Category: Entertainment

American Idol has crowned its season 23 winner.

Jamal Roberts, a 27-year-old PE teacher from Meridian, Mississippi, emerged as the winning singer on Sunday.

Roberts said he was still processing his big win in an Instagram post following the finale.

“From my first step on that stage to this unbelievable moment, I never dreamed a kid from my hometown would one day be called American Idol,” Roberts wrote in a caption. “This journey has been bigger than me, and I’m so grateful for every person who believed in me when I was just chasing a dream.”

The father of three also said he hopes his victory on American Idol can serve as an inspiration for his kids.

“Most of all, I hope my girls see this and know that with faith, hard work, and heart, anything is possible,” Roberts continued. “To my city, my family, and everyone out there grinding for something greater, this is our victory.”

“Now, I get to make music with the best in the world and share my story,” he added. “But this isn’t the end… it’s just the beginning. From the bottom of my heart…. THANK YOU! None of this happens without y’all.”

Roberts sang a rendition of Tom Odell‘s “Heal” in the reality show’s grand finale and came out on top from a pool of 24 contestants.

Fellow contestant John Foster, an 18-year-old college student from Addis, Louisiana, was the runner-up, while Denton, Texas, native Breanna Nix came in third.

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Can you tell me how to get, how to get Sesame Street on Netflix?

The streaming platform is the new home for the beloved children’s TV show. Elmo, Big Bird and the rest of the Sesame Street gang are headed to Netflix for an all-new, reimagined 56th season of the show.

In addition to brand-new episodes coming to Netflix later in 2025, the platform will be home to 90 hours of previous episodes of the show.

Fans can expect updates to the format of the show with the new episodes. They will now all center on one 11-minute story, which Netflix says will allow for “even more character-driven humor and heart.”

Segments like Elmo’s World and Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck will also make their return in these new episodes. “Expect new ways to play along as Cookie Monster opens his very own Cookie Cart on Sesame Street, and explore Abby’s Fairy Garden, a home to surprising and delightful magical creatures,” Netflix said in a release.

The new batch of Sesame Street episodes will be available on the same day and date in the U.S. on Netflix, and on PBS stations and PBS KIDS digital platforms. This will make the show available to watch for free for children around the country.

Sal Perez and Kay Wilson Stallings are the executive producers behind the show, while Emmy and NAACP award nominee Halcyon Person joins this season as its head writer.

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The Simpsons is getting a bit of refresh with the addition of a new actor. Entertainment Weekly reports singer Kelly Macleod will now voice Milhouse Van Houten, the blue-haired best friend of Bart Simpson. The update comes after Pamela Hayden, who voiced Milhouse for 35 years, announced her retirement from the show in November. Macleod will make her debut on Sunday’s season finale …

Warner Bros.’ Mickey 17 has found a streaming home at HBO Max. The sci-fi comedy film makes its debut on May 23, with a follow-up release the next day on HBO’s traditional channels. Mickey 17 is the brain child of Academy Award-winning writer/director Bong Joon Ho, widely known for the hit film Parasite. It stars Robert Pattinson as an “unlikely hero who has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job … to die, for a living.” Mickey 17 opened in theaters in March …   

Fortnite fans now have the opportunity to speak and interact with Stars Wars‘ Darth Vader when playing the popular video game. Epic Games announced Friday that the new feature not only summons Darth Vader, but also includes the character’s iconic voice — that of James Earl Jones. “We’re honored to feature the voice of the late Mr. Jones and we thank his estate for the opportunity to make this happen for players,” Epic said in a statement.

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Hannaha Hall is back for another season of The Chi. Season 7 premiered Friday, capturing her character, Tiffany, learning her boyfriend, Rob (Iman Shumpert), had been shot to death. Knowing the grief Tiff would go through in this new season, she tells ABC Audio she had to unplug from the rest of the cast while on set in order to prepare for her scenes.

“I know with Tiff and her emotional scenes this season, I had to kind of isolate myself. I’m always cracking jokes. I’m always talking stuff to my co-stars in a good way, but I had to kind of isolate just so I can make sure I’m grounded in this performance or in this feeling, this moment,” she says.

Having never experienced grief in that capacity, Hannaha says she tapped into multiple experiences as she prepared for the role.

“I was like, ‘You know what? Let think about this, let me think about this’ … and even in those moments, you don’t know how that feels unless you genuinely experienced it,” she says. Still, she tried “to understand and create that hypothetical of what it would look like, what it would feel like, also thinking about the words and the dialogue” to make sure she understood where they were in the story.

Hannaha said she also listened to music as she put herself in Tiff’s shoes and received some help from co-star Lynn Whitfield, who helped her tap into the character.

Jason Weaver, who plays Rashaad on the show, says the hard work paid off, as Hannaha “really did do some amazing work. He says, “Because she took that time as an actor to really prepare herself … the audience is gonna love her performance this season.”

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Final Destination: Bloodlines had a bloody good weekend at the box office, taking the number one spot with a $51 million haul.

It’s the sixth installment of the horror movie franchise, which sees a group of characters survive a near-death experience and then contend with Death itself, as it comes back to finish the job. According to Variety, it was the biggest opening weekend of the franchise, beating 2009’s The Final Destination, which debuted with $27 million. 

Final Destination: Bloodlines knocks previous box office champ Thunderbolts* down to the number two spot this week with $16.5 million, while Sinners comes in at number three with $15.4 million.

Hurry Up Tomorrow, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s new film, debuted at number six on the tally, with $3.3 million.

