In brief: ‘The Testaments’ gets release date and more
We now know when The Handmaid’s Tale spinoff series The Testaments will premiere. Hulu has announced that the new series, which is based on Margaret Atwood‘s eponymous novel, premieres its first three episodes on April 8. This dramatic coming-of-age story follows young teens living in Gilead who attend a preparatory school for future wives, where obedience is brutally instilled. Ann Dowd, Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, Mabel Li and Rowan Blanchard star in the upcoming series, which is executive produced by Elisabeth Moss …
The upcoming limited series based on the whirlwind romance between one of the 20th century’s most iconic couples has a release date. Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette will premiere to FX and Hulu on Feb. 12. Its first three episodes will debut at that time, while one new episode of the nine-episode series will air weekly after the premiere. Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon star as the titular couple, while Grace Gummer, Naomi Watts and Alessandro Nivola co-star …
The ceremony date for Broadway’s biggest night has been announced. The 79th annual Tony Awards will take place on June 6. CBS will broadcast the awards show live from Radio City Hall. It will also be available to stream on Paramount+. Nominations for this year’s Tony Awards will be announced on May 5 …
L-R: Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek, Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton in episode 401 of ‘Bridgerton.’ (Liam Daniel/Netflix)
Dearest gentle reader, the trailer for Bridgerton Season 4, Part 1 is finally here — and “all the eyes of the ton” are on Benedict Bridgerton.
The trailer features Luke Thompson as Benedict and Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek, his love interest, and it packs all the romance and magic we all have been longing for.
The trailer opens with Golda Rosheuvel‘s Queen Charlotte introducing another social season, and Nicola Coughlan‘s Penelope Featherington kicking things off as Lady Whistledown.
Penelope then focuses on Benedict, who is described as the “season’s most notorious gentleman,” with a clip of his mother, Ruth Gemmell‘s Violet Bridgerton, telling him to get his act together and “meet the right young lady.”
Clips of Violet planning a masquerade ball are interspersed with clips of a new household in Mayfair, where Sophie is the family’s maid. Sophie has a Cinderella moment as she attends the ball in a borrowed silver gown and a mask that hides her identity. She meets an intrigued Benedict, but when the clock strikes midnight, she runs away, leaving only her glove behind.
Benedict spends the rest of the trailer searching for her, never realizing that the maid he keeps running into is his dream woman.
“Behind the cover of a mask, anything can happen,” Lady Whistledown says in the trailer, adding, “With a little imagination, the impossible seems possible.”
The season is based on Julia Quinn’s third Bridgerton novel, An Offer From a Gentleman.
Bridgerton Season 4, Part 1, arrives on Netflix on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, with the first four episodes. Part 2 will arrive on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner attend the Hand and Footprint Ceremony: Billy Crystal at the 2019 10th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival on April 12, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TCM)
Several friends of the late Rob Reiner and Michele Singer are remembering the couple after they were found stabbed to death in their home in California on Sunday.
BillyCrystal and Janice Crystal, Albert Brooks and Kimberly Brooks, Martin Short, Alan Zweibel and Robin Zweibel, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman and Lou Mirabal, Barry Levinson and Diana Levinson, and Ambassador James Costos and Michael Smith shared a joint statement with The Associated Press on Tuesday, paying tribute to the couple, who were frequent collaborators and worked together on several iconic classic films, including When Harry Met Sally… and Misery.
The statement memorialized Rob Reiner as an unparalleled director who “was always at the top of his game.”
“Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl (Reiner) and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller,” it read. “There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films.”
“His comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant,” the statement continued. “For the actors, he loved them. For the writers he made them better. His greatest gift was freedom. If you had an idea, he listened, he brought you into the process. They always felt they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a film maker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.”
Rob Reiner and Singer were also remembered for their activism.
“Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife Michele, he had the perfect partner,” their friends wrote. “Strong and determined, Michele and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens. … They were a special force together-dynamic, unselfish and inspiring. We were their friends, and we will miss them forever.”
The friends ended their statement with a quote from what they said was one of Rob Reiner’s favorite films.
“There is a line from one of Rob’s favorite films, It’s a Wonderful Life, ‘Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?'” they wrote. “You have no idea.”
Rob Reiner and Singer were found dead with stab wounds on Sunday in their Los Angeles home.
The couple’s son Nick Reiner was taken into custody on Sunday night and has since been charged by the Los Angeles district attorney with two counts of first-degree murder in relation to his parents’ deaths. He is currently being held without bail.
If convicted, the 32-year-old could face the death penalty.
Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair and Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5. (Netflix)
Stranger Things season 5 has turned Netflix’s records upside down.
During the first five days of streaming, the fifth and final season of the popular sci-fi series accumulated 59.6 million views.
That makes it the best-ever premiere week viewing numbers for an English-language series on the streaming platform and the third-best overall. The only thing ahead of Stranger Things season 5 are seasons 2 and 3 of Squid Game.
Co-creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer shared their reaction to the large audience that tuned in to watch season 5 during its debut week.
“The sheer number of fans who have already watched volume 1 is staggering — the response has been more than we ever could have dreamed,” The Duffers said. “The show is now a decade old, and seeing the fanbase not only endure but continue to grow has been incredibly rewarding for us, the actors, and the thousands of artists who helped bring this story to life. We truly cannot thank everyone enough, and we are beyond excited to share volume 2 — there’s so much more to come!”
Additionally, all five seasons of Stranger Things made the top 10 of the English TV list, with season 1 at #3, season 4 at #5, season 2 at #6 and season 3 at #8. This means the first four seasons of the show have now garnered an accumulated 1.2 billion views since their respective premieres.
Netflix released the first batch of season 5 episodes on Nov. 26. Those four episodes make up what is billed as volume 1. The second volume, consisting of three episodes, will debut on the platform on Dec. 25. The series finale of Stranger Things premieres on Dec. 31 and will also arrive in select theaters.
