Hannah Berner has perfected the art of the overshare.

Spend even a few minutes consuming the comedian and podcaster's content—whether on social media, on stage, or on her and best friend Paige DeSorbo’s hit podcast “Giggly Squad,”—and you'll quickly pick up deeply intimate details about her life. Her bowel movements. Her underwear preferences. The McDonald's order that nearly made her miss a flight. The exact conversation she had with her mom that morning.

But unlike the many creators spinning Internet fame into mainstream careers, for the 34-year-old, access isn’t a means to an end or a tool for influence. It is the product itself. Vulnerability, she says, is her “superpower.”

"My job is to be myself and put myself out there and, not to get too deep, but try to make people less alone," she tells Marie Claire during a whirlwind week that includes filming a still-under-wraps acting project (separate from the scripted Netflix series she's developing with DeSorbo, Amy Poehler, and Kay Cannon) and presenting at the American Music Awards alongside fellow reality TV vet Lisa Rinna.

Berner doubles down on that philosophy in her second comedy special, None of My Business, now streaming on Hulu. Across the hour, she mines everything from sexting disasters and body insecurities to the increasingly complicated question of whether she wants children—and how that decision intersects with her ambitions, her career, and a husband (comedian Des Bishop) who is 16 years older than she is. The result is a set that’s both fearlessly personal and surprisingly universal, as if Berner is the inner voice of a generation that processes life's biggest questions in real time and often online.

"It takes a lot for me to be embarrassed," she says. "I purposely talk about not shaving my legs above my knee, me sweating, and awkward situations I get in; I think it normalizes being human and a multifaceted woman."

So when Berner appears on Zoom from a Los Angeles hotel room, bedhead and all, it feels reasonable to assume there isn't much left to uncover. Yet away from the rapid-fire punchlines, she's more measured than expected—still warm, giggly, and disarmingly candid, but also intentional about the business of being herself. Here, she talks about building a comedy career in public, navigating fame without losing herself, the friendship-powered empire she's built with DeSorbo, and the Summer House scandal that continues to reverberate across the Bravoverse.

Marie Claire: Your comedy special is called None of My Business, but as a Giggler, I feel like I know all of your business. As your platform's grown, how do you navigate what parts of yourself to protect?

HB: Number one is protecting the family—not to be so Italian. I learned early in my career that other people didn't sign up for public access and also that not everyone has a sense of humor—if you make a joke about something, people can take it seriously. When I bring up my family or my husband in public, I make sure it's either really, really hilarious and worth the joke or I don't. I never talk about my marriage, and that's probably the number one thing that I think is really healthy.

MC: Hannah-the-person and Hannah-the-character feel closely linked, but do you feel there’s a distinction between you and that public perception of you?

HB: It's been really hard for me to be PR trained. I'm still not good at it because I just believe in honesty. I do think, though, why my comedy connects with people is because people want to feel like they're just FaceTiming their friends. And I also never tried to replicate a different comedic voice because I've done reality TV, because I've done sketches online, I yearned to be myself.

MC: There’s a common saying with comics: the first special's easy to write because it's a lifetime worth of material, but with second specials, you have to start from scratch. How did working on this one compare to your first special on Netflix, We Ride at Dawn?

HB: You feel like you won a Super Bowl when your special comes out, and then you have to learn how to play football again because you literally have zero jokes. [This time around] I was going to the clubs being like, "Are cankles funny?" I literally started from nothing. And you wonder, Was I funny because I'd written these jokes that I know work, or am I just good at performing?

I was able to realize I knew my voice even more. I was insecure [in the beginning], and my husband, who's done like a trillion specials, was like, “It's always scary in the beginning.” But I love this hour so much. It's almost sad to have to burn it and not be able to tour it anymore.

MC: What’s your typical writing process?

HB: I was lucky that after the Netflix special came out, I went on tour with “Giggly Squad.” So I didn't have pressure to be coming up with jokes every day. But I do think hanging out with your friends, like when you're riffing with them, you see where there's something. So if I make someone laugh really hard, whatever I said, I write it down. If Paige starts dying laughing at something, there's something there. Sometimes, also, I'll say a story on “Giggly Squad” that will cause a lot of reaction where people DM me, and I'll think, Okay, let's expand that on stage. I'm like a dog sniffing around, just trying to collect stuff, and then when I'm finally ready to start putting it together, I take all of my notes, and I start to combine themes, and write it out, and then you don't know if it's all crap or any of it's good until you go on stage.

MC: You've also earned so many celebrity fans like Nikki Glaser, Chelsea Handler, and Amy Poehler. Is there someone's opinion, whether in that group or otherwise, who still makes you nervous? Or whose feedback matters more on jokes?

HB: Comedians are so insecure because, well, if the people don't laugh, they are the judges. So I don't care how much you can intellectualize the bit; I'm like, “If the crowd didn't laugh, the crowd didn't laugh.”

But also just being able to like make those comedians laugh in conversation is my favorite. Having Chelsea or Nikki make fun of me, that's my favorite. The fact that they're shooting the shit and busting my balls is an honor and a privilege. To be around these women and be able to ask questions and see how their brain works is really, really, really cool.

MC: In the special, you're also very candid about motherhood and deciding if you should or shouldn’t have kids. Going into this, did you feel any pressure about how you were presenting that journey?

HB: I honestly was going in purely with curiosity of, I'm touring the country, speaking to women all over the country, I want to do some control groups. And every single show, I would have women debate, “should I, should I not [have kids]?” And I'd tell them my fears, and it was therapeutic for me.

One of my favorite lines of the special is, “I can't just have a baby and leave it at home and go on tour. I'm not a male comedian.” Because I see fellow male comics who are my age and they're like, "Oh, I wanna have a kid." And I'm like, "Yeah, but that's not gonna affect you how it's gonna affect me." And I'm competitive, and I see the career path, and I like to call that out. So I kind of just use it to say all my intrusive thoughts and questions, but I feel like anyone, whether you're a mom or not a mom, relates.

MC: I want to ask about Paige because she is such a big part of your life and your career. You guys have built such a brand off your friendship, but how has monetizing the friendship changed it?

HB: We really haven't changed our “business.” I put it in quotations because it's me, Paige, and Grace [Battle Thompson, executive producer]—who really runs the show—and it's an extremely small team. Yes, more people know who we are, but we're just doing what we've always done. I think it's been really beneficial because she's always had her own stuff, and I've always had my own stuff, so we've never needed “Giggly Squad.” It's always been a choice.

It's been able to be this passion project that has ended up being financially really worth it. But because we never went into it for that reason, it's been able to stay consistent, because you can tell we're not doing money grabs with it. Like, we purposely don't make Gigglers pay for our Substack. We only release merch that we're obsessed with. We just want to have this fun community.

MC: Do you guys have any rules around conflict, like couples might, where you say, "This issue we're having is going to stay private," or is everything fair game because it makes you relatable?

HB: I honestly have to thank reality TV because we were put through the wringer. They did everything they could to rip our friendship apart. I can't tell you the things behind the scenes that happened to, like, literally end our friendship [and] we fought against the system. Bravo doesn't want two women to love each other—that's just not good TV.

So I think surviving television drama made our friendship so strong and our communication so strong. Even on the show, we had one or two tiffs that when we had to make up, we couldn't stop laughing, and they were like, "This is horrible TV. You guys are just not giving us what we need." And I'm like, "Because I'm not actually mad at her." So because we've forgiven and overcome difficult things, now when it’s like, "Oh, do you wanna do this video for Dunkin' or this video for Dunkin'?" It's not life or death.

But also, I do have to say we got lucky that creatively we work really well together in that I'm a little more type A with how I want things to be. And Paige is really good at narrowing down all my ideas. She's really good at saying no to things. In a meeting, we can finish each other's sentences.

Our number one thing is making sure the other one's never uncomfortable. So, sometimes teams could be arguing about something, and I'm like, "I'm calling Paige." And Paige is like, "Yeah, let's figure this out, me and you." Because we actually love each other.

MC: Speaking of Bravo, did you watch the Summer House reunion?

HB: I'm not because I have something called PTSD. Ciara’s keeping me in the know. So I'm getting it from the source.

MC: There is a fan theory that you and Paige were a part of how Ciara caught West and Amanda dating because you both hired a PI. Can you confirm or deny this rumor?

HB: I'll just say that we were there for [Ciara], emotionally.

MC: People are rewatching old seasons, and there's a lot of "justice for Hannah" discourse now. Is it satisfying for you to see people reassessing you on the show? Or would you actually rather people leave it in the past because you've moved on?

HB: Reality TV is so crazy. You see this happen with a lot of shows where people realize we did what the storyline wanted us to do, but now that we have more information, we know that it was actually different than what was shown. So I think it's cool for people to understand some of the tricks of reality TV. It's like WWE for people to be like, "Wait, she actually wasn't the worst in this situation.” So I think it's funny.

MC: I also want to ask about your project with Amy Poehler. What can you tease about it?

HB: We're writing. We're trying to figure it out. I feel like I'm a sponge trying to learn everything I can from Amy. So Paige and I are, it feels like, [in] graduate school for TV. I always say, I love keeping the Gigglers and the gays fed, so I just wanna make the best, funniest show for them. Just know if we're quiet, it's because we're working hard to do it.

MC: Stand-up and acting aren’t exactly the same thing, and reality TV is so different. Does working on this scratch a different itch or did it feel like a really natural extension?

HB: It feels natural in terms of they give us a scenario, like, “Let's say you and Paige were in Walgreens, what would you do?” and I'm like, "I'll tell you exactly what we do and what we'd say." So it's cool that we kind of already know our characters in a way, but we're changing it a bit because it is fictional. But creatively, I want to be doing different things. So acting has been on my vision board. Back in the day, stand-up comedians, if you were good enough, you'd get your own series or your own movie. So I think deep down, I always wanted to act, but I just didn't think it was possible. Stand-up was, like, the thing that you could do without waiting to get picked.

MC: Are you taking acting classes or are you learning on the ground from Amy?

HB: We will be taking acting classes for this show. We cannot disappoint the Gigglers. Paige is already researching and stuff, so don't worry: We are gonna take acting classes to act more like ourselves. I always joke that Paige is an incredible actress if you've ever seen Summer House. She should win an Oscar. Some of her one-liners and reactions are just incredible. So I have a lot of confidence in her.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

This story contains spoilers about the Your Friends and Neighbors season 2 finale, "The Night of the Hunter." In art and in life, midlife has a way of piling on. Amanda Peet would know. On this season of Your Friends and Neighbors, Peet’s Mel—the ex-wife of Jon Hamm’s friendly neighborhood cat burglar—was a woman on the verge (or possibly in the midst of) a nervous breakdown. Fuming at a teenage daughter who refuses to follow her parentally-preordained path to Princeton; spinning out over her neighbors, both human and animal, who treat the property line dividing their yards as a light suggestion; enduring the sweaty, rage-inducing indignities of menopause, fearing that her days of being a sexually-vibrant person are behind her: Mel is pushed to the limits, and beyond them, in every aspect of her life.

Off-camera, as Peet recently documented in an essay for The New Yorker, she was diagnosed with (and underwent successful treatment for) breast cancer while her divorced parents were dying on opposite coasts. And with her husband of almost 20 years, David Benioff (of Game of Thrones showrunning fame), she’s a parent of three; her eldest daughter is about the same age as Mel’s daughter, Tori, and also just did the whole college-application rigamarole.

Ahead of the season 2 finale of the Apple TV series, Peet delves into it all, describing these trials in an endearingly matter-of-fact manner, whether delighting in her season of slapstick—including a particularly gross slip-and-slide experience with an overturned Port-a-Potty—or reflecting on aging, parenthood, and mortality.

Marie Claire: Tell me a bit about the creative process for Your Friends and Neighbors. How involved were you in what Mel's arc was going to be in this season?

Amanda Peet: Sometimes I beg [showrunner] Jonathan Tropper to give me a lot of pratfall or something like that, which he gave me. I really like a pratfall. I pitch him ideas, but he doesn't always take them.

MC: Was there anything in particular that you were really excited or nervous about?

AP: I'm excited, like most women my age, that menopause isn't a dirty word anymore and that we're seeing more of it on TV. And I thought it was great that Tropper made it funny, that she wasn't just this sexless couch potato.

MC: There's this moment in the first episode this season when Mel says, "I just feel like I'm getting older, and he's just getting better and better looking." Does it feel vulnerable or scary at all, even as a character, to be expressing an insecurity like that?

AP: Well, I mean after the movie I just did, [Fantasy Life], somebody came up to me and was like, "I love your wrinkles." And I was like, "Oh my God, that's the takeaway?" I mostly just feel lucky that I have a job, honestly. But it doesn't feel like I've done my job if the takeaway for an audience member is that they were bowled over by the amount of wrinkles I have.

MC: Well, we are in such a bizarre cultural moment with cosmetic interventions. It's so distracting as a viewer when someone has had work done that obviously their character would not. Like I'm supposed to believe someone's broke, but they have a very expensive face? But because that has become so common in your line of work, it is noteworthy, but it's also just a relief, [to see a face that moves].

AP: I want to do my job, and I want people to pay attention to the story. And she was distracted by the fact that there weren't cosmetic interventions on my face. So I was like, Maybe I should get some of those done so that I can sink into the story and not have people be so distracted by the level of droopiness.

MC: I did see you say recently that you think about getting a facelift every other day. Did I catch you on an ‘on’ day?

AP: Every time I look in the mirror, it crosses my mind. Maybe not every time. Maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration. But you're facing mortality when you look in the mirror.

MC: In the show, you're in this very fraught mother-daughter dynamic. In your New Yorker essay, you talk about how you and your mom had this super intimate, open relationship. What do you remember about what you were like as a teenager? Were you ever a difficult teen?

AP: I had these sort of really feeble rebellions, because I think I didn't really go through a period where I was repelled by my mom. I was quite close with her in so many ways, so it was hard to do the fuck you thing to her without then being like, "Wait, I'm sorry I hurt you. I know that's a vulnerable spot for you." I started smoking, that kind of thing. [And] I gave her a hard time. I'm sure I wore really slinky clothes.

MC: That’s a classic! I loved to scandalize with a very short skirt.

AP: Yes. But my version of a short skirt is not the same as my daughter's version of a short skirt, just so you know. Our takes on feminism and which wave of feminism we're in can be exemplified in mini skirt length. I sometimes don't know what qualifies a skirt anymore.

MC: I'm curious what you make of how Mel handles her daughter's choices, which would test even the most chill, accepting parent. And Mel is not the world's most chill parent. Were you in Mel’s corner?

AP: I always feel like you have to get in the corner of the person you're playing. It wasn't that hard for me, for all the reasons you can probably imagine. I had just gone through the college process with my daughter the year before, so it was very natural for me to be having this conversation, not at this heated level.

MC: I don't know if this makes me insane, but I think [Mel’s] completely in the right with the neighbors. I really felt when she brought the dog shit to the neighbor's doorstep: This is a perfectly valid response to what's happening.

AP: That's hilarious. I do know that you can't be judgy about that character. You can't look down on your character. It becomes too hard to play, I think, especially if your character is in the midst of becoming a loose cannon.

MC: How much of Mel's behavior do you think was clinical? She’s going through menopause and one of the symptoms—I think in the show somebody describes it as “you'll feel the urge to murder people.” Is that all innate to who she is and maybe it's just that menopause is taking the breaks off of feelings or behaviors that were always there?

AP: This is the million dollar question. I wonder this with my own menopause and with some of my parents' dementia, and we as a culture definitely over-pathologize, over-medicate. So sometimes I think that these things are just the natural course. Then with Mel, to your point about the college thing, she’s definitely way too involved and doesn't seem to have any idea that she needs to have more of a life. Those people can be kind of dangerous because they don't know that they're angry and they're quick to erupt at the wrong problem, get upset over the wrong thing.

MC: There’s so much wrapped up in how you perceive somebody in your own family, how you perceive your own kid—how hard it can be, it seems, to see them as clearly as other people do.

AP: Yes. I've had a lot of talks with my friend about this: She's much easier on her son and he's much easier on the daughter. You're overly identified with your same-gender child, and so it's easier to get overly invested in their journey.

MC: I think moms are harder on their daughters because moms know how hard it is to be a woman in the world, and so they're trying to prepare you for the world as it is. Whereas when you're the daughter, you're like: “I'm going to bend the world to my will.”

AP: In some ways, [as a mom], you're passing the baton and it's very hard not to be like, “Run your heat like this. That's how you succeed.”

MC: Are you a mom in the style that you imagined you would be?

AP: Sometimes. I'm getting there, but I had to build the bike while I rode the bike. I didn't think I would be this worried and alarmist. I thought I was going to be more... David will laugh so hard if he ever reads this, but I thought I was going to be more chill. And there's just nothing chill about me.

MC: Was your mom chill or was she just open? They’re related but, I do think, different qualities.

AP: I think she got more chill as she got happier. When she was able to get divorced and have the kind of work that she wanted and the kind of friends that she wanted. It took her a while to come out of those sort of 1950s social mores in which she grew up. She was such a good girl, and I think her spirit was more wild than it appeared to be. When she was able to let go and become more of who she was inside, she was more chill, because I think she was happier.

MC: Does it help you as an actor to be in a relationship with somebody who works in the same industry as you and understands what you do?

AP: I don't know if everybody who works in the same industry has what I think I have with David, which is just a very, we are very aligned—it's almost weird. Our tastes are very aligned. I don't want to sound un-feminist, but I do feel that he mentored me as a writer. I hope that doesn't sound un-feminist, but, I mean, he's brutal. But that's how I learned, is from him being so fucking brutal and hurting my feelings.

MC: What are you excited about, thinking ahead?

AP: I am really excited that Mel seems to be considering writing something. It seems like she's on a path possibly to do some kind of roman a clef or tell-all or something. I think putting her on a collision course with Coop might be very exciting because I think she's also in love with him.

MC: I don't want to be that person who's Parent-Trapping them, but it does feel like they like each other more maybe than they ever have in the duration of the show.

AP: I think that there's a lot there. I know [Tropper] can't get us together yet, but I just... The last scene when Mel’s with this agent who's like, "You got to write about what happened with Coop, with him being framed for murder and stuff," I thought that was very exciting. Because I think she has his number in a lot of ways.

MC: I'm glad that she was single long enough to get to hook up with Miguel. I just feel like that was important for her. And she manifested it by wearing a bra that matched her underwear, because that's not a thing you're just doing when you're not expecting someone to take your clothes off.

AP: That is correct. The last time I did that was probably my wedding night. And I don't even know if I did in my wedding. Did I? I don't remember.

MC: It depends on if you were wearing a wedding dress where you had to wear a bra or not.

AP: That's a really good point. And you know what? I think I didn't.

MC: Well, that's freedom. That's how you know it's true love, like good, I don't have to wear a bra with this fucking dress.

AP: Yeah! That is true love.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Good news, TV lovers: Mindy Kaling is continuing her apparent mission to make television about all stages of girlhood. After already tackling high school in her Netflix show Never Have I Ever and college in HBO's The Sex Lives of College Girls, Kaling is taking on that awkward time between college graduation and full, independent adulthood in her new Hulu show, Not Suitable for Work.

So, what is Not Suitable for Work about? The comedy, on which Kaling serves as executive producer, follows five 20-somethings living in N.Y.C.—roommates Abby and AJ, and their sometimes annoying, sometimes sweet, neighbors Kel, Davis, and Josh. They live across the hall from one another in matching, unrealistically spacious apartments, and though they're all career-driven, something tells me their lives will soon become more entangled than they might expect. Think of it like a Gen Z coming-of-age take on Friends.

Not Suitable for Work premieres Tuesday, June 2, on Hulu and Disney+, and while things might start pretty straightforward, it's only a matter of time before things get messy for Abby, AJ, Kel, Davis, and Josh. So, as you dive into the show, you're going to need some help keeping all the cast and characters straight. Here's everything you need to know about the cast of Not Suitable for Work.

Avantika as Abhinaya 'Abby' Chilukuri

Newly single Abby is focusing on work as a demanding stylist's assistant over love, which works out great—until she's hired to style a hot young actor. Meanwhile, she's welcoming her new roommate and college BFF, AJ, to the city while also getting closer to the lovable trio of men who live down the hall.

Avantika, 21, made history early in her career as the first Indian American lead in the 2021 Disney Channel Original Movie, Spin. Since then, she's continued to make a name for herself on the big screen. You probably recognize her as Karen from the Mean Girls movie musical, or maybe from the horror films Tarot and Pretty Lethal.

Avantika's Instagram: @avantika

Ella Hunt as AJ Pascarelli

AJ, Abby's best friend and new roommate, arrives in N.Y.C. to start her job as a financial analyst. She's eager for success and won't let anything, including her new attractive neighbors, distract her.

Ella Hunt, 28, is best known for her role in Apple TV+'s Dickinson and for playing Gilda Radner in Saturday Night. She's also a singer. Her debut album Blindspot will be released on June 5, and you can listen to the titular single, “Blindspot” now.

Ella Hunt's Instagram: @ellahunt

Nicholas Duvernay as Kel Washington

Kel lives across the hall from Abby and AJ with his two best friends. He's a med student by day, an actor by night. When he's not fainting at the sight of a dead body in the cadaver lab, he's pursuing his real passion: acting. Oh, and occasionally trying to sweep Abby off her feet.

Nicholas Duvernay, 26, is best known for his breakout role as Zion in The White Lotus season 3. Before that, he made a name for himself appearing on various television shows, including Tyler Perry's Assisted Living and Bel-Air. He recently appeared in the Colleen Hoover adaptation Reminders of Him.

Nicholas Duvernay's Instagram: @nicholasduvernay

Will Angus as Davis Beau Bradley Barrett III

Davis Beau Bradley Barrett III, Kel's roommate, might seem like a bro on the outside—what with his impressive name and his job as a financial analyst—but he's actually more of a romantic than a workhorse. He's on a quest to find his one true love, and he might luck out when AJ moves in across the hall...

Will Angus, 27, is best known for appearing in the YouTube sketch comedy show Almost Friday TV, and you might recognize him from his viral TikToks.

Will Angus' Instagram: @angus_william

Jack Martin as Josh Teitelbaum

Rounding out the boys' apartment is Josh Teitelbaum, a nepo baby who struggles to walk the line between acknowledging his privilege and abusing it. His dream is to work on a prestigious news show, but will he be taken seriously once he gets there?

Jack Martin, 27, got his big break in 2021, playing Josh Harris in three seasons of La Brea. He's since appeared on The Rookie, Almost Friday TV alongside Will Angus, and, most recently, starred in the new stoner comedy Pizza Movie. You might also recognize him from Lili Reinhart's Instagram, as the two have been dating since 2023.

Jack Martin's Instagram: @realjackmartin

Jay Ellis as Bill Gibson

Finance titan Bill Gibson is not a man you want to mess with. He expects perfection from all his employees, including first-year analyst AJ and her coworker Davis.

Jay Ellis, 44, is best known for playing Martin ‘Lawrence’ Walker on HBO's Insecure. He also starred in Top Gun: Maverick, Somebody I Used to Know, and plays Jay Brown on Mindy Kaling's Netflix show, Running Point.

Jay Ellis' Instagram: @jayrellis

Constance Wu as Vanessa Hsu

Celebrity stylist Vanessa Hsu demands loyalty from her assistant, Abby, and expects only the best—or else.

Constance Wu is best known for her breakout role as Jessica Huang in the sitcom Fresh Off the Boat. She also helped revive the rom-com with Crazy Rich Asians and starred in the under-appreciated 2019 hit Hustlers. She previously worked with Kaling on the writer's animated Velma series, in which she voiced Daphne.

Constance Wu's Instagram: @constancewu

Victor Garber as Wes Dryden

Wes Dryden is a renowned investigative reporter and host of The West Dryden Show, A.K.A. Josh's icon. He also just so happens to recognize Josh as the son of David Teitelbaum, the network's chairman.

In his decades-long career, Victor Garber has played everything from King Maximillian in 1997's Cinderella (yes, the one starring Brandy and Whitney Houston) to Oliver Warbucks in Annie (1999), and one half of the superhero Firestorm on The Flash and the short-lived Legends of Tomorrow. You might also recognize him as Professor Callahan from Legally Blonde or Jack Bristow from Alias.

Victor Garber's Instagram: @therealvictorgarber

Harry Richardson as Austin Blanchett

Austin Blanchett (yes, as in Cate—they are fictionally related) is a rising star and British heartthrob, as well as a client of Vanessa Hsu's. And he might be the first man to test the limits of Abby's professionalism.

Harry Richardson, 33, is an Australian actor who is best known for playing Larry Russell in The Gilded Age.

Harry Richardson's Instagram: @harryrrichardson

May Hong as Jocelyn

Jocelyn is Davis and AJ's no-nonsense coworker, so committed to the job that she's sacrificed her own health. Though not particularly warm, she's there for Davis and AJ in times of need.

May Hong, 37, is an artist and model who got her big break in front of the camera in 2019, starring as Margot Park in Tales of the City. In the years since, she's appeared in multiple TV shows, including Hacks and Fantasmas, but she's best known for voicing Mira in the hit animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Netflix's The Four Seasons is a reminder that friendship has no age limit, and that your chosen family will be there for you through the biggest life changes. Starring Tina Fey (who also co-created the show), Kerri Kenney-Silver, Colman Domingo, and more, the comedy series returned for its second season on May 28, picking back up with a group of lifelong friends as they grieve the loss of one of their own. At the end of their year together, seen through four getaways throughout the titular seasons, the gang's bond is stronger than ever as they head into a new, exciting future.

Below, read on for everything we know about the fate of The Four Seasons season 3 so far, including what could happen next after that surprising cliffhanger cameo.

Is 'The Four Seasons' renewed for season 3?

It's time to pack your bags! Just over two weeks after season 2 was released, Netflix confirmed with a wholesome video on social media that The Four Seasons will return for season 3. The streamer shared a clip from season 2 of Kate telling Anne to let the group know of "any exciting updates" before revealing more episodes of the comfort show are on the way.

To celebrate, co-creators Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield also shared a hilarious joint statement via a press release: "We are thrilled to be able to bring a third season of The Four Seasons to life.  Thank you to everyone who watched. Middle-aged people, LFG!"

Netflix's Vice President of U.S. Comedy also shared a statement about how much the series has connected. "It's been a joy watching the chaotic, beautiful journey of these lifelong friends. Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield have a magical way of blending heart and sharp humor, making us feel like part of the inner circle. Audiences have fallen in love with these characters and this legendary cast’s electric chemistry. We're thrilled to keep the vacation going for season 3." 

It makes sense that a third installment was greenlit, considering its critical acclaim and strong viewership; season 2 instantly reached the streaming service's Top 10 in 56 countries.

Meanwhile, in an interview with ScreenRant, Wigfield confirmed that she wants the series to last much longer than four seasons. When asked how many installments she envisions for the show's run, the writer answered, "As many as they'd let us do for you! This is only the second season, so I think we'll know when it feels like it's coming to a natural stopping point."

When will 'The Four Seasons' season 3 come out?

Though nothing is confirmed, The Four Seasons could return for new episodes quite soon. After the comedy's series debut on May 1, 2025, season 2 was released just over a year later, on May 28, 2026. So, it's possible that season 3 would arrive in May or June 2027.

Who in the 'Four Seasons' cast will return for season 3?

Based on season 2's conclusion, all of the main cast will likely return for season 3, including Tina Fey (Kate), Will Forte (Jack), Colman Domingo (Danny), Marco Calvani (Claude), Kerri Kenney-Silver (Anne), and Erika Henningsen (Ginny).

To the delight of fans, Steve Carell (Nick) returned to The Four Seasons for a surprise season 2 appearance, via episode 6's flashback to the gang's COVID-era Thanksgiving. It's currently unknown whether Carell will be back for more flashbacks in season 3.

It's also unknown whether season 2 addition Steven Pasquale (Mark Brett) will be back for more episodes, since his spot as Kenney-Silver's love interest may have been filled in the season 2 finale...

Are there any new cast members in 'The Four Seasons' season 3?

In the final moments of The Four Seasons season 2, Anne—who has decided to move to Italy—meets a man named Gianpiero, played by Doctor Who alum and Rivals star David Tennant. Meaning, viewers left season 2 wondering whether Anne had just met the next love of her life.

Speaking to Tudum, Fey highlighted the difference between Anne's new romantic interest and her ex-husband Nick, posing the question, "What would happen if Anne chose someone who was similar to her?" However, she stayed coy about Tennant joining the show for season 3, only saying, "If we’re lucky, we’ll get to see what happens."

Now that season 3 is on the way, it seems all but confirmed that we'll get to see the next chapter of that love story.

What will 'The Four Seasons' season 3 be about?

By the end of season 2, the show's beloved friend group has begun to heal their many rifts. Spouses Kate and Jack reached a new place of understanding as they both mourned the loss of Nick. Ginny is a thriving mom who's become a full-fledged member of the group. And, after a brief stint in Claude's hometown of Trento, Italy, Claude decides to move back to the States, so he and Danny can care for Danny's ailing mother in Philadelphia.

Most exciting, Anne makes a major decision: With a house in Trento up for grabs, the widow decides to move to Italy to house-sit for Claude and Danny indefinitely. Having spent the entire season trying to find Anne 2.0, culminating in an embarrassing accidental sext to her summer fling Mark Brett, Ginny inspires Anne to channel her adventurous style before she married Nick. Alone in Italy, Anne quickly has a meet-cute with a quirky neighbor named Gianpiero—the same name she chose while dreaming up a fake boyfriend while texting Mark Brett.

With that delightful twist, it seems that Anne and Gianpiero's romance will be a major part of season 3, as the friends embark on another set of vacations that may include another jaunt to Europe. Only time will tell how the friendships will evolve in their next season together.

This story contains major spoilers about I Love Boosters. When you think of your favorite fashion movies, who’s the hero? More often than not, it’s a member of the industry’s top echelon—the designers, the supermodels, the elite who can afford the clothes as daily wear. Boots Riley’s latest film, I Love Boosters, is truly fashion-forward, chock-full of style inspiration and reverence for personal style. But it flips the fashion world’s hierarchy on its head—making Miranda Priestly’s worst nightmare into the best fashion movie in years.

Corvette (Keke Palmer), the heroine of this genre-bending comedy, is a booster—a fly vigilante who robs ‘fits from the rich, er, their boutiques, and sells them at a much lower price. Her Oakland-based crew, known as the Velvet Gang, includes Sade (Naomi Ackie), a single mom looking for a come-up, and Mariah (Taylour Paige), who’s trying to make fetch happen with her slogan “Fashion. Forward. Filanthropy.” Their favorite mark is Metro Designer, the chain founded by visionary Christie Smith (Demi Moore), a former child genius turned creative director who’s like a haughty mix of Phoebe Philo, Andy Warhol, and Steve Jobs. Corvette, an aspiring designer, reveres Christie—at least until the icon steals one of her designs, turning the Velvet Gang’s underground enterprise into a revenge mission.

This fuels the film’s examination of who the Christie Smiths of the world exploit to stay on top. The Velvet Gang’s boosting may affect Metro’s bottom line, but “those urban bitches,” as Christie calls them, represent both her loyal customer base and a well of inspiration. In a telling moment, for example, a Metro customer picks the look Christie copied from Corvette off a rack while claiming “Christie Smith knows what the streets want.”

Eventually, the trio finds allies in others oppressed by the supply chain: Violeta (Eiza González), a Metro retail employee demanding fairer pay and working conditions, and Jianhu (Poppy Liu), a Chinese factory worker who spends her days sand-blasting denim alongside her family, much to the detriment of their health, due to the hazardous materials involved. Outside of documentaries like The True Cost and The Machinists, real-life workers like Jianhu are rarely seen as Hollywood heroes.

But I Love Boosters isn’t necessarily a screed against the fashion industry. Rather, Riley, who’s known for making surrealist films that point to the absurdities of capitalism, wants you to think twice about what goes into the garment you’re wearing. And underneath its commentary on the industry’s inequality, the core of I Love Boosters is a celebration of what fashion truly is, and what it can become.

Throughout the film, Christie conflates her products with wearable art, defining her clothing as her way of touching the world, or “changing humanity’s perception through color and fabric.” The people who wear her clothes are “reflecting the light they want to reflect.” Her speeches are presented as the type of self-mythologizing speech we’re used to seeing from tycoons, the real-life people who would claim that the working conditions of people like Violeta and Jianhu aren’t as important as their greater vision. But if you consider the words separate from her exploitative actions, don’t they speak to the basis of what fashion’s all about? Self-representation. Dressing for the you you want to be. The you you are, undiluted by your ordained role in the machine.

A movie like I Love Boosters doesn’t succeed unless it takes fashion seriously, both its essence and its flaws. In addition to their Robin Hood philanthropy, each Velvet Gang heist is also a celebration of inventive styling. Corvette doesn’t have the resources to fuel her couture dreams; she’s squatting in a closed fried-chicken joint, with her debt symbolized by a giant boulder pursuing her through the streets of Oakland. Thanks to the work of costume designer Shirley Kurata, it’s clear that Corvette built both her own wardrobe and the intricate disguises that the Velvet Gang wears on their runs by thrifting, scrounging, and upcycling whatever she can get her hands on. Kurata crafts maximalist, fantastical looks with innovative silhouettes and unexpected textiles; in a mid-film montage meant to get Christie’s attention, the looks range from Harajuku-inspired Acid Trip to Midsommar Flower Gown but Cunt.

Before the class war begins, Corvette sneaks into Christie's slanted apartment to get a look at Metro’s next collection ahead of its debut. As Corvette hides her affiliation with the Velvet Gang, her obvious adoration briefly wins Christie over, and the icon even admires her fan’s outfit. As Corvette explains the dress, she recalls its inspiration: her childhood memories of her parents’ car, its turquoise-blue interior. As an adult, Corvette feels safe when she’s enveloped in turquoise; Christie’s insistence that the dress is actually aquamarine is casually cruel, which foreshadows later intentional cruelty when Christie steals the anecdote for her own backstory, as a fuck you to the booster. The turquoise beef gets to the emotional heart of the characters’ feud; Corvette’s fashion is an expression of identity, and Christie wants to cannibalize her style and throw the actual, inconvenient person in the trash. It’s a visceral, personal depiction of a tale as old as time.

I Love Boosters ends at the start of a radical-progressive utopia, as the Velvet Gang and their allies inspire a grassroots labor movement that stretches across the world. Christie faces a unionization effort that will affect her pocket, in a clear argument that community and collective action are effective ways to bring change. The ending leaves the audience to imagine a better world. We may not know the specifics of how the labor movement will bring change, or whether the fashion industry can truly be equitable—but everyone Christie exploited has made a better life for themselves. The Velvet Gang, for instance, runs a community center funded by their boosting profits.

Fashion girlies aren’t immune to the general bleakness of living in America in 2026. After years of following “cores” and microtrends fueled by fast fashion’s constant output, young people are getting more vocal about seeking slower, greener alternatives to overconsumption. I Love Boosters invites viewers to look beyond surviving within the systems we have now and imagine a better one. What could the fashion industry, or the world, look like if the Corvettes and Violetas and Jianhus could rival the Christies? Maybe I Love Boosters’ stylish tale of collectivist power is the fashion movie we need.

When you're looking to get lost in a book, sometimes you need your reading material to match your mood. With Marie Claire's series "Buy the Book," we do the heavy lifting for you. We're offering curated, highly specific recommendations for whatever you're looking for—whether you're in your feels or hooked on a subgenre trending on #BookTok.

In this author-curated rendition, Anna Konkle—the writer and actress best known for co-creating and starring in the beloved Hulu series Pen15—shares her favorite "traumedy" books.

When Anna Konkle set out to make PEN15 with her best friend and collaborator, Maya Erskine, she didn’t envision it would be dubbed a “cringe-comedy.” Instead, she thought of the coming-of-age Hulu series as a “traumedy”—a trauma-comedy that uses levity to explore tragedy, or, in this case, the universal woes of middle school.

Long before the 39-year-old even realized she was interested in writing comedy, Konkle saw humor as a powerful coping mechanism. She tells Marie Claire that she grew up in a household that revered “funny, smart people;” it instilled in her the idea that “life was easier if you found the joke first—better than being the joke.”

It’s how she moved through mining her preteen memories for her hit series, and how she moves through her debut book, The Sane One. The memoir, out May 5, is about her complicated relationship with her father, whom she became estranged from following her parents’ divorce, and later reconnected with.

The book is equal parts hysterical and moving—a balance that Konkle says feels intuitive to her because it reflects how she views reality. “To me, life is a series of minutiae-goals for survival, seemingly mundane tasks sitting to the left of a dramatic phone call or car accident or birth—the wonderfully dumb thing beside the tidal wave,” she says. “Like, watching Love Island—with the big tits and dramatic fights—while lying in a pull-out chair in hospice next to Dad, the nurse asking if he’s hot, and my dad answering, ‘I’d like to think so,’ but barely moving.”

So it’s fitting that Konkle’s favorite books take a similar approach. Here, she shares the traumedies she loves for being both “heroic” and “[giving] us company,” ranging from recent literary fiction hits to bestselling memoirs to children’s books.

Spoilers ahead for The Devil Wears Prada 2.

The Devil Wears Prada, when it came out in 2006, balanced an all-too-real look of working for a nightmarish boss with a fashion fantasy, where the heroine could suddenly get her hands on a pair of thigh-high Chanel boots. The Devil Wears Prada 2 pulls off a similar trick. It still offers a delicious peek inside the world of high fashion—with a trip to Milan and a performance by Lady Gaga—but it also presents an honest portrait of an industry trying to cling to relevance.

In the opening moments of the film, Anne Hathaway's Andy Sachs, now a newspaper reporter, is laid off via text. Meanwhile, her old boss Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, is weathering budget cuts and digital-first prioritizations at her magazine, Runway.

Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna recognizes the plot may be triggering to journalists, but she also sees this as a universal story. "I mean, we're all going through it," she says. "All businesses are very aware of the downward pressure of who owns you and who controls you."

Andy lands back at Runway as features after Miranda finds herself in the middle of a PR-crisis after she runs an ill-advised story. And while Miranda remains as icy as ever, they eventually find common ground when they try to save what's left of Runway from the corporate vultures who want to decimate it even further. In an interview with Marie Claire ahead of the movie’s May 1 debut, McKenna speaks about returning to these characters after decades, her favorite cameos, and the sequel's already viral moments.

Marie Claire: When did you start honing in on what this story would be?

Aline Brosh McKenna: I think I started pestering [director] David [Frankel] in the pandemic. It seemed like Miranda would inevitably have gotten herself in some kind of trouble in that era—there's been a real decline in the power of cultural icons and public intellectuals; It felt like there were sort of towering institutions that you thought were never going to change. I really was aware that Miranda's fiefdom would have really fundamentally changed, and that her power would be checked by corporate forces, social forces, cultural forces, changing interpersonal dynamics, office dynamics…anytime you just think about Miranda having to interact with HR—I wish we had outtakes of her calls with HR where things have to be explained to her.

MC: Did you have those scenes?

ABK: No, but I could just sit here and write: somebody calls her and says, "You cannot say that about someone's pants." I don't think she would do well with the policing of behavior and utterances.

MC: How did that fit in with where you wanted Andy to be?

ABK: There's a real chastened purity to the end of the first movie where she thinks she's above it all and then she goes back to her roots. I think she's more mature. But I love the idea that she's been really pursuing the thing that she loves, it's just the thing that she loves is maybe not a thing anymore.

MC: How did you think about balancing the realities of what it's like to be in a crumbling industry with the glamorous escapism that people want out of a Devil Wears Prada movie?

ABM: These are still very privileged people. It's like going to a fancy restaurant with someone's rich parents and then they complain about how the bread basket used to be better. There is something inherently pretty funny about these people, who have been bathed in enormous privilege, having it slowly, slowly pulled away from them in some big ways and some in small ways. And there just was this thing where wealthy executives had their travel cut enormously, but the tippy top-top people are still on the private plane.

But also we're not really worried that Miranda's shoe budget will be significantly slashed. All of her stuff is still high retail. But the assistants certainly are digging through Buffalo Exchange. We all used to dress like little business people when we were coming up, and I think things have become more casual also because the high-end stuff has become so expensive. A Chanel bag now is wildly out of step with people's income; doesn't stop certain people from buying it but those discrepancies are enormous now.

