Entertainment
Will Christopher Meloni Return to SVU After Canceled Spinoff?
Christopher Meloni‘s Law & Order spinoff Organized Crime got canceled after five seasons — but does that mean he is coming back to SVU?
Showrunner Michele Fazekas was recently asked about Meloni’s future as Elliot Stabler, to which she told People, “Obviously, everyone’s always asking me about Stabler, and I love Meloni. I would use him as much as he wants to. I tried to!”
Fazekas pointed out that Meloni, 65, had several projects lined up.
“[Meloni’s] very, very busy,” she noted. “I tried to bring him into this. I’ll just sometimes ask the question like, ‘Hey, is he working?’ It’s like, ‘Oh, yes, of course he’s working.’”
Christopher Meloni‘s Law & Order spinoff Organized Crime got canceled after five seasons and numerous showrunner changes — but why did the actor originally leave the SVU version of the hit franchise? Law & Order, which premiered in 1990, launched Dick Wolf‘s legal TV universe. From there, NBC found success by expanding with Law & […]
Law & Order, which premiered in 1990, launched Dick Wolf‘s legal TV universe. From there, NBC found success by expanding with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which premiered in 1999 with Meloni starring alongside Mariska Hargitay. (There were other, more short-lived spinoffs, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Law & Order: LA and Law & Order True Crime.)
Viewers tuned in week after week to watch the detectives of the Special Victims Unit investigate and prosecute sex-based crimes. Others, meanwhile, were hoping to see Olivia Benson (Hargitay) and Stabler (Meloni) fall in love along the way.
After season 12 of Law & Order: SVU, Meloni shocked fans by announcing his exit from the hit series. Meloni revealed that a pay dispute had contributed to his decision not to return for more episodes. As a result, Elliot’s exit was explained as a retirement decision.
“I left with zero animosity, but I did leave clearly and open-eyed in going forward and finding new adventures. I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do, keep moving forward,’” Meloni told the New York Post in July 2021. “I had done the Law & Order way of storytelling, which they do really well, and I was interested in telling stories from a different angle — whether comedic or inhabiting a new world or doing it on different platforms.”
Hargitay, 62, meanwhile, weighed in on losing her scene partner after more than a decade.
“I was just so sad, because we started this thing and built it together,” she told People at the time. “And we went through so many milestones and spent so much time together and understood so many things that nobody else could understand.”
Meloni, however, saw things differently. “She was left in the familiarity of what we were. And I’m sure there were echoes, constant reminders, everywhere. But for me, it was about how things fell out — and the word I’ll use is that it was inelegant,” he said.
Meloni added: “At the end of the day, how it was handled was, ‘OK, see you later.’ So I went, ‘That’s fine. We’re all big boys and girls here. See you later.’ And I was off on new adventures and doing what I wanted to do. Telling the stories I wanted to tell.”
News broke nearly a decade later that Meloni was reprising the role of Elliot in Law & Order: Organized Crime. The spinoff, which premiered in 2021, went through quite a few showrunner shakeups before being canceled in April after season 5.
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Adaptations are possibly more popular than ever right now, and there are several upcoming shows based on books that are capturing the headlines. The latest Harlan Coben novel to receive the Netflix treatment is I Will Find You, starring Avatar favorite Sam Worthington and Severance‘s Britt Lower. An adaptation of Marissa Stapley’s Reese’s Book Club hit Lucky is on its way, starring Anya Taylor-Joy in the titular role, and it wouldn’t feel right not to have a Jane Austen adaptation in development, with the next high-profile arrival coming in Netflix’s six-part Pride & Prejudice this fall.
But before Lucky and Pride & Prejudice hit our screens, Netflix is bringing one of the most beloved series of novels back to life, following its original TV adaptation between 1974 and 1983. Based on the popular work of the same name by Laura Ingalls Wilder, a new adaptation of Little House on the Prairie is set to hit Netflix on July 9, 2026, and is one of the most exciting upcoming shows. “I’m incredibly grateful to our wonderful cast and crew, who put their hearts and hard work into making our first season come alive,” said showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Housemaid), who will already be celebrating the show’s renewal for a second installment.
Of course, before this new Netflix interpretation, there was the classic NBC adaptation, which ran for almost a decade and delivered 200 episodes of heartwarming family fun. But will Netflix’s adaptation be closer to the show or the books? Thankfully, Linwood Boomer recently gave fans an answer to that burning question in an interview with Collider, promising that the new series is “much closer to the books” and will be a “little bit grimmer of a life” like the novels.
