’s consistently bonkers action sequences, each of which is filled with that absurd brutality that makes the video game franchise such a cult classic. Every sword slice, every bullet fired, and every chaotic frame feels like it serves a purpose and amplifies this feast for the senses. In true Devil May Cry fashion, the music that accompanies the amazing visuals is also spot on 100% of the time, with the choice of heavy metal rock feeling right at home.Devil May Cry Season 1 was near-perfect in how it emulated the original series while also finding space to expand into new and original territory. Season 2 feels more beholden to be an adaptation of the second game, and while that’s not nearly an awful thing in its own right, it isn’t quite as dynamic, at least when Vergil and Lady aren’t on-screen. It does feel like a slight step down, but even then, the absolutely sensational technical aspects and visuals flawlessly emulate the classic Capcom series and boast more than enough bloody great spectacle to satisfy more casual fans.Devil May Cry Season 2 is streaming now on Netflix.

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Release Date

April 3, 2025

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Netflix

Showrunner

Adi Shankar

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Directors

Park So Young

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Writers

Alex Larsen

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• 

  Johnny Yong Bosch

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  Dante / Soldier #1 (voice)

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  Chris Coppola

  Enzo / Frat Boy (voice)

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Pros & Cons

• The animation and music is pitch perfect.
• Vergil is a fantastic addition to the cast.
• Lady still shines in her elevated role.
• The action setpieces are as beautiful as they are brutal.

• Dante feels like a side character and not a lead role.
• The new villain can’t top the White Rabbit.

Savannah Guthrie has had a traumatic 2026 as her beloved mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing in early February. Now, as the much-talked-about FBI investigation continues, the longtime NBC host has a new show on the horizon, a television version of the New York Times game Wordle.

The announcement came one day after Gutherie shared a Mother’s Day message as the search for her mom continues.

According to a press release, NBC has greenlit a TV game show version of the iconic game “Wordle,” with Guthrie, an avid player, as host. The series, executive-produced by Jimmy Fallon, is expected to premiere sometime in 2027.

On the show, players will be challenged to solve five-letter word puzzles in what is described as “a supersized battle of smarts, speed and fun.”

The show’s official tagline continues: “It builds on the way the puzzle community engages with Wordle every day — solving together, sharing wins, debating strategies, and cheering one another on.” The series’ contestants will compete for cash prizes, and casting is currently underway.

Jimmy Fallon Released A Statement

Fallon released a statement following the news that NBC had ordered “Wordle” with Guthrie as host. He said, “I feel very honored to be working with Savannah Guthrie on this show.”

He continued, “Savannah has that rare combination of intelligence, charm, and warmth that makes everyone feel instantly welcome. And she obviously knows how to host a show. I am SUPER PROUD and HAPPY, and I think we developed a SOLID GAMER for PRIME-time.”

Fallon, who also hosts NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” has produced several other shows for the network. One of the most recent is the now-canceled “On Brand with Jimmy Fallon.” However, he was also behind the “That’s My Jam” and the revival of “Password.”

Fans Are Mixed On The Idea Of A ‘Wordle’ Game Show

Game shows remain quite popular on network television. However, social media users have mixed opinions about bringing “Wordle” to television screens. One person said on X, “I’ll never watch NBC again. Savannah is gonna scream at you, courtesy of Jimmy Fallon. This is a horrible idea, and it’ll flop like Jimmy’s other shows.”

Another person said, “Imagine explaining to someone in 2019 that guessing a 5-letter word online would become a whole NBC game show.”

After that, a different social media user stated, “So we’re all going to sit down in 2027 and watch people sweat over five-letter words like it’s the Super Bowl of spelling? Somewhere, a parent is already yelling “IT’S EITHER CRANE OR SLATE!” at the TV.”

Lastly, another X user said, “Wordle becoming a TV game show in 2027 is peak ‘turn everything into content’ era. Somehow it still makes sense, though.”

