SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " cast " 5,206 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
PSA: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Free Demo Is Now Live, With A Frame Rate Boost On Switch 2
Don't let the Bel(mont)s end
Vote for Northeast Florida Team of the Month in high school sports
Which team was the best of September 2026 for Jacksonville and Northeast Florida high school sports? Cast your vote in the Team of the Month poll.
What early voting data is showing ahead of the 2026 midterms
It’s possible that as many two-thirds of all votes in the midterm elections will come in the mail or will be cast during early voting.
I-105 FallFest 2026: Country music festival returns to Manheim Township Sunday
Manheim Township's Overlook Park will be a hub for country music as the 34th annual FallFest country music festival returns Sunday.
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe set to launch prediction market app with Kalshi
The app will allow customers to bet on real world events, such as weather forecasts, political races and Oscar winners through SaltTrade Derivatives, a new tribal business that harkens back to the Tunica-Biloxi’s history as salt traders.
Citi raises bitcoin, ether forecasts on strong crypto activity
Citigroup raised its 12-month forecasts for bitcoin and ether, citing stronger crypto activity, a supportive macroeconomic backdrop and a resumption of ETF inflows.
Australian businesses raise prices as card surcharge ban takes effect
SYDNEY, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Australian businesses said a ban on card surcharges that took effect on Thursday would force them to raise prices, casting doubt on government claims the change would lower living costs by eliminating more than $1 billion in annual card fees.
Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Disney, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, People and Reservoir Media
DIS, MSGE, PPLI and RSVR pursue content and technology strategies as media faces cord-cutting and weaker broadcast TV demand.
Jaissle learned a lot about life after tumour aged five
Newcastle United head coach Matthias Jaissle could not move his neck at one point, but went on to play before embarking on a coaching career that sees him in Tyneside.
What You Can Learn From WEBTOON Entertainment's 39% Drop
WEBTOON Entertainment’s Q1 2026 report looked mixed on the surface, with revenue slightly weaker than expected but earnings per share comfortably ahead of forecasts. Investors who held WEBTOON Entertainment over the past year are down 39.3%, including dividends. If you had invested just after analysts set out sharply different fair values and earnings paths in late 2025, how should you now interpret that decline in light of WEBTOON’s push into Disney-backed content, AI tools, and a growing IP...
North Huskies advance to sectional semifinals
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – The North Huskies girls flag football team is moving on to the semifinals after beating Reitz 14-6. The Huskies will take on Castle at the Reitz Bowl, 10 a.m. Saturday kickoff.
We Are Iowa Local 5 News
Welcome to the official YouTube channel of Local 5 News (WOI-TV). Subscribe to our channel for the latest news updates, heartwarming stories and weather forecast. ▶️ Subscribe to Local 5 on YouTube: https://bit.ly/Local5YouTube_subscribe Facebook: https://facebook.com/WeAreIowa X: https://x.com/weareiowa5news Instagram: https://instagram.com/weareiowa 💻 Stream us on WeAreIowa+: https://www.weareiowa.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/weareiowa-plus-ott-streaming-app-24-7-news-channel-roku-amazon-fire-tv/524-1558f3b4-af48-447d-9974-a7dd4cd9a0b7 📱 Download the We Are Iowa app: https://weareiowa.com/app 📩 Get Local 5’s "5 Things to Know" email newsletter in your inbox: https://weareiowa.com/email
Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights Disney, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, People and Reservoir Media
DIS, MSGE, PPLI and RSVR pursue content and technology strategies as media faces cord-cutting and weaker broadcast TV demand.