MC: What did you think of the role the assistants would play?

ABM: I've had a number of really great Gen Z assistants who maybe people felt like their manner was maybe unserious, but they were actually really smart and really resourceful. That was the inspiration for Jin's character: somebody who's maybe not the most intimidating when you meet her and maybe has a cadence that older people like to make fun of. But then she's actually one of the heroes of the movie; she's actually the only assistant who does anything plot-wise.

And then, Caleb [Hearon]'s character to me was somebody who just loves that place and wants to be part of that world, and understands the layout and is trying to get his bearings. I just love the idea of an enthusiastic kid who's just excited to be there and loved it when he got that call. I think his parents probably help him out a little bit here and there because he just loves what he does so much, and he's always loved fashion, and he dressed up for picture day.

Then Amari [played by Simone Ashley], I wanted to write someone who commands respect. There's certain people who command respect no matter what their position is, and you find yourself wanting them to think you're cool even though they're 22 and you're like, "I just really need this person to think that I'm smart and interesting." Those were the three aspects of it.

MC: Speaking of assistants, there was backlash to a clip of Helen J. Shen's character, Jin Chao, who is Andy's assistant, with critics saying she was an Asian stereotype. Did you have any reaction to that?

ABM: She's a hero. That was one of the things Helen and I spoke about a lot was that people underestimate her. She's very fashionable. All the young people are fashionable in a very different way. And Jin's fashion is very vintage-y. She has the clips in her hair. The other person in the movie who has clips in his hair is Marc Jacobs. That's like a big trend. So she's kind of trendy in this, again, Gen Z way where she's thrifted stuff. She's a certain kind of hipster. I don't even think she lives in Brooklyn, I think she lives in Queens.

MC: Was it easy to slide back into the voices of Miranda, Andy, and Emily?

ABM: I just love those characters, they've never left me. Miranda is high status, always, so that's always fun to write. Emily's a nervous wreck, so that's really fun to write. I think Andy is a classic open-hearted heroine in many ways—and Annie is so funny. In working together on her, we found part of what's funny and fun about her is she's so enthusiastic and she gets excited. And there's just a tiny little line in the movie where she calls somebody and she says, "Just call me back. I'll be clutching my phone, clutching my phone." I feel like I'm so that person, that in a work context I should be a lot more unreachable than I am.

MC: In the years since the original there has been so much talk about how Andy's boyfriend Nate is the villain of that movie. How did you think about her love life in this one?

ABM: She's had a lot of relationships since then, but it's not her focus. She's stored her eggs, and she's footless and fancy-free. I wanted her to meet somebody awesome who appreciates her, takes the time to be a fan. But I wanted to show: What does it look like when Andy first meets somebody that she likes? Because she comes into the first movie with that relationship already established. I think just showing a woman in her 40s who's independent and has a lot going on, and when she meets a guy, what she cares about and what's attractive to her was very interesting to me.

MC: Anna Wintour, real-life parallel of Miranda, has now embraced her, appearing on the cover of Vogue with Streep. But initially, there was fear around the first movie.

ABM: Both of those reactions are odd to me because I was handed a book. I didn't know who Anna Wintour was. And then, the character that I wrote was not that. And then, as Meryl plays her is not that. So in my mind, they're not the same. But one of the things I was excited about in the first movie is that I love fashion and I wanted to bring it to people with a reality to it and some gravitas to it, and I think that worked and it showed people the artistry. So, I think the goals of the first movie align with what Anna's always done, which is to champion fashion as an art form. I think she's embraced that more than anything else. I think the main thing that Miranda and Anna have in common is a lack of personal vanity. I think there's things that they care about that are greater than themselves, and it just so happens that Anna's aligned with the movie.

MC: There's a moment in the film where Miranda and Andy talk about loving their job. What did including that mean for you?

ABM: I mean, really, my dad loved work and my dad always said to me, "You got to find something you love." A lot of women love what they do, just love it. I think it's very, very hard to be good at something if you don't love it. I think it's almost impossible, because you won't put in the hours doing the shitty stuff if you don't love it.

MC: Did you have any say in the cameos?

ABM: I wrote Law Roach into the script because I feel like he's such an important figure. There were two people who worked on [getting the cameos] full-time because all those people who are famous are really busy. There was a wishlist and we got some of those folks and some of them we didn't. I personally wanted to make sure everybody was having a good time when they were there.

MC: It took 20 years to make a sequel, but could you ever see yourself following these characters into the future?

ABM: I would follow them anywhere. The movie opens in two days, so let's not get ahead of ourselves, but let's see how it goes. They're fascinating people. We all owe a great debt to Lauren [Weisberger] for creating the characters. And she's a real sport. This movie doesn't use her sequel book, but she's been really great about it. She found a nerve, the title, this configuration of folks, there's a lot to mine there. I'm very grateful.

MC: Do you think Miranda really doesn't recognize Andy in that early scene?

ABM: She does not recognize her. I think what happens is as she's interacting with her, bells start to ring. And she's like, Oh, oh, that's that person. So that's why when she says, "I always knew," she does remember thinking, God, this girl was smart, but she's had probably 30 assistants since then since she has two at a time. It doesn't surprise me at all. That was a funny internet moment where people were like, "Is this movie about her having dementia?" Come on, guys. I am now the age that Miranda was in the first movie. With all due respect to people that I worked with 20 years ago, there are people I worked with in writer's rooms 20 years ago who would come up to me and…nothing. And I'm in my 50s and she's in her 70s, so I think she could be forgiven. But I do think you can see in the performance that she's slowly recognizing her. So I think people who are not tracking that are young.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

As an actress, Niecy Nash-Betts has always been committed to complex takes on motherhood. Her résumé has been filled with them, from the working single moms of Reno 911! and Getting On to the fierce caretaker of Claws to the tenacious protectors of When They See Us and Dahmer. For decades, she has combated the image of the “perfect mother” by depicting the gamut of layered, all-too-human women who experience the highs and lows of real-life parenting. Getting that message across onscreen is important for the Emmy winner, who had a less-than-traditional journey to stardom.

Before she was known for her scene-stealing zingers in Ryan Murphy productions like All’s Fair, Nash was busy raising three small children, working nights, and dragging her kids to auditions. More than two decades later, the actress has earned five Emmy nominations, led some of television’s buzziest shows, and become an LGBTQ+ icon, alongside her partner Jessica Betts.

“Motherhood is not one size fits all,” Nash says, during a phone interview in March. “Just because you have children doesn't necessarily make you a mother. You're a woman first, and all of the challenges that come with that are baked into these characters—or they should be. There is no perfect mom. That doesn't exist.”

Though Nash is one of the busiest women in Hollywood, the actress treasures spending time with her adult children, who she sees as friends just as much as family. Her son Dominic, 34, and her daughters Donielle, 31, and Dia, 26, are her traveling companions, her concert buddies, and even her co-stars. “It’s most meaningful when I get to work with my children or my spouse,” Nash says warmly, as she weaves across L.A. to another stop on her schedule. “I love bring-your-family-to-work day, and I love it when the art intersects our real lives.”

Ahead, Nash discusses watching her children navigate the industry, how her parenting style has changed over the years, and the types of motherhood that Hollywood ignores.

Some of your most well-known roles—When They See Us, Dahmer, and now All’s Fair—have been fiercely protective mothers facing a variety of intense challenges. What has it been like to represent these different types of motherhood on screen?

Oh, man, I love it. Every mother that I play is different. They have their own parenting styles, and it's very nuanced. I always try to begin a role trying to figure out where myself and this character intersects. So once I find that common thread, I build from there.

[For All’s Fair], there were times when I was a primary caregiver for my children. So being the one who made all the tough decisions and tough calls, that was a very interesting place. My character has three children; I have three children. The TV children and my real children all have different personalities, so you have to love them as a collective, as well as individuals. I really enjoy creating mothers that when people look at them, they can identify with them. They say, "Oh, I know a mother like that,” or "I am a mother like that."

The All’s Fair cast really seems like a sisterhood of working moms in Hollywood. How has getting to know these women enriched your view of motherhood?

These ladies are amazing. I watch them multitask. Oftentimes, kids have to come to work. My daughter was an intern on the show, so we definitely understand the value of family, specifically our children, and loving them with all of the things. Somebody is always either on a phone or on FaceTime with a baby, or a baby is sleeping in a trailer, or a baby is working on a show. We are very welcoming and understanding of that whole thing.

What kind of stories about Black motherhood and queer love do you hope to see more of on screen?

The one category that I feel is missing and untapped is masculine-identified queer women in the parenting space and or roles. I don't think you see enough of that or of their love story, their origin story.

How would you describe your parenting style as a mother of adult children?

A free-will parent. When you try to keep people from making mistakes, they go harder in the wrong direction. So I would give advice and say, "Well, if it were me, this is what I would do, but whatever you do, I support you in it.” Sometimes that support looks like them making the right decision and you cheering them on, or it looks like them making a bad choice, and the bottom falls out. Even in that space, you're there to love on them and pick them back up.

Has your definition of motherhood changed as you've experienced all of your children as adults?

Yes; I realized when we went on a family vacation with them as adults, Oh, these are not the children that I used to know. It's very different when you’re having cocktails with your children, and you're like, "Wow, this is what we're doing, huh?" We ended up at a Taco Tuesday, and after too much tequila, we all got the same tattoo. I was just like, "Who are you people?”

Family time is family time, but I hang out with my kids separately. My son is my turn-up baby, so we'll go to concerts, ball games, and things like that. One of my daughters, we’ll go to the bookstore [or] get a massage. Another one, we do lunch and shopping. So I date my children separately.

What have your kids taught you about love, identity, growth, and ambition?

My children are very accepting, which is the reason why I have to be accepting of their choices. I'm on my third marriage, and wherever I mixed things up, they were like, "Oh, this is what we're doing? Okay." It makes me want to have reciprocity, so it’s not just them accepting my life, but I tell them what they’re doing wrong in their life.

As for matters of the heart, I was with my daughters’ father for 17 years, and I used to often say, “I gave him my good years.” My daughters would tell me, “Not based on the way we see it. This is the happiest you've ever been. This is the prettiest you've ever been. This is the most free you've ever been. So these are really your best years.”

What has it been like to see your children pursue a similar career path in entertainment?

I tried to tell them all, “It's not easy. It has a lot of ups and downs. When you're booking shows, you're on top of the world, but if you don't book something, you could feel devastated.” For some of them, I thought, because you’re a more sensitive child, maybe this is not the business for you. But once they all said, "This is what we want to go towards," I said, "Go ahead. I never want to be your manager. I'm going to always be your mother.” I will help them with any audition, any self-tape, anything they have to do, but I never would promise my children that I'm going to give them a career. You got to work for that.

You’ve been very open about motherhood being one part of you, and that you are a woman and yourself first. Was that an attitude that you grew into over time, or that you started your motherhood journey with?

I've always felt that way. Even when my kids were small, I used to travel and go on trips without them so that I could be a better mother when I came back home. I've always been committed to self-care and self-love outside of my children. I feel like when you have kids, and they're really small, if you take them on a vacation, that's just babysitting them in another town, and they're never going to remember what you took them to when they were 2 years old.

After you married your spouse [Jessica Betts], you shared how your children had to reconcile the expansion of your sexuality with the mother that they've always known. Now that it's been a couple of years, how has this affected your relationship with your kids?

It's made us closer. I don't live my life in a dark corner or in the shadows. When you tell your family what it is and they know before the world knows, they respect that. You have to respect somebody standing in their truth. I feel like not only have we gotten closer, but they love my spouse. Some of my greatest times are listening to my spouse and my younger baby upstairs making music together. As a blended family, we are locked in.

What advice would you give to another mom of adult children who's facing a really big life change and is scared of taking the leap?

Any mother, when you're making a change, the best thing for you to do is to be transparent with your children. Don't do it and then say, "I'm going to figure out how to tell them or bring them in after the fact." Honesty is the best policy.

It depends on the relationship they have with their children. Hopefully you’ve fostered something so when something happens, they don’t say, "Oh my god, I can’t tell my mom." They say, "Oh my god, I can’t wait to tell my mom." If you have led your children to believe they can come to you about anything, then you did it right. But if they fear your retribution, wrath, or judgment, it’s going to make it harder for them to come to you with their truth. As a parent, the main thing you want for your children is for them to be happy. I think if you focus on them leading their best happy life, you’ll be alright.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Photographer Damien Fry

In the weeks leading up to, and then during the fifth and final season of Hacks, Megan Stalter has run her own kind of Kaufman-esque publicity tour for both the Emmy-winning show and her personal brand.

Gossip accounts like DeuxMoi and Stalter’s own social media channels have been flooded with clips of the actress prancing around Los Angeles looking very much like she wants attention while screaming at onlookers that they’re invading her privacy. In one video, she’s reading aloud from Britney Spears’ memoir, 2023’s The Woman in Me. In another, she seems to be parodying Addison Rae’s 2024 sideboob paparazzi shot.

It’s a masterful marketing stunt that keeps her front-and-center of the zeitgeist but also lets her fanbase in on the joke.

“My favorite kinds of comedy,” Stalter tells me, “is not knowing where the bit ends. I like to explore that and, like, to create experiences and feeling.” She adds: “If I'm on stage, I want, at times, people to be like, ‘Wait. Is she serious?”

In the early seasons of Hacks, Stalter’s Kayla could have easily been an obvious, one-note joke about Hollywood nepotism. As the daughter of the head of the talent management firm where she can barely roll a call, Kayla actually wielded more power than the manager she was assigned to cover, Jimmy (played by series co-creator Paul W. Downs). Almost instantly, Stalter proved she could steal a scene simply by entering a room, and Kayla quickly became the id that lives in everyone who’s had to suck it up when they want to speak out.

The show was the first time that the actress, who’d previously found internet fame for her viral videos, had been on a real set. No one truly knew what she could do—least of all her. And, like Kayla—who’s since graduated from someone Jimmy treated like a whiny kid sister to his professional equal in their own practice—she needn’t have ever worried about being underestimated. If the final season of Hacks is about owning your legacy and going out on your own terms, no one has done it better than Kayla or the woman who plays her.

But when she’s not in character—either on Hacks or as one of her clickbaiting personalities—Stalter herself is a lot more, well, chill. When we meet in late March at the London West Hollywood, her makeup, save for a strip of aqua eyeshadow that she says is an ode to Kayla, is natural. The actress, who’d just recently accepted the Queerties Awards’ 2026 Vanguard Award in red hot pants, an American flag halter top, and a back tattoo reading “The Prettiest Girl in America,” is wearing a much more subdued Hilary MacMillan denim outfit mixed with a Courrèges polo. Her voice is also more leveled and a little husky; less rage-squeaky than what you see on any screen.

With the real Stalter, or at least the version of her that she puts on for one-on-one interviews, it’s possible to have a conversation without worrying you’re going to wake the beast. In fact, she’s emotional and measured as she carefully considers answers to each question.

Here, we discuss her knack for making memorable red carpet moments, her mentor/mentee relationship with Downs, life after Kayla, and more.

Marie Claire: Going back to the first season, it took a lot of courage and fearlessness to really own those early scenes, where you had maybe two lines.

Megan Stalter: Paul and [fellow series co-creators Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky] gave me a shot, and I was going to take any second I was on screen to make the most of everything that I got to say…because it's, like, my shot. I didn't finish college, and I didn't take formal acting classes. Every red carpet appearance or anything that I get to do in front of people, I want to have fun and make the most of it because it's my dream. We worked really hard to get here, and now I want to enjoy it.

MC: Does the concept of a “character actor” mean anything now that it’s so easy to associate an actor with one or two specific characters—or types of characters—and you can make a social media feed that reflects that?

MS: I get what someone means when they say “character actor,” but I just feel like all acting is a character, right? I think it's good to be thinking of it more just as acting than I'm a character actor. It's putting you in a box. I feel like I was so lucky to do Too Much and be like this romantic lead. But, I mean, that was still a character who was a little bit wacky.

MC: Kayla and Jimmy’s relationship seems to be similar to your actual relationship with Paul. You do red carpet stunts together, like when you parodied Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s Marty Supreme red carpet looks at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.

MS: Me and Paul have really good chemistry together. He makes me so much better as a person and performer. And I think, [the writers] ran with that in all the other seasons because it worked in the first season, and [fans] were so sweet about loving Jimmy and Kayla.

I knew how to perform on stage or make videos myself [before Hacks], but I didn't know what it was like to be on set. I didn't know what it was like to be in a scene with someone and being so present that you really feel like it's real in that moment. I learned everything I know about acting and being present and doing emotional scenes from [this show]. It's really easy to cry in a scene with Paul because I feel so connected to him, in the scene and in real life.

MC: Yeah, but it’s one thing to get along with your coworker. And it’s another to agree to wear orange spandex together on a red carpet.

MS: I feel like [Paul’s and my] relationship, in the show and in real life, I've just seen us rub off on each other … I'm so proud when we do something crazy on the red carpet because I know that I've encouraged Paul. Watching him be so funny in the orange outfit, like that was really moving to me. The orange outfits were Paul's idea.

Paul has made me a better actor and a performer and taught me to take this really seriously. And I hope that I've encouraged his wild side.

MC: Do you have a dream red carpet outfit?

MS: I would love to come into a red carpet on a horse. I actually am more saying no to my own idea because of scaring an animal. But if it's the right event and the animal’s not scared, I want to.

MC: How long does it take to come up with these red carpet ideas?

MS: It's really just you saying yes to your own idea and then getting other people on board with it. I have such an amazing team—they are so excited when I have a weird idea, and they all make it even better and weirder. Behind every bit is eight people who make it happen and come up with a million things to add to it.

MC: You dressed like a Dunkin’ Donuts cup for the 2025 Video Music Awards and wore a DIY Diet Coke-themed bustier for the Las Culturistas Culture Awards. Are you just really thirsty?

MS: There’s just something about a pop star endorsing a drink or having a signature drink that they’re always talking about. I'd love to have a sponsorship of Sprite, or, like, ginger ale.

The coffee came from them reaching out to do a commercial. We were a part of making the outfit. I was like, it would be cool if we played with making a cup. And then my amazing stylist [Kat Typaldos] was running with it and doing the Dunkin’ bag and all that. But the Diet Coke corset was me being like, it'd be so funny to, first of all, wear something that I made, and then [have it be] something that, like, anyone can make.

MC: This is all so smart because it keeps your name in the press.

MS: Even though I feel like Hacks is a big break, I'm not looking for like [another] big break. I'm looking to just perform for forever. It's just so much fun. I think it's interesting that pop stars reinvent themselves, and actors and comedians, we can do that too. Like, literally take on different personas.

Lady Gaga is a performance artist—that's how I feel. I want to be able to do something crazy on the red carpet and take on a different persona. The acting doesn't have to end when the scene ends. We can reinvent ourselves and make fun of how serious everything is in Hollywood…I'm from Ohio. Like, I didn't know anyone famous. I know it's like a dream, but it’s also hilarious.

MC: You also still do fun bits on social media. Like when you pretend to be Jacob Elordi’s stressed-out publicist.

MS: There's this show—I'm not gonna say the name—but I heard that they were casting, and I wanted to audition for the show. [It] was a publicist character. So I started doing videos as a publicist online to try to get an audition for the show. And I chose Jacob Elordi because he's one of the most talked-about male actors, besides Timothée…I mean, if I were doing all my bits about one male actor, that would become stalkery.

MC: Wait, so did you get to audition for that show?

MS: No. I think they probably thought I wasn't right, which is totally fine. But I wanted to be like, if I can't have an audition, maybe this could be put in their head. It doesn't hurt to put out the video. I don't think I looked crazy. Also, if I looked crazy; I looked crazy. If I was casting for a show and someone did that, even if they weren't right for the part, I would think it was funny.

MC: You’ve also used the red carpet to make serious statements. Your 2025 Emmy red carpet outfit referenced the war in Gaza. You also wrote a powerful Substack after the ICE raids this winter. There, you talked about your childhood growing up in the Pentecostal church and your relationship with God. Why did you decide to post that?

MS: I felt just so overwhelmed and like, “What are we supposed to do?” [after Renée Good and Alex Pretti were killed in Minneapolis when they attempted to stop mass deportation]. And don’t we have to be angrier and fight for each other and protect each other? People are being murdered in the streets, and it’s scary.

My only answer is God and loving each other and coming together, because most people do want to do good. Most people are against murdering innocent people. Yes, there is a group of people that fully are evil and doing evil things. But I think there's a lot of our country that desperately does want to come together. I think acknowledging what's happening and seeking out…vulnerable groups of people, protecting them, and then coming together in love and joy is what will conquer the true evil in our country.

MC: Do you still go to church?

MS: I actually feel even closer to God than ever before. I was very involved in church and felt extremely close to God [and] I did missions trips. And I feel close to God in a different way, probably, now.

I don't have a regular church I go to, but I mix it up, and I go to church sometimes. And I definitely want to find a church I regularly go to so I'm looking for that. My whole message is that God is for everyone. I believe that God is for queer people. And you can't tell someone they can't have something because they're different than you.

MC: You had very researched and informed answers for some of the haters who came for you in the Substack comments, particularly when it came to LGBTQIA+ comments. This has a bigger impact because you are an out queer woman who speaks about her positive relationship with religion.

MS: There are a lot of Christians, and a lot of people with different religions, that maybe judge how certain people live. Or [they] take the Bible and misinterpret or find something and then maybe preach their own beliefs. They can use it as a weapon. It's not what it's for.

It's empowering to hear other people that maybe have gone through something similar, and talking to other queer people that believe or have a relationship with God and also are fully queer. It’s healing, because a lot of people have been told they can't have that because they are a certain way. And I feel a lot of pain hearing people's experiences because the God that I worship wouldn't tell them that they can't have a relationship because they're gay.

MC: It was announced a few years ago that you were attempting to make a TV comedy about your experiences in the church. Is there any movement on that project?

MS: That’s still in the works, but there's nothing to report. My dream is to make that because that's so much of what my heart is—to make a comedy about God, while being able to show love for those people and not be completely, like, alienating the church is something that is really important to me to show in media.

MC: You seem so calm and chill when you talk about this, which is so different from your red carpet appearances or from Kayla.

MS: When I'm doing something like that or performing, I'm in a different place. That’s what I'm meant to do, and when you're doing what you're meant to do, there's some sort of energy that comes from somewhere.

MC: Hacks is ending and Too Much was only for one season. Do you have another project coming up?

MS: I do have a secret project that's going to happen that I'm really excited about, that I can't talk about. But I know you'll be absolutely loving and engaging with it and wanting more and more and more…It’s not a TV thing, but it's gonna be really amazing and big. It sounds like I'm making an escape room.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Photographer Joelle Grace Taylor | Stylist Kat Typaldos | Hair Stylist Clayton Hawkins | Makeup Artist Melissa Hernandez | Creative Direction Alexa Wiley | Art Direction Montse Tanús | Entertainment Director Neha Prakash | Shoot location The London West Hollywood

In February 2025, Netflix debuted Running Point, a must-watch comedy inspired by the biggest women-run dynasty in sports. Created by Mindy Kaling and inspired by Jeanie Buss, the series stars Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon, the president of the fictional L.A. Waves basketball team. After spending season 1 thriving in the new gig, season 2 tested the party-girl-turned-executive, as Isla's older brother Cam (Justin Theroux) leaves rehab early to reclaim the top spot in the franchise.

By the end of Running Point season 2, which arrived on Netflix on April 23, Isla achieves her biggest success...and faces her biggest threat so far. Read on for everything to know about Running Point season 3 so far, including what's in store for Isla and the Waves next.

Has 'Running Point' been renewed for season 3?

Running Point has scored a major slam dunk with a season 3 renewal! Netflix announced the show was coming back just a few weeks after season 2 premiered during its mid-May 2026 upfronts presentations to advertisers. The streamer also took to social media to share the news, posting a photo of Isla Gordon herself, Kate Hudson, wearing one of her signature chic suits and holding a basketball with the number "3" emblazoned on it.

It was only a matter of time before the sports comedy was renewed. Deadline reports it grew from 5.3 million views to 6.7 million views between the first and second week since season 2 aired. That's not to mention that it shot to the peak of Netflix's Top 10 as soon as it dropped.

Even before season 3 was officially confirmed, showrunner David Stassen revealed in an April 2026 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the show's team was about to open a writers's room.

"Everyone is optimistic," he told the outlet at the time—and, as it turns out, they did in fact score the triple-pointer they were hoping for.

When will 'Running Point' season 3 be released?

Thankfully, Running Point sits among a growing roster of Netflix comedies that only need one year to return for new episodes. With the season 3 renewal of the feel-good series coming shortly after season 2, it seems feasible that new episodes could hit our screens as soon as early summer 2027.

Who in the 'Running Point' cast will return for season 3?

Despite season 2's cliffhanger ending, most of the show's stacked main cast will likely return for season 3. This includes the stars who comprise the Waves's main office and players: Kate Hudson (Isla Gordon), Brenda Song (Ali Lee), Scott MacArthur (Ness Gordon), Drew Tarver (Sandy Gordon), Fabrizio Guido (Jackie Moreno), Toby Sandeman (Marcus Winfield), Uche Agada (Dyson), Chet Hanks (Travis Bugg), and Roberto Sanchez (Stephen Ramirez).

We also know that Justin Theroux (Cam Gordon), Ken Marino (Al Fleischman), and Jay Ellis (Jay Brown) will likely return as season 3's main antagonists, as they ended the second installment by launching a new, rival basketball franchise.

Season 2 brought a lot of shake-ups in the characters's love lives, so it's unknown whether some of the now-exes will return for more episodes. Some of the cast now up in the air includes Max Greenfield (Lev Levenson), Scott Evans (Charlie), and Marissa Reyes (Sofia).

Meanwhile, some of the new faces in Running Point season 2 are set up for exciting potential arcs in season 3, including Ray Romano as the Waves's head coach Norm Stinson, Scott Speedman as Isla's new admirer Luke McShay, Jake Picking as the new Waves point-guard Tommy White, and Richa Moorjani as the Waves' exacting accountant Aruna.

What will 'Running Point' season 3 be about?

Lakers and Clippers, set aside: Another legendary inter-city rivalry may be on the way. The Running Point season 2 finale ends with two big wins for Isla: She finally kicks Cam out of the franchise, and the Waves defeat Boston to win the league championship. However, Cam finds a new play: He teams up with toilet tycoon Al Fleischman to revive the Los Angeles Industry, bringing a second basketball team to L.A. And the Industry's head coach? Jay, who may be feeling some type of way as the (former) coach for Boston.

Following season 2's release, co-creator and showrunner David Stassen has given some hints on what's in store for season 3. He told The Hollywood Reporter that fans can expect, "More family fights, more antagonism, more double crossing, more basketball. And maybe Isla walking into some glass doors again."

He also spoke to Gold Derby about the fan response to the cliffhanger. "I'm hoping that people think, 'Oh my god, what does this mean for Isla and for the Waves's grip on the city of L.A.?'" he said. "They're the world champs. They own the town. But now a team across the city with more money and a big, splashy grand opening is coming, and they're going to try and steal their lunch money, steal their fans, steal their players, steal their advertisers, steal their season-ticket holders. There's going to be a lot of challenges for Isla and the family as Cam tries to take a foothold in the city of L.A."

Comedian Brooke Averick sees the humor in modern romance. But instead of being the butt of the joke about dating-app doldrums and messy relationship dynamics, she makes herself the punchline—and has developed a devout following doing so.

Much to the excitement of her 1 million TikTok fans, and the listeners who tune into "Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast" every week, Averick is bringing her signature wit to a new format. On May 26th, the rising star will publish her debut novel, Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It. Just as candid as her comedy, the romance novel follows a soon-to-be-30-year-old with crippling intimacy anxiety who is determined to find the right man to lose her virginity to. The charming read is sure to be on every rom-com fan's TBR list—and one of the most highly anticipated books of the spring.

Below, read an advanced excerpt of Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It, when Phoebe meets her crush, Finn.

Love at first sight.

I’ve read about it. I’ve dreamed about it. I’ve watched it happen in countless movies. I’ve always known it was out there, but I had started to give up on it ever happening to me.

Until now.

I stand so quickly that small spots begin to dance around the edges of my vision. My heart plummets to the base of my stomach as I shuffle toward the door, dropping so far down that I worry it’s going to fall out of my athletic skort and onto the alphabet-themed rug. I clench as a precaution.

“Hi,” I say, my voice sounding distant. I curl my fingers in a wave, though I’m not sure it does any good with my hand at my side.

According to the attendance sheet, we’re still waiting on one more kid to arrive, but there’s no way this is his dad. He’s too young and dressed too casually. The few dads that do morning drop-offs are always in suits and fall somewhere in the forty-to-sixty age range. The guy in front of me is wearing a checkered button-down over a white T-shirt, navy blue pants, and Vans. There’s no sign of gray in his sandy brown hair. He can’t be a day older than me. Maybe he’s a hot nanny?

He sticks out his hand.

I stare at the veins in his outstretched arm for a beat too long before I finally shake it.

“I’m Finn, the new fourth-grade teacher. You must be Phoebe?”

I nod.

“I was told this is the place to go for some colored pencils. Do you mind if I borrow some, for the day? I promise I’ll bring them back.” He smirks, and I feel my face warm.

“I’m Phoebe.”

I hear Cheryl’s footsteps coming up behind me just in time to save me from myself.

“Here you go.” She hands him a box labeled ext r a col or ed pencils, courtesy of my label maker.

“Thanks!” He reaches his arm out to shake Cheryl’s hand. I stay mesmerized by his veins while he introduces himself to her. “I just started over there.” He points out the window toward the Stone Building.

“Oh, that’s amazing!” Cheryl says, and while she talks to Finn, I will my gaze away from his arms and begin fixating on the small sliver of ankle that’s visible below his cuffed pant leg. I keep my eyes down while Cheryl introduces herself.

Get it together.

“Well, I’m Cheryl, and you’ve met Phoebe. We were all so sad when Becky retired, but I have to say, I’m glad we’ve got some more young blood around here. Poor Phoebe’s always been the youngest here by at least twenty years.” She chuckles and pats my back, which anyone watching would assume is an innocuous gesture. But I know Cheryl, and I know it’s her subtle way of encouraging me to say something.

“And if you need anything else, don’t be shy,” she adds while looking at me expectantly.

“I have a label maker if you need it,” I chime in.

He smiles. “I’m good with the colored pencils for now, thanks.”

I nod, knowing that at some point in the future, he’ll come back for the label maker. Everyone always comes back for the label maker.

“It was great meeting you both. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

He ducks to avoid hitting his head on the doorframe on the way out, and I realize I’ve been holding my breath this entire time. Just as I’m about to exhale, he doubles back, peeking his head through the open door.

“By the way, Phoebe, I love your shirt,” he says with a wink.

I beam, my smile extending from ear to ear. “Thank you!”

I watch him leave through our windows, and only when he finally enters the Stone Building does my heart find its way back to its normal resting place. I finally unclench.

As if she can sense it, Cheryl shakes her head and lets out a laugh.

“You and that damn label maker.”

The kids line up behind the line leader of the day, a sweaty and smiling Charlie, yelling and pushing each other happily as they make their way outside for recess. Cheryl follows closely behind them, and I split off from the group to take my first, and probably only, bathroom break of the day.

The second I lock the bathroom door behind me, I reach into the depths of my skort for my phone and pull up the “no backing out” group chat. My hands are shaking with excitement.

I check my unread texts to see if he’s responded. Usually by this time of day, Matthew would have already sent me his Wordle score, but still, there’s nothing from him. This is good, I convince myself. This is a sign. What are the odds that I make a detailed plan on how to lose my virginity, and the very next day, a gorgeous fourth-grade teacher with perfect ankles and strong, healthy arm veins comes knocking at my classroom door? It feels too much like fate to ignore, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all my romance consumption over the years, it’s that when the universe gives you a sign, you take it. And this is my sign that Finn is the one.

Excerpted from PHOEBE BERMAN’S GONNA LOSE IT by Brooke Averick. Copyright © 2026 by Brooke Averick. Published in the United States by Crown, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

If you don’t know the name Taylor Ortega yet, you’re about to. The actress, writer, and comedian is starring opposite Schitt’s Creek creator-star Dan Levy in the new Netflix crime-comedy series Big Mistakes, arriving April 9.

The duo play siblings—a New Jersey pastor (Levy) and an elementary-school teacher (Ortega)—who accidentally get blackmailed into the world of organized crime after an attempt to steal a necklace for their grandma goes wrong. Levy, who also co-created the series, says this is just the beginning of big things for the actress who's spent years cultivating her comedic chops on screen and online.

"Taylor Ortega is going to become a household name," he told Tudum.

Before she steals your attention in Big Mistakes, read on to learn more about Ortega. (And before you ask, no, she’s not related to Wednesday star Jenna.)

Taylor Ortega grew up in New Jersey, just like her 'Big Mistakes' character

Ortega, 36, was born and raised in New Jersey, and she credits her home state with helping her develop her comedic sensibilities.

"Everyone there is kind of funny," she told WWD. "And it’s a very expressive place. Humor is a way that everyone communicates in New Jersey. My whole family is very funny. Everyone was a very big character."

It just so happens that her Big Mistakes character, Morgan, also hails from the Garden State—which made it that much easier to understand the woman she got to play. "I think Morgan is a bit of a past version of myself in many ways," she explained to WWD. "I wouldn’t say beat for beat, but she’s definitely struggling this season and spending a lot of time living at home, spending a lot of time back with her family, who she tried to escape. She’s low vibrational at times. And many times she’s vibrating love, but we all have that side to us. And at times, that side is taking the reins 24/7. And so she was very fun to play."

Ortega, who is queer, also shared in an interview with Out that she saw parallels in the series’s themes of characters living double lives. "A really common form of queer thought that a lot of people develop really young is having to double-think constantly. You’re accepting a truth of like, 'And then eventually, I’ll live the same normal way everyone else is living, where I’m not double-thinking, and I’m not doing these laps,'" she noted.

She started building her career in New York City, doing improv and more.

Ortega eventually moved to N.Y.C., where she waited tables while also immersing herself in the local improv scene. That world, she told Starry Mag in 2022, "was my original avenue into comedy and live performance." That’s also where Big Mistakes co-creator Rachel Sennott (I Love LA) first met Ortega, according to Out.

In addition to her improv and comedy work, Ortega racked up various acting and hosting jobs in those early years: The first job she booked was a hosting gig where she rode a bus across the country. In 2019, she was a New Face at Just For Laughs, the world’s biggest comedy festival, where NPR called her a "standout." She also auditioned for Saturday Night Live three times in a single year, as she explained in a 2024 podcast interview.

"You tell your creative friends, ‘Don’t worry, you’re going to work again.’ And they tell you, 'Don’t worry, you’ll work again.' A pattern emerges," she told WWD. "A pattern of you doing work emerges, a pattern of creating your own work emerges. And I think then that starts to make you feel more secure."

She stayed true to those roots even as she began stepping into more TV and film work. In 2024, for example, she created and starred in a multi-part "improvised series" called Long Lost, which you can check out on her Instagram feed.

Ortega then moved into TV and film, with roles in 'Succession,' 'Kim Possible,' and more.

The actress began moving into TV work around 2018, starting with a role in a season 1 episode of Succession. The following year, she appeared in the Disney Channel live-action remake of Kim Possible as Shego, the villainous accomplice of Kim’s nemesis, Drakken.

She played Shego one more time in the 2019 miniseries Kim Hushable and has made appearances in episodes of Love Life, What We Do in the Shadows, Ghosts, and The Four Seasons. She also landed a main role on Welcome to Flatch, a mockumentary sitcom about the residents of a small Midwestern town that ran on Fox, as Nadine Garcia-Parney, who runs the Flatch Historical Society. The series aired from 2022 to 2023, but was canceled after two seasons.

At the same time, over the last few years, Ortega had an uncredited role in the Ilana Glazer-starring psychological horror film False Positive, and appeared in both the lottery comedy Jackpot! , with John Cena and Awkwafina, and in the 2025 sequel Another Simple Favor, in which she played an FBI agent who trails Anna Kendrick’s Stephanie. All of which led up to her biggest role yet, in the Netflix original Big Mistakes.

She was the first person to audition for 'Big Mistakes'—and one of the last.

Levy and Ortega both recall her audition process being long because she had the unfortunate luck of being the first person to read for the role, and then had to play the waiting game. "You don’t want to be the first person in the [audition] room. When you’re seeing 250 people—it was a lot of people—it gets muddled," Levy explained to the Los Angeles Times.

Still, Ortega proved memorable, and after submitting a second audition tape, it became clear she was the right person to play Morgan, New Jersey roots and all.

“It had been like six months [between auditions]. “I was in a different place in my life. When I first auditioned for this, I thought, ‘This is a very good fit.’ It doesn’t mean that it’s my job, but it would be the best choice to pick me,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “Very rarely do you think, ‘I could do the best job at this,’ and get to do the job.”

Landing the role was an unforgettable moment for Ortega, but not just for the reason you’d expect: In addition to the big break for her career, she also revealed on Instagram that right after Levy called her to break the news, she tripped and fractured her elbow.

Ortega and the 'Big Mistakes' cast formed a tight-knit bond while filming.

Levy and Ortega easily found chemistry playing siblings, as the series co-creator shared in an interview with CBS: “You either have it with somebody, or you don't, and she is brilliant.”

In fact, he said the full cast (which also includes Laurie Metcalf as their mother) has a “familial camaraderie” that felt essential to their behind-the-scenes dynamic—a feeling similar to what he experienced working on Schitt’s Creek.

“I never thought I would be able to re-create that dynamic again,” he revealed to Out.

And again, had high praise for Ortega, who stepped into a role she seemed destined for: “To me, there’s no greater joy than watching an actor who has been working but not gotten that starring role, walk into something that’s so tailor-made,” he told the Los Angeles Times, catching himself in the pun.

In that same interview, Ortega also appreciated how cosmic it all seems. “It’s one of those classic lucky breaks where you do something for like 10, 15 years, and then the perfect thing comes along.”

Dan Levy's first TV series after Schitt's Creek is finally here, and it's a very different take on a dysfunctional family. Co-created by Levy and I Love L.A.'s Rachel Sennott, Big Mistakes is a crime-comedy series centered on hapless New Jersey siblings Nicky (Levy) and Morgan (Taylor Ortega). When the pair's mother, Linda (Laurie Metcalf), tasks them with buying a necklace for their dying grandmother, an impulsive theft puts them in the crosshairs of a local gang. Soon, the unlucky duo has to balance their ongoing family dramas with their forays into the criminal underworld.

For the genre-bending series, Netflix recruited several of comedy television's biggest rising stars, along with drama and sitcom legends like Laurie Metcalf. Below, read on for everything you need to know about the talented cast of Big Mistakes.

Dan Levy as Nicky

Nicky, the eldest Morelli sibling, is a pastor at the local church in small-town New Jersey. Though he's out as a gay man, his denomination requires him to stay celibate...so he has to keep his romance a secret.

Dan Levy, 42, is an Emmy-winning writer, producer, director, and actor who created the smash-hit comedy Schitt's Creek. The multi-hyphenate starred in the comfort show alongside his father, comedy legend Eugene Levy, and his sister, Sarah Levy. Since Schitt's Creek ended, Dan has starred in 2020's Happiest Season, 2023's Haunted Mansion, the final season of Sex Education, and HBO's The Idol. He also wrote, directed, and starred in the 2024 Netflix film Good Grief.

Instagram: @instadanjlevy

Taylor Ortega as Morgan

Nicky's sister, Morgan, teaches at a public elementary school, after her time pursuing acting in N.Y.C. didn't work out. Though she has built a life with her childhood sweetheart, she seems to be going through the motions. Morgan's decision to steal a necklace for her dying grandmother sets her and Nicky down a dangerous path.

Taylor Ortega, 36, is a New Jersey-born actress and comedian who started in the N.Y.C. improv scene. Since 2018, she has appeared in shows and films, including season 1 of Succession, the live-action Kim Possible movie, Love Life, 2021's False Positive, What We Do in the Shadows, 2024's Jackpot, 2025's Another Simple Favor, and The Four Seasons. Before Big Mistakes, her biggest TV role was playing Nadine Garcia-Parney in the Fox comedy Welcome to Flatch.

