New Big Bang Theory Spinoff Adds Another Returning Fan Favorite

A fourth fan-favorite character from The Big Bang Theory has been confirmed to return in the upcoming spinoff series. John Ross Bowie is set to reprise his role from the original CBS sitcom as plasma physicist Barry Kripke.

Deadline was the first to report on Bowie’s casting. He joins a cast that currently includes fellow Big Bang Theory alums Kevin Sussman (Stuart Bloom), Brian Posehn (Bert Kibbler), and Lauren Lapkus (Denise). Franchise creator Chuck Lorre is developing the offshoot with Warner Bros. Television for the Max streaming service. Since the project is still in development and has not been officially greenlighted, all four actors have signed a WBTV talent holding deal with the purpose of starring in the proposed offshoot.

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Bowie made his Big Bang Theory debut as Barry Kripke in the Season 2 episode “The Killer Robot Instability” and subsequently appeared at least once a season for the remainder of the series, with his final appearance being in the penultimate episode, “The Change Constant.” A colleague of Sheldon and Leonard at Caltech, Kripke often appears in episodes that see him clashing with the former. The character is notable for having a case of rhotacism in which he pronounces the letters “R” and “L” as “W”. Bowie confirmed his casting in the spinoff on Instagram, channeling Kripke in the caption of the post: “Exciting news from @deadline… pardon me.. deadwine.”

What Is The Big Bang Theory Spinoff About?

If the untitled spinoff gets ordered to series, it will mark the third expansion in The Big Bang Theory franchise, after Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, and the first set in the present day. The spinoff was first announced in April 2023 by Warner Bros. Discovery. While plot details are being kept under wraps, some fans have speculated that the series may be set at Stuart’s comic book store, given the involvement of Sussman and Lapkus, whose characters both worked there.

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None of the main cast members from The Big Bang Theory are expected to star in the new series, although guest appearances haven’t been ruled out just yet. Kaley Cuoco, who played Penny, shared in October 2024 that she would “absolutely reprise that role” in the new spinoff. Mayim Bialik echoed her co-star’s reprisal statement in January 2025, stating that she would “100% reprise Amy [Farrah Fowler].”

However, one actor who may need some convincing to return is Kunal Nayar, who was one of the five original main cast members of The Big Bang Theory. Back in February 2024, Nayar stated that he felt “a little too soon” to be reprising the role of Raj Koothrappali. “Can you do a [revival] only four years after your show ends? That’s not a reunion show, that’s just another season,” he remarked. However, the actor did not rule out reprising the role. “If [the spinoff] were to happen, we’ll see what the universe says,” he added.

All 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory are currently streaming on Max.

Source: Deadline

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The Big Bang Theory

Romance

Comedy

Release Date September 24, 2007

Network CBS

Showrunner Mark Cendrowski

Directors Mark Cendrowski

Writers Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady

Cast

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Johnny Galecki

Leonard Hofstadter

Jim Parsons

Sheldon Cooper

Kaley Cuoco

Penny

Simon Helberg

Howard Wolowitz

Franchise(s) The Big Bang Theory

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‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Adds Beloved ‘Game of Thrones’ Star as New Villain

Although fans have already received one sequel, Dexter is not quite done just yet. Dexter: Resurrection will continue the story of the titular vigilante serial killer after his apparent death in Dexter: New Blood. After another polarizing ending split the fanbase once again, Resurrection looks to revive the storyline and potentially serve as the actual final chapter for Dexter. And Showtime is not taking any chances this time round, recruiting several major actors to the call sheet, the latest being from HBO’s iconic fantasy drama, Game of Thrones.

Variety reports that Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) is the latest star to be added to the upcoming sequel series. He joins a stacked list of actors and familiar faces in Dexter: Resurrection, including Michael C. Hall, Uma Thurman, Jack Alcott, James Remar, and David Zayas. Plot details remain scarce for the Resurrection, but as the title suggests, it seems Dexter has somehow survived his bullet wound to the chest. Moreover, he will be confronting Leon Prater, played by Dinklage, who is described as “a billionaire venture capitalist. To the world, Leon is a generous philanthropist, but behind his polished exterior lies dark intrigue.”