Looking at the Ugly Side of the Paramount-Skydance Merger...And How I’d Fix It
A Message from Our Sponsor Certified Fresh with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, FX’s Adults is an ensemble comedy series about a group of twenty-somethings in New York leaning on each other to navigate love, work, friendship and family. Don’t sleep on “The Sitcom of the Moment” - Awards Buzz All Episodes now streaming on Hulu on Disney+. Watch The Teaser Trailer... (Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industr(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Before we dive in, I wanted to congratulate Broadcast Now for being the first to report that Netflix’s How to Get to Heaven from Belfast has been cancelled. (I saw this in a write-up by Kasey Moore of Whats-On-Netflix.) More importantly, I wanted to note that, as of yesterday, none of the other trades had reported the news yet. I have half a guess that eventually one of them will report this. Anyways, it’s time to take a break from my deluge of streaming ratings reports to continue my analysis of the Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery (PSWbD) saga. As I noted last week, a lot of times when folks use the (sometimes cliched) “the good, the bad and the ugly” framing for an article, “the ugly” section is just more bad. Or very, very bad. In this case, yeah, I do think it’s ugly. In more than one way. Unfortunately, we’re only going to have time to tackle one of those ways today: the ugly pile of debt to finance this deal. (In a future article, I may cover the entire process for how it went down, which was very, very ugly.) Last issue, I explained why I liked this deal in a vacuum. Unfortunately, “vacuums” don’t exist outside of space. Let’s dive in. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - The Ugliness of the Paramount/Warner Bros. Merger More than one person sent me a note speculating that the big problem with Paramount Skydance buying Warner Bros. Discovery is the “Warner Bros.” portion of the deal. In fact, that’s a take I read a lot about Warner Bros., ever since they caught Netflix’s, and then Paramount-Skydance’s, eye. In short, multiple companies (Time, AOL, AT&T, Discovery) have bought and then regretted buying Warner Bros. Since it’s nearing Halloween, you could almost say it’s like the folks think WB is cursed! It’s a haunted studio—like the town of Derry in movie studio form—and whoever takes possession of it will fall into misery! Yet...I just don’t like that story, because it doesn’t explain the “why” behind why those deals fell through. Especially when Warner Bros. has continued to succeed as a TV and film studio in the intervening two decades. Lord of the Rings? Harry Potter? Game of Thrones? Everything HBO? Considering it never fully owned a broadcast TV channel, this media company has done pretty well. So what went wrong? Well, in recent years, companies bought Warner Bros. instead of the other, smarter option. Explaining POCD (And Applying It to Mergers & Acquisitions) As I explained last issue, one of my favorite frameworks is the POCD tool for evaluating venture capital investments: People Opportunity Context Deal The bar to invest as a VC is high. (Or I might say “was” since cheap interest rates made life easier last decade.) You review a thousand prospectuses, get pitched by a hundred, and invest in the ten best, with the hopes that one of those ten would pay for the rest. That means every element of a deal needed to pay off: you needed the right people running the companies, who could capitalize on the right opportunity, in the context of an industry that was ripe for disruption. If you could then not overpay, you could make some money in a smart deal. The analogy isn’t perfect here, but close enough. For a merger or acquisition to work, you need the combined company (which is the opportunity) to make more than the price you need to pay (which is the deal). Note: the people and context still matter, but with M&A, it’s a little more straightforward: does the opportunity exceed the cost? And usually with Warner Bros., it hasn’t. If you want to find out the single biggest mistake made by the Warner Bros. suitors over the last few years (and my simple fix) become a paid subscriber. I’ll also touch on who I think Paramount-Skydance could (shockingly) consider buying next, TBD, and more. Sign up here.
Trump cuts to climate science leave us all vulnerable
The Island always feels vulnerable when extreme weather conditions like last weekend’s early-season nor’easter start heading our way. This time was no different, especially as forecasts became more and more dramatic and television meteorologists breathlessly updated viewers from windblown shorelines, reciting scripts filled with dire warnings about heavy rain, high winds, and coastal flooding. The […]
Essentia Health celebrates start of construction for new downtown Moorhead clinic
MOORHEAD (KFGO) - Essentia Health is starting construction on a new family medicine clinic in downtown Moorhea...
Christopher Abbott explains why the reaction to his “X-Men” casting was ‘a dream and a nightmare’
Abbott is set to play Professor Xavier in the new “X-Men” movie.
Johnson casts re-election fight as ‘billionaires versus the Brandon Johnson coalition’
The mayor cast his reelection campaign as a fight against billionaires and City Council opponents while defending his record on crime.
3rd person with measles dies in Lancaster County: Pa health department
An unvaccinated Lancaster County resident who tested positive for measles has died, bringing to three the number of measles-associated deaths here and five total in the state, according to the
Fergus Falls community supports family of local business owner who unexpectedly passed
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (KFGO-KBRF) - Members of the Fergus Falls community are supporting the family of Katrina H...
Mario Lopez reacts to Tiffani Thiessen saying ‘Saved by the Bell’ cast’s residuals are ‘negative’ now
Mario Lopez empathized with his ‘Saved by the Bell’ costar Tiffani Thiessen, who said her residuals from the teen sitcom were ‘negative’ at this point.
KIII 3 News
KIII 3NEWS is the ABC affiliate in Corpus Christi, Texas, operating to serve, inform and improve communities in the Coastal Bend. The station began broadcasting in South Texas on May 4, 1964. Today, KIII 3NEWS dominates one of the fastest-growing markets in Texas. The station’s service to the community and commitment to local news and weather coverage has consistently made it the Coastal Bend's news leader for decades.
5th measles-associated death reported in Pennsylvania, health officials say
An unvaccinated resident of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who tested positive for measles has died, state health officials said.
Pennsylvania Department of Health reports 5th measles-associated death in Lancaster County
A fifth measles-associated death has been reported in Pennsylvania, according to the state's Department of Health.
Ashley Tisdale tried to divorce her husband ‘so many times’ after having first baby
Ashley Tisdale opened up about having postpartum depression on her husband Christopher French’s podcast ‘Recovering.’
WholeHogSports Daily Podcast: Protect College Sports Act passes Senate, other news with Brandon Marcello
Matt Jones and Brandon Marcello discuss the week's biggest headlines in college football.