Who Stars in ‘Little House on the Prairie’?
The original cast of this cozy series is still beloved to this day, so that makes for some big shoes to fill. Thankfully, an exciting cast for the new adaptation has been assembled, led by Alice Halsey (Lessons in Chemistry) as the young hero Laura Ingalls. She is joined by the likes of Skywalker Hughes (I, Object) as Mary; Luke Bracey (Hacksaw Ridge) as Pa; Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam) as Dr. George Tann; Warren Christie (Happy Town) as John Edwards; and Crosby Fitzgerald (Crime 101) as Ma.
Little House on the Prairie debuts on Netflix on July 9, 2026. Make sure to stay tuned for more streaming stories.
- Release Date
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July 9, 2026
- Network
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Netflix
- Directors
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Kat Candler, Julie Anne Robinson, Sydney Freeland, Sarah Adina Smith, Erica Tremblay
Cast
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Alice Halsey
Laura Ingalls
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Crosby Fitzgerald
Caroline Ingalls
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Skywalker Hughes
Mary Ingalls
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There are many reasons people love HBO shows, including the depth of their subject matter, the technical execution of their concepts, and the scope of their storytelling. The cable network has some of the most timeless stories that, even decades later, viewers who discover them get the same pleasure of watching as everyone else. From megahits like The Wire to cult favorites like The Leftovers, HBO has been at the forefront of some impressive storytelling. The network knows a good story when it sees one, and sometimes it collaborates with other studios and networks to bring shows to a larger audience.
In one of their numerous collaborations with the BBC, HBO was the home for the 2019 television adaptation of Philip Pullman‘s fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, stateside. The series had a perfect television run, with each season gaining more acclaim over the last. His Dark Materials ran for three seasons, and even though it did not achieve wild mainstream success like Game of Thrones, it remains one of the best HBO shows. That may explain why it has been one of the most-watched shows on iTunes over the last week, according to streaming data from FlixPatrol. The mystery of Dust and the story’s ability to blend together genres make His Dark Materials an engaging first-time watch or even a rewatch.
Starring Dafne Keen before her turn in Star Wars: The Acolyte, His Dark Materials explores various sci-fi themes but through a fantasy lens. Multidimensional travel and dark matter are prevalent in the story that uses theology to frame them as fantasy. Keen plays Lyra, an orphan who, while on a quest to find a missing friend, discovers some multiworld conspiracies that change everything she knew about herself. The series boasts strong performances from other main cast members, including Amir Wilson as Will, Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Colter, James McAvoy as Lord Asriel, and Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee.
Is ‘His Dark Materials’ a Good Show?
Like many HBO shows, His Dark Materials takes time to settle into itself. Depending on who you ask, it took several episodes or an entire season to find its footing. But years after the show ended, it remains celebrated as a perfect, if not better, adaptation of Pullman’s books. The series started with a 77% score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and bowed out with a 90% in the third and final season, which aired in 2022.
All seasons of His Dark Materials are available to stream on HBO Max. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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2019 – 2022-00-00
- Network
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BBC One
- Directors
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William McGregor, Amit Gupta, Leanne Welham, Charles Martin, Otto Bathurst, Euros Lyn, Dawn Shadforth, Harry Wootliff, Jamie Childs
- Writers
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Jack Thorne, Francesca Gardiner, Amelia Spencer, Sarah Quintrell
In 1978, Stephen King‘s beautifully written epistolary short story was first published and received widespread praise, even for its brutal ending. Decades later, in December 2019, Epix (now MGM+) commissioned a straight-to-series order for a 10-episode television adaptation, which premiered in 2021 to mixed reviews, but still seemed to have a promising future until it was cut short by cancellation.
Loosely inspired by Salem’s Lot, Chapelwaite premiered on Epix on August 22, 2021, and concluded on October 31, 2021, after 10 episodes. Roughly four months after the finale, the horror series was renewed for a second season, but unfortunately, in November 2023, co-showrunner Jason Filardi broke the disappointing news that MGM+ had decided not to move forward with a sophomore run.