Expect Dinklage to share ample screen time with co-star Thurman, a series regular, who will be playing Charley, a former Special Ops officer now Head of Security for Leon Prater. A politically and socially relevant plot, it seems the Dexter franchise has once again found a way to reinvent itself. Although they already have another series currently airing, Dexter is back and more than ever before. Dexter: Original Sin has slowly but surely enraptured audiences over the past few weeks after a lukewarm premiere.

‘Dexter: Original Sin’ Is Taking Over the Conversation Close

Despite many longtime fans initially writing off the show as an unnecessary retread, Dexter: Original Sin has won over fans through its twist-filled season debut. A prequel to the original Showtime series, Michael C. Hall returns to narrate the events that unfold (seemingly as a result of his bullet wound in New Blood), but Patrick Gibson has taken on the titular role as a younger version of the character. Initial reservations aside, Original Sin has managed to not only satisfy longtime fans, but also engage new viewers. Clips from the currently on-air series have been blowing up on TikTok, and it could usher in a new generation of Dexter fans as a result.

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One of the biggest mysteries in the first season of Dexter: Original Sin, the true identity of the person who kidnapped and killed Jimmy Spencer, just threw audiences for a loop. Without spoiling, Original Sin managed to subvert expectations and deliver on the show’s premise, while also further developing the titular character and his vigilante endeavors. It’s unclear if a second season will be greenlit for Original Sin, but it’s safe to say Dexter fans have plenty to watch in the coming years. If Resurrection is the last we see of Michael C. Hall as his beloved character, perhaps there is room for Patrick Gibson to take over the role for years to come.

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 Dexter: Original Sin TV-MA Crime Drama Release Date December 15, 2024 Network Paramount+ with Showtime Cast Christian Slater Harry Morgan Patrick Gibson Dexter Morgan Molly Brown Debra Morgan Christina Milian Maria LaGuerta

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Mortal Kombat 2: Here’s your first look at Johnny Cage

One of the most famous characters from the action video game is coming to Mortal Kombat 2.

On X, the official Mortal Kombat account posted a movie poster of The Boys’ Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. The caption reads, “It’s Johnny ******* Cage. Mortal Kombat II – coming soon only in theaters.”

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Johnny Cage, whose real name is Jonathan Carlton, is a struggling Hollywood action star who enters the Mortal Kombat tournament to prove his fighting skills to critics. Cage surprisingly experiences success in the tournament and becomes a great warrior and defender of the Earthrealm. The poster is an ode to his movie career, with Cage wearing his trademark sunglasses and leather jacket. The poster is spotlighting Cage’s new movie, Uncaged Fury, which comes “from the studio that brought you Rebel Without a Cage.

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Johnny Cage quickly became a fan-favorite character. Linden Ashby famously portrayed Cage in 1995’s Mortal Kombat. Matt Mullins portrayed Cage in the 2010 fan-made short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. Mullins reprised his role for Mortal Kombat: Legacy season 1, with Casper Van Dien taking over as Cage in season 2.

Johnny Cage did not appear in 2021’s Mortal Kombat. However, his presence was teased at the end. of the film When Cole Young (Lewis Tan) must find new fighters to help defend Earthrealm, he passes by a poster of Cage.

Serving as the sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2’s returning cast includes Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion.

The new additions are Urban as Johnny Cage, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel, CJ Bloomfield as Baraka, and Damon Herriman as Quan Chi.

Simon McQuoid returns to direct Mortal Kombat 2 from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater.

Warner Bros. will release Mortal Kombat 2 on October 24, 2025.

Why Elon Musk has deleted Kanye West’s X account after allowing him to ‘vent’

Kanye West, before exiting X, spent a good three days writing vulgar and offensive hate speech on X. Reuters

Billionaire Elon Musk has removed the X (formerly Twitter) handle of American rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye.

While X was a platform for his unfiltered thoughts, the rapper has received widespread criticism for a series of controversial statements, including anti-Semitic, misogynistic, and racist remarks.