Savannah Guthrie Returned To ‘Today’ in April

Guthrie’s mother went missing on February 1 after last being seen the night before. Naturally, the beloved host took some time away from her hosting duties as the investigation into her mother’s disappearance kicked into gear.

Per NBC, she then returned to the show on April 6 after not being featured since the last Friday of January. Guthrie was greeted not only by her cohosts but also by welcoming fans holding signs with hopeful messages.

She addressed the crowd, saying, “These signs are so beautiful. You guys have been so beautiful. I’ve received so many letters, so much kindness to me and my whole family. We feel it. We feel your prayers, so thank you so much.”

‘Today’ Remains The Number 1 Show In Morning TV

Guthrie has been a staple on “Today” since 2012 and currently hosts the show alongside Craig Melvin, Carson Daly, Al Roker, and Jenna Bush Hager. According to TV Insider, the latest ratings show it remains the highest-rated of the three network morning shows, which include ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “CBS Mornings.”

For the week of April 20, “Today” averaged 2.996 million viewers. The show drew 639,000 viewers in the all-important 25 to 54 demographic. These numbers represent increases of 1% and 5%, respectively, compared with the same period in 2025.

“Good Morning America” wasn’t far behind, with 2.924 million total viewers. “CBS Mornings” came in third, averaging 1.756 million.

The Neighborhood has officially come to an end — but how did CBS wrap up the hit sitcom after eight seasons?

During the series finale, which aired on Monday, May 11, Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) and Tina (Tichina Arnold) watched their sons — Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney) and Marty (Marcel Spears) — get married. At the same time, the Butlers had different reactions as they all mourned Dave (Max Greenfield) and Gemma’s (Beth Behrs) move back to Michigan.

Dave and Gemma’s son, Grover (Hank Greenspan), even tried to squat at the Butlers’ home instead of moving with his parents. In the end, Calvin gave an emotional speech where he finally acknowledged his friendship with Dave. The Butlers helped the Johnsons pack up their house and watched them drive off.

The final scene was Tina asking her husband if he was looking forward to meeting their new neighbors. Calvin, however, joked he “wasn’t ready to train in” another neighbor after Dave.

Related: TV Shows Ending in 2026: See the Complete List

From The Bear to Outlander to Outer Banks, TV fans are gearing up to say goodbye to their favorite shows in 2026. Outer Banks, which debuted in 2020, follows the conflict between two groups of teenagers in a coastal North Carolina town. The social divide is introduced with the wealthy residents (a.k.a. the Kooks) and […]

The Neighborhood premiered in 2018 and followed a white Midwestern family adjusting after moving into a predominantly Black neighborhood in California. CBS confirmed in 2025 that The Neighborhood was renewed for an eighth and final season. Greenfield, 46, later spoke to Us Weekly about choosing to look for a silver lining.

“The truth of the matter is this will be our eighth and final season. When you look around, there’s so few … there’s no shows that go eight seasons anymore and there may never be another one. We might be the last one,” Greenfield told Us last year. “So I’m genuinely not sad at all that this is ending and feel so grateful for the eight seasons that we were given. We’ve been through so much together. This show has made it through a pandemic. This show has made it through multiple writers and actor strikes. It’s been a real roller-coaster.”

Greenfield teased at the time that The Neighborhood is going out on a high.

“To have made it this far and to be in the position we’re at is just such a wonderful gift,” he continued. “And the ability to say goodbye in the way that we all want to, it is great. So I’m really excited to have a fun last season where everybody knows what the fate of the show is and have a good time with the people that I have already had such a good time with for the last seven-plus years.”

Cedric the Entertainer, 62, also reflected on the sitcom’s cancellation following ups and downs behind the scenes.

“On this particular show, we had to go through a number of adversities that were different from just a TV show,” Cedric the Entertainer told Us in May 2025. “There were the [WGA and SAG-AFTRA] strikes and COVID. There’s been so many challenges that [it comes down to], ‘How do you keep a show together? How do you keep a cast together? How do you keep everybody motivated?’”

