‘Predator’: Ryan Reynolds’ scathing statement about wife’s co-star

Ryan Reynolds is asking a judge to drop him as a defendant from Justin Baldoni’s $US400 million (approx. $629 million) defamation lawsuit, claiming that Baldoni’s argument against him has no legal bounds and amounts to “hurt feelings.”

The filing – submitted on Tuesday (Wednesday morning in Australia) and obtained by CNN – claims that the lawsuit Baldoni filed against Reynolds and wife Blake Lively is based on two times that Reynolds allegedly called Baldoni a “predator,” but that nothing in Baldoni’s suit suggests that Reynolds did not believe this to be true.

“Mr. Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr. Baldoni’s behaviour is reflective of a ‘predator,’” Reynolds’ filing reads, adding that ‘calling someone a ‘predator’ amounts to a constitutionally protected opinion.”

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Reynolds’ lawyers also claim Baldoni’s “thin-skinned outrage over a movie character” – referring to the Nicepool character in Reynolds’ Deadpool & Wolverine movie – “does not even pretend to be tied to any legal claims” and instead is just Baldoni alleging that he has “hurt feelings.”

In the motion, attorneys for Lively and Reynolds wrote that while Lively sued Baldoni and his business associates for sexual harassment and subsequent retaliation, Reynolds has nothing to do with the situation and that his only involvement has been as a “supportive spouse.”

Their lawyers claims that Reynolds is only named as a defendant in Baldoni’s suit because Steve Sarowitz – a defendant in Lively’s case against Baldoni and his team, one of Baldoni’s business partners at his production company, Wayfarer Studios, which produced and co-financed It Ends With Us with Sony – “promised to spend up to $US100 million [approx. $157 million] to ‘ruin’ Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds,” according to the filing.

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In Baldoni’s lawsuit against the Hollywood couple, as well as Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane (who previously filed her own motion to dismiss, asking to be dropped from the case), Baldoni accused Reynolds of assisting Lively in “hijacking” his film It Ends With Us and taking down his career.

He also claimed that Lively sought to take over much of the film’s creative direction, including having Reynolds, who had no formal role on It Ends With Us, re-write a scene and make “unauthorised changes to the script in secret.”

Baldoni also accused Reynolds of reprimanding him at the couple’s home in New York, claiming that Reynolds once “swore at Baldoni and accused him of fat-shaming his wife” and alleged in his lawsuit that Reynolds made fun of him in Deadpool & Wolverine, mirroring the character Nicepool after Baldoni in an effort to mock him.

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Reynolds is also accused of telling an executive at the talent agency WME that Baldoni was a “sexual predator” in an effort to encourage the agency to drop him as a client.

Lively and Reynolds are top-earning clients at WME where Baldoni was previously represented, until the agency dropped him after Lively filed her sexual harassment claim. (WME has denied that Reynolds or Lively encouraged them to part ways with Baldoni, though the agency’s top executive, Ari Emanuel, recently boasted on a podcast about firing Baldoni.)

CNN has reached out to representatives for Baldoni for comment.

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Reynolds’ attorneys, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, told CNN in a statement that Baldoni’s defamation case is not solid since Reynolds believes that Baldoni is, in fact, a predator.

“Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to express his opinion of Mr. Baldoni, which should be comforting to a group of people who have repeatedly called Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds ‘bullies’ and other names over the past year,” Reynolds’ attorneys said.

A spokesperson for Reynolds added that Baldoni’s case is “frivolous,” telling CNN on Tuesday (Wednesday in Australia), “We look forward to this lawsuit being dismissed.”

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Both Baldoni and Lively’s attorneys have previously said that they do not intend to settle. The trial is currently set for March 2026. If Reynolds’ motion to dismiss is not granted by the judge, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars could be brought into the legal drama and called to testify in a highly publicised case.

Lively and Baldoni have been in a legal battle since December, when Lively accused him of sexual harassment and retaliation in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights Department, preceding a lawsuit that followed about a week later. She filed an amended complaint last month, alleging other women also raised claims about Baldoni’s behavior on set.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni, Heath and Wayfarer Studios, previously denied the allegations in a statement to CNN. “These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” Freedman said.

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‘Good American Family’ Review: Ellen Pompeo’s Uneven Hulu Drama Rips From Infamous Headlines, But Doesn’t Break the Mold

Ellen Pompeo wants to break the Meredith Grey mold she’s inhabited for the past two decades on Grey’s Anatomy. Her first starring project since putting on those iconic blue scrubs is Good American Family, another “ripped from the headlines” true crime drama for Hulu, which Pompeo also executive produces alongside Sarah Sutherland and series creator Katie Robbins.

The series covers the controversial abuse case of Natalia Grace, a Ukranian child with a rare form of dwarfism who was abandoned by her American adoptive family after they claimed she was really an adult out to scam them. For Pompeo, who plays Natalia’s adopted mother Kristine Barnett, it is a big departure from the role she’s now synonymous with, but not in the way she probably hoped. While the new Hulu series purports to show the multiple perspectives involved in Natalia Grace’s case in an effort to force the audience to examine their own biases, the problem is that Good American Family doesn’t make a valid case for those perspectives, especially regarding the Barnetts. The goal is noble, but the pacing and layout of the series make Good American Family confounding and messy, and unnecessary structural issues obscure anything new to say about the case itself.

What Is ‘Good American Family’ About?

The story of Natalia Grace reads like the plot of the horror movie Orphan, but the 2009 Warner Bros. movie actually came out a year before Natalia was adopted by the Barnetts. She was originally born in Ukraine and then given up for adoption, coming to live with the Barnetts when she was eight years old. By the time she was 11, the couple had her birth certificate legally changed to say she was 22 and then left her to fend for herself in an apartment they rented.