The development comes just a week after he and his wife, Bianca Censori, caused a stir when she wore a seemingly transparent outfit.

On Sunday, Elon Musk revealed that Kanye West’s X account had been “classified as NSFW,” which means “Not Safe For Work.”

Within hours, his account was deactivated entirely.

“You should not be seeing that anymore,” the billionaire responded to a user who said he wanted to see West banned from the platform.

West’s final post on the microblogging platform featured him thanking Musk for granting him access to his account in 2023 after a string of bans.

“Elon stopped following me, so I don’t know how much longer I’ll be on Twitter/X. If I’m deleted, go to,” he posted on his X account, putting the link to his official merchandise page.

“I’m logging out of Twitter. I appreciate Elon for allowing me to vent. It has been very cathartic to use the world as a sounding board. It was like an Ayahuasca trip. Love all of you who gave me the energy and attention. To we connect again. Good afternoon and goodnight,” the 47-year-old said in his final post.

Notably, this isn’t the first time West’s X account has been suspended.

The account was suspended in December 2022 due to his antisemitic comments and praise for Hitler. He had posted an image that appeared to show a swastika inside a Star of David.

In October 2022, West’s account was restricted due to same reasons. While he returned to the platform next month, his ties with Adidas were severed.

Controversial statements

Kanye West, before exiting X, spent a good three days writing vulgar and offensive hate speech on X.

On Sunday, he stated he was mentally “in a good space” and that he felt at ease after venting out his frustrations on X. Celebrities and netizens have denounced the statements as racist, sexist, and misogynistic.

During the night’s Super Bowl, the rapper targeted his long-standing nemesis Taylor Swift, and wrote, “If its about the culture… Why are we letting Taylor Swift be seen on TV singing a song about taking a Black man down and accusing of things that can take a Black man down for life.”

He was referring to the popstar dancing to Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss song Not Like Us during Grammy Awards.

He added, “Kendrick is being used by these White people and Jews and so am I.”

In another instance, when someone pointed out Musk unfollowing West on X, he responded, “Since I’m getting kicked off Twitter soon. Everybody is a Nazi till a real Nazi pulls up.”

In fact, from “I love Hitler” to “I’m a Nazi,” many of his posts recently were focused on the Jewish community. He even criticised overweight women and begged US President Donald Trump to free Sean “Diddy” Combs from jail. Combs was accused of sexual assault by more than 150 people.

Adding to the trouble, the rapper also claimed that the Tesla owner was undermining his social media presence by reducing the number of views he was receiving.

“My Twitter reach has been limited so I am not allowed to trend doing Super Bowl. I am setting up a discord chanel on my website… Welcome to America,” he wrote.

Celebrities like David Schwimmer and Piers Morgan, and the Campaign Against Antisemitism, had called for West’s account to be suspended.

Schwimmer, who is Jewish, urged Musk to remove the rapper because of his “hate-filled, ignorant bile.”

‘Deactivated X account for the time being’

According to The Hollywood Reporter, West’s talent management firm has said the rapper would be taking a break from social media.

Milo Yiannopoulos, the owner of Tarantula, which also represents Bianca Censori, said on Sunday, “Ye has deactivated his X account for the time being.”

Grammys controversy

West’s outbursts started when he attended the Grammy Awards last week with his wife, Bianca Censori.

He requested that his wife take off her black coat so that photographers could view her see-through dress.

Much attention was drawn to Censori’s bold attire.

West even went on to say that the impact of his wife’s presence was so great that her Google search numbers exceeded those of the Grammy Awards.

Armie Hammer admits to being a ‘dick’ to women in the past: ‘That’s not illegal’

Sydney Bucksbaum is a writer at Entertainment Weekly covering all things pop culture – but TV is her one true love. She currently lives in Los Angeles but grew up in Chicago so please don’t make fun of her accent when it slips out.

Armie Hammer is fessing up to mistreating women in the past — but he’s also stressing that his bad behavior never broke the law.

In a new podcast interview four years after his Hollywood career was wrecked by a scandal that included allegations of sexual assault, the embattled actor said, “I’m very quick to admit that I was selfish, and inconsiderate, and an a–hole, and a cad, and I used people to make me feel better.”

Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Hammer, 38, continued: “People were sort of like my bags of dope with skin on them. You make me feel amazing, so I’m going to throw everything into this, and we’re going to have this whirlwind romance, and I’m going to whisk you up, and we’re going to go on trips, and we’re going to do all this, and then I’m going to bring you home and I’m going to go, ‘Thanks so much, that was great,’ and then I’m going to move on.”

Hammer said he was guilty of “love bombing” women, only to quickly drop them and move on to someone new. “I would go do something almost exactly the same with someone else,” he explained. “And I left a lot of people in that wake very angry at me for my behavior, which, by the way, I’m not angry. A–hole behavior, there’s no way around that… Does it make me a dick? Absolutely. I have no problem admitting that I was a dick. That’s not illegal.”

Hammer went on to argue that his past behavior is “also being conflated… by this culture that we’re in now,” referring to cancel culture. “At this point, I don’t know that I’d buy into any of the cancel, we need to this and that,” he said in response to a question of whether he’d work with controversial filmmaker Woody Allen. “If I say, ‘No, I would never work with Woody Allen,’ then all I’m doing is saying, ‘I believe in this system that cancels people.’”

Once a rising star in Hollywood, with credits including The Social Network, The Lone Ranger, and Call Me by Your Name, Hammer has been accused of sexual assault and having erotic cannibalistic fantasies. He has consistently denied that he ever broke the law and has maintained that all his romantic relationships were consensual. The Los Angeles Police Department investigated Hammer, but no criminal charges were brought against him.

On The Louis Theroux Podcast, Hammer said that dealing with the allegations turned into “the greatest thing that ever happened” to him. “It killed off all of the ego. It killed off all of the bulls—,” he said. “It killed off all of the pretense. I spent three years and change really having to examine myself and really having to look at myself and really having to go, ‘Whoosh,’ to all of the external validation that I was getting. Not only did it go away, it turned into global hate.”

He said that not being able to “rely on that to make [him] feel good” or “to feed [his] soul” helped him soul-search. “I needed to stop, and I needed to figure out who I was,” Hammer said. “And I needed to figure out what I was about. And basically, I spent the last couple of years taking care of my father as he died. Taking my kids to and from school every single day. Spending time with myself, alone. Learning to love myself. Now, with a sense of distance and perspective from it, it’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

And Hammer once again denied all allegations of cannibalism, which he has addressed in previous interviews. “You know what you have to do to actually be a cannibal? You have to actually eat human flesh. So no,” the actor said. “Sometimes when you’re involved with a person, and you’re dating, and you guys are having sex, and you are a bit of a provocateur, and you are exacerbated by alcohol or drugs or anything like that, it’s fun to ruffle feathers and it’s fun to push the envelope little by little.”

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Hammer also addressed the release of text messages that appeared to show him engaging in violent BDSM fantasies.

“I’m not going to argue the messages,” he said. “The most important context to give these kinds of things is they are one side of a conversation. As you’ll notice, of all of the text messages that were released, the person who released them, their side was cut out of the entire conversation. It makes it look like I was just rambling to myself… Any digitally altered evidence is immediately inadmissible because you have no context. That could have been a very funny conversation between two people who were joking and pushing each other and egging each other on in the way that sometimes you see comedians pushing the boundary further and further when they’re having a conversation.”

Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Set for May 2025 Release from Focus Features

Anderson’s latest feature film “The Phoenician Scheme” — his 12th feature — has been set for a theatrical release on May 30, 2025 from Focus Features, which has landed the worldwide distribution rights to the film after previously releasing his last feature, 2023’s “Asteroid City.” That timing could point to a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where “Asteroid City” debuted in 2023.

This is the third movie between Anderson’s Indian Paintbrush and Focus, which also released “Moonrise Kingdom” from 2012. Focus will distribute in the U.S. with a limited release on May 30 and wide expansion on June 6. Universal Pictures International is handling international distribution.

