Rico Rodriguez, known for his role as Manny Delgado in the hit series Modern Family, recently revealed touching behind-the-scenes moments from his time on the show during his appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast “Dinner’s On Me.”

According to Hindustan Times, the actor, who was part of the series for all 11 seasons, shared stories about his experiences working with co-stars Sofia Vergara and Ed O’Neill, offering insights into the ive environment on set.

During the podcast, Rodriguez recalled a particularly emotional moment early in the series when he was struggling with his lines. Feeling overwhelmed and on the verge of tears, believing he was “the reason why we’re not doing good,” O’Neill stepped in with a touching gesture of . The veteran actor halted production, took Rodriguez aside, and helped him work through the challenging scene. The moment concluded with O’Neill giving him a reassuring wink and saying, “I got you, don’t worry.”

Sofia Vergara’s playful dynamic with young Rodriguez revealed

Rodriguez also shared amusing anecdotes about his relationship with his on-screen mother, Sofia Vergara. He mentioned how he would often arrive on set knowing everyone’s lines, including Vergara’s, which proved helpful when she would occasionally improvise and need assistance getting back on track.

The actor recounted a particular incident where he voluntarily marked Vergara’s script with line indicators when she was late to a table read. His kind gesture backfired playfully when Vergara cleverly turned it into a regular expectation, leading Rodriguez to realize he had been “played.”

Despite the clever manipulation, Rodriguez expressed that he didn’t mind helping Vergara, who would often rely on him for various on-set information, including their shooting schedules and call times.

The revelations from Rodriguez paint a picture of the close-knit relationships formed during the long-running series, highlighting how the cast ed and looked out for each other, particularly the younger actors. These behind-the-scenes stories add another layer to the beloved family comedy that aired for over a decade, showing that the family dynamic extended beyond the cameras.

Netflix today is the present, it’s the moment, and it’s our number one source for high-quality scripted films and TV series at home. But it wasn’t always that way. At one point, Netflix was still the future — the little engine that could, if you will.

The difference between that era and now is striking. Back then, we had a streamer eager to splash money on talented filmmakers, hoping to win them over to their then-new way of doing business in Hollywood. Now, the focus has shifted. Netflix is more concerned with keeping s on the app, competing with an ever-growing number of rival streamers and battling for watch time.

But through all that, we’ve seen shows fall out of the fray — often to fans’ great disappointment — getting cancelled far too soon, with little to no explanation. Here are 8 of our picks for shows that deserved better:

The OA

The OA was a lot of things — an auteur-driven mystery about a missing girl who resurfaces after seven years. Brit Marling, who plays Prairie Johnson (the missing girl), also co-created the series. As the story unfolds, Prairie is revealed to be a Russian oligarch’s heiress and, later, a dimension traveler.

Over the course of the show’s two-season run, Prairie cures her own blindness, forms a cult, and guides a group of misfits on a metaphysical journey. The narrative is dense, yet never rushed — and poetically, the series formed its own cult following in the real world.

But despite its growing fan base, Netflix abruptly cancelled it with no real explanation. Since then, fans have done everything they can, including organizing a fan-led demonstration in Times Square. Still, nothing worked.

That’s not to say Netflix’s silence has gone unnoticed. Just recently, during the chaotic press run for The White Lotus, Jason Isaacs reassured fans that the streamer’s stance with the creators remains: “no chance of letting it (The OA) go.”

Mindhunter

Mindhunter came along at a time when Netflix had already figured out its voice and business model. They knew exactly why you were tuning in: late-’90s to 2000s classics and murder docs. So it only made sense to bring in David Fincher to create a show about the formation of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit — the department tasked with investigating serial killers.

The show received predictably high praise, and to this day, it’s hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about it. But quietly, it was removed from Netflix’s future slate. And unlike The OA, fans didn’t have to wonder why for long — Fincher himself came out and rained on the parade, confirming there were no plans to continue. According to the Fight Club director, the show was simply too expensive for the streamer to justify.

Santa Clarita Diet

The worst kind of Netflix cancellation is the kind that gets nipped at a cliffhanger. Netflix has been trying to land a sitcom that sticks for its entire lifetime. For a moment there, Santa Clarita Diet felt like they had found one. It was a big swing, don’t get me wrong: an R-rated sitcom about a family slowly turning into zombies is about as dark as sitcoms go.

But the thing about streamers is, they’re not beholden to rs. All that matters are the subscribers. And just when Timothy Olyphant’s character was also turned into a zombie, they nipped it in the bud. Apparently, the cast and crew found out during the edit of the third season. Netflix rarely does season fours unless the ratings are humongous — but ironically, that’s often when these shows finally hit their stride.

To this day, the search for the big Netflix sitcom continues. And Santa Clarita Diet is that rare show that still remains watchable despite the lack of resolution. Netflix really dropped the ball here.

Anne with an E

By 2020, Netflix was well and truly in its ruthless era. It suddenly had real expectations to meet — not just from subscribers, but from investors. And anything that didn’t retain viewers, no matter how beloved, was getting canceled.

Anne with an E came with an inbuilt audience. An entire generation — especially in Canada — grew up with the literary icon, imagining how she would engulf the screen with updated urgency and relevancy. But right on cue, at the predictable season 3 mark, the announcements came in: “Anne of Green Gables’ story will come to a satisfying conclusion.” Satisfied, fans were not. There were hundreds of thousands of petition gs, threats of canceled subscriptions — but Netflix didn’t care one bit.

The Society

To be fair, there’s a reason Netflix is number one. There are some genres that Netflix does incredibly well — and one of them is teen dramas. The Society set up a world where all the parents disappeared, which is already a nonsensical trope in these shows to begin with. But The Society made that trope an integral aspect of the plot.

This time, the show actually pulled impressive numbers and had a new season in development — but the COVID pandemic ruined those plans, and it had to be canceled. And unlike most shows, with teen dramas, you can’t just revive them after a while. Even Ginny & Georgia, with its long gestation period, is already causing Twitter drama over how grown the actors are starting to look.

Julie and The Phantoms

Sometimes Netflix goes a bit too experimental for mainstream fans’ tastes, and it becomes difficult to grow the audience the show has already garnered. Julie and the Phantoms follows Julie Molina as she navigates her grief over her mother’s death by summoning the ghosts of a band from the 1990s. And did I mention it’s a musical?

By all means, the show is actually good — especially the first 3 episodes. It had the potential to be the High School Musical for a new generation. But it was just a bit too novel for Gen Z audiences. After one season, Netflix pulled the plug.

Warrior Nun

It’s kind of ridiculous how many times Netflix has had to battle its own subscribers. If HBO Max (yes, that’s what it’s called again — for now) didn’t exist, Netflix would easily be the company that least understands its customers. Warrior Nun is based on an anime about warrior nuns who use an ancient Catholic relic to accidentally resurrect a young girl.

There are some mesmerizing, breathtaking sequences in the show’s first season — truly one of the only live-action anime remakes that actually works. But the audience just wasn’t there, so fans picketed, blogged, complained — and they got a season 2. But a season 3? Lightning wasn’t going to strike twice in the same place.

Lockwood & Co.

Lockwood & Co. was another attempt by Netflix to stick to what they know best — developing established IP and focusing on teen dramas. The show follows Anthony Lockwood and his trusted sidekick Lucy Carlyle as they run a ghost-busting agency with a very casual tone. Each episode kind of lives and breathes on its own — it’s a little like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

But maybe it was a case of oversaturation, or something else entirely. There just wasn’t a big enough audience. Netflix canceled it after one season and, by their standards, faced very little pushback. Just a campaign here and a petition there, nothing they couldn’t ignore.

GLOW

The case of GLOW was genuinely tragic. GLOW had everything Netflix looks for in a show — the story, the fans, the critical raves, and even 18 Emmy nominations. That’s right, and they even won 3 of those.

The show still holds up to this day and follows a group of women navigating the growing 1980s wrestling scene — calling their outfit Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW). It’s still worth the watch today if you don’t mind a case of unfinished stories. It was canceled while awaiting its final fourth season due to the pandemic. Alison Brie, a core star of the show, called the abrupt cancellation “the great heartbreak of my career.”

1899

Of course, unlike its competitors, Netflix actually has a global footprint. Just like they’ve been searching for their big sitcom, they had also been deeply searching for their big international hit. Narcos was Netflix’s first attempt to dip their toes in the water, but the subject of those first two seasons was always the DEA, and therefore, it read as an American show.

But with 1899, it seemed like they finally had one. Oh, how ambitious that show was. The cancellation even inspired WIRED to publish an article declaring it the end of the Netflix weird era. The show is set on a ship from London to New York, full of a multilingual cast of characters who clash because of modernity and old beliefs.

The show was big, lavish — but it just didn’t capture enough of an audience to justify its price tag. And for Netflix, that’s all they need to see. It was canceled immediately.

Luckily for Netflix, soon after, they got Squid Game, which helped them reach their goal.

Netflix has officially announced the return of three of its most popular series with a trailer showcacoming seasons for 2025. The streaming platform confirmed that Wednesday, Stranger Things, and Squid Game will all premiere new seasons within the year, with specific release dates spanning from summer through late fall.

The announcement was revealed by DiscussingFilm and comes as Netflix continues to leverage its most successful original programming to maintain subscriber engagement. All three series have achieved significant global viewership and cultural impact since their respective debuts. The trailer provides glimpses of what viewers can expect from each returning show.

Wednesday Season 2 will arrive in two separate releases during August 2025. The first part premieres on August 6, followed by the second part on September 3. The series continues to follow the titular character as she navigates supernatural mysteries and personal relationships. The season appears to maintain the gothic elements and dark humor that characterized the first installment.

Netflix schedules three major series returns across 2025

Squid Game Season 3 has been scheduled for release on June 27, 2025, making it the earliest return among the three series. The show will continue its exploration of the deadly competition format that made the series a global phenomenon, and hopefully, it can avoid the mistakes of season 2. Characters return to face new challenges within the established game framework that defined the previous seasons.

Stranger Things Season 5 will conclude the series with its release on November 26, 2025. This final season promises to resolve the supernatural storylines and character arcs that have developed throughout the show’s run. The series has been building toward this conclusion since its debut, with the Upside Down mythology reaching its climax.

The three series represent different genres within Netflix’s programming strategy. Wednesday focuses on supernatural comedy-drama, Squid Game delivers thriller and social commentary elements, and Stranger Things combines science fiction with coming-of-age themes. Each show has established dedicated fan bases and generated significant cultural discussion during their previous seasons.

Netflix positioned these releases strategically throughout 2025 to maintain consistent content flow. The spacing allows the platform to capitalize on audience anticipation while avoiding direct competition between their own major properties. All three shows will be available exclusively on Netflix. 

Ginny & Georgia just landed on Netflix, and already, before some can even check out all the episodes, fans online have quickly binged the entire season and are clamoring for answers on a potential new season.

Good news: Season 4 is a go. Confirmed by Netflix itself — can’t get more official than that. In fact, in Feb., the renewal had already confirmed that the show will be back for at least one more season. Ginny & Georgia is already one of their best-performing titles — and now climbing to just best overall.

Creator of the series Sarah Lampert was the first one with the good news for fans, with a post that showed a Zoom call screenshot of the writers’ room. The caption of the photo read: “First day of the season 4 writer’s room!!! Based on today alone, season 4 is going to be a RIDE.”

In the comments of the post were fans showing relief that that means they probably won’t have to wait long for a new season. One commented, “Oh thank god ur already on to season 4 we won’t have to wait too long this time.” Which is certainly a worry, considering shows these days have disappointed fans with multiple-year waits just for a season with a short 9 episodes. But considering this news — and the run of shows like The Bear being closely knit — we might truly finally be back.

There’s no official release date as of this moment. But if you look at Season 3—which ends on one of the show’s biggest cliffhangers yet — it’s clear Ginny & Georgia is hitting its high gears with no intention of slowing down. It wouldn’t be shocking if Season 4 is right around the corner. The cat’s out of the bag now: Georgia might be pregnant! This sets up some big mysteries for Season 4 that go far beyond the pregnancy itself. Is it Paul? Or is it the beloved Joe?

On social media, there are already reactions that split the discussion into two; some fans are claiming that the show has always been about how Joe was Georgia’s one true love all along. Some fans can’t get enough of how he looks. There’s a lot of love for Joe. But Paul has his stans too. Some fans are even casting spells — no, literally.

everyone finally realizing that joe and georgia are the love story this show has been building towards pic.twitter.com/WwBuEtZDus

— ً (@rioshallies) June 5, 2025

watching the new ginny & georgia season (yes its a bad show but in a good way) and JOE IS LITERALLY THE FINEST MAN IN THE WORLD pic.twitter.com/qQS7PPtovi

— m (@httpsjordayla) June 5, 2025

Casting a spell that Georgia and Paul make it through season 3 still together in the end!! pic.twitter.com/jKsZd6ZsrX

— Cheyenne (@lil_harmonizer) June 5, 2025

Season 4 will no doubt majorly focus on Georgia’s love triangle. The stakes are now raised as high as possible. But the kids went through a tough time too. Marcus ended the season being sent to rehab. The fans want him to get better, obviously. But there are also some lingering issues there with Max. The show will probably dig into that sibling betrayal. The entire cast of the show will be busy for the season.

Everything is pointing toward the supposition that Ginny & Georgia can’t afford a 2-year break this time around. The suspense can only hold in fans’ minds for so long before they find something else to care about. And we haven’t even mentioned Ginny. Throughout the entire season, she’s been getting involved in more and more morally grey decisions to protect Georgia. And Ginny is also separating with Georgia to spend time with Zion.

The season will have so much to bite and so many shifted dynamics and loyalties. And the kids are also finally coming to their own.

If there’s one thing the internet agrees on, it’s this: we’re all a little too obsessed with emotionally unavailable teenage boys in TV dramas. Case in point? A viral X post that’s got Ginny & Georgia season 3 fans absolutely losing it over their favorite “depressed lover boy” characters.

In the post, @lifesatamasha compares Marcus from Ginny & Georgia to Conrad from The Summer I Turned Pretty, writing: “conrad is exactly the long lost brother of marcus from ginny and georgia… what’s with me liking all of these depressed lover boys?? ” Comment showed up for the depressed lover boy flowers, one stating simply, “I love them both so much.” Same, bestie.

The post is paired with tearjerking screenshots of both characters giving devastatingly emotional monologues about how loving someone hurts too much because they don’t love themselves. Yes, we’re crying too.

Wait—what is “Ginny & Georgia” again?

For the uninitiated (where have you been?!), Ginny & Georgia is a coming-of-age Netflix dramedy that follows 15-year-old Ginny Miller and her 30-year-old mother, Georgia, as they settle in a picturesque New England town to escape Georgia’s mysterious, and let’s say… legally questionable, past.

The show balances teen angst, murder cover-ups, mental health struggles, and surprisingly sharp dialogue. Think Gilmore Girls meets Big Little Lies, but with more therapy and better lighting.

Marcus Baker, played by Felix Mallard, is Ginny’s brooding next-door neighbor and sometime-boyfriend. He spends most of his screen time staring out windows, playing guitar, and trying not to self-destruct—all while being painfully in love with Ginny. Basically, if you’ve ever said “I can fix him” out loud, Marcus is your guy.

So, what’s the deal with season 3?

Ginny & Georgia season 3 is streaming exclusively on Netflix. It picks up after the bombshell finale of season 2, where Georgia’s wedding turned into a full-blown police takedown (spoiler alert: murder charges were involved).

Meanwhile, Ginny and Marcus are very much not together—but the emotional wreckage is still lingering like an unspoken text. Fans are especially tuned in to how Marcus’s mental health journey evolves this season, with many praising the show for tackling depression and therapy in a raw, realistic way.

Why are fans obsessed with these sad boys?

Because we love pain, apparently! There’s a whole subculture online of fans who are drawn to emotionally tortured male leads. Marcus from Ginny & Georgia, Conrad from The Summer I Turned Pretty, and even Timothée Chalamet in, well, everything—these guys are damaged, vulnerable, and ridiculously hot. What’s not to love?

The viral post here (currently at over 7,800 views and counting) hit a nerve. The screenshots capture that perfect blend of heartbreak and hotness that defines the “depressed lover boy” trope—and the replies are filled with fans echoing the sentiment.

Where to watch and spiral emotionally

You can stream all three seasons of Ginny & Georgia now on Netflix. Just be prepared to sob over fictional teenagers and yell “JUST GO TO THERAPY” at your screen at least once per episode. Because in the end, Ginny & Georgia depressed lover boy energy is the real main character.

It’s safe to say Disney’s streaming output has been a mixed bag. For every excellent WandaVision and The Mandalorian we’ve gotten garbage like Secret Invasion and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Perhaps that’s why Disney Plus subscriber figures are in decline, from a high of around 170 million in late 2022 to just 125 million in the first quarter of 2025.

There are a whole bunch of reasons for this: Disney Plus subs took a hit when they lost the licence to broadcast cricket in India, there’s fiercer competition from other streaming services, a cost of living crisis and, simply, that the pandemic saw people trapped indoors with nothing to do, briefly boosting demand.

But, whatever the case, Disney certainly sounds gloomy about the future. One recent shining light for Disney Plus has been the critically acclaimed Star Wars hit Andor, now considered the best thing the franchise has seen since the original trilogy wrapped up with Return of the Jedi.

Showrunner Tony Gilroy has praised Disney and Lucasfilm for the “freedom” they gave him, essentially giving him an incredible $650 million budget for 24 episodes and letting him use that as he wished. The gamble paid off, but he’s now revealed that during the gap between seasons, Disney made a startling ission about their opinion on streaming.

Tony Gilroy confirms the total budget for ‘ANDOR’ was $650M

They had to fight for the necessary funding for S2 after Disney told them “streaming is dead”

(Source: https://t.co/dVz6p04CDq) pic.twitter.com/9S3kFPbndA

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 31, 2025

Speaking at a at the ATX Television Festival last week, he recounted a meeting with a Disney higher-up who explained: “‘Streaming is dead, we don’t have the money we had before”. This led to arguments over Andor season 2, though Gilroy appears to have triumphed: “we fought hard about money, but they never cleaned anything up. That [freedom] comes with responsibilities.”

Cheaper shows incoming?

Saying that streaming is “dead” to Disney is quite the statement. As per their most recent filings, Disney’s total revenue for Q1 2025 was $24.7 billion, a 5% increase from Q1 2024. However, they also reveal that Disney Plus lost 0.7 million subscribers. Presumably, they have internal data that lets them make predictions for the future that paint a gloomy picture.

All of which means that we were probably lucky to get Andor and don’t expect any shows similar to it anytime soon. Belts are being tightened and budgets restricted, so anticipate shows that lean heavily on cheaper Volume-style CGI sets and have extremely safe narratives.

The name of the game is “Success” in Hollywood, and everyone pursues it relentlessly. But like everything, reaching the top tier and staying there is not just about money – there are a lot of brain cells involved too. And when that is excluded from the equation… it becomes irrefutable why higher-ups, drunk on their power, making all the decisions, is never a good idea.

On that cheerful idea, HBO Max… is HBO Max, again – a saga that saw millions being dumped down the drain in promotions and marketing when it transitioned from HBO Now to HBO Max, the Max.

The naming of HBO’s streaming service has been an up-and-down, left-and-right merry-go-round with more twists than arguably any show on the platform. What started as HBO Max became just Max, changed its color scheme a couple of times, and is now — surprise! — back to HBO Max. And that’s not even counting the HBO NOW and HBO GO era of the 2010s.

This is the same HBO that made The Sopranos — still considered by many to be the greatest show ever made — and Game of Thrones, among a host of other classics. You don’t need to tell me twice that an HBO show is worth the price of ission, at least for the pilot. Over the years, the network has maintained a conveyor belt of some of the best TV the industry has ever seen. They built a name synonymous with quality, which is why it was completely dumbfounding that, when every major media company was going all-in on streaming, HBO dropped the most recognizable part of their brand: their name. That would be like Disney+ launching as just “Plus.”

For years, fans and industry analysts alike were puzzled by such a bizarre decision. Then, suddenly — out of nowhere — Warner Bros. Discovery announced they’re going back to HBO Max. The writing was on the wall when the CEO of Content, Casey Bloys, at HBO Max appeared on The Town podcast and said they’d done a lot of market analysis to understand what viewers want and how they perceive the service. What they reportedly found was that fans wanted HBO-quality TV shows of various genres, documentaries, and access to the Warner Bros. library. Shocking absolutely no one. That realization finally seems to have pushed them to return to what audiences already associate with that kind of prestige programming — HBO.

People familiar with the inner workings at Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO’s parent company) didn’t waste any time pointing fingers. One on X claimed that internal research had always shown the rebrand was a bad idea, but that one executive pushed it through on a power trip. From the outside, all signs point to JB Perrette, the head of global streaming and games.

Had a friend inside HBO at the time and apparently the entire 'Max' branding was one powerful exec who thought it would be a great idea contra every single piece of internal research. Just one singular guy on a power trip. https://t.co/pBmpCKF1IF

— Jeremiah Johnson (@JeremiahDJohns) May 14, 2025

Back during the Max launch, Perrette gave a presentation justifying the name change by saying the generic name would help kids and families recognize the platform’s animated offerings. Because, in his words, “HBO is not exactly where you would drop your kids off at.”

WBD's JB Perrette says 'HBO' was dropped from the name for 'Max' to appeal to kids:

"Our leading kids brands used to get double-digit shares of the 2-11 linear audience. In streaming, that has virtually disappeared even though all the great content & franchises are still here." pic.twitter.com/JRbwH9fOSU

— Animation on Max (@AnimationOnMax) April 13, 2023

The C-suite at Warner Bros. Discovery has been lurching from one unforced error to the next. When David Zaslav first took over, his goal seemed to be propping up the Discovery half of the brand — where his roots lie — which includes reality TV fare like Honey Boo Boo. But his ham-fisted attempts to boost his own importance while dismissing the creatives under him have felt less like leadership and more like a parody straight out of Seth Rogen’s The Studio.

Luckily, HBO’s social media team has been doing damage control with the kind of witty, self-aware posts that poke fun at the chaos rather than trying to bury it. Honestly, they’re the real heroes of this entire saga.

The HBO Max social team is doing yeoman's work, leaning into the absurdity of their boomerang rebrand and diffusing ridicule by getting in on the joke

This is excellent work and exactly what a social handle is for https://t.co/vbQBTpDY7m pic.twitter.com/L7LwcgKEho

— Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) May 14, 2025

That said, with Warner Bros. Discovery’s current track record, we can probably expect them to announce they’re replacing their entire social media team with AI by next week.

Andor is set to go down in history as the greatest Star Wars story ever. This complex, politically charged, and character-driven thriller blasts past the prequel and sequel trilogies, leaves every other Disney Plus Star Wars show in the dust, and, in many ways, is even superior to George Lucas’ iconic original trilogy.

With the final episodes landing yesterday, praise is at fever pitch on social media, with many demanding that Lucasfilm hand showrunner Tony Gilroy the keys to the kingdom and let him chart the franchise’s future:

This is how Star Wars should be. Tony Gilroy truly understands that. Give this man more future Star Wars projects and return the franchise to be true Star Wars. #Andor #AndorS2 #AndorSeason2 pic.twitter.com/6MBlQZiHyW

— CΛMSPIRΞ ♪ (@CamsTranceVibes) April 24, 2025

Unfortunately for all of us, Gilroy has indicated that his time in a galaxy far, far away is over. Speaking to Collider in Mar. 2025, he was asked if he would be back for more and said:

“It’s not really part of my plan. I’ve been peripherally involved for 10 years and intensely involved for six years, so that’s a pretty big chunk of my life. There are other things to do.”

But Disney and Lucasfilm would be fools to let him walk away now and we expect executives will do their best to tempt him back for more. And there’s one project he’d be ideal for that no other person should be trusted with.

A New New Hope?

This will be blasphemy to many, but with A New Hope approaching its 50th anniversary in 2027, it may finally be time for a remake. After all, while George Lucas’ 1977 original will always be a cinematic classic, it’s looking increasingly creaky to younger viewers, so a fresh perspective and retelling of this incredible story would be an ideal way to reinvigorate the franchise.

There are only a handful of people who could pull off this feat, but after Andor, Gilroy has to be top of the pile. After all, Andor ends right as 2016’s Rogue One begins, which itself leads directly into the opening minutes of A New Hope. Gilroy being given the reins would let him effectively continue his story, folding the winning Andor formula into one continuous and truly epic saga.

Some of the surviving Andor characters could go on to play new roles in this reworked original trilogy, cementing the links between them. And, as a bonus, this would also clear the decks of the increasingly tangled and crowded Star Wars canon. From Disney’s point of view, a remake of A New Hope would be a guaranteed box office smash, fit in perfectly with their current strategy of remaking their classic animated movies in live action, and lay obvious groundwork for future remakes of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

This “new” original trilogy then leaves acres of fertile storytelling ground beyond it that could be occupied by an entirely original sequel trilogy that’s actually planned out in advance and doesn’t end on a massive anticlimax.

Any announcement along these lines would be met by an aggressive backlash by fans understandably attached to Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and the rest, but what better way to honor Star Wars than to give us an entirely original take on Luke Skywalker’s adventures that tesselates perfectly with the storylines and themes we just saw in Andor?

In a recent episode of The View, co-host Ana Navarro opened up about her connection to Prince Harry‘s candid remarks regarding his estranged relationship with his father, King Charles III. Navarro expressed empathy, stating, “I really hope that they get the chance to reconcile,” highlighting the universal complexities of family dynamics.

Prince Harry’s revelations have been making headlines, particularly following his recent BBC interview, where he discussed the breakdown in communication with his dad. He disclosed that King Charles has ceased communication with him, a situation that worsened over disputes about security arrangements and other grievances. Harry expressed a desire for reconciliation but acknowledged that some family might never forgive him. 

“There have been so many disagreements”

In the interview, Harry said, “There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,” but he’d forgiven them.” Harry, however, said he remained upset with his father for not speaking to him. “[King Charles III] won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.”

The Duke of Sussex’s concerns are further compounded by King Charles’s ongoing battle with cancer. Harry voiced his fears about the limited time they might have left to mend their relationship, stating, “I would like to get my father back,” Harry said.

Despite the strained relations, there have been subtle signs of potential reconciliation. Reports suggest that King Charles has left the door open for Harry, with sources indicating that the monarch desires to repair the relationship and have a connection with his grandchildren.

Navarro’s reflections on The View resonate with many who understand the challenges of familial estrangement. Her hope for a reconciliation between Prince Harry and King Charles underscores the universal longing for familial harmony, especially in times of adversity.

Referring to her estrangement from her father, Navarro said, “When you have that tick-tock in your head… [Harry’s] father has cancer, mine is 85 years old… That’s even more present in your mind. It is very d— hard, and I think it takes a lot of processing and a lot of humility.”

She added, “It also takes both sides,” to repair the relationship. “I don’t think it’s something that can be done unilaterally. So, as somebody that’s going through it and hopes to be able to work it out, I really hope that they get the chance to reconcile because my biggest fear is not reconciling with my father and then having regrets my entire life.”

Disney ants have pulled off something even Thanos couldn’t: kill off Hawkeye.

Jeremy Renner stopped by High Performance for an interview, and the inevitable question came up — would he reprise his most iconic role as Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye? Renner didn’t mince words. He called the entire situation “disheartening.” He asserted that a contract dispute with Disney’s “penny pinchers” means he’s letting the role go for the foreseeable future.

At this point, it’s no secret that, culturally speaking, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going through a lack of fresh, engaging ideas. The recent five-hour stream of empty director chairs revealing the cast of Avengers: Doomsday is a prime example. Perhaps the franchise got too big, and the ideas too many and convoluted to fit into the public consciousness. And it’s not just fan cynicism either — the producers of the Marvel machine have been feeling the pinch as well. Marvel President Kevin Feige himself was quoted in TIME, saying it’s been hard lately for them to capture the zeitgeist because they release too much product.

So there’s a reasonable assumption to make: Hawkeye Season 1 didn’t earn as much as expected. And that caused them to offer Jeremy Renner half the pay for Season 2. Or maybe they planned to give him a more secondary role as he eventually es the torch to a very capable Sinners star Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. Regardless, Renner wasn’t having that. To the star, the offer felt insulting — especially coming so soon after his life-threatening snowmobile accident. Renner said:

“I’m like, ‘I’m sorry? Why? Did you think I’m only half the Jeremy because I got ran over? Maybe that’s why you want to pay me half of what I made on the first season.’”

Considering Marvel is synonymous with box office success, you’d assume their financial compensation with stars is exemplary. But you’d be mistaken.

As early as Iron Man 2, actors like Terrence Howard were pushed out of the franchise over salary disputes. John Malkovich, set to debut in Fantastic Four: The First Steps, shared that he turned down the franchise multiple times due to lowballed offers.

Carrie Coon, too, said the only reason she didn’t return for Avengers: Endgame was a lack of a salary increase. She even claimed people would be “surprised” by Marvel salaries. And if her performance in the last episode of The White Lotus is anything to go by — your loss, Marvel.

Luckily, however, it seems Feige is learning from past mistakes. In his acknowledgment that they may have flooded the market with too much product, he vowed to slow down and be more intentional going forward.

Unlike these other stars, Jeremy Renner is one of the founding faces of this franchise. Renner truly deserves to be treated as such. Because with every single complaint that reaches the fans, the goodwill Marvel has ridden on for nearly two decades chips a little bit more.

Marvel has yet to comment on the situation. The focus now is on Thunderbolts, which is getting glowing reviews from all the major publications. Perhaps Jeremy Renner leaving and Marvel injecting some new blood is best for everyone involved.

Israel‘s reputation is in tatters, but I guess doing a genocide will achieve that. All around the world, people are still taking to the streets to protest their brutal military action and starvation tactics in the Gaza Strip and things have reached the point that, even in America, a majority of people now do not sympathize with Israelis.

But a new BBC documentary may be set to crater public opinion even more. Acclaimed documentarian Louis Theroux has just released The Settlers, in which he travels through the West Bank interviewing gun-toting Israeli settlers determined to flout international law and steal Palestinian homes and land.

What follows is a horror show of petty cruelty, homicidal religious fervor, and casual plans for brutal ethnic cleansing. Theroux’s tactic is simply to point his camera at these people and let them explain their philosophy – and in doing so, you peer into some truly scary minds.

Louis Theroux: "But to think about other people, other children not at all? That seems sociopathic"

Daniella Weiss: "No. Not at all, this is normal"

“The settlers” Documentary by Louis Theroux pic.twitter.com/K8HZNrlv91 https://t.co/91pQjORn5K

— Khalissee (@Kahlissee) April 28, 2025

Of his subjects, none is more repulsive than 79-year-old Daniella Weiss, who didn’t bat an eyelid as she rolled out a map to reveal how (with the full of the Israeli government) she intends to carry out a program of ethnic cleansing on people she doesn’t even consider as human beings. In a later interview, making some bizarre point about violence, she physically shoves Theroux in a failed effort to make him retaliate in kind. All Theroux can do is dub her, frankly, a sociopath.

And, judging by the universal response on social media, pretty much everyone agrees:

This is a difficult watch but necessary. The arrogance of the settlers and IDF is astounding. The dehumanising language used when they speak of Palestinians is awful, especially from the mouth of a Rabbi and there is something of the devil about Daniella Weiss. https://t.co/DvJCjaihFx

— Alison Morris (@alimorris356) April 27, 2025

I think Daniella Weiss is actually insane. I don't say this lightly. She seems totally divorced from reality. #louistheroux #thesettlers

— s 'Cassandra' Coppola (@s_Coppola) April 27, 2025

I'm watching Louis Theroux – The Settlers.

The level of psychopathy of these "settlers" is disturbing. Louis appears quite shocked.

Settler boss Daniella Weiss speaks like a possessed woman but I do know what it is. She's a mafia boss convinced that she's very powerful. pic.twitter.com/kYONic8kkB

— Luca Soci (@Luca_soci) April 28, 2025

Louis Theroux is a brilliant documentary maker. He so easily leads these Zionists down the garden path and it doesn’t take them two minutes to completely expose themselves as evil. Daniella Weiss is terrifying. #TheSettlers

— beffy (@beffybadbelly) April 29, 2025

Daniela Weiss is a complete racist psychopath. Incredible documentary by Louis Theroux. Brazen content for humanity all driven by zealous religocity. So sad. #thesettlers

— Paolo (@Skeptichead) April 27, 2025

The bizarre cherry on top of this is that Israel nominated her for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize! As you might expect, Theroux is now being pilloried on social media for the crime of putting these people on camera and letting them explain themselves. Here’s hoping this documentary opens some eyes on what it really means to Israel, and the daily nightmare of life as a Palestinian in the West Bank and Gaza.

Like most people, I don’t think I could put a price on my friendships. These are people I’ve grown up alongside, who’ve seen me at my best and worst, and who I’d go to the ends of the Earth for. But, apparently, film icon John Lithgow prioritizes a hefty payday over his friends.

In an interview with Variety, Lithgow outlines a bizarre incident involving his casting in HBO’s Harry Potter remake show. This remake is proving to be a hot potato on all fronts, though primarily because J.K. Rowling just personally funded a successful legal battle to strip rights from and enforce discrimination against trans people in the United Kingdom.

Every actor clambering aboard HBO’s Hogwarts Express will be fully aware of this, especially as their social medias are now full of heartbroken fans pleading for them not to align themselves with Rowling. However, Lithgow has at least made his position clear: he doesn’t care.

“A very good friend who is the mother of a trans child” sent him an open letter pleading with him to walk away from Rowling. The letter praises Lithgow for his career-long “love and acceptance of the LGBTQ community”, pointing out that he said “Nobody in society should have to hide who they are, or feel like they’re second class citizens in any way”, and underlining that he scored an Oscar nomination in 1982 for playing a trans character.

The letter ends with a plea for Lithgow to “stand with trans young people” as the community “could use your now more than ever.” So, on one hand, you have your good friend’s emotional letter to you outlining how this would make you a massive hypocrite and urging you to do well, and on the other, you have a big HBO payday.

Lithgow told Variety the letter “was the canary in the coal mine”. But even if that bird chirped and flapped around a little, it was soon a rotting yellow lump on the cage floor. Lithgow’s takeaway was apparently… nothing: “I thought, ‘Why is this a factor at all?’ I wonder how J.K. Rowling has absorbed it. I suppose at a certain point I’ll meet her, and I’m curious to talk to her.”

Needless to say, fans of Lithgow are disgusted, with most wondering why he’d burn decades of goodwill for a payday that’ll make no material difference to his day-to-day life:

John Lithgow took the time to come straight out and say that he cares more about his last big paycheck than the harm caused by further enriching and empowering a well-known public bigot. https://t.co/q5hhH6tWnZ

— Gentleman Doofus (@GentleDoofus) April 28, 2025

John Lithgow, coming off a popular award winning film, getting ready to do the last role of his career by tarnishing his reputation to be in a mid remake TV series produced by a psycho for a paycheck he won’t live to fully enjoy anyway: pic.twitter.com/1R3ZcHedv4 https://t.co/gKICaio1Sk

— ₮ł₥Ø₮ⱧɎ (@TimothyYBarrett) April 28, 2025

JK Rowling makes it abundantly clear what she does with her money. It's all she talks about it. You can't feign ignorance about something like this and brush it off like it's all so silly. To know the facts and take that paycheck? No different than blood money.

— Brandon Streussnig (@BrndnStrssng) April 28, 2025

It’s deeply depressing to see an actor I deeply respected fritter away his reputation like this. But hey, Lithgow “just” has a net worth of around $50 million, so maybe the Rowling paycheque will mean he can finally afford that ivory backscratcher he’s been coveting all this time. What Rowling is doing with her money is evil but, as far as Lithgow is concerned, evil clearly pays.