Legal technicalities allowed the Barnetts to escape legal prosecution for the abuse and abandonment of Natalia Grace, despite multiple doctors confirming that Natalia came to them as a child. The series explores the Barnetts’ claim that Natalia was secretly an adult given to them by a fraudulent adoption agency, who was secretly out to steal money and harm them. It also showcases Natalia’s allegations that the Barnetts, especially Kristine, abused her, and follows the court battle after she was found by her third adopted family, the Mans.

‘Good American Family’ Has Structural Issues

When a “ripped from the headlines” story is dramatized for television or movies, it’s important to pay attention to whether it classifies itself as “inspired by” or “based on” real-life events. Good American Family falls firmly in the latter camp. The series retains the names of the real people and includes a disclaimer at the front of each episode that the dramatized events are based on public record and are meant to show all perspectives, without choosing sides or influencing the audience to side with either the Barnetts or Natalia Grace.

Yet the disclaimer also implies that there’s a gray area between the two sides. While the exact account of what happened between the Barnetts and Natalia Grace when she lived in their home will truly be known only by the people who lived through it, the scientific evidence isn’t up for debate. Natalia Grace was a child when she was in the Barnetts’ care, and she was abandoned. If the goal of the series is to humanize the Barnetts, Good American Family doesn’t achieve that. That’s equal parts due to how the show is written and how it is laid out.

The first four episodes of the series focus on allegations made by the Barnetts against Natalia and showcase her early years under the family’s care. These episodes are ostensibly meant to show the Barnetts’ argument for their poor treatment of Natalia, but they play out like a B-horror movie, as Natalia’s (Imogen Faith Reid) acting out continues to fracture Michael (Mark Duplass) and Kristine’s (Pompeo) marriage. Does Natalia exhibit disturbing behavior during the early episodes? Yes. Does she ever exhibit behavior that would make anyone think she was an adult? No, and the longer the series spends trying to explain the Barnetts’ decisions, the less sympathetic or understandable the couple becomes.

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This would be easier to overlook if Good American Family were a binge drop, but Hulu will release the first two episodes on premiere day and then switch to a weekly format. Overall, though, the back half of the season is a lot stronger than the first. As Natalia’s case unfolds, and she begins seeking justice for the abuse she suffered, logical explanations for her alleged behavior in the show’s initial episodes begin to emerge. The show insists that it isn’t trying to say that one side is more accurate than the other, but after four episodes of setting up the Barnetts’ perspective, the latter four undo all goodwill built up for the couple, if there was any to begin with. It would have been better for Good American Family to have restructured its narrative, recounting events from a dual perspective and allowing viewers to see the entire story play out from both points of view.

Imogen Faith Reid Steals the Show in ‘Good American Family’

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Outside of dramatizing a popularized real-life case, Good American Family is the testing ground for Pompeo’s post-Grey’s Anatomy career. She definitely proves that she can do more than play the “dark and twisty” general surgeon, but Kristine is a puzzling character choice for this attempted breakout. It’s 2025; not every female character on television needs to be likable. Women are allowed to have flaws, but they should also feel human and recognizable. Kristine Barnett is a woman with secrets, but her behavior is despicable even in her alleged version of events. To Pompeo’s credit, she shines the most in Kristine’s darkest moments, but the haphazard way this sensitive story is portrayed doesn’t do her many favors.

Duplass does a bit more with Michael Burnett, playing the character’s neediness with an expert level of cringe. You hate him because he doesn’t have a backbone, but you also feel sorry that he’s so desperate for love that he loses all sight of his soul. However, the all-star of the cast is Imogen Faith Reid, who plays Natalia throughout the limited series. The British actress not only has to tackle Natalia at different ages, but also her personality changes as the series’ perspectives shift. Yes, she’s stuck being a horror movie caricature in the early episodes, but Reid is absolutely haunting in the part and is equally savvy at garnering sympathy during the middle stretch and keeping the viewer on her side through to the series’ end.

When adapting a case that was so heavily covered in the news and already has an accompanying docuseries – The Curious Case of Natalia Grace – the main question becomes: what does this dramatization actually add to the story? While the show is messy, it’s not ambiguous in its moral stance, and it doesn’t expose new information or even say anything new about the case. Good American Family does redeem itself in the back half, but it’s a stretch to say it ever justifies its existence. Ultimately, this series ends up just being another true-crime title you can watch in the background — and it certainly doesn’t break any of the molds it set out to smash.

Good American Family premieres March 19 with its first two episodes on Hulu, with new episodes following every week.

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Good American Family

Hulu’s Good American Family is an uneven series that doesn’t justify its existence.

Drama

6 10

Release Date 2025 – 2024

Network Hulu

Cast

See All

Ellen Pompeo

Kristine Barnett

Mark Duplass

Michael Barnett

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Pros & Cons

Imogen Faith Reid gives an incredible performance. The back half of the episodes even out the disturbing first half.

The series doesn’t evenly tell the story. It takes too long to get to the meat of the show. In what world are we supposed to understand the Barnetts here?

‘The Alto Knights’ Review: Robert De Niro Plays Two Rival Crime Lords in Barry Levinson’s Utterly Lifeless Mafia Drama

It’s rare to see a film in which not a single interesting thing happens over the course of its entire running time. Not only is that true of Barry Levinson’s “The Alto Knights,” but this tired-as-hell mafia story — which wouldn’t merit so much as a footnote in the history of mob cinema if not for the gimmick of casting Robert De Niro as real-life crime boss Vito Genovese and his best frenemy Frank Costello — seems totally at peace with it.

From the moment it starts, Levinson’s first theatrical feature since 2015’s “Rock the Kasbah” is comfortably entombed in the same deep sense of resignation that inspires its main character to get out of the game. Frank Costello knows that his era in the underworld has come to a close, and he narrates the limp saga of his own life as if it were already irrelevant. As if he were deeply embarrassed by the disconnect between how much bloodshed he survived, and how little it all mattered in the end. As if there were nothing else to say about it at this point.

