Roger Ebertand Gene Siskel are often considered to be among the top tier of film critics, particularly their TV series At The Movies (originally known as Siskel & Ebert & the Movies). The duo was known for their scathing sense of humor when it came to their reviews, along with their famous “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down” system (long before Rotten Tomatoes was a thing). In all that time, Ebert and Siskel never reviewed a television series — except for one major occasion. That review was for the short-lived animated series The Critic, which was ironically about a movie critic’s life.
Created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, The Critic follows New York movie critic Jay Sherman (Jon Lovitz). Much like Siskel and Ebert, Sherman hosted his own television series where he delivered takedowns of movies — most of them parodies of popular or classic films. He even had his own catchphrase: “It stinks!” But what did Siskel and Ebert think of the show? The answer’s a bit complicated.
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It Took Siskel and Ebert Time To Warm Up to ‘The Critic’
Siskel and Ebert would review the first three episodes of The Critic, and their initial reactions were mixed. Siskel felt that The Critic had far fewer memorable characters than The Simpsons, which Jean and Reiss previously worked on. Ebert, on the other hand, felt that the show should focus on Jay’s job rather than his personal life. But the mix of Jay’s personal and professional life is what makes The Critic such a great watch. His interactions with his friends led Jean and Reiss to provide commentary on Hollywood, and he was a single father — a rarity in a sitcom, let alone an animated one.
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Collider Exclusive · Oscar Best Picture Quiz Which Oscar Best Picture Is Your Perfect Movie? Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country
Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one.
🪜Parasite
🌀Everything Everywhere
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☢️Oppenheimer
🐦Birdman
🪙No Country for Old Men
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01
What kind of film experience do you actually want? The best movies don’t just entertain — they leave something behind.
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02
Which idea grabs you most in a film? Great films are driven by a central obsession. What’s yours?
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03
How do you like your story told? Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means.
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04
What makes a truly great antagonist? The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you?
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05
What do you want from a film’s ending? The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like?
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06
Which setting pulls you in most? Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what’s even possible.
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07
What cinematic craft impresses you most? Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable.
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08
What kind of main character do you root for? The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you.
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09
How do you feel about a film that takes its time? Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately.
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10
What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema? The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want?
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The Academy Has Decided Your Perfect Film Is…
Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works.
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Parasite
You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it’s ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image.
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Everything Everywhere All at Once
You want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn’t want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it’s about.
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Oppenheimer
You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort.
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Birdman
You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it’s about. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor’s ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn’t be possible. Michael Keaton’s performance and Emmanuel Lubezki’s restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all.
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No Country for Old Men
You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be.
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Once Season 1 of The Critic found its groove, Ebert would eventually write a glowing review on his website. He thoroughly enjoyed it, saying that it was “impossible” not to like Jay, while praising executive producer James L. Brooks‘ work in balancing the show’s humor with character development. Ebert even delivered one of his signature witty observations regarding the pilot, which opens with a beautiful actress turning on Jay after he negatively reviews one of her movies: “In real life (in my experience of it, anyway), critics are never offered bribes for good reviews, and never wind up in bed with movie stars.”
‘The Critic’ Eventually Had an Episode Guest Starring Siskel and Ebert
It might have taken Siskel and Ebert a while to warm up to The Critic, but no one could have predicted that the duo would actually guest star on the series. In the Season 2 episode “Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice,” Jay gets invited to the Academy Awards alongside a select group of critics that includes Siskel and Ebert. But Siskel and Ebert get into a fight on the trip back, and eventually split up; Jay tries to partner with both of them before seeing how much they miss each other, and decides to repair their friendship.
Siskel and Ebert fully lean into the humor of The Critic, riffing on the fact that Jay ripped off the climax of Sleepless in Seattle to bring them together. It’s no wonder Jean and Reiss consider this to be one of their favorite episodes of The Critic.
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30 Years Later, ‘The Critic’ Has Become a Classic
Custom Image by Annamaria Ward
The Critic weathered some rough storms during its brief run; it moved from ABC to Fox, and a crossover with The Simpsons led to series creator Matt Groening denouncing said episode. It was cancelled after two seasonsbut earned a reappraisal years later. Even the cast loved it! Maurice LaMarche, who provided a multitude of voices for The Critic, says that it and Pinky and the Brain were two of his favorite projects. Lovitz had a similar reaction when conducting an interview celebrating The Critic‘s 30th anniversary:
It’s very flattering, but at the same time, it’s frustrating, because I wish the show would have kept going. It was a hit show, and they just canceled it. So it’s one of those regrets, like: What would five years’ worth of shows that should have been, instead of just 23 [episodes], look like? I’ve been trying to do it again ever since, and they tell me it’s complicated.
The Critic, along with Siskel and Ebert’s work, helped shed light on how film criticism really worked. It’s rather fitting that it was the only TV show they ever reviewed and guest-starred in.
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The Critic is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
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Release Date
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1994 – 2001-00-00
Directors
Bret Haaland, Lauren MacMullan, Alan Smart, Rich Moore, Dan Jeup, Brian Sheesley, David Cutler, Steven Dean Moore, Susie Dietter, Chuck Sheetz
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Writers
Jon Vitti, Steve Tompkins, Ken Keeler, Patric M. Verrone, Tom Brady, Jennifer Ventimilia, Joshua Sternin, Steven Levitan, Max Pross, Nell Scovell
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have continued fueling wedding speculation while enjoying a series of stylish outings in London.