Upon its release, Chapelwaite was widely praised by audiences for its dark atmosphere and the lead performance of two-time Oscar winner Adrien Brody. However, several critics felt the vampire series suffered from severe pacing issues, given that it was adapting a fairly short story. It currently holds a 56% critics score and a 79% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, five years later, Chapelwaite is experiencing a surprise revival on streaming in the United States, where it has been trending as the second most-watched title on MGM+ over the past few days.
Stephen King’s Canceled 10-Part Horror Drama Is Worth Watching
Set in the 1850s, Chapelwaite follows Captain Charles Boone (Brody) as he moves his three children to his ancestral home in the seemingly sleepy town of Preacher’s Corners, Maine, after the death of his wife at sea. However, Charles soon finds himself forced to confront the secrets of his family’s disturbing past and fight to end the darkness that has tormented the Boones for generations.
Meanwhile, the logline continues, Rebecca Morgan (Emily Hampshire), an ambitious young woman who left Preacher’s Corners to attend Mount Holyoke College, has returned home with an advance to write a feature for the prestigious Atlantic Magazine. Her writer’s block lifts when Boone and his family arrive in town, and despite her mother’s objections, Rebecca applies to become governess at the infamous Chapelwaite manor and for the Boone family, hoping to document their story. In doing so, she not only begins to shape what could be her breakthrough gothic work but also unravels a mystery that has haunted her own family for years.
Chapelwaite streams on MGM+.
- Release Date
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2021 – 2021-00-00
- Showrunner
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Jason Filardi
With HBO’s hit psychological drama Euphoria concluding last month with its third and final season, fans have begun exploring other similarly intriguing titles featuring the show’s lead stars. As a result, Sydney Sweeney, who portrayed the hypersexualized Cassie throughout the series’ run from June 16, 2019, to May 31, 2026, is enjoying renewed interest through her 2025 neo-noir thriller. Amid the attention, fans are also anticipating the actress’ return to the big screen, as her next project, The Custom of the Country, also starring Leo Woodall, is expected sometime next year.
Released in theaters on June 6, 2025, Sweeney’s stylish thriller Echo Valley sees her portray Claire Garrett, a troubled drug addict who has been in and out of rehab. The film, directed by Michael Pearce and written by Brad Ingelsby, also stars Julianne Moore as Kate Garrett, Claire’s mother and a horse trainer who, while reeling from the loss of her wife, struggles to reconnect with her daughter while helping her cover up a murder. Other stars featured in the film are Domhnall Gleeson, Kyle MacLachlan, and Fiona Shaw.
Echo Valley debuted on Apple TV seven days after its theatrical release and has since surged up the platform’s charts, occasionally dropping off the trending list entirely before climbing back up again. However, as of this publication, the bingeworthy thriller is attracting fresh attention worldwide, including in the United States. Recently, Echo Valley ranked as the #1 movie stateside on Apple TV, dethroning the mega-hit F1, while on the global scale, it currently holds the second spot.
Is Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Echo Valley’ Worth Watching?
In the 53% Rotten Tomatoes-scored thriller, Kate is struggling to make ends meet running her farm, Echo Valley, in southern Pennsylvania and seeks financial help from her ex-husband, Richard. Richard does come to her aid but lectures her for wasting her money on their daughter Claire. Speaking of which, Claire suddenly returns home covered in blood, claiming she accidentally killed her boyfriend, Ryan (Edmund Donovan), during an argument. Desperate to protect her daughter, Kate helps dispose of what she believes is the boyfriend’s body and even pays off Claire’s dangerous drug dealer, Jackie Lawson (Gleeson).
However, Kate later discovers she was manipulated: Claire’s boyfriend is actually alive, and the body belonged to a local addict, Greg Kaminski, who overdosed on fentanyl Ryan dealt him. As the drug dealer begins blackmailing her, Kate devises an elaborate plan to frame him for the crime and reclaim control of her life. Producers of Echo Valley include Ridley Scott, Michael Pruss, Ingelsby, and Kevin J. Walsh.
Echo Valley streams on Apple TV.
- Release Date
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June 13, 2025
- Director
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Michael Pearce
- Writers
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Brad Ingelsby
- Producers
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Kevin J. Walsh, Ridley Scott, Brad Ingelsby, Michael A. Pruss
Great fantasy shows always make for an excellent first-time watch. They draw viewers in with epic world building, complex ongoing storylines that slowly entangle over the course of the series, and nuanced characters that are easy to root for. Watching a fantasy show for the first time is an unforgettable experience, because it usually includes shocking plot twists, exciting reveals about the lore of this world, and suspenseful storylines that see the main characters going up against a major villain.