It goes without saying that a man like that can be a very compelling subject for a movie, but the movie itself can’t afford to agree with him. “The Alto Knights” is steeped in Frank Costello’s mindset to a tedious extreme; it’s the last shot of “The Irishman” stretched out to 123 dramatically inert minutes of “haven’t we seen this 1,000 different times already?” Levinson knows we have, and he doesn’t seem all that excited about showing it to us all over again. But as the war between his twin De Niro’s makes all too clear, retiring is never as easy as it seems.

Written by 92-year-old “Goodfellas” scribe Nicholas Pileggi, produced by 93-year-old “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” producer Irwin Winkler, and shot by 81-year-old “Manhunter” cinematographer Dante Spinotti (whose only other feature since the pandemic is Nick Vallelonga’s “upcoming” musical rom-com “That’s Amore!”), “The Alto Knights” is a gangland tale by and about a handful of legends whose grip on their work has slackened to the point that most of them can’t bear to let it go. Costello is such a notable exception to that rule that Levinson and co. felt like they had to make a movie about him.

When this story begins in 1957, the acting boss of the Luciano crime family is ready to quit or die trying. Frank’s childhood best friend — the hot-headed and increasingly paranoid Vito Genovese, convinced that his rivals will keep gunning for him until they’re buried in the ground — insists upon that second option. Alas, the thick-headed goon that Vito sends to whack Frank in the lobby of his lux Manhattan apartment building (a swollen and unrecognizable Cosmo Jarvis as the aptly named Vincent Gigante) fails to follow through with a double-tap, and Frank survives with a scratch to the head. The botched attempt doesn’t only deepen Frank’s desire to head for the hills (and leave Vito even more determined to finish the job), it inspires Frank to roll back the tape and reflect on his entire life up to that point… which he does by talking directly into the camera as he clicks through a slide projector full of Photoshopped images from his youth. If you’ve ever watched “The Godfather Part II” and thought “I bet this would be better as a glorified Powerpoint presentation,” I’m afraid you might have been wrong about that.

Somehow, distilling Frank and Vito’s friendship into a series of still photographs and a few unnecessary snippets of black-and-white footage doesn’t create the kind of foundation this movie needs to invest our attention in the rivalry that catches up with its characters as old men (it doesn’t help that the “archival” clips inexplicably star a pair of young De Niro look-alikes, as if the image of young Vito Corleone hasn’t been seared into the collective unconscious for the last 50 years). What the history lesson does establish is the “this happened and then that happened and then this other thing happened” cadence of a film that never establishes the narrative rhythm it needs to anchor its story in any sort of present tense, and so “The Alto Knights” tends to exist as less of a crime drama than it does as a loose constellation of dimly recreated events (shot in Cincinnati to better resemble mid-century New York, this cheap-looking period epic tries to squeeze a full American epoch out of a few prop cars and some wonderfully expressive costumes).

That these events are recreated without any semblance of style or urgency is made all the more apparent by the fact that “The Alto Knights” hits most of its beats at least three times in a row, as the film was written and/or cut in a way that often finds its actors repeating the same basic emotion or piece of information from slightly different angles. It almost seems like the cast was trying to satisfy the specific inputs of a video game tutorial; at one point, the critic sitting next to me leaned over to ask “why does this movie feel like it was improvised?”

That fumbling quality creates a strange and uneasy tension with the specificity of watching someone act opposite themselves, and it does a disservice to the relative pleasures of De Niro’s two performances. The guy isn’t exactly breaking new ground here, and the conceit of his casting doesn’t really distract from the discomfort of seeing a mob movie icon prop up a project so derivative of the ones that made him immortal in the first place (imagine if Toshiro Mifune had been alive to star in “The Last Samurai”), but De Niro isn’t phoning this in, and it can be fun to see him play off two very different sides of his screen persona, even if there’s no real thematic weight behind the decision to cast him in both roles.

Known as the “prime minister of the Underworld,” Frank is cautious, rational, and so buttoned-up that he wears a full suit and tie just to watch TV at home with his wife (an unsubtle Debra Messing), and De Niro embodies him with the sedate and semi-vacant curmudgeonliness that the actor tends to bring to his talk show interviews. The highlight of this movie is unambiguously the scene where De Niro, as Frank, is forced to carry his wife’s small dog into the elevator of their apartment building. One of them is a Pomeranian, one of them is a Chorkie, and both of them are wearing little mink coats to keep warm from the New York winter, and also from the intense coldness of De Niro’s frown. It’s a moment of pure cinema in a film where everything else feels manufactured to death.

Vito, by contrast, “was raised on the side of a volcano.” He’s the type of mobster who executes his wife’s ex-husband just for having the temerity to eat at the same restaurant as they do, and De Niro — spray-tanned to hell and back, the tell-tale mole on his cheek digitally removed — inhabits him with the sort of comic fury that makes it seem like he’s channeling Joe Pesci. His friendship with Frank means nothing to Vito, which makes him a vaguely relatable character insofar as it means nothing to us either. Vito’s fiery but troubled relationship with Anna Genovese (Kathrine Narducci) means even less, but “The Alto Knights” is duty-bound to shoehorn it in here as part of the movie’s diligent history of the mafia’s undoing.

It’s ostensibly fascinating that a man like Frank Costello — who profited so much from the proliferation of organized crime — would play such a large role in scaling it down, but Levinson’s film is too busy laying the past to rest to bring it back to life, and “The Alto Knights” is never flatter or more overfamiliar than when it’s doing the things that should feel like gimmies to a well-heeled gangster film. A famous hit towards the end of the story is staged as though it were more beholden to the history of mob movies than it is to the history of the mob itself, while the story’s climax, which dramatically recreates one of the most daring gambits of Costello’s life, is dulled to death by the sheepishness of its telling.