Selma Blair Set for Coming of Age Film 'Schmoolie the Deathwatcher'
In the Theresa Burkhart Gallagher-penned project, Isaac Krasner is set to play the title character Schmoolie alongside a cast that also includes Luenell, Ariel Martin, David Mazouz and Sania Halifa.
College Football Viewership Down 11% Through September vs. 2025
FBS game broadcasts are averaging 1.7 million viewers.
Joelinton Returns To Training After Recovering From Foot Injury
The Brazilian powerhouse brings his physical presence back to Tyneside, handing Matthias Jaissle a vital tactical boost as the midfield linchpin nears a return to competitive action.
FOX Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt joins A-list group of winners with prestigious award
Kevin Burkhardt has won a major broadcasting award
'This Is Your Dreamcast Moment' — Former PlayStation Boss Offers New Xbox CEO Some Words of Advice
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has offered new Xbox CEO some words of advice as she resets Microsoft’s gaming business: “pick a lane.”
Senate committee advances Dr. Nicole Saphier\'s nomination for surgeon general
Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Trump's third nominee for surgeon general, is moving closer to confirmation. A Senate committee advanced her nomination Wednesday with a 12 to 11 vote. Saphier, a
Beyond the ballot: UNK lecture highlights Nebraska women’s early political influence
KEARNEY - University of Nebraska - Kearney lecture will highlight Nebraska women's early political influence a...
I On Politics
ADDABBO CONCERT RE-SCHEDULED: Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.’s Big Band Swing Concert, co-sponsored by Flor Cawley/State Farm, originally scheduled for Friday, September 25, was postponed due to forecasted rain and will now take place on Friday, October 2, 2026, at the Forest Park Bandshell. GREEK AMERICAN HOMEOWNERS ASSN MTG: The next General Meeting of
“DWTS ”cast reacts to Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart’s shocking elimination: ‘Wanna see her do a freestyle’
Fellow pro Sharna Burgess wants to see Stewart “get a ringer” and make it to the final next season.
‘DWTS’ cast reacts to Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart’s shocking elimination
The ‘Dancing With the Stars’ cast shared their feelings about Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart’s surprising elimination while speaking with EW after Tuesday’s live show: ‘Wanna see her do a freestyle.’
Political forecaster moves open Kentucky House seat rating toward Democrats
Sabato’s Crystal Ball, an election predictor out of the University of Virginia, moved Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District from a “likely Republican” win to “leans Republican.”
Newcastle Democrat says Mills retaliated against her
In response to Crafts’ allegations, Mills’ spokeswoman Anna Parker said many positions are now being left open in deference to the new governor.
HHS announces new process for agency’s PPE purchases
A newly introduced quarterly forecast is aimed at “better emergency preparedness,” an agency official says.
Business Beat : Annual fall harvest event to benefit “Deputy Sarah Irene Haylett-Jones Memorial Fund”
COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) - The annual Sarah Irene's Fall Harvest event will return Saturday and Sunday, October 10...
ManiGreen 2026: Art, Sustainability and Science at Castel Sant’Angelo
The Art of Caring for the Future of the Earth: The second edition of ManiGreen takes place at Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo from 11 October to 1 November 2026.
Anthony Gordon Takes Aim at English Football After Barcelona Start
Anthony Gordon fit Barcelona like a glove. Although his signing drew widespread criticism, especially over the cost, the forward has responded by helping the culé side secure victories. After a strong start in Spanish football, the English player has responded to his critics. The blaugrana side paid €80 million to Newcastle United to secure the […] The post Anthony Gordon Takes Aim at English Football After Barcelona Start appeared first on HEAVY.
What's behind HHS claims that gender-affirming care 'may' radicalize
The report is the agency's latest effort to chip away at trust in established health care models for transgender people. Critics say it frames transgender identity as illegitimate or even dangerous.
‘He Could Be a Cheaper Option’ — Sports Media Expert Theorizes ESPN May Be Planning to Replace Troy Aikman With 3-Time Pro Bowler
The longest-standing broadcast partnership in NFL history may be approaching a crossroads, and one media analyst has floated three-time Pro Bowler Greg Olsen as a possible option for ESPN if Troy Aikman departs. When Troy Aikman, the on-air partner of Joe Buck since 2002, revealed on the “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch” podcast that he has not signed a contract extension with ESPN, rumors swirled.
“Saved by the Bell” actress recalls last time she saw late costar Dennis Haskins in sweet tribute
Several cast members from the teen comedy have sent love to Haskins following his death on Sunday.
The 12 most exciting video game releases of October 2026
GameCentral highlights October’s most noteworthy video game releases, which includes the return of Castlevania, a new Star Wars racer, and the first Xbox console exclusive in years.