Instagram: @taylortega

Laurie Metcalf as Linda

Nicky and Morgan's mother, Linda, is loving and domineering to the point of exhaustion. Having run their family's hardware store for decades, Linda is about to embark on her second act: a mayoral campaign.

Laurie Metcalf, 70, is an Emmy- and Tony-winning actress and television legend, best known for playing Jackie Harris in the classic sitcom Roseanne and the recent sequel series The Conners. Her recent roles include Marion in 2017's Lady Bird, Phyllis Gardner in Hulu's The Dropout, tour manager Weed in HBO's Hacks, and Augusta Gein in Monster: The Ed Gein Story.

Abby Quinn as Natalie

Natalie (above, center right) is the youngest of the family, and seemingly the most put together. Though she's nearly a decade younger than her siblings, she has a loving husband and the closest relationship to Laurie. She's also her mother's campaign manager.

Abby Quinn, 29, is a Michigan-born actress who attended Carnegie Mellon before leaving to pursue acting. She has appeared in films like 2017's Landline, 2018's Radium Girls, 2019's Little Women, 2020's I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and 2023's Knock at the Cabin. Most recently, she starred alongside Finn Wolfhard and Gabriel LaBelle in the indie dramedy Crash Land.

Instagram: @abbyquinnya

Jack Innanen as Max

Morgan's golden retriever boyfriend, Max (above, right) is completely devoted to her. He's also codependent, uses a bit too much therapy speak, and is maybe in denial about their dead-end relationship.

Jack Innanen, 27, is a Canadian comedian who was best known for his viral TikToks before he broke into acting. Last year, he had his breakout role as the caring, sexually fluid himbo Paul Baker on FX's friendship comedy Adults. He's currently campaigning to join the cast of Heated Rivalry season 2.

Instagram: @jackinnanen

Elizabeth Perkins as Annette

Max's mother, Annette, a powerful real-estate agent who's devoted to her only son, is played by Elizabeth Perkins, 65. The stage and screen actress is best known for starring in another crime-comedy series, the Showtime hit Weeds, as PTA mom Celia Hodes. Her other recent credits include the HBO shows Sharp Objects, Barry, and Minx; Apple TV's Truth Be Told and The Afterparty; and the 2025 movies Another Simple Favor and The Housemaid.

Instagram: @elizabethperkins

Jacob Gutierrez as Tareq

Nicky's boyfriend, Tareq, a local handyman and gay activist, is played by Jacob Gutierrez. The Kansas-born actor made his Broadway debut as the titular role in Aladdin in 2018. Before Big Mistakes, the actor appeared in TV shows including A Crime to Remember, Bull, and Dear Edward.

Instagram: @jacobtgutierrez

Boran Kuzum as Yusuf

Yusuf, the gangster who comes after Nicky and Morgan for the necklace, is played by Boran Kuzum. The 33-year-old Turkish actor is best known as an award-winning stage and screen actor in his home country; he notably played hot chef Feyyaz in Netflix's 2024 rom-com series Thank You, Next. Big Mistakes is Kuzum's first major U.S. role.

Instagram: @borankuzum

Mark Ivanir as Ivan

Yusuf's boss Ivan is played by Mark Ivanir, a Ukraine-born actor who has appeared in over 100 movies and shows. His first major film role was playing corrupt clerk Marcel Goldberg in Schindler's List. Most recently, he starred alongside Zoe Saldaña as Dr. Wasserman in Emilia Pérez.

Instagram: @markivanir

In 2023, Jury Duty became a word-of-mouth comedy sensation with a mind-bending premise. The Prime Video series followed an unsuspecting man named Ronald Gladden as he served as a juror, without knowing that the entire trial was fictional and everyone involved was a paid actor. Gladden's kind and earnest reactions to the bizarre shenanigans made Jury Duty a surprise hit; now, three years later, the Emmy-nominated show's back for another installment.

In the second season, titled Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, the show follows its non-actor "hero," Anthony Norman, as he starts a temp job at the fictional family-run hot-sauce business, Rockin' Grandma's. He's "hired" to help facilitate the annual company retreat to participate in a documentary about small businesses. In addition to the retreat devolving into chaos, the workers must grapple with the company's future as a private-equity firm comes into the picture.

To bring the Truman Show-esque production to life, Jury Duty season 2 recruited a cast of veteran improv actors and rising comedy stars, who may be more familiar to culturally-savvy viewers than the unsuspecting Anthony. Below, read on for everything to know about the cast of Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat.

Anthony Norman as himself

Department: Temporary worker, retreat assistant

Anthony Norman is the oblivious normie at the center of season 2's workplace production. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, the 25-year-old (at the time of filming) introduces himself in the season 2 premiere as a dedicated worker who's "always giving it 100 percent" at his temp jobs.

In an interview with the LA Times, producer Todd Schulman recalled how Norman stood out among 10,000 applicants for "what they believed was a documentary project about a small business." Schulman said of Norman, "You could just tell there was a warmth to him and a real comfort in his own shoes. He knew who he was, and he wasn’t going to be rattled or thrown off his game in any way by the stuff we were going to put him through."

Instagram: @anthony_norman

Alex Bonifer as Dougie Jr.

Department: The Boss’s Son

Character Bio: "A well-meaning but directionless stoner suddenly entrusted with the future of his father’s company."

Alex Bonifer, 37, is a California-born actor and comedian who played football for the University of San Diego before pursuing an entertainment career. In addition to being a Main Company member of the famed improv and sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings, he has also appeared in the TV shows Superstore, No Good Deed, and Kevin Can F**k Himself.

Instagram: @alexbonifer

Blair Beeken as Marjorie

Department: Oak Canyon Ranch Activities Manager

Character Bio: A former Corporate Hospitality Exec at the most luxurious—and demanding—resorts on the western seaboard that burned out of that world. Oak Canyon Ranch is her chance to readjust that work-life balance.

Blair Beeken is a comedy actress who hails from Chicago and is best known for playing junior trader Karen in Black Monday and Deborah in Mr. Throwback. She also has appeared in small roles on numerous TV shows, including Superstore, Dead to Me, PEN15, Hacks, and Pluribus.

Instagram: @blair.beeken

Emily Pendergast as Amy

Department: Customer Relations

Character Bio: A diehard Swiftie who just had a pretty big birthday, so she’s thinking about doing something.

Emily Pendergast, 39, is an Ohio-born actress, writer, and dog lover. Veep fans may recognize her as Beth, Jonah Ryan's wife/ex-step-sister/actually half-sister. Pendergast is also a Main Company member of The Groundlings, and she has appeared in shows including Love, Miracle Workers, White House Plumbers, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Common Side Effects, and Leanne.

Instagram: @ependergast

Erica Hernandez as Kate

Department: Sales & Marketing

Character Bio: Type-A, smart, good at her job, and will tell you all three of those things upon meeting her. Not to be confused with “extremely uptight.”

Erica Hernandez is an actress, comedian, and alum of the improv school Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB). In addition to her role as Maria Ruíz in the short-lived CBS series True Lies, she has appeared in small roles in dozens of shows, most notably High Maintenance, The Other Two, Search Party, New Amsterdam, Murderville, Three Women, and 9-1-1. (Also, she's roommates with her co-star Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur.)

Instagram: @erica.herndz

Jerry Hack as Doug

Department: The Boss

Character Bio: A lovable papa bear with Big Dad Energy who cares deeply about the company he’s built and the people that work for it.

Jerry Hauck, 70, is an actor, writer, and producer with over 90 IMDb credits throughout his 40-plus-year career. Some of his most notable projects include the films Moonlighting and Saving Mr. Banks, and the shows Seinfeld, The Bold and the Beautiful, ER, Six Feet Under, House, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, True Detective, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Most recently, he played a Graceland tour guide in Paradise season 2.

Jim Woods as Jimmy

Department: Warehouse Manager

Character Bio: A man who’s battled some serious demons and come out the other side. New Jimmy has the best intentions, even if the virtue signaling can get a little tiresome.

Jim Woods is a comedian and improv performer who has appeared in shows including How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Reno 911!, Superstore, and Tacoma FD. He's a longtime improv actor who has studied at theaters like UCB and Boom Chicago; he now co-owns the World’s Greatest Improv School in L.A. He was also a staff writer on Tracy Morgan's series The Last O.G.

LaNisa Frederick as Jackie

Department: Distribution/Logistics

Character Bio: Working mother of three who really, really, really could do with a break. Just for five goddamn minutes.

LaNisa Frederick, 45, is a Cincinnati-born stage, screen, and voice actress who's an alum of theaters like Second City Chicago, Steppenwolf, and Singapore Repertory Theatre. She's a co-creator of the Webby Award-winning Instagram sketch series Hashtag Booked, and she co-hosts the podcast Black and CULTivated. Before Jury Duty, she appeared in Mom, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and 9-1-1.

Instagram: @lanisafrederick

Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur as PJ

Department: Receptionist

Character Bio: A bubbly and gossip-loving friend to all people—the perfect person to welcome folks into the building.

Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur is a Haitian-American actor, writer, singer, and stand-up comedian who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. They have appeared in shows like The Good Place, Space Force, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Home Economics.

Instagram: @marcsullysaintfleur

Rachel Kaly as Claire

Department: IT/Web Designer

Character Bio: An indoor cat forced to come outside for Doug’s last retreat. Would not describe herself as a people person. Also: BONES aficionado.

Rachel Kaly, 28, is a stand-up comedian, actress, and writer who was born and raised in N.Y.C. She's a member of Vulture's The Comedians You Should and Will Know In 2023 cohort, and she's the former co-host of the podcast "Too Far with Rachel Kaly and Robby Hoffman." In television, she's best known as a writer on the animated shows Digman! and Universal Basic Guys.

Instagram: @rachel.kaly

Rob Lathan as Other Anthony

Department: Assistant Sourcing Manager

Character Bio: Idiot savant, tall, also called Anthony. Works in a stationery cupboard for his own safety.

Rob Lathan is a longtime improv comedian, writer, and UCB alum. Before his television breakout on Jury Duty, he appeared in small roles on Broad City, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Inside Amy Schumer.

Instagram: @rob.lathan

Ryan Perez as Kevin

Department: HR Manager

Character Bio: Think of him as your cool uncle who can totally hang, and also please make sure you send your timecards to him as requested, and remember that personal emails should not be written during business hours, even though they’re totally hilarious and he definitely gets the jokes. Excellent singer.

Ryan Perez is another UCB alum who got his start as a writer on Saturday Night Live, before going on to write for Moonbeam City, The Break with Michelle Wolf, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He has also appeared onscreen on The Break With Michelle Wolf, John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, and the movies Swiped and The Napa Boys.

Stephanie Hodge as Helen

Department: Accounting

Character Bio: The straight-talkin’ mother hen with a wild past of her own, she’s been with the company from the beginning.

Stephanie Hodge is an actress and stand-up comedian who began her Hollywood career in the late '80s, per IMDb. She held major roles in the '90s shows Nurses, Muddling Through, and Unhappily Ever After before appearing in series like BONES, Scandal, Perry Mason, Young Sheldon, and NCIS. She's also set to appear in the currently-airing third season of The Comeback.

Instagram: @stephaniehodge68

Warren Burke as Steve

Department: Sales & Marketing

Character Bio: The other half of Team Skate (Steve & Kate)—a confident salesman who plays the calmer ying to Kate’s high-strung yang.

Warren Burke is a Chicago-born actor and comedian who's best known for playing Greg on BET+'s Bigger and Uncle Daniel on Netflix's Family Reunion. His other notable credits include Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Neighborhood.

Instagram: @warrenslburke

Wendy Braun as Elizabeth

Department: Private Equity Director, Triukas

Character Bio: The public face of private equity—charming, urbane, hears your concerns, and wants nothing but the best for everyone. Especially her investors.

Wendy Braun is a prolific actress who has appeared in shows including The West Wing, Lost, BONES, General Hospital, iCarly, The Doctors, Grey's Anatomy, This Is Us, and Atypical. She's also an in-demand voice actress, best known for portraying Gianna Parasini in the Mass Effect video-game series.

Instagram: @mswendybraun

The Netflix dark comedy Vladimir explores the distinction between reality and fantasy. While those lines blur and it’s hard to understand what is really unfolding, by the finale, the eight-episode series reveals its truth as a “do it for the plot” send-up of writers. Centered on an unnamed protagonist played by Rachel Weisz, who regularly breaks the fourth wall a la Fleabag, the erotic dramedy follows Weisz’s tenured English professor who becomes obsessed with a younger colleague. Her direct-to-camera confessions reveal her fantasies about Vlad (Leo Woodall), while her real life begins to unravel when her husband John’s (John Slattery) inappropriate relationships with younger students are exposed and escalated.

In its first episode, the Netflix original, adapted from Julie May Jones’s novel of the same name, teases Vlad’s inevitable kidnapping—but it’s not until the end that it’s revealed how he wound up being held hostage in a cabin. And while much of the relationship between Vlad and The Protagonist is via imagined hook-ups and flirtatious texting, it doesn’t fully take the plunge until the final episode. But how exactly do they get there? And what does it mean, given the show’s sleight-of-hand final twist? Read on to find out exactly what goes down in the twisted love triangle of Vladimir.

Do Vladimir and The Protagonist act on their flirtation in 'Vladimir?'

Yes. As teased in the opening moments of the series, the finale brings us back to The Protagonist’s cabin, where Vlad is drugged and tied up in a chair. He’s led to the cabin after having lunch with The Protagonist to discuss their books, thinking they’re going to spend time writing together. However, while they’re drinking, things take a turn, and she acts on her desires questionably by adding crushed medication to his beverage and tying him up so that he won’t fall over.

When he comes to, he suspects his older colleague of lacing his drink, but takes her at her word when she denies it, saying that he was drunk and wanted to try BDSM before he passed out.

She also informs him that her husband, John, is having an affair with his wife, Cynthia (Jessica Henwick), which angers him.

Were Cynthia and John having an affair in 'Vladimir?'

Vladimir and the unnamed lead’s dalliance is interrupted by John, who arrives at the cabin and informs everyone that he and Cynthia weren’t having an affair; they were just 2 a.m. writing buddies. Even though she saw them together late at night, John explains that they were writing together with the aid of drugs like adderall. This revelation sends Vlad into a rage, as Cynthia is an addict whom John was enabling.

After Vlad comes to terms with the fact that he cheated (and not that he was taking revenge on Cynthia, as he initially seemed to frame it in his mind), he approaches The Protagonist with an offer: Meet him here at the cabin once a week. But having gotten what she needed out of this relationship—that is, fodder for her new novel—The Protagonist chooses herself and “burns” both of her sexual partners in the pages of her new book.

What happens with John's hearing and trial in 'Vladimir?'

Looming over the series is John’s legal hearing, as many of his former students have brought forward their complaints of his misconduct. The Protagonist argues in class that the relationships were consensual, and the judge agrees: The complaints against John are dismissed. He loses his ability to teach again, but keeps his pension.

John and The Protagonists’s daughter Sid (Ellen Robertson) serves as John’s lawyer in court, and after the trial, John confesses that he regrets involving Sid. The series doesn’t interrogate this further, simply expressing that John thinks he “fucked it up for a while.”

Do John and The Protagonist stay together in 'Vladimir?'

After the affair and John’s trial are settled, he asks his wife if they should reconsider their agreement. “We’re not getting any younger,” he reasons, though The Protagonist likes the idea of having agency in her life for the first time. She doesn’t fully commit one way or another.

What happens after the fire in 'Vladimir?'

Weisz’s character cures her writer's block after the affair—and becomes satisfied with feeling like the men in her life see her as a character in theirs. As she’s working on the end of her novel, she falls asleep on the couch and wakes up to a faulty space heater that’s started a fire in the cabin. It’s unclear whether it’s one of her fantasies or really unfolding—but she saves her manuscript, instead of John or Vlad. The Protagonist attests in a voiceover that she called 911, and everyone made it out alive (though the truth remains to be seen).

Does The Protagonist finish her book in 'Vladimir?'

In the end, it was all a writing exercise. The tongue-in-cheek show ends with The Protagonist realizing that the fantasy of Vlad was more enticing than actually having the affair, and all of it was really just fodder for her next book. In an epilogue of sorts, Weisz’s unnamed character tells the camera that her book about an obsession with a younger coworker was a success, while Vlad’s—which also took inspiration from their tryst as he wrote about an affair with an older professor—didn’t live up to the hype of his first. She reasons that hers “speaks to a certain need” before insinuating that she chose herself over the two men in her life. And with that, Vladimir reveals itself as a commentary on writers, who will find inspiration anywhere, even if it renders them delusional along the way.

For years, we’ve been in a rom-com drought. The lovetruck antics of 2000s heroines like Andie Anderson from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Marisa Ventura from Maid in Manhattan, or 13 Going on 30's Jenna Rink largely feel a part of Hollywood's yesteryear—and frankly, we've been mourning their absence.

Enter: Writer Emily Henry. The author is partially responsible for the romance novel boom in recent years, as she's penned six rom-com-inspired books since 2020—and now she's bringing them to the big screen, one by one.

Four adaptations of her books are in the work, but one that fans are particularly excited about is 2024's Funny Story. Hot on the heels of Netflix’s film adaptation of her 2021 novel, People We Meet on Vacation, Funny Story will be coming to the streaming service courtesy of EmHen, as she’s known to fans, herself, considering she's writing the screenplay.

“I genuinely couldn’t be more excited to work on the adaptations of Happy Place and Funny Story with Netflix,” she told Tudum of her dual movie projects.

Details about the film have been somewhat scarce, but we’ve got just enough scoop about the upcoming project to have us genuinely excited. Keep reading to find out everything there is to know about the Funny Story film, from its buzzed-about fan-casting to its juicy plot.

What is 'Funny Story' by Emily Henry about?

Funny Story tells the tale of two scorned lovers, Daphne Vincent and Miles Nowak, whose exes have left them for each other. Now, they’re teaming up to get their revenge by pretending to be head-over-heels in love with each other—despite being total opposites. Oh, and because Daphne is without a place to live, no thanks to her canceled wedding, she and Miles decide to live together as roommates. What could go wrong?

“Breakups are horrible in the moment, and oftentimes later, they’re very hilarious,” Henry told Elle of her fifth romance book upon its release. And that certainly rings true for the buttoned-up librarian Daphne and the disheveled, goofy Miles, who develop a witty banter, even though their exes have abruptly become an item.

For all its “com,” however, Funny Story also has plenty of heart as its two leads inevitably begin to fall for each other. As Henry told Elle, “Love is not just a silly story. It might be a funny story, but it’s not silly and superfluous. It’s the reason.”

When is the 'Funny Story' adaptation coming out?

Though Netflix announced the film in January 2026, it's still in early development, and casting has not begun. So, it will likely be a while before we see it hit the streaming service.

However, the screenplay has been in the works for some time. Henry revealed to fans that she had been working on it back in July 2024. “I have a draft of a script,” she announced at the time on her Substack, adding, “We’re all chomping at the bit to get this made.”

If Netflix moves ahead with the draft Henry already wrote, casting could begin and be announced later this year. If that were the case, filming could begin in 2027, with the project due for release by either late 2027 or early 2028.

Can't wait for the finished product? Adaptations of Henry's other novels, Beach Read, Book Lovers and Happy Place, helmed by Jennifer Lopez’s production company Nuyorican Productions, are also in development, so we're sure to have *something* to tide us over soon. And in the meantime, there's always People We Meet on Vacation starring Tom Blyth and Emily Bader.

Who is in the 'Funny Story' movie cast?

Funny Story’s official cast has not been announced, but that hasn’t stopped fans from throwing several actors’s hats into the audition ring—and Henry is totally on board.

“I love always hearing other people’s fan casts,” she told Us Weekly. “I don’t picture an actor when I’m writing, but after there’s a book that’s starting to get adapted, I do start thinking about it.”

Leading the audience-chosen pack? Stranger Things alum/musician Joe Keery or Twinless and Send Help star Dylan O'Brien. “Those actors are definitely on my mental Miles list. I think both of them would make total sense,” Henry reportedly told Us Weekly.

The author also clued the publication into her preferences for some of the film's supporting characters, including Miles’s sister Julia (Alien: Earth star Sydney Chandler) and Daphne’s pops. “It has to be someone who’s got some charm and is a hot dad," she reasoned. The writer said she briefly considered Matthew McConaughey, but thinks he might be “a little bit too young.” She continued, “I always loved…Stellan Skarsgård...[and] I think Dennis Quaid is perfect because you also get that little rom-com of old nod by getting him in there.”

As for Miles's cheating ex, Petra, Henry is aiming for someone with duality. “Petra’s whole thing is, like, you want to hate her, but also you’re like, ‘You’re also really nice. You did this bad thing.’”

She didn't weigh in on her hopes for Daphne, but fans have mentioned everyone from Molly Gordon to Dakota Johnson to Lily Collins. Everything is still speculation, though, so we'll have to wait and see!

Henry has also been open about how casting hasn’t been as easy as picking names out of a hat. “If the actors aren’t fantastic, the movie is going to sink or swim based on that,” she told Variety. “I still have been surprised by a lot of the ways that I feel like I’ve come up against a stigma. It’s really hard to cast these movies. I think there are a lot of actors who are very wary of this genre.”

She continued, “I think actors are very afraid that if they do one of these movies, they will be taken less seriously, or [that] they’ll be stuck in this genre, and they won’t be able to do anything else.”

Beyond that, Henry also pointed out the logistics. “You have to find someone who you feel like the audience will be excited about, you are excited about, the director and producers are excited about, the studio is excited about, and they’re free, available, and excited to do this. So it is shockingly hard, but there is movement.”

Who else is involved in the ‘Funny Story’ movie?

Behind the scenes, Henry will tackle her script. No director has been attached, but several producers are on board. Andrew Sweet for Ryder Picture Company and Alexander Black and Natalie Sellers for Lyrical Media will produce. Before Netflix was announced as the distributor, the aforementioned production team was on board.

“I left that meeting, with Ryder Picture Company and Lyrical Media, feeling that space crackling,” she wrote in a newsletter to fans in 2024. “I came away from the call feeling not just excited, but eager to get going.”

What has Emily Henry said about bringing ‘Funny Story’ to the screen?

Henry opened up about the film adaptation experience in an August 2025 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “It’s so fun adapting your own book because you already know it so deeply and intimately,” she shared. “It’s like you’re just thinking about your favorite parts.”

In addition to the screenwriting process, Henry has some strong opinions about the visuals for the upcoming film—and it's pretty much cozy or bust.

“Something that I have stressed with all of my producers and directors is the need for a very distinct sense of coziness in the actual setting,” she told Variety, pointing to the work of fellow romance icons Nancy Meyers (The Holiday, Father of the Bride) and Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle). “The characters can still be messy, the conflicts can still happen, but setting and sets are so important.”

We can't wait to see our beloved Daphne and Miles live in that world IRL!

This story contains spoilers for The Moment. Minutes into The Moment, Charli xcx asks a question that defines the entire mockumentary. Speaking to her manager, Tim (played by Jamie Demetriou), she posits if the Atlantic Records-backed director Johannes (Alexander Skarsgård) “makes adverts for women." Tim responds confused, assuming the pop star is referring to Johannes’s commercial work he’s unaware of. But Charli is, in fact, talking about the glossy, controlled tour movies and pop docs he’s known for; she just sees them as no more than A-listers carefully curating their image. “No, like the woman is the advert.”

The Moment may very well be Charli xcx’s own form of brand management—but it’s also an anti-capitalist critique of the music industry and its proclivity to turn female artists into sellable brands. While the A24 film—set after the release of the British artist’s 2024 album brat, as she prepares for a tour—has seen rightful comparisons to This Is Spinal Tap and Spice World, it’s also like the less referenced early ‘00s spon-con, subliminal messaging send-up Josie and the Pussycats. Much like Josie, Charli's film is a pop machine reckoning, and it most shines in all its neon, strobing glory when she satirizes how quickly a musician’s art can be stripped of its meaning to become a parody of itself.

Throughout The Moment (in theaters January 30), almost everyone around the fictionalized version of the avant-pop musician tests how far they can push her into being an “advert,” rather than an artist. So while Charli xcx could’ve made a traditional tour movie like many before her (and as her label originally approached her to), she, co-writer/director Aidan Zamiri, and co-writer Bertie Brandes seemingly took the opportunity to depict how detrimental it can be to musicians, fans, and culture at large when female artists and their art become a product to milk for all that they’re “worth.” As The Moment illustrates, even if a woman has crafted a cultural moment deemed bankable by industry insiders and marketing execs, she’s nothing to them if not continuously exploited.

In a time when “the pop girlies” run music, the film feels like a timely, cautionary statement.

The Moment essentially imagines what could have come of the pop cultural phenomenon sparked by brat, were it to have fallen out of Charli xcx’s creative control. Early on in the movie, the singer is made to participate in an overtly outrageous (if on-the-nose) capitalist scheme: launching a lime-green credit card in collaboration with her label and a bank. Signing up comes with a tie-in to secure tickets to the brat tour, ensuring the label’s excitement, and it also helps the bank reach its absurd goal of targeting younger, queerer clients. But only Charli is to blame when the rollout doesn’t go as planned.

In another plot line, the hitmaker is told her concert film must appeal to a wider audience (read: garner as many viewers on Prime Video as possible), rather than speak to her own fan base. That means that any decision she and her creative director, Celeste (Hailey Gates)—the genius behind brat’s original success—try to make is ignored and side-stepped by a man who seems to think he knows better.

In these scenes, it’s hard not to empathize with the real Charli xcx when she, too, became a mockable trend for brands to cash in on. As much as the star in the film wrestles with whether she should fear the end of “the moment” she’s been having or go to dangerous lengths so it never dies, one thing she seems certain of is what a loss of self feels like when her art is no longer hers. It’s an especially pertinent message coming from the “Von Dutch” singer, who, for years, was considered a hyperpop pioneer solely because of her talent. Now, with a platform, she seems to be saying, if the music industry is going to revel in the women leading the charge, that shouldn’t come at the expense of their artistry and personhood.

By the end of The Moment, Charli loses herself, too, saying she’s doing so in a concerted effort to “kill” brat. It’s not unlike the movie’s purpose in reality, ushering in the next phase of the musician-turned-actress’s career while also reclaiming ownership over a project that became bigger than itself. In many ways, it feels just as much like the artist making a promise to herself. But at the very least, she’s laughing at the possibility that she could buy into whatever “advert of a woman” that the industry might try to make of her. After all, that’s pretty fucking brat.

Whether you’re looking to escape the general stress of life or simply unwind with friends, it’s never a bad idea to sit back and enjoy a comedy. Luckily, this year’s lineup of chuckle-inducing new releases is shaping up to be a great one, both in theaters and on streaming.

Comedy lovers are spoiled for choice in 2026, from a Charli xcx mockumentary to the long-awaited Devil Wears Prada sequel to a screwball romp filled with RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni. Below, we’re rounding up the best comedy movies of 2026, including what’s been released and coming in the near future to keep the good times rolling. (If you’re looking for recommendations of films you can watch now, be sure to check out our list of the best comedies of 2025.)

The Best Comedy Movies of 2026 So Far

'The Moment'

Release date: January 30

Starring: Charli xcx, Kate Berlant, Alexander Skarsgård, Kylie Jenner, Rachel Sennott, and Rosanna Arquette

Why it’s worth seeing: Charli xcx is officially entering her Hollywood era in 2026, from acting in films like the Erupcja and Sacrifice to working on the soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation. But first, she kicked off the year with her Brat tour mockumentary The Moment, featuring starry cameos from the likes of Alexander Skarsgård, Kylie Jenner, and Rachel Sennott. Charli is no stranger to capturing the self-referential, very online elements of her star persona—and this time, it’s in a feature-length format!

WATCH IT

'Forbidden Fruits'

Release date: April 9

Starring: Lola Tung, Lili Reinhart, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain, and Gabrielle Union

Why it’s worth seeing: We all deserve nice things in 2026, and a witchy horror-comedy produced by Jennifer’s Body screenwriter Diablo Cody certainly fits the bill. Based on the play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin, and Through Her We All Die, written by Lily Houghton, Forbidden Fruits stars a myriad of rising Gen Z and GenZ/millennial cusp favorites as a group of mall co-workers who run a witchcraft cult in their basement. When a new coworker threatens the order of their operation, what’s a witch to do?

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The Best Coming Movies of 2026 Coming Soon

'The Devil Wears Prada 2'

Release date: May 1

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Simone Ashley, Tracie Thoms, Kenneth Branagh, Justin Theroux, and Lucy Liu

Why it’s worth seeing: Over the past 20 years, The Devil Wears Prada has emerged as one of the aughts’s most iconic, highly quotable comedies (Where would we be without “florals for spring?”). Now, cutthroat fashion editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), scrappy journalist Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), and their glamorous pals are back. Will they solve the collapse of print media that has taken place since we last saw them? Probably not. But watching these iconic characters snipe at each other across glossy runways should be delightful, nonetheless.

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'The Sheep Detectives'

Release date: May 8

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, Emma Thompson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O'Dowd, Regina Hall, and Brett Goldstein

Why it’s worth seeing: So, most of the A-list cast in this comedy-mystery voice a sheep; the movie’s title is quite literal. But, bear with us: This film looks three bags full of adorable and laughs. The fluffy barnyard flock bands together when their beloved shepherd (Hugh Jackman) winds up shockingly murdered in their small English town. If you love cozy mysteries, this one is especially for you.

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'I Love Boosters'

Release date: May 22

Starring: Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, LaKeith Stanfield, Demi Moore, Will Poulter, and Eiza González

Why it’s worth seeing: The 2018 release of activist and musician Boots Riley’s debut film, Sorry To Bother You, announced the arrival of a major new directorial talent, fusing bombastic, larger-than-life absurdism with salient criticisms of social ills. After taking a sojourn to TV with 2023’s I’m A Virgo, Riley is back with his first movie in nearly a decade: I Love Boosters. In the sci-fi comedy, a ragtag group of shoplifters set their sights on a cutthroat fashion professional.

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'Stop! That! Train!'

Release date: May 29

Starring: RuPaul, Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Monét X Change, Brock Hayhoe, and Latrice Royale

Why it’s worth seeing: In a just world, comedies starring RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni would be a yearly occurrence. We’re not there yet, but Stop! That! Train! is a welcome start! Helmed by Hairspray’s Adam Shankman, this screwball follows train stewardesses Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee) as they attempt to save passengers on the posh, high-speed Glamazonian Express from a deadly “Stormaganza.”

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'Power Ballad'

Release date: June 5

Starring: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Havana Rose Liu, Sophie Vavasseur, Rory Keenan, and Jack Reynor

Why it's worth seeing: Paul Rudd’s generational charisma and Nick Jonas’s non-Jonas Brothers return to acting? Say less. Rudd plays down-on-his-luck wedding singer Rick, who’s shocked to find that after spending a jam-filled night with rock star Danny (Jonas), the musician has stolen his original song. When Rick sets out to demand credit for Danny’s now-hit song, he finds himself catapulted into the spotlight he’s craved for decades…just not in the way he expected.

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'Scary Movie 6'

Release date: June 12

Starring: Marlon Wayans, Regina Hall, Anna Faris, Shawn Wayans, Jon Abrahams, Lochlyn Munro, and Dave Sheridan

Why it’s worth seeing: There have been plenty of pop culture parodies over the years, but few have endured in our cultural consciousness like Shawn and Marlon Wayans’s Scary Movie franchise has. When the movies first premiered in the early aughts, they hilariously skewered the likes of Scream and The Ring. Now, between the rise of “elevated horror” and legacy sequels, there’s endless modern genre fare for them to satirize.

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'Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass'

Release date: July 10

Starring: Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Zoey Deutch, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Ben Wang, Joe Lo Truglio, and Sabrina Impacciatore

Why it's worth seeing: Mad Men fans, this is your chance to catch Jon Hamm and John Slattery’s big-screen reunion. But even if you haven’t seen the beloved AMC series, you can probably relate to the concept of a “celebrity pass” — a.k.a. a major celebrity crush that you and your partner jokingly agree you could pursue if given the chance. In Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, small-town girl Gail’s (Zoey Deutch) impending wedding is upended when her fiancé cashes in on his celebrity pass. Determined to get even, she flies to L.A. to pursue her own celebrity crush: Hamm. Predictably, chaos ensues.

'I Want Your Sex'

Release date: July 31

Starring: Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs, Charli xcx, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho, and Roxane Mesquida

Why it’s worth seeing: We should be so lucky we're living in a world where there's a new Gregg Araki film coming out. For the first time since 2014's White Bird in a Blizzard, the acclaimed indie auteur and pioneer of new queer cinema helms a feature with I Want Your Sex. The erotic comedy-thriller stars Licorice Pizza breakout Cooper Hoffman as a young man who lands a job working for a star artist played by Olivia Wilde. She makes him her "sexual muse"—and you can bet that's only the start of this movie's tasteful provocation.

'The Wrong Girls'

Release date: August 14

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Seth Rogen, Alia Shawkat, LaKeith Stanfield, Zack Fox, Tony Hale, and Kumail Nanjiani

Why it’s worth seeing: Fresh off her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, Kristen Stewart is letting loose in her wife Dylan Meyer’s upcoming film, The Wrong Girls. Back in 2023, Stewart described it as a “stoner girl comedy” that’s “really fucking stupid.” Throw in supporting cast members like Seth Rogen and Alia Shawkat, and really, what more could you ask for in a movie?

'Coyote vs. Acme'

Release date: August 28

Starring: Will Forte, John Cena, Lana Condor, P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, and Luis Guzmán

Why it’s worth seeing: Quite frankly, the fact that Coyote vs. Acme is finally seeing the light of day is reason enough to check it out. Back in 2023, the already-completed Looney Tunes film was infamously shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery suits in hopes of writing off its budget on their taxes. Thankfully, it was saved by Ketchup Entertainment and slated for a release in a theater near you this summer. As for the actual plot, expect to see cartoon favorite Wile E. Coyote sue the Acme Corporation for all the faulty tools it’s sold him over the years in his quest to capture the iconic Road Runner. The ultimate selling point? Samy Burch, who wrote the excellent film May December, is behind the screenplay.

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'Focker In-Law'

Release date: November 25

Starring: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Skyler Gisondo, and Ariana Grande

Why it’s worth seeing: Those pesky Fockers are back for another round of in-law misadventures in Focker In-Law. This time around, Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam Focker (Teri Polo) are proud parents of son Henry (Skyler Gisondo), but none too sold on his new fiancée Olivia (Ariana Grande). Fresh off her breakout Wicked acting stardom, here’s hoping that Grande gets plenty of opportunities to flex her Glinda comedic chops in this reboot.

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'Club Kid'

Release date: TBA

Starring: Jordan Firstman, Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, Reggie Absolom, Eldar Isgandarov, and Miss Benny

Why it’s worth seeing: Jordan Firstman is a scene-stealer in Rachel Sennott's HBO comedy I Love L.A., but long before that, he cut his teeth as a comedy writer and built a following for his digital sketches. He's written several short films and starred in 2023's Rotting in the Sun, but now he's helming his own directorial feature. This one's for the nightlife rats: It follows an N.Y.C. club promoter whose life is turned upside down when he meets the young son (Reggie Absolom) he never knew he had.

'The Entertainment System Is Down'

Release date: TBA

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Brühl, Samantha Morton, Nicholas Braun, Tobias Menzies, Vincent Lindon, and Connor Swindells

Why it’s worth seeing: Swedish director Ruben Östlund is a master of probing social discomfort. For proof, look no further than his Oscar-nominated 2022 film Triangle of Sadness, which brought his anxiously anthropological style international acclaim. His latest black comedy, The Entertainment System Is Down, is predicated on a truly modern horror: the entertainment system within a long-haul flight from England to Australia breaks down. Hopefully, this star-studded cast of unfortunate passengers experience less…unfortunate digestive issues than the Triangle of Sadness characters did.

Nothing in this world is certain except death, taxes, and Year-End film lists. Every December, these roundups make their divisive return, as every major entertainment publication and Letterboxd devotee declare which pieces of media were most worth their time.

The way I think about what makes a movie the “best” has changed a lot in the past 12 months. I’ve recognized that my favorite viewing experiences fall into two camps: movies that get stuck in my head—stories that challenge my worldview, like On Becoming a Guinea Fowl and The Testament of Ann Lee—and movies that get stuck in my heart. The latter, films that may not get awards buzz but urge viewers to open their hearts, are the movies I think we need—and should embrace—right now.

Nicole Kidman says it best: “We come to this place for magic.” Movies are empathy machines; we watch them to experience different lives, and in the process, we can try to understand complex emotions a bit more. However, among both critics and film fans, there can be an impulse towards cynicism when movies want to elicit big emotions. These stories are frequently written off as corny or overly sentimental—but they’re often the ones that unabashedly remind us how to embrace joy and overcome life’s struggles. At times when I’ve felt that everything was hopeless (which, shocker, happened quite often throughout 2025), I’ve held tighter onto the stories that remind me of the world’s warmth. These movies—The Life of Chuck, Eternity, and Rental Family—may have gone overlooked regarding critical lists and box-office numbers, but those of us who make the time to watch them leave with a bit more hope. That’s something we all could use.

Going into 2025, my most-anticipated movie of the year was Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck. The man behind Netflix’s best horror shows of all time helmed a Stephen King adaptation starring Tom Hiddleston that won the Toronto Film Festival’s Audience Award. These facts were all I knew when I saw it in May, and I came out feeling changed. The film’s three acts unfolded in reverse chronological order, and, as I put together the connections between a doomsday parable and a middle school coming-of-age story, its message moved me to cathartic tears. At the time, I was questioning a lot in my life—my Saturn Return has put me through the wringer, from coming to terms with my queerness to getting an ADHD diagnosis—and The Life of Chuck reminded me that even someone who felt they were insignificant and broken is important. I may not have danced in years, but I still contain multitudes.

Of course, I am speaking as someone who thoroughly felt the feelings that Flanagan wanted to convey to audiences. Not everyone agrees; despite the overwhelming love from viewers at TIFF, both critics and fans seemed split upon the film’s release. There are those like me, who grasp onto it like a life raft, and those who recognize what it wants to do but feel that it “stumbles” while treading a fine line of sentimentality.

People can tell when a film tries to push its audience to tears; the more obvious and unartful the attempt, the less successful. But if a movie is both obvious and artful, a tearjerker that knows it is one, then cries of sap and schmaltz can feel more like disapproval than dissent. In an era where the average person is primed to police emotions, and a new toxic dating trend pops up every few months, I start to wonder how much cries of sentimentality in movies are not based on how successful the film is, but instead how little the viewer is primed to let emotion in.

In the year of our lord 2025, I’ve judged my moviegoing experiences by how I’ve felt leaving the theater, whether I left “not just entertained, but somehow reborn.” The tail-end of the year has brought some really lovely titles. Hikari’s Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser as an actor who’s hired by a family-impersonator company, was already primed to be a hit since I love cross-cultural themes. Still, I didn’t expect its exploration of human connection as a form of mental health to hit so hard. Meanwhile, A24’s Eternity instantly became my favorite rom-com of the year (though the honor admittedly wasn’t that hard to claim). Its examination of romantic love through its central love triangle landed for me, and more than that, Elizabeth Olsen’s performance leans so Old-Hollywood screwball comedy that I felt transported back to a simpler, more earnest time.

There’s no question that 2025 hasn’t been perfect. I know I’m not alone in facing financial anxiety from rising costs of living, or feeling an intense despair at the immense range of human selfishness every time I turn on the news. The national rate of depression hovers at a record high, and the APA reports that “loneliness and emotional disconnection appear to have become a defining feature of life in America.” I have an unfortunate tendency to listen when society tells me that I don’t matter, to isolate myself from people in fear of being hurt, and 2025 hasn’t exactly encouraged me to leave my apartment more often. So every time I see a movie or TV show that reminds me that life’s meant to be lived, and if I’m willing to open myself to life’s risks, it’s much-needed. Despite my tendency to hold these films tight to my chest—so no one can pop my warm bubble with a cynical barb—I need to share these reminders. I’m not the only one who needs them.