While many fantasy shows are enjoyable upon first watch, it takes a truly amazing series to get viewers to come back and rewatch. Some fantasy series have such rich and complex lore, that fans will want to go back and rewatch to see how later plot twists were hinted at and built up early on. Other fantasy series are cozy and sweet, and they make for excellent rewatches for fans looking for a mental vacation. These are the underrated fantasy shows that are worth rewatching over and over.
7
‘Every Witch Way’ (2014–2015)
Every Witch Way is a severely underrated Nickelodeon series about a teenage girl named Emma Alonso (Paola Andino) who moves to Miami with her father (Rene Lavan) and starts school at the strange and mysterious Iridium High School. At the same time that Emma is adjusting to this major change, she learns that she is a witch – just like her late mother was. Being a witch is enough of a handful on its own, but there is reason to believe that Emma is the Chosen One, and a number of witches around her are planning to try to steal her powers during the upcoming Eclipse.
Every Witch Way has surprisingly complex lore for a kids’ show, with compelling additions to the existing lore around witches, as well as the introduction of multiple new species of magical being. Each season of Every Witch Way sees Emma struggling to find a balance between her life as a teenage girl, and the weight of being a witch who is very likely the Chosen One. She deals with villains who are threats to her powers, but she also still has to find time for her friends and her schoolwork.
6
‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (2019–2024)
What We Do in the Shadows is a hilarious mockumentary series about three regular vampires, one energy vampire, and their familiar – who all live together in a Staten Island mansion. They are being recorded by a documentary crew, giving an exclusive look into the ever-day (after)lives of some of the most powerful and dangerous beings in the world. Despite the vampires’ initial orders from the Baron (Doug Jones) to take over some of the world, they get up to surprisingly mundane activities that keep them too busy to conquer anything.
Each episode of What We Do in the Shadows sees the vampires getting up to random and strange shenanigans, from the most ordinary, to the most bizarrely specific. They attend a neighbor’s Superbowl party, deal with spam emails that they’re convinced are cursed, and awaken the spirits of their ghosts. What We Do in the Shadows takes existing vampire lore and runs with it, adding on to make it even funnier, weirder, and less glamorous than ever before.
5
‘Galavant’ (2015–2016)
Galavant is a laugh-out-loud funny musical fairytale that tells the story of a once-great knight named Galavant (Joshua Sasse). After his true love, Madalena (Mallory Jansen), left him for the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson), Galavant’s life completely fell apart. He has since given up on seeking glory as a knight, and spends all his time wallowing. Even when the desperate Princess Isabella (Karen David) asks Galavant to help her save her kingdom from King Richard, he still has no interest in doing anything – that is, until she tells him that Madalena regrets leaving him.
As Galavant goes off on a quest to take down Richard with Isabella and his trusty squire, Sid (Luke Youngblood), he unknowingly sets off on a path into a trap. As it turns out, Richard blackmailed Isabella into tricking Galavant. If she can successfully bring Galavant to Richard so that he can kill him, then Richard will let her parents live. As for Madalena, she is way more interested in the possibility of gaining power and more fortune than she is in either Galavant or Richard.
4
‘School Spirits’ (2023–Present)
School Spirits is a supernatural teen drama that follows Maddie Nears (Peyton List), a teenage girl who has suddenly gone missing. Maddie’s body is nowhere to be found, but her ghost is trapped in her high school, along with the ghosts of everyone else who has died there. The thing is, Maddie can’t remember how she died, and she has no idea what really happened to her. With the help of her new ghost friends and her best friend, Simon (Kristian Ventura) – the only living person who can see and hear her – Maddie investigates her death, starting with looking into everyone who had reason to want her gone.
School Spirits starts out as a grounded teen drama with compelling speculative elements, and soon becomes a truly horrifying and brilliant horror series. School Spirits has deep and complex lore that is built up and hinted at from the very start of the series, and the show slowly entangles its biggest secrets with each passing season. School Spirits makes for the perfect rewatch, because fans will pick up on little details and hints at later plot twists that they couldn’t have picked up on the first time.
3
‘The Good Place’ (2016–2020)
The Good Place follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), a selfish woman who has just died in a bizarre grocery cart crash. Eleanor knows that she was just a “medium person,” but she wakes up in the Good Place, where she knows she doesn’t belong. As it turns out, Eleanor has been mistakenly sent to the Good Place, where her own mistakenly-assigned house, soulmate, and incorrect memories are waiting for her.
Eleanor soon realizes that she was supposed to be sent to the Bad Place, but she will do anything to avoid getting sent there. She asks her mistakenly-assigned soulmate, former Ethics and Moral Philosophy professor Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper), to teach her how to be a good person. As Eleanor learns about ethics for the first time, she starts to become less selfish, which also leads her to start questioning whether she even deserves to stay in the Good Place. The Good Place is a cozy and hilarious series that also has a number of shocking plot twists, and it truly gets better with each rewatch.
2
‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’ (2018–2020)
She-Ra and The Princesses of Power is a severely underrated and clever retelling of the story of Princess Adora, AKA She-Ra. At the start of the series, Adora (Aimee Carrero) is comfortable in her position as a soldier for an evil army called the Horde. Adora feels called to a magical sword, though, so she disobeys orders to go find it. As it turns out, the sword can transform Adora into a Princess of Power called She-Ra.
Through this new power and the people she meets while finding it, Adora decides to turn her back on the Horde and dedicate herself to taking the evil army down with the help of the rest of the Princess Alliance. At the helm of the Horde, though, is Adora’s ex-best friend, Catra (AJ Michalka). Over the course of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power‘s five seasons, Adora works hard to rally the princesses up and defeat the Horde, no matter the cost. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is a brilliant and emotional series that tackles a number of heavy themes with nuance and care, and that slowly builds up to the reveal of a number of mindbending plot twists over the course of its run.
1
‘Pushing Daisies’ (2007–2009)
Pushing Daisies is a delightfully cozy procedural that takes place in a fairytale world. Ned (Lee Pace) is a piemaker who can wake the dead with a single touch. When he’s not running his pie shop, Ned uses his power to help Private Investigator Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) solve murders. When Ned’s latest case is the murder of his estranged childhood sweetheart, Charlotte “Chuck” Charles (Anna Friel), he finds that he can’t bring himself to touch her back to being dead like he usually does with the murder victims.
Thus, Ned and Chuck re-enter each other’s lives almost two decades later, even though she will die again for good if he ever touches her. Each episode, Ned, Emerson, and Chuck solve outlandish and bizarre murders together. All the while, Ned tries to keep things running smoothly at his pie shop with the help of his best waitress, Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth). Oh, and Ned is keeping one more major secret: when they were kids, he accidentally killed Chuck’s dad with his powers, and she has no idea.
Jimmy Kimmel is enlisting Rosie O’Donnell to guest host his ABC talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a “special treat” for President Donald Trump.
“I will be taking the next two months off — this time voluntarily,” Kimmel, 58, joked during his monologue on Thursday, June 18.
The comedian was referencing his September 2025 suspension by ABC for comments related to political fallout of the assassination of conservative Charlie Kirk. (Trump has repeatedly called for ABC to fire Kimmel, yet the network extended his contract for one year in the wake of the scandal.)
While Kimmel takes a break from late-night-TV, Jimmy Kimmel Live! will continue with celebrity guest hosts throughout the summer.
Rosie O’Donnell’s longstanding feud with President Donald Trump dates back nearly 20 years. While the two used to be friends — O’Donnell has even claimed to have attended Trump’s 1993 wedding to his ex-wife Marla Maples — a very public spat on The View in 2006 spiraled into a nasty war of words that carries […]
“We have assembled a potent group of hosts to fill in for me, beginning with Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Jelly Roll,” he revealed to viewers.
Kimmel picked out one guest host especially for the president, revealing, “As a special treat for our commander-in-chief, I asked one of his all-time favorites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming. So, you’re welcome!”
“All I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone,” Kimmel quipped.
A spokesperson for O’Donnell, 64, subsequently confirmed to multiple media outlets that she will host a week of Jimmy Kimmel Live! episodes starting Monday, August 17.
O’Donnell shared Kimmel’s announcement via Instagram on Friday, June 19, adding in the caption, “And I can’t wait !!!”
Jimmy Kimmel; Rosie O’Donnell; Donald Trump Getty Images (3); Kevin Winter; Jamie McCarthy; Dimitrios Kambouris
Both Kimmel and O’Donnell have frequently sparred with Trump, 80, over the years. Following Trump’s second presidential election win, O’Donnell moved to Ireland and started the process of gaining Irish citizenship. (Trump has threatened to revoke O’Donnell’s American citizenship on multiple occasions, though it is not clear if he has the legal authority to follow through.)
O’Donnell recently returned to the U.S. to perform her solo stage show Common Knowledge at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City this summer. Earlier this month, she slammed Trump supporters as “racist, homophobic [and] un-American” for continuing to back him.
While the comic will definitely be back on TV with Jimmy Kimmel Live! in August, she told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen that there are no plans for her to return to her former stomping grounds at The View as a guest panelist.
Rosie O’Donnell revealed she secretly traveled to the United States after leaving the country amid Donald Trump’s second term as president. “I was recently home for two weeks and I did not really tell anyone,” O’Donnell, 63, said after calling into SiriusXM’s Cuomo Mornings on Friday, February 13. “I just went to see my family. […]
“I would be up to guest host, but they haven’t asked me. So we’ll see what happens,” she hinted on Thursday, June 18.
O’Donnell memorably hosted her own daytime talk series The Rosie O’Donnell Show — which won five Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show— from 1996 to 2002. She later hosted the short-lived primetime Rosie Show from 2011 to 2012.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs every on ABC weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET.
Editor’s Note: This interview contains spoilers for Toy Story 5.
Summary
Unlike the previous Toy Story movies, Toy Story 5 is Jessie’s (Joan Cusack) time to shine! Since her introduction in Toy Story 2, Jessie has been a fan favorite of the Toy Story franchise. The yodeling cowgirl’s determination and energetic spirit make her a natural-born leader; so, when Woody (Tom Hanks) leaves at the end of Toy Story 4, she is named the new sheriff. Despite her fearless disposition, prior to being part of Al McWhiggin’s (Wayne Knight) toy collection, she was abandoned by her original owner, Emily. Those fears still linger with her new owner, Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), especially when she goes head-to-head with Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee.
Thanks to this shift in focus for the latest Toy Story sequel, Jessie is given the long overdue space to really explore herself. Her mission to connect Bonnie with a friend who likes to play with toys, too, leads her to realize her worth and her impact on others, including Emily. Plus, after years of a romantic attachment to Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), the pair are given a proper wedding by Bonnie and her new friend, Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris).
Ahead of the film’s release, Collider’s Meredith Loftus sat down with Cusack and Lee to speak about the latest installment. The actresses share their gratitude to have been given the space to explore their characters’ purpose in Bonnie’s life and how they ultimately come together for the love of their kid. Cusack candidly shares her reaction to Emily’s surprising connection to Jessie years after they are separated. Plus, Cusack exclusively reveals that she doesn’t think Buzz and Jessie will last long as a married couple. You can watch the full interview or read the transcript below.
Greta Lee Is Thankful for the Space To Explore Lilypad’s Purpose in ‘Toy Story 5’
“There’s space for both of their ideas and to watch them collide and clash heads.”
COLLIDER: This movie initially pits toys versus technology. If you could bring back an older device, what would you bring back?
GRETA LEE: An older device? The first generation iPod, the white one with the circular wheel on it.
JOAN CUSACK: That was easy.
LEE: But what would you bring back?
CUSACK: I don’t know, I feel like I just broke everything. So, I don’t know. They’d all be broken, whatever I brought back. Maybe it’s best they just stay away.
LEE: Stay away!
It’s interesting that, for your characters, Jessie and Lilypad are quite at odds with each other for most of the movie. But they both at times really question their purpose in Bonnie’s life. What was it like to explore that in your characters?
LEE: So great. So fun. I’m so glad that they gave us the space to do that for our characters. To see two really female characters who are really after it in their own way, and sometimes battle it out, and that’s fine. We get to see that happen. There’s space for both of their ideas and to watch them collide and clash heads, but then come together and make mistakes and all of it. I think it’s so wonderful.
CUSACK: And discover what’s really going on with the other one, which is a great love of their kid, which is cool.
It is such a unifying power there that you are both brought together for the love of this kid.
CUSACK: That is so unexpected, isn’t it?
Joan Cusack Reveals Her First Reaction to That ‘Toy Story 5’ Emily Connection
“Wow, this is going to be either great or horrible.”
Speaking of unexpected, Joan, when you read in the script that Emily named her daughter after Jessie, do you remember your initial reaction?
CUSACK: Oh my God. We just get little parts at a time, so you get a few scenes, and you do work on a few scenes. But then when we got to the emotional scenes, and I read that, I was like, “Wow, this is going to be either great or horrible.”
LEE: [Laughs] You thought that really?
CUSACK: Yeah, I didn’t know because it’s so intense, and you just don’t want it to be Hallmark-y. And of course it wasn’t.
LEE: No, it’s so real.
CUSACK: Because Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris are brilliant, and they are amazing, and we were in good hands.
I cried when that connection was made.
LEE: So did I!
Right?
LEE: I cried so hard.
Tom Hanks Offers a Positive Update on the Long-Awaited ‘Mamma Mia!’ Sequel
‘Toy Story 5’s Hanks and Tim Allen also react to an updated version of the original movie.
Are Jessie and Buzz Lightyear Endgame? Joan Cusack Doesn’t Think So!
“Yeah, I think I’m done with that. Let’s try something else.”
Speaking of other big moments, after years of obvious attraction, Buzz and Jessie get married in the end.
CUSACK: Yeah.
What do you imagine married life would be like for the two of these toys?
CUSACK: You know, I think it probably lasts a day. [Laughs] And then Jessie’s like, “Yeah, I think I’m done with that. Let’s try something else.”
LEE: This is a Collider exclusive.
CUSACK: That was fun.
LEE: No one’s ever asked that. You’re the first to have asked that. This is the first time I’ve heard Joan give that answer, it’s so funny. Yeah, for one day.
CUSACK: She’s got other stuff she’s got to do.
LEE: That’s so Jessie though.
CUSACK: You know?
She’s going to hang out with Lilypad, even though she calls her “Jessica.”
LEE: But they’ve got things to do.
CUSACK: They do! They’ve got a lot of stuff to plan.
Toy Story 5 is now playing in theaters and IMAX.
Toy Story 5
- Release Date
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June 19, 2026
- Runtime
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102 Minutes
- Director
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Andrew Stanton, McKenna Harris
- Writers
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Andrew Stanton, McKenna Jean Harris
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Tim Allen
Buzz Lightyear (voice)
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Greta Lee
Lilypad (voice)
From Heated Rivalry to The Vampire Lestat, some of the best shows on TV right now are adaptations of popular novels. Book adaptations often make excellent TV shows because they draw from existing material, but these shows also take beloved and compelling characters and bring their stories to life in new and exciting ways. Additionally, book adaptations already have set endings, so shows can unfold more naturally while building up to these conclusions.
One book that would be perfect for television is This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. The 2019 science fiction novella was originally optioned for television with scripts written by El-Mohtar and Gladstone, as revealed by El-Mohtar in 2021, but five years later, it still hasn’t received an adaptation. Any streaming service would be lucky to have a This Is How You Lose the Time War limited series, but it would be especially perfect for Apple TV, due to the streamer’s ongoing success with sci-fi.
What Is ‘This Is How You Lose the Time War’ About?
This Is How You Lose the Time War is a sci-fi novella that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. Two organizations, called the Garden and the Agency, are at war with one another and have each sent agents to travel through different strands of time and manipulate the past in multiple different universes to produce their desired future outcomes. At the center of this story are two rival agents: Blue, who works for the Garden, and Red, who works for the Agency. The two women have crossed paths more times than they can count. They have never actually spoken to each other, but they regularly encounter each other at the same sites while completing opposing missions.
At the start of The Is How You Lose the Time War, Blue breaks their routine by writing a letter to Red. What starts as a simple acknowledgment of their repeated crossing of paths turns into a regular correspondence. At first, it’s a game in which the two write each other letters that are destroyed after reading, so that neither can be punished. In these letters, they both fill each other in about their very different lives, and they describe their assignments and brief moments of seeing one another. Soon, Blue and Red start to realize that these letters mean more to them than either intended, and they find themselves getting attached and even falling for each other. Their romance is forbidden because they are both fighting on opposing sides and would face brutal repercussions for even writing to each other. Still, when these letters become the most important thing to both Blue and Red, they start questioning their roles in the war at hand, including what they would be willing to sacrifice to keep their correspondence going.
‘This Is How You Lose the Time War’ Would Be the Perfect Addition to Apple TV’s Sci-Fi Lineup
Apple TV has previously had a great deal of success with sci-fi series that put a heavy focus on character, including Pluribus, Severance, Silo, Foundation, and For All Mankind. This Is How You Lose the Time War would fit perfectly into Apple TV’s existing sci-fi library because it explores deeper themes related to war, love, and duty. Blue and Red’s feelings for each other completely go against the very fundamentals of who they’re supposed to be in a way that is similar to the romances of Severance‘s Mark (Adam Scout) and Helly (Britt Lower), or Irving (John Turturro) and Burt (Christopher Walken). Like Pluribus‘ Carol (Rhea Seehorn) and Zosia (Karolina Wydra), Blue and Red have conflicting motivations, and one of them has to lose for the other to win.
This Is How You Lose the Time War is as much a romance as it is a work of science fiction; Blue and Red have both been conditioned to represent their organizations, and to do whatever it takes to come out on top at the end of this war. Through their letters and their growing love for each other, they both start to question their roles in this war and reconsider what their futures throughout the rest of this war might look like. An ideal adaptation would be a limited series that both fleshes out the intense conditions of the war and puts a focus on Blue and Red — both as separate characters and their dynamic with each other. Apple TV would be the perfect streaming platform for a potential adaptation, and This Is How You Lose the Time War is exactly the sort of heartfelt and suspenseful sci-fi story that would find an audience on the streamer.
Courteney Cox shared a heartwarming tribute to late Friends director James Burrows following his death at age 85.
“I will miss you so much Jimmy… the joy and laughter you brought to everyone who knew you. How much you cared… but I know your light will always be shining on us,” Cox, 62, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, June 20.
In her memorial post, Cox shared a humorous memory of Burrows, who directed 15 episodes of Friends, including the 1994 pilot, “The One Where It All Began.”
“Jimmy B called me Cox-N-Hammer,” she revealed. “I have no idea why or what it means, but I just went with it ‘cause he was Jimmy Burrows.”
The Monica Geller actress recalled that Burrows was a crucial influence on the Friends cast early in the show’s run, often dispensing advice and preparing them for superstardom.
“He always referred to us as ‘the kids’… he took the cast under his wing and taught us everything we needed to know — whether through his direction, or telling us how things in our lives were gonna unfold — never sugar-coating anything and he was always right,” she wrote on Saturday. “I would beg him to make more time to direct us, but so did all of his other shows, because everything was better when he was around. You felt safe and confident and man, what a blast we had!”
Cox also touched on her relationship with Burrows away from the Friends set, explaining that she relished watching his courtship with second wife Debbie Easton before their 1997 wedding. (Burrows shared three daughters with his first wife, Linda Solomon, as well as a stepdaughter with Easton.)
“I’m not sure how someone with that much talent, wisdom, and adoration could be so egoless,” she added. “Making anything the best it could be was all that mattered to Jimmy… well, that and his wonderful kids and his beautiful wife, Debbie. I so loved watching them fall in love.”
Burrows’ family announced on Friday, June 19, that the 11-time Emmy winner died at age 85 following a short illness.
“Burrows understood that great comedy was never simply about laughter. It was about humanity, connection and truth,” his family statement read. “His influence will continue to be felt for generations through the countless artists he inspired, the stories he helped tell and the millions of people whose lives were brightened by his work. … He will be profoundly missed and forever remembered.”
Burrows directed for many of television’s most famous sitcoms, including Will & Grace, Frasier, The Bob Newhart Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He cocreated Cheers with Glen and Les Charles in 1982.
The director was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame in 2006 and received his own NBC career tribute in 2016, which featured a rare reunion with the cast of Friends.
Following Burrows’ death, Cox’s Friends costar Jennifer Aniston remembered the TV director as a “father figure” early in her career.
Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox got Us in the holiday spirit by kicking off Thanksgiving early. “A few scenes from Friendsgiving,” Aniston, 55, wrote via Instagram on Monday, November 25, alongside Polaroids of the pair all smiles at the party. Aniston and Cox, 60, formed a friendship after starring on Friends from 1994 to 2004. […]
“His own incredible children were generous enough to share him with all of us who were lucky enough to experience his unicorn presence,” Aniston wrote via Instagram on Saturday. “He was a father figure to me. He always checked in on me. He worried about me, celebrated me, taught me, guided me and held me through the hardest times and the best of times. He spoiled us rotten.”
She went on, “Most of all, he taught us — the kids — how important it is to love and respect one another. To take care of each other. To have each other’s backs and support each other, no matter what. And we did just that.”
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