Related: Which TV Shows Are Canceled in 2026-2027?

2026 has been brutal when it comes to our favorite shows getting canceled. Netflix cut ties with Boots two months after the show premiered. Based on Greg Cope White‘s memoir, the scripted series followed Cameron (Miles Heizer) as he joined the U.S. Marine Corps alongside his best friend Ray (Liam Oh) during the 1990s, the […]

There were creative shakeups as well. “A lot of executive producers — we had to switch the writers a lot,” Cedric the Entertainer explained. “I think that the biggest thing I learned is this idea of staying steady, staying focused and understanding that through adversity is an opportunity for a bigger and greater win.”

He continued: “You gotta trust that a lot of times — sometimes you see it as all tragedy, it’s happening — but sometimes it’s trusting the idea that the win is actually on the other side of it. If you can dig through it. That’s what I’ve learned the most.”

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Greenfield, for his part, said the cast was focused on delivering the best possible ending for fans who followed along from the start.

“We do know that we want to have something that feels final for the audience, that the audience that loves the show, that loves us coming into their house every week. We want them to really enjoy this,” the New Girl alum told Us. “We don’t want to have that kind of Game of Thrones ending where everybody is like, ‘That’s some bulls***.’ That’s the biggest thing we working on, is a good finish so that our audience goes, ‘That was good.’”

The Neighborhood is now streaming on Paramount+.

Steven Spielberg is about as legendary as filmmakers get, and that’s something that should be emphasized right away, before things get a little negative. He’s made a few dozen movies, as a director, across a career that’s lasted more than half a century, and he remains active, as of 2026, with the (currently) upcoming Disclosure Day being one of many blockbuster-scale movies he’s made. It would be great if that movie were great, of course, but it almost doesn’t matter, in the overall scheme of things, because Spielberg’s always going to be a legend because of what he’s already done. Some of the most beloved, enduring, and popular American movies of all time were directed by him (see Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park, for starters), and he’s also taken on a few films of a more serious nature that are remarkable, and not necessarily the kind of blockbuster fare that he’s most celebrated for, like Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, and Munich.

Again, there’s a lot by way of positive things that can be said about Steven Spielberg, and his misfires aren’t too common, when you consider how many movies he’s made and how long he’s been active for. The ones that aren’t great have to be emphasized here as “kind of bad,” rather than “really bad” or “terrible.” Spielberg’s worst movies are just a bit clunky, and maybe disappointing, but it would be a stretch to suggest those misfires are outright failures, or devoid of anything somewhat redeeming. The ones below just come the closest to being bad, and some of the picks might feel controversial. Similarly controversial is the admission that of the three movies here, the following are not among them: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Always, and 1941, all of them flawed, but not really close enough to be considered bad by this particular writer. The following movies (again, in this writer’s opinion) are worse than those ones, but not by much. Consider those more expected/usual suspects as having received dishonorable mentions, if you want.

3

‘War Horse’ (2011)

No false advertising here, at least, because War Horse is a war movie and there is also a horse in it. The movie begins as something about that horse and his owner, but then the horse is sold to the Cavalry while World War I is beginning, and so the pair are separated. And the horse gets involved in a whole bunch of battles or, more accurately, is used by various people throughout the conflict, and then the horse’s owner is all sad about it and wants the horse back. It’s in this weird zone, as a movie, because there are ingredients here that might suggest a slam-dunk, but then there’s also a kind of strange premise and some other glaring issues that really don’t suggest anything slam-dunk-y in nature. Like, War Horse is blown up to almost two and a half hours in length, for some reason, and there really isn’t a lot of story here… plus, the film is quite episodic in nature, so the stop-and-start feeling of it all, when paired with the epic-length runtime, makes it all feel like quite a slog to actually get through.