Despite the impulse some may have to cry “corny” or “preachy,” the biggest film moments of 2025 were ones that blended earnestness with big-budget spectacle. Sammie’s juke joint time travel in Sinners. Superman’s suggestion that loving people is the real punk rock. The desperate car chase scene that ends in a cathartic father-daughter reunion in One Battle After Another. Spike placing his mother’s skull at the top of the Bone Temple. Zootopia 2’s stealth romance. Rumi soaring through a stadium as her fans's love turns the crowd golden. These sequences, where the blockbusters shed their layers and get down to the emotion, are the ones that cinephiles have embraced as their own reminders, though they aren’t even aware of it consciously. After all, without sentiment, we wouldn’t have the movies.

Good news for fans of Erewhon smoothies and the Silver Lake Reservoir: HBO’s freshman comedy I Love LA will officially be back for a second season. From the star of Shiva Baby and Bottoms, Rachel Sennott, I Love LA follows a group of Zillennials navigating Hollywood and its adjacent industries. Sennott stars as Maia, a talent manager whose entire world is swept up by the return of her chaotic influencer friend Tallulah (Odessa A’zion).

Season 1 ends in dramatic fashion, and as Maia’s relationship with boyfriend Dylan (Josh Hutcherson) and her career are in limbo, Maia finds herself leaning even more heavily into Tallulah’s orbit. With more episodes already confirmed, here’s everything we know about I Love LA season 2, including when it might arrive and what it could be about.

Is 'I Love LA' renewed for season 2?

HBO announced the show’s renewal on November 20, 2025—well before I Love LA’s season 1 finale aired on December 21, 2025. When the network announced the renewal, it touted the series as being “among the fastest growing original comedies,” noting that it was “HBO’s second top freshman comedy in platform history, averaging nearly 2 million (L+3) U.S. cross-platform viewers.”

When would 'I Love LA' season 2 come out?

With an early renewal announcement, Sennott and her writing team are likely already at work on the new season. Season 1 production timelines weren’t explicitly available online, but it seems that filming likely began sometime in spring 2025, after Hutcherson’s casting announcement in May 2025. If season 2 follows a similar timeline, it’s possible we could see more of Maia, Tallulah, Alani, Charlie, and Dylan in the fall of 2026.

Who in the 'I Love LA' cast would return for season 2?

Though there was a shocking death of a minor character midway through season 1, it’s safe to assume that the core members of I Love LA are alive and well, and returning for the show’s second outing. That means Maia and her dysfunctional group of friends, played by Rachel Sennott, Odessa A’zion (Tallulah), True Whitaker (Alani), and Jordan Firstman (Charlie), will all likely be back for season 2. Keith David, who appears as Whitaker’s father in the finale, could also pop up for more screentime in the second season.

At the end of season 1, Maia and her boyfriend Dylan, played by Josh Hutcherson, are on a break and seem headed for more relationship problems—something that would require Hutcherson to return for more episodes. Callie Hernandez will also probably return in season 2 as Dylan’s coworker Claire, whom he sleeps with while he’s on a break with Maia. Tallulah’s girlfriend, played by Moses Ingram, could also appear in future episodes.

The same can’t be said of Maia’s passive-aggressive boss, Alyssa (Leighton Meester), who fires Maia in the back half of the first season. Meester may return in a guest capacity in season 2 once Maia goes out on her own, but we wouldn’t expect a large arc from her (or her boyfriend Jeremy, played by Ben Feldman). Colin Woodell, however, may return as Maia’s former boss Ben, who offers her a lucrative job opportunity but seems to expect her to be submissive in return.

We’re hoping that season 2 will expand beyond the core friendship between Maia and Tallulah, with more screen time given to Firstman’s stylist character, Charlie, and his zany clients like Ayo Edebiri’s pop star character Mimi Rush. And with one of the highlights of the season being Elijah Wood’s self-deprecating cameo, there’s a strong likelihood that we’ll see more familiar faces from the entertainment industry making an appearance in season 2 (though it’s unlikely that Wood himself will come back for more).

What would 'I Love LA' season 2 be about?

The first season of I Love LA ends with a slew of realizations for Maia and her immediate found family. Maia quits her job at Alyssa 180, but realizes that a job offer from her old boss, Ben, comes with strings she doesn’t want to be controlled by. Dylan and Maia take a break from their relationship, which pushes him into the arms of the coworker Maia was most worried about. Nevertheless, the friendship between Maia and Tallulah is stronger than ever, even if it encourages Maia’s worst impulses.

We don’t know anything for sure, except that season 2 will continue to mine the core relationships in Maia’s life—romantic, personal, and professional—and force her to confront what she really wants and expects from her life. While Maia and Dylan may reconcile early in season 2, Dylan’s hook-up with Claire will absolutely come to light, and the couple will have to have (another) real talk about their diverging desires and paths. Maia and Tallulah’s friendship will also continue to evolve, and it’s possible that they hit a few more bumps in the road as they figure out where to draw the lines between business and friendship. And after Maia turned down a $380,000 job offer from her old boss, season 2 will have to contend with how far her hustle and singular client can take her.

Sennott knows that the show could go in several routes, which she expressed while speaking to Deadline in a post-season 1 finale interview. "I think there are so many places we can go from here, and I have a lot of ideas," she told the outlet. "I’m excited to get into the writers's room too and talk them through with everyone and see, because I think we teed ourselves up for a lot of action, but we can go in different directions with it, which I think is really exciting."

The star/showrunner also weighed in on the drama between Maia and Dylan—seemingly teasing that a breakup may be in store. "The relationships I had when I was younger, I always kind of viewed it through this lens of like, 'I'm the victim, and everything anyone else does is wrong,' and I think as I got older, you have relationships where you’re like, 'This isn't a bad person. I still love this person. I still have love for them in my heart, but we are not meant to be together,'" she said. "I think sometimes that’s even more heartbreaking, because you can’t walk away and villainize that person, and I really didn’t want to villainize either of them. I really wanted to hit that balance of like, obviously she should have texted him that she stabbed herself, but also, she's not wrong for wanting more and pushing herself."

Considering the series is all about knowing what you want and going after it, we'd bet that wherever season 2 goes, it'll focus on how these driven Angelinos balance ambition with their personal lives, especially when the two intertwine. Or, as Sennott once said, "What? It's L.A.!"

Emily Cooper says arrivederci to Paris and buonjiorno to Rome in season 5 of Netflix's hit dramedy Emily in Paris. The new 10-episode season hit the streamer on December 18, picking up where season 4 left off—with Emily (Lily Collins) moving to Rome and seemingly leaving her will-they-won't-they relationship with Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) behind. But just because Emily in Paris has officially moved beyond its title location doesn't mean the Netflix original is over. In fact, fans are already demanding updates on Emily in Paris season 6.

Netflix has been keeping the future of Emily's life as an expat under wraps. That said, there are some strong indications that fans should expect at least one more season. After all, if the romance series didn't end when Emily moved to Rome, it could survive anything. With that in mind, here's everything we know about Emily in Paris season 6.

Is 'Emily in Paris' renewed for season 6?

Oui oui! Emily in Paris has officially been renewed for season 6. The announcement came on January 5, 2026, just over two weeks after the series premiered its fifth installment in mid-December 2025.

Netflix revealed the renewal with a savvy clip on social media that looks like something our beloved marketing maven might've whipped up herself. The clip features star Lily Collins wearing a chic black and white striped dress and her hair styled in a micro bob, walking inside from a Parisian balcony, only for the frame to zoom out and reveal her image on an iPhone. She leans forward to blow out a candle, revealing the device to be on top of a "6" candle in a giant croissant. Appropriately, the pastry is plated on a table covered in flowers overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

"Home sweet home 🇫🇷 Emily in Paris is returning for Season 6!" the caption reads.

It was only a matter of time before Emily in Paris season 6 was confirmed. According a press release from Netflix, season 5 garnered 26.8 million views in just 11 days, and debuted as the second most popular English-language series worldwide.

Popularity is always a good indication of whether the streamer will bring back one if its hits, but showrunner Darren Star had also previously teased his feelings that Emily’s story wasn’t over. "I hope Emily says yes to that invitation," he said to Deadline, referring to the finale cliffhanger in which Gabriel invited our heroine to Greece. "[Emily and Gabriel] reconnected in a nice way. [As for] where that takes them, I think it definitely hints at the idea that they’ll stay in each other’s lives."

Is season 6 the final season of 'Emily in Paris?'

Netflix and the cast and crew of Emily in Paris has confirmed they're saying "adieu" to the hit show with season 6. The forthcoming installment was announced as the final in late May 2026, as the show was in the middle of production.

Netflix shared a series of photos on Instagram of Collins and showrunner Darren Star on set in a very picturesque Greece(!). "Hello to the final season! 🇬🇷 One last Greek summer before Emily in Paris returns," reads the caption.

The Instagram post also includes a thoughtful letter from Star to the fans, including a cheeky Casablanca reference. He wrote, "Making Emily in Paris with this extraordinary cast and crew has been the trip of a lifetime. As we embark on the final season, I am so grateful to Netflix, Paramount, and, most importantly, the fans who have taken this incredible journey with us."

"We can’t wait to share this last chapter with you," the series creator continued. "Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives, inspiring your dreams of travel and your love of Paris. We will always have Emily in Paris!"

Collins, meanwhile, shared a video to say her goodbyes to the hit series. "After six unforgettable years of playing Emily Cooper, I’m here to share this upcoming sixth season will be our final," said the star, who is still rocking an adorable bixie cut and seen wearing a high-collared top.

She also hyped up the forthcoming episodes and stressed that the show will get its rightful conclusion. "Season 6 will bring you everything you love about the show and serve as the final chapter in Emily’s adventure of a lifetime," she said. "Our entire cast and crew are pouring our hearts into making this a fantastic farewell season, which we’re now filming. I can’t wait for all the magic ahead and to celebrate our final season with you in the most chic way yet! I’m so incredibly grateful, and we love you all."

When will 'Emily in Paris' return for season 6?

It's yet to be announced when Emily in Paris season 6 will premiere—but it doesn't seem like the wait will be too long. According to Variety, the comedy began filming new episodes in May 2026, with plans to shoot in Monaco and Greece. The Greek location should be especially exciting news for fans, given the season 5 cliffhanger. (More on that below!)

If the series films throughout the spring and into the summer, new episodes could arrive before the end of the year or in early 2027. Emily in Paris has had a yearly release schedule for the past few seasons (season 4 was split into two parts in August and September 2024, while season 5 premiered in December 2025), so that certainly seems feasible.

Which cast members will return for 'Emily in Paris' season 6?

Given all the romantic cliffhangers at the end of season 5 (more on that below!), fans can expect most of the main cast to return. Of course, you can't have Emily in Paris without the Emily, so Lily Collins would return, as would her fellow series regulars, including Ashley Park (Mindy), Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (Sylvie), Lucas Bravo (Gabriel), Samuel Arnold (Julian), Bruno Gouery (Luc), Lucien Laviscount (Alfie), and Paul Forman (Nicolas). And, given Princess Jane's involvement at Agence Grateau, it's likely that Minnie Driver will be back to reprise her role as well.

The only cast member whose future with Emily in Paris isn't clear is Eugenio Franceschini, who plays Marcello. Now that Emily has officially returned to Paris as a single woman, there's no real reason for Marcello to be involved. Then again, you never know what might happen.

What will 'Emily in Paris' season 6 be about?

Fans can expect Emily in Paris season 6 to be all about love—especially after the major season 5 cliffhanger.

In the finale, “Veni, Vidi, Venezia,” Emily ended her relationship with Marcello after he announced that he would have to remain in Italy to take over his family's company. She returned to Agence Grateau alone, and Sylvie, the leader of #TeamGabriel, immediately texted Gabriel to let him know. The finale ended with Gabriel sending a postcard to Emily, inviting her to meet him in Greece!

While Star has hinted that Emily will accept her former flame's invitation, that's been confirmed with the show's plans to shoot in Greece. So, we can expect to see Gabriel and Emily enjoying a rendezvous on some gorgeous Greek islands and deciding what's next for their relationship.

While that definitely sends our hearts a-flutter, the showrunner has also implied that committing to happily ever after with one another may not be instant between the will-they-won’t-they couple. While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said, “I don’t think it’ll be an instant relationship, though I do believe that people can find their way back to each other.”

Gabriel and Emily's relationship isn't the only one up in the air. Mindy ended season 5 engaged to Nico, but not even a diamond ring can stop her from having feelings for Alfie. If this new love triangle isn't enough to earn a season 6, we don't know what is.

Star himself has also teased that there may be more to come between Mindy and Alfie, despite her engagement. He told Deadline, “Anything’s possible, and I definitely feel like the two of them had a lot of chemistry, and it came out of left field for Mindy. It’s not the way she saw her life going.”

Finally, Agence Grateau is under new leadership. After Sylvie almost loses her company to bankruptcy, she's forced to accept an investment from Princess Jane, who will now act as co-head of the Agence. Expect many workplace hijinks to come.

For now, ciao, Emily!

There’s something incredibly satisfying about solving a mystery—putting all the facts together until the last puzzle piece finally clicks into place. Maybe it’s our deep, innate need for resolution, or the sense of peace we feel watching bad guys get their due, but the best TV detective shows of all time scratch an itch we can’t quite put our finger on.

It’s that same blend of intrigue and morbid curiosity that draws us to true crime series or murder-mysteries, and clearly, we’re not alone: Shows like Law & Order, CSI, and Murder, She Wrote, are among some of the longest-running series in television history.

Whether you like your detective shows fun and cheeky, like the genre-defying comedy High Potential, or you prefer brooding and serious procedurals, such as Criminal Minds, there’s a sleuthing show out there for you. Below, we’ve sorted the best TV detective shows of all time.

The Best Detective Comedy Series

'Elsbeth' (2024– )

A spinoff of The Good Wife, Elsbeth sees lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) using her stellar powers of observation to help the NYPD solve cases in the Big Apple. With over-the-top crimes (Fashion Week runway murders and opera stabbings among them) and even more outlandish criminals (Vanessa Williams as a jewel thief? Jane Krakowski as a co-op murderer?), this one’s less dark and brooding, more lighthearted goofiness, but still scratches the “howcatchem” itch.

WATCH IT

'High Potential' (2024– )

Morgan Gillory is a genius—as in, she has an IQ of 160—which is exactly why this single mother (Kaitlin Olson), who works as the police department's cleaner, is recruited to help its detectives catch criminals. Her life outside of work is chaotic (and often LOL-worthy), and her comebacks are epic, but her detective skills speak for themselves. Now, if only she could figure out what happened to her husband, who disappeared without a trace 15 years ago…

WATCH IT

'Only Murders in the Building' (2021– )

In the era of true crime podcasts, Only Murders in the Building imagines what would happen if three armchair detectives living in the same apartment complex bonded over their love of Nancy Drew-ing. It was co-created by star Steven Martin, so naturally, it’s hilarious—particularly since Martin stars alongside comedic legend Martin Short and Selena Gomez as they start their own show to solve the crimes happening under their noses. The cameos on this one are also insane: Everyone from Tina Fey and Meryl Streep to Paul Rudd has turned up thus far.

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'The Residence' (2025)

We only got one season of Netflix’s The Residence, but the team behind this limited detective series really gave it their all: Production designer François Audouy used “10 miles of molding, 200 working doors, [and] 144,000 pounds of flooring” to pull off what Tudum called the "largest re-creation of the White House ever attempted." Filmed at Raleigh Studios in L.A., the show is centered on a murder that takes place inside the president’s dwelling during a state dinner. Comedy ensues when eccentric detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) is called to solve the case, bringing with her a sharp, sarcastic wit and a deep passion for birds.

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The Best Dramatic Detective Series

'Columbo' (1971–1978; 1989–2003)

Peter Falk’s Columbo may not look like a criminal mastermind; with a rumpled raincoat and a deferential demeanor, he’s not your typical sharpshooter. It’s that very unassuming behavior that often lands him with the adversaries, however, as they play into his good-natured trap. In addition to its unconventional lead, Columbo also clued viewers into the identity of its villains long before the protagonist, moving the focus from the “who” to the “how” of their eventual capture.

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'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' (2000–2015)

For 15 years, weekly viewers tuned in to watch the fictional Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (George Eads, Eric Szmanda, Marg Helgenberger, Ted Danson, etc.), employ its collective powers of deduction to tie physical evidence from various crime scenes across the city to its perpetrators. As simple as the premise was, it worked. At its peak, the series was broadcast in 171 countries, with one of the highest viewerships of the early aughts and four eventual spinoffs: CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, CSI: Cyber, and CSI: Vegas.

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'Law & Order' (1990–2010; 2022– )

There’s a reason Law & Order and its spinoff, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, are two of the longest-running television series of all time. Crime junkies can’t get enough of the show’s one-two punch of a successful police investigation followed by a prosecution, offering a sense of resolution with every episode. The crimes are often based on real-life cases with fictionalized details, and the consistent format has made it a comfort show for viewers the world over, despite its often-violent nature.

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'Mare of Easttown' (2021)

Detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) may not be able to put the pieces of her own life together, struggling with the loss of her son, her daughter’s addiction, and her ex-husband’s new engagement, but she’s got a knack for solving crimes in her Philadelphia community. But one unsolved case about the disappearance of a young woman has started to haunt her, and the brutal murder of a teenage mother only adds to her distress—making for an intense yet compelling series about a woman trying her hardest to hold it together and work against the clock. Thanks to word of mouth, the series became a surprise appointment viewing hit and earned four Emmys from its 16 nominations, including an Outstanding Lead Actress nod for Winslet.

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'Murder, She Wrote' (1984–1996)

Entertainment icon Angela Lansbury plays a mystery novelist who tends to find herself wrapped up in real-life investigations wherever she goes. The series was such a hit that it not only earned a spot as one of the longest-running television shows of all time, but Lansbury’s character was hailed by Guinness World Records as the “most prolific amateur sleuth,” solving crimes across 265 episodes.

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'NYPD Blue' (1993–2005)

NYPD Blue interwove the ongoing investigations of Manhattan’s fictional 15th precinct police department with the personal lives of its agents for a super successful show format that garnered a whopping 27 Emmy nominations in its very first season. (It also proved to the world that Mark-Paul Gosselaar had depth far beyond Zack Morris.) Hailed as “real” and “gritty,” the show’s use of profanity and nudity raised many an eyebrow upon its debut, but its popularity quickly silenced the critics.

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'Rizzoli & Isles' (2010–2016)

They say opposites attract, and that was certainly true for detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander). One is confident, sassy, and tough as nails, while the other is socially awkward and matter-of-fact. Both are brilliant, however, and when they team up to solve crimes, they’re unstoppable. Fans got to know the duo from Tess Gerritsen’s book series over seven seasons before it ultimately ran its course.

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The Best Romantic Detective Series

'Bones' (2005–2017)

Analyzing human remains doesn’t exactly strike us as an aphrodisiac, but it seems to do the trick for Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), who go from professional partners to husband and wife by the end of the show’s 12-year run. They also solve a whole lot of murders along the way, just like real-life forensic anthropologist-turned-mystery writer Kathy Reichs, whose books inspired the show.

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'Castle' (2009–2016)

The developing relationship between mystery novelist Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), whom he is shadowing for his new book, is just as much a central part of Castle’s plot as the investigations the pair wind up solving together. They’re an unlikely duo—one is creative and childlike while the other is hard-nosed and serious—but together, they just seem to work. Eventually, that is.

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'The Closer' (2005–2012)

Kyra Sedgwick plays Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, whose CIA background and tenacious nature make her a real ballbuster—particularly when it comes to interrogations. For all of her bravado, however, she has a softer side, particularly when it comes to FBI agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney), whom she finds herself sweet on.

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'Veronica Mars' (2004–2008; 2019)

Some kids join the debate team in high school. Others, like Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell), use their brains in other ways, like becoming an amateur private investigator. Veronica is motivated by the death of her best friend and influenced by her father, a former town sheriff. She’s still a teenage girl, however, and in between her penchant for solving crimes, she manages to fit in her fair share of young love. Clearly, fans approved—they crowdfunded a movie spinoff of the series.

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The Best Thriller Detective Shows

'Criminal Minds' (2005–2020; 2022– )

Unlike many shows in its genre, Criminal Minds turns its lens on the mindsets of the serial killers and criminals it depicts rather than solely focusing on the personal lives of the agents solving their heinous crimes. It’s deeply unsettling at times—particularly when you consider that many of the cases depicted in the series are rooted in real-life cases.

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'Dexter' (2006–2013)

The world was introduced to the most complex detective of all time with the premiere of Dexter in 2006. Dexter is a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department by day and a vigilante serial killer by night, out to right the wrongs of the world by killing criminals who have escaped justice. The creepy series was a massive hit, spawning four spinoff series that went on to shatter network records: Dexter: New Blood became the “most-watched show in Showtime history” in 2022, while Dexter: Resurrection was cited as “the most-streamed premiere of any Showtime show on Paramount+.”

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'True Detective' (2014– )

True Detective is on the more chilling side of the TV detective shows. Each season focuses on a dark new murder that must be solved by a team of talented investigators, many of whom have murky pasts of their own. Season 1, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, was highly praised for its superb acting and intricate storyline, drawing in 11.9 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. And the show’s popularity has only grown since then: Season 4, which starred Jodie Foster as Chief Liz Danvers, drew in 12.7 million.

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A Man on the Inside, a heartfelt comedy and critical darling about Charles (Ted Danson), a retired engineering professor who goes undercover at a local retirement home to recover a missing necklace, returned to Netflix for season 2 in fall 2025. Charles has a new case in the show’s sophomore season: Investigating blackmail at a local college, which brings him into the orbit of an entirely new set of cast members (including a fellow professor played by his real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen).

But since the series, created by Parks and Recreation and The Good Place veteran Mike Schur, operates as an anthology, the second season concludes with a solved mystery and virtually zero loose ends to tie up in future seasons. Will Danson’s charm and the light comedic atmosphere be enough to propel it to a third season? Here’s what we know about the future of A Man on the Inside.

Is 'A Man on the Inside' renewed for season 3?

Netflix has officially renewed the heartwarming spy series! The announcement came in early February 2026, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The renewal took a bit longer this time around,

Series creator and showrunner Mike Schur shared a statement to celebrate the news, per THR. "We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Netflix on another season of A Man on the Inside," the Parks and Recreation alum said. “It’s a true joy to work with this entire team, most especially the handsome, erudite, and monstrously talented Ted Danson, a true American treasure whose contract stipulates exactly what adjectives I am allowed to use while describing him in press releases."

The renewal took a bit longer this time around: Season 2 was confirmed just three weeks after the first season premiered, and it took over two months to announce season 3. (According to THR, season 2 spent three weeks in Netflix Top 10 after its release, compared to season 1's four weeks.) Nevertheless, we know we'll be getting more of Danson’s adorable sense of humor and bumbling detective soon enough!

When will 'A Man on the Inside' season 3 come out?

Netflix hasn't announced when A Man on the Inside season 3 will be released. However, the Netflix original has a relatively quick production turnaround, compared to some of the streamer's other shows, so the wait may not be too long.

We can look at the show's past production schedules to anticipate how long it might take to get more episodes. Season 2 premiered almost exactly a year after season 1, for example. Season 3 took a little longer to be renewed, though, so—if the writers get to work and production can move ahead by the summer—we could have season 3 before the end of 2026, but early 2027 may be more likely.

Who in the 'A Man on the Inside' cast will return for season 3?

A Man on the Inside hinges upon lead actor Ted Danson, so any future seasons will certainly include him and his onscreen family, played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis (Emily), Eugene Cordero (Joel), Wyatt Yang (Wyatt), Deuce Basco (Jace), and Lincoln Lambert (Nico). With Charles officially receiving his private investigator license at the end of season 2, his boss Julie, portrayed by Lilah Richcreek Estrada, will likely also be a fixture in future seasons of the show. And Julie’s recent reconciliation with her mom, Vanessa, could mean Constance Marie will join the cast in a more significant fashion.

Though the first two seasons have taken place in different locations and focused on different cases, cast members from season 1 still had minor roles in season 2. This means we could see a lot more of Charles’s friends played by Stephanie Beatriz (Didi), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Calbert), Sally Struthers (Virginia), John Getz (Elliot), David Strathairn (Dr. Benjamin Cole), Jill Talley (Holly), and more. Sadly, Charles’s short-lived romance with music teacher Mona Margadoff (Steenburgen) ended at the end of season 2, so we probably won’t see her again.

Jackée Harry of Sister Sister fame also joined the season 2 cast in a guest role as Calbert’s (Henderson) love interest, and Deadline’s casting announcement hinted that she’d return for a third season as well.

What will 'A Man on the Inside' season 3 be about?

Season 2 of A Man on the Inside took Charles out of the retirement home he embedded himself in during the show’s inaugural season and back to his old stomping grounds: a local college. He worked undercover as a college professor while trying to solve a case involving sabotage around a flashy new donor (played by Gary Cole), while learning how to date again.

Charles solves the case—it was the school’s provost and an outspoken professor who blackmailed the President, as they were worried about how the donor would influence the school’s faculty and future arts programming. But his romance with Mona ends when she jets off to Croatia for a teaching opportunity. Charles opts to stay in town close to his family, so we won’t be transporting to Europe in season 3, but receiving the PI license has given him a new lease on life. As for Charles’s daughter Emily, she’s inspired by Mona’s free spirit and finally gains the courage to quit her monotonous job and go back to school to become a therapist—a journey we’ll see more of in season 3.

The series is set up as an anthology with Charles zeroing in on a new case each season, and the entire Bay Area is his oyster for season 3. Perhaps he’ll take his talents to the city’s robust sports scene, investigate a crime at the high school his son-in-law teaches at, or wade back into familiar Schur waters with a case in the local government. Without any concrete updates from Netflix, all of this is speculation—but we’ll stay eagle-eyed for updates and announcements from the streamer.

When you're looking to get lost in a book, sometimes you need your reading material to match your mood. With Marie Claire's series "Buy the Book," we do the heavy lifting for you. We're offering curated, highly specific recommendations for whatever you're looking for—whether you're in your feels or hooked on a subgenre trending on #BookTok.

Ah, the holidays: Cozy parties, festive outfits, and, for many, family time…lots of it. If that last phrase sent a snowman-sized shiver down your spine, we see you. While some may savor prancing down memory lane and revisiting beloved traditions with family, others load up on therapy until the new year. Between explaining why you’re not married, not pregnant, not working, studying, or generally excelling at life, the holidays can usher in some big feelings.

For ages, writers have mined all the dysfunction families can deliver (hi, Shakespeare!) for their work. While plenty have delved into the drama of it all, others have struck a gloriously deranged balance of humor, satire, and chaos. And so, as the holidays hurtle toward us faster than we can say Eldest Daughter Syndrome, we invite you to disassociate via a novel about a family nearly as unhinged as your own.

Below, check out some of the best big-hearted, hilariously moving novels about families that put the fun in dysfunction.

In Marie Claire's Ones to Watch list, you’ll meet 26 names on the rise in entertainment. The changemakers, tastemakers, and scene-stealers whose careers we’re excited to watch unfold.

There couldn't be a better time to spotlight the next generation of talent. In the two years since MC launched our Ones to Watch list, entertainment has continued to change rapidly—from actors' strikes to discourse surrounding box office numbers and straight-to-streaming releases to the way the algorithm may be affecting art and how we consume it. From actors and filmmakers lighting up the big screen to comedians, musicians, and producers redefining stages and soundtracks, these are the artists set to shape the future of what comes next.

Eva Victor, 31

Title: Actor, writer, and director

Few movies this year tore us open, and mended us back together again, like Sorry, Baby did. Helmed by writer/director/actor Eva Victor in their feature debut, the A24 film (co-produced by Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins) was tender and original in its exploration of a sensitive subject matter—and solidified the filmmaker as a bona fide star with a singular voice. Fans who’ve followed Victor since their days making viral sketch comedy videos know how far they’ve come and that they’ve always had a hilarious, astute perspective (ie, the “straight pride” video, IYKYK); surely Sorry Baby is the first of many compelling stories they have to tell.

The moment we became obsessed: Their sketch video as a mysterious French woman who “definitely didn’t murder [her] husband.”

MC: What movie/show do you quote too often?

EV: “The Silly Rabbit speech (should be taught in schools) that V. Stiviano gives to Barbara Walters about Donald Sterling. It is the most interesting combination of words in a row that exists, in my opinion.”

MC: What fictional character do you irrationally identify with?

EV: “Madame Bovary. No questions on that at this time. Also Violet from The Incredibles. Also Sandra Hüller’s character in Toni Erdmann. Also Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping. Also Cartman. Also Christopher Moltisanti.”

MC: What’s a dream you haven’t told anyone yet?

EV: “This isn't your question, but one time I had a nightmare that my mom's head got chopped off. That fucked me up for like three years.”

MC: Who’s your biggest creative inspiration—and how do they influence your work?

EV: “My best friend. Feeling seen by someone else as the person you wish you were and are becoming is the greatest gift of a long friendship. I feel fully myself with her. That kind of love is very inspiring.”

Alyah Chanelle Scott, 28

Title: Actor, director, and producer

It seems there’s no corner of the entertainment world that Alyah Chanelle Scott can’t thrive in. After three seasons on HBO Max’s cult-favorite The Sex Lives of College Girls, she’s now starring in Cooper Raiff’s Hal & Harper. Directing? She’s already helmed two music videos for former co-star and bestie Reneé Rapp. However, the musical-theater grad’s most impressive impact is on- and Off-Broadway, where she won a Tony for producing the 2023 revival of Parade before returning to the stage in the play All Nighter. With her banner Runyonland Productions, Scott’s had a hand in several of the past few years’ buzziest productions (including John Proctor is the Villain, Parade, and The Wiz), and the 28-year-old’s just getting started on her EGOT.

The moment we became obsessed: Her costars-to-lovers arc with Judy Greer’s character in the short-lived Hulu comedy Reboot.

MC: What’s a dream you haven’t told anyone yet?

ACS: “I have many dreams that I’ve never spoken about, and I’m going to say them all now if that’s okay: Directing a feature film. Meeting Paddington Bear. Finding the best chocolate chip cookie in N.Y.C.—so far it’s The Pastry Box in the East Village, but I’m open to suggestions. Living in a walkable neighborhood close to family and not too far from the city. To finally understand how dry cleaning works, and also the stock market. Going to culinary school. Opening a bakery. Joining a book club (which I know I could easily do, but there are too many to choose from, and I get too nervous to commit without knowing all of the books in advance). For my little brother to call me more. For healthcare to be free. And lastly, for empathy to be hot again.”

Chase Infiniti, 25

Title: Actor

Chase Infiniti was destined to be a film maven since birth—her parents named her as an homage to both Nicole Kidman’s role in Batman Forever and Buzz Lightyear’s iconic catchphrase. The musical-theater grad began her meteoric rise in Hollywood with a pair of roles where she had to hold her own against Hollywood heavyweights: first as Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga’s daughter on Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent and then as Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor’s in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. For the latter—already receiving Oscar buzz—Infiniti beat out countless young actors and trained in mixed martial arts to deliver her impressive performance as a revolutionary heir on the run from a white-supremacist group. So the question isn’t if she’ll be a success but just how far her star will rise. (Next up: She’s playing Elisabeth Moss’s grown daughter in Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale sequel, The Testaments.)

The moment we became obsessed: Her layered reaction when Regina Hall's character in One Battle After Another recites “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” to her.

Elvira Anderfjärd, 26, and Luka Kloser, 27

Title: Producers and songwriters

Considering the statistics regarding female producers in the music industry remain dismal, it’s particularly exciting when a new woman bursts onto the scene, let alone a pair. In mid-2024 and into 2025, pop fiends and underground music fans alike were dying to know what studio wizards were behind Addison Rae’s steady stream of intoxicating singles and, inevitably, what became her stellar full-length album Addison. The answer turned out to be Elvira Anderfjärd, known professionally as Elvira, and Luka Kloser, a Swedish and Angelino BFF duo, backed by Max Martin’s MXM Studios. The two worked closely with the pop star on the entirety of her record, and have also lent their skills to Conan Grey’s latest, and superstars individually (Anderfjärd’s worked with Tove Lo for years, while Kloser is credited on Ariana Grande and Tate McRae hits). Favoring glistening ‘00s-inspired pop flairs, lushness, and feminine quirks, they’re pushing pop in a quixotic direction.

The moment we became obsessed: The first time we put our headphones on to listen to Addison, and the opening track “New York” reached the 1:52 mark; we knew we were in for pop perfection.

MC: When did you know this was the career you wanted—like really know?

EA: “Honestly, the brilliant era of 2015 to 2018 music was a magical and tough time for a high schooler secretly dying to be a part of the shimmery world of writing and producing. I always knew I was gonna do music somehow, but wouldn’t dare admit that obsessing over jazz solos was not my path. I think that was my moment. It felt like a force field I just had to walk closer, too.”

MC: What fictional character do you irrationally identify with?

EA “I admit I’m probably a 60 percent Miranda, 30 percent Carrie…10 percent Charlotte.”

MC: What movie or show do you quote too often?

LK: “School of Rock.”

Mary Beth Barone, 34

Title: Comedian, actor, and writer

When Benito Skinner assembled the team behind his A24-produced Prime Video series Overcompensating, he brought along his besties and, in doing so, crowned the new funny girl to watch. Mary Beth Barone played guarded mean girl Grace on the show—also writing on the co-ed comedy—which became one of the year’s biggest TV debuts. Outside of TV, Barone and Skinner have been hosting the beloved “Ride” podcast for years, and she’s a well-known standup, making us laugh about today’s political hellscape and modern dating. She’s also launched the initiative Politics for Hot People to get more young people involved in organizing. May she continue to flex her talents long past a tight five.

The moment we became obsessed: Her 2024 stand-up set on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

MC: When did you know this was the career you wanted—like really know?

MBB: “After I did my first open mic at the now-shuttered UCB East. RIP. We each had two minutes to tell jokes, and that was all it took. I just knew.”

MC: Who’s your ultimate pop culture icon?

MBB: “Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.”

MC: What does “making it” look like to you?

MBB: “Being able to delete social media.”

MC: Who’s your biggest creative inspiration—and how do they influence your work?

MBB: “My biggest creative inspiration is my best friend and collaborator Benito Skinner. I get really scared sometimes thinking, "What if we never met?" Like, can you imagine? He challenges me, cheers for me, and in those tiny, fleeting moments where I see myself through his eyes, those are the moments where I love myself the most.”

Supriya Ganesh, 27

Title: Actor

As The Pitt grew from a hyper-realistic medical drama to a genuine cultural phenomenon in early 2025, Supriya Ganesh still had a day job as an MCAT tutor. The Tamil-American Columbia grad got a 99th percentile score on the med-school exam but ultimately delayed med school to pursue acting. As third-year resident and patient advocate Samira Mohan, Ganesh was a compassionate anchor, grounding the fast-paced series and showing how empathy can be a doctor’s secret weapon (even if her character was dubbed “Slo-Mo”). While fans wait patiently for season 2, Ganesh has built a passionate cohort of fans with her openness about her queer identity (Ganesh uses she/they pronouns) and her candid thoughts about her growing fame.

The moment we became obsessed: Every scene with sickle-cell patient Joyce on The Pitt. Dr. Mohan is No. 1 in patient satisfaction for a reason!

MC: What movie or show do you quote too often?

SG: “Om Shanti Om, one of the first Bollywood films I really fell in love with. I have acted out the infamous “bhago, bhago!” scene way too many times.”

MC: What fictional character do you irrationally identify with?

SG: “Sid the Sloth from Ice Age. I grew up in India after having spent the first three years of my life in America, and I felt like such a fish out of water. I didn’t even speak the language (Hindi) at the time, so I only had one friend in kindergarten. Missed so many social cues, was really hard to find my people. I remember watching the first installment when his friends and family left him behind and thinking, ‘Yup, that’s me!’”

MC: Who’s your biggest creative inspiration—and how do they influence your work?

SG: “Yorgos Lanthimos. I’ve watched every single one of his films, and think the way he directs actors to be truthful in the most absurd circumstances is so interesting to me. I remember watching The Lobster and knowing that was the kind of art I wanted to make—you know, the kind that might cause you to break up with your significant other and reevaluate your entire life!”

Olivia Dean, 26

Title: Singer-songwriter

Now’s the perfect time to tune into Olivia Dean—one of this year's Grammy nominees for Best New Artist. The 26-year-old pop-soul singer grew up in north-east London and trained at the Brit School, attending with contemporaries like RAYE and under the legacy of alums like Adele. In 2019, her self-released single “Ok Love You Bye” became a viral hit, earning her a deal with EMI Records; her debut album, 2023’s Messy, was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. Inspired by Mickalene Thomas’s exhibition All About Love, Dean’s sophomore album The Art of Loving kicked off Lover-Girl Fall, with her honeyed vocals relaying lyrics exploring self-love and modern romance on hits like “Man I Need.” After her short stint opening for Sabrina Carpenter, Dean will kick off her world tour with eight sold-out UK shows (including four nights at the O2) in April 2026.

The moment we became obsessed: Her COLORS performance of “A Couple Minutes” transports us to a candle-lit ‘60s jazz club.

Yerin Ha, 27

Title: Actor and producer

It’s almost time for Yerin Ha to make her global debut as Bridgerton season 4’s leading lady. The Korean-Australian actor was best known for starring in the live-action adaptation of Halo when she landed the role of Sophie Baek, Benedict Bridgerton’s love interest in the Netflix series’s Cinderella-inspired installment. With the Netflix hit’s track record for finding budding superstars—from Phoebe Dynevor and Nicola Coughlan to Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey—Ha’s performance is highly anticipated by both passionate Benophie fans and viewers already entranced by Ha’s chemistry with Luke Thompson. Even before season 4’s January premiere, the 27-year-old has spent the past year taking graceful steps into the spotlight, starring in the well-received murder-mystery The Survivors, attending her first Paris Fashion Week with Chanel, and taking to the stage in her West End debut in Kip Williams's The Maids.

The moment we became obsessed: When our FYP filled up with steamy videos of her with her co-star Luke Thompson.

MC: What does “making it” look like to you?

YH: "I don’t think I’ll ever feel like I’ve 'made it’ because you’re always evolving as a human being, and as such, so do your goal posts. But I do feel like once I reach a certain amount of exposure or ‘status,’ I would love to give back and help the next generation of Asian actors that might not have the financial stability or emotional support to study acting. This career is not only expensive, but it can also be lonely sometimes, and you do get a bit lost in the chaos of the industry, so having somewhere or someone to turn to when you need help is important. Maybe that’s what ‘making it’ looks like for me: giving back to my community."

Whitney Peak, 22

Title: Actor

When Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters ahead of Thanksgiving 2026, all eyes will be on Whitney Peak. Born in Uganda and raised in Canada from the age of nine, Peak broke into mainstream fame in 2021, channeling her natural magnetism as It-girl activist Zoya on the short-lived Gossip Girl reboot. Chanel quickly snapped her up to be an ambassador and eventual muse; in 2023, she succeeded Keira Knightley as Miss Coco Mademoiselle and, in doing so, became the first Black face of a Chanel fragrance. This year, she made her horror- and action-star debuts in the films Eye for an Eye and Trap House, honing skills that she’ll bring to her role as Haymitch Abernathy’s lost love, Lenore Dove Baird, in next year’s Hunger Games prequel.

The moment we became obsessed: When she carried on the legacy of Dan and Jenny Humphrey in the Gossip Girl reboot.

MC: Who’s your ultimate pop culture icon?

WP: “Rihanna.”

MC: What has fame taught you about yourself?

WP: “I have terrible stage fright.”

MC: What’s a dream you haven’t told anyone yet?

WP: “To be a writer. I’m very envious of those who can transfer thoughts from the mind onto paper.”

Romy Mars, 18

Title: Actor and singer-songwriter

“I could reach for the stars, but once I get it, I want more,” Romy Mars sings on her single “A-Lister.” You get the sense she’s not exaggerating—especially if you've followed the rising singer and daughter of Sofia Coppola and Phoenix’s Thomas Mars since she went viral with her short film I Tried to Charter a Helicopter to Visit My Camp Friend. Mars is well-attuned to how to wield her “nepo baby” status for good—from her many buzzy TikToks, that sometimes jeer at fame and sometimes steer into it (making internet boyfriends like Jacob Elordi dance). And she’s following in her father’s footsteps, tapping up-and-comers like Claud and Josh Mehling to work with her on indie pop earworms with biting lyricism. And we should all bask in her ascension: We may have the most talented member of the Coppola dynasty on our hands.