Here are the top 10 films at the box office:

1. Final Destination: Bloodlines – $51 million
2. Thunderbolts* – $16.5 million
3. Sinners – 15.4 million
4. A Minecraft Movie – $5.9 million
5. The Accountant 2 – $5 million
6. Hurry Up Tomorrow – $3.3 million
7. Friendship – $1.4 million
8. Clown in a Cornfield – $1.3 million
9. Until Dawn – $800,000
10. The Amateur – $712,000

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James Van Der Beek is joining the cast of the upcoming Legally Blonde prequel, Elle.

The Dawson’s Creek actor’s new role in the highly anticipated series was announced Thursday. According to Amazon, he will be playing the city’s new mayoral candidate and current school district superintendent, Dean Wilson.

Van Der Beek, 48, took to Instagram to share his excitement over the news.

“So, this is exciting… I’m going back to work for a bit,” he captioned a post. “Super excited to join this awesome cast in such a fun project.”

He added, “Almost as excited as my wife and girls are that I’m doing this.”

The new role comes months after Van Der Beek announced he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer.

He first shared his diagnosis on Instagram in November. Van Der Beek said at the time that he’d received the diagnosis in August 2023, adding that he was getting treatment and focusing on his health.

Van Der Beek will star in Elle alongside Lexi Minetree, June Diane Raphael, Tom Everett Scott, Gabrielle Policano, Jacob Moskovitz, Chandler Kinney and Zac Looker.

The upcoming prequel will follow Elle Woods (Minetree) in high school as we learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film, according to a logline.

Reese Witherspoon, who played Elle Woods in Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, is an executive producer.

Elle is slated to arrive on Prime Video next summer.

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The Hunger Games has found its next Coriolanus Snow for its forthcoming prequel film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

In a social media post Friday, the franchise revealed Harry Potter star Ralph Fiennes as next in line to take on the role of the hard-hearted autocrat president of Panem. 

Fiennes follows in the footsteps of the late Donald Sutherland, who played President Snow starting in 2012 with the first film and in the corresponding three films. Tom Blyth played the character in the 2023 prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

“We wanted to honor Donald Sutherland by having one of this generation’s greatest actors play President Snow 24 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena,” producer Nina Jacobson said in a statement. “Working with Ralph has been on my bucket list since he traumatized me for life in Schindler’s List. It’s genuinely a thrill to welcome him to the Hunger Games.”

The announcement of President Snow follows Thursday’s reveal of American Born Chinese star Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow, a tribute from District 12, as well as a host of other surprise castings shared as Instagram Reels on Lionsgate and The Hunger Games’ pages.

Also joining the cast for the fifth movie are Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Maya Hawke and Lili Taylor. 

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping hits theaters on Nov. 20, 2026.

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Michael J. Fox is making his return to TV. 

The beloved actor is joining the cast for the upcoming third season of Apple TV+’s Shrinking.

His guest-starring role on the show marks one of his first acting gigs since announcing his retirement back in 2020 due to health-related issues.  

The Family Ties actor was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 when he was 29; he’s often been open and transparent with the public about the journey navigating his life and health. 

“Everyone’s taking an abundance of caution with me and warned me to be careful,” Fox said in a 2020 Good Morning America interview about his memoir, No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality. “I have to think before I walk; I can’t just get up and go because I don’t have much control of my momentum and control of my direction.”

As for his return to the acting world: “Big feelings incoming” reads an Instagram post caption shared by Apple TV+ and Fox. Many fans in the comment section expressed excitement for the collaborations between Fox, co-stars Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, and show co-creator and executive producer Bill Lawrence, with whom Fox worked on Spin City in the late ’90s and early 2000s. 

The cast of Shrinking also includes Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell and Ted McGinley. Jeff Daniels was previously announced as a guest star for season 3. 

The first two seasons of Shrinking are currently available to stream on Apple TV+.

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Devout fans of the Power universe who have tuned into the long-running Starz series may have heard of the character name Breeze. But now, more than 10 years and a few spinoff shows later, Breeze is finally getting a face to match his infamous name.  

Spider-Verse star Shameik Moore will take on the role of Breeze, a drug kingpin from Jamaica, Queens, Starz announced Friday. He’s the newest addition to the season 5 cast of Power Book III: Raising Kanan, the third iteration in the Power series. The show chronicles the early years of Kanan Stark, a main character played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in the original show.  

“The Power Universe fans have been patiently anticipating this moment and I’m honored to step into the iconic role of Breeze,” Moore said. “I jumped into a story that is already alive with such strong characters, but it was a fun challenge to find Breeze’s unique identity, and I can’t wait for fans to see how Breeze will shift dynamics in the story. It’s gonna be a wild ride.”

“It was always my intention that Raising Kanan would run for five seasons, and … I’ve been able to tell the entirety of the story I set out to tell way back in 2019,” Sascha Penn, executive producer, writer and showrunner, said. “Having said that, with the table we’ve set in this season finale and the inevitable introduction of Breeze, there is still an exceptionally intense and action-packed season left for the viewers to experience.”

Moore will make his debut as Breeze during Friday night’s season 4 finale on Starz. 

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Ready, set, binge! Here’s a look at some of the new movies and TV shows coming to theaters and streaming services this weekend:

Prime Video
Overcompensating: Charli XCX serves as the executive music producer on the new comedy series.

Hulu
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: The second season of the hit reality show premieres. 

Apple TV+
Deaf President Now!: Nyle DiMarco co-directs the documentary about historic protests held at Gallaudet University in 1988.

Murderbot: Alexander Skarsgård is a rogue security robot in the new action comedy series.

FX, Hulu
Welcome to Wrexham: The docuseries about the football club owned by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds returns for season 4.

Movie theaters
Final Destination: Bloodlines: The latest film in the horror franchise comes to the big screen.

That’s all for this week’s Weekend Watchlist – happy streaming!

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