The Streamers Tried To Conquer Labor Day…and Whiffed
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) What? Another Streaming Ratings Report already? You betcha. Nielsen has moved up the release of their Streaming Ratings data by two weeks, which means I’ve got two extra issues to get out. But I love this change because it will make this report more timely and easier to publish regularly. This week—with the viewership data for the week of 31-Aug—we’ve got some huge, huge topics to discuss. On the film side, two theatrical films (The Mandalorian and Grogu on Disney+ and Scary Movie on Paramount+) contend with two non-Netflix straight-to-streaming films (Mayday on Apple TV and The Runner on Prime Video). The streamers went all in to win Labor Day weekend in America. And we have a bunch of TV shows to analyze, both new shows (Netflix’s The Gentleman, Hulu’s Chad Powers, and an Alix Earle reality show) and weekly shows like Reacher, Ted Lasso, House of the Dragon and Lioness. All that, plus nepotism in Hollywood, some eye-popping fantasy football stats, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of August 31st to September 6th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Film - A Slew of Labor Day Disappointments? A lot of streamers released big new films this week, why? My theory is that the streamers know that four-day weekends can propel streaming films to glory. But if you’ve been reading more over the last two years, you know that big holiday weekends aren’t driving big viewership numbers the way they did post-Covid. And interestingly enough, Netflix didn’t put out a big new film this week. But four other streamers did, trying to take advantage of the holiday with some (not cheap) swings, including… The Mandalorian and Grogu on Disney+ (a Star Wars film that cost $165 million and made $177 million at the US domestic box office) Mayday on Apple TV (rumored $100 million budget, no theatrical release) The Runner on Prime Video (at least a $40 million budget, but likely $50 to $80 million, no theatrical release). Scary Movie on Paramount+ ($30 million budget, made $108 million domestically). (Paramount+ also released a made-for-streaming film based on the Thundermans IP, and I’ll discuss that later.) So…how’d they do? The Mandalorian and Grogu Leads The Way (But That Isn’t Enough) Let’s start with The Mandalorian and Grogu (which I’ll abbreviate to Mando for most of this article). We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… How Mando, Mayday, The Runner and Scary Movie performed on streaming... How the powerhouse weekly released shows (Reacher, Ted Lasso and Lioness) have accumulate a LOT of viewership… How House of the Dragon finished its run… The latest Netflix show to have a sophomore slump… Whether top creators can drive viewers to their shows… Nepotism in Hollywood and the music business... All the flops, bombs and misses for the week… And more… ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. Coming Soon! Since Nielsen has accelerated their streaming data release schedule, I’ve got a lot of Streaming Ratings Reports coming your way! Next issue, I’ll be looking at the second season of Peacock’s The Paper, the latest season of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and a very, very expensive Daily Wire fantasy series that’s now on Prime Video. Plus Crew Girl and Dang! on Netflix, a new Tyler Perry film, and one of the biggest bombs of the summer, Supergirl. In the next two issues, I’ll take a look at the return of the NFL to streaming, Toy Story 5 on Disney+, Backrooms on HBO Max, and The Breadwinner on Netflix. On the TV side, we’ve got Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Dancing with the Stars on Disney+, Apple TV’s Slow Horses, a Reacher spinoff on Prime Video, and Paramount+’s MobLand, a Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey comedy on Apple TV, a sequel to a Cosby Show spinoff on Netflix, The Great British Baking Show, and the Unabomber film. And while doing all that, I want to take a look at adult animated shows, Ride or Die’s cancellation, and Netflix’s summer films. So much great stuff! Long term, two bits of comic book news. The X-Men cast has been announced, and go ahead and color me bull-ish, if not very, very bull-ish on this bit of comic book IP. In weirder news, HBO Max ordered a “true crime” show by Jimmy Olsen about Gorilla Grodd being falsely convicted of murder. I mean, what? I don’t know, let’s see what happens.
CPS cited mother’s mental health as 'safety factor' before Mechanicville killings
WRGB CBS 6 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Albany, New York and nearby towns and communities in the Capital City area, including Cohoes, Watervliet, Colonie, Bethlehem, Guilderland, New Scotland, Coeymans, Green Island, Knox, Berne, Westerlo, Rensselaerville, Colonie, Menands, Green Island, Ravena, Altamont, Voorheesville.
Military academies won\'t give tenure to civilian faculty, Hegseth says
The Defense Department has decided to stop appointing civilians as tenured faculty at U.S. military academies. Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo Tuesday outlining the change, saying he wanted to
Officials cast doubt on Trump’s plan for drones, snipers at proposed arch
The arch is still envisioned to be a tourist site, despite the president’s announcement that it would be a “military complex,” administration officials told advocacy groups.
Pillen Creates Working Group to Coordinate Business Recruitment
Gov. Jim Pillen signed an executive order Tuesday establishing a statewide working group to coordinate busines...
State Senate Democratic Committee: Robyn Vining earns Recombobulation Area endorsement, highlighting her effective legislative record
MADISON, WI – State Representative Robyn Vining’s campaign for State Senate has earned the endorsement of The Recombobulaiton Area and Dan Shafer. During their conversation on The Recombobulaiton Area podcast, Robyn and Dan highlighted her path to political life, her...