The moment we became obsessed: The lo-fi cover art of her EP, featuring her striking a pose in a scuba mask.

Ravyn Lenae, 26

Title: Singer-songwriter

There’s a special joy in seeing an artist who’s been putting in work for years finally rise to the top. It took nearly a decade for Chicago-born R&B star Ravyn Lenae to ascend to chart domination with her infectious pop-soul single “Love Me Not.” The singer-songwriter has spent the past year having her mainstream breakout following the August 2024 release of her second album Bird’s Eye. Her ‘60s-tinged single about the push-and-pull of romantic uncertainty soon became a TikTok staple, eventually debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 the following April. Pair the chart arrival with a jam-packed festival run and opening slots for both Reneé Rapp and Sabrina Carpenter, and it seems her hit-making run is here to stay.

Veronika Slowikowska, 30

Title: Actor, comedian, and content creator

If your FYP features stand-up and sketch comedy videos, it’s possible that you’ve spent the better part of the past year wondering whether Veronika and Kyle are dating or roommates. Comedian/content creator Veronika Slowikowska, aka @veronika_iscool, had already built a following with her offbeat characters and quirky sketches, so when she started pulling her friend-turned-boyfriend Kyle Chase (a.k.a. @kylefornow) into her bits and the two created their own lore full of in-jokes, it was as if she crafted her own online sitcom. But that’s all because the Canadian comedian isn’t afraid of being a little unhinged. It’s no wonder that after years of cutting her teeth in small TV roles, performing stand-up and musical-comedy gigs, and hosting the “nevermind.” podcast, she landed a cast spot on Saturday Night Live’s 51st season. Her zany humor should imbue the late-night series with some freshness.

The moment we became obsessed: The TikTok of her dancing to Fifth Harmony’s “Worth It” in a Tasmanian Devil hat.

MC: What does “making it” look like to you?

VS: “I’m a very impulsive person when it comes to the way I work. There was never a true 'moment' where I knew I wanted to do this. I think making things and performing have always been so natural, a mindless action in a way, doing without thinking (too much). I create something and then think back later, 'Oh, that’s what that was.' So, in a way, my career chose me? Or I had no say? But I’m happy! Oh, and watching the Britney Spears 'Sometimes' music video.”

Maika Monroe, 32

Title: Actor and producer

Maika Monroe has been a certified scream queen since her daring and vulnerable starring role in 2014’s It Follows—an instant cult classic that helped to kick off the “elevated horror” subgenre. And she’s held the title in the years since, leading acclaimed titles like Watcher and Longlegs, the highest-grossing indie film of 2024. An industry veteran at this point, the California-born-and-raised actor (the former professional kiteboarder couldn’t get any more SoCal) is poised to bring her cool and collected presence to buzzy indie movies and blockbusters alike, including 100 Nights of Hero, opposite Emma Corrin and Charli xcx, adaptations of Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him and Victorian Psycho, as well as the long-awaited It Follows sequel, They Follow. Final girl is right.

The moment we became obsessed: The tight shots framed around her face in It Follows.

MC: What movie or show do you quote too often?

MM: “Bridesmaids. There are just so many quotable lines.”

Lovie Simone, 26

Title: Actor

Mara Brock Akil’s groundbreaking coming-of-age drama Forever wouldn’t have worked without Lovie Simone. In it, the Gotham-nominated actor bared her soul and brought nuanced cultural specificity to portray Keisha, a golden girl in 2018 L.A., balancing the pressures of coming of age with the vulnerability of a first real love (played by Michael Cooper Jr.). Before Forever, the 26-year-old Bronx native began her career surrounded by Black Hollywood royalty, working with the likes of Regina King, Lynn Whitfield, and Keith David on the Oprah Winfrey-produced drama Greenleaf. With fans counting the days until Forever’s second season arrives on Netflix, Simone’s on her way to joining the ranks of the legends that came before her.

The moment we became obsessed: When Keisha roasts Justin during their adorable New Year’s Eve meet-cute (or reunion-cute) in Forever.

MC: What movie or show do you quote too often?

LS: “Coraline is my weakness!”

MC: What has fame taught you about yourself?

LS: “Fame has taught me that I am more than myself. All of these faces I put on to tell stories is a part of connecting communities, and it’s beautiful.”

MC: Who’s your biggest creative inspiration—and how do they influence your work?

LS: “There are MANY. But if I were to give one, I would say Octavia Butler. Reading her books inspires me to ground myself in a story, in a character. She also has redefined my love for world-building many times. It's depth like hers I hope to recreate in my own way in my own craft.”

Ella Purnell, 29

Title: Actor and producer

Ever since her breakout role in 2018’s Sweetbitter, Ella Purnell has become one of TV’s most exciting young actors. The former child star from London has led three of Hollywood’s most original survival stories as of late. After playing dearly departed team captain Jackie on the cannibal-hit Yellowjackets and voicing Jinx on Netflix’s animated marvel Arcane, she now goes toe-to-toe with Walton Goggins and Kyle MacLachlan as vault-survivor Lucy McLean on the video-game adaptation Fallout. Purnell also became a major player behind the camera with the Starz serial-killer dramedy Sweetpea, taking a hands-on role in everything from the writers’s room to giving input on costumes and set design. With both Sweetpea and Fallout returning for second seasons (and a third greenlit for the latter), Purnell’s next goals include forming a production company and directing her second short film.

The moment we became obsessed: Every one of Lucy's "Okey dokeys" in Fallout.

Ji-young Yoo, 26

Title: Actor

Ji-young Yoo was a cinema and media studies major at the University of Southern California when she landed her breakout role alongside Nicole Kidman in Lulu Wang’s Hong Kong-set drama Expats. Since then, the indie darling and Gotham Awards nominee has flexed her adaptability, from a punk rocker fighting Nazis in Freaky Tales, to a high schooler navigating her parents’s separation in Smoking Tigers, to a psychic teen fighting through a death loop in Until Dawn. This year, the Denver-born daughter of Korean immigrants is part of a global phenomenon, voicing beloved rapper-maknae Zoey in Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters. The rising star will continue to make history with a leading role in Paramount and HYBE America’s untitled K-pop movie, the first major American studio film shot entirely in South Korea.

The moment we became obsessed: Zoey’s excitable, “가자 가자 가자!” (“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”) in KPop Demon Hunters.

MC: Who would you love to play opposite, alive, or dead? Why?

JY: “Robert Redford. His generation of actors was masters of craft, and he helped innovate the medium through the founding of Sundance and his support of independent film. His body of work in film and activism is astounding. It would have been such an honor to work with him—although I might have driven him crazy with questions about his philosophy on life and art between takes. I would have had a lot of fun, though.”

Mckenna Grace, 19

Title: Actor and producer

Mckenna Grace has grown up in front of the world, with the former child actor starring in acclaimed shows and films from Captain Marvel to I, Tonya to The Handmaid’s Tale to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Now 19 and facing the transition to adult roles, Grace is set to be one of 2026’s most-talked-about actors. She spent the past summer filming The Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping; fans heavily lobbied for and celebrated her casting as Maysilee Donner. Ahead of the highly anticipated role, she just made her debut as a romantic lead in the theatrical adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Regretting You.

The moment we became obsessed: If you Google the definition of “resilience,” the first result should be the montage of young Carol Danvers getting back up in Captain Marvel.

MC: What fictional character do you irrationally identify with?

MG: “WALL-E. Hands down. What an insanely silly, weird little guy.”

MC: Do you feel pressure to represent something bigger than yourself?

MG: “When I was 6, I was on a Disney show and I was doing a hospital visit where I ended up meeting one of my best friends, Faith Rose, who was there fighting cancer. In getting to know her, I remember it was the first time I saw that I could make a positive impact on someone simply because I had the privilege of being on a TV show. Although I think I gained more from knowing her than she ever could from me, that was when I realized that what I do is so much bigger than myself and it's always stuck with me. I've always wanted to try and stay a good influence because I know my life is watched and scrutinized and, although I guess you could say it's technically not my responsibility, I want to be someone cool and good that younger people can have a positive impression of. I do and will make a lot of mistakes, I just try to learn from them. So, yeah, I do feel that pressure, but maybe it’s something I more so put on myself. But I’m really grateful for the opportunity to have even a small amount of influence in that regard."

MC: Who’s your biggest creative inspiration—and how do they influence your work?

MG: “Florence Pugh is my favorite actress right now. She is one of the greats. So natural and effortless, her style, too, and I love how true she seems to stay to herself outside of her jobs. She’s just such a jaw-droppingly good actress I just strive to have an ounce of her talent.”

Robby Hoffman, 35

Title: Comedian and writer

It’s hard to stand out on a show as packed with laugh-out-loud performances as Hacks, but Robby Hoffman was up to the challenge. In season 4, the masc, ex-Hasidic lesbian comedian earned an Emmy nomination for their performance as Jimmy and Kayla’s eccentric assistant Randi; that same TV season, they showed off their dramatic chops as a home-goods clerk dominating Michelle Williams in Dying for Sex. That’s a big year, even before adding on her whirlwind wedding to reality television star Gabby Windey. She’ll follow up the impressive run with a pair of HBO shows: Steve Carell and Bill Lawrence’s upcoming HBO comedy and her own self-inspired series Unentitled.

The moment we became obsessed: On Hacks talking about Speed.

Suzanna Son, 29

Title: Actor and singer-songwriter

Classic Hollywood success stories that begin with fateful discovery on the streets are few and far between nowadays—but Suzanna Son can chalk her breakout up to a chance encounter with Oscar-winner Sean Baker outside of The ArcLight Theater in L.A. He scouted the actor/musician to play the starry-eyed donut shop employee Strawberry in his 2021 film Red Rocket, for which she earned Gotham and Independent Spirit Award nominations. Since then, her killer, cherubic voice, and original songs were among the highlights of The Idol, and she’s held leading roles in Fear Street: Prom Queen and Ryan Murphy’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Her debut album, full of alluring singer-songwriter-style tunes, is on the way soon; she’s already released the beguiling singles “Coraline,” “Pockets Full of Posey,” and “Ana.” Add her music—and her moment in the spotlight—to the queue.

The moment we became obsessed: Covering “Bye Bye Bye” in Red Rocket. Who knew a stripped-down, piano version of an *NSYNC hit could make you cry?

MC: Who’s your ultimate pop culture icon?

SS: “Fiona Apple. She reminds me it’s okay to be complicated.”

MC: What movie or show do you quote too often?

SS: “Twilight, but I’m stopping today.”

MC: What does “making it” look like to you?

SS: “Having a long and varied career and a dog and a cat and a lemon tree.”

MC: What has fame taught you about yourself?

SS: “Fame has taught me that it doesn’t fix anything.”

Havana Rose Liu, 28

Title: Actor

Brooklyn native Havana Rose Liu’s origin story is as cool as she is. Street-cast while studying art, activism, and wellness at NYU, the performance artist became an instant fashion It-girl and embarked on an acting career, eventually finding her breakout role in the 2023 sapphic comedy Bottoms. Now she’s a bona fide film-festival darling, with roles in this year’s Sundance hit Lurker and Cooper Raiff’s series Hall & Harper, as well as the upcoming Leo Woodall/Dustin Hoffman thriller Tuner and John Carney’s next musical comedy, Power Ballad. Even as her career skyrockets, Liu takes time to pursue projects that feed her soul; last spring, she returned to her live-performance roots, describing her run in the coming-of-age Off-Broadway play All-Nighter as “coming home.” The industry’s most introspective star will next appear in a pair of potential blockbusters: Jesse Eisenberg’s A24 musical comedy and Nicholas Winding Refn’s NEON release Her Private Hell.

The moment we became obsessed: The crazed denial in Bottoms when she finds out her character’s boyfriend has been cheating on her.

Odessa Young, 27

Title: Actor

It’s felt as if Odessa Young has been readied for a mainstream leading performance for years—and thankfully, it’s arrived this year with Deliver Me From Nowhere, the Bruce Springsteen biopic co-starring Jeremy Allen White. The Aussie actor has been bringing her deft balance of grit and poise to acclaimed indie films since she was 18, from Assassination Nation, Sam Levinson’s unhinged, pre-Euphoria high school thriller, to auteur Josephine Decker’s inspired Shirley Jackson drama, Shirley. She was also among the top choices in the “Madonna boot camp,” aka the Queen of Pop’s grueling audition process for her in-development biopic. Even without that role, she’s still about to be everywhere: next up, the leading role opposite Elizabeth Olsen in The Iron Claw filmmaker Sean Durkin’s forthcoming FX series Seven Sisters.

The moment we became obsessed: Rolling around in moss and dirt as a young mother rejecting complacent domesticity in Shirley.

MC: When did you know this was the career you wanted—like really know?

OY: “I don’t think I’ve ever really known. I find out more ways to align myself with this career (or maybe align the career with myself) every time I work, but I appreciate a kind of precariousness in how I regard my future in film. If I don’t think about doing it forever I can exhaust myself, which is where the pleasure lies for me.”

MC: What fictional character do you irrationally identify with?

OY: “Oscar the Grouch.”

MC: Who would you love to play opposite, alive or dead? Why?

OY: “Too many to count. I wish I could have shared a stage with Eleonora Duse, just to watch her work. It was said that audiences saw her shape-shift in front of their very eyes.”

Sophia Lillis, 23

Title: Actor

Sophia Lillis made a lasting impression among the child actors who led the It movies. As Beverly, she went toe-to-toe with Pennywise while facing trouble at home and the horror of the death of girlhood—arguably one of the heaviest arcs in the blockbusters. Her screen presence continued to haunt us as the young version of Amy Adams’s character in the Emmy-nominated Sharp Objects and the criminally short-lived but one of Netflix’s all-time best teen series, I Am Not Okay With This, playing a Carrie-esque teen wrestling with her sexuality. In huge TV projects this fall—she plays it straight opposite the off-the-wall Tim Robinson in his HBO comedy The Chair Company, and will join Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning in the mystery All Her Fault—the 23-year-old’s ascension is just beginning.

The moment we became obsessed: She channels Carrie—bloodied, no-holds-barred teen angst and all—in the I Am Not Okay With This finale.

MC: When did you know this was the career you wanted—like really know?

SL: “There was no one big moment, just little ones. I loved watching Giulietta Masina as a kid, and I enjoyed my acting summer programs at Strasburg. I also enjoyed taking time off school to do NYU shorts. I made close friends on IT when I was 14. Every new job comes with its fair share of challenges, but then there’s little moments that remind me why I keep going.”

Ella Beatty, 25

Title: Actor

She may be the daughter of two film icons, Annette Bening and Warren Beatty, but Ella Beatty is forging her own path—trading Hollywood for the Great White Way. After graduating from Juilliard in 2022, she made her Broadway debut in 2024’s Appropriate. Beatty was handpicked for her role by the play’s lead Sarah Paulson, who sat in on the auditions to find a replacement for Elle Fanning. She’s also gone toe-to-toe with Hugh Jackman in the emotionally charged, Off-Broadway hit Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, and among the standouts in the star-studded ensemble (Billy Crudup, Lily Rabe) of the revival of Ghosts at Lincoln Center. She isn’t entirely avoiding getting in front of the camera; she’ll lead Ryan Murphy’s next season of Monster, about Lizzie Borden, reuniting with the showrunner after a small role in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. You get the sense she takes her family’s legacy very seriously.

The moment we became obsessed: When she stormed into the office of Rose Byrne’s therapist character in If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.

MC: What fictional character do you irrationally identify with?

EB: “I identify heavily with Chessy, played by Lisa Ann Walter, from the 1998 Parent Trap. One of my favorite movies of all time. Now that’s a woman with a good head on her shoulders!”

MC: Who would you love to play opposite, alive or dead? Why?

EB: “I would love to play opposite Frances McDormand or Laurie Metcalf. Two absolute geniuses.”

Joy Sunday, 29

Title: Actor

It’s impossible to look away from Joy Sunday on Wednesday. The 29-year-old is enthralling as queen-bee and literal siren Bianca Barclay, who subverts mean-girl tropes in the Netflix fantasy series. Before Wednesday, Sunday was a Staten Island-born LaGuardia and USC film grad best known for small roles in Justin Simien’s Bad Hair and Dear White People. Three years after her first major TV role became Netflix’s most-watched English-language show ever, the actor spent the past summer building hype for Wednesday season 2, as her bold take on gothic-themed dressing cemented her as a rising fashion star. As fans wait for Wednesday season 3, Sunday has lined up projects that show a new side to her artistry, from directing a video for the national nonprofit YoungArts, to co-starring alongside Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini in the HBO dark comedy DTF St. Louis.

The moment we became obsessed: Her badass fencing battle—and win—against the titular goth girl in Wednesday season 1.

MC: When did you really know this was your career?

JS: “I chose the song ‘Mister Cellophane’ for my high school junior year Musical Theatre final. Partly because I have always been obsessed with all things Chicago, and partly because it spoke to how invisible I felt in the theatre program. I had felt so discouraged from pursuing acting, developing a residual stage fright that made moments like this performance dreadful. But that day, I belted out that last note of ‘Mister Cellophane’—maybe out of desperation to be heard, maybe because I thought it’d be one of the last times I’d get to perform like this–and something shifted in me. I knew then that my heart wanted nothing more than to do this every day of my life. The seed flowered that day and would bloom years later.”

MC: What fictional character do you irrationally identify with?

JS: “Chloe from Totally Spies. I’m just a girl who can kick ass!”

MC: Who is your biggest creative inspiration?

JS: “She has to be tired of hearing it from me at this point…Michaela Coel. I so deeply appreciate everything she has handcrafted(!) and then performed with such mastery. Harvard just published a study: There’s a direct correlation between watching her shows and then getting straight to work.”

Raffi Donatich, 28

Title: Writer and producer

Not every screenwriter can call Lena Dunham a mentor, but Raffi Donatich is a writer on the rise whom the Girls alum sees herself in and already counts as a collaborator. The Brooklyn-based scribe got her start in theater, assisting Jeremy O. Harris on his plays Slave Play and Daddy, and has since brought her witty pen to the screen. She wrote the campus dramedy Poetic License, which marked Maude Apatow’s directorial debut, and you can expect to see—and binge-watch—her work everywhere soon. She, Harris, and Dunham are developing the “intimacy coordinator” comedy Sex Act for Netflix, and she’s set to write/produce on beloved coming-of-age filmmaker Megan Park’s teen series, Sterling Point, for Prime Video. We’re sensing a new voice of her generation, or at least “a voice” we can’t wait to hear from for years to come.

The moment we became obsessed: When Cherry Lane Theater staged a reading of her play Fabulous Pasta Salad.

MC: When did you know this was the career you wanted—like really know?

RD: “I knew I wanted to be a writer when I became obsessed with making up characters and filming myself on my Flip video camera. They seriously need to bring those things back...That or, when I saw Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture at 13 and it changed my life.”

MC: What fictional character do you irrationally identify with?

RD: “Troy Bolton.”

MC: What’s a dream you haven’t told anyone yet?

RD: “To audition for American Idol.”

Back in January, filmmaker and indie darling Cooper Raiff debuted Hal & Harper, a family dramedy that quickly became one of the most-anticipated TV series of the year. Written and directed by the Cha Cha Real Smooth filmmaker, Hal & Harper follows the titular codependent siblings, played by Raiff himself and Lili Reinhart. The naturalistic series follows the pair as they face several life changes, including their father (played by Mark Ruffalo) welcoming a baby with his new girlfriend. At a time when big-budget, genre-heavy shows reign supreme, Hal & Harper is the type of relatable, character-led story that shines a light on a normal yet dysfunctional family as they try to care for one another.

The eight-episode series immediately received rave reviews upon its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, but fans have had to wait a long time for the show to hit streaming. After experiencing difficulties making the show within the studio system, Raiff went independent and sold the series to the cult-loved streamer/distributor MUBI in June 2025. Now that the indie series is finally out to the world, read on for everything you need to know about how to watch Hal & Harper.

What is 'Hal & Harper' about?

Hal & Harper is an eight-episode series that follows the titular siblings as life events test their co-dependent relationship. When Harper and Hal were 4 and 2-years-old, respectively, their mother suddenly died. Soon, their father, known only as "Dad" in the series, fell into a deep depression, and the children were mostly left to fend for themselves. Viewers get to see Hal and Harper's childhoods in flashback scenes to when they were 7 and 9, where Raiff and Reinhart still play their characters as elementary school kids. The adult actors's younger performances reflect how the pair were both forced to grow up too fast and left stunted by their childhood trauma.

Fast-forward to adulthood, where Harper is a 24-year-old office worker and Hal is a 22-year-old college senior. Dad is expecting a baby with his girlfriend, Kate (Betty Gilpin), and preparing to sell their childhood home. Throughout their entire lives, Harper has been the solid older sister, raising her younger brother Hal, who still climbs into bed with her at times as an adult. Now, though, Harper's longtime girlfriend, Jesse (Alyah Chanelle Scott), has a job waiting in Texas and wants Harper to move with her. How these characters navigate these dilemmas with their family intact is the driving plot of the show.

How to watch 'Hal & Harper'

Hal & Harper is currently available to stream exclusively on MUBI. The show premiered on the streamer on Sunday, October 19, 2025. Following the one-episode premiere, new episodes arrive weekly every Sunday until the November 30 finale.

Viewers can sign up for MUBI with a 7-day free trial, after which the film streamer costs $15/month or $120/year.

What Is MUBI?

MUBI is an independent film distributor and streaming service. The company is based in the U.K. and has a devoted following in Europe, and is actually one of the oldest streamers, having launched in 2007. MUBI is essentially for cinephiles, as it touts itself as having a heavily curated library with an expansive selection from auteur filmmakers and cinema from around the world.

MUBI distributes its own projects, which are frequently picked up at film festivals, from the Oscar-winning horror movie The Substance to Park Chan-wook's acclaimed drama Decision to Leave to humble thrillers like Lurker.

In addition to its streaming subscription, MUBI also has a MUBI Go tier for $5 more. With MUBI Go, subscribers can get one movie ticket per week to a select theatrical release.

In Marie Claire's Meet Cute, we have a chance encounter with pop culture's latest man crush.

Arian Moayed is giving glamour. He’s sitting across from me in a black sweater and gold chain bracelet at Pebble Bar in midtown Manhattan, which he co-owns, along with Succession co-star Nicholas Braun—the gooberish Cousin Greg to Moayed’s shark-eyed private equity investor Stewy—and an Oscar party’s worth of people who Moayed calls “fancies:” Justin Theroux, Mark Ronson, Jason Sudeikis, Pete Davidson.

It’s a few days before the debut of season 2 of Nobody Wants This, the mega-hit Netflix rom-com that Moayed has a starring role on. Moayed plays Dr. Andy, who, along with Succession’s Justine Lupe, comprise this show’s second will they-won’t they/should they-shouldn’t they couple.

The second season will become Netflix’s most-watched current show after its release on October 23. Amid the excitement of the premiere, Moayed is still busy with other prestigious endeavors; he tells me he’s been “quietly” working with New York City’s charismatic mayoral frontrunner, Zohran Mamdani, whom he calls “iconic,” and is about to appear on “my friend Malala” Yousafzai’s book tour for her memoir Finding My Way. Moayed and Yousafzai are co-executive producers of Champions of the Golden Valley, a film about skiers in Afghanistan that is a contender for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards.

Next year, Moayed will star in the Marvel series Wonder Man, which he speaks about as cautiously as if he has a laser dot on his forehead from a sniper rifle personally held by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. However, he does say, “Supposedly, it's Kevin's favorite thing right now.” Moayed’s cast mates are Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kinglsey, and though he cannot reveal how or if his character Agent Clery interacts with theirs, he says, “The show is unlike any Marvel show. It's acted differently. It's very realistic. It's not Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

It’s all very dazzling—enough to get to a handsome man’s lustrously-haired head. Luckily, Moayed has people around him to keep him humble.

The night before our interview, Moayed tells me his daughters, 14-year-old Ivy Shireen and 16-year-old Olive Joon, said, "Of all the people that Malala's having a book tour with, you're the biggest loser." Moayed pointed out that although book tour guests, like actress Nicola Coughlan and author Jenny Han, are indeed very cool and have more Instagram followers than the 45-year-old Moayed does, he has been twice-nominated for both Emmy and Tony Awards. His daughters replied, “Nominated.” Moayed jokes that he wants to be the first-ever person to TOGE: lose Tony, Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy noms. “EGOT loser,” he says prayerfully, like he’s about to throw dice on the craps table in the Bellagio. “Come on, baby.”

It’s unlikely. Spend any time with Moayed and it’s obvious that he’s an actor-y actor, someone committed to his craft. As we talk, he liberally employs the profession’s tendency toward mimicry; when I lean on my elbow, he mirrors the gesture. If I touch his arm to show that I’m kidding, he reciprocates.

It’s unlikely he believes it either. “I take all of this success that's happening right now with a little bit of, ‘It's all good, man,’” Moayed later tells me. “This sounds like I'm going to be cocky, and I just want to be honest, I'm just telling the truth: A lot of people ask me, ‘How do you always pick the best projects?’ And I say, ‘It's because I'm saying no to the things that I don't think are moving the needle, and I'm working with people that are better than me.’ Working with Jessica Chastain, working with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, working with Kristen, working with Justine—I'm just a sponge to all of this. Again, I don't want to sound cocky, but I'm not an actor that's dependent on making sure that acting represents me totally. It doesn't. It's a part of my life, something that I really care about, but I know my worth.”

Moayed views this entire thing—24 years living in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood with his family; Pebble Bar; the thriving career—as an improbable culmination of an upbringing dislocated by war. His childhood memories are bombings, sirens, and uncertainty. When he was 3, Moayed’s family fled to Dubai, and when he was 5, they settled in Chicago. His parents spoke no English, and to Moayed, it felt like, “Iran was like the worst word in the world. Not that it's such a great word right now, but it was the worst word in the world. The Iran hostage [crisis] was happening, Iran-Contra was happening, all that shit was on. It was scary, scary, scary, scary times.”

In 1991, a movie called Not Without My Daughter came out, starring Alfred Molina and Sally Field and based on a true story of an Iranian man who kidnapped his American wife during a trip to Iran. Moayed says white mothers started cautioning their daughters to not date Iranian men. In school, kids would “joke” that Moayed might commit some act similar to Molina’s character's. Humor is a defense to parry ignorant taunts and keep them from becoming something scarier, which may partially explain Moayed’s conversational style—long stretches of discursive earnestness on righteous justice, punctuated with antic banter.

At his childhood home, Moayed was put in charge of writing checks and filling out immigration paperwork. Because there was no one qualified to make sure that things were being processed correctly, Moayed’s own citizenship was imperiled. “There's a fucking stupid question that says, ‘Do you want your dependents under the age of 18 to also be citizens?’” Moayed says of one form. “I was 12 or 13, and I'm sure I didn't know what ‘dependents’ means.”

Years later, when Moayed was 18 and nervous about going off to college at Indiana University to study acting, a lawyer friend checked on the status of Moayed’s citizenship. Apparently, the wrong box had been ticked on the stupid form. Moayed had to start the entire process over, wait five years, and re-apply, which took another two-and-a-half years. Being a green card-holder without citizenship made everything complicated, from school to membership in the Actors’ Equity Association, the union for stage performers.

Though he finally got his citizenship at 26, Moayed still has an ingrained anxiety response, which manifests in two ways: The first is catastrophizing. “I walk into every scenario thinking of all the things that are going to go wrong,” Moayed says. “And I'm fixing plan C on a thing that's not going to go wrong. It's just such a waste of my energies, but it's because the trauma of that childhood shit and immigrant shit was very realistic.”

The second coping mechanism is an avoidance of situations, especially jobs, that cause undue stress. When it cannot be avoided, Moayed finds a friend within the chaos to make eye contact and lock in with and find companionship in a shared understanding of the inappropriateness, “Many times, when you're on set, screaming is happening over there,” Moayed says. “But we don't do anything that’s important enough for screaming.”

That’s not to say that acting isn’t important to Moayed—or that he doesn’t see it as a vehicle for progress. In 2002, when he was 22, he and his Indiana University classmate Tom Ridgley co-founded Waterwell, a non-profit that he still runs, which combines his passion for theater with his deep civic convictions. The company eventually partnered with NYC Public Schools to create and co-run the Professional Performing Arts School for children in grades 6 through 12 across the city, while putting on works like a production of Hamlet set in 1917 in Iran, when the country was deciding whether or not to Westernize.

But early Waterwell productions were smaller scale, self-produced affairs—its first one had a $500 budget and ran for one sold out night. It was not enough to sustain a career (or Hell’s Kitchen rental cost), so eight months after founding the company, Moayed was cast in his first major play—a Steppenwolf production of the Tony Kushner play Homebody/Kabul.

On the first day, Moayed got a parking ticket, which forced him into a delayed and dramatic entrance witnessed by Kushner, Tracy Letts, Aasif Mandvi, and a cast full of famous theater actors who had arrived on time. “I walk in late, sweating; [like,] kill me, put me in a hole, I want to die. But in the corner was this beautiful woman sitting on a chair, looking at me like, ‘You are a fucking idiot.’”

It was his future wife, Krissy Shields, who rejected Moayed’s pursuits for two months before agreeing to go out with him. 15 years later, with the then-7-and-9-yeard-old Ivy Shireen and Olive Joon walking them down the aisle, Shields and Moayed married on the stage of Steppenwolf in a Persian ceremony. Shields’s blue collar, New Jersey-based family and his Iranian parents were thrilled that their adult children had finally decided to formalize what felt to them like a relatively bohemian arrangement.

Theater seems to pervade every area of Moayed’s life, from processing his childhood damage to his goal to make Pebble Bar into a Broadway hangout spot. We’re sitting in Johnny’s, the private room where earlier this year Moayed co-hosted the bar’s second annual Tonys after-party with former Roys Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook, who won Best Actress for The Portrait of Dorian Gray. (No TOGE for her.)

Moayed’s own first Tony nomination came in 2011, after the then-30-year-old starred with Robin Williams in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. When Moayed got the part, his younger daughter was an infant, and he was unemployed. Though he had been signed by William Morris at 25, Moayed was getting no work in TV or film because he turned down every part in which he was asked to play a terrorist, and there weren’t many other roles for Middle Eastern actors. “Even [in] Argo, there are no Iranian characters that speak,” he points out.

Before the massive career inflection point of being cast—and holding his own—opposite Williams, Moayed remembers working as an IT temp at a mortgage company. The guy who ran the place offered him a few extra bucks if he would drop off his laundry, so Moayed brought the heavy sack to the wash-and-fold laundromat and returned it to his boss a few days later. The man started screaming. “What is this?” he yelled. The load that had gone through the wash was supposed to be dry cleaned, which the man assumed was just how everyone laundered their dirty clothes—he didn’t think to even mention to the temp, who couldn’t conceive that anyone would dry clean 25 pounds of laundry. “It must have been a $200 bill every day!” Moayed says, eyes googling in disbelief. He estimates the man’s laundry expenses were more than he made in a year.

Then, suddenly, Moayed was no longer fucking up rich people’s lives, but a feted Broadway actor attending Williams's 60th birthday party with a few stars (Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal) and lots of Williams’s AA buddies. Moayed says he is so grateful that he had the nerve to walk up to Williams and said, in a marriage of his dueling tendencies toward sincerity and goofiness, said, "I'm telling everyone you're my mentor. So if anyone asks..." Williams said, "That's good, because I'm telling everyone you're my mentee."

One piece of advice Williams gave to Moayed was that he shouldn’t give up on Waterwell because he was doing well; his enhanced status could now feed the non-profit, which had nourished him when he was principled but out of work. Williams also made Moayed realize that success—or at least feeling successful—was not a fixed status. “I hope this isn't speaking out of turn,” Moayed says, “but hearing Robin's concerns about what he was at his career at that point, it's like, ‘Oh, this isn't going to end.’"

Moayed was nominated again in 2023 for his role in A Doll’s House opposite Jessica Chastain, which overlapped with the final season of Succession. Moayed’s schedule during the last two episodes was filming from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. and rehearsing from 2pm to midnight. (Luckily, Moayed is a champion napper, and was able to use any minutes of downtime to sleep on the cot in his dressing room. “I nap all the fucking time,” he says with well-deserved pride. “Daddy's sleeping. He's gone. And my wife hates that about me.”)

Earlier this year, Moayed got triple-texted by Lupe, with whom he had never shared a scripted exchange on Succession, but who he would try to find in the many group scenes where supporting characters were basically extras. I pose a thought experiment: Could Stewy and Willa have gotten together? “He would've tried,” Moayed says. “And I think she would've maybe been game.”

The character Lupe wanted Moayed to play was—spoiler!—her character Morgan’s love interest, who also used to be her therapist. “The character is tricky, and I'm sure on paper it looks like this is the creepiest man in the history of time,” Moayed says.

His instinct was to humanize Dr. Andy. After all: “Everyone's fucked up,” Moayed says. “Give me a break. Everyone I know is fucked up. Some people are more fucked up. And so I try not to judge.” He says of Morgan and Dr. Andy’s ethically clouded transition from doctor-patient to boyfriend-girlfriend, "Whatever that line-crossing moment was, it must have been electric. Sexually charged. This is how I justify. Plus I know her”—the capricious character of Morgan—“and I understand her; it could lead to a hand on a thing, and then all of a sudden it's like, ‘I don't think we should…’" Sounds hot, if also like Dr. Andy should lose his psychology license.

Moayed also felt like the part—in, again, a romcom—didn’t work if Dr. Andy is a predator. “If you play ‘it's wrong’ from the jump, then Morgan's an idiot,” Moayed says. Nobody wants that.

If you enjoyed the first season, the show provides more of the same. Kristen Bell’s Joanne is selfish, and, separately, hesitant to convert to Judaism. Adam Brody’s Noah is managing his faith, career, and love for Joanne. They adore each other and want to be together despite their great obstacle. Since the central relationship is inspired by creator Erin Foster’s ongoing marriage to her Jewish husband, we can assume Joanne and Noah eventually work things out. Around the pleasant stasis of the central drama, the supporting cast provides cartoonish comic relief, including a fairly remarkable dance number from Timothy Simons.

Dr. Andy is a demented menace who also seems to deeply care about and understand Morgan. One scene with the actor provides a template for what the show might be going forward as we inch toward Joanne’s inevitable conversion: an ensemble comedy. Moayed, Lupe, Brody, Bell, Simons, and the miraculous Jackie Tohn, who plays Simons’s wife, all sit around an outdoor table playing a relationship-building game in which every character’s answer seems to mystify their fictional partner and provoke an amusing, character-revealing argument—after one card pull, Morgan realizes she doesn’t know Dr. Andy is a twin because she’s never asked him a question.

I ask Moayed how it was to navigate his relationship with Foster, given her vocal support of Israel and his equally public defense of Palestine and calls for an end to what a United Nations special committee has deemed to be a genocide taking place in Gaza. “Erin, yeah, we might not see eye to eye on what's happening over there,” Moayed says. “And I think we both are pretty fucking passionate about what we feel. But okay, relax for a second. Does that mean that we can't hang out anymore? I don't believe in the binary of that. I think we don't have to live in a world where we always have to hate each other because we disagree on something.” He cites Iranian members of his family who have voted for Trump, which he says “doesn't even actually legitimately make a lick of fucking sense.”

What was supposed to be a daytime bar hop romp has become a serious conversation—we were going to go the boxing themed Times Square dive Jimmy’s Corner, but it’s tough to stop hours of conversation about the lifetime impact of fleeing a war and navigating your friend (and boss) being on different ideological sides of what one party considers to be an atrocity to go grab a $3 Budweiser. We stayed put and drank water out of crystal highball glasses.

As the discussion shifts from what has been and how we navigate it, Moayed shows me a tangible way that he carries his past with him. He takes off and hands me his bracelet, which his mom purchased during the few months they lived in Dubai and had secreted away until life was stable. She just recently found it and gave him the chain with an ID plate that says his name.

Then Moayed states his goal: to do what he’s been doing at Waterwell since he was 22 on a bigger, for-profit scale and have Middle Easterners make more appropriately-financed films and shows and plays about their own people, so that it’s not just half the story being told, or the story of one sensational and aberrant kidnapping, or made up terrorists he elected not to play as a younger actor.

“Oprah Winfrey has an opportunity to tell Black stories because she's a Black woman,” Moayed says, naming inspirations. “Tyler Perry. Ryan Coogler. Charles King,” a manager who runs the production company Macro, which produced the Keke Palmer and SZA-led One of Them Days and Oscar-winning Judas and the Black Messiah.

“We need to also have a seat at the table with our own buns,” Moayed says. Will it be Moayed’s buns in the seat of power? “I don't see why not,” he says, smiling.

Photographer Ruben Chamorro | Stylist Paul Marlow | Grooming Emily Amick | Location Special thanks to Pebble Bar

For the past four years, Hulu's cozy murder-comedy Only Murders in the Building has been a staple of fall TV. In season 5, the murder-mystery series about true-crime podcasters Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) returned to its roots with a season centered on their pre-war building, The Arconia, and its faithful late doorman Lester (and the secret mob-run casino under the basement).

Now that Lester's killer has been found, it's time for OMITB to expand beyond the building once again. With the series officially renewed for another installment, it's time to go over everything we know about Only Murders in the Building season 6 so far.

When will 'Only Murders in the Building' season 6 come out?

On October 28, 2025, Hulu renewed its Emmy-winning comedy on the same day as its season 5 finale. Though the streamer hasn't unveiled a release date, OMITB has a regular spot on fans' TV calendars. Thus far, every season has aired between August and October (besides season 2, which debuted in June 2022). We'd bet big that season 6 will arrive around the same time next year, in fall 2026.

Considering filming began in May, it definitely seems feasible for the show to premiere in the fall! In the meantime, Hulu has blessed fans with ample behind-the-scenes photos of the stars enjoying life across the pond to hold us over.

Who will be in the cast of 'Only Murders in the Building' season 6?

In addition to the essential main trio of Steven Martin (Charles Haden-Savage), Martin Short (Oliver Putnam), and Selena Gomez (Mabel Mora), we know that Michael Cyril Creighton (Howard Morris) and Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Detective Williams) will return. (When the series began filming in London in May 2026, its official Instagram account shared a selfie taken by showrunner John Hoffman, our funny throuple, and Randolph.)

It's yet to be formally announced, but there's also a high chance we'll see more of Jackie Hoffman (Uma Heller) and Meryl Streep (Loretta Durkin-Putnam). OMITB could also find another way to bring back Paul Rudd, who voiced the robot LESTR in season 5 and seems to love returning to the murder-mystery in some form.

As it turns out, one of the series' recurring guest stars is set to return as season 6's murder victim. Tina Fey will reprise her role as Cinda Canning, rival podcaster to our favorite trio since season 1 (not to mention initial inspiration for their pod). In the final scenes of season 5, set three months after Lester's case was solved, Charles, Mabel, and Oliver sit down to listen to Cinda's new podcast about a curly-haired woman suspected of killing a royal descendant, and whom Cinda "sent to America" for safety. Soon after, they come upon the same woman as she lies dying at the Arconia's front gate...and she turns out to be Cinda.

Who are the guest stars in 'Only Murders in the Building' season 6?

In June 2026, Hulu began unveiling its huge slate of guest stars joining season 6. As per usual, their roles are being kept under wraps, but it seems the cozy mystery is rounding out its slate of suspects with as many famous Brits and Irish stars as it can wrangle across the pond. Here's who is joining the ensemble: Doctor Who himself, David Tennant, as well as another one of his co-stars, Jodie Whittaker (also of Broadchurch fame), comedian/showrunner Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters, Catastrophe), Bridgerton breakouts Nicola Coughlan and Simone Ashley, comedian/writer Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd), British TV staple Adrian Lukis (Judge John Deed, Pride and Prejudice), Martin Freeman (The Office, Sherlock), thee Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell-Horner, comedian/writer Jamie Demetriou (Stath Lets Flat), Downton Abbey alum Lesley Nicol, stage actress/We Are Lady Parts star Anjana Vasan, both Jane Horrocks and Jennifer Saunders from Absolutely Fabulous, Skins star Sean Teale, Jim Broadbent (the Paddington and Harry Potter movies), Amar Chadha-Patel (Willow), Rhea Norwood (Heartstopper), Matthew Beard (Vienna Blood), and acclaimed thespians Kathryn Hunter and Derek Jacobi.