When compared to the other war movies Steven Spielberg has directed, War Horse falls pretty short. It’s maybe a little interesting for its supporting cast, because the way the film’s structured, it does lead to a good many characters showing up and dropping out along the way, and a few of those actors were either about to blow up – or were sort of blowing up – in the very early 2010s (namely, Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch, both of whom have supporting roles here). But there are those reasons why War Horse has been kind of forgotten, and it doesn’t boast one standout element that other debatably middling Spielberg films from this period have. Like, one year on from War Horse, Spielberg directed Lincoln, and that movie’s not perfect, and it also has that War Horse problem of being too long, but it does boast an incredible Daniel Day-Lewis performance at its center. War Horse is all a bit too forgettable, though, if one’s being generous, and maybe actually kind of bad, if one’s not being so generous. It’s a little bad, sadly.

2

‘The BFG’ (2016)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

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The BFG sees Steven Spielberg trying to do E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial again, but this time within the bounds of the fantasy genre, rather than the sci-fi one. And that might sound like a bit of a bold or even stupid claim, but The BFG does take that kind of approach to the source material, which was published the same year as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came out. Okay, that’s probably just a coincidence. But The BFG (2016) was adapted by Melissa Mathison, and her best-known credit was for writing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, so with those two essentially re-teaming for The BFG… you can start to see it. Maybe it doesn’t seem like as big of a stretch to say now. Anyway, The BFG does fail in most of the areas where E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial succeeds, and it’s weird to see a family movie mishandled in this way when it’s got a somewhat comparable premise to that 1982 classic (child becomes friends with an unlikely/otherworldly companion) and had some of the same people involved in making it.

There’s just a horror to a lot of The BFG that does not feel intentional. The title character looks so awful throughout, and whatever worked with the computer animated characters in The Adventures of Tintin (2011) was not maintained here, with The BFG. Also, Mark Rylance is not very good, especially compared to the performance he gave in the previous year’s Bridge of Spies (Spielberg’s preceding movie), but he’s also got lesser material to work with here, so maybe not even Daniel Day-Lewis (if Spielberg had kept him around post-Lincoln) would’ve been able to do much here. There are technically worse family movies out there, and you can recognize that an attempt was made, on a technical front, with The BFG, even if so much of the ambition feels misguided, and that screenplay being so sloppy in the first place makes it harder to see much else here as worthy of being considered a silver lining or whatever. There’s just not much here, and it’s hard to imagine either young or older viewers getting anything substantial out of this one.

1

‘The Terminal’ (2004)

Image via DreamWorks Pictures

There was something of a dream team assembled for The Terminal, or at least it might look that way on paper. Steven Spielberg collaborating with Tom Hanks is usually a good thing, and they’d been on a solid streak in the years preceding The Terminal, thanks to Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Catch Me If You Can (2002). John Williams did the score, and maybe that’s not too surprising, but it’s still worth noting, because Spielberg and Williams are one hell of a duo. Michael Kahn was the editor, and he’s either edited or co-edited far more Spielberg feature films than he hasn’t… like, he’s technically collaborated with Spielberg on more movies than Williams has, only just. And then Janusz Kamiński was the cinematographer for The Terminal, and he’s fulfilled that role for about 20 Spielberg movies all up. Sure, those collaborations include the aforementioned War Horse and The BFG, but Kamiński’s contributions to Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and West Side Story are harder to overlook/ignore.

Overlooking and ignoring is just what you should do for The Terminal, though. There were all these great people who came together to make another Spielberg movie, and it ended up, somehow, becoming pretty much the worst Spielberg movie. It’s the one film of his that really goes over the line in terms of being overly sentimental, and it really drags, with the initially intriguing premise (about a man effectively stranded inside the John F. Kennedy Airport terminal) soon giving way to awkward humor, sickly sweet emotional beats, and an overall sense of tedium that doesn’t really feel intentional. Like, The Terminal isn’t trying to capture the boredom and tedium that would probably come from being stuck in this situation. It’s trying to be a crowd-pleaser, and it’s not very pleasing. There are so many other Spielberg movies that aim for entertainment value above anything else and really succeed. The Terminal has simply not aged very well, and feels like it should stay nice and forgotten about in the past. It tries too hard to make you feel good, and nothing feels very sincere or effortless about it, the way you likely feel about a great many actually moving and endearing Spielberg films.