NC Wesleyan establishes new school for sports and entertainment
The North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWU) announces the establishment of a new School of Sports, Entertainment, and Venue Enterprise (SEVE School).
Joe Buck ‘hopeful’ Troy Aikman stays at ESPN
After following Troy Aikman to ESPN, Joe Buck now hopes his longtime NFL broadcast partner follows him in staying at ESPN. Earlier this month, Buck signed a six-year contract extension with ESPN worth more than $100 million to continue as the network’s voice of Monday Night Football. Aikman, however, remains unsigned, with his current contract…
Author Lynn Painter’s “Trust Fall” is the ultimate fall read — Here’s who we’d cast in the movie
The NYC-set novel is out now.
'The Amazing Race' Season 39 cast faces a new twist as 13 teams race for $1 million
As the longstanding reality TV series celebrates its 25th anniversary this fall, see who will be embarking on a race around the world — and a chance to win $1 million.
HealthPartners, Essentia Health agree to merge into major regional health system
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (KFGO) - Two of the region's major healthcare providers announced plans Tuesday to combine ...
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner orders AI company to stop doing business in the state
(KNOX/KFGO) -North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread has ordered Silverberry Group and WoundScribe AI...
Fraser Stewart now set to join Newcastle United
News now that Fraser Stewart is set to join Newcastle United. This news breaking north of the border.
Bad Saints Jazz Festival to bring to Lancaster diverse jazz music \'that doesn\'t quite behave\'
With the inaugural Bad Saints Jazz Festival, Josh Gibbel hopes to create a Lancaster tradition that celebrates jazz music in all its glory for years to come.
Business Beat : Scooters Coffee Coldwater location to open Monday October 5th
COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) - Scooter's Coffee has announced it will officially open it's new drive-thru location in ...
Swiss 'probably a league apart' from Scotland
Switzerland have "a ridiculously talented squad" who are "probably a league apart" from Scotland at present as the sides prepare to meet in the Nations League on Tuesday, according to football analyst John Walker. Following their 3-0 win in North Macedonia, Switzerland are the second test of Sebastien Pocognoli's reign as head coach after their 0-0 draw in Slovenia. "If Switzerland had faced the Scotland side in the first half, we wouldn't have had a second half we could have come back from," Walker said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
Newcastle United duo nearing returns after rejoining team training
Nico Gonzalez and Joelinton have handed Newcastle United a boost after returning to first-team training.Gonzalez missed the win over Hull City before the international break after taking a knock, whil...
Cottagers on tour: Castagne, Charles in action
As the international break continues to rumble on, Fulham's stars continue to be involved and there were three players involved for Fulham on Monday night - find out who and how they got on below!
Sports on TV/radio listings: Sept. 29
Where to watch and/or listen to today's sporting events that will be televised or broadcast on the radio.
America’s founding story comes to Cedar Rapids stage
Revival Theatre Company opens its season Oct. 2 with “1776” at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids. Ahead of opening night, director Brian Glick discusses youthful casting, fresh pacing, and staging America's founding story.
Primetime Review: That’s Entertainment?
If you decide to see Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, it’s important to remember the title as you watch. Yes, this is a biopic of sorts about Chris Hansen and his work on To Catch a Predator, but it is more accurately about the quest for fame and using people’s trauma to attract ratings. True crime entertainment continues to have a prominent place in many people’s television habits, and this film asks us to examine what that means both for those whose stories have become our viewing pleasure and those of us watching. Primetime starts as Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) is told that his show, To Catch a Predator, is moving to a 9 PM spot opposite LOST. Chris and his producer, Andie (Merritt Wever), see this as an opportunity to make the program even more sensational, looking for bigger, more horrific predators. As part of their plan, they hire a young actor, Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo), to play “Decoy Dan,” the person who greets the would-be predators who were catfished by Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher). Oppenheim, along with writers Ajon Singh and Luke Dittrich, is less concerned with an accurate retelling of the show as much as they are interested in interrogating the why of it all. That decision sometimes leaves Primetime feeling less like a biopic and more like a satirical look at the nature of programming like this. Visually, the movie is impressive. Oppenheim uses light and color effectively to cast Hansen as both villain and savior. Pattinson plays Hansen in an almost comical manner, as we see him wake his two young sons to watch a clip of the show, just to brag that he was moving into a prime spot on television. Even Andie struggles to accept a “nice” job when there is so much more fame to be found producing salacious true-crime content. Wever does an excellent job showing how the hunger for fame is not just in front of the camera, but in every aspect of the production. The heart of the movie, and the standout performance, belongs to Gisondo as Dan Plum. He is someone who just wants to get enough hours to be admitted into the Screen Actors Guild, and stumbles into this job without really knowing what it is. Throughout the film, we watch him suffer one trauma after another, ending with him witnessing the suicide of a District Attorney who is about to become the next unwitting star of Hansen’s show. If there is a sympathetic character in Primetime, it is Decoy Dan, and Gisondo plays him brilliantly. If you’re a fan of programming like To Catch a Predator, then Primetime will probably make you feel uncomfortable, and I think it’s worth sitting with that feeling and examining why we turn on shows that display the worst of humanity while we judge from our couches. Yes, it is correct to want to see people who would hurt children brought to justice, but perhaps it shouldn’t be something that we watch as entertainment. Rating: 3.5/5 This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on September 25, 2026. MacGuffin or Meaning: Film & TV Reviews and Reflections is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Insurers cast themselves as MAHA allies
They'll emphasize overlapping interests with the movement.