Whoa! It's safe to say that the British (and the Irish!) are coming—and this season might just be bigger than ever!

Where will 'Only Murders in the Building' season 6 take place?

Only Murders in the Building is headed to jolly old London! Following the Cinda finale cliffhanger, Hulu confirmed that season 6 will film in London as Charles, Oliver, and Mabel unfurl the truth behind Cinda's murder.

While the show briefly pops over to L.A. in season 4, there's a chance that season 6 will be set in London for the majority of its run. Since Cinda's death stretches the definition of "in the building"—Cinda even grasps at the gate in her final moments to make sure that she counts—the trio may only be able to investigate from across the pond. Fans will have to wait and see how much of season 6 will actually take place in the building.

What will 'Only Murders in the Building' season 6 be about?

I have so many questions about season 6 after that cliffhanger. Who is the "royal descendant" who was murdered? How much of Cinda's new podcast, "The Girl With the Curls," did she record before fleeing to the Arconia to, presumably, get help from our trio? Is Cinda herself the girl with the curls, and she made a podcast referring to herself in the third person? Or was she killed while posing as a decoy, and the titular girl is still out there?

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, co-creator John Hoffman shared that, after season 5's Arconia-centered plot, season 6 will center on Cinda as another "origin point" for the trio. It'll also explore the classic detective literature that gave birth to murder-mystery storytelling.

The showrunner told the outlet, "[Season 6] all came together as wanting to look at origins for both the storytelling nature of what is at the source [of the detective genre] through the Agatha Christies and Arthur Conan Doyles and on and on, and on to podcasting today and that line between them, and what that might hold as fertile ground for next season beyond the incredible character that Tina Fey created for us that got this ball rolling."

"With Cinda, we have someone in the lexicon of the show who is the beginning of the legacy for our trio," he explained. "How does that extend further for the legacy of this endeavor of storytelling within this realm of murder mystery? All of that felt steeped in great history for the show and this kind of storytelling. I’m insanely stoked about an extra charge behind the ideas and the writing while also keeping very, very central who this trio is and where they come from, but being able to supercharge the season next year with some really new elements that feel well-timed."

Nearly 30 years ago, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion introduced the world to two hilarious, stylish BFFs who love each other as much as they love a good outfit. Now, the duo has a new party to get dressed up for, and you don’t need to be in the Sagebrush High School yearbook to attend: The 1997 film has been adapted into an Off-Broadway musical.

Romy & Michele: The Musical stars theater veterans Laura Bell Bundy (Legally Blonde: The Musical) and Kara Lindsay (Newsies) as the titular Valley Girl besties—made famous in the film by Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow—who travel back home to Tucson, Arizona for their 10-year high school reunion with a plan to impress their old classmates by lying about their success. Endlessly quotable and with a wardrobe to die for, the comedy’s been beloved since it was released, with a sequel reportedly now in development. Just like the film, the musical—directed by Kristin Hanggi with original music and lyrics by Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay and a book by the original screenwriter Robin Schiff—is a testament to friendship, being true to yourself, and never claiming to be the inventor of Post-It notes.

It’s also a musical that, by design, has to have great fashion, which is where costume designer Tina McCartney comes in. McCartney, who’s worked across stage, film, and television on projects like the In the Heights movie, the Beetlejuice musical, Fosse/Verdon, and the Tony Awards, aimed to strike a balance between honoring the movie’s source material while also making the costumes work for this new incarnation of the story. “There are those iconic moments that you really, really want to hit, so I wanted to make sure that we nailed those things,” McCartney explains to Maire Claire over Zoom. “But outside of that, there were new scenes that I got to create looks for. And when working in theater, all of a sudden they're singing and dancing, right? It's a musical, so we have to take it to another level.”

That’s no small undertaking, given how famous the film is for its clothes, which were the vision of lauded costume designer Mona May, the woman behind seminal ‘90s movies like Clueless, The Wedding Singer, and Never Been Kissed. She brought the pals’s high-low style to vivid life, filled with anything that was “exuberant, fun, and had colorful patterns.” She’s also a consultant on the musical and gave key insight to McCartney that helped carry the movie’s unforgettable ensembles onto the stage.

That gave her freedom to dress these musical versions of Romy and Michele, and express their unique personalities and iconic bond through their costumes. “They are so different, yet they're still so close, they're such good friends. They each think the other is the coolest person they've ever met.”

With Romy & Michele now officially open to the public at Stage 42, McCartney takes us through some of the musical's biggest fashion moments.

Meeting Romy and Michele

To begin, McCartney filled her mood board with imagery from iconic ‘90s music videos by the Spice Girls and S Club 7, as well as house music of that era. From there, she worked with May to narrow down what made Romy and Michele different, stylistically speaking. She distinguished many of their ‘fits by how Romy’s “a bit more masculine, a little tougher,” while Michele is “fluffy, soft, glittery.”

That dynamic plays out from the start, as the show begins with the pals and roommates getting dressed to go out clubbing. For that number, titled “This Is It (A Look They’ve Never Seen),” the lyrics dictate what clothes they reached for in their well-stocked closets: Romy’s outfit is described as “Barbarella bondage chic,” which fits her metallic blue dress with harness details. (Michele, meanwhile, lands on a fish-patterned minidress with marabou trim.) Their colorful looks helped them stand out against the musical’s ensemble cast, all dressed in silvers and blacks for the night on the town.

McCartney adds that Bundy and Lindsay also had a hand in shaping their characters's signature style. “They would put something on and be like, ‘Oh, this feels so Michelle,’ or ‘This feels so Romy.’ They're just such fantastic comedic actresses, and they bring so much to the characters.”

Prom Night

Though the story takes place in the ‘90s, the action flashes back to Romy and Michele’s high school days, including their prom night. With the titular besties in Madonna-inspired ensembles and their peers in more modest gowns, McCartney again channeled two distinct nostalgic aesthetics to present the leading ladies as a team—and on a different plane, sartorially speaking, than the rest of them.

“I leaned into that Gunne Sax look of the ‘80s for the ensemble. It's really about showing that they're different, they've always been different, and that's sort of their superpower,” McCartney says. “It was really about making sure that the colors were different, playing that up, that no one else really is in that look, they're even more glam. So for me it was about, Okay, how do we show that they’re fashion forward, they're on the cutting edge, and everyone else is sort of doing something very different?”

Road Trip

“I wanted them to be tied together through color, through style, at certain moments,” McCartney explains. That inspired the pink-and-green ensembles for the song “The Lie Will Set Us Free,” where they scheme to head home armed with their fabrication about being successful businesswomen.

“When they're going on their road trip to Tucson, having them look like a team was really important to me, and making sure that they coordinated together,” she adds. “Because in the film they're more individualized, whereas in the show you see them as a unit. You're seeing their whole body, you're seeing them framed by eight other people. So it was important to me that they were set apart in some of those moments, sort of them against the world.”

The Businesswoman's Special

How would a cashier at a Jaguar dealership and her unemployed roommate dress when they want people to believe they’ve invented one of the most famous office supplies on a desk? Romy and Michele’s projection of what they both think exudes status leads to their different takes on the power suit.

For this moment, McCartney wanted to pay homage to the film, but also make it fashion-forward and contemporary. She pulled that through the sleek lines and exaggerated shoulders of Romy’s blazer, and the more feminine, ‘90s-style sweetheart neckline of Michele’s jacket. It’s a look that wouldn’t be out of place today, even if their skirts are a bit shorter than you’d normally see in the office. (After all, this is the concept of “business chic” envisioned by two women who’d walk into a diner asking for a “businesswoman’s special.”)

The Reunion

You know the moment we’re talking about: Romy in galactic blue, Michele in pink, showing their former classmates that they really know how to make an entrance—and hit the dance floor. “That’s one of the big payoffs of the movie; they’re just being their full, quirky, fun, joyful selves. We had to pay direct homage,” McCartney says.

“Mona May did a really great job with capturing both of their personalities. We'd spoken about it, she and I, and there's so much thought about all the details that went into those dresses,” she notes. “So that felt like the right thing.” (One such detail: The symbol on Romy’s futuristic blue dress is a Star Trek emblem, because Sorvino had imagined the character as being “kind of a trekkie” in the original movie.)

It’s something she knew audiences would be looking for—the outfits themselves, and the “joyful” moment where the two besties dance together in the most Romy and Michelle way possible.

Director Hanggi intended for the entire show to capture that exact feeling. “She wanted to make sure that the show was a joy bomb. That was the inspiration for every choice we made: Is this going to tickle people? Are they going to be thrilled? Are we going to tell the story in a way that is uplifting? That was really important to us.”

Equally important was celebrating the movie’s—and now musical’s—true love story: the bond between best friends. “The story is about two friends, and it's showing the value of friendship, and those relationships aren't always as celebrated in our culture,” McCartney says. “I think that’s why it has stayed so iconic and has really touched people.”

Last year, Netflix's rom-com series Nobody Wants This became the surprise hit of the fall, as millions of TV fans fell for the romance between sex podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell) and hot rabbi Noah (Adam Brody). In addition to the central duo, the L.A.-set Netflix original features a cast of actors from some of TV's most acclaimed shows. In season 2, which premiered on October 23, Justine Lupe's Morgan stands out as one of the most unhinged members (and most-stylish dressers) of the hilarious ensemble.

In her biggest acting role to date, Lupe shines as Joanne's deadpan younger sister and podcast co-host who struggles to adjust to Joanne and Noah's serious relationship. Like her character, the actress is rapidly gaining fans for her no-filter openness about topics like new motherhood. Read on to learn more about the rising star, including where to spot her husband's cameo in season 2.

Justine Lupe is a Julliard-trained actress best known for playing Willa in 'Succession.'

Justine Lupe, 36, grew up in Denver, Colorado making camcorder movies with her brother, Colin, who now works as a cinematographer. She later attended the Denver School of the Performing Arts; her grandmother, community activist Katherine W. Schomp, was a "founding mother" of the school, per Rolling Stone. She went on to graduate from The Juilliard School in N.Y.C. in 2011, and quickly began her screen-acting career. In addition to her early film role in Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha, she also appeared in TV shows including Harry's Law, Cristela, Younger, Snowfall, Madam Secretary, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Mrs. Mercedes.

In 2018, Lupe rose to fame with her breakout role as Willa, Connor Roy's younger girlfriend in HBO's hit drama Succession. Willa, a former escort and aspiring playwright, started as a fan-favorite recurring role before Lupe was upped to a series regular in seasons 3 and 4. Speaking to Rolling Stone, creator Jesse Armstrong said of the actress, "She’s so brilliant that you just want to write more and more for her."

Justine Lupe's husband, Tyson Mason, makes a cameo in 'Nobody Wants This.'

Over the past few years, Lupe has had a whirlwind romance and started a family. In August 2023, she went Instagram-official with visual artist Tyson Mason. It's unknown when they began dating, but according to the L.A. Times, they were a couple in 2021. By August 2024, they welcomed their daughter, Ellis. During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in November of that year, Lupe revealed the meaning behind the name.

"My partner picked the name; he loved it," she said. "It means kind and benevolent, which we really wanted to, like, put that energy around the baby. We want you to be kind above all else."

In February 2025, Lupe and Mason were married in a courthouse ceremony in Beverly Hills, California. According to PEOPLE, they were joined by both their daughter and their dog, Lily. Both Lupe and Mason posted about the day on their respective Instagrams, introducing their "ding darn husband" and "ding darn wife."

Several of the Nobody Wants This cast's real-life partners make quick appearances in the rom-com's second season, including Adam Brody's wife Leighton Meester and Jackie Tohn's boyfriend Joe Gilette. Mason also makes a brief cameo in an episode, but according to Lupe, it took some convincing.

"He had a cameo this season. He’s the guy who’s drawing my portrait in the Valentine’s Day episode," she told Tudum. "He drew the portrait of me that goes into the finale. Tyson has zero interest in acting, and I had to beg him to do the part. even though he is not even on camera."

Lupe got advice from Sarah Snook and Kristen Bell on dealing with the "fourth trimester" of postpartum.

As a new mother, Lupe has spoken out about her experiences balancing her Hollywood career with the unspoken effects of pregnancy and postpartum. After filming season 1 during her second trimester, Lupe was several months postpartum when production began on season 2. In her cover story for Who What Wear's Parents Issue, the actress recalled going through a drastic hormonal shift while weaning from breastfeeding, and felt the symptoms for over two months.

"I had crazy anxiety. It was a little bit scary," she said. "I felt a different thing than I'd ever felt—sad, anxious. My body was totally out of control, and my brain didn't understand what was going on. I didn't have any postpartum depression. But this was real, and I didn't know anything about it."

To deal with the experience, Lupe leaned on her Succession co-star Sarah Snook, who had filmed the drama's final season while pregnant. "She gave me some really great podcasts to listen to for the fourth trimester, which is postpartum, and when postpartum came, she checked in on me," Lupe explained. "She was really helpful in terms of being like, 'You have nine months of pregnancy, and you're gonna get so much information about being a pregnant woman, and people forget about what happens after you give birth.'

Lupe was also able to confide in and lean on her on-screen sister Kristen Bell, who has two children with husband Dax Shepard.

"No one’s going to be able to do their best work, or even any work, if they feel completely out to sea while they’re on set," Bell told Rolling Stone. "As a mom, I know that feeling very well—those surging and dropping hormones. You don’t just have a baby and then instantly become who you were previously. There’s a whole process your body has to go through. I’m just glad [Justine's] honest enough to share intimate things. She allows you to feel so close to her, because she’s a very authentic person."

Lupe says she would be "happy with anything" that happens between Morgan and Sasha in 'Nobody Wants This' season 3.

Since season 1, Nobody Wants This has highlighted the unlikely friendship between Morgan and Noah's brother Sasha (played by Veep's Timothy Simons) as one of its main subplots. Fans who have already begun their Nobody Wants This season 2 binge know that Morgan is dealing with a lot on the romantic front, specifically her whirlwind romance with her therapist-turned-boyfriend, Dr. Andy (Arian Moayed). However, Lupe has pointed out that the show doesn't entirely write off Morgan and Sasha's will-they-won't-they vibe heading into season 3.

"I really just want to see their dynamic play out in any way ever," Lupe says of Morgan and Sasha in an interview with PEOPLE. "Tim is my favorite person to act with. He's so fun. He's a dear friend of mine—he's become one of my best friends—and I just love being in scenes with him."

"I am very hands-off about what the writers do and what they choose for these two characters, and I'm just excited to see any iteration," she added. "I think it also could just be really fun to watch them be weird, oddball buddies roaming around town trying to be each other's wingman or whatever. There's so much potential. I would be happy with anything."

Very few people know the real Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez. It’s possible they know Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, the performer who made history as the first trans actress to win a Golden Globe and to be nominated for a lead acting Emmy (both times for her breakout role as Blanca in FX’s hit series Pose); or even Michaela Jaé, the sultry R&B musician who dropped her debut album, 33, last year and is currently gearing up to release her next. But the full, four-name Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez? The woman she describes as the “regular, degular girl from Newark, New Jersey?” Well, as she says on a rainy mid-August afternoon, “You don’t get to see the Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez unless you’re really having an interview like this.”

The actress, singer, and newly-minted Off-Broadway producer tells me this as we’re tucked into a corner booth at the Beekman Hotel’s Temple Court Bar Room. We’re here, ostensibly, to discuss the third season of her Apple TV+ comedy Loot—which premiered October 15—where Rodriguez plays Sofia Salinas, the no-nonsense executive director of a nonprofit charity organization started by recently divorced billionaire Molly Novak (Maya Rudolph). But before we can really dive in, we get sidetracked on a conversation about her hair. You see, the new season opens with a noticeable aesthetic change for Sofia—as Molly gleefully puts it, “You got bangs!” It’s a marked pivot for Rodriguez’s character, whose presentation has always taken a backseat to the work she prizes above all else. So, I wonder, what is this meant to signal for her character’s new arc?

“In the second season, Sofia was in this kind of romantic phase, so she didn’t have a bang. It was very wavy. Still with a middle part, but romantic,” the actress explains to me. Last season, Sofia was forced to let down her guard after meeting Isaac (O-T Fagenble), an impossibly charming architect and part-time jazz saxophonist whose free-spirited ways taught Sofia a new way to find balance between her work and her personal life. “But in the third season,” the actress continues, “they wanted to show a different part of Sofia. She’s discovering more of herself, and with self-discovery, I think, there’s a chop of the bang, a new wardrobe, new shoes.”

There was a realistic reason behind the choice—a blurring of lines between the self and the character, one could say. As Rodriguez recalls, she had already been on a personal “journey” with her hairstylist, Barry Lee Moe, while preparations were underway for the third season. It was the middle of the 2023 actor’s strike, no one was working, and while itching for a switch-up, she told Moe, “I want a fuck-me bang, bitch. I want something that looks like it’s going to just eat it. I want something that’s just a smidge above the eyes where I’m just feeling it.” She posted about the hair on Instagram, and when the Loot team saw it, they felt it could work for Sofia, too.

I understand her thinking. Season 3 is, indeed, a period of self-discovery for Sofia. Much of her new storyline revolves around the arrival of a new character: Destiny (X Mayo), Sofia’s carefree sister and polar opposite. Loot’s writers get a lot of comedic mileage out of their odd-couple dynamic—Sofia describes herself as the Bill Clinton to Destiny’s George—but more importantly, it deepens our understanding of Sofia. As was the case with Isaac in season 2, reuniting with Destiny forces Sofia to consider exactly why she insists on putting so much pressure on herself to succeed. As the sisters work through their differences, they both learn more about themselves from each other and grow as a result. Why not throw a bang in the mix?

Still, Rodriguez needed separation. “Mind you, Michaela is totally different from Sofia,” she stresses. “Michaela Jaé gives, like, blunt straight bang. Sofia will give you a wave and a curtain bang.” To her, these minor aesthetic differences exist in parallel to the real-world differences between the character she plays on screen and the person she is in her day-to-day life. “Sofia is sophisticated and all business, whereas me…” She trails off for a second, considering her words. “Well, I guess I am business and I am sophisticated. But I’m a little more edgy.” I tell her that it’s possible to be both. “Exactly!” she exclaims. “We can be a little banjee when we want to!”

Talking with her, it’s not hard to pinpoint these differences. In person, Rodriguez is quite relaxed, even after a long photoshoot. She likes to joke and has a tendency to riff on silly hypotheticals, like when I bring up Donald Trump and she goes into an extended bit about not knowing who he is before “realizing” that who I’m actually talking about is Harry Potter’s Lord Voldemort. (A fitting parallel.)

And yet, the similarities between Sofia and Michaela can’t help but pierce through. This is my third time profiling Rodriguez, and on each occasion, she has referred to herself as a “workaholic.” A textbook Capricorn, she was raised by two parents who instilled in her a sense of duty. It’s what got her through four straight years as the de facto lead of Pose—where she endeared audiences with her sensitive portrayal of a selfless HIV-positive ballroom house mother—and what pushed her immediately into another four years working on Loot.

She very rarely takes breaks. Even when she’s not on a film or TV set, you can probably find her in the studio, working on music, since, as she stresses, “I’ve always wanted to be a pop star.”

Then again, maybe working on music is her way of taking a break. She lights up whenever our conversation pivots to that side of her career, explaining that, “In the music world, I’m free.” She sees music-making as an inherently different creative endeavor than acting; music, for her, feels much more intuitive. “I always say that my body moves before my mind sometimes,” she tells me. “So my body will go to the studio, and my mind will then say, ‘Bitch, you at the studio! Did you know that?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, shit. What am I doing here?’” She lets out a laugh. “I kind of like that. I like that my body can feel the music before my mind catches up to it.”

Much like acting, it took some time to find the separation between who she was as a person and who she was an artist. She says her first music video, for her 2021 debut single “Something to Say,” was when it finally clicked. “After I looked at that video, I was like, ‘Damn. This is Michaela Jaé.’ This is not MJ Rodriguez. This is not Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez. This is the embodiment [of my pop star persona]. This is who you see on stage, dressed up, bionic, new and improved.”

Four years after that, she feels like she’s finally realized her prowess as the pop star she always envisioned herself as. “I don’t see myself any other way now,” she says with full confidence. “At first, I was like, Am I? Now, I’m like, I am one. I might be an underrated one. But I am one.”

It’s always nice to hear an artist talk about the sheer joy that comes from doing the work—and Rodriguez is nothing if not a gracious practitioner. But she’s also not blind to where we are politically, and she doesn’t mince words when it comes to the climate she’s working through.

The last time we spoke, before Loot had even premiered its first season, the actress told me that she was really excited to be playing a character who wasn’t defined by her transness. Pose, the show that made her famous, was notable because of its focus on trans identity. On Loot, however, Sofia’s gender identity was never meant to be a part of her narrative. Rodriguez relished that.

But it’s been three years since then, and while 2022 felt like a breakthrough for the future of trans representation on screen, 2025 feels increasingly bleak—not just for representation, but for trans rights, writ large. It’s left Rodriguez feeling slightly torn. “I feel like our stories, as trans women, are getting muddied with a lot of misinformation, which makes it easier for human beings who are not understanding or are bigoted to create a narrative about us and make it something true when it’s not,” she says, explaining how this has wide-reaching negative implications for trans people trying to find work, housing, or even just general safety from harm. So while she still feels “thankful” that she’s been afforded the opportunity to portray a character whose womanhood is just accepted as is, she does feel that, without trans-specific stories, there is an added responsibility for her, as Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, to raise awareness in other ways.

When I mention how this all feels inextricable from the anti-DEI wave currently plaguing all sectors of society, she snaps her fingers in agreement before responding, “I’m glad we all know. I’m glad I’m hearing it from an interviewer.” She immediately brings up the unceremonious cancellation of The Colbert Show. “That was someone who influences people around the world to have a mind and to think for themselves,” she says. “A lot of people in the world know why that show got shut down, and when you see that, you know what kind of influences, politically, are happening.”

It’s also not lost on her that Loot, a comedy that satirizes the idea of the “good billionaire,” is in direct conversation with some of these cultural shifts as well. She cites that as another key difference between herself and her character. Whereas Sofia tries to see the good in Molly’s efforts to do right by the world while also holding on to her wealth, Rodriguez struggles to see the same. “Sometimes, I want to be like, ‘Sofia, there’s no hope, girl,’” she says with a laugh. “‘You’re holding out the good fight, but there’s no hope. This isn’t going to push the needle forward.’”

Still, Rodriguez sees trans people as being uniquely poised to meet this moment with a certain resilience; after all, the world (and this industry) has never been exactly welcoming to women like her. “I’ve been here for a long time and I’ve worked hard. My sisters have worked hard,” she says resolutely. “And we are in a harsh time right now. It’s scary. But the only way to get people up and to get them going and to continue on is if there are people like me out there saying, ‘Okay, yes, it is scary. And so what? What are you going to do? You’re just going to stop?’”

Rodriguez is certainly doing her part. After our conversation, the actress will be heading to catch a tech rehearsal for Saturday Church, an Off-Broadway musical adaptation of the beloved 2017 indie drama about a young queer boy’s life-affirming experience with the ballroom community.

Though the actress—who played ballroom house mother Ebony in the original film—was initially asked to reprise her role for the stage production, Rodriguez opted to come on board to the new project as a consultant and producer instead, citing two reasons. The first was practical: Though Rodriguez is a proud Afro-Latina woman, she notes that a character literally named “Ebony” should be played by a darker-skinned actress. “The [only] reason why I played Ebony the first time is because there were no chocolate trans girls showing up at that time,” she says.

But the second is more inspirational: She saw this as the perfect opportunity to pass the torch so someone else could have their own star-making moment. Weeks after we meet, when I check back in on the actress to see how she’s been feeling now that the show has officially opened, she tells me of the actress who was cast, “I do feel a tremendous sense of pride because I had already known that B Noel [Thomas] was an outstanding and tremendous talent.” She’s also proud to be working behind-the-scenes for once, calling the experience “eye-opening.” She exclaims, “I feel that the heart each and every last person put into the show has been even more amplified by the audience response. There’s been standing ovations mostly every night!”

In the meantime, she is looking ahead. Rodriguez, who is turning 35 at the top of the new year, feels she has accomplished everything she would have wanted to by this age. She feels fulfilled as the actress Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, as the singer Michaela Jaé, and at home, as the “regular, degular” Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez. “Now, it’s just time to fine-tune them.”

She has plans for how to do so, too. At the top of her list? A romantic comedy. “We need to see all facets of a trans woman’s love and how someone else loves on her,” she says. There’s a personal element to this dream: Rodriguez has been in a loving relationship with her boyfriend, Stephen Gimigliano, for almost six years now, and believes that it’s important for society—and other trans women—to see that it is possible for trans women to find true companionship. “We are done with the stereotypical story of being heartbroken by men that don’t know how to love [us] openly,” she declares. “I’m over that because I’m being loved openly. It’s tangible.”

But she knows there are outside pressures. Leaning over the table to speak directly into my phone, she delivers a message to the “brothers” who might be worried about the implications of playing a trans woman’s romantic interest: “Get off your high horse, get over yourself, and let’s get to fucking work!” She says she’d love to work opposite Michael B. Jordan in a film directed by Ryan Coogler. All it would take is for them to “be courageous and brave enough” to do so.

She assumes a similar posture when it comes to the future of her music career. She has a “whole bunch of songs” recorded for her sophomore album, and would love for one of them to chart in the Billboard Top 40. From what I’ve heard, this dream isn’t so far-fetched. The new music takes the singer’s unique take on R&B in a dancier, more club-ready direction. Her aim was to make songs that “will get your body moving” without sacrificing her ever-present objective to “invoke confidence, tenacity, and audacity.” But as she puts on the final touches, Rodriguez also wants to collaborate with artists who are really willing to share the spotlight with a trans songstress—not just “performative acts where they have the [trans] girls come on stage and just be side-pieces.” Once again leaning into my phone to deliver a message, she says, “All y’all little R&B girlies: stop playing with me, okay? Let’s get in the studio and eat these girls up.”

For Rodriguez, everything circles back around to one key desire: “I want to have fun with my work more,” she says. “I want to have fun in my life and in the relationships I have with people.” It’s an aspiration that feels in line with one of the final things she tells me before heading out to the Saturday Church tech rehearsal—“a message for the youth” that she’d like to impart. “Make sure you know that the sky is limit-less,” she tells me as she begins to pack away her things. “It’s not the limit, because that means you have to stop at the sky. But if the sky is limitless, you can go beyond it into the stars, baby.” She flashes a smile. “So just shoot and don’t stop.”

Photographer: Shane McCauley | Stylist: Mimi Kim | Hair Stylist: Kyrsten Oriol | Makeup Artist: Team Tilbury, using Charlotte Tilbury | Manicurist: Gina Oh | Location: The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel

I have a habit of compulsively breaking out into song. If I recognize a song in a bar, restaurant, grocery store, or Sephora, I quickly start singing along. Sometimes I don’t even need music; my tendency to constantly make pop-culture references compels me to think of the perfect track to match the moment I’m living, and I can’t help but belt it out. So of course, after I left the appointment where my psychiatrist confirmed that I had ADHD, a song burst out of me like a reflex: “A Diagnosis,” from the TV series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

On October 12, 2015, The CW premiered Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna’s tongue-in-cheek musical comedy about Rebecca Bunch (Bloom), a hot-shot lawyer looking for a fresh start by moving to West Covina, California—which just so happens to be where her summer-camp ex-boyfriend Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III) lives. Over four seasons, the show transformed into an astute, devastating, still-musical, surprisingly-poop-joke-filled character study, following Rebecca’s emotional highs and lows until eventually getting diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in season 3. 10 years later, the series stands as not only a marvel of television, but also as one of the most innovative, empathetic musicals about mental illness ever written.

The musical numbers in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend are essential to the show. They show what’s going on in Rebecca’s head, which she confirms in the series finale. Whether the track pays homage to a classic musical like Oklahoma or blows the season’s budget to evoke Beyoncé, the sequences are how she sees the world and processes her emotions; there’s even proof that the songs don’t always skew to real life. (Greg isn’t actually asking Rebecca to settle for him when he asks her out in season 1’s fourth episode.) As the adage goes, musical theater is a world where, when the emotion becomes too strong for speech, you sing. Rebecca’s very active fantasy life takes the root of the genre to a new level.

Just as mental-health awareness has grown in society over the past 40 years, the theater industry has only recently seen mental health become an overt theme of a stage musical. Shows like Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, Fun Home, and Dear Evan Hansen explore subjects like depression, anxiety, suicide, and addiction, and have brought important discussions to a scene often dominated by light narratives and jukebox musicals. There are songs from these shows, like “Don’t Do Sadness,” “The Dark I Know Well,” and “Everything Else,” that have helped me get out my pent-up angst since I was a teenager. But when I sing them, it doesn’t feel like I’m singing my own story. Only Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has given me that feeling, like those songs were plucked from the exact emotions in my brain.

The biggest difference between Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and these musicals is the lightness with which the show’s original songs–from songwriters Bloom, Jack Dolgen, and the late Adam Schlesinger—handle mental illness. The series is a comedy at its core (again, so many poop jokes). Except for a few moments that are somber by necessity, including Rebecca’s suicide attempt, that levity comes through. It’s why characters like Rebecca and Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) are so lovable, even when they’re doing morally ambiguous things. Extending to the musical numbers, the comedic storytelling shines through in unexpected lyric choices that deliver a sort of heightened relatability. For example, in “You Stupid Bitch,” Rebecca’s monument to self-loathing in season 1, episode 11, she sings, “You're just a poopy little slut who doesn't think/And deceives the people she loves.” Every time I re-listen to that song, once “poopy little slut” makes me chuckle and gets my guard down, I briefly drop that instinctual aloofness that cocoons my earnest heart, so I can feel how tremendously that second bar makes me feel seen.

Despite taking place more than halfway through the show, “A Diagnosis” is a perfect “I Want” song, a necessity in every musical where the lead lays out their motivation at the start of their journey. These numbers often make or break a whole show; if audiences don’t fall in love with the character during that one song, often the second or third in a show, then the rest are for naught.

By the time Rebecca sings “A Diagnosis,” it’s far from an introduction because we already know her so well. We’ve seen Rebecca at her highest highs and lowest lows; we can see through most of her delusions and understand the biggest moments of her life. We’ve rooted for her, despite the stalking, gaslighting, and manipulation she’s employed over two seasons and three love interests, and we’re excited for her to begin working on herself. It’s a level of immersion, built on over 24 hours with a character, that the traditional structure of a two- or three-hour musical just can’t hit. The longer, less regimented flow of a TV series also better mirrors real life, where a person’s story is never linear; just look at how much each season’s theme song changes.

The character Rebecca and I go a layer beyond universal experiences. I’ve also moved to a random city where I knew no one, looking for a new start. I also used to employ romantic drama as a distraction from any underlying issues. Like Rebecca’s coda in the series finale, I also realized that romantic love isn’t the be-all end-all of life, and true happiness is found outside of it. (Also, we both suffer from “Heavy Boobs.”) Though I typically skip over the more dour tracks for breezy favorites like “Let’s Generalize About Men” and “My Sperm Is Healthy,” I wish I could be as expressive with my emotions as Rebecca is. Once I get through the vicarious embarrassment, I admire how raw and unfiltered “You Stupid Bitch” and “My Diagnosis” are, how Rebecca’s brave enough to declare what she wants out loud. I think of her when I fight against the notion that telling someone your dream is somehow jinxing yourself.

Speaking at a Hollywood Reporter event in 2019, Bloom opened up about how her own experiences with anxiety, depression, and “intrusive OCD thoughts” inspired her work on the series. “The worst thing about it—I know for me and I think for a lot of other people—is you feel like you’re the only one. Words like ‘depression,’ it’s just a word. It doesn’t mean the way you’re feeling, and so to see that other people have felt this exact same thing…I’m not the weird one.” If the sole point of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was to have anyone who has ever struggled with their mental health relate to even one song, then she has undoubtedly succeeded.

Though Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was beloved by critics and received four Emmys during its original run, it’s also known as one of TV’s least-watched shows to complete its run without an early cancellation. Still, I’m not the only one who feels that the cult-loved series is the soundtrack to their inner life. During its airing, the series put on an eight-city national tour and a series finale concert special, a raucous celebration of the soundtrack in a theater packed with fans. To celebrate the anniversary this October, the cast reunited for two weekends of reunion concerts that quickly sold out. Bloom has also teased the possibility of doing a stage show, so CEG will officially join the official canon of mental-health musicals. But whether or not it hits the stage, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has moved the subgenre forward, and it can rest assured that all of its fans will be singing its songs.

The 2025 Emmys are the time to celebrate the best in TV, but before the awards show even began, fans found out that they're about to bid farewell to a beloved comedy series.

While walking the Emmys red carpet, Hacks star Hannah Einbinder revealed that the upcoming fifth season of the hit HBO Max series will be its final installment.

“It will feel different,” Einbinder told E! host Heather McMahan, per Variety. “We’re going to start [filming] next week, and knowing it’s the last season is really bittersweet. But I think it’s right, you know?"

The actress, who stars opposite Jean Smart on the series, added, "It’s nice to do something as many times as it should be done. Not overstay your welcome. Rip it and do it and laugh and cry."

The beloved showbiz comedy, created by Lucia Anello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky about the relationship between a stand-up legend and her younger writer, was renewed for its fifth season in May 2025, days before its season 4 finale. Before Einbender's announcement, the showrunners had previously said in interviews that they were unsure whether they would stick to their original five-season plan for the series.

"We are now breaking up season 5, and we have to see how many episodes it will take us to get to where we know we’re going to go," Downs said back in May.

"The final scene of the final episode has been in our minds since 2015, and we’re excited to get there. But that may take more episodes than we can fit in the season...The truth is that we’ve been really lucky to be able to tell the story in the way that the writing requires, and we’re gonna do that again. And so if we can’t get to that final chapter in 10, and it might be more—we just don’t know. That’s the truth. We know where we’re going, we just don’t know how long it will take to get there."

Fans may recall that the acclaimed season 4 of Hacks concluded with Smart's Deborah Vance down on her luck and living in Singapore after leaving late-night TV and facing a non-compete clause. However, it sets up the forthcoming episodes as a false report of her death inspires a fire in her and her writer/mentee, Ava (Einbinder), to return to the U.S. and fight the industry to reclaim her work.

This year's Emmys ceremony marked a big night for Hacks, which was nominated for 14 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series.

The stars took home major prizes. Smart won her fourth consecutive Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy for playing Deborah Vance (marking her seventh Emmy overall). Meanwhile, Einbinder took home her first-ever award, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, for her performance as Ava Daniels.

Einbender, who is known for being vocal about both social justice issues and her love of the Philadelphia Eagles, ended her speech by saying, "Go Birds, fuck ICE, and free Palestine."

Five years in, Hulu's murder-mystery comedy Only Murders in the Building has a trusted formula. Each season, unlikely besties and true-crime podcasters Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) investigate a murder that occurred in their historic N.Y.C. building, The Arconia. The inquiry leads them to an all-new cast of mysterious characters, played by a roster of Hollywood A-listers.

In season 5, which premieres on September 9, the unlucky victim is Lester, the beloved Arconia doorman who's mysteriously ensnared with the Italian mob and a trio of billionaires. While the cozy-mystery show's fans are familiar with its beloved recurring stars—the big three, plus their neighbors Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) and Uma (Jackie Hoffham), Detective Williams (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), and Charles's sweetheart Loretta (Meryl Streep)—it's time to get to know a new set of eccentric suspects. Below, read on for everything we know about the new cast of Only Murders in the Building season 5 so far. (If you need a refresher on season 4's finale, we've got you covered.)

Tony Coluca as Lester Coluca

Before his untimely death, Lester worked as a doorman at the Arconian for 32 years. Though he hasn't been a major player for the past four seasons, we did learn a bit of his background at season 2's Killer Reveal Party. When he was young, Lester graduated from Julliard and worked off-Broadway with his "rival" Tracy Letts, before alcohol issues and housing insecurity led to him taking the first job he could get.

Teddy Coluca made his film debut in the '90s and has appeared in over 70 projects, according to his IMDb. Some of the TV series where he held recurring roles include 30 Rock, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and The Blacklist.

Dianne Wiest as Lorraine Coluca

Lester's widow, Lorraine Coluca, is a former professional opera singer who met the young doorman outside of the Arconia. (As he said in the season 4 finale, the pair were married in the courtyard at night, under the stars.)

Dianne Wiest, 77, is a lauded Oscar winner, Emmy winner, and Tony nominee, who began her career as a stage actress and broke into Hollywood with her roles in '80s and '90s movies like Footloose, Parenthood, Edward Scissorhands, Hannah and Her Sisters, Bullets over Broadway, The Birdcage, and Practical Magic. Recently, she co-starred in the films I Care A Lot and Apartment 7A, as well as the Paramount+ drama Mayor of Kingstown.

Téa Leoni as Sofia Caccimelio

In the season 4 finale, Charles and Mabel were approached by a woman named Sofia Caccimelio, who asked them to help find her missing husband Nicky. Though they initially said no, the podcasters reach back out to her when they learn of his connection to Lester. (Also, the trailer hints that a romantic connection will spark between her and Charles.)

Téa Leoni, 59, is a TV veteran who rose to fame starring in '90s network sitcoms and 2000s movies, including Spanglish and Fun with Dick and Jane. She's best known for starring in the political thriller series Madam Secretary from 2014 to 2019. She also recently appeared in the 2025 horror-comedy Death of a Unicorn.

Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Caccimelio

Sofia's missing husband is Nicky "The Neck" Caccimelio, the "Dry‑Cleaning King of Brooklyn" who has ties to the Caputo crime family and was one of the last people who saw Lester alive. As Sofia says in the season 4 finale, "What happened to Nicky has everything to do with this building."

Bobby Cannavale, 55, is a veteran TV actor and a two-time Emmy winner best known for his performances in shows such as Will and Grace, Nurse Jackie, Boardwalk Empire, Mr. Robot, Nine Perfect Strangers, and The Watcher. He's also a Tony nominee and has appeared in acclaimed movies including I, Tonya, The Irishman, and Blonde. (Fun fact: He and his partner, Bridesmaids actress Rose Byrne, share two kids.)

Renée Zellweger as Camila White

In episode 3, the podcasting threesome meets what they dub the "new mob of New York," a trio of influential billionaires. The lone woman of the group, Camila White, is an entrepreneurial designer and hotel magnate who owns half of N.Y.C.'s hotels. According to Charles, she is also "the human incarnation of a Nancy Meyers kitchen," and she may have gone to space with Gayle and Oprah.

Renée Zellweger, 56, is an acclaimed actress whose career has spanned over three decades. She rose to Hollywood's A-list in the Y2K era, when she starred in iconic '90s and 2000s movies like Jerry Maguire, Bridget Jones' Diary, Chicago, Down With Love, and Cold Mountain, for which she received her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. In 2020, she won the Oscar for Best Actress for starring in the biopic Judy, becoming the seventh actress to win an Academy Award in both acting categories.

Christoph Waltz as Bash Steed

Sebastian "Bash" Steed, a tech billionaire and longevity enthusiast who's the richest of the rich, is played by Christoph Waltz, 68. The Austrian-German actor rose to international fame with his Oscar-winning roles in the Quentin Tarantino films Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained. He also played supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond films Spectre and No Time to Die. Next up, he'll appear in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein and Luc Besson's Dracula: A Love Tale.

Logan Lerman as Jay Pflug

Jay Pflug, a pharma nepo baby who rounds out the trio of billionaires, is played by Logan Lerman. The 33-year-old actor (and crowd-voted "White Boy of the Century") started as a child actor and rose to fame in the early 2010s, with lead roles in movies including the Percy Jackson series, Stuck in Love, and The Perks of Being a Wallpaper. Most recently, he starred in the Hulu adaptation of We Were the Lucky Ones, as well as the 2025 anti-rom-com Oh Hi!. (Fun fact: He and Zelleweger previously played mother and son in the 2009 period piece My One and Only.)