The limited release date is the same as Sony’s “The Karate Kid” remake, and it opens wide against Lionsgate’s John Wick spinoff “Ballerina.” Given the date, it’s a good bet that Focus is setting the film up for a Cannes launching pad, where “Asteroid City” likewise premiered before it launched in the summer to $53.8 million at the global box office.

Anderson directed and co-wrote “The Phoenician Scheme,” teaming again with Roman Coppola on the script. The official logline is simply that it is “The story of a family and a family business.”

Benicio del Toro leads the cast as Zsa-zsa Korda, described as one of the richest men in Europe. Mia Threapleton plays Sister Liesl, who is Korda’s daughter and a nun, and Michael Cera is Bjorn Lund, their tutor. Rounding out the ensemble are Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Some of the reports about “The Phoenician Scheme” have been that it’s an espionage film centered around a strained father-daughter relationship and the moral gray area that surrounds them. The Phoenicians were an ancient group of maritime traders living in the Mediterranean region, roughly around modern-day Lebanon.

“The Phoenician Scheme” was produced by Anderson for his American Empirical Pictures banner alongside longtime collaborators Steven Rales of Indian Paintbrush, Jeremy Dawson, and John Peet. The movie was filmed in Germany in association with Studio Babelsberg.

Anderson in 2023 also directed his collection of four Roald Dahl short films for Netflix, most notably “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” which won Anderson his first-ever Oscar.

John Oliver Returns To ‘The Daily Show’ To Gloat About America Entering Its “Monarchy Era”

John Oliver is back on The Daily Show, ten years after he left and just as America is entering an era that feels a lot like monarchy.

Oliver joined his old friend Jon Stewart on tonight’s show to “gloat” about this fact, and welcome the country into its new phase.

The host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight was the senior British correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart between 2006 and 2013 with a guest spot as host as Stewart went to direct Rosewater. It’s not his first return to the Comedy Central show, having appeared alongside Ronny Chieng in November 2023 to talk about satire and immigration.

His return came after President Donald Trump started making news such as renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, scaling back regulations and insisting that America was at its richest between 1870 and 1913.

“It’s been a good run, America, it looks like we’re becoming less like the constitutional republic it’s been for 250 years and more like the monarchy that we all fought to escape from,” Stewart said before Oliver appeared.

“The prodigal son appears to have returned,” he said. “I am here to gloat. America had its little fun, experimenting with democracy. You fought so hard to get away from us, acting up, throwing all that tea into the harbor, you still owe us for that.”

“The point is you told everyone you were going to be different, you weren’t going to turn out like the mean old dad that was horrible to you growing up so we sat back and let you spend your wild teen years, experimenting with your ridiculous ideas of checks and balances because deep down we knew that once you got that nonsense out of your system, you’d be back,” he added. “Let me be the first to welcome America to its monarchy era. Congratulations everyone, you can take your place in the pantheon of great empires alongside the British, the Roman, the Klingon, Wakanda, whatever the Barbie elephant was the ruler of, I forget.”

Stewart tried to suggest that maybe America didn’t want to abandon its replica and “go full empire”.

“Don’t fight being a monarchy, embrace it, kings get shit done. Is it stuff you want done? Not necessarily but they do move quick, they taste cumin at lunch and take over entire continents by dinner time. That is how the British roll, f*ck everyone else, they’re not like us,” he said.

But Stewart pointed out that things “didn’t end up so great for the British empire”.

“First of all, how dare you? We are technically between empires at the moment but we’re keeping our castles warm and our crowns bejeweled for the day that we get back onto our feet,” he said. “Imperial model isn’t for you? For a country that doesn’t want to be an empire, you’re doing a pretty fucking good impression right now. Invasions, economic exploitations and now suggesting turning Gaza into a beachfront casino? Even King George would have been like ‘I don’t know guys, feels like the situation is a bit more complicated than that and I’m literally dying of medieval brain disease’”.

‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 Review: Intrigue and Uncertainty in Thailand

The third season of Mike White’s addictive anthology drama meets the expectations set by its predecessors, but it hasn’t hit the heights of Season 2 just yet.

No matter the season, there are a few things fans can be sure of when it comes to The White Lotus: a gorgeous location, an unknown corpse, and a giant ensemble cast of some of the best character actors in the game. Fans have a few other guarantees too, like those actors primarily playing rich people who fall somewhere between insane and insufferable on the out-of-touch spectrum, or mundane dramas and disagreements snowballing into death and disaster. With so many foolproof story beats, Season 3 easily meets (and sometimes exceeds) the expectations set by its predecessors, even if it hasn’t hit the heights of the Sicily-set Season 2 just yet.

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Across six out of eight episodes (the final two were withheld from critics), the exploits of the guests and staff of Thailand’s White Lotus resort unfold. The hotel is wellness-focused, inspired by the nation’s spiritual culture and owner-slash-former starlet Sritala’s (Lek Patravadi) creative ideas. That’s perfect for some guests, who fly halfway around the world just for the exotic and expensive treatments, but others are far less interested in getting in touch with themselves. Case in point, the Ratliff family. Led by patriarch Timothy (Jason Isaacs), the North Carolinian clan is old money and proud of it. Wife and mother Victoria (Parker Posey) loves their lavish lifestyle, as does eldest son Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), though young Lochlan (Sam Nivola) is less sure about his family’s focus. They’re semi-reluctantly in Thailand to support middle child Piper’s (Sarah Catherine Hook) college thesis about Buddhism, a subject Victoria finds less than decent. But while they’re stranded at their luxury resort, Tim learns that some of his dirty laundry (that is, his dirty business practices and his money laundering) is about to get aired out. His vacation is ruined, but he’s determined to hide his oncoming downfall from his family.

Of course, the Ratliffs aren’t the only ones living it up at the White Lotus. For one, returning face Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) is at the Thai branch for an exchange program; she’s here to learn a few new techniques and decompress from the whole boss-dying-tragically and Jennifer-Coolidge-leaving-her-high-and-dry ordeal. There’s also a trio of ladies there on a girls’ trip that is definitely not a band-aid for their respective midlife crises, made up of actress Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), divorced lawyer Laurie (Carrie Coon), and businessman’s wife Kate (Leslie Bibb). They share decades of friendship, but at this point in their lives, the main thing they have in common is what they can say about each other when any given member of the group isn’t around. The guests are rounded out by grizzled and gruff Rick (Walton Goggins), who’s here on business he’d rather not discuss, and his much younger, dreamier girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood).

Unfortunately, the staff factors into this season less than the previous ones. There’s no Murray Bartlett or Sabrina Impacciatore that pulls focus, with sweet hospitality rep Mook (Lalisa Manobal, better known as K-Pop star and Blackpink member Lisa) and unskilled security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) only really working in the background. Mildly pathetic hotel manager Fabian (Christian Friedel) pops up every now and then too, offering some scene-stealing comic relief, but it’s really the guests who are the stars of this season. That makes for less variety in the story, no matter how cute the subplot of Gaitok and Mook’s courtship is. There’s a chance that Gaitok may take on a more central role in the last two episodes, given that someone inevitably ends up dead on his watch, but it would be too little, too late for these characters.

That’s not to say that Season 3 suffers terribly in comparison to its earlier iterations. Creator, writer and director Mike White is as much of a sick genius as ever, his affinity for uncomfy sexual innuendos, icy interpersonal exchanges and laugh-out-loud comedic beats still pitch perfect. Babygirl looks downright PG compared to some of the moments this season, and the ridiculous desperation on display by so many of these rich folks never ceases to entertain.

This is helped in large part by the cast, and as can be expected, standout performances abound. Posey and Isaacs thankfully went to the Daniel Craig/Knives Out school of southern accents, and the former lays her ridiculous delivery on thick for her equally ridiculous lines — the way she says “lorazepam” justifies the price of an HBO subscription alone. Isaacs gets to give a more dramatically layered performance, as Tim is on the precipice of financial and reputational ruin; however the last two episodes unfold, he’s sure to have some kind of major emotional blowout. Schwarzenegger does very well as the prerequisite infuriating, idiotic white guy on the cast, upholding the legacy of Theo James and Jake Lacy before him, while Hook and Nivola somehow manage to cultivate a genuinely sweet sibling relationship amidst this mess.

Goggins is fantastic and unnerving, taking what could be a one-note mystery man role and making Rick a real source of intrigue; the reluctant chemistry he shares with the ebullient Wood is one of the meatier dynamics in the show, and he brings something special to Rick’s stoicism. Monaghan, Coon, and Bibb are also a consistent delight; compliments and concerns have never been so backhanded, and their group scenes always earn a laugh (or several).

The drama is very easy to get swept up in, even if it isn’t always the most focused. Belinda provides a connection to the past seasons and storylines in ways you may not expect, but at times that continuation comes at the expense of developing something new. Season 3 doesn’t have the narrative momentum of Season 2, an admittedly difficult standard to live up to. The White Lotus remains an exciting show regardless, packing a healthy dose of jaw-dropping moments and promising plenty more.

The first episode of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 debuts on Max on February 16th.

Kid Rock Cuts Off Performance, Storms Off Stage After Audience Doesn’t Clap

The singer abandoned his performance of “Proud Mary” alongside Bon Jovi rocker David Bryan.

Kid Rock wasn’t impressed with the crowd at his recent Nashville performance. The “All Summer Long” singer, 54, took the stage at Jon Bon Jovi’s Tennessee restaurant JBJ Nashville on Saturday to perform for the rock band’s keyboardist David Bryan’s 63rd birthday, but stormed off stage midway through his performance of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” after scolding the crowd for not clapping along.

Rock, who was initially applauded as he came onstage, made it about two minutes into the performance before he abruptly stopped the song due to a lack of audience participation. In video shared to social media by somebody in the crowd, the singer could be heard saying, “F- them. F- them. Hey, hey, stop… if you ain’t gonna clap, we ain’t gonna sing. That’s how it’s gonna go.”

Rock then began clapping to get the crowd to join in and resumed the performance. However, after about 45 seconds, during which some fans started to clap, he again paused the song.

“You know what, f- y’all. You ain’t gonna clap, I’m gone,” he said before he abruptly left the stage.

The Tennessean reported that after the singer left the stage, the band resumed the show.

Rock has not commented on the moment at this time, and while Bryan later posted about the Saturday night celebrations, he made no mention of Rock. In the Instagram post, shared alongside a video from the evening, the musician wrote, “THANK YOU FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES! Rocking at @jbjsnash last night with @bigkennytv!”

Rock’s weekend tantrum comes just weeks after he performed at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, taking the stage at the Make America Great Again Victory Rally in Washington, DC. Other performers included Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, the Village People, and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Fans can next catch the singer when he takes the stage alongside Chris Janson and Uncle Kraker on tour in March. He will then kick off his Rock the Country tour with Nickelback beginning in April. Rock has performances scheduled in Nashville; Wichita, Kansas; Ocala, Florida; Little Rock, Arkansas; and more, with his final show currently slated for July 25 at Anderson, South Carolina’s Anderson Sports & Ent Center.

‘The White Lotus’ Season 3: Third Verse Same as the First

The third season of HBO’s Emmy-winning satire The White Lotus takes place at yet another location of the titular fictional hotel chain, with Thailand following Hawaii and Sicily. In the opening scene of the season premiere, a character who has spent a lot of time at the Hawaii resort considers this new location and suggests, “It’s actually really similar. Except there’s no monkeys in Hawaii.”

This is, perhaps, a bit of a meta confession by White Lotus writer-director Mike White. If the Sicily season at times evoked various plot and character arcs from the first, then this new batch of episodes feels even more like White is trying to mix and match ideas he used in the two previous settings. The end result is still extremely entertaining, thanks to White again assembling a top-notch cast that includes Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, and Carrie Coon, among many others, and thanks to White’s knack for finding creative ways to depict the oblivious entitlement of the hotel’s obscenely wealthy guests. But there’s a clear formula by this point that takes away the thrill of discovery the series had when it debuted back in 2021 with Jennifer Coolidge and friends. Transitions between scenes are often accompanied by shots of monkeys, lizards, and other wildlife roaming the grounds of the hotel, but The White Lotus itself feels fairly tame by now.

Coolidge’s Tanya died at the end of Season Two — ironically, right after foiling an attempt on her life arranged by her bitter husband Greg (Jonathan Gries) as a way to get around a prenup. So the connective tissue from the other seasons this time around is Coolidge’s primary Season One scene partner: Natasha Rothwell as Belinda, a massage therapist from the Maui resort who has come to the Thai hotel for a workplace exchange program — and for a much-needed getaway to recover from the depressing events she dealt with at the end of that first season. (RIP, Armond.)

Meanwhile, we get the now-traditional three groups of guests. Goggins is the colorfully named Rick Hatchett, who has no interest in any of the hotel’s famous spa treatments, nor in having fun with his much younger girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood from Sex Education), and is only there to settle an old score. Lifelong friends Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Laurie (Coon), and Kate (Leslie Bibb) are having a girls trip to catch up, all paid for by TV star Jaclyn. And successful finance exec Tim (Jason Isaacs) has brought his wife Victoria (Posey) and their kids Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lochlan (Sam Nivola) all the way from North Carolina, because Piper wants to visit a nearby monastery for her college senior thesis. We also get to know several hotel employees, including security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong), who is smitten with co-worker Mook (Lalisa Manobal, a.k.a. Lisa from Blackpink), fussy resort manager Fabian (Christian Friedel), and actress turned hotelier Sritala (Lek Patravadi).

Some of these characters feel like direct descendants of ones from seasons past. Saxon, for instance, is filling the same spoiled, arrogant space as Jake Lacy’s Shane from Season One. Piper’s preference for the local culture over her family’s insular wealth evokes Fred Hechinger’s Quinn from that same year, and both Rick and Victoria come across in different ways as stand-ins for Tanya.

That said, nobody is giving a performance nearly as big, bold, and mesmerizingly weird as Coolidge’s. Goggins is playing at the most understated end of his range, as Rick is for the most part emotionally closed off and tight-lipped. And being part of a larger family subplot keeps Posey relatively grounded, even as she’s leaning into a North Carolina accent(*) and coming across as the most blinkered character in the season. (Among other things, she keeps forgetting what country they’re in.)

(*) She is more successful at it than Jason Isaacs, who at times sounds Southern, and at other times sounds as if he is trying to sound either Australian or like he’s in Mare of Easttown.

But if there’s no one character quite as gonzo as Tanya, there also aren’t any outright duds like there were in Season Two with Michael Imperioli and F. Murray Abraham trying and failing to outgrow their different kinds of toxic masculinity. You can see where certain stories are heading — though critics weren’t given the final two episodes, there seems to be a very obvious twist coming in the Rick plot — but the guests are all a colorful and interesting bunch. Though the three friends subplot at times echoes the passive-aggressive manipulations and resentments of the two couples traveling together in Sicily, on the whole it feels like the most novel of the season, and Monaghan, Bibb, and especially Coon (as the member of the trio who has always felt overshadowed by the other two) all give crackling performances.

The staffer subplots feel less rich. Manobal has obvious screen presence, but isn’t given much to do but show Mook smiling and giggling at Gaitok’s unguarded attentions. Gaitok deals with a series of escalating messes that could threaten his employment, but they all seem to be primarily his own fault. And most of what’s interesting about Belinda comes from Rothwell’s performance rather than anything revealed about her as a person now that she’s away from Tanya.

As with the first two seasons, this one begins with a flash-forward where a dead body is discovered, followed by the action jumping back a week so we can find out how this unfortunate soul wound up that way. Though the two previous payoffs, with Armond and Tanya, were fun when we got there, this is the first time the mystery itself feels engaging, in part because White has seeded many more possibilities for who might be the victim, and why.

In that way, the biggest difference between Thailand and the series’ previous locales is the fact that much more shady business gets done there. When Belinda alerts Fabian that a frequent guest of the hotel might be a criminal, he dismisses her concern by telling her, “Some people here have colorful pasts. It’s really not wise to stir anything up.” Forget the monkeys; this is the most dangerous part of our new destination, and the one with the greatest potential to surprise at season’s end.