It’s almost as if Frank can’t fathom why anyone today should care about the incredible true story of how some enterprising immigrants without a nickel to their names formed a multi-billion-dollar racket that shaped a huge part of 20th century America. The tragedy of “The Alto Knights” is that Levinson can’t either.

Grade: C-

Warner Bros. will release “The Alto Knights” in theaters on Friday, March 21.

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The Doobie Brothers in 2025: A tour, a new album and a date with Songwriters Hall of Fame

NEW YORK (AP) — Just cue up the first song from the new album by The Doobie Brothers and you’ll hear something unusual: harmony, in a new way.

It’s not just that soulful blast from Michael McDonald, marking his first time recording with the band in 45 years. Listen and you’ll also hear founding member Pat Simmons and original vocalist Tom Johnston.

“Walk This Road” — with the always-welcome addition of Mavis Staples — is a horn-and-slide-guitar slice of bluesy, wailing rock that’s also a celebration of a band that has endured changes and re-formed with members now in their 70s.

“Somehow, here we are,” says McDonald. “We’ve been friends throughout the years. Our kids have all grown up together and our kids have kind of kept us in contact even at times when we might have dropped off the radar for each other.”

Lots of Doobie activity

The Doobie Brothers, who formed in 1970 and initially broke up in 1982, have a packed 2025 planned: A European tour that leads to a North American one, the strong new album and inclusion in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“I don’t think any of us ever even really thought we’d still be on stage at this age doing this, much less together,” says McDonald. “That we’re still able to express ourselves artistically is something that’s not lost on us.”

The North American tour kicks off in Detroit on Aug. 4 and heads to such cities as New York, Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Toronto. The opening act will be The Coral Reefer Band.

“Walk This Road” features 10 new songs sung by McDonald, Simmons and Johnston, who collaborated on writing the tracks and play on each other’s tunes. Longtime collaborator John McFee also returned for the project.

The album, out June 6, has something for everyone — honky-tonk, driving country, flirty Southern pop, moody folk and melodic rock. There are songs about New Orleans and Hawaii. Angels make the lyrics on two songs.

“One of the strengths of our live show was the fact that you couldn’t get bored with any one style of music because everything was kind of a different bag,” says McDonald, who officially reunited with the band on tour in 2019. “We like to do that. You know, I think this album is hopefully no different in that respect.”

John Shanks, who produced the band’s 2021 album “Liberté,” returned for “Walk This Road,” lending them his Los Angeles studio, with a writing room upstairs and a recording booth downstairs where each songwriter took turns cutting tracks.

“The band, I think, presents all of us with an opportunity to do things that we might not do just as individual songwriters,” says McDonald.

Inside the album

While the Doobies have never been a concept band, the album explores seizing the moments, reflects on paths taken and coming to grips with the past.

“This is a snapshot in time of where the band is and where the writers are,” says Johnston. “We didn’t consciously sit down and say, ‘Well, we’re going to try and do this.’”

One track, “Learn to Let Go,” is an unrequited love song that’s about letting go of things that hold you back, while “Speed of Pain” is about how the worst things in life can become the best.

“In many cases, it’s just a situation where you have to lose it all. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met over the years who have told me that going to jail was the best thing that ever happened to them,” says McDonald. “I think total defeat in this world is the great teacher.”

The Doobie Brothers are already members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — with tracks like “Takin’ It To the Streets,” “What a Fool Believes” and “Minute By Minute” — but shortly after the album comes out, they’ll be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“I think it’s really great for this band,” says Johnston. “I think it’s great for us as individual writers, but I think it’s also great for the group, and it kind of carries on the name, if you will.”

McDonald and Johnston both expressed a little surprise that they’re still making music with the folks they worked with in their 20s and are still a draw on the road.

“It’s just fun to visit all these places musically. It’s fun to put that out in front of the crowd live. And to do an album now — I didn’t picture doing this, but I’m all for it,” Johnston says.

For Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass, trust was central to ‘Good American Family’

Although she’s one of the most recognizable faces on television, Ellen Pompeo felt as if the team behind “Good American Family” took a chance on her.

For nearly two decades, Pompeo starred in “Grey’s Anatomy” as the show’s namesake character Meredith Grey. But in 2022, Pompeo announced that she would be scaling back her appearances on the show to work on a new project that would become her first major role outside of the long-running medical drama.

Pompeo said she felt pressure to prove she could branch out from the character she had become synonymous with and that, like her, the creatives of “Good American Family” took a risk.

“It took enormous courage and bravery on all their parts and taking a chance on me. It’s a real chance,” she said. “I haven’t done anything in 20 years — I could have effed this up majorly.”

That chance has come in the form of Hulu’s limited series premiering Wednesday that’s based on the real-life story of the Barnett family and Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian girl with a rare form of dwarfism. The Indiana family’s adoption of Natalia, subsequent abandonment of her and the charges that followed made headlines across the across country, later becoming the subject of the three-season Investigation Discovery docuseries “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace” and now “Good American Family.”

In the series, Pompeo stars alongside Mark Duplass, playing Kristine and Michael Barnett, the couple who adopted Natalia, played by Imogen Faith Reid. “Good American Family” is told from different points of view to illustrate the conflicting accounts of what happened between members of the family.

For Pompeo, stepping into her first post-“Grey’s” role was daunting, especially when it was a character as complicated as this one.

“I didn’t know if I could do it,” she said. “I’ve done the same thing for 20 years. I didn’t know if I could do anything else. Why would anybody believe that I could?”

But Duplass, who said she expressed those worries to him when they first met up to discuss the project over a sushi dinner, helped put her mind at ease. He recalled her asking, “Am I going to be able to do this?”

“I’m like, ‘Of course you’re gonna be able to f — do this, but I love that you think you might not, because that makes me feel safe,” Duplass said.