Keegan Michael-Key as Mayor Tillman

Mayor Tillman is the current mayor of N.Y.C., a noted fan of the "Only Murders in the Building" podcast, and becomes involved in this season's investigation. (He also gives low-key Eric Adams vibes.) The politician is played by Keegan-Michael Key, 54, who got his start on Mad TV before co-creating the sketch series Key & Peele alongside Jordan Peele. Key has since stayed booked and busy with dozens of film, TV, and voice-acting roles, most notably Parks and Recreation, Friends From College, Schmigadoon!, Reboot, Wonka, and the Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Jermaine Fowler as Randall

Multi-hyphenate Jermaine Fowler, 37, also joins the show as Randall, a new doorman at the Arconia whose training is cut short when Lester dies. Fowler began as a stand-up and sketch comedian before his breakout roles on the short-lived CBS sitcom Superior Donuts and the 2018 surreal sci-fi comedy Sorry to Bother You. He has also appeared in the films Judas and the Black Messiah, Coming 2 America, Am I Ok?, The Blackening, and Ricky Stanicky, as well as the FX series A Murder at the End of the World.

Paul Rudd as L.E.S.T.R.

Randall isn't the only one manning the door at The Arconia in Lester's absence. As it turns out, the building also decides to replace him—and the duties of several other longtime employees—with a robot. Known as L.E.S.T.R., or Logic-Engineered Secure Tenant Robot, he's a joy to some residents (Howard) and an annoyance to others (the pod trio).

If Randall's voice sounds familiar to you, or you guessed the OMITB team couldn't pass up casting another A-lister in the sly cameo role, you'd be correct. L.E.S.T.R. is voiced by none other than Paul Rudd, a beloved alum of the show who previously guest-starred as Broadway actor Ben Gilroy in season 3 and stuntman Glen Stubbins in season 4. As showrunner John Hoffman told TV Line, he was eager to find a way to bring the comedy icon back. "The fact that he likes the show as much as he does, and keeps at it with us, moves me to the point of making terrible choices. Dramatically, I can’t take anything off the table," he told the outlet.

Though you won't see Rudd in season 5, fans may recognize him and his voice from a wide range of hit comedy blockbusters. Rudd got his start in the '90s, becoming a heartthrob as the love interest in Clueless, and began a long-running collaborative relationship with comedy filmmaker/producer Judd Apatow in 2004's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. They worked together again on movies, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and This Is 40. He's also appeared in hits like I Love You, Man, became a staple of the MCU as Ant-Man, co-created the cult-loved TV series Party Down, and garnered many accolades, including two Emmy nominations and PEOPLE's "Sexiest Man Alive."

Beanie Feldstein as Althea

Season 5 has one new resident moving into the Arconia's penthouse: Althea, Mabel's childhood friend from 2010 (the era of Tim Kono and Zoey). Althea is now a famous pop star known as "Thé," which is pronounced as "Tea" and apparently great for search engine optimization. Unfortunately, she immediately looks down on Mabel's less-than-meteoric success.

Beanie Feldstein, 32, is an L.A. native who broke out in the late 2010s for her roles in the instant-classic coming-of-age films Lady Bird and Booksmart. She's also known for playing Monica Lewinsky in the true-crime series Impeachment: American Crime Story, and for briefly starring as Fanny Brice in the 2022 Broadway revival of Funny Girl. You also might have heard of her older brother, Jonah Hill.

Nathan Lane as Teddy Dimas; Julian Cihi as Tim Kono; Jayne Houdyshell as Bunny Folger; Jane Lynch as Sazz Pataki

In episode 2's Lester-centric episode, longtime fans will spot several familiar faces who return for cameos set throughout the doorman's career. (We also see younger versions of the main cast, including a literal baby Mabel.) Three of the show's previous murder victims return for the flashbacks: Mabel's childhood friend, Tim Kono (Julian Cihi); former co-op board head Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell); and Charles's beloved bodyguard Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch). Also, original Arconia resident Teddy Dimas (Nathan Lane) returns for the first time since season 2!

An official Royal Family event is never boring when Prince Louis is in attendance. Prince William and Princess Kate's youngest son is known for his comic timing and slapstick sense of humor, often making faces at the general public or delivering hilarious remarks. According to several royal experts, Louis didn't inherit his penchant for comedy from either of his parents. Instead, two unexpected royal relatives might be responsible for Prince Louis's funny personality.

Regarding the 7-year-old's unique ability to make people laugh, the Daily Mail reported, "When it comes to brotherly banter, it seems Prince Louis is following in the footsteps of his uncle, Prince Harry." While the Duke of Sussex was known for teasing his older brother, Prince William, in public, Prince Louis appears to have followed suit.

As noted by the outlet, Prince Louis mercilessly teased Prince George by imitating a hair flip the future king appeared to perform at the VE Day Parade. It seems that Prince Louis has inherited Prince Harry's comic timing, as well as his ability to tease his older brother in the funniest way.

Queen Elizabeth II was also very funny, and likely influenced her great-grandson's comedic personality. Royal biographer Ingrid Seward revealed in her book, My Mother And I (via the Daily Mail), "The Queen's stern look, inherited from her grandmother Queen Mary, belies the wonderful sense of humor we got to see more and more as she got older." Seward continued, "The Queen could be extremely funny, in a slightly mocking way."

Discussing the ways in which Queen Elizabeth made people smile, Seward wrote, "She was also a first-class mimic, particularly of politicians, but never to anyone's face. She could only laugh or state her opinions in private, and some of them were pretty forceful."

It seems as though Prince Louis's love of comedy is somewhat of a Royal Family tradition.

Picture a 1990s or early 2000s film: soft-filtered pastels, jazzy soundtracks, a curly-haired heroine making poor decisions in the name of love. It was a simpler time. Or—it wasn't, actually—but it certainly felt like it, cinematically. Whether the subject matter was fated love (falling for a widow via the radio in Sleepless In Seattle) or star-crossed circumstance (a bookstore owner and a movie star colliding in Notting Hill), the vibes were sweet, and the endings mostly euphoric.

In contrast, the summer of 2025 may as well be dubbed the season of the anti-rom-com. From horror-influenced takes like Together and Oh, Hi!, to dark break-up comedy The Roses and the tonal sterility of Materialists, we are, as one seasoned producer I spoke to put it, in a season of "rom-coms by way of misery.”

So how did Hollywood get from 1997—when My Best Friend's Wedding was considered subversive for its untraditional “happy ending”—to now when nearly every major movie billing itself as a rom-com is dark and twisted from start to finish? Perhaps it’s because Hollywood as a whole is flailing. I've seen it myself, as a screenwriter regularly pitching rom-coms to studios. In 2025, the genre has splintered into something messier and more self-aware, shaped by cultural fatigue, shifting expectations around love and dating, and a growing appetite for stories that reflect just how bleak modern romance can feel. Now, studios are guessing at what people will venture out to theaters to see—and what stories a populace deadened by our current cultural climate can actually relate to. The result is a wave of films that trade twinkle lights for discomfort, and happy endings for something more complicated.

Consider July’s Oh, Hi!, starring Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman as the infatuated Iris and Isaac, who embark on their first romantic weekend away. Afternoon delights and firelit vulnerability take a turn, however, when Iris comments on the surprising ease of their new coupledom. She does not get the reply she expected, and their adorable upstate romance quickly devolves into a horror movie by way of situationship. The female lead holds Isaac captive, spending the bulk of the movie trying to convince the commitment-averse young man to see her value—and acting out the existential dread so many have experienced upon realizing their beautiful blossoming relationship is a farce.

Given all of the above, Oh, Hi! is hardly a traditional romantic comedy—but its writer-director, Sophie Brooks, still very much sees her film as fitting within the genre. "I think the purpose of rom-coms is to relate and feel ultimately amused…I think we're in a moment, in a beautiful way in our culture, where we're really craving freshness and originality and to feel seen," Brooks told me over Zoom in early July. "I'm a very romantic person and I really believe in love. I've also been a single woman dating in my thirties and been like, 'This is a hellscape.'"

Brooks seems to point to a growing trend in the industry: In search of the more grounded, the more searingly "real," filmmakers and execs alike have leaned on the sardonic, the sarcastic, and the skeptical that reflect their own less-than-ideal relationship experiences. (And in doing so they’ve earned praise within a genre that’s historically slept on by critics. The Hollywood Reporter said of Oh, Hi!: “The film is sure to attract young fans and find its audience. At its root, this is a surprisingly sensitive commentary on uniquely millennial romantic loneliness.”

Celine Song, too, mirrored her own life with this summer’s Materialists, pulling from her short stint as a matchmaker. And like Brooks, Song also sees her newest movie as a romantic comedy despite Song approaching the themes of her movie with a candor that can be rare for the genre. In my theater, the air drained from the room when Dakota Johnson's character, Lucy, finds out that a matchmaking client of hers was assaulted on a date. "Has something like this happened before?" Lucy asks her boss (Marin Ireland). "Of course," the boss replies. "This is dating."

Set against a posh New York City backdrop, the film's characters treat each other like lists of traits on a sheet of paper—no shorter than 6’2”; no incomes less than six figures; "no baldies"—a means to an end for their social and economic ambitions. It tracks, within that narrative, that Lucy would be forced to face the bleakness of her own world by someone taking its very concept too far.

From Song's perspective, that subversion brought Materialists closer to its audience. And ultimately it paid off: The film earned an estimated $12 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, making it the third-largest opening for an A24 film ever. “We’re not just showing up here to be in love and beautiful and get to be in a rom-com,” Song told the Los Angeles Times. “We’re also going to take this opportunity to talk about something. Because that’s the power of the genre.” It's worth noting that, among the 2025 fare described so far, Materialists is the most earnestly optimistic of the bunch. Spoiler alert: Lucy chooses love over her list, kissing her love interest on a stoop straight out of an Ephron movie.

"I think we're seeing it in books and in features that people, even underneath these movies that might otherwise feel a little frothy, are trying to really say something," says the producer I spoke to. (They requested anonymity to speak candidly about internal studio dynamics.) “We're getting more drama in a way. The classic '90s rom-coms were about a big idea, but not necessarily a heavy topic.”

Many of this summer’s films follow that lead, often starring A-listers better known for dramatic roles—actors capable of digging into more layered material. In The Roses (out August 29), Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch play a couple whose charming meet-cute slowly curdles into decades of resentment. The film presents itself as a sun-drenched romance, only to reveal itself as a deeply cynical satire of marriage—one where irritation and disappointment seem inevitable. Splitsville (September 5) follows suit with a messier, more absurdist tone: Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona star in a polyamorous entanglement between two couples unraveling through open relationships and retaliatory affairs. (And an eight-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival signals audiences appreciated the premise.)

Together, these films reflect a recurring message: the modern romance movie isn’t just skeptical of love—it’s steeped in emotional exhaustion.

That disillusionment isn’t just creative—it’s commercial. The entertainment industry has always been a messy blend of the artistic and the aggressively corporate, with both sides shaping what gets made and how it’s sold. These days, rom-coms are often seen as a risk no one wants to take. “Directors really stay away from this genre, because even if you make a great one it’s not a genre that’s super well-respected in terms of filmmaking,” says producer Alex Saks, whose credits include No Hard Feelings and It Ends With Us. “If a rom-com doesn’t work—and most of them don’t—directors go to director jail.”

And without a boldface director attached, attracting an A-list cast becomes even harder. “To do a traditional rom-com you need a [certain level] of movie star,” Saks says. “The stars that we used to have—the Sandra Bullocks, Reese Witherspoons, Julia Robertses—they liked doing these movies. And now we don’t have a generation of stars that can really uphold them.” That casting crunch, she adds, is pushing financiers toward more genre-blending, subversive projects: “They’re choosing to throw something else into the mix to protect potential downsides.”

The other producer I spoke to is inclined to agree. As a development exec who’s worked with multiple A-listers and still champions the genre, she’s noticed a clear shift in studio appetite. “You need a different hook these days,” she said. “And honestly, I think you need more of an edge. We’re at a point where we’ve decided that romance doesn’t seem edgy.” Even Nancy Meyers couldn’t secure the budget she’s long commanded, ultimately scrapping a Netflix project mid-development.

Still, the producer believes the genre continues to sell in Hollywood, just not in the form many audiences grew up loving. The more "traditional" rom-coms—the sunnier, more aspirational fare of the '90s and 2000s—are largely being adapted from existing IP. "Basically every Emily Henry book is in development," she says. As of July, Henry, whose books all include the classic happily-ever-after, has one film (Beach Read) and one television show (Happy Place) headed to Netflix and five of her six published novels somewhere in the process of adaptation.

That, too, is part of the shift. The genre hasn’t vanished so much as split along tonal and commercial lines. This summer’s theatrical slate—marked by sarcasm, emotional fatigue, and narrative risk—caters to an audience that craves realism and edge. Meanwhile, the formulaic, lower-budget Hallmark-style rom-coms and IP-driven adaptations are still quietly thriving elsewhere, offering a familiar fix.

In some ways, the rom-com has adapted to survive, meeting different audiences where they are: some nostalgic for comforting structure, others looking for stories that reflect their messier, more skeptical realities. The genre hasn’t chosen a single direction—it’s fractured, yes, but also expanding.

But even if the genre is splintered, it’s far from dead. Maybe there’s room for all of it—the jaded, the joyful, and everything in between. Hollywood, after all, loves to ride a wave. Remember 2024, when three major movies centered on women over 40 dating guys in their 20s (two of them starring Nicole Kidman)? Or 2011’s dueling fuck-buddy rom-coms? Now, Celine Song is developing a sequel for My Best Friend's Wedding. Which suggests that even now, the genre might still pull off its signature trick: bringing two seemingly incompatible things—twinkle lights and subversion—together in the end.

In 2007, Netflix was a mail-order alternative to Blockbuster, entering the then-new world of online streaming. Now, in 2025, it's one of the world's largest entertainment companies, with more than 300 million subscribers who face an infinite scroll through thousands of options.

If you know where to look, Netflix has everything you'd ever want to watch, from edge-of-your-seat thrillers and swoon-worthy rom-coms to epic period pieces and emotional K-dramas. Let me be your guide—who has spent way too much time on the platform over the past 18 years—to the absolute must-watch series to add to your watchlist. Below, read on for our list of the best Netflix original shows of all time.

'Bojack Horseman' (2014–2020)

Netflix has built an excellent slate of animated shows over the years, from Big Mouth to Arcane to Blue-Eyed Samurai, but Bojack is one of my favorite shows that Netflix has ever made, period. The severely underrated, satirical dark comedy stars the titular horse (voiced by Will Arnett), the former star of a '90s sitcom who's now washed up and miserable. Bojack's failed attempt at redemption is enough for an excellent series by itself, but this is truly an ensemble show with several beloved characters, including the workaholic Princess Carolyn, the ever-peppy Mr. Peanut Butter, and Todd Chavez, one of the best instances of asexual representation in TV history. Plus, though some of the episodes will definitely make you cry, the running animal gags will put a smile back on your face.

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'Bridgerton' (2020– )

While the wait between seasons can be quite annoying, there's a reason why so many of us viewers are eager to return to the Ton every two years. Shondaland's adaptation of Julia Quinn's romance series transformed the novels from traditional, low-key problematic Regency stories to diverse, needle-drop-filled (still occasionally problematic) sagas that balance steamy sexual tension and modern commentary on the marriage plot. Plus, we'd be remiss not to include the show that catapulted Regé-Jean Page, Simone Ashley, Jonathan Bailey, and Nicola Coughlan to mainstream fame. (Bonus watch: Queen Charlotte is a bit more of a downer, but an excellent addition to the Bridgerton elders's lore.)

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'The Crown' (2016–2023)

We at Marie Claire are well-versed in the royals, so it's no surprise that Netflix's monumental fictionalized telling of the late Queen Elizabeth II's reign made the list. Over seven years, six seasons, and three casts, creator Peter Morgan covered 60 years of the Queen's life, surprising novices and impressing experts with its take on the British Royal Family and major historical events of the 20th century. A special shout-out to Emma Corrin and Elizabeth Debicki for their heartbreaking portrayals of the People's Princess.

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'The Haunting of Hill House' (2018)

Mike Flanagan was the king of televised horror during his five-year tenure at Netflix, and many of the streamer's best shows are part of the "Flanaverse." Fans may have their favorites, but in my opinion, none of the later shows surpass the first terrifying miniseries, set in a haunted house with so many ghosts that spotting them became a top-tier Easter egg hunt. Flanagan's reimagining of the Shirley Jackson novel is both a bone-chilling tale and a heart-wrenching family drama that's become an annual rewatch for me every Halloween. (If you're obsessed with Victoria Pedretti from You, make sure to watch her breakout role in Hill House.)

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'Lupin' (2021– )

The hardest dilemma of this list: Which of Netflix's international thieves would nab the spot on this list? Though Money Heist came in close, I had to choose Lupin, a.k.a. the James Bond the world truly needs. For anyone who hasn't checked out the French-language series yet, Assane Diop (Omar Sy) is a master of disguise who conducts jaw-dropping heists inspired by the literary character Arsène Lupin by Maurice Leblanc. As with many great stories, Assane's true motivation is a mission of revenge, which often comes into conflict with his obligations as a (not-that-great) father.

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'Mindhunter' (2017–2019)

Filmmaker David Fincher (Se7en, Zodiac) mastered the serial killer drama long before he made his way over to Netflix with Mindhunter—but the project might just be his magnum opus. Based on the true-crime book of the same name, about an FBI agent's experience interviewing infamous murderers and launching the Bureau's criminal profiling, it follows fictionalized agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany ), as well as psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), as they sit down with Charles Manson, David Berkowitz, and more. It's every bit unnerving, but the genius, icy writing and compelling performances will have you on the edge of your seat. We're still holding out for the show to continue in some form.

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'Orange is the New Black' (2013–2019)

Orange is the New Black is one of Netflix's earliest original programs, and it is a defining proof of its vision for the future of television. Though the series ostensibly centers on fish-out-of-water inmate Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), the show's vast yet self-contained scope allowed it to delve into each of the excellent supporting characters's backstories and arcs throughout seven seasons. Jenji Kohan's series was legendary for its multi-ethnic and LGBTQ+ representation that dispelled harmful stereotypes, as well as its nuanced treatment of the many societal inequities surrounding mass incarceration. It's a complicated legacy, but you can't deny the show as an acclaimed step in TV's evolution.

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'The Queen's Gambit' (2020)

Netflix's first-ever Emmy win for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series went to this stunning 1950s and '60s-set drama about the fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy). This show is a marvel both stylistically and narratively, sucking viewers into tense chess matches and making us vicariously feel Harmon's obsession, determination, and brilliance. Though Beth's prone to self-destruction, the miniseries about her is nothing other than confident and masterfully controlled the entire way through.

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'Sex Education' (2019–2023)

The young-adult series is a contentious subgenre for Netflix; while some are iconic—honorable mention to Heartstopper, Never Have I Ever, and American Vandal—many are regrettably cut short. (Again, American Vandal.) But Sex Education stands out for balancing bawdy humor and literal sex education with uplifting coming-of-age plots for its many characters. There's a reason many of its cast members have blown up since the series—see Simone Ashley in Bridgerton, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, and Ncuti Gatwa in Barbie and beyond.

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'Stranger Things' (2016–2025)

It's hard to imagine a Netflix subscriber who didn't get sucked into Stranger Things mania at some point in the series's run over nine years. Whether you were a day one devotee falling straight into '80s nostalgia (and screaming "Justice for Barb!") or a later convert obsessing over Vecna theories, Stranger Things is a thrilling coming-of-age adventure that balances suburban drama with genuinely creepy monster moments. It was also the first series to show off the power of Netflix's franchising arm, which means it's more than partly to thank for the streamer's Disneyfication with immersive experiences (for better or for worse).

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'When Life Gives You Tangerines' (2025)

Yes, Squid Game is the biggest Netflix series of all time, but it's not the best K-drama the streaming giant has ever made. (Don't worry, it's still in the Top 5.) That honor goes to When Life Gives You Tangerines, the multi-generational epic that premiered earlier this year and became an instant classic. Tangerines follows one family over 60 years, and each episode warms, soothes, and breaks your heart in equal measure. Trust me, even if you pride yourself on staying dry-faced through the saddest movies, you will be sobbing at some point in the 16-episode run.

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'When They See Us' (2019)

Ava DuVernay's landmark miniseries When They See Us shows the power of television to raise awareness of historic and societal injustices. The unflinching portrayal of the Central Park Five's wrongful conviction for the 1989 assault of Trisha Meili doesn't just focus on the legal proceedings, but also shows how the arrests had a long-lasting impact on the wrongfully accused boys's lives and those of their families and loved ones. Every fictionalized true-crime series should take notes from this show, especially in its scenes showing the former teens struggling to adjust to life after release.

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There is a great Anne Boyer poem called “At Least Two Types of People.” The first type of person makes sense in society: “They are not alien from the creation and maintenance of the world, and the world does not treat them as alien.” They intuitively know the right way to sit, stand, eat, dress. The second type does not have it so easy. This type repels and resists, and is someone “for whom the salaries and weddings and garages do not come.” Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City and the considerably more deranged reboot And Just Like That… raises the possibility of a third type of person.

At 58-ish years old, despite having all the material trappings of the first type and (almost) none of the bad luck of the second, Carrie fits the definition of alien exactly. (That run-walk always felt off...) She is in a long-distance situationship with the most annoying man this side of Appalachia, is writing historical romance fiction inspired by the rats in her backyard, and still hasn’t bought furniture for her Gramercy Park home that features a grumpy-hot British tenant she won’t admit she’s attracted to. She got the job, the boyfriend, and the apartment in the city where she argues you’re always looking for one of the three (see: episode 5, season 5 of Sex and the City), yet she’s having bad phone sex and wearing hats that give her the appearance of a cottagecore Speedy Gonzales.

Amid this sorry state of affairs, we have one last bastion of relatability—a potential window into the psyche of the third type of person: the books she reads. The hardbacks Carrie carts around in lieu of a Gucci top-handle or Fendi baguette might just reveal the emotions she obfuscates with quippy one-liners.

While Carrie has always been a reader, trophies of literary fiction appear in AJLT as more welcome product placement than Carrie’s egregious ingestion of TUMS. The books are, in part, star and executive producer Sarah Jessica Parker’s influence, as she provided the props team with literary suggestions for different characters. The actress has said to plow through two volumes a day in the run-up to her duties as a Booker Prize judge, a great excuse for why she doesn’t watch her own show. (SJP also has an imprint with independent press Zando, publishing work by contemporary women novelists, including Lucy Caldwell’s prizewinning These Days.)

I found myself pausing the show whenever a book appeared, hoping for a crumb of intertextual honesty. While we could interpret the vintage reissue of Helen Garner’s This House of Grief as a mere styling complement to a purple satin tunic, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was reading a book about, say, a father’s trial for the murder of his children a sign of plot points to come? A diegetic cry for help? Below are my findings (though I’m bereft to report I’m no closer to locating where in the world Che Diaz is).

'This House of Grief' by Helen Garner

Beloved Australian writer Helen Garner has only recently caught on in the U.S.; Carrie must have read the New Yorker profile that described Garner as “candid about her emotions, analyzing them with a degree of remove which allows her to illustrate, with an unsparing empathy, how irrational we all can be, and how little we understand of our own behavior, let alone that of those around us.” This House of Grief is an interesting choice. The nonfiction book recounts the 2005 trial of Robert Farquharson, a man charged with drowning his three sons, ages 10, 7, and 2, by driving his car into a dam.

Blame it on being a boy dad, but the transcripts of Farquharson on the witness stand reminded me of Aidan (John Corbett) at his whiniest: “I should have been there, Carrie…I should have been there.” Carrie has remained democratic about the situation regarding Aidan’s problem child, Wyatt. But after he “accidentally” bashed her in the head during laser tag, I wouldn’t blame her for indulging in the fantasy of a little roadside accident portrayed as a crime of passion.

'Evenings and Weekends' by Oisín McKenna

Spied between the bulges at Anthony’s (Mario Cantone) newly opened Hot Fellas bakery is Carrie’s U.K. edition of Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna, a novel about gay 20-somethings sucking and fucking their way through a hot summer in London. Carrie has always been alarmingly prudish and out of touch for a sex columnist. She couldn’t stomach dating a bisexual man in the ‘90s and refused to say “vagina” in an ad on her podcast, resulting in its entire collapse, putting her comedian co-hosts Che Diaz (Sara Ramírez) on the street and Jackie Nee (Bobby Lee) off the wagon. So this fever dream of a book about love and lust is also research. What is it like to see a naked body that isn’t Aidan’s or Big’s? Would she ever again feel the sense that she was “alone in an enormous city, and there were dozens of shapes her life might take”?

Carrie is probably also using McKenna’s prose to better picture Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) in London, where “fashion queers strut past the station dressed like early 2000s pop stars and characters from The Matrix.” The PR maven doesn’t deign to give Carrie a scene report herself—she appears only as an iMessage bubble about once a season, having adopted the mantra of Cattrall: “I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself.”

'The Life of the Mind' by Christine Smallwood

Christine Smallwood is the high priestess of writing about the phones. Her characters text, scroll, and photograph; the drama erupts from the screen. AJLT similarly spins around the axis of technology. Multi-episode plotlines are dedicated to boomer-style mishaps like Aidan’s thumbs-up reaction to a message or ill-timed phone sex. Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) had her phone on silent mode while she was in the editing bay with her work crush, meaning she didn’t get the call that her father had a stroke, meaning she missed saying goodbye to him when he died for the second time. Carrie once professed, “After all, computers crash, people die, relationships fall apart. The best we can do is breathe and reboot.” She’s never giving up that MacBook, so she might as well lean in.

'We Burn Daylight' by Bret Anthony Johnston

Bret Anthony Johnston’s Shakespearian novel about star-crossed lovers in a doomsday Christian cult, based on the real Waco, Texas siege, is a warning against isolation. Carrie learned too much about the Shaw family when she visited Virginia; she felt on the outside of their bond, and she seems to have accepted it. The strangest part of Aidan admitting that he slept with his ex-wife (because they were so distraught about their youngest son’s behavioral issues…?) was Carrie’s lack of a reaction. She did not expect total fidelity because they’d never defined their LDR, she explains—although this does not mean she wants to be with anyone else. Johnston is not out to shame his religious zealot characters, cut-and-dry, and instead asks the universally applicable question, “What would you sacrifice for the one you love?” Spoiler: It’s a bloody, brutal end, but the teenage lovers both survive. There might be mess. Carrie might be flirting with downstairs tenant Duncan Reeves (Jonathan Cake) too close to the sun. Still, she has so far been adamant that she has a boyfriend, Miranda. She hopes she’s the Juliet who lives.

'The Berry Pickers' by Amanda Peters

Yet another tragic splintering of a family in a rural setting? Carrie is simply obsessed with reading about dead or missing children this season. In the second Sex and the City movie, which I’m loath to remind anyone of, Carrie declared that having kids is “just not for us…It’s just not who we are,” meaning her and Big. (Carrie’s childlessness could have been built out as an intriguing plot point in AJLT, but that would require the writers to learn subtlety and sensitivity.) Amanda Peters’s mystery revolving around a 4-year-old Mi'kmaq girl kidnapped from a blueberry field in Maine is rich with strange coincidences—and the same can be said for Carrie’s life. She’s perpetually waiting for a sign that the man is right, that the shoe fits. If The Berry Pickers can offer any insights, it’s that the world never makes logical sense.

'Catch the Rabbit' by Lana Bastašić

A female friendship novel that doubles as a Bosnian road trip adventure, Lana Bastašić captures the tension inherent in a relationship between two women who use one another as a mirror. “I can’t recall half my childhood, yet I remember the details of her with irritating clarity,” Bastašić writes. “Blue bubble gum, watermelon flavor. A scratch on her left knee. Cracks in the red lips. One time she had told me that writers write because they don’t have memories of their own, so they make some up.” Carrie has had tiffs, rifts, and all-out rows with every one of her friends, though she is most comfortable being a bitch to Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). God forbid a houseguest help herself to a yogurt. (Though tiptoeing to the bathroom fully nude in someone else’s home is bizarre, I’ll admit.) Bastašić shows how important history is to a friendship, but if Miranda makes one more wrong move, she risks Carrie’s new pal Seema (Sarita Choudhury) replacing her entirely.

In Marie Claire's Meet Cute, we have a chance encounter with pop culture's latest man crush.

Logan Lerman is pulling his phone out of his pocket, preparing to dial his fiancée to ask if he’s a “soft boy.” (Read: a man with a sensitive exterior that may or may not be used to manipulate others.) Running on only a few hours of sleep (he’s doing the rounds during the Tribeca Film Festival) and a freshly downed espresso, the actor is more insistent that he has several glaring asshole qualities that disqualify him from soft boy status.

He’s aware, of course, that his appearance this hot June afternoon at a downtown hotel café—casual gray T-shirt, tousled brown hair, sheepish grin—betrays his argument. After all, he’s built an impressive fan base and resumé off being the quintessential nice guy.

Still, Lerman maintains (somewhat unconvincingly), “There’s a major jerk in me at times." He continues, "We all have that, and it’s either that we recognize it or we don’t.”

Perhaps the 33-year-old is quick to highlight his unpleasant traits because he's spent the past few days promoting Oh, Hi!, in which he plays a character incapable of clocking his shitty behavior—at least until it's too late. In the new comedy, written and directed by Sophie Brooks, Lerman’s Isaac is a classic bad communicator, leading to an uncomfortable confrontation with Molly Gordon’s Iris when he admits, on a romantic weekend away, that he didn’t realize they were in a relationship. Iris finds herself in a “situationship” horror story while Isaac winds up in something of a modern-day Misery.

The anti-rom-com (out July 25) is a different kind of project for the typically dramatic actor, who spent the past few years leading “heavy” shows about familial trauma like Hunters and We Were the Lucky Ones. He’s still best recognized as Charlie from the 2012 adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which, in addition to putting him on the map as an actor-to-watch (garnering a Best Young Actor nod at the 2013 Critics' Choice Awards), earned him the banner of “White Boy of the Century” by a certain subset of very online Millennial/Gen Z cusps.

But long before GIFs of his performance in Perks were reblogged across Tumblr, Lerman had his sights set on Hollywood. Born and raised in Beverly Hills (he's not a nepo baby: his father works in medicine and his mother became his manager), he began appearing in commercials at the age of four and went on to land supporting roles in dramas like The Butterfly Effect and 3:10 to Yuma.

Movies were a large part of his childhood even outside of his career. He recalls paging through the local newspaper for the showtimes of major releases—or what he calls “special movies,” ones that feel original and get audiences into theater seats. “I have a bit of an issue where I really romanticized what movies were and long for that feeling and that approach to come back.” He and his best friend were also early adopters of YouTube, creating comedy videos and uploading their shorts to a channel called @monkeynuts1069—he’s quick to clarify that the name was the sole genius of his friend. (“I would love to have that name,” Lerman jokes. “My email [addresses] were so bad. My dad made my emails for me because I didn't even know how to do that.”)

Eventually, he nabbed the titular role in the Percy Jackson franchise, becoming something of an endearing teen heartthrob—only amplified when he played opposite Emma Watson in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which remains the gold standard of a coming-of-age film a decade later.

Oh, Hi! marks Lerman’s first leading film role in five years in what feels like a calculated move that perfectly plays into and against his off-screen heartthrob persona. But he’s genuinely surprised when I ask if that was intentional; if he saw the movie as a way to wink at the many horny fan cams and fawning tweets about him. (If his fiancée, artist Analuisa Corrigan, posts something of him, Stan Twitter will find it.)

“Every actor is trying to break out of whatever box they're in,” he says, explaining that his plan to star in Oh, Hi! was “so not thought out” but rather that he wanted to try something new. “That's always the hardest thing: The industry and the audience see you as one thing. And then they want to keep seeing you as that in a way.”

Still, he adds with a smile, “If it means that we get to make more movies, I’ll take the [White Boy of the Century] title.”

Though Brooks and Gordon began writing Oh, Hi! in 2020, it wasn’t until Lerman came on board in early 2024 that the film was able to gain enough funding to move into production.

He explains that, much to his confusion, several actors had passed on the role of Isaac before he was offered the part. When he got to read the script, he was “immediately excited by the opportunity,” accepting and shooting just six months later.

“It didn't really resonate with me as being something to be fearful of,” Lerman says. “Maybe [the reason others passed] was that the character’s a dick or something. I like that about him. I like the conflict.”

“I’m guided by what I want to see,” he continues. “That was the main factor in why I ended up doing Oh, Hi!. It was like, This is a movie I want to see in theaters. That's the bar.”

The only thing that did intimidate Lerman about Oh, Hi! was that he would be tied to a bed for what ended up being “easily 100 hours.” Not because of how exposed it would leave him (he is shirtless nearly the entire runtime), but because it would confine the “movement” of his performance. He was concerned how the cinematography would stay interesting in such a small space.

There was no doubt in filmmaker Brooks’s mind that Lerman could manage. “I’d seen Logan in many of his roles and had always been impressed by how natural and effortless his performances feel—never a moment of dishonesty or strain,” she tells Marie Claire via email. “He is also, in the truest sense of the word, a gentleman. I wanted Isaac to have that quality.”

The star enjoyed the challenge of playing into Isaac’s moral ambiguity, while also finding sympathy for him. A lesser script and performance could have made him a one-dimensional trope, but Lerman firmly establishes him as complicated, caught in the throes of dating just as much as Iris.

“Logan found the humanity and complexity in a man wanting something and being scared to have it,” Brooks adds. “That understanding bleeds through in every scene. In moments of absurdity, he brought a realism to Isaac’s circumstance that grounded the comedy in a way that feels essential for the stakes of the film.”

To Lerman’s surprise, playing the part was also healing on a personal level. “I'm much more of an Iris than I am an Isaac, as a person and in my dating experiences. [It was] a really cathartic experience for me to get into the mind of Isaac, who is much more like some people I've dated in the past.”

The Oh, Hi! actor is now happily engaged to Corrigan, with whom he’s been publicly linked to since January 2020, but he was no stranger to the taxing New York dating scene before they met. “Dating in your 20s is fucking horrible,” he says. “No one's ready. Everyone's working through shit. A lot of the experiences I've blamed on things not working out probably have to do with age and maturity, and understanding oneself.”

Though he agrees Iris makes “a really bad choice” in Oh, Hi!, he sympathizes with how it’s ultimately in the pursuit of love. Lerman declines to share what the craziest thing he has done for love but admits to being a “romantic,” flying across the globe spontaneously just to see someone.

“Life can be summed up as a series of embarrassments in those moments that impact you so much when you felt so deeply, and you shot your shot and you missed. I look back at those things very fondly and laugh at the intensity of it all—when you're smitten with somebody and you do something bold and it goes wrong. It was sweet.”

One shot he certainly didn’t miss was when he proposed to Corrigan (in a Central Park rowboat, no less) last year. Her being a December-Capricorn and he being a January-Capricorn, the star explains she’s a bit more extroverted than he is. Two years ago, she threw him a big birthday and surprised him with a cake—plastered with, yes, images of himself, crowning him the White Boy of the Century. (Inevitably, images from the party also went viral.) He was “humiliated” by being presented with the cake in front of a large group of his friends. “I pushed that away into some closet in my mind.”

His modesty is perhaps why he has become so synonymous with his outcast character, Charlie, in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It’s not been lost on him that the film has contributed to his reputation, that fans still bring it up. He’s also always searching for projects that resonate with him as much as the film did: “It was one of those special experiences where I read the script and I was like, I have to do this. I love this. I read so many scripts, and I'm like, That's what I'm chasing.”

Looking ahead, Lerman hopes to continue exploring comedy—which he will do as a guest star in the forthcoming season 5 of Only Murders in the Building. He remains tight-lipped about any plot or character details, but he does know who the season’s culprit is.

In the long term, Lerman also aims to produce more (and potentially direct) after previously receiving production credits on the 2022 sci-fi film Press Play and the acclaimed 2024 thriller Skincare. He wants to do so now more than ever, particularly after something he worked on for nearly four years fell through, due to a “bad partner.” (He declined to say what it was, but confirms he didn’t write it.)

He’s aware that much of his career thus far has been defined by the work he did as a teenager and in his early 20s, and has just one criterion for how he hopes to see his next one. “The pursuit is just to continue making movies. Hopefully, the movie can be special, but I want them to be released in a special way.” He means completely independent productions that find distribution, are properly promoted, and make their way into theaters for enough time for fans to see them—“movies that connect with that feeling I had as a kid…That’s the goal.”

He could easily keep yapping about his earnest love for cinema and where he likes to see movies on the big screen in his hometown of L.A. He goes on at length about the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’s programming; what a great job Quentin Tarantino has done reopening New Beverly Cinema and The Vista; his love for The Arrow, The Egyptian, and even AMCs (though he’ll go 30 minutes late to skip the ads). He could go on and on about the beauty of seeing something with a collective audience.

We must wrap up, though, so he has time for a photo shoot. “That’s the worst part. I hate modeling and shit!” But he’s okay hamming it up for the camera, playing up the projected image of his internet boyfriend status if it’s for the good of the film’s lifeblood.

“I try to grapple with, 'What do I do now?' versus 'What should I be doing now?' versus what I normally would do for my career and for myself, selfishly, but also, more importantly, for the projects I want to work on. I want to be a tool to get them made, as well as seen and distributed properly.”

Photographer: Ruben Chamorro | Grooming: Eddie Cook | Location: Fouquet's New York

Another day, another book-to-screen adaptation: The Hunting Wives is based on May Cobb’s popular mystery novel about a family that moves to Texas from the East Coast and gets entangled with the town’s titular dangerous, affluent group. Originally developed for Starz before moving to Netflix, the thriller series stars Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow as the two central characters, Margo and Sophie, who immediately become close and change each other’s lives—especially as they become entangled in a crime.

Akerman and Snow are joined by an ensemble cast in the series, which drops on the streaming service on July 21, 2025. Ahead, we break down the secrets and lies of the main characters and highlight the actors playing them in The Hunting Wives.

Malin Akerman as Margo Banks

Margo is the leader of the Hunting Wives, a socialite group of affluent wives in Texas. “Margo's magnetic charm and the group's intoxicating allure awaken Sophie’s dormant passions, leading her down a treacherous path lined with jealousy, deadly suspicion, and murder,” the show’s logline reads.

Malin Akerman, 47, is a Swedish actress best known for her roles in rom-coms like 27 Dresses, The Proposal, and The Heartbreak Kid. She also gained recognition for the comic book film adaptation of Watchmen, where she played the character Silk Spectre II. On TV, she appeared in Lisa Kudrow’s cult-loved HBO comedy The Comeback, Trophy Wife, Childrens Hospital, and Billions.

Brittany Snow as Sophie O'Neil

Sophie is an East Coaster who moves to Texas with her husband Graham and becomes acquainted—and obsessed—with the titular group led by Margo, Graham’s boss Jed’s wife.

Brittany Snow, 39, has been acting since childhood, first breaking out on the CBS soap Guiding Light and the 2000s NBC drama American Dreams. Since then, she rose to prominence via films like the Pitch Perfect franchise, John Tucker Must Die, Hairspray, and more. Last year, she had a recurring role on the hit Netflix drama The Night Agent.

Dermot Mulroney as Jed Banks

Jed is Margo’s ultra-wealthy husband, who inherited his family’s generations-long oil business. But his marriage doesn’t stop him from crossing the line with other women. In the trailer, Jed flirts with Sophie, putting his hand on her thigh and offering an ominous, “I won't tell if you won't.”

For rom-com fans, Dermot Mulroney, 61, is a familiar face: He starred in My Best Friend's Wedding, The Wedding Date, Must Love Dogs, The Family Stone, and more entries in the popular genre. Mulroney has also appeared in other genre films, including Zodiac, Insidious: Chapter 3, and Dirty Grandpa. Not a stranger to TV, he acted in Showtime’s Shameless, Prime Video’s Hanna, and NBC’s Chicago Fire.

Evan Jonigkeit as Graham O'Neil

Graham is Sophie’s well-meaning husband who works with Jed at his new job. According to TV Insider, “He doesn’t realize he’s moved his wife and daughter out of a big pond full of small fish and into a small one teeming with sharks.”

Evan Jonigkeit, 42, is best known for playing the villain Toad in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Following that, he appeared in the Kurt Russell-led western film Bone Tomahawk, the culinary series Sweetbitter, the comedy anthology Easy, and the Netflix supernatural horror series Archive 81. He is married to Girls actress Zosia Mamet.

Chrissy Metz as Starr

Starr is a single mom and devout Christian who is not part of the elite socialite circle that Sophie finds herself entangled in. Despite her daughter Abby dating the reverend’s son and star basketball player Brad, she is not welcomed into the inner circle by Margo and the group.

Chrissy Metz, 44, rose to prominence for her role on the NBC hit drama This Is Us, for which she won two SAG Awards alongside the ensemble cast. She lent her voice to Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, and also appeared on American Horror Story: Freak Show and the films Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and Breakthrough.

Jaime Ray Newman as Callie

Callie is a talented marksman and second in command of the Hunting Wives group behind Margo, by virtue of being married to Sheriff Jonny. But, according to Deadline, “she is also deeply in love with Margo and jealous of Sophie’s newfound influence.”

Jaime Ray Newman, 47, got her start on General Hospital and appeared on the cult hit teen drama Veronica Mars. Newman has also starred on Eastwick, Stargate Atlantis, and The Punisher. Along with her husband, Israeli filmmaker Guy Nattiv, she won an Academy Award in 2019 for producing the Best Live Action Short Film, Skin. Most recently, she starred in the 2024 Sundance darling Exhibiting Forgiveness and the Emmy-winning series Dopesick.

Katie Lowes as Jill

Jill is the Reverend’s wife at a megachurch in the Texas town. According to Deadline, “she’s trapped in a loveless marriage, and as a result, she is overly invested in her son Brad’s life.”

Katie Lowes, 42, had a slew of guest roles on shows like Rescue Me, The Sopranos, and Without a Trace before landing a breakout role on the Shonda Rhimes hit Scandal. She also appeared in Rhimes’s Netflix series Inventing Anna and made her Broadway debut in Waitress in 2018.

Madison Wolfe as Abby

Abby is a well-meaning, very pious teenage girl who’s been raised by her single mother, Starr. She experiences problems with her boyfriend Brad, who has been pressuring her to repeat their intimate moment together on prom night, though he is not the most faithful to her.

Madison Wolfe, 22, is a Louisiana-born actress and singer-songwriter who began work as a child star. At 7, she was among the leads of The Conjuring 2, and she and her older sister, Meghan, both appeared in the acclaimed first season of True Detective as the younger and older versions of Detective Martin "Marty" Hart’s (Woody Harrelson) daughter. In recent years, she’s held roles in horror movies like Malignant and The Man in the White Van, and focused on her music career, with her debut EP dropping in 2024.

George Ferrier as Brad

Brad is Abby’s boyfriend and seems to have it all from the outside looking in. But behind his rich upbringing, handsome good looks, and promising athletic future, Brad is hiding a few secrets, including an “emotionally incestuous relationship with his mother Jill, and an affair with one of his mother’s best friends,” per Deadline.

New Zealand actor George Ferrier, 24, is best known for appearing on Netflix’s Sweet Tooth. Before that, he starred on the Peacock series One of Us Is Lying and the New Zealand show Dirty Laundry.

Lena Dunham is the queen of semi-autobiographical writing (see her breakout HBO hit Girls), and her new Netflix series is no different. Too Much is inspired by Dunham’s 2021 move to London, where she met her now-husband, musician Luis Felber. Starring the Hacks comedic standout Megan Stalter as the Dunham stand-in Jess, the series follows her to the U.K. where she begins a new job in commercial production as a way to get away from the ghosts of her recently ended long-term relationship. But while the story is loosely based on Dunham’s own experiences, she described the character of Jess as “the alchemy that happens when Meg and I connect.”

Dunham, who co-created the rom-com series with Felber, directs and acts in the series, and taps a few familiar faces who have appeared in her other work. Too Much also employs a few notable guest stars, like Andrew Scott, Jessica Alba, and Rita Ora, who appear briefly in the 10-episode comedy. Ahead, get familiar with the wide-ranging cast before jet-setting to London on July 10, 2025, when the show premieres.

Megan Stalter as Jessica

Jessica, a commercial producer, moves to London for work in the direct aftermath of her seven-year-long relationship with Zev ending. With her hairless dog Astrid in tow, she meets Felix immediately, which sets her on an entirely different romantic path. But despite moving across the pond and meeting someone new, Jess hasn’t fully gotten over the heartbreak of losing Zev, and regularly posts cathartic yet angry videos directed at his new girlfriend, Wendy, on a secret social media account.

Megan Stalter, 34, got her start as a stand-up comedian before she became the standout scene stealer on Hacks. She previously wrote on the reboot of The National Lampoon Radio Hour and lent her voice to Paramount+’s Tooning Out the News.

Will Sharpe as Felix

A musician, Felix is struggling in more ways than one: His music career is stagnant, his decision to be sober (or at least try to be sober) has strained some of his relationships, and his tough childhood has made him develop strong coping mechanisms. When he meets Jessica, though, she encourages him to let his walls come down.

Though Will Sharpe, 38, gained international fame for appearing in the second season of HBO’s White Lotus opposite Aubrey Plaza, the British actor’s career began with the U.K. medical series Casualty. He also starred in the acclaimed 2019 crime drama Giri/Haji and the 2024 Oscar-nominated film A Real Pain. Outside of acting, he’s also an accomplished writer/director, previously helming the Channel 4 comedy series Flowers.

Michael Zegen as Zev

Zev is Jessica’s ex-boyfriend. Their seven-year relationship came to a crashing halt when he met the knitwear influencer Wendy Jones at a party.

Michael Zegen, 46, was a series regular on Rescue Me and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He also appeared on The Penguin, The Walking Dead, and Girls, likely where he first met Too Much co-creator Lena Dunham, playing one of Hannah's GQ colleagues.

Emily Ratajkowski as Wendy

Wendy is an influencer and Zev’s new girlfriend, whom he leaves Jess for. On the surface, Wendy seems to be everything Jess isn’t, but the women soon find out they have more in common than just their taste in men.

Emily Ratajkowski, 34, began her career as a model and became a household name after appearing in Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” music video in 2013. Since then, she has appeared in films such as Gone Girl and Entourage, and shows like Easy and The Spoils Before Dying. She previously announced she had quit acting in 2022 after a failed audition for Triangle of Sadness before landing Too Much. Ratajkowski is also a published author of various personal essays and the 2022 memoir My Body.

Rita Wilson as Lois

Lois is Jess’s mom, still living in New York in a multigenerational household with her mother Dottie, as well as her other daughter Nora. Lois is open to finding love again and encourages her daughters to as well—even if she doesn’t trust Felix’s intentions from the regular FaceTime updates she receives from Jess.

Rita Wilson, 68, has an illustrious film career, many of which have co-starred her husband Tom Hanks. Her film credits include Sleepless in Seattle, Now and Then, That Thing You Do, Jingle All the Way, and Runaway Bride. On TV, she’s appeared on The Good Wife and Girls, playing Marnie’s mom.

Rhea Perlman as Dottie

Dottie is Jess’s outspoken grandma, the matriarch of the family. She’s always there to lend an ear to Jess and her sister Nora’s boy problems, but she’ll also low-key judge them in the process.

Rhea Perlman, 77, is an Emmy-award-winning actress best known for her starring role on the beloved sitcom Cheers. In recent years, the comedy icon had a supporting role on The Mindy Project and appeared in the blockbuster hit film Barbie. She is famously married to another comedic star: Danny DeVito.

Lena Dunham as Nora

Nora is Jess’s older sister, also dealing with the aftermath of a breakup. Her divorce has rendered her almost bedridden, but she’s always available to provide Jess some advice over FaceTime.

Lena Dunham, 39, is the co-creator of Too Much, which is loosely based on her experience of moving to London and meeting her husband, Luis Felber (who co-created the show with Dunham and is the inspiration for Felix). Best known for creating and starring in the acclaimed series Girls, Dunham has also written and directed the films Tiny Furniture, Sharp Stick, and Catherine Called Birdy.

Andrew Rannells as Jameson

Jameson is Nora’s ex-husband, who breaks up with her so that he can explore polyamory in Brooklyn. Despite that, he maintains a close relationship with Jess and often provides her with career and life advice.

Andrew Rannells, 46, is an acclaimed theater actor in addition to his screen credits. He gained recognition for starring in the original 2011 Broadway run of The Book of Mormon; since then, he’s starred in Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hamilton, and more. On TV, he was a main cast member of the sitcom The New Normal, the fan-favorite character Elijah on Dunham’s opus Girls, and appeared on Black Monday. Rannells also held supporting roles in A Simple Favor and its recent sequel, Another Simple Favor.

Richard E. Grant as Jonno

Jonno is Jess’s somewhat eccentric new British boss, who founded the advertising firm she’s transferred to in the ‘80s. At work, he’s all business, but in his downtime, he likes to let loose—even if it means he’s oblivious to his wife’s growing unhappiness.

Richard E. Grant, 68, is a British film industry stalwart, appearing in films such as Can You Ever Forgive Me? (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), The Iron Lady, Saltburn, Gosford Park, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. On TV, he’s been in Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Girls (as Jessa’s friend from rehab, Jasper), and Frasier.

Naomi Watts as Ann

Ann is Jonno’s unhappy wife. She is unexpectedly kind to Jess during a dinner party, where she explains she is frustrated by Jonno’s constant absence and tired of mothering everyone in her life.

Naomi Watts, 56, rose to fame in David Lynch’s acclaimed 2001 film Mulholland Drive. Her film career includes roles in The Ring, Birdman, Eastern Promises, and the Divergent franchise, among many other indie hits and blockbusters. On TV, Watts re-teamed with Lynch for the third season revival of Twin Peaks, and she’s led hits like the Netflix series The Watcher and FX’s Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.

Janicza Bravo as Kim

Kim is Jess’s new coworker and a fellow American expat. While it seems like Kim has everything figured out on the surface, she’s internally coming to terms with her budding queerness and a work crush.

Janicza Bravo, 44, is primarily a director, best known for the 2021 A24-produced feature Zola. She has directed episodes of Atlanta, The Bear, Poker Face, and more. Her biggest previous acting credits are the Lena Dunham projects Sharp Stick and HBO’s Camping.

Daisy Bevan as Josie

Josie is Jonno’s effortlessly cool assistant, whom Kim has a crush on. According to Tudum, “she’s never afraid to admit when she’s made a mistake.”

Daisy Bevan, 33, was born into the Redgrave acting family and made her film debut in the 1998 historical drama Elizabeth at age 5. She shared the screen with her mom, actress Joely Richardson, in the 2001 film The Affair of the Necklace, and appeared in The Two Faces of January opposite Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst, as well as in the BBC series The Outcast.

Adèle Exarchopoulos as Polly

Polly is Felix’s very French ex-girlfriend, with whom he still has an extremely close (maybe too close?) relationship post-break-up. Tudum describes her as having “the gravitas of Joan Didion and the tousled sexiness of Marianne Faithfull.”

Adèle Exarchopoulos’s career exploded after appearing in the LGBTQ+ drama Blue is the Warmest Color, which won the 2013 Cannes Festival Palme d’Or award. The French actress, 31, has primarily acted in European cinema, including films like All Your Faces, Mandibles, and Zero Fucks Given, and lent her voice to Inside Out 2 as Ennui.

Dean-Charles Chapman as Gaz

Gaz is Jess’s well-meaning neighbor who checks in often on the expat. He seems to genuinely care about how she adjusts to living in London.

Dean-Charles Chapman, 27, played Tommen Baratheon on Game of Thrones and appeared in the films 1917 and Blinded by the Light. On stage, he is known for portraying Billy Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical in London’s West End. He starred in the production on and off between 2005 and 2011.

Stephen Fry as Simon

Simon is Felix’s father, who is too preoccupied by the family’s dwindling finances to show any interest in the budding romance between his son and Jess.

Stephen Fry, 67, rose to prominence in the late 1980s as part of the comedic duo “Fry and Laurie” alongside actor Hugh Laurie. As he expanded into film, Fry starred in V for Vendetta, Wilde, Gosford Park, The Hobbit, and Love & Friendship. On TV, he has appeared on It’s a Sin and Bones.

Kaori Momoi as Aiko

Aiko is Felix’s Japanese immigrant mother, who is both aloof and emotionally engaged in her son’s life at the same time. Aiko “does offer insight into [Felix’s] fear of needing anyone, his inability to fully open up, and how to have patience in decoding subtle gaps in language,” per Tudum.

The majority of Kaori Momoi’s career has been in Japanese cinema, where she has worked with acclaimed directors, including Akira Kurosawa, Yoji Yamada, and Takashi Miike. To Western audiences, the actress, 74, might be most familiar for her role in Memoirs of a Geisha.

Prasanna Puwanarajah as Auggie

Auggie is one of Felix’s oldest friends and his roommate, who is “a perpetually lost and exhaustingly sardonic cartoon of a guy whose commitment to environmentalism is matched only by his commitment to take-out and foreign cars,” according to Tudum. “Auggie admires Felix’s creativity and passion, so lets him live rent-free—but the price is that Felix must listen to all of his feelings all of the time.”

Prasanna Puwanarajah, 44, is a Sri-Lankan-British actor who was previously a doctor before pursuing acting. Appearing primarily on British TV, he was part of the main cast of shows like Critical, Defending the Guilty, Patrick Melrose, and You, Me and the Apocalypse.

Adwoa Aboah as Linnea

According to Netflix, “Linnea is the kind of vintage-nightgown-wearing girl with whom you’d trade confessions in a sticky bathroom of a scene-y bar. Her chic exterior masks a loneliness that is not too dissimilar to Jess’.”

Adwoa Aboah, 33, primarily works as a model but has appeared in the film Ghost in the Shell and the TV series Willow and Top Boy. She is set to appear in the forthcoming film Satisfaction, which premiered at SXSW earlier this year.

Whether you're a K-pop stan or just love some great animated action, everyone's loving KPop Demon Hunters. Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the Netflix/Sony Pictures Animation film brings Korean mythology to a modern-day setting, in a world where generations of Hunters have protected the mortal plane from the demon king Gwi-ma. Hunters and K-pop stars Rumi, Mira, and Zoey use their voices and the love of their fans to strengthen the barrier between Earth and the underworld, but when a demon boy band threatens to steal their fans, the trio become locked in a fan battle to save the world.

Since its premiere on June 20, 2025, KPop Demon Hunters has become Netflix's most-watched movie ever, remaining in the streamer's Global Top 10 list for 20 weeks straight. HUNTR/X and the Saja Boys have received co-signs from TWICE and BTS, topped the Billboard charts, and even gained attention from the Academy Awards. And naturally, millions of fans worldwide are begging for a continuation of the hilarious and heartfelt story. Below, we're keeping track of any news of whether KPop Demon Hunters will return.

Has 'KPop Demon Hunters 2' been announced?

It's official: KPop Demon Hunters 2 is happening! On November 5, multiple outlets reported that Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation had finalized a deal for a KPDH film sequel, with co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans returning.

The big news comes after months of speculation, during which the streaming giant has capitalized on the film's status as a word-of-mouth sensation, from sharing plenty of social media posts and an ever-growing selection of merch (including lightsticks!) to releasing a theatrical sing-along run that made $17-18 million in one August weekend.

Also, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos went on record praising the global phenomenon during a July 2025 earnings call, according to a report from TheWrap. The mogul highlighted KPDH as "a phenomenal success out of the gate…And the fact that people are in love with this film and in love with the music from this film, that will keep it going for a long time. So we’re really thrilled. And now the next beat is, where does it go from here?"

Netflix is also reportedly working on expanding KPop Demon Hunters into a franchise. According to TheWrap's late July report, the streamer is considering multiple options, including two(!) animated sequels, a live-action remake, a TV series, and a stage musical. A week later, after a fair share of fan criticism unfolded online, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the live-action film was no longer being considered.

In the meantime, expect to see KPDH everywhere, from merch and partnerships dominating in-person stories to a huge awards campaign for the film ahead of the 2026 Oscars.

Long before they officially signed on, Kang and Appelhans both made it clear that they're interested in returning to the world of KPDH, and that the creative team already has thoughts on what could come next. "There are always side stories, and there are things we've thought of while making this one. There are a lot of questions that are answered, but not fully. I think there are a lot of pockets that we can explore," she said at the time.

When will 'KPop Demon Hunters 2' come out?

Though the KPop Demon Hunters sequel is now official, fans still have a long wait ahead of them. Netflix and Sony reportedly plan to release the sequel in 2029, which reflects the average time it takes to produce an animated feature film. Still, as Variety points out, "release date plans could change depending on the film’s production schedule."

For anyone wondering about the first film's timeline, Kang has said that she began pitching KPDH seven years ago, and Variety first reported on its development in March 2021. Executive music producer Ian Eisendrath began working on the film in 2022. So the 2029 release window is the same length as the original production timeline (though fingers crossed that KPDH 2 could be fast-tracked).

What would 'KPop Demon Hunters 2' be about?

As fans have pointed out, the ending of KPop Demon Hunters leaves plenty of unanswered questions. The animated action-musical ends with Rumi, Mira, and Zoey defeating Gwi-ma and creating a new Honmoon, with all demons expelled from Seoul. Though the new barrier appears strong, it wasn't golden, the color that signaled that HUNTR/X had banished demons from the world once and for all. This itself leaves room for the sequel, if another demon breaks through and threatens the world.

Unfortunately for Saja Boys fans, there's little chance that the boy group would make a comeback. In the final fight, Mira and Zoey killed Abby and Mystery (and presumably Romance and Baby offscreen), while Jinu sacrificed himself and gave his soul to Rumi. Still, many fans have theorized that Jinu's spirit lives within Rumi's new sword, which would give the sequel a chance to bring him back and continue his romance with Rumi. (For what it's worth, Kang has been tight-lipped about Jinu's fate.)

In addition to the return of Jinu, plenty of fan theories have been dedicated to the characters's backstories, especially the love story between Rumi's Hunter mother and demon father. Speaking to Variety, director Maggie Kang revealed that she is interested in exploring their origins in a possible sequel, and not only Rumi's.

"We’ve set up so much for potential backstory. Obviously, there’s a lot of questions that are left unanswered and areas that are not explored, and we had to do that because there’s only so much movie you could tell in 85 minutes," she told the outlet. "This was Rumi’s story, and we have backstories for Zoey and Mira – ones that we actually put in the movie, but it just kind of rejected it. It just wasn’t the movie for those stories."

In M3GAN 2.0, the titular cult-loved killer doll isn’t the only advanced AI wreaking havoc. Enter AMELIA, the new bot on the block, and she’s out for blood.

But while the original 2022 horror-comedy used separate physical and voice actresses to play M3GAN, writer/director Gerard Johnstone opted to give the new android an updated aesthetic for his sequel, casting rising Ukrainian actress Ivanna Sakhno to star as the government asset.

Sakhno was game. The role is the 27-year-old’s biggest to date; however, it’s hardly her first experience with action blockbusters (having held supporting roles in 2018’s Pacific Rim Uprising and 2018’s The Spy Who Dumped Me). She’s also built a reputation playing hardened-yet-skilled fighters, as she’s proved with her work on the Star Wars spinoff series Ahsoka as Jedi-in-training Shin Hati.

While AMELIA ultimately goes rogue after the doll’s creator M3GAN’s creator Gemma (Allison Williams) gets hacked, Sakhno still manages to imbue her with fierceness, stoicism, and, above all, humanity. Speaking with Maire Claire over Zoom, ahead of M3GAN 2.0’s June 27th release, the L.A.-based actress explains why she’s drawn to characters with a tough exterior. “They inspire me to have more compassion towards myself,” she says. “In order to understand somebody with such darkness and dark depth to it, you have to find compassion towards those characters. That only leads to more compassion towards others and more love and acceptance towards oneself.”

Here, Sakhno shares why she has a soft spot for the villain, what was on her AMELIA playlist, and her thoughts on AI.

Marie Claire: You’ve appeared in a lot of big American sci-fi franchises, and your parents are filmmakers in Ukraine. When you were growing up, what was your cinema diet like?

Ivanna Sakhno: I've learned such a great deal from my parents—watching them collaborate and learning what it means to be an artist, as well as the hardship behind being an artist in a developing country that became independent very recently. My parents really tried to keep me away from the film world as much as possible and enrolled me in an arts academy for children. I was studying to become a painter and a sculptor. I spent eight years studying everything about the arts. It was a pretty intense schedule—basically from 8:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. since I was 5-years-old. Although [my parents] were very careful about having my and my brother's lives be intertwined with the film industry, they did show us lots of films.

I grew up watching a lot of Ukrainian filmmakers like Alexander Dovzhenko and his film Earth [from the] 1930s. He was a great influence on filmmakers around the world at that time, and he is sort of a pioneer in lyrical storytelling and symbolism.

[I watched] lots of international cinema, as well: Krzysztof Kieślowski, his trilogy, Colors, The Seventh Seal. My mom is a huge fan of French cinema. I was so taken by Amélie when I first saw it when I was 8-years-old. I fell in love with her, her way of thinking, and the whimsical nature of how she saw the world. It was like the first seed of me understanding that I wanted to explore cinema not only in my country, but also outside of my country with the rest of the world.

MC: M3GAN and M3GAN 2.0 writer/director Gerard Johnstone reached out to you to play AMELIA because he was a fan of Ahsoka. What was your reaction when you found out he wanted you to play the new robot?

IS: I first received the script and was moved by it. On the page, it was really funny and grounded in some moments and a little bit bananas in others, and AMELIA took my heart. There was so much of her in the original script that was the spine for me. I immediately wanted to meet with Gerard and, thankfully, he was flying from New Zealand to L.A., so we got to meet and play around in the room. We had a camera and started playing around with her physicality and movement, did a few scenes together, and from that point on, I became part of the team, and they welcomed me, which I was delighted about.

MC: You’ve done a lot of physical acting in the past, but what did you discover about AMELIA, and maybe yourself, while figuring out her movements?

IS: The characters that we as actors get to play, it’s very much connected to understanding the human psyche and human nature as well. Every single time you get to play a character brings more understanding, not only about them, but about yourself and that spectrum of the light and the dark. I learned so much about AMELIA and so much about compassion towards oneself. She's trying to understand herself, her beginning, what wires us, and some of the darkness that we hold from coming into this world—which it's quite cruel, the world we live in.

MC: You wear a few outfits as AMELIA, including an incredible, more traditional robotic silver suit. What were the first fittings like for that?

IS: That was one of the steps of coming into her. It was pieces that they created to fit, and then they started building from that, so it was a process of nearly a month.

It was quite restricting filming in it. We only had one time, actually, when we did wear the entire suit just to give notes to the costume department whenever we needed a little bit more give in some parts. It has multiple layers, and your skin doesn't necessarily get to breathe. But AMELIA is also limited in some ways. That's what she's trying to meet: something greater than herself.

MC: It’s interesting because she’s futuristic, but she also looks like a more traditional robot at times or has notes of the 20th-century femme fatale, Bond girl. So, in some ways, she’s also timeless.

IS: There is a vintage aspect to AMELIA, especially when she's playing with Jemaine Clement's character [Alton]. Her physicality and her look were a reference to when Alton was growing up, when he was finding out his attraction towards women. So, we went back into the ‘80s, ‘70s, and I listened to that stuff as well.

But that is AI to us: It's very much future-driven and timeless. It encapsulates human history in one. It can bring you anywhere you want to.

MC: AMELIA seems like the villain, but her experience is universal and about discovering one’s origin. How did you relate to her and find her humanity?

IS: I really want the audience to be able to go in and potentially see themselves in her. I do think that AMELIA, although she is seen as a danger to the world, the world is dangerous to her. She sees everyone as a threat, and she's trying to solve that problem the only way she knows how, which is how she was raised, really, and taught to deal with it.

MC: Did Gerard give you any robot references or action movies to study in preparation, or was there anything you were looking at for inspiration?

IS: It was fluid: He would give me some references, sometimes I would give some to him.

The main [reference] was Metropolis. There's a nod to Metropolis in our film when AMELIA’s sitting on her throne, like Maria when she awakens for the first time, which I think is brilliant. It is one of my favorite films and such an iconic creation in the world of cinema. It was the first depiction of the AI.

I took a look at some Transformers movies, as well, lots of different inspirations from Japanese robots and different AI voices in the way they communicate and speak. I also took some parts from animals that are a little bit rigid at times.

MC: Music is so integral to the world of M3GAN. Did you have an AMELIA playlist?

IS: I had a few artists I relied on. Thom Yorke is always part of my playlists when I build characters. He has such a depthful ear in lots of the non-lyrical music that he creates. So, one of them was called “In The Trees” from a score that he did [for the film Confidenza]. That sounded to me like what silence sounds like to AMELIA. And Thom Yorke’s “Hearing Damage.”

Then there was this one song by Bad Omens and Poppy called [“V.A.N.” a.k.a.] “Violence Against Nature” to hype me up. Björk, “All Is Full of Love.” “OKAY” by JT. That one was definitely for the bombshell sequence when she's in the gold dress. Blur, “Battery in Your Leg,” “The Border” by Nicolas Godin, Fiona Apple, and Amanda Lear, “Follow Me” was a little bit old-school.

MC: With her being the latest diva-esque villain in pop culture, who would you consider some of your favorite she-did-nothing-wrong femme fatales?

IS: I'm so surrounded by AMELIA right now, so I ride or die for her. She did nothing wrong ever, ever, ever. I would also say Natalie Portman's character [Mathilda] from Léon: The Professional.

MC: What was it like to shoot the final sequence in which you’re facing off with M3GAN and Allison Williams?

IS: The final sequence was lots and lots of stunts, obviously. That is the challenging aspect of it, for sure, along with the suit itself being quite limiting. But it really taught me the art of collaboration because the costume department was so on top of it, trying to make it as easy as possible for us to be in that environment and constantly came up with new possibilities for me to breathe in the suit and maybe take it off in between the fighting sequences.

I was in constant muscle spasms, honestly, doing those stunts. But working with Amie [Donald], who plays M3GAN, is such a gift because she gives it 100 percent, and she's so grounded in her being and how she portrays M3GAN. I had loads to learn from her, and I'm so grateful to know her spirit as well.

Allison is a phenomenal collaborator, as well as a producer. She is really the reason why I've gotten the chance to be part of this family and explore AMELIA because it was her idea to bring a real actress to play AMELIA. I have to really give it to her. She was always on set. Even if she had a day off as an actor, she would still show up as a producer and be there every step of the way and lead us with such grace and care and intelligence. I only hope to be an ounce of that when I get the chance to produce my own stuff. She’s definitely at the forefront of the badass women of this world.

MC: Beyond being interested in producing, but what else are you hoping to do next?

IS: I am currently filming the second season for Ahsoka. There are a few really wonderful projects in the making that I hopefully can be a part of—some of them are independent films. My beginning love for cinema was steeped in European cinema, so I really would love to continue finding the balance of doing these wonderful, big action films that I do, especially with age and enjoying them more, and also exploring independent filmmakers and being part of the smaller projects. All that I seek is people that I feel aligned with and humanity in the stories that we tell.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Content warning: The below contains both details from the plot of Materialists and references to sexual assault. In Celine Song’s new film Materialists, Dakota Johnson plays Lucy, a New York-based matchmaker swanning about in chic outfits as she helps her clients find “the one,” while dealing with a love triangle in her own life. Her career seems fabulous: The firm she works for, Adore, throws its staffers (all model-esque) parties at their SoHo office whenever they marry a client, and then they snag an invite to the luxe wedding. But the A24 romance film also features Lucy’s meetings—including one with a man in his 40s who finally wants to date older women, by which he means 27, and another with a woman who has a two-page document listing all of her non-negotiables.

For those of us in the dating app trenches, Materialists—inspired by Song’s own experience working in the industry—offers insight into all facets of the matchmaking world. But what does a contemporary matchmaker think of the movie?

Marie Claire asked Liana Bell, Head of Member Experience at the luxury matchmaking service BOND, for her thoughts on the film, after seeing it at an early screening thrown for matchmakers. “I could relate to a lot of what was occurring in the movie, even some of the absurdities,” Bell tells Marie Claire over Zoom ahead of the film’s June 13 release date.

Bell initially took a matchmaking job while working as an actor and has been in the business for over 10 years, even working with Song “back in the day.” Now at BOND, her workplace resembles the fictional Adore, as it features an application process and caters to an exclusive network, with personalized support in making connections.

Materialists explores universal questions about love—what we want versus what we need. And while the film has its fair share of swoon-worthy moments, much of its depiction of the matchmaking process strips those romantics bare by comparing finding one’s “soulmate” to an equation.

“Some people treat it as a mathematical formula, to be honest with you,” Bell says. “I think that's part of the struggle that people are having, even on the apps. Our society has turned dating into a mathematical formula.”

She adds, “Matchmaking is equal parts mathematical and creative.”

With Materialists now in theaters, Bell told us how realistic she thinks it is and about her own experience, including her most shocking request and whether she gets to see clients walk down the aisle.

MC: The film shows interviews with clients who have very specific preferences in terms of age, height, and other attributes. Are your clients that specific about what they are looking for in a potential partner?

LB: Everyone comes to us for different reasons. There are those people who are trying to ‘build a bear.’ They are trying to build this perfect image of this person in their head. I find those clients are probably the hardest to work with. They often have the most unrealistic expectations. Because I think, as the movie showed with the caveman scenes, it was so simplistic back then. Now, just because we have access to all these Instagram models, all these images that we're inundated with every single day, we feel that we can recreate that. People who come to us with very specific criteria, I find struggle the most because they're trying to create something and force something to happen, and I don't think the universe works that way.

MC: Did those conversations in the movie feel realistic to you when you're talking with clients?

LB: Of course, there's some exaggerated comedy. It's a very delicate balance that we have to deal with because matchmaking is a business, right? Oftentimes, when they assign a matchmaker to a client, they're being sold this thing, and then the matchmaker has to deal with it. And in some cases, you're not there to fix the client. You get a sense over time in terms of which clients you can expand [their dating pools] and which ones are stuck in their own way. At the end of the day, you're just serving whatever they bought. [Is this client] really trying to find somebody? So, you're in constant conflict as somebody who's on the matching side of things.

MC: As Lucy becomes closer to her client Sophie (played by Zoe Winters), there’s a seemingly delicate balance of the client-matcher relationship. Is that something you’ve dealt with?

LB: I used to work with ladies a lot. We don't anymore, and at BOND, we only cater towards male clientele. Sometimes we hear things, and they treat us sometimes as their therapists, because I think it's such a vulnerable thing that they've signed up for. I think what makes a successful matchmaker is somebody who lends an ear. But at the same time, it is a very delicate line, because, for example, I never necessarily went to school to be a matchmaker. A lot of it relies on my training of observing people, my acting background, all that stuff that I've picked up over time, and understanding of cultural nuances. There are cases when clients sometimes do treat me like a therapist, and I have to remind them, ‘This is not in my lane.’ You also have to be smart about knowing when you're crossing boundaries because you don’t want to give advice that you aren’t qualified to give.

MC: The idea of value comes up frequently throughout the film. How much does that and socioeconomic background play into the matchmaking world?

LB: Part of when you meet a client is also understanding, Even if they come from a certain socioeconomic background, are they open to other types? Understanding the client's story and what their background is, where they've lived, what schools they've gone to—they're all going to influence how the person thinks and acts. There are some clients who straight up tell us, ‘I went to Harvard. I just want somebody who went to an Ivy League college,’ and that it's non-negotiable. But I think when someone boxes themselves too much into these things, they are disqualifying potentials that could be great options. When people say, for example, ‘I want someone intelligent,’ I think what they're indicating is somebody with a curiosity, because you could have gone to Yale or Harvard, but if you don't have a curiosity to learn, then maybe you're intelligent in a different way. Our job is very much like a casting director because once you understand the story and the playing field that you're in, then you can cast accordingly.

MC: Materialists addresses the economic elements of dating, and all of Lucy’s clients are wealthy. Is that similar to the clientele that you have at BOND?

LB: It is more of a luxury service. The prices [for matchmaking companies] can span in range—there are companies that charge up to $75,000 or $100,000. We're not in that range. We are trying to make it a little bit more affordable, but somebody in New York City, if they make over $100,000 or $150,000, they probably can afford the service. Typically, the kinds of people we work with are busy or professional types.

MC: Is the concept of a “unicorn,” like how the matchmakers in the movie refer to Pedro Pascal’s character Harry, something that you use in the industry?

LB: I've heard that term. Part of the sales process with some companies, they always say, ‘Oh, you're looking for a unicorn.’ In that case, are they looking for a unicorn because they're very picky? Or are they looking for a unicorn because they themselves are a very interesting individual with a lot [going for them]? You have to play around to see what might mesh with the client.

MC: What would be considered a “good client” who might make a good match for someone?

LB: The ideal client is somebody who is open-minded in many ways, the most patient with the process, who trusts the process, and who knows that it is dating. Towards the end of the film, with the sexual assault, there are things that are out of our control. So, understanding that part of it and knowing that our job on this end is to keep the person positive to keep them going. Especially in New York City, people can get jaded about the dating scene. A good client is someone who knows that there are certain things we can control.

MC: Speaking of what happens to Sophie, do you typically do background checks on clients?

LB: We do background checks. After each date, we have a feedback component where people can leave feedback on their matches. If we sense that a client is disrespecting us or there are already certain behaviors I can pick up on in advance, we automatically try to get ahead of it, because actions speak louder. Even if I Google somebody and try to find something, and I don't see anything, but I sense the way they're treating us is disrespectful, how can I trust other people to go out on a date with this person if they're treating us like that? We use our common sense or intuition as best as we can, but at the end of the day, there are going to be unpredictable things that happen. I haven't seen too many things happen in my 10 years that were as extreme as what happened in the movie.

MC: Lucy’s workplace is all women. Is that typical in the industry?

LB: It's majority women. Although, I'm surprised there aren't more men doing this. As the movie showed, it's hard not to be emotionally attached. When a date happens, we're equally as invested in what happens as the client. I'm surprised there are not more men who do this, but I think it's also a lot harder to open up to men. It is something we've been tampering with at BOND—adding a couple more males to our roster—especially because we are handling mostly male clients at this point.

MC: How does it feel when you set up a couple who end up working out?

LB: It makes all the other stuff worth it. It's a very interesting job because there is never a guarantee, and you have to remind the client that the best I can do is listen to you and put forward people who increase your chances of meeting that person. When that happens, it's awesome. I wish I were invited to more of the weddings as the Dakota character did. Sometimes clients want to be private about it, and in some cases, they get married and we don't even know.

MC: How many people have gotten married from matches that you made?

LB: I can't really keep track. I would say at least 20 of them, but again, those are the ones I'm aware of.

MC: Over the past 10 years doing this, what is one of the funniest anecdotes that stands out about matchmaking?

LB: This comes back to some of the requirements [for a client]. There are certain things we just simply cannot screen for, like, ‘How big a guy is packing?’ At some point, I was asked if I could [find out]. How do you professionally respond to that? I think that's probably one of the most absurd things I was ever asked.

Parker Posey bursts onto the screen in the 1995 film Party Girl like the queen of the downtown scene. Dressed in a red satin Vivienne Westwood corset and bedazzled hot pants, her character Mary is being escorted out of her Lower East Side apartment by two police officers for throwing a rave. She's nonchalant, flippant, and absolutely fabulous.

But she’s also obnoxious.

Daisy von Scherler Mayer’s humble indie comedy—made against a crowd-funded budget of just $150,000—has been a cult classic since it was released on June 9, 1995. And after 30 years, Party Girl remains the standard for capturing Manhattan nightlife culture, from its wardrobe (which mixed funky vintage pieces with contemporary designers like Jean Paul Gaultier) to its soundtrack (featuring Deee-Lite and Run-DMC). But one of its most underrated and often forgotten merits is how deftly the film centers its story around an “unlikable female character,” one that didn’t gain Hollywood traction until decades later.

In recent years, audiences have become accustomed to seeing (and relating to) complicated female storylines centered on morally grey characters or women who fail more often than they succeed. Think: Hit TV comedies like Girls and Fleabag to surprise blockbusters like Bottoms. But for all the cultural clout the film has, we never give Mary her flowers for being a trailblazing precursor to the Hannah Horvaths. After Mary’s godmother (played by von Scherler Mayer’s own mother Sasha von Scherler) bails her out, she forces Mary to get a job alongside her at the library. And until the party fiend realizes her passion for bookkeeping, she’s selfish, entitled, and oblivious. She particularly lacks awareness when it comes to the Lebanese falafel cart guy, Mustafa (Omar Townsend), whom she tries to impress by “learning” Arabic and frequently complains to about having to get a job while he mourns having been a teacher in his home country.

Von Scherler Mayer (whose recent credits include directing TV shows like Yellowjackets and Inventing Anna) and her co-writer Harry Birckmayer set out to make a film about a complex woman, finding comedy in her unlikability, and basing her journey on finding a passion. “A lot of times, Harry and I talked about wanting Party Girl to be a movie that's all the three-line characters from other movies—not protagonists that are so perfect and pretty and in the middle,” the filmmaker tells Marie Claire over Zoom in May.

Posey, who was still undiscovered when cast in the role and had yet to be dubbed “Queen of the Indies,” understood the pair’s vision. “I watched old movies as a kid. I’m now thinking of Twentieth Century with Carole Lombard and John Barrymore—they looked like they had so much fun acting with each other—and the parts for women back then (if they weren’t carrying the films) were well-matched to their co-stars,” the actress tells Marie Claire over email. “Daisy pitched Party Girl in this way, as a throwback to those screwball comedies…I liked the script for the wit and style. I simply knew I was the one to play the part.”

With Party Girl celebrating its 30th anniversary, von Scherler Mayer reflected on what made Mary both an homage and ahead of her time and the pushback she received for writing her the way she did.

Marie Claire: You’ve called Mary a “teflon heroine.” What does that mean, and what did it mean for Mary?

Daisy von Scherler Mayer: She's ahead of her time because she's also a throwback...She's really in the vein of those Barbara Stanwyck characters like [Jean from] The Lady Eve. Generally, those teflon heroines, water just flies off them. It doesn't soak in. They tend to be selfish. They're resourceful, so they've got skills, and they're smart, and usually, they're taking advantage of a very straight-laced, sincere, good guy, who then they end up falling in love with.

And then we had a lot of other things. We wanted to talk about libraries and women's work, and having the relationship to work be the more important storyline, and letting the boyfriend part be the B story. So often in movies about women it's the opposite.

MC: Did you feel like those kinds of complicated, unlikable women were missing from the screen at the time?

DVSM: Definitely. It was a great time for romantic comedies, and I will never knock While You Were Sleeping or When Harry Met Sally…. Those were wonderful movies, but those women are not unlikable. They’re super likable.

MC: When you were trying to get the movie off the ground, was anyone pushing back to make Mary more likable or about anything else?

DVSM: Everyone was. Everyone was [pushing back] about anything in the movie that had a hard edge to it. We were told to make Mustafa Spanish or Italian. We were told to make it not New York, but Chicago. We were told that the librarian character was way too unlikable. I get that she was too much of a stereotypical hardass, but I knew I was going to cast my mom. We would say, ‘Yeah, she's hard on the page. That's because you have to meet my mom. She's super lovable and super sweet and has a very warm vibe to her.’

I went to Wesleyan and was in the film department and theater department, and Harry was a film major, so we had some pretty connected friends working at places like HBO—somebody was dating an agent. We got it out there to people, and they all rejected it for all of those reasons that would've brought it to the middle, that would've doused it down—especially her character and her character being unlikeable. 100 percent.

We ended up raising money with donations and shot it for $150,000. We never would've been able to do those choices if we hadn't done it ourselves.

MC: In many ways, Mary feels decades ahead of the rise of the “unlikable female lead.”

DSVM: Letterbox had me do a thing where we read reviews, and so many of the kids were saying [the film has] cultural appropriation, orientalism. Guys, the movie is not racist. The character is racist. When Mary does a fake belly dance and fantasizes about Mustafa and puts him in this Middle Eastern shirtless fantasy world, it's her reductive lusty perspective. We tracked that through the whole movie. I think it's important to separate the character's point of view from the filmmaker's point of view.

The scene that I always think is my favorite in terms of her character is when she's in the empty falafel garage. She's crying to this immigrant who hauled his butt to America. He's trying to get a job—literally, the metaphor for him is Sisyphus pushing his falafel cart up the hill. She's wearing Gaultier leather pants, head-to-toe designer, doesn't work for a living, and she's crying, and he's consoling her. That's the epitome, I think, of her selfishness. But if we don't want her to change, there really isn't a movie.

MC: It’s like she walked so Hannah Horvath on Girls could run. What did you think of Girls when it debuted?