The couple recently stepped out for multiple date nights, with the pop star turning heads in a lacy look as reports surrounding her and Kelce’s rumored July wedding continue to intensify.
As of now, insiders claim Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are planning a lavish New York City ceremony featuring celebrity guests, strict privacy measures, and extravagant pre-wedding celebrations.
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Taylor Swift Turns Heads In Chic Black Ensemble During London Night Out With Travis Kelce
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Swift traded traditional bridal-inspired fashion for a bold all-black look during her latest night out with Travis Kelce in London.
The singer stepped out in a sleek lace-trimmed slip dress layered beneath a long black coat as the couple headed to Gordon Ramsay’s newly opened restaurant, Lucky Cat, in the upscale Bishopsgate area.
She completed the look with black heels, her signature red lipstick, and an elegant updo that kept her hair swept away from her face. Kelce complemented her style in a coordinated outfit featuring a brown matching set, plaid loafers, and dark sunglasses.
Swift and her fiancé, Kelce, have been making the most of their time in London, with several public appearances throughout the week. Just a day earlier, they were spotted leaving the popular Indian restaurant Gymkhana hand in hand after another date night in the city.
Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce’s Rumored Wedding Details Include A New York Venue
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Their public outings come as rumors surrounding their upcoming wedding continue to intensify. Reports claim Swift and Kelce are planning to marry on July 3, nearly three years after they first started dating.
According to Us Weekly insiders, the timeline is reportedly being planned around Kelce’s NFL offseason schedule.
While early speculation pointed to a Rhode Island ceremony, newer reports suggest the couple has chosen New York City for the event.
The exact venue has not been disclosed, though insiders have described it as an “arena or museum-like” location capable of hosting a lavish celebration.
Sources say the ceremony itself is expected to embrace traditions, with Swift’s father reportedly set to walk her down the aisle. There would also be customary father-daughter and mother-son dances.
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The Couple’s A-List Guests Have Reportedly Signed NDAs
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Guests who have allegedly confirmed attendance are said to have signed non-disclosure agreements, keeping the invite list tightly guarded.
Even so, several names linked to Swift and Kelce continue to circulate as potential wedding guests.
Friends reportedly expected to attend include Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Emma Stone, the Haim sisters, and Zoë Kravitz, while Kelce’s guest list is rumored to include Patrick Mahomes and actor Miles Teller.
There is also speculation surrounding the music for the big day. Swift previously joked that longtime friend Ed Sheeran would likely end up performing if there was a stage involved, noting that he is frequently asked to sing at weddings.
“He knows what people want, and he wants to give people what they want,” she said.
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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Rumored Wedding Plans Reportedly Include a $10 Million Budget
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Fashion details for the couple’s wedding have also become a major topic of discussion.
Reports claim Swift is drawing inspiration from Elizabeth Taylor’s vintage bridal looks, particularly the actress’s 1950 wedding gown to Conrad Hilton Jr.
Sources say Swift admired the gown’s fitted waist and lace detailing, and there is even speculation she may attempt to borrow one of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry pieces for the ceremony if permission can be secured from the estate.
Meanwhile, pre-wedding celebrations are reportedly already in motion. Insiders claim Kelce and his friends are planning a Bahamas getaway focused on golf and partying, while Gomez and Hadid are allegedly organizing an extravagant bachelorette celebration for Swift.
According to Closer Online, Swift has intentionally stayed out of most of the planning details for the pre-wedding parties, aside from agreeing on a budget with Kelce.
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Sources claim the pair has set aside as much as $10 million for the festivities, with private jets, luxury villas, and full private staff services expected to be part of the celebrations.
Travis Kelce Says ‘I Can’t Wait’ After Rory McIlroy References His Future Wedding With Taylor Swift
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Meanwhile, Kelce appears to be already looking ahead to his future wedding with Swift.
During the May 6 episode of the “New Heights” podcast, the Chiefs star reacted enthusiastically when golf champion Rory McIlroy compared the atmosphere of the Masters Champions Dinner to a wedding celebration.
McIlroy, who recently secured another Masters victory, reflected on the emotional experience of bringing together people from different stages of life in one room. While discussing the annual dinner tradition, he told Kelce that he would likely experience a similar feeling on his wedding day.
“Travis, you’ll feel this this year whenever you’re sitting at your wedding,” McIlroy said, adding, “you have all the people in a room … it’s amazing to have all these people in the same room from your childhood … and it’s surreal. It’s unbelievable.”
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The comment appeared to catch Kelce’s attention immediately, as the NFL star grinned before replying, “I can’t wait.”
Actor and musician Billy Bob Thornton has been open about his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder diagnosis, and recently, he candidly shared how the condition intensely affected him in the past by sharing an amusingly gross anecdote. The actor also discussed his overall mental health journey and restrictive diet, sharing his newfound love for grapes, oddly paired with a condiment.
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In an episode of the podcast “Howie Mandel Does Stuff,” 70-year-old Billy Bob Thornton opened up about his mental health, particularly his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which host Howie Mandel is also diagnosed with.
While speaking with Mandel and his co-host, daughter Jackelyn Shultz, Thornton remembered a moment from the late ’80s that highlighted his obsessive-compulsive thoughts. “You wanna hear a funny, but creepy, gross funny one?” he asked, before telling his story.
Thornton shared that he was in the market pavilions in West Hollywood, waiting in line behind an older gentleman, who had a “leathery, wrinkly neck” with “200 blackheads.” There was a particularly large one that Thornton compared to a pin head. “You popped it?” Shultz asked, to which the actor replied, “No. It wasn’t that bad, but it’s close.”
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Billy Bob Thornton Boinked A Stranger’s Blackhead
Thornton said that upon seeing that giant blackhead, he had an obsessive thought that just wouldn’t go away, and he had to touch it. “You’re saying you want to touch it?” Mandel asked. Thornton explained that he didn’t want to touch it, but his obsessive-compulsive thoughts made him think he needed to do it.
He decided to use a magazine rack near him and the man as a ruse. Thornton said, “I went ‘boink’ and then reached to People magazine and got it.” When the man turned around, he apologized, saying that he was just reaching for a magazine. “So anyway, I got to touch the blackhead and get out of it, you know.”
Mandel and Schultz roared with laughter, seemingly grossed out and amused at the same time. “Did you say boink?” Schultz asked. “That’s hysterical,” Mandel added. “I got over that a long time ago. I went to blackhead therapy,” Thornton joked.
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The Actor Shares How ‘Exhausting’ OCD Is
Thornton shared his OCD diagnosis publicly in 2004 during an interview with Ann Curry. The actor talked about his physically and emotionally abusive father and said his upbringing might have triggered his OCD. “It exhausts you… You’re constantly doing mathematics in your head,” he told Curry. Thornton shared the same sentiment in the podcast with Mandel, saying, “It’s so emotionally and mentally exhausting that that’s one of the things that people don’t really say much.”
His symptoms manifested at a young age, and he remembers counting down with the clock while waiting for his father to come home. “I would hear the car pull in the driveway around 4 o’clock usually, and I would, in my head, I would say if I can count to a hundred five times before I hear the car come in the driveway, everything’s going to be okay,” he said.
Thornton shared that he does things similar to that despite knowing that it’s “silly,” but he isn’t able to control the compulsion.
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Howie Mandel Expressed Gratitute To The Actor
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Mandel has been open about his own OCD diagnosis, but it wasn’t always that way. During an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” in 1998, his diagnosis was accidentally revealed. Mandel, who is a germophobe and is widely known for not shaking hands, had an anxiety attack when he couldn’t get out of the studio, as he didn’t want to touch the doorknob.
Thinking it was a bit, the crew jokingly prevented him from leaving, which heightened his anxiety. He then told Stern that he sees a psychiatrist for OCD, and his panic attack was real, not knowing the show was still broadcasting live.
During the podcast, Mandel revealed that Thornton reached out to him, telling him that they had a lot in common, referring to their OCD. “It was beautiful to be open with somebody about humanity and about struggling,” Mandel said. Later on in the interview, Thornton circled back, saying it was so rare to find someone in the business who didn’t talk about work or projects, and they agreed it was therapeutic to talk about their shared condition.
Billy Bob Thornton’s Restrictive Diet And Odd Food Combinations
Elsewhere in the interview, Thornton shared his aversion to certain foods due to his allergies and rare blood type, which makes it difficult for him to digest. Mandel then shared how his son, Alex, who is friends with Thornton’s son, William, once said Thornton served him bagels with cream cheese and ketchup when he was at their home. “That’s a hillbilly bagel,” Thornton said.
The actor also shared the new obsession that he discovered while in a dressing room waiting for an event to begin. The food spread didn’t have anything he could eat, except for grapes. He got a white grape, dipped it into spicy Dijon mustard, and ate it. “It was one of the best things I ever had in my lifetime,” Thornton said, adding that it’s become his new “thing.”
Josh Brolin as young Agent K in ‘Men in Black 3’Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Nearly two months into its theatrical run, Project Hail Mary is finally facing intense competition. Two weeks ago, it was unseated as the reigning champion of the domestic box office by the Michael Jackson biopic. Last week, it was pushed further down the leaderboard by The Devil Wears Prada 2. And this weekend,Mortal Kombat IIclaimed another chunk of its target audience. That said, Project Hail Mary remains the second-highest-grossing American film of the year both domestically and worldwide, behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. In its eighth weekend of release, the sci-fi epic slipped out of the top five and passed what may be its final global box office milestone.
Produced on a reported budget of more than $200 million, Project Hail Mary marks the directorial comeback of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who hadn’t made a movie in more than a decade. It stars Ryan Goslingin the lead role of a scientist who’s sent on an intergalactic mission to save the world. Project Hail Mary is based on a bestseller by Andy Weir, whose previous novel served as the source for The Martian — the acclaimed blockbuster directed by Ridley Scott and headlined by Matt Damon. Remarkably, Project Hail Mary has surpassed The Martian both critically and commercially. It now holds a “Certified Fresh” 94% critics’ score and a “Verified Hot” 95% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
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You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
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You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
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You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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Here’s How Much ‘Project Hail Mary’ Has Grossed at the Box Office
With more than $660 million at the worldwide box office, Project Hail Mary has now surpassed the $655 million lifetime global haul of Men in Black 3. Released in 2012, the threequel outgrossed its two predecessors by a large margin, and took the franchise’s collective global haul past the $1.5 billion mark worldwide. Directed by the returning Barry Sonnenfeld, Men in Black 3 was produced on a franchise-record budget of $250 million. Alongside Will Smith, the film featured franchise mainstay Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, who played versions of the same character wrapped up in a time-travel plot. Men in Black 3 holds a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “It isn’t exactly a persuasive argument for the continuation of the franchise, but Men in Black 3 is better than its predecessor and manages to exceed expectations.” Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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Release Date
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March 15, 2026
Runtime
157 minutes
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Director
Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
Writers
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Drew Goddard, Andy Weir
Producers
Aditya Sood, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O’Connor, Ryan Gosling
Jason Statham fans have a lot to look forward to. Not only will he be returning to the role of Adam Clay in The Beekeeper 2, although this time under the directorial eye of Timo Tjahjanto instead of David Ayer, but Statham is also set to feature in a hugely enticing David Leitchfilm called Jason Statham Stole My Bike, which Leitch described to Collider as “a chance for Jason and I to do something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time.”
However, the most exciting upcoming Statham project sees him reunite with the man who gave him his big break in cinema, Guy Ritchie, almost 30 years since they first collaborated on Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Four more collaborations later, and the duo will be teaming up on their sixth project, Viva La Madness, a new action-thriller based on J.J. Connolly’s 2011 novel and the follow-up to Layer Cake. The only frustrating thing all these upcoming movies have in common is that we won’t be seeing them for some time yet, with The Beekeeper 2 scheduled for a January 2027 release date.
Thankfully, Statham fans are being kept well entertained on streaming, as many of his best and most underrated movies continue to circulate. At the time of writing, 2016’s Mechanic: Resurrectionis one of the ten most-streamed movies on Netflix in the world. Directed by Dennis Gansel, the film marked the sequel to 2011’s The Mechanic, which itself was a remake of the 1972 film of the same name starring Charles Bronson. Mechanic: Resurrection stars Statham alongside an eye-catching cast including Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh, Sam Hazeldine, Rhatha Phongam, and John Cenatiempo.
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Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
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🔧John McClane
🎭Ethan Hunt
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01
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
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02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
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03
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
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04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
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05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
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06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
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07
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
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08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
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09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
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10
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
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Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
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Rambo
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
James Bond
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Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
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John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
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Ethan Hunt
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
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Did ‘Mechanic: Resurrection’ Prove Popular in Theaters?
After the first installment scored a disappointing box office haul of just $76 million, Mechanic: Resurrection had some retribution to achieve. Thankfully, Statham is a master of revenge, with this sequel proving an undeniable hit during its 2016 theatrical run. Against a reported budget of $40 million, Mechanic: Resurrection earned a global haul of $125 million, split between just $21 million in domestic revenue and a further $104 million from overseas markets.
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The Jason Statham-led sequel Mechanic: Resurrection is one of the ten most-streamed movies on Netflix in the world. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for the latest streaming stories.
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Release Date
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August 26, 2016
Runtime
99 minutes
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Director
Dennis Gansel
Writers
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Philip Shelby, Tony Mosher, Brian Pittman, Rachel Long, Lewis John Carlino
Producers
David Winkler, John Thompson, William Chartoff, Robert Earl
In the last six years, Apple TV has become the streaming industry’s premier destination for long-form sci-fi storytelling. Shows such as Severance have broken through and generated the sort of attention that is vital to a platform’s growth. More recently, the streamer hit another home run with Pluribus, Vince Gilligan‘s hugely anticipated follow-up to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. In the years between these two shows, Apple TV has delivered acclaimed titles such as Silo, which will return with a third season this year, and Foundation, the ambitious adaptation of Isaac Asimov‘s sprawling magnum opus. However, this golden age of sci-fi programming began in 2019 with a single title that continues to draw audiences even today.
The show in question will conclude after a sixth and final season scheduled for 2027, before which a spin-off will debut on the same platform in a few weeks. While airing its fifth season, the show hit a majestic milestone on the Apple TV streaming charts. According to FlixPatrol, it’s among the top 10 most-watched series on the streamer, and has now spent more than 500 days on its viewership chart. The series premiered in 2019 as a launch title for Apple TV, along with The Morning Show, Dickinson, and a handful of other titles. It remains the longest-running Apple TV series along with the espionage drama Slow Horses.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
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Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
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🔥Max Rockatansky
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01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
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02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
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03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
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04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
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05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
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06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
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07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
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08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
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Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
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Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
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USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
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The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
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The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
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The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
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Apple’s Longest-Running Sci-Fi Series Is Set to Expand
We’re talking, of course, about For All Mankind. The decades-spanning sci-fi drama unfolds in an alternate reality where the Space Race between the United States and Russia never ended. The first season took place in the 1970s, and the narrative has jumped forward by several years across the subsequent seasons. Co-created by Ronald D. Moore, the series has received positive reviews overall, and is currently sitting at a 91% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The second and fourth seasons hold perfect 100% scores, while the fifth season appears to have settled at a “Certified Fresh” 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The aggregator website’s consensus reads,
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“With smart storytelling, high ambition, and enough tension to keep viewers glued to their screen, For All Mankind remains one of television’s most compelling sci-fi sagas.” You can watch For All Mankind on Apple TV, where you can also tune into the upcoming spin-off, Star City, starting May 29. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
By the end of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has lost almost everything familiar to him. His aunt and uncle are dead, Obi-Wan Kenobi sacrificed himself aboard the Death Star, and for the young hero, the galaxy suddenly feels much larger and far more dangerous than it did back on Tatooine. Right before Luke steps fully into that uncertain future, Obi-Wan leaves him with one final reassurance:
“The Force will be with you. Always.”
More than three decades later, that line still feels like the emotional thesis for all of Star Wars. Not because it sounds cool, and not because fans have repeated it endlessly over the years, but because it perfectly captures what the franchise has always been trying to say underneath the space battles and mythology. Star Wars has never really been about winning wars: it’s about holding onto hope when everything around you tells you not to.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi Gives The Star Wars Franchise Its Emotional Core
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness) after the fight in a Tatooine cantina in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.Image via 20th Century Fox
A lot of iconic movie quotes survive because they are attached to spectacle. They come from explosive reveals, or triumphant victories audiences never forget. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s line works for the exact opposite reason. The moment is quiet. Alec Guinness, despite his complicated relationship with the role, delivers “The Force will be with you. Always.” with the calm certainty that defines Obi-Wan throughout the original trilogy. He is not trying to hype Luke up before battle or deliver some grand speech about destiny. If anything, the line feels deeply personal. Obi-Wan understands Luke is terrified, overwhelmed, and stepping into a future he cannot possibly comprehend yet. Instead of filling the moment with exposition or philosophy, he gives Luke something simpler: reassurance.
That simplicity is exactly what gives the quote its staying power. The Force itself has become increasingly complicated over the decades as the franchise expanded through prequels, sequels, animation, books, games, and streaming series. This line cuts through all of that. It reduces the entire concept back down to its emotional purpose. The Force is not just power. It is guidance, faith, connection, and the belief that nobody is truly alone. The word “always” is what turns the quote from comfort into conviction. Obi-Wan is not promising Luke that things will become easy. He is telling him that even after loss, fear, and failure, the Force remains.
“The Force Will Be With You. Always” Became Bigger Than Its Scene
Part of what makes the line so powerful is how naturally it carries the full weight of Obi-Wan and Luke’s relationship. Luke barely has time to understand who Obi-Wan really is before he loses him, but this quote makes their connection feel permanent. It is the kind of reassurance that outlives the person who gives it. That matters because A New Hope is filled with characters trying to keep moving after unimaginable loss. Leia (Carrie Fisher) loses Alderaan and still leads. Luke loses his family and still chooses the Rebellion. Obi-Wan loses almost everything long before the film begins, yet he still believes enough to guide someone else forward. “The Force will be with you. Always,” captures that entire emotional pattern in one sentence.
It also reflects something unique about why Star Wars has endured for so long across generations. Science fiction franchises often become consumed by lore escalation. The stakes grow larger, the mythology becomes denser, and eventually the emotional center starts getting buried underneath continuity. Star Wars survives those shifts because moments like this keep anchoring the franchise in human emotion. No matter how massive the galaxy becomes, the series always circles back to connection, and people trying to believe that light can survive long enough to be passed on.
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The Quote Still Defines What ‘Star Wars’ Is Really About
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker standing and looking out over the desert in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)Image via 20th Century Studios
Over the years, Star Wars has produced bigger speeches, darker moments, and more technically impressive scenes than Obi-Wan’s farewell to Luke. Entire generations grew up with different versions of the franchise defining what Star Wars meant to them personally. Yet Obi-Wan’s line still feels untouchable because it captures the series at its emotional purest. At its best, Star Wars has always been about people choosing hope in situations that feel hopeless. The franchise works because it understands optimism is not naive, it is difficult. Sometimes survival itself becomes an act of faith. “The Force will be with you. Always,” distills all of that into six simple words.
Thirty-three years later, the line still lands because it feels bigger than nostalgia: it feels timeless. Even after countless sequels, spin-offs, animated series, and streaming expansions, that quote remains the clearest expression of what made Star Wars matter in the first place. Somehow, in a franchise filled with lightsabers, Death Stars, and one of the greatest villains in movie history, the line that still hits hardest is simply Obi-Wan promising Luke he will never truly be alone.
There is something deeply refreshing about a movie that knows exactly how ridiculous it is and fully commits to the bit anyway. Modern studio blockbusters have developed a habit of sanding down their weirdest edges in favor of franchise setup, lore management, and self-serious spectacle, but Anaconda goes in the complete opposite direction. The 2025 reboot throws audiences directly into giant snake attacks, jungle chaos, and escalating panic almost immediately, then spends the next 99 minutes making sure things only get stranger from there. Somehow, that commitment to pure creature-feature energy has turned the Sony film into one of the biggest hits currently on Netflix.
While Peacock is largely known as the streaming home for NBCUniversal‘s shows and movies, the streamer does also make its own scripted content. It has occasionally landed hit shows like Bel-Air, Those About to Die, and The Day of the Jackal. However, there hasn’t been a true hit since the latter premiered in 2024. But as fans of The Day of the Jackal await Season 2, Peacock has released another crime series that has already taken over the platform.
Despite mixed reviews, the thriller is the top show on Peacock, dethroning the reality shows that largely dominate the streamer. With a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the show has elicited mixed reactions from critics, with many noting that it works if viewers don’t question the story too much. However, many have praised its lead actor, Shannon Gisela, for her powerful performance even when the material drags her down. Collider’s Jessica Toomer was one of the critics who appreciated Gisela, calling her “the kind of discovery that makes the lulls bearable, and the highs feel earned.”
M.I.A, as the series is called, was created by Ozark‘s co-creator Bill Dubuque. As a result, it features some of those qualities that made Ozark a hit, but they don’t land as well in Florida. “M.I.A. is at its best when it stops trying to be Ozark and lets itself be Ozark‘s sweatier, more deranged cousin,” Toomer wrote. ScreenRant‘s Sean Morrison said in his review that it felt like the best parts of M.I.A are yet to be realized and may need more seasons to fully land. “For now, M.I.A. is still finding itself,” he wrote. Sherin Nicole of RogerEbert echoed these sentiments, noting that the show “makes you feel very little about these characters and their struggles.”
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Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
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🔧John McClane
🎭Ethan Hunt
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01
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
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02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
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03
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
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04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
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05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
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06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
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07
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
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08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
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09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
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10
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
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Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
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Rambo
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
James Bond
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Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
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John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
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Ethan Hunt
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
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What Is ‘M.I.A’ About?
The series is a revenge thriller focusing on Gisela’s character, Etta Tiger Jonze. She comes from a drug-running family, but when the negative consequences of that line of work catch up with them, and her family is killed, Etta embarks on a revenge mission in Miami’s neon-lit crime underbelly. While critics were not impressed by the storyline’s development, they praised the show’s ability to capture the Miami vibe that made Miami Vice and Dexter feel authentic, with Dexter‘s writer, Karen Campbell, serving as executive producer and showrunner. Other cast members include Cary Elwes, Danay Garcia, Brittany Adebumola, Dylan Jackson, Alberto Guerra, Maurice Compte, Gerardo Celasco, and Marta Milans.
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All episodes of M.I.A are available to stream on Peacock in the U.S. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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Release Date
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May 7, 2026
Network
Peacock
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Showrunner
Karen Campbell
Directors
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Alethea Jones, Benjamin Semanoff, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, John Dahl, Mairzee Almas
Actress Daisy Ridley may best be known for her role as Rey in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, but she has appeared in countless movies spanning a wide range of genres. She appeared in the 2017 mystery film “Murder on the Orient Express” and played the titular Ophelia in the 2018 film of the same name. She had a lead role in the 2021 science fiction film “Chaos Walking” and played Gertrude Ederle in the 2024 biological drama “Young Woman and the Sea.” In January, she stepped into a zombie horror film when “We Bury The Dead” was released in theaters.
WARNING: Spoilers below.
MEGA
The movie opens with text across the screen that reads, “Somehow, Palpatine returned…”
No, but could you imagine? One would have thought that Ridley would have had enough of zombies after she defeated a resurrected Palpatine in 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” which was a movie so terrible that Disney pulled the plug on all future theatrical releases until “The Mandalorian & Grogu” – a spin-off of a three-season TV show on Disney+ – hits theaters later this month.
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But “We Bury The Dead” isn’t so much a zombie movie as it is a commentary on grief and closure. The movie opens after the United States accidentally detonates an experimental weapon off the Eastern coast of Tasmania. Considering the current state of politics, this is a funny bit in a movie that provides very little comedy.
Speaking of funny, it was definitely an interesting choice to have Daisy Ridley’s character, Ava, play a “yank,” as she’s often referred to throughout the film, with a lackluster American accent that doesn’t go over as well as one might think. Whether American, British, or even Australian, where she’s from doesn’t have much bearing on the film.
Ava travels to the area as part of a body retrieval unit and is partnered with Clay, another volunteer who, we later find out, is volunteering to prove to his wife and daughter that he’s not as selfish as they think he is. But Ava has an ulterior motive for joining the program: her husband Mitch works in “renewable energy,” and a company retreat put him right in the detonation zone.
I don’t know what American renewable energy companies send their employees to Tasmania for a work retreat, but here we are.
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Daisy Ridley Trades Her Lightsaber For A Shovel In ‘We Bury The Dead’
Zak Hilditch’s zombie apocalypse horror WE BURY THE DEAD, starring Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, and Mark Coles Smith, is on Hulu. pic.twitter.com/CTxJmIcTOK
Regardless, Ava is desperate to find him. He’s probably dead, but there are rumors that some of the dead are becoming undead, although they mostly just stare and grind their teeth in a way that would make a dentist cringe. The zombies only become speedy and violent when the plot needs them to, and let’s be honest, the plot doesn’t really need them to. Most of the time, they don’t end up doing anything besides staring and gnashing their teeth.
Clay and Ava get separated on her quest to get to her husband’s hotel when a soldier – Riley – shows up. Riley locks Ava in a room for hours while he “questions” Clay and then comes back to tell her that Clay ran away. Clay does seem like the kind of guy who would run away, but Riley also seems like the kind of guy who would take him out back and shoot him, so either way, Ava’s not in a great position.
And she gets in a worse position when Riley offers her a lift. With little other option, she gets in his jeep, only for him to drive her to his wife’s childhood home and cook her dinner. He then asks Ava to put on Katie’s clothes and perfume and dance with him before he will take her to her destination. For whatever reason, Ava agrees to this. Things get creepy, and then Riley gets expectedly violent when he realizes Ava didn’t take off her wedding ring, as requested.
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She rushes upstairs only to find that his zombified wife is pregnant and chained to the bed. She escapes out the window only to find even more undead chained up together in his barn. He claims the dead who come back have “unfinished business” and that his wife came back because she still plans to give birth to their child.
Yup. Okay.
Keep Reading. It Gets Weirder…
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
As expected, Ava kills him and escapes. Katie somehow also got unshackled from the bed and makes her way outside, somehow, but Ava just bolts out of there and continues her quest to find her husband. She eventually reaches the hotel where he’s staying and finds him in his room – I guess this is the only and only hotel in the world where rooms don’t have locked doors? – only to find evidence that her husband had been having an affair.
Flashbacks scattered throughout the movie hinted that they had been having marital problems, but it isn’t until Clay shows up – somehow – that Ava explains that she grew frustrated after being unable to conceive a child, and so she had an affair right before he left on this business trip. It’s not clear how long he’s been having an affair for, or if it was a one-night stand, but either way, Ava’s pretty upset that he won’t become undead and apparently doesn’t consider her “unfinished business.”
She and Clay get drunk and have a pool party – because why not? – which is interrupted when a zombie comes in. She smashes its head open with what looks to be a wine bottle, which is the bloodiest she gets throughout the entire film. She later wakes up in bed next to Clay and decides to give Mitch a ship burial after getting inspired by a painting of a Viking burial on the wall.
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On their trip back north, they stop their car when they see Katie standing in the middle of the road. Ava sees her bloody clothes and rushes off to some stone ruins, where she hears the sounds of a baby crying. That’s right. Katie gave birth in the middle of a field, then stopped in the middle of the roadway, hoping someone would stop, get out of their car, and find her bundle of joy, who is somehow completely healthy.
Zombie Katie just walks off down the road, and Ava picks up the baby, seemingly delighted that she’s finally getting to be a mom, although it’s not really clear whether she wanted to be a mom or just to start a family with Mitch. The flashbacks only hint that the tensions in their marriage were due to her infertility, and it’s not clear how much Ava actually wanted to be a parent.
Maybe it’s supposed to end on a hopeful note, but it really just falls flat. After initially describing it to a friend as a “weird, weird, weird, movie,” I did what anyone would do and typed the name of the film into Google, where I came across a few Reddit boards asking, “WTH did I just watch?”
Honestly? Same. As a “Star Wars” fan, I was drawn in by Daisy Ridley. As a zombie movie fan, I was drawn in by the premise. It seemed very similar to Colson Whitehead’s 2011 novel “Zone One,” which follows a character named Mark Spitz clearing the last “straggler” zombies from NYC after a pandemic.
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‘We Bury The Dead’ – Where Infertility Leads To Infidelity And Zombies
This was not that. “We Bury The Dead” seems more like a test of what people will go through in order to find closure, but it’s muddled by the ending and the reveal that Mitch is also having an affair. She cheated on him, he cheated on her, and then he died, and she risked her life trying to find a man who she knew was already dead.
The movie would have been better if it had featured Ava walking into the hotel room, finding Mitch’s body, and then slowly closing the door behind her before the screen faded to black. Does he reanimate? Does he stay dead? Does she get closure?
It would be incredibly ironic for a film about a character finding closure to then not give the audience the same. I’m a fan of ambiguous endings, but if 2025’s “A House of Dynamite” taught me anything, it is that most people are not.
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The current ending doesn’t provide much closure, but at least Ava does find a baby. Does she head back to America with it? Does she stay with Clay? And how did he actually give Riley the slip and then somehow make it to the same hotel about ten minutes after Ava when they were separated for days?
“We Bury The Dead” doesn’t give you any answers. It just buries them.
Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, and Mark Coles Smith star in Zak Hilditch’s zombie horror “We Bury The Dead,” which is now streaming on Hulu.
All your favorite faces will be back alongside Sudeikis and Goldstein for Ted Lasso Season 4, including Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton, Juno Templeas Keeley Jones, Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard, and Jeremy Swift as Leslie Higgins, with new faces joining the cast including Tanya Reynolds of Sex Education fame, Jude Mack, Andor‘s Faye Marsay, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern, and Grant Feely. The return of Ted and the gang can’t come soon enough, but thankfully, Netflix has your wholesome sports series requirements filled in the meantime.
At the time of writing, the second season of Netflix’s answer to Ted Lasso, Running Point, is one of the ten most-streamed shows on the platform worldwide. It was recently reported that the show had earned over 25 million hours viewed in its first week since returning, before showcasing its staying power with a jump to 32 million hours viewed in its second week, which roughly translates to 6.7 million total views. In the past week, Running Point has hit an inevitable decline as newer shows make their streaming splash, including the hit true-crime docuseries Should I Marry A Murderer? and the must-watch crime thriller Man on Fire starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
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Collider Exclusive · TV Medicine Quiz Which Fictional Hospital Would You Work Best In? The Pitt · ER · Grey’s Anatomy · House · Scrubs
Five hospitals. Five completely different ways medicine goes sideways on television — brutal, chaotic, romantic, brilliant, and ridiculous. Only one of them is the ward your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out exactly where you belong.
🚨The Pitt
🏥ER
💉Grey’s
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🔬House
🩺Scrubs
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01
A critical patient comes through the door. What’s your first instinct? Medicine under pressure reveals who you actually are.
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02
Why did you go into medicine in the first place? The honest answer says more about you than the one you’d give in an interview.
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03
What do you actually want from the people you work with? Who you want beside you under pressure is who you are.
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04
You lose a patient you fought hard to save. How do you carry it? Every doctor who’s worked a long shift has had to answer this question.
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05
How would your colleagues describe the way you work? Your reputation on the floor is usually more accurate than your self-image.
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06
How do you feel about hospital protocol and procedure? Every institution has rules. What you do with them is a choice.
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07
What does this job cost you personally? Nobody works in medicine without paying a price. What’s yours?
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08
At the end of a long shift, what keeps you coming back? The answer to this question is the most honest thing about you.
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Your Assignment Has Been Made You Belong In…
Your answers have pointed to one fictional hospital above all others. This is the ward your instincts, your temperament, and your particular brand of dysfunction were built for.
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Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center
The Pitt
You are built for the most unsparing version of emergency medicine television has ever shown — one that puts you inside a single fifteen-hour shift and doesn’t let you look away.
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You need your work to be real, not romanticised — meaning over drama, honesty over aesthetics.
You find purpose inside the work itself, not in the chaos surrounding it.
You’ve made peace with the fact that this job takes from you constantly, and gives back in ways that are harder to name.
Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center demands exactly that kind of person — and you would not want to be anywhere else.
County General Hospital, Chicago
ER
You are the person who keeps the whole floor running — not the most brilliant in the room, but possibly the most essential.
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You show up, do the work, absorb the losses, and come back the next day without needing the job to be anything other than what it is.
You care about patients as individual human beings, not as cases to solve or dramas to live through.
You believe in the system even when it fails you — and you understand that emergency medicine is about holding the line just long enough.
ER is television about endurance. You have it.
Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, Seattle
Grey’s Anatomy
You came to medicine with your whole self — your ambition, your emotions, your relationships, your history — and you have never quite managed to leave any of it at the door.
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You feel things fully and form deep attachments to the people you work with.
Your personal and professional lives are permanently, chaotically entangled — and that entanglement drives both your greatest disasters and your most remarkable saves.
You understand that extraordinary medicine often happens at the intersection of clinical skill and profound human connection.
It’s messy at Grey Sloan. You would not have it any other way.
Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, NJ
House
You are drawn to the problem above everything else — the symptom that doesn’t fit, the diagnosis hiding underneath the obvious one.
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You’re not primarily motivated by the patient as a person — though you are capable of caring, even if you’d deny it.
You work best when the stakes are highest and the standard answer is wrong.
Princeton-Plainsboro exists to house one extraordinary, impossible mind — and everyone around that mind is there because they’re smart enough to keep up.
The only way forward here is to think harder than everyone else in the room. That is exactly what you do.
Sacred Heart Hospital, California
Scrubs
You understand that medicine is tragic and absurd in almost equal measure — and that the only sane response is to hold both of those things at the same time.
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You are warm, self-aware, and funnier than most people in your field.
You use humour to get through terrible moments — and at Sacred Heart, that’s not a flaw, it’s a survival strategy.
You lean on the people around you and let them lean back. The laughter and the grief are genuinely inseparable here.
Scrubs is a show about learning to become someone worthy of the job. You are still very much in the middle of that process — which is exactly right.
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Who Stars in ‘Running Point’?
Following her recent Academy Award nomination for Song Sung Blue, the brilliant Kate Hudson is back for Running Point Season 2 as Isla Gordon, the unlikely appointee as President of her family business, the LA Waves basketball team, following her brother’s entry into rehab. Hudson is joined by an eye-catching second-season cast, including Brenda Song,Chet Hanks, Fabrizio Guido, Scott MacArthur, and Justin Theroux, with guest stars including Max Greenfield, Ray Romano, Ken Marino, and Nicole Sullivan.
The perfect Ted Lasso replacement, Running Point, is a global streaming hit on Netflix. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for all the latest streaming stories.
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Release Date
February 27, 2025
Network
Netflix
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Directors
Michael Weaver, James Ponsoldt, David Stassen, Thembi Banks
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