How an obscure government code unlocks opportunity for businesses
What rhymes with "snakes" and helps the government classify economic activity? NAICS — or the North American Industry Classification System. These codes categorize every industry from artificial turf installation to zucchini farming. But they’re not exactly easy to get. Today we look at one business’ quest for a NAICS code and what makes them so valuable. Fact checking by Leyla Doss. Your Next Listen — How to take the temperature of the US consumer Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
3 Ingredients That Made The Coney a Success
The Coney took over the Detroit Opera House on Sept. 26. Here are the main takeaways from the all-star comedy event.
Mann says voters are ready for a change from ‘Politics as it is’ during recent campaign fundraiser in Emporia Monday
It is the opinion of Democratic Candidate Chris Mann that voters are tired of "politics as it is" and ready fo...
Broadcast To Hit A Double, Peacock Going Deep In NBC Sports Coverage Of MLB Wild Card Playoffs
Sports fans of a certain age can readily recall NBC’s coverage of the Major League Baseball playoffs regularly pre-empting the network’s “Must-See TV” primetime lineup in the 1990s. While today’s ratings and programming landscape has changed dramatically in the intervening decades, this year’s playoffs (starting Tuesday) are shaping up as a back-to-the-future milestone for NBC …
White House says Trump PSA that appears to look like 2024 campaign ad is 'not political'
The Trump administration published a new "PSA" that was paid for by the U.S. government that ran alongside football games, Sunday morning news shows and primetime broadcast shows. The White House defended the advertisements, saying that they were "not political." NBC News' Yamiche Alcindor reports.
SJ Cafe in Loves Park has closed. The business is for sale
By Kevin Haas Rock River Current Get our mobile app LOVES PARK — A locally owned cafe that centered on quick grab healthy options such as smoothies, wraps, parfaits and protein bites has closed after less than a year in business. SJ Cafe, 6731 Broadcast Parkway, announced its closure on Monday via Facebook. Owner Danna
The McGraw sisters bring double the trouble
The cast and crew celebrate the film’s Los Angeles premiere at the Warner Bros. Studios lot
PNB’s ‘Serenade’ made the audience gasp
PNB's 54th season began with the magical "Serenade" and a cast that didn't disappoint.
Sports media insider: CBS, Prime could tangle over Ian Eagle potentially succeeding Al Michaels on TNF
Ian Eagle to Amazon’s Thursday Night Football is a more complicated succession plan than it appears. Appearing on Puck’s The Varsity podcast with John Ourand, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand said that while Prime Video has its sights set on Eagle as the eventual replacement for Al Michaels, CBS has no interest in letting him walk,…
Broadcast information announced for Red River Showdown
OU-Texas has received its TV channel designation.