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The Terminal

Release Date

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June 18, 2004

Runtime

128 Minutes

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Writers

Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi, Jeff Nathanson

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Blake Lively has been called out by journalist Kjersti Flaa after she and Justin Baldoni settled their long-running legal battle last week.

Flaa claimed the actress “bullied” and “publicly humiliated” her as she was dragged into the nasty legal fight between the co-stars, but then attempted to block her from testifying in court.

The journalist also hit out at Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for “manipulating” the internet following her appearance at the Met Gala on the same day she settled her lawsuit.

Flaa has hit out at Blake Lively following her out-of-court settlement with Justin Baldoni, as it essentially means she won’t get to testify in their case.

The Norwegian reporter got dragged into the legal feud after sharing an old interview clip she had with Lively, where the actress made remarks about her “bump” because she congratulated her on her pregnancy at the time.

Flaa didn’t expect the jab from the star at the time and would later reveal that she cannot conceive. However, the video went viral, causing many to accuse Lively of being “mean” and “rude.”

This led to speculations that she may have reshared the old clip as part of a “smear campaign” by Baldoni, with Lively attempting to subpoena Google to get information from Flaa’s account.

Baldoni’s team eventually tapped her to testify on the actor’s behalf, but now that both stars have settled, it means she’ll no longer need to, which she considers painful considering all that she went through.

“I wasn’t surprised by [Lively objecting to me testifying], it makes a lot of sense that they wouldn’t want me [to testify],” Flaa told the Daily Mail. “They accused [Justin’s production studio’s team] of amplifying the video and using it to smear her, and I was planning to tell the truth about what actually happened. I had nothing to do with the smear campaign.”

Kjersti Flaa Accused The Actress Of Being A ‘Bully’

The journalist claimed that her testimony would have dealt a devastating blow to Lively’s case as she could “prove the opposite of what she was trying to prove” with the video analytics.

“I was the only person who had access to the analytics and could see what really happened to that video. I could see there was no one who amplified that video – YouTube shows you where all the traffic is coming from. I was going to reveal a lot of things that I’m sure they were not happy about,” Flaa noted.

She also alleged that Lively “bullied” and publicly humiliated her, before saying she was “disappointed” she won’t get to testify now that they’ve settled.

“I was looking forward to it. I was looking forward to telling my side of the story and supporting what I believe very strongly is the truth here,” Flaa said.

The Journalist Said It Would Have Been ‘Humiliating’ For Blake Lively To Lose

Just last month, Lively’s case took a shocking turn after Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 out of the 13 claims she made against Baldoni, including sexual harassment and defamation charges.

At the time, she maintained that she was proceeding to court and was going to try and prove the remaining charges when their trial started, which was supposed to be Monday, May 18.

But by settling, Flaa believes it was her accepting defeat, as things were already looking shaky for her.

“She knew she had a weak case. I think she was advised by everyone to let it go,” the reporter suggested. “It would have been so humiliating for her to lose, and you never want to look like a liar in front of a jury.”

After announcing her settlement, Lively proceeded to make an appearance at the 2026 Met Gala on the same day, but Flaa noted it was a desperate attempt by “delusional” Lively to change the narrative about her.

Kjersti Flaa Called The Actress’s Met Gala Move ‘Mind-Blowing’

Flaa told the news outlet that it was “mind-blowing” she’d even consider doing something like that, alleging it’s what she and Reynold try to “manipulate the public” by flooding the internet with stories that are “friendly and  pro–their narrative.”

“The audacity and guts that she had to stand there in front of all these people and say, ‘Hey, look at me in this dress.’ I was shocked that she did that. I think it says a lot about her,” she noted. “In her reality, she still cannot believe that people don’t like her. That’s why she went to the Met Gala.”

Flaa added, “For her, this is an orchestrated smear campaign against her, and she believes people still love her. It’s so delusional. She really, truly believes this … that’s the tragic thing in all of this. In her wildest imagination, she cannot fathom that people don’t like her.”

The Journalist Believes Blake Lively Can Still Make A Career Comeback

Amid her lengthy court battle with the actor, reports emerged suggesting Lively has become unpopular among several Hollywood circles, with a Disney executive saying nobody will work with her anymore.

Several brand and PR experts have also spoken out about how the court case may have negatively affected her public image, especially because many people already think she exudes “mean girl” energy.

However, Flaa suggests all hope isn’t lost yet if the “Another Simple Favor” actress just lies low for a while.

“My advice to her would be to stay low for a couple of years if she wants a chance to come back and do anything in Hollywood again,” Flaa said. “I think in Hollywood, everything is just about money. And if [a movie studio] believes she can make money on a project, they will consider working with her.”

“But who wants to work with her now? Maybe a studio would risk it, but what kind of director wants to work with her? Who wants to put themselves through that? She is toxic, and right now the public is not ready to take her back,” she added.

Ryan Reynolds has raised eyebrows over the way he referred to his wife, Blake Lively, using “this/them” wording in a recent Mother’s Day post.

The post comes amid rumors that the couple’s marriage has been strained by Lively’s high-profile legal battle with Justin Baldoni, which reportedly ended in a settlement earlier this month.

Lively has also reportedly grown unpopular in some Hollywood circles, with the fallout from the legal battle said to have affected both her career and Reynolds’ public image.

On Sunday, May 10, Reynolds took to Instagram to share a glowing Mother’s Day tribute to Lively. However, several online users raised eyebrows over his choice of words as speculation continues that their marriage has been strained.

“I appreciate this mother beyond measure,” Reynolds wrote.

The post immediately sent the rumor mill into overdrive, with some social media users calling it “weird” that he referred to his wife as “this” instead of simply using her name. Others also pointed to his April 19 interview on “TODAY,” where he used similar language to refer to her.

“I’ve just never in my life been more proud of someone with that level of integrity that brings that with them and carries that with them in everything that they do,” he said.

Fans Call Out Reynolds Over Blake Lively Tribute

Fans then took to social media to share their reactions, calling Reynolds out over the way he referred to his wife.

“Are her eyes closed in the bottom picture? And what a crappy story. He doesn’t even say her name. With a husband like that, who needs enemies?” a Reddit user wrote.

Another person claimed, “It’s a weird narcissistic devaluation thing. Although I do sort of think he’s running everything through ChatGPT to the point of madness.”

“Maybe it’s a keyword SEO manipulation thing again,” someone else penned. “He avoids referring to Blake by name so that he’s not contributing any additional new content that associates Blake with him.”

Ryan Reynolds Reportedly Pushed Blake Lively To Settle

The backlash comes amid reports that Lively’s legal battle with Baldoni strained her marriage to Reynolds. This apparently prompted him to push her to settle, as he allegedly didn’t want to be dragged through court.

Sources told Rob Shuter’s #ShuterScoop that the actor was also concerned the case was beginning to affect Lively’s public image and personal relationships, among other things.

An insider told the journalist that Reynolds “knew the longer this dragged on, the more it would erode everything,” while another source claimed Lively was deeply invested in the case and wanted to defend her position until the end.

However, she supposedly decided to pull the plug on the case, with the source noting that “the one thing she refused to lose was her marriage.”

Lively And Baldoni Ended The Feud With A Statement

Lively and Baldoni reached an out-of-court settlement, ending a bitter legal feud that began in late 2024 when she filed a sexual harassment suit against him.

The “Another Simple Favor” actress had originally filed 13 claims against Baldoni, including sexual harassment and defamation, but 10 of those claims were dismissed by a judge in April on technical grounds.

In a joint statement released at the time, both parties said they remained proud of their work on “It Ends With Us” and its message about supporting survivors of domestic violence. They also noted that the concerns raised deserved to be heard, while sharing hopes that everyone involved could now move on peacefully.

Blake Lively Still Seeking Damages After Settlement

Since the settlement, both sides have claimed victory despite reports suggesting there was no financial payout from either party. However, Lively’s lawyers have said she will continue to pursue damages under a California law that bars retaliatory defamation lawsuits tied to sexual harassment claims.

According to the L.A. Times, she is seeking attorneys’ fees, punitive damages, and other financial penalties stemming from the $400 million countersuit Baldoni filed against her, which was dismissed by a judge last June.

“By agreeing to this settlement, and waiving their right to appeal, Justin Baldoni and every individual defendant now face personal liability for abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate Ms. Lively,” Lively’s attorneys, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said in a statement.

The best sci-fi shows often come from the best sci-fi authors. The genre has no bounds, exploring whether technology could advance beyond imagination or how far humanity itself might evolve in the future. However, the greatest sci-fi works are usually the ones that ring closest to real-life issues. No matter how many years pass, what kinds of governments rise and fall, or how advanced science becomes, the human conflict between right and wrong remains timeless and universal.

Sci-fi only complicates this further with scientific logic, which is notoriously objective. But when that logic crashes into something as philosophical, intangible, and subjective as morality, things get messy fast. That tension is exactly what makes the genre so fascinating in the first place, and the authors below excel in that department. With that in mind, here are the sci-fi shows based on books that are true masterpieces.

‘The Expanse’ (2015–2022)

Image via Prime Video

The Expanse, both the show and the novel series, is larger than life. The six-season series is based on James S. A. Corey’s nine novels, as well as additional source material from their short stories and novellas. It is the reason why The Expanse, true to its name, continues to stretch across the universe. Set in the 23rd century, humans have colonized the Solar System. Earth is governed by the United Nations, while Mars has become an independent military power.

As for ordinary working-class people, they are the Belters — those who live and work in the asteroid belt — who make ends meet by supplying essential resources like water to the inner planets. Although technology has advanced and space colonization is now the norm, war remains much the same, as Earth and Mars constantly watch each other’s backs, wary that the other might strike first. But if there is one thing about war, it is that there is always a third party lurking in the shadows of the universe, looking to profit from the chaos.

‘Altered Carbon’ (2018–2020)

Image via Netflix

Immortality is no longer an impossibility in Altered Carbon. In a future society (about 360 years ahead in the show’s adaptation), humans have developed a form of digital immortality using cortical stacks implanted in the spine, allowing them to store a person’s consciousness. When the physical body dies, the stack is preserved and transferred into a new body, or “sleeve.” In this way, the mind can potentially live forever.

Sci-fi often explores technologies that challenge the rules of nature, and Altered Carbon is no exception. However, this technology comes with deep moral implications, giving both the series and the novel strong nuance. For some, immortality is seen as playing God, which in the book is strongly opposed by religious groups such as the Roman Catholics, as it contradicts sacred teachings. Much like in real life, this kind of technology is also unequally distributed, reserved mainly for the wealthy, while the working class remains disposable.

‘The Man in the High Castle’ (2015–2019)

Image via Prime Video

The Man in the High Castle imagines an alternate reality where Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan win World War II, dividing the United States between them. By 1962, the East Coast is controlled by the Nazis, the West Coast is occupied by Japan, and the middle of the country exists as unstable Neutral Zones filled with fugitives and resistance groups. When resistance fighters come across mysterious films depicting an alternate reality where the United States actually won the war, the fascist regimes launch a massive manhunt to destroy the films.

Without a doubt, fascist powers are inherently evil. However, The Man in the High Castle provocatively explores the individuals living under these regimes rather than focusing solely on the system itself. Characters like the American-born but Japanese-culture-assimilated resistance fighter Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) and the pacifist Japanese trade minister Nobusuke Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) reveal the nuances of living in this alternate universe.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (2017–2025)

Image via Hulu

Set in the dystopian republic of Gilead, The Handmaid’s Tale follows June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), a woman stripped of her freedom after a religious authoritarian regime seizes control of the United States. With fertility rates collapsing worldwide, fertile women are forced into servitude as “Handmaids,” assigned to bear children for powerful officials. Renamed Offred, June struggles to survive a brutal society that treats women as property while desperately holding onto hope of reuniting with her husband and daughter.

Reproductive rights remain a pressing issue worldwide, with lawmakers dictating deeply personal matters such as abortion and Planned Parenthood. The Handmaid’s Tale reimagines these anxieties to terrifying yet believable extremes, where women are only seen from their capacity to bear children rather than their minds. The series also shows how class determines how women are treated. High-ranking women married to commanders do not face the same repercussions as the Handmaids, proving that women’s rights are never experienced equally across different social classes.

‘Dark Matter’ (2024–Present)

Image via Apple TV

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Rule number one of sci-fi: never mess with alternate realities. Dark Matter follows Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), a genius yet humble Chicago physics professor living a quiet family life with his wife and son. His world changes overnight when he is abducted and wakes up in an alternate reality where he chooses scientific ambition over family and becomes a celebrated scientist. There, he discovers that another version of himself created technology capable of traveling between parallel universes.

Dark Matter explores the theory of superposition through a parallel-universe story centered on “the Box,” a quantum gateway connecting countless alternate realities. While one version of Jason abandons the idea, his alternate counterpart successfully builds the machine, though at a moral cost. Sometimes, the pursuit of science is worth questioning, especially when it begins to cross ethical boundaries. Each jump across these realities destabilizes reality itself, threatening the potential collapse of the universe.

‘Silo’ (2023–Present)

In Silo, set on a desolate Earth where stepping outside could mean instant death, the last remnants of humanity have been herded into one massive underground silo. Nobody knows exactly when or why the silo was built, but questioning it is forbidden. To keep the silo functioning, its inhabitants are divided into three main classes: the Upper Levels are reserved for bureaucratic elites, the Middle Levels for ordinary workers and businesses, and the Down Deep for mechanics, engineers, and laborers.

Ironically, the people of the Down Deep are the literal heartbeat of the silo. Yet despite performing the most grueling work, they are often looked down upon and rarely given the chance to rise to higher levels — something that resonates with actual workers in real life. However, in this society, questioning authority leads to grave consequences. Anyone who dares challenge the system is sent outside to “clean” the exterior cameras — never to return alive.

‘3 Body Problem’ (2024–Present)

Image via Netflix

3 Body Problem is what happens when physics, aliens, and politics collide into the ultimate hard sci-fi experience. Spanning multiple timelines, the story begins during China’s Cultural Revolution, when a young astrophysicist branded a political dissident becomes involved in a secret military radio project. Decades later, scientists around the world begin mysteriously taking their own lives, while a nanotechnology expert starts seeing an unexplained countdown visible only to him.

The mystery behind the countdown drives the momentum of 3 Body Problem, but its scientific foundation is what makes the series especially compelling. The story draws inspiration from the real-life “three-body problem,” which explores how difficult it is to predict the movement of three massive celestial bodies, such as stars or planets. In the series, an alien civilization orbiting three suns faces extreme and unpredictable environmental disasters, turning their world into a cycle of apocalyptic destruction, forcing them to retreat to Earth.

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3 Body Problem

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Release Date

March 21, 2024

Directors

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Minkie Spiro, Derek Tsang

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