The jitters over their roles were understandable considering the complexity of the story of the Barnetts and the daughter they adopted. Kristine was convinced that Natalia was an adult posing as a child, and she alleged that Natalia tried to kill members of the family and has called her a “sociopath.” The Barnetts had her age legally changed to 22, reflecting their assumption that she was an adult, and they left her to live alone in an apartment in 2013 before moving to Canada with their three biological children. Natalia denies the Barnetts’ allegations and has said in interviews that she was the one being abused. DNA tests taken by Natalia in 2023 point to her birth year being around 2003, making her about 10 years old when she was abandoned.

The parents were charged with neglect of a dependent in 2019, and both pleaded not guilty. Michael was acquitted of the charges in 2022, and the charges against Kristine were dropped in 2023. She maintains her innocence, but Michael has said in several interviews for the documentary that Kristine was a “monster,” abusing both him and Natalia. (Michael filed for divorce from Kristine in 2014.)

Co-showrunners Katie Robbins and Sarah Sutherland said they never doubted Pompeo could deliver a strong performance while also providing meaningful contributions in her role as an executive producer.

“We never had to worry about whether or not she could do it because she was worried about it,” said Robbins, who created the series. “And that meant that every day she came, having thought about it, having done her homework, working really hard to make sure that she could play this part, and she did and was such a fantastic creative collaborator.”

Pompeo and Duplass both admitted they were hesitant to take on dramatized roles of Kristine and Michael, two people often vilified by the media. It smelled like “trouble, trouble, trouble,” Pompeo said. She worried the show could be exploitative — a fear Duplass shared. Both actors are parents too: Pompeo has two daughters and a son with her husband, record producer and writer Chris Ivery; and Duplass has two daughters with wife Katie Aselton, an actor and filmmaker.

“I really strongly believe, don’t put something out just because you can rip it from the headlines and make a buck. And I wasn’t saying I was judging it, but I’m just wary of those things,” Duplass said. “So I was just honestly asking myself, ‘Why are we making the show? What’s this about?’”

Both actors credited early conversations with Robbins and Sutherland in helping them decide to make the leap, as well as meeting Reid. Her turn as Natalia in the series marks the 27-year-old’s first major acting role (she’s also a devoted fan of “Grey’s Anatomy,” according to Duplass and Pompeo).

Robbins, who created the series, was insistent that the show would not be just another rehashing of the story that’s been told through documentaries, podcasts and other media. With “Good American Family,” Robbins wanted to pose larger questions about bias, loyalty and what she calls “the elusive nature of truth.”

To explore those themes, the eight episodes of the series are split between Kristine, Michael and Natalia’s perspectives. Robbins said she and her colleagues hoped this structure would “give audiences an opportunity to grapple with their own biases.”

Duplass said he felt casting him and Pompeo lent itself to that conversation around questioning who we trust and who we don’t, since the two of them have long played dependable, well-liked characters.

“There’s a reservoir of trust built up for Ellen and myself because of the years we’ve spent onscreen, subconsciously convincing people that when we speak, we’re the voice of reason,” he said. “We’re sort of banking on the history of us being the center of morality, and then that center starts to crumble.”

For Pompeo, her work on “Grey’s” gave her “the gift of knowing how to be present in an instant,” after having put in her “10,000 hours and then some,” she said. That gift proved quite useful when tackling the tough subject matter, all while managing her anxiety about what she called having to “start from scratch” with a new role for the first time in several years.

“I really needed to see if I could [do it] and if I would enjoy it, if I thought it was fun,” she said. “It was a big test for me. It was a big experiment, but one that was necessary.”

The co-stars — Pompeo said they had instant chemistry — have talked about collaborating again in the future.

“We really enjoyed working together and being together, and it’s definitely something that I would like to do,” said Duplass before Pompeo joked that she’d be appearing in the upcoming season of “The Morning Show” with him.

Pompeo said she doesn’t know what’s next in this stage of her career, but with good humor, she and Duplass agreed: “Let’s hope this goes well.”

The Doobie Brothers in 2025: A tour, a new album and a date with…

NEW YORK (AP) – Just cue up the first song from the new album by The Doobie Brothers and you’ll hear something unusual: harmony, in a new way.

It’s not just that soulful blast from Michael McDonald, marking his first time recording with the band in 45 years. Listen and you’ll also hear founding member Pat Simmons and original vocalist Tom Johnston.

“Walk This Road” – with the always-welcome addition of Mavis Staples – is a horn-and-slide-guitar slice of bluesy, wailing rock that’s also a celebration of a band that has endured changes and re-formed with members now in their 70s.

“Somehow, here we are,” says McDonald. “We´ve been friends throughout the years. Our kids have all grown up together and our kids have kind of kept us in contact even at times when we might have dropped off the radar for each other.”

The Doobie Brothers, who formed in 1970 and initially broke up in 1982, have a packed 2025 planned: A European tour that leads to a North American one, the strong new album and inclusion in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“I don´t think any of us ever even really thought we´d still be on stage at this age doing this, much less together,” says McDonald. “That we´re still able to express ourselves artistically is something that´s not lost on us.”

FILE – Members of the Doobie Brothers, from left, Tom Johnston, John McFee, Michael McDonald and Pat Simmons pose for a portrait in Los Angeles on Aug. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

The North American tour kicks off in Detroit on Aug. 4 and heads to such cities as New York, Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Toronto. The opening act will be The Coral Reefer Band.

“Walk This Road” features 10 new songs sung by McDonald, Simmons and Johnston, who collaborated on writing the tracks and play on each other’s tunes. Longtime collaborator John McFee also returned for the project.

The album, out June 6, has something for everyone – honky-tonk, driving country, flirty Southern pop, moody folk and melodic rock. There are songs about New Orleans and Hawaii. Angels make the lyrics on two songs.