Bobby Kotick’s lawyers sent me a bad email (and later apologized)
The message I had received was unsettling—for a moment. Then it was just really confusing. Back on January 20 of this year, at 5:15pm ET, I received an email with the subject line “Legal Correspondence re Bobby Kotick.” It was from the law firm Clare Locke, a firm I’d heard had been emailing reporters in recent years about their coverage of Kotick, the former, longtime CEO of Activision Blizzard. The letter was threatening. A lawyer from the firm introduced themselves as “defamation counsel to Bobby Kotick.” They issued a “demand” that I “correct” a Game File article I’d published a week prior. The article that had irked them had been a scoop of sorts. I’d written about a a 2022 lawsuit brought by a Swedish pension fund, AP7, over Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard. The suit wasn’t news, but I was first to review and report about Kotick’s extensive pushback to the fund’s claims. The pension fund’s core contention was that the sale had been rushed by Kotick to avoid the consequences of sexual misconduct scandals swirling around the company in 2021. (He’d not been accused of misconduct himself in those suits, to be clear.) As I wrote at the time, Kotick had denied the allegations of the rushed sale. Beyond that, Kotick used a December 2025 reply to the Swedish fund’s lawsuit to assign blame for those workplace scandals, the bad press and even for the AP7 lawsuit. I’d found Kotick’s arguments novel and newsworthy. Across nearly 3,000 words, I explained Kotick’s take: that a Swedish gaming company was behind the Swedish fund’s lawsuit (the Embracer group; they denied it); that the Microsoft-Activision deal was not rushed and was secured at what Kotick felt history had proven to be an optimal price for shareholders; that he believed a conspiracy of people at unions government agencies, PR firms and the media had spun up claims of widespread workplace misconduct at Activision Blizzard in 2021. The article gave context for all of this, letting readers assess the claims and weigh their credibility. As I’d later write to Kotick’s lawyers: I would be surprised if you could point to any news article about Bobby Kotick in the last five years that has spent more of its wordcount articulating his point of view. He is welcome to do an interview with Game File any time. Nonetheless, there they were in my inbox that Tuesday evening: Clare Locke, the law firm that secured a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News over false statements about voting machines. They were emailing me, threatening that failure to comply with their demand could support a claim of “actual malice,” a legal standard for libel. Unless… Unless, they said, I added a key paragraph to my article. This was a paragraph that I already knew Kotick’s lawyers had been emailing reporters about for at least a year, and it was a paragraph that was already in my article. The paragraph they wanted is from a 2023 settlement that California’s Civil Rights Department struck with Activision Blizzard. The settlement had closed a two-year-old lawsuit over alleged sexual discrimination at the game maker. The paragraph basically said that claims of systemic or widespread sexual harassment—or of execs like Kotick tolerating such behavior—had never been proven. I’d already seen proof that Kotick’s lawyers had pushed for the settlement’s language to be added to reports about 2021 sexual discrimination and misconduct lawsuits brought against Activision Blizzard by California and, separately, by the U.S. federal government (both suits were since settled). I knew that Kotick and his lawyers felt that the California settlement language should be mentioned in the same breath as references to an article he hated and denied, a November 2021 Wall Street Journal article claiming Kotick knew “for years” of sexual misconduct at Activision Blizzard. So, in the Game File article that Clare Locke emailed me about, in the interest of ensuring I was being fair and balanced regarding the person I was covering, I had already included the following excerpt from the California settlement [emphasis added in bold]: (Kotick has repeatedly pushed back against that November article in the Wall Street Journal, citing among other things, language from a court-approved consent decree as part of Activision’s 2023 $54 million settlement over the California suit. It states: “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations that: there has been systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard [or] that Activision Blizzard senior executives ignored, condoned, or tolerated a culture of systemic harassment, retaliation, or discrimination.”) On the evening of January 20, I was incredulous. How do you write a four page legal threat about a week-old article and miss this? While scrambling to also make my kids dinner, I wrote a lengthy reply to Clare Locke’s lawyers, basically asking them to cool it with the threats and to start making sense. In part, I wrote: I hope you can understand why I am having trouble understanding what you’re asking for, when the statement you’re demanding to see in Game File’s article already appears in Game File’s article. Actual malice, as you know, refers to a reckless disregard for the truth. I’m not sure what your argument is when my article already states your client’s position. Here is where I should remind you, the reader, that I am an independent journalist. I publish on Substack, and have availed myself of the Substack Defender program that provides writers on the platform with legal support. But I’m no Wall Street Journal or New York Times, nor even IGN or GameSpot when it comes to such things as, well, having a legal department. There are more fun things for me to do as an independent journalist than writing back to a powerful law firm representing a very rich person. On the evening of January 20th, I was just trying to cook some pasta, broccoli and chicken nuggets for hungry twins. Nevertheless, I wrote back to them. Two hours later, I got a reply. Summarizing: A lawyer for Clare Locke said they’d “reviewed an incomplete version” of my article and they “apologize for the confusion.” (My guess: Someone didn’t read past the piece’s paywall, even though they’d had a full week to scrounge up the funds to do so. What I’d published above the paywall was balanced, as was what came after.)1 That was almost that, but something about the situation bothered me. The letter had been marked “confidential.” I hadn’t agreed to that, and I disliked the idea that powerful people on the beat that I cover would act like they could unilaterally control what I might tell my readers about. On the morning of the 21st, having already gotten the powerful law firm to back off, I oh-so-wisely re-approached them with just one more thing. I thanked them for clearing things up the night before but noted that I’d never agreed to keep their letter confidential. I’m all for agreeing with a source to keep things off the record, but that’s the thing. We have to agree. You can’t just declare it. I’m not bound by that. I wrote to Clare Locke’s lawyer and said, in part: I trust the matter is resolved. It was disappointing to have to spend less time with my kids last night in order to address your legal letter. Family time’s precious. I will add, for clarity’s sake, that, while your letter stipulated that it was confidential, I did not agree to those terms. In the future, should you wish to communicate with me confidentially, I am happy to agree to classifying our communication as “off the record” prior to the actual communication—as is standard with any professional journalist. The firm’s lawyer replied, not directly addressing the confidentiality issue but asserting that the matter was resolved. Why I didn’t write about this until now In May, I told this story on an episode of Simon Parkin’s podcast My Perfect Console, but I held off on sharing it directly with Game File readers. I held off to avoid stepping on the toes of another reporter, the journalist Mikhail Klimentov. He’d interviewed me in the spring of 2025 about an investigation he was working on regarding Bobby Kotick lawyers pressing the media to add the California settlement language to stories referencing the 2021 lawsuits. And about how some outlets had changed their stories and how some simply deleted them. Initially, I was a third-party source for Klimentov’s reporting, providing on-the-record context about the state of the games media. I’d heard about the letters but hadn’t put the time into pursuing the story. I thought it was interesting, and I was glad he was covering it. When the outlet that Klimentov was going to run his reporting in dropped the story, I began talking to him about potentially publishing his reporting on Game File. This was tentative. Then, in January, when I got my own Clare Locke letter, I told Klimentov that I didn’t think it would make sense for me to publish him, not with me now being part of the story. I had my own version of this situation to tell. But I wished him well and said I’d refrain from telling my tale until he could get his reporting out there. Last Friday, Klimentov finally ran his investigation, in a nearly 48-minute video report for People Make Games. It covers various Clare Locke letters, how media outlets reacted to them and what to make of all this. His video weighs the merits of Kotick’s request and looks at some of the articles that were changed (one of which had a glaring error). I highly recommend watching it: (Note, I did some editorial consulting for a People Make Games video last year but nothing to do with this report.) While many outlets haven’t left any public evidence that they updated their Kotick coverage at Kotick’s counsel’s request, at least one has. Back in October 2025, the mainstream outlet Reuters applied the most transparent article update I’ve seen. On the 3rd of the month, they published an article about the state of the Swedish pension fund’s lawsuit. Days later, they added this: In an October 7 letter sent after publication of this article, Kotick’s defamation counsel disputed claims of widespread harassment at Activision. “Not a single investigation, court finding, verdict, or ruling ever concluded that there was any merit” to the allegations of widespread harassment at Activision, Tom Clare and Nick Brechbill of Clare Locke wrote. I’ve never added a statement to my article on Game File, because none was needed. Not for fairness’ sake, nor to meet any demands of Kotick’s lawyers. I’ve nevertheless wanted to be transparent with Game File readers. If someone powerful is questioning my reporting, is threatening a lawsuit over it… if that threat is part of a pattern involving other games media outlets and if, in my case, the whole thing ran into a ridiculous ditch, I want you to know about it. I also share this as a real example of how I handle threats to Game File. I stand up for my own reporting, even when it’s not comfortable to do so. (In that same category of standing up for the work I do, I’ll point to an incident in late August. Asocial media post I published to X/Twitter regarding reporting I did about Take Two and GTA VI was hit by bogus copyright claim by a firm working for the publisher. I pushed back and got it reversed; even while a bigger games media outlet let themselves be censored. This is the other reason I’m sharing this story: To emphasize that dealing with threats from powerful people is one of the costs of covering the video game industry independently and as fearlessly as possible. This is where you come in. Your support, through free and paid subscriptions (sign up here!), can help me keep doing that. It can ensure that I’ve got the back-up I need. And it can help make fiascoes like this even less of a worry, so I can spend my evenings dealing with more important things, such as making sure I steam the kids’ broccoli just right. 1 That pension fund lawsuit I wrote about in January has all but gone away. In May, the fund and Activision Blizzard owner Microsoft agreed to settle. Lawyers for the fund brokered a $250 million settlement for former Activision Blizzard shareholders. In the settlement, the fund’s lawyers changed their rhetoric. Where once they’d questioned the meaning of the California settlement language, they adopted a version of it for themselves. Several weeks ago, while seeking to get a court to sign off on the terms of the settlement, they proposed their fee for their work in the case: $60 million.
Madonna Sparks Health Concerns After VMAs as Sources Claim She Was ‘Wobbling Back and Forth’—‘Everything Seemed to Unravel’
The singer also reportedly "looked flushed and fuzzy."
US revokes visas from Latin American officials, including Bolivia’s top prosecutor
The Trump administration is revoking the visas of 27 Latin American officials and their families, including Bolivia’s attorney general, over accusations of corruption. The officials and their families come from
We asked: What’s something new your organization is working on?
Compiled by Emily Barske Wood and Kyle Heim Each year the Business Record’s readers cast votes for what Des Moines has to offer in a variety of business-related categories. We asked the winners: What’s something new your organization is working on? Here’s what some of them had to say. “One of the most exciting initiatives at…
How to Watch: White Sox at Astros, Wild Card Series
Your broadcast guide this week, including every permutation of Game 3 start times!
Jenelle Riley on Leaving Traditional Entertainment Journalism for Podcasting, And Why Others Are Following Suit
How two major journalists taking to the mic could very well be an eye into the future
Al Roker’s sudden ‘Today’ show departure explained
Al Roker abruptly stepped away from his ