Entertainment
Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo Graduated From This Ivy League School at the Height of Their Fame
There’s no negating the fact that Weezer completely reformatted the rock industry. Consisting of Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell, and Scott Shriner, their ability to tell stories with wit and mastery pioneered geek rock. Because of this, many know Cuomo as the eccentric frontman who gave Weezer the eclectic touch necessary to solidify them as everlasting legends. However, what many don’t know about Cuomo is just how impressive his academic background is.
Alongside selling over 35 million records worldwide, Cuomo studied classical composition and English literature at Harvard University, attending between Pinkerton and The Green Album. Here’s a deep dive into how the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter also proved himself to be academically brilliant, and how his time in Ivy League helped reshape the band’s sound completely.
Rivers Cuomo Attended Harvard After Finding Fame
When you’re at the height of new fame, you’ll typically dive deep into the rock star lifestyle and indulge in all the pleasures that come with money and status. However, for Cuomo, his interests skewed more academic. In the pursuit of higher knowledge, Cuomo enrolled himself at Harvard University in the fall of 1995, shortly after the success of Weezer’s debut, Blue Album.
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He studied Classical Composition, English and American literature intermittently through 2006, balancing his studies with recording music and touring the globe. He made this pivot as quiet from public knowledge as possible, as he was genuinely serious about academics and longed to escape the identity of being a rock star. The experience ended up being as spiritually expansive as he’d hoped, often describing Harvard as a time in which he was surrounded by intelligent, motivated people and was able to bask in the freedom of living somewhat anonymously.
Cuomo’s Experience at Harvard University
Cuomo’s time at Harvard wasn’t all success. In fact, it may have indirectly served as the darkest period of his life. During his time as a student, Cuomo underwent leg-lengthening surgery to correct a difference in the length of his legs. Not only was it painful, but it left him handicapped for a good amount of time, only able to have mobility with a brace and cane. He spent time recovering in isolation and became deeply self-conscious about the deterioration of his appearance.
This experience helped shape one of Weezer’s most famous albums, Pinkerton. Cuomo became isolated, introverted, and frustrated while on campus, journeying through the pain of his recovery while adjusting to life using a cane. That alienation bled into the music, birthing a darker, more personal album that encapsulated the feeling of becoming a stranger to yourself. Songs like “Across the Sea,” “The Good Life,” and “Pink Triangle” were directly influenced by his suffering as a lonely student surrounded by a sea of people he could not quite connect with.
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He didn’t start off so strong.
The years he spent at Harvard coincided with Weezer garnering more and more fame. Many of his academic peers would wear his band merch without the knowledge that they were sitting right next to Cuomo himself. Walking with a cane and donning a beard that made him almost unrecognizable, he avoided the frenzy of fandom by living a life in disguise.
Yet, despite the trials, Cuomo accomplished exactly what he set out to do. In 2006, over a decade after he first enrolled, Cuomo graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Nothing about his pursuit of academia, nor his health trials, interfered with Weezer continuing to dominate the industry and master a distinct sound. In fact, his time at Harvard was essential in Weezer becoming the band we know today. Cuomo had once planned to make Weezer’s sophomore project, a concept album about characters in space, inspired by operas and musicals he had been listening to while touring. However, after becoming a student, Cuomo’s songwriting simply needed to become more personal and confessional, because he had new emotions to expel. Had he never attended Harvard, it’s likely that Pinkerton would have sounded completely different, or maybe not have existed at all.
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“I had so much fun on that. I got to dance, I got to sing. Yeah, it was a huge break for me,” she told “Variety” of the 1982 film.
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A fan mistook the “Ready or Not” star for her fellow Australian.
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Before The Fast and the Furious, before The Last Witch Hunter, Vin Diesel was able to create a franchise out of a low-budget sci-fi horror film with barely any plot, through sheer force of personality. His deep voice, ability to show no emotion, and action star physique helped turn his role as Riddick into a star-making performance. The 2000 sci-fi horror Pitch Black is coming to Netflix on June 1, and there’s never a bad time to remind yourself why Vin Diesel became a superstar.
Riddick Is Vin Diesel’s Best Character
No one thought Pitch Black would launch a franchise when it debuted in February 2000, the dumping ground for Hollywood studios, but that’s what happened. Diesel’s Riddick makes his first appearance as a prisoner onboard a doomed shuttle crash landing on a planet about to experience a total eclipse for the first time in 22 years. That’s relevant for two convenient reasons: one, the massive horde of flying predators destroyed by sunlight, and two, Riddick had a prison doctor operate on his eyes giving him “shine,” and now he can see in the dark. Relying on a wanted criminal and known killer for salvation are the various miners (including Farscape’s Claudia Black), pilgrims, and tourists also onboard the shuttle. It’s a very simple plot but it works.
The simplicity plays to Vin Diesel’s strengths as an actor, namely, his physical presence or as the kids say, aura farming, and not his emoting. Ironically, showing the taciturn Riddick fighting against the feelings of compassion and kindness is Diesel’s best acting work. He turns the one-note tough guy character into a star-making performance with a few grunts and a single kind gesture.
Keep It Simple Stupid
Simple doesn’t always mean bad. Pitch Black wisely uses the darkness to obscure the deadly nocturnal predators as much as possible in both a budget saving move, and one that means the tension cranks up without anything actually happening on screen. Audiences loved it, earning the film over $50 million during its theatrical run before becoming a best-selling DVD release. It did so well, director and writer David Twohy reunited with Diesel for the sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, which ditched the survival horror elements of the original film and replaced them with deep lore, dozens of characters, multiple deep space factions, and Dame Judi Dench as an Air Elemental.
The third film in the franchise, Riddick, went back to the simple survival story of Pitch Black, and again, it was a hit, reinforcing that Diesel works best in small scale films. You might be thinking, The Fast and The Furious isn’t small scale, but think back, and the entire plot centered on stealing VCRs. That’s grounded and realistic compared to what came next. Fans of Diesel’s sci-fi franchise can only hope that the upcoming fourth film, Furya, is more Pitch Black and less Chronicles of Riddick.
All three of the Riddick films are now available on Netflix. If you haven’t watched Pitch Black in decades, it’s a great time to give it a rewatch. In retrospect, the tight plot and single setting is quaint. In a good way. There was a time when an original sci-fi film with no star power behind it could go wide in theaters, earn millions of dollars, and create a new fanbase out of thin air.
Starting on June 1, you can catch Pitch Black on Netflix.
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the Fire Country Season 4 finale.If something felt off about the Fire Country Season 4 finale, “Try Not To Down,” that’s because the show did something completely unusual from the norm. It was the first season finale in the show’s history that didn’t end with a cliffhanger. In fact, the finale more closely resembles a series finale where everything gets wrapped up. The ending was peculiar, but it generally worked, especially in comparison to Sheriff Country‘s finale. Now, Fire Country needs to capitalize on the opportunity that its Season 4 finale presents, so the series can completely reinvent itself for the upcoming fifth season.
‘Fire Country’ Season 4 Ended Happily for Everyone
The Fire Country Season 4 ending serves as a stark contrast with the way Season 3 left off, with the lives of Vince Leone (Billy Burke), Sharon Leone (Diane Farr), and Walter Leone (Jeff Fahey) hanging in the balance, as they were trapped in a burning building. It was later revealed that Vince perished off-screen in the Season 4 premiere, with his passing leaving a huge void at Station 42. However, Season 4 left the series and the main characters in a much better place than where they began, and they all earned some positive developments.
Bode (Max Thieirot) makes amends with Danny Marks (Mike O’Malley), the man whom he assaulted years earlier. Jake Crawford (Jordan Calloway) marries his girlfriend, Violet (Nesta Cooper), and their wedding goes off without a hitch. Bode even donates his father’s wedding ring to the ceremony, playing as a tender, healing moment for him. After mourning Vince’s loss, Sharon is finally moving on with her life and is about to go on a trip with the handsome mechanic, Alexei (Brett Tucker), and she’s long overdue for a nice vacation. Manny Perez (Kevin Alejandro) is happily in a relationship with the nice doctor, Camille (Natalie Zea), who saved Manny’s ex-wife, Roberta (Paola Núñez), when she was facing a life-threatening aneurysm and damage to the hospital from a flood. Not to mention, Bode finally confesses his love for his girlfriend, Chloe (Alona Tal), and it looks like he has turned a major corner. The finale features happy endings all around for everyone. No helicopters crashed at the wedding, and nobody returned to prison. It was a refreshing change that Fire Country didn’t try to throw in a shocking twist at the end.
It’s Time for Bode To Move on From His Troubled Past
Bode resolving the Danny Marks conflict showcases how Bode is finally putting his dark past to bed and moving on with his life. Far too often, Fire Country dwells on Bode’s guilt and life of crime after the accident leading to his sister’s death. Bode would constantly make ridiculous mistakes and take the fall for others due to his martyrdom. Bode worried about reciprocating Chloe’s feelings because he feared he’d go back to prison or something worse would happen to him. Bode letting go of his fears of sharing his love for Chloe should represent a fresh start for the character, which is crucial for his growth. Truthfully, Bode’s constant brooding about his mistakes, along with his nearly relapsing on opioids earlier in the season, became a tiresome subplot throughout Season 4.
When Season 5 opens, Bode needs to be more confident and sure of himself. He made CAL Fire’s elite Rapid Extraction Module Support (REMS) team in Season 4, which is a prestigious role. Previously, Bode constantly allowed his past sins and transgressions to define his character arc. Considering Bode helped and forgave Tyler Mackenzie, the teen responsible for the fire that led to his father’s death, Bode finally recognizes the positive influence he can have on people’s lives and the importance of forgiveness. Season 5 should be the start of a new chapter for Bode as a full-fledged firefighter.
‘Fire Country’ Season 4’s Ending Should Mark a New Era
When Fire Country starts its fifth season, the latest ending should reset the narrative, so it will come off like a brand-new era when it returns. Season 4 was a transitional one, addressing the succession of Vince’s leadership, Manny becoming the new battalion chief, Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila) leaving Edgewater, Sharon and Bode dealing with Vince’s loss, and Jake reconnecting with his long-lost brother, Malcolm (Dominic Goodman). All those subplots have been addressed. Characters have adjusted to their roles and new routines.
Fire Country will not feel like the same show next season. Viewers can likely expect Manny to exhibit more confidence as the Battalion Chief, and his personal relationships should be stronger than ever, especially with Camille and Roberta. Sharon deserves some peace and happiness after everything she’s experienced, so she can start progressing her relationship with Alexei. Additionally, Sharon shouldn’t have to worry about Bode relapsing or going back to prison. Her son is a firefighter, and that’s worrisome enough. Jake will also be dealing with married life with Violet in Season 4, along with the challenge of his brother Malcolm being part of his crew. Essentially, Season 4’s finale needs to signify the main characters’ progress and moving into new chapters of their lives, representing positive changes for everyone.
Maria Shriver is celebrating her family’s victory after a judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
“An appropriate birthday present on my uncle’s birthday today,” Shriver, 70, wrote via Threads on Friday, May 29, referring to President John F. Kennedy, who would have been 109 years old today.
She explained, “A federal judge ruled that President Trump and the Kennedy Center Board acted unlawfully in renaming the Kennedy Center after him. The judge held that only Congress can change the Center’s name and blocked the planned two-year closure for now.”
Shriver — whose mother, Eunice Kennedy, is part of the storied Kennedy family and one of JFK’s siblings — added, ”I know they’ll probably appeal and the story isn’t over, but for today, let’s celebrate a great birthday gift.”
Maria Shriver is speaking out against the Kennedy Center’s new name once again. Hours after workers added Donald Trump’s name to the Washington D.C. building, the niece of John F. Kennedy had some questions for the current president of the United States. “Adding your name to a memorial already named in honor of a great […]
Shriver’s celebratory post comes shortly after news broke that a federal judge barred Trump, 79, from adding his name to the Kennedy Center after he put his moniker on the iconic building in December 2025. (The building currently reads: The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.)
Judge Christopher Cooper pointed out that only Congress has the authority to make a change like that. He wrote in a 94-page order that the law Congress passed to create the performing arts center in Washington, D.C., was “crystal clear” that the building be named after President Kennedy.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper wrote.
The Trump Kennedy Center vice president of public relations, Roma Daravi, told Us Weekly in a statement on Friday that the center is “confident that on appeal the court will uphold the Board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center.”
The judge, for his part, also temporarily blocked the Kennedy Center from being closed for two years due to renovations that Trump had planned.
Cooper explained that his ruling was due to the fact that the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees did not balance its obligations to the center when it agreed to close for renovations. “None of the board members had sufficient information in advance of the March 16 meeting to make a well-considered decision to close the center,” the judge wrote, according to the New York Times.
Should the board work toward “independently balancing its multiple obligations to the Center in a prudent fashion,” the judge said they might be able to close for renovations.
In response to the judge’s ruling, Davari told Us on Friday, “We will review the decision carefully though the reality remains — the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. weighed in on President Donald Trump’s decision to rename the Kennedy Center to add his own name to the memorial building. In a new interview released on Thursday, January 8, CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes asked RFK Jr., 71, whether he understood why his family members were “upset” […]
The VP of public relations for the Trump Kennedy Center added, “With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy.”
Prior to today’s ruling, Trump has received backlash since renaming the establishment in December 2025.
“Adding your name to a memorial already named in honor of a great man doesn’t make you a great man. Quite the contrary,” Shriver wrote via Instagram at the time. “Putting your name on top of someone else’s doesn’t mean that people will speak of you in the same breath as the other man. Putting your name above another man’s name on his existing memorial… What is that about? Truly? What’s that about?”
Trump came under further scrutiny when it was announced he’d be closing the center on July 4 to add an entertainment space.
Kennedy heir Jack Schlossberg has revealed the one way President Donald Trump could win his family’s prestigious Profile in Courage Award. “To be honest, I don’t think he’s in the running anytime soon,” Schlossberg, 33, joked during an appearance on MS Now on Sunday, March 22. Schlossberg appeared on the cable network to promote the […]
“The Trump Kennedy Center will close on July 4th, 2026, in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country, whereupon we will simultaneously begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex,” the president wrote via Truth Social in February. “This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before.”
Jack Schlossberg, JFK’s only grandson and a candidate running for Congress, was outraged by Trump’s actions as well.
“Trump can take the Kennedy Center for himself. He can change the name, shut the doors, and demolish the building,” Schlossberg, 33, wrote via X. “He can try to kill JFK. But JFK is kept alive by us now rising up to remove Donald Trump, bring him to justice, and restore the freedoms generations fought for.”
Us Weekly has reached out to the White House for comment.
Science fiction has always been cinema’s great imagination machine. More than perhaps any other genre, it allows filmmakers to explore humanity’s fears and hopes through worlds that do not yet exist. The last 50 years have been an especially fertile period for the genre, producing dozens of masterpieces.
The best sci-fi masterpieces cover a range of styles and tones, from terrifying visions of artificial intelligence to awe-inspiring journeys through space. These triumphs of the genre linger because they combine imagination with insight, using alien worlds and impossible technologies to say something truthful about our own reality. They have contributed to sci-fi’s considerable legacy, cementing their place in the annals of history.
10
‘District 9’ (2009)
“You wanted to see what happens? This is what happens!” District 9 is one of the most creative riffs on the usual alien contact formula. It switches things up by setting the story in modern-day South Africa and portraying the extraterrestrials as refugees rather than invaders. Bureaucrat Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is tasked with relocating the aliens, and his exposure to their biotechnology triggers a horrific transformation.
Director Neill Blomkamp skillfully and confidently builds this premise into a compelling mix of action, comedy, effects-driven sci-fi, and sharp social commentary. The documentary-style presentation adds to the realism and immersion, while Copley’s charming performance keeps us invested the whole way through. All in all, on top of simply being an entertaining story, District 9 remains one of the most interesting cinematic statements on contemporary South Africa.
9
‘Her’ (2013)
“I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.” Her takes a concept that could easily feel gimmicky — a man falling in love with an operating system — and turns it into something deeply human. Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely writer, forms a relationship with Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), an AI that evolves far beyond its original design. Their relationship feels real, shaped by mutual vulnerability, but shadowed by the gradual realization that they exist on different planes of experience.
The performances and storytelling here are refreshingly restrained and understated. The world is futuristic, but not distant: just close enough to feel inevitable. The themes around isolation, connection, technology, and romance are sensitive, astute, and years ahead of their time. Given recent increases in social media use, loneliness, and AI processing power, Her feels less and less speculative and more like a reflection of our own world.
8
‘Interstellar’ (2014)
“Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space.” Interstellar is Christopher Nolan‘s most ambitious sci-fi project, operating on a scale few directors could even contemplate. It’s about a group of astronauts traveling through a wormhole in search of a new home for humanity, but it uses this premise as a jumping-off point to throw in all sorts of big-brain ideas, like black holes, time dilation, relativity, tesseracts, and higher dimensions, along with a deeply personal story about love and family.
It could easily have collapsed into a melodramatic mess, but Nolan and his stars have the talent to pull it off. The result is one of the most well-balanced sci-fi movies of the 21st century, hitting us with spectacular effects, gorgeous music, scientific food for thought, a tense plot, and a character-based drama.
7
‘Back to the Future’ (1985)
“If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” Back to the Future is perhaps the most perfectly constructed time-travel film ever made, even if it’s far from scientifically accurate. Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is accidentally sent back to 1955, where he must ensure that his parents fall in love or risk erasing his own existence. The plot moves with effortless momentum: the stakes are clear, the rules consistent, and the pacing nearly flawless.
Indeed, the screenplay is one of the tightest ever. Tiny details echo across timelines in clever ways: the clock tower, the skateboard, the mayoral campaign, the family photograph, the Twin Pines Mall becoming Lone Pine Mall. On top of that, there’s an endless supply of joyful humor, along with a steady parade of memorable performances from pretty much everyone involved, but Christopher Lloyd most of all. In short, it’s a quintessentially ’80s gem.
6
‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ (1991)
“Hasta la vista, baby.” The first Terminator is a banger, but Terminator 2: Judgment Day expanded on it in every way, turning a straightforward sci-fi thriller into something far more ambitious. The first masterstroke was the decision to bring back the old villain as an ally. This time around, a reprogrammed Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to protect John Connor (Edward Furlong), the future leader of the human resistance, from a more advanced machine.
Visually, the movie was groundbreaking, too. The CGI effects changed cinema permanently, particularly the liquid-metal transformations of the T-1000. Yet what makes the effects endure is that James Cameron combines them with practical effects, miniatures, stunts, and physical action. For this reason, scenes like the truck chase through the Los Angeles canals and the steel mill climax more than hold up today.
5
‘The Matrix’ (1999)
“There is no spoon.” The Matrix begins as a noirish mystery and expands into a butt-kicking martial arts movie, all while getting deeply philosophical and exploring cyberspace in pioneering new ways. Keanu Reeves delivers perhaps his most iconic performance as Thomas Anderson, a computer hacker known as Neo, discovers that reality itself is a simulation controlled by machines, and that humanity is unknowingly trapped within it.
The movie’s structure is deceptively simple, almost archetypal: awakening, training, confrontation. But within that framework lies a dense web of ideas around free will, technology, perception, control, identity. The action sequences are iconic, redefining what was possible in cinema at the time, yet they never overshadow the compelling themes. In our world of pervasive social media and online personas and doomscrolling, they ring even more true. Very smart, effortlessly cool.
4
‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)
“No… I am your father.” While the first Star Wars movie blew people’s minds, it was The Empire Strikes Back that really turned the franchise into a full-blown modern mythos. It gets bolder and darker, with the Rebel Alliance facing devastating losses and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) confronting the true nature of his enemy. The heroes are separated, the tone darkens, and the narrative builds toward a conclusion that offers no easy resolution.
Of course, the defining presence of the film is Darth Vader. In A New Hope, Vader was already visually striking, but The Empire Strikes Back transforms him into one of cinema’s greatest villains. He is no longer merely an enforcer, instead becoming tragic, mythic, and psychologically complex. The climactic revelation, one of the most famous twists in film history, recontextualizes the entire story and elevates the saga into something truly operatic.
3
‘Aliens’ (1986)
“Get away from her, you b—h!” James Cameron strikes again, this time taking Ridley Scott‘s sturdy horror foundation and shifting it into action territory, while retaining its core tension. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returns to LV-426 with a team of marines to investigate a colony that has gone silent, only to discover that the alien threat has multiplied. The characters have guns this time around, but they face not one threat but dozens, including the colossal alien queen.
This movie is just ridiculously entertaining from start to finish. The characters are colorful (including a terrific supporting performance from Bill Paxton as Bishop), the effects are killer, and the xenomorphs are explored in greater detail. Here, they’re an overwhelming hive species: fast, coordinated, endless, and almost insect-like. Finally, Ripley’s relationship with Newt adds real depth to the action.
2
‘Alien’ (1979)
“In space, no one can hear you scream.” Possibly the pinnacle of sci-fi horror, Alien is a haunted house movie in space, boasting the most creepy and creative monster in movie history. In it, the crew of the spaceship Nostromo responds to a distress signal on a distant planet and inadvertently brings a deadly organism aboard their ship. The alien is rarely seen, its presence suggested rather than shown. This absence creates a sense of dread that permeates every scene.
Scott constructs the film with meticulous attention to atmosphere, using lighting, sound, and pacing to build tension gradually. The characters feel real, their reactions grounded. The spaceship itself also feels industrial, lived-in, and low-fi, a refreshing contrast from the slick and fantastical spacecraft you typically saw onscreen up til that point. Every element here made for a blueprint that still works today.
1
‘Blade Runner’ (1982)
“All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” Amazing that Ridley Scott delivered not one but two of sci-fi’s greatest movie masterpieces. Blade Runner may not be as viscerally compelling as Alien, but it eclipses it in terms of visual ingenuity and philosophical depth. Harrison Ford is in top form here as Rick Deckard, a blade runner tasked with hunting bioengineered beings. Yet what begins as a detective story becomes something far more introspective.
Drawing on noir influences, Blade Runner questions what it means to be human, whether memory defines identity, and whether artificial life can possess genuine emotion. The characters are unusually layered for a sci-fi flick, frequently reflecting on their decisions and confronting their own existence. Then, on the aesthetic front, the world of the movie is richly detailed, a dystopian landscape that feels both decayed and alive. Countless films since have borrowed from its style.
[Editor’s Note: The following contains The Four Seasons Season 2 spoilers]
Summary
After that Season 1 cliffhanger, Netflix’s sleeper hit series The Four Seasons returned to the streamer for an all-new adventure with the gang. In this interview, Tina Fey and Will Forte sit down with Collider’s Steve Weintraub to discuss the Season 2 finale, and that surprise David Tennant cameo, plus co-creator Fey’s hopes for the future of the series.
It’s been a hard year for our group of friends, so what better way to blow off some steam than to pack up for their traditional vacation? This time, the core pals took flight to Italy, where, amongst the sunshine and breathtaking scenery, they were confronted with personal blind spots and the grief of their late friend. The series sees Fey and Forte return as Kate and Jack, as well as Kerri Kenney-Silver as Anne, Colman Domingo as Danny, Marco Calvani as Claude, and Erika Henningsen as Ginny.
Don’t miss the full conversation with Fey and Forte, which you can check out in the video above or the transcript below, to find out what the plans are for Season 3, the pair’s favorite Will Ferrell Saturday Night Live sketches, what it’s like for The Four Seasons’ most “comforting” scenes, and more! And be sure to watch our interviews with writers and directors Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield, and fellow cast members Kenney-Silver, Calvani, and Henningsen.
Tina Fey Reveals the ‘SNL’ Sketch Everyone Sleeps On — And It’s Not “More Cowbell”
“That’s like saying ‘Stairway to Heaven’ for Led Zeppelin.”
COLLIDER: Do you guys have a favorite Will [Ferrell] sketch or one that you think is underrated, one that you just want to point out?
TINA FEY: I mean, I don’t think we hear enough about Jacob Silj, who was his character who had “Voice Immodulation Syndrome.” He could not contain the volume of his voice. I remember it was a privilege, I believe I got to be an update anchor welcoming Jacob Silj to the desk. So, look that one up on YouTube.
WILL FORTE: I mean, look, I love Cowbell so much, and I know that’s just an obvious choice. That’s like saying “Stairway to Heaven” for Led Zeppelin, but you can kind of do no wrong. I just got to see, for some reason it was on my feed, I think it was Instagram, but “Get off, Chad!” was in there. But I loved it when he used to drive in on that on the little scooter.
FEY: Robert Goulet?
FORTE: No, it wasn’t him.
It’s the sketch where he’s in the clothing store.
FORTE: Yes!
FEY: Oh, Jeffrey’s.
FORTE: Yeah. That makes me laugh. He’s just the funniest.
I agree. There’s a sketch that I love. I think it’s called Mr. Tarkanian. “I’ve been doing speed and cocaine all day, and I want a piece of you!” I’m butchering it, but he’s kind of funny, you know?
FEY: Yeah, he’s pretty funny.
FORTE: Him as Harry Caray. “It’s George Bush!”
Tina Fey Reflects on Eating Her Way Through ’30 Rock’
And reveals her thoughts on The Four Seasons Season 3.
Enough about Will. We’re here for you guys. So, I loved Season 2, and I’m just curious as a fan, when do you start filming Season 3? Because I’m going to need more.
FEY: Oh, great. Let’s see. Let’s get all of this straight to Netflix. We would love to continue for as long as the world would have us.
I do have to ask you, you’re one of the creators, one of the writers, and a director. You both know how difficult food scenes are, yet this show is filled with food scenes.
FEY: It’s part of the comfort.
I know a lot of actors will eat their food, and some will spit out their food. Are you guys eaters or spitters?
FEY: Well, I will say, I pride myself. I think that on-camera eating is one of my only strengths as an actor. I ate so much on 30 Rock. I loved it. Also, you don’t have to do acting when you’re doing the eating. You just eat. That said, I don’t think I ever bit into that lobster roll because I was like, “Lobster might be dodgy.” But generally, I did eat a bunch of ice cream on the boardwalk.
FORTE: It’s situational for me because if it’s, like, a cheese plate and I know I’ve got to do 20 takes of it, you can’t have that much cheese in your system. But I will say this year I am training for a marathon, so I was keeping in pretty good shape for three quarters of the season, and then I mess up my leg. So, in my head, I’m like, “From here on out, I’m not going to exercise as much. I’m going to eat whatever the heck I want to,” because during the jump forward, I’d be a little puffier anyway. So then it was the best month of my life. No regrets, eating as much Jeni’s ice cream as I wanted, pizzas, and pastas. There was no carb I didn’t go fully down the path for.
You two play such a real relationship. You guys are so good together. The chemistry is so great. How much are your partners in real life when you guys fight on the show, wondering, “Was that from our life?” I’m joking around here, but you know.
FEY: My husband works on the show, and he does often say to me, “Is that supposed to be me?” And I always say like, “Oh no, that’s from so-and-so in the writers’ room.” And he’s like, “That’s me.” Because this year, he was like, “That thing of talking with a little bit of an Italian accent…?” And I go, “I don’t remember where that came from?” He’s like, “That’s me.”
FORTE: [Laughs] Maybe I get lucky because I have nothing to do with the writing of this series. So, the only way I could out myself would be by saying something to you right now.
FEY: And you’re no fool.
Tina Fey Explains the Big Finale Twist and Anne’s Romance With David Tennant
“Anne’s been looking for something new.”
I definitely have to ask about the end of the season. I’m asking you as one of the co-creators and writers. When did you decide that Anne was going to stay in Italy, and not just stay in Italy, but have a romantic relationship with David Tennant?
FEY: We should all, at some point in our lives, have a romantic relationship with David Tennant. I love him. At some point, we break sort of the shape of the season early, and so at some point pretty early on, we thought, “Okay, Anne’s been looking for something new and something to do. Why not have her go,” as she re-embraces her adventurous self. I think then it was sort of like, “Oh, and also, what would be a fun cliffhanger?” Because last year it was that Ginny’s pregnant. So we thought, “Oh yeah, maybe she’ll meet an actual John Pierrot.” So she does. Aren’t they cute together? They’re so cute.
Everyone told me that they shot for an hour and it was, like, electric chemistry.
FEY: Yeah, it was so cute. I had to keep telling her, “Remember, you don’t know him yet. Remember, you don’t know he’s your love interest yet.” Because he’d be like, “Hello,” and she’d be like, “Hi!” [Laughs] But he’s the sweetest.
FORTE: He is awesome. I only met him for a brief second, and I melted a little. Is that a gross word to use?
FEY: Melted? No, it’s great.
English is a second language for me. I don’t know.
‘The Four Seasons’ Biggest and Riskiest Twist Actually Paid Off
It’s shocking but still packs an emotional punch.
One of the things the show deals with is something I’ve thought about, and I think a lot of people think about: what would it be like to move to another country? So I am curious, have either of you really ever contemplated that, wondering, “What would it be like if I moved to Paris for three years?”
FEY: I have been lucky enough to go work in other countries for a few months or something, and it’s a wonderful adventure. Usually, I end up feeling like, “Oh yeah, I’m pretty American.” I feel like I’m really American. At a certain point, I want, like, American basic coffee, and I like the idea of how much space there is in America. Like, I love going to the UK, but sometimes after a while… You know what it’s like? Did you ever see when Meg Stalter did that bit on Colbert, and he’s like, “What’s it like to work in England?” And she’s like, “It’s amazing, and then one day you’ll be having breakfast, and you’re like, ‘Get me out of here!’” [Laughs] It’s exactly like that.
FORTE: [Laughs] We are so lucky to be able to do what we’re doing and get an experience to see what it’s like for a long chunk of time in Sydney or in Dublin. I’ve fallen in love with a lot of countries, but it does also make me really appreciate living here.
You’re in the next season of Only Murders [in the Building], which I’m also a huge fan of. What can you tease about them going to London?
FEY: Well, we did the first table read yesterday. What can I tease?
FORTE: Spoilers only!
FEY: I will say, the cast, the British actors who are coming, are thrilling. Amazing. I don’t know if they’re public yet, but the cast of characters that they’re going to meet in the UK, I just saw them all on a Zoom yesterday, and I was like, “Holy moly.” Thumbs up!
The Cast Teases Season 3 Hopes as They “Manifest” a New Destination After Italy
Kerri Kenney-Silver, Erika Henningsen, and Marco Calvani talk character growth, David Tennant, and pregnancy rumors.
Netflix’s star-powered adult dramedy series, The Four Seasons, is finally back with eight more episodes. After that heartbreaking Season 1 finale, we pick back up with the friend group — Kate (Fey), Jack (Forte), Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), Danny (Colman Domingo), Claude (Marco Calvani), and Ginny (Erika Henningsen) — as they mourn the loss of Steve Carell’s Nick.
In Season 2, after a difficult year, the crew set off for a new adventure, continuing their tradition of vacationing together. And now, Ginny’s new baby is coming along for the ride! Still, even as they find themselves surrounded by the beautiful landscapes of Italy, soaking up the sun, they still have to confront personal blind spots and their grief over Nick.
Check out the full interview in the video above, with time codes below, where Kenney-Silver, Henningsen, and Calvani discuss the potential for a Season 3, Claude’s new and improved side and if we’ll see that again, Kenney-Silver’s reaction to working opposite David Tennant this season, and why Henningsen still chose to run the New York City Marathon even after watching Season 2. Plus, stay tuned to the end for Henningsen’s reaction to her pregnancy rumors online and to find out where this group may be headed for Season 3!
- 00:11 – The trio discuss when Season 3 might start filming and hopes for a renewal.
- 00:47 – Marco Calvanai on playing a more aggressive, evolved side of Claude and whether that will continue.
- 03:27 – Kerri Kenney-Silver reacts to the Italy storyline and partnering with David Tennant.
- 05:21 – Erika Henningsen discusses training for the New York City Marathon for charity.
- 06:59 – Henningsen responds to online pregnancy rumors.
- 08:14 – The trio manifests their group’s next vacation spot for Season 3!
The Four Seasons, Season 2, is available to stream now on Netflix.
- Release Date
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2025 – 2026-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Directors
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Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman, Oz Rodriguez, Colman Domingo, Jeff Richmond, Lang Fisher
- Writers
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Dylan Morgan, John Riggi, Josh Siegal, Lang Fisher, Lisa Muse Bryant, Matt Whitaker, Tina Fey, Tracey Wigfield, Vali Chandrasekaran
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Right now, it’s fair to say that Disney is a victim of its own success. The House of Mouse decided to get into the streaming game with Disney+, and they made this new platform the home of all things Marvel and Star Wars. They succeeded in containing the world’s two biggest intellectual properties under one roof, but this came at a cost. The MCU began to suffer under its own weight, and fans began to resent many of the new shows on Disney+. The most common complaint is that most of these series felt like annoying “homework” they had to watch just to understand the next big Marvel movie.
Is that criticism fair? That’s debatable. While some Marvel shows on Disney+ stand alone, some are basically required viewing if you want to follow along with the newest films. However, when watching The Mandalorian and Grogu, I couldn’t help but feel like movie writer Dave Filoni was trying to avoid comparisons to Marvel by creating a movie that required no homework whatsoever. He succeeded in making a movie that fans could enjoy even if they’ve ignored Star Wars for the last two decades. This approach backfired, though. While the latest Star Wars is amazingly accessible, it’s so disconnected from the franchise that it feels completely meaningless.
Way Too Much Homework
Complaints about Marvel TV shows feeling like homework are tied to broader debates about what, exactly, a movie should be. Many like the idea of a film as being a self-contained unit of entertainment unto itself. This is one (admittedly, of many) problem that certain Star Wars fans had with the Prequel Trilogy and the Sequel Trilogy: interesting characters like Count Dooku and Snoke are placed onscreen with no real introduction or fanfare. The assumption made by those in charge of Star Wars (George Lucas and, later, Disney) is that fans could simply get these characters’ backstories in various books and comics and didn’t need to see it onscreen.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe took this idea and made it much, much worse. You had to watch entire films (like the solo Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America movies) to really understand big team-ups like The Avengers. Later, Disney+ became home to shows you had to watch ahead of movies. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness makes no sense without watching WandaVision, for example, and The Marvels makes no sense without watching Ms. Marvel. This led to widespread fan complaints that Disney had basically assigned homework and that we’d need to watch eight hours of a TV show just to understand a movie.
No Homework (And No Meaning)
Initially, this wasn’t really a problem with Star Wars because The Rise of Skywalker was so bad that we went seven years before seeing a new film in the franchise. That meant that various Disney+ shows in a galaxy far, far away could mostly stand on their own. But The Mandalorian and Grogu finally brought Star Wars back to theaters, and we’ll be getting more franchise films (like Starfighter) in the coming years. Mandalorian and Grogu writer and new Lucasfilm President Dave Filoni seemingly tried to avoid the homework problem by making a movie that requires almost no prior Star Wars viewing whatsoever, a decision that became something of a double-edged sword.
On one hand, Filoni made The Mandalorian and Grogu the most accessible Star Wars film since A New Hope. If someone only vaguely remembers an episode or two of The Mandalorian Season 1, they can follow along. They know the title characters, and Din Djarin even gets a new version of his old ship back. Even if you’re a Star Wars fan who never watched the show at all, it’s easy to follow along with the plot. The Boba Fett-looking man and his Baby Yoda sidekick are the good guys, the Stormtroopers are the bad guys, and all you have to do is turn your brain off and watch.
Two Hours Of Your Life You’ll Never Get Back
On the other hand, Filoni’s ultra-accessible writing is a big part of why The Mandalorian and Grogu failed. The movie doesn’t touch on or resolve any of the major plot points from The Mandalorian or advance Din Djarin or Grogu’s characters in any meaningful way. It’s such a disposable plot that if The Mandalorian ever gets a Season 4, you could skip the film entirely before watching the new season. If the show doesn’t get another season, though, this movie is the worst kind of finale for these characters because there are no significant payoffs to ongoing mysteries like Grogu’s past or Din Djarin’s future with the Mandalorians and the New Republic.
All of this underscores how cynical The Mandalorian and Grogu really is. Disney didn’t create this movie to provide an emotionally rewarding sendoff, and they obviously didn’t make it because the writers had a great story to tell. No, the House of Mouse just wanted to put Star Wars back in theaters with a film that would wash The Rise of Skywalker out of our mouths. The idea is to prime audiences for more Star Wars films in the coming years, but the effort backfired. If this is the best thing you can put onscreen today, why would anyone spend good money to see the crap you put onscreen tomorrow?
So, congrats, Dave Filoni (and cowriters Jon Favreau and Noah Kloor): you played yourself. You solved the homework problem that has plagued Marvel by creating the most accessible Star Wars film in half a century. But the result is a disconnected mess, one that pisses off fans of The Mandalorian while making everyone else wonder why this film was even made. At least failures like the prequels and the sequels were trying to tell a meaningful and impactful story. All that The Mandalorian and Grogu is telling us is that Yoda’s admonition of Count Dooku applies very much to Clone Wars showrunner Filoni: “much to learn, you still have.”
NBA player Anthony Edwards’ high earnings have been revealed amid his child support battle with ex Alexandria Desroches.
According to court documents filed on May 19 and obtained by Us Weekly, Edwards, 24, monthly gross income was listed as $4,783,744. His adjusted income, which is configured after tax deductions, was $4,778,744.
Edwards’ seven-figure income includes his monthly salary of $3,416,288.00 as a player for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also receives additional income from endorsements and interest dividends. His endorsements earned him $1,360,956 while he received $3,250 from dividends.
Desroches income was listed at $0, per the docs.
Anthony Edwards has been hit with another paternity lawsuit. On April 21, per documents obtained by Us Weekly, Alexandria Desroches filed a combined petition for custody, child support and a declaration of paternity against her ex — 23-year-old Edwards — in New York. The documents claim the NBA star is the biological father of the […]
Edwards signed a five-year designated rookie maximum extension contract with the Timberwolves for $244,623,120. The agreement went into effect during the 2024 season. Edwards will remain under that contract until he is eligible for free agency in 2029.
At the time of filing, Edwards was paying Desroches $3,222 in child support for their son, Amir, whom they welcomed in 2023. It’s noted that $3,222 is the basic child support obligation per month, according to the docs.
An additional child support worksheet was completed later that month on May 21. The updated document listed Edwards’ monthly gross income as $3,364,911.06, a million less than he originally listed.
Desroches’ listed her monthly gross income as $1,016, per the child support worksheet.
The basic child support obligation was still listed at $3,222. However, $9,279.00 added for deviations from presumptive child support. Edwards must pay Desroches a total of $12,500 in child support per month.
In April, Desroches filed a combined petition for custody, child support and a declaration of paternity against Edwards. The documents claimed that Edwards is the biological father of Amir who was born in October 2023.
“She is raising a child as a single mother and has an open-door policy for [Anthony] to see the child,” Desroches’ lawyer Al Hedayati told In Touch in April.
Us previously reached out to Edwards’ spokesperson for comment but did not hear back.
Meanwhile, Edwards is also involved in another paternity suit with ex Ayesha Howard over their daughter Aubri’ Summers Howard. Edwards filed a paternity suit in October 2024.
According to docs obtained by Us, the athlete asked for a DNA test using a “neutral and licensed laboratory.” Edwards was “not seeking child custody or visitation of Aubri” and claimed “the only issues to be resolved [were] financial in nature,” per the filing. Howard has sole legal and physical custody of Aubri.
Science fiction is still popular in Hollywood, with a new Star Wars movie dominating the box office and Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day just around the corner.
The genre is also popular on Hulu, which just added a slew of new films that deal with aliens, robots and groundbreaking inventor Nikola Tesla.
The streamer just added Descendent, one of those under-the-radar flicks you discover on streaming and wonder why no one else has seen it.
Watch With Us also recommends you stream the early Christopher Nolan hit The Prestige, which features Tesla and a gaggle of feuding magicians, and the Will Smith action picture, I, Robot.
‘Descendent’ (2025)
Like a lot of soon-to-be first-time fathers, Sean (Ross Marquand) is nervous. His wife, Andrea (Sarah Bolger), is depending on him to be a good dad, and he’s already feeling the pressure before the baby is even born. After he has a strange encounter with what could be a UFO, Sean’s behavior begins to change for the worse. He becomes increasingly paranoid, leading him to hallucinate strange visions of a spaceship and a dog he gave up as a child two decades ago. Was Sean touched by an angel alien? Or have his ambivalent feelings about becoming a parent caused him to go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?
Descendent is a lo-fi thriller with a high-concept premise — what if aliens were real, and they’re here to tell you you’re going to suck as a dad? To its credit, the movie never fully reveals what’s going on with Sean; the director, Peter Ciella, leaves it up to you to decide. The film gives you enough clues to support a variety of theories, from the sensible (Sean’s just insecure) to the out-there (aliens are invading and Sean is patient zero). If you’re a sci-fi fan looking for an alternative to big, noisy blockbusters like Independence Day, Descendant is a good film that will inspire some robust debate with the people you’re watching it with.
‘The Prestige’ (2006)
Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are Victorian-era magicians who used to be friends but are now bitter rivals. Both men are obsessed with outdoing one another and frequently sabotage each other’s magical acts. When Borden pulls off the seemingly impossible task of teleporting himself across a stage, Angier becomes determined to discover the secret behind his trick. But the more he discovers about Borden, the worse his life becomes until he’s driven to commit an act that no magic trick can erase.
That’s just the tip of the convoluted iceberg that is The Prestige, a thriller that is as engrossing as it is confusing. It should come as no surprise that it’s directed by Christopher Nolan, who loves a good pretzel-shaped narrative. In this film, he blends magic, science, cloning and Nikola Tesla in a perplexing plot I’m still trying to figure out. Miraculously, that only enhances the film’s entertainment value.
It’s fun watching Jackman and Bale one-up each other, and the supporting cast, which includes Scarlett Johansson as a love-struck magician’s assistant and David Bowie as Tesla, constantly surprises you. After The Prestige, Nolan graduated to bigger, more mainstream films like The Dark Knight and this summer’s epic The Odyssey, but you’d wish he’d return to making schlocky period thrillers like this one.
‘I, Robot’ (2004)
It’s 2035, and humanoid robots help humanity with all the menial tasks they are no longer willing to do. Things are going great until the unthinkable happens — a world-famous scientist is found dead, and it looks like one of the robots he created, Sonny (Alan Tudyk), did it. But as Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) interrogates Sonny, he begins to realize Sonny might be innocent — and the pawn in a larger conspiracy that could spell doom for humankind.
Are you ready for May? Hulu sure is. The Disney-owned streamer is ready to convince you to ignore the sunshine, stay in and tune into its programming. And who are we to stop them? Hulu has scheduled enough exciting content to keep you indoors for days at a time. At the top of Watch With […]
Liberally adapted from Isaac Asimov’s classic short-story collection of the same name, I, Robot is an odd blend of “hard science fiction” and mindless action. The movie works because both are expected so well, with Sonny’s artificial humanity brought to fascinating life by Tudyk’s nuanced vocal performance and still-impressive special effects, and Spooner’s frequent battles with all kinds of rogue technology. I, Robot is good enough to warrant a watch, but its flaws make you wish someone would remake it as Asimov intended.
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