“One of the strengths of our live show was the fact that you couldn´t get bored with any one style of music because everything was kind of a different bag,” says McDonald, who officially reunited with the band on tour in 2019. “We like to do that. You know, I think this album is hopefully no different in that respect.”

John Shanks, who produced the band’s 2021 album “Liberté,” returned for “Walk This Road,” lending them his Los Angeles studio, with a writing room upstairs and a recording booth downstairs where each songwriter took turns cutting tracks.

“The band, I think, presents all of us with an opportunity to do things that we might not do just as individual songwriters,” says McDonald.

While the Doobies have never been a concept band, the album explores seizing the moments, reflects on paths taken and coming to grips with the past.

“This is a snapshot in time of where the band is and where the writers are,” says Johnston. “We didn´t consciously sit down and say, ‘Well, we´re going to try and do this.´”

One track, “Learn to Let Go,” is an unrequited love song that’s about letting go of things that hold you back, while “Speed of Pain” is about how the worst things in life can become the best.

“In many cases, it´s just a situation where you have to lose it all. I can´t tell you how many people I´ve met over the years who have told me that going to jail was the best thing that ever happened to them,” says McDonald. “I think total defeat in this world is the great teacher.”

The Doobie Brothers are already members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – with tracks like “Takin´ It To the Streets,” “What a Fool Believes” and “Minute By Minute” – but shortly after the album comes out, they’ll be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“I think it´s really great for this band,” says Johnston. “I think it´s great for us as individual writers, but I think it´s also great for the group, and it kind of carries on the name, if you will.”

McDonald and Johnston both expressed a little surprise that they’re still making music with the folks they worked with in their 20s and are still a draw on the road.

“It´s just fun to visit all these places musically. It´s fun to put that out in front of the crowd live. And to do an album now – I didn´t picture doing this, but I´m all for it,” Johnston says.

This cover image released by Rhino Records shows “Walk This Road” by The Doobie Brothers. (Rhino Records via AP)

FILE – John Cowan, from left, Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston, and John McFee of the Doobie Brothers at the Ryman Auditorium on Nov. 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Al Wagner/Invision/AP, File)

FILE – Tom Johnston, from left, Michael McDonald, John McFee and Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers pose for a portrait at Show Biz Studios in Los Angeles on Aug. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Rachel Zegler hits out at ‘white’ movie execs amid Snow White backlash

Rachel Zegler claims white studio executives repeatedly questioned her Latina identity during her casting for Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of West Side Story.

The scandal-plagued actress, 23, discussed her struggle to prove her heritage in a new interview with Allure, released on Tuesday.

‘There’s confusion because I don’t have a single ounce of Latin in my name,’ Zegler — who is currently engulfed in controversy amid the release of Disney’s ‘woke’ Snow White — shared.

‘When I was in the running for Maria in West Side Story, they kept calling to ask if I was legit. I remember thinking, “Do you want me to bring my abuelita in? I will. I’ll bring her into the studio if you want to meet her.”‘

The star expressed her bewilderment at ‘having a bunch of white executives have you prove your identity to them.’

Zegler hails from Hackensack, New Jersey. Her mother, Gina, is of Colombian descent. Her maternal grandmother immigrated from Barranquilla, Colombia, to the States in 1960s. Meanwhile her father, Craig Zegler, is of Polish descent.

Rachel Zegler, 23, claims white studio executives repeatedly questioned her Latina identity during her casting for Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of West Side Story; seen in March

The scandal-plagued actress discussed her struggle to prove her heritage in a new interview with Allure, released on Tuesday; seen in a still from West Side Story

She went on to say that it’s an ‘interesting experience being part of that diaspora in the current climate we live in’ before adding, ‘But I love being Colombian.’

West Side Story proved to be her Hollywoord breakthrough.

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Scandal-plagued Rachel Zegler defends casting as Snow White in woke remake

The role earned her a win at the Golden Globes for best actress in a musical or comedy film.

Spielberg then personally recommended her to Snow White director Marc Webb.

Elsewhere in the interview, Zegler explained that her singing capabilities were the deciding factor in her being cast as Snow White, even though the Disney princess is not Latina in the original animated film.

‘The reality is, I was given a chance because I could sing,’ she shared.

She went on to say, ‘My only prayer for the future of diversity and inclusion is that we invest in and nurture talent no matter what they look like.’

‘That’s why it’s so important for the next generation to see movies like Snow White,’ she added.

‘To realize there’s nothing wrong with choosing to do what’s right and that it doesn’t have to be with anger or a clenched fist.’

‘Anger can be a powerful emotion, but it doesn’t bring the brightest future. Snow White chooses kindness and still makes change. Power takes many forms. I hope we’ll see a new dawn of kindness and acceptance in the next couple of years. And people don’t see the need to use hate to cause further division.’

‘There’s confusion because I don’t have a single ounce of Latin in my name,’ Zegler shared, as she expressed her bewilderment at ‘having a bunch of white executives have you prove your identity to them’; seen in 2024 in NYC

‘When I was in the running for María in West Side Story, they kept calling to ask if I was legit. I remember thinking, “Do you want me to bring my abuelita in?”‘; Zegler pictured March 12

Zegler hails from Hackensack, New Jersey. Her mother, Gina, is of Colombian descent. Her maternal grandmother immigrated from Barranquilla, Colombia, to the States in 1960s. Meanwhile her father, Craig Zegler, is of Polish descent; seen in 2024

Snow White has been plagued by controversy in the run-up to its release this Friday, partly because of Zegler’s politically charged comments.

When her casting was announced in 2021, it became a flashpoint of debate because she did not fit the traditional description of the character, ‘white as snow.’

In response to the negative reception, Rachel wrote in a since-deleted post: ‘yes i am snow white no i am not bleaching my skin for the role.’

Zegler was staunchly supported by the movie’s director Marc Webb, who insisted: ‘There are few people who are more dedicated Disney fans than Rachel.’

He added: ‘She’s been to the parks dozens, maybe scores, of times. She knows the Disney Princesses backward and forward. She even knew the Hilary Duff and Miley Cyrus Disney videos I directed back in the day!’

Webb continued: ‘All that is to say, she understood the Disney tone I was after — a delicate blend of “fairy tale” with a few modern twists.’

‘She delivers the music and dancing with an unironic grace that harkens back to the original, while still feeling emotionally alive and real. It’s no easy feat.’

It was recently claimed that Zegler is ‘out of control’ and causing major headaches for Disney ahead of the movie’s release by an insider.

A source told Page Six the company ‘doesn’t know what to do’ with Zegler because of her repeated insistence on airing her progressive views.

West Side Story proved to be her Hollywoord breakthrough. The role earned her a win at the Golden Globes for best actress in a musical or comedy film; seen in a still with Ansel Elgort

Spielberg then personally recommended her to Snow White director Marc Webb; pictured with Spielberg in 2021

While Zegler was put front-and-centre of the film’s European ‘premiere’, the leading lady wasn’t given the chance to speak to any global press – because they weren’t invited to the secret event.

She jetted off to a remote castle in Segovia, Spain, to perform for around 100 select ‘VIPs’ which included influencers and families, though the event raised eyebrows as she was the only star in attendance, with not even Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, present.

Disney are reportedly treading carefully with Zegler after she has made a series of bold comments panning the original 1937 classic for its ‘sexist’ traditional romance plot and ‘dated’ love story.

‘Disney’s lead actress is out of control,’ a source told Page Six. ‘They don’t know what to do.

‘She’s an outspoken 20-something and Disney chiefs have called her directly and asked her to tone down her posts. They’ve called her management, but she won’t listen.

‘It’s been this way the entire way through filming. But it’s the tying of her politics to Snow White that is upsetting.’

Last week, the movie had a ‘scaled back,’ sparsely attended Hollywood premiere instead of a bigger red carpet event, amid the mounting backlash.

A large scale premiere would have also taken place at Leicester Square in London, but an insider informed DailyMail.com earlier this month that a decision was made to not hold one for the upcoming movie.

‘Disney are already anticipating an anti-woke backlash against Snow White and have reduced the media schedule to just a handful of tightly controlled press events,’ the source stated.

Elsewhere in the interview, Zegler explained that her singing capabilities were the deciding factor in her being cast as Snow White, even though the Disney princess is not Latina in the original animated film; she is pictured in March

It was recently claimed that Disney ‘doesn’t know what to do’ with Zegler because of her repeated insistence on airing her progressive views; pictured with co-star Gal Gadot and Marc E. Platt at the ‘scaled back’ Hollywood premiere on March 15

Disney are reportedly treading carefully with the star, after she has made a series of bold comments panning the original 1937 classic for its ‘sexist’ traditional romance plot and ‘dated’ love story; pictured in a still

Disney’s live-action Snow White is set to be released in theaters on March 21

‘That is why they have taken the highly unusual step not to host a London premiere for the film and are minimizing the amount of press questions that Rachel Zegler gets.’

Rachel has been embroiled in drama following her controversial comments on the Disney animation.

She sparked backlash after she called the storyline of the film ‘weird’ and also labeled the prince as a ‘stalker.’

In one past interview, Zegler had revealed that the new film would be going in a different direction and said of the character of Snow White: ‘She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love.’

It was also revealed that Disney has ‘zero faith’ in the upcoming film and that the movie bosses simply want to get the movie’s limited promo ‘over with,’ per The Hollywood Reporter.

Disney+ Drops Bombshell: The Simpsons Takes Over Streaming in Marathon Madness

In what might be the most deliciously excessive programming move since MTV actually played music videos, Disney+ just dropped a bombshell that’s got couch potatoes everywhere reaching for their remotes. The streaming giant announced a 24/7 marathon of The Simpsons — yes, darling, every single episode ever made.

Let that sink in for a moment. We’re talking about 767 episodes of Springfield’s finest, running on an endless loop like some sort of animated Groundhog Day fever dream. The kind of announcement that makes you wonder if someone in Disney’s programming department has been spending too much time at Moe’s Tavern — but in the most brilliant way possible.

“From day one, the fans have asked for a Stream of The Simpsons, and we’re happy to oblige,” says Gabe Lewis, Disney+’s SVP of Programming & Content Curation. Well, honey, ask and ye shall receive — though nobody quite expected this level of commitment. We’re looking at 282 hours of continuous viewing, which would require taking more sick days than that time the whole office mysteriously came down with “Super Bowl flu” last January.

The timing? Absolutely calculated — and perfectly executed. With Pamela Hayden’s recent retirement (pour one out for Milhouse) stirring up anxiety faster than Homer can say “D’oh!”, Disney+ swooped in like a caped crusader with this marathon announcement. It’s the entertainment equivalent of saying “Everything’s coming up Milhouse!” to worried fans.

Speaking of numbers that’ll make your head spin faster than Mr. Burns counting his millions — The Simpsons has been serving up satirical gold since 1989. That’s 35 seasons of pure animated brilliance, darling. Matt Selman, clearly living his best life as showrunner, promises this stream will be more reliable than Marge’s beehive hairdo: “The Simpsons Stream will deliver a Simpsons marathon all day, every day.”

For our friends across the pond (who’ve been waiting more patiently than Lisa Simpson at a jazz club), there’s extra cause for celebration. UK viewers are finally getting their hands on season 36’s first five episodes, with new installments dropping weekly on Mondays. It’s a bigger move than Mr. Plow’s business expansion.

Disney+ is treating this launch with all the fanfare of a Hollywood premiere — minus the red carpet and plus a whole lot more donuts. It’s the kind of programming that makes you want to cancel your plans, order in, and lose yourself in the yellow-tinted world of America’s favorite dysfunctional family.

One particularly enthusiastic fan tweeted that this is “the culmination of all my hopes and dreams.” Dramatic? Perhaps. But in a world where streaming services seem to be playing musical chairs with our favorite shows faster than Bart can say “Eat my shorts,” there’s something wonderfully comforting about this commitment to classic content.

This isn’t just another streaming announcement — it’s a cultural moment wrapped in nostalgia and served with a side of pink-frosted donuts. So excuse yourself from reality, grab your favorite snacks, and prepare to lose yourself in Springfield’s finest moments. After all, when was the last time procrastination felt this culturally significant?

‘Ted Lasso’ Will Recast Key Role in Season 4

Ted Lasso Season 4 is officially happening, and while lead actor Jason Sudeikis is currently the only member of the ensemble confirmed to return, the new series will recast another key role. Following months and months of rumor and speculation, the fourth season of the hit Apple TV+ sports comedy has now been officially confirmed, with Sudeikis having teased that the show’s return will find Lasso managing a women’s soccer (or football) team.

According to Deadline, one role that is now being recast is that of Ted Lasso’s son, Henry Lasso. Played throughout Seasons 1 – 3 by Gus Turner, Henry featured in the series mostly on FaceTime calls as he contacted his father from Kansas while Ted was coaching AFC Richmond in the United Kingdom. While the soccer-loving Henry did pay a few visits in person, it’s possible that the character could play a much larger role in Season 4, adding a new dynamic for the show’s return.

Related ‘Ted Lasso’ Star Finally Puts an End to the Series’ Biggest Debate

The Roy Kent vs. Jamie Tartt showdown continues.

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Details on Ted Lasso Season 4 remain largely under wraps at present, but Jason Sudeikis did offer some insight into what’s to come during a recent appearance on the New Heights Podcast.

“As we all continue to live in a world where so many factors have conditioned us to ‘look before we leap,’ in season four, the folks at AFC Richmond learn to LEAP BEFORE THEY LOOK, discovering that wherever they land, it’s exactly where they’re meant to be.”

What Do We Know About ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4?

Currently, Jason Sudeikis is the only actor signed on to officially return. However, several key cast members, including Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, and Jeremy Swift, are reportedly in talks to return alongside him. The new series finds Jack Burditt of Modern Family and 30 Rock fame joining Season 4 on board as executive producer, with Sudeikis also serving as executive producer alongside Coach Beard actor Brendan Hunt, Toheeb Jimoh, Joe Kelly, Jane Becker, Jamie Lee and Bill Wrubel. Brett Goldstein will write and executive produce Season 4 alongside Leann Bowen.

First airing back in 2020, Ted Lasso finds Saturday Night Live alumni Jason Sudeikis as the titular Ted Lasso, an American college football coach who is unexpectedly recruited to coach a fictional English Premier League soccer team, AFC Richmond. Despite having no experience coaching soccer. While Lasso is given the job by the team’s owner, Rebecca Welton, in the hopes that he will fail and thus enact her vengeance on the previous owner, Ted’s charm and folksy optimism prove to be a major success, winning over not only Rebecca, but also the skeptical team.

Developed by Sudeikis alongside Scrubs’ Bill Lawrence, Ted Lasso features an ensemble cast that includes Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, Juno Temple, and Sarah Niles. The show was largely met with critical acclaim, though reactions were decidedly more mixed when it came to what was expected to be the third and final season.

Source: Deadline

Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Ted Lasso TV-MA Comedy Drama Sport Release Date August 14, 2020 Showrunner Bill Lawrence Writers Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence Cast See All Jeremy Swift Phil Dunster Hannah Waddingham Nick Mohammed

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Disney+ will now feed your Simpsons craving 24/7

Disney+ has launched a 24/7 livestream channel dedicated to The Simpsons, available to Premium subscribers starting today.

The livestream channel, or Stream as it’s called on Disney+, will air 767 episodes of The Simpsons throughout the first 35 seasons in chronological order. That’s equivalent of over 300 hours’ worth of content featuring the misadventures of Bart, Lisa, Homer, Marge, Maggie, and all their friends and family throughout Springfield to satisfy your appetite. That includes holiday episodes, even Christmas ones, but does not include the 36th season of the show, which is streaming on Hulu. Gabe Lewis, SVP of Programming and Content Curation for Disney+, said that fans of the long-running animated sitcom have been asking for The Simpsons livestream channel since Disney launched the streaming service in 2019.

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“From day one, the fans have asked for a Stream of The Simpsons, and we’re happy to oblige,” Lewis said in a press release. “Streams on Disney+ have been a fantastic go-to experience for subscribers looking to sit back and relax with their favorite shows and movies, and we look forward to evolving the user experience and expanding the offering with more Streams, to more subscribers, later this year.”

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Need something to do with the next 300+ hours? Pull up a seat on the couch and watch the all-new #TheSimpsons Stream on #DisneyPlus now featuring a nonstop playlist of over 750 episodes! pic.twitter.com/Ed3CMo2e3S

— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) March 18, 2025

Matt Selman, the showrunner for The Simpsons, added, “The Simpsons Stream will deliver a Simpsons marathon all day, every day — no matter when you tune in, this ultimate Simpsons binge will be there.”

The Simpsons Stream channel on Disney+ is reminiscent of the “Every. Simpsons. Ever.” marathon that aired on FXX in the summer of 2014. It ran for 12 days straight and aired 552 episodes, plus The Simpsons Movie, allowing viewers to binge on the show no matter where they tuned in — at home, in the break room at work, in their hotel room on vacation, and even at the gym while running on the treadmill (provided their gyms TVs were dialed to FXX). The marathon broke the Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive TV marathon ever (not counting commercial breaks, of course). This time around, instead of running The Simpsons marathon for a set amount of time, Disney+ is doing the marathon forever, providing a cure for people suffering from choice paralysis over choosing any individual episode of the show already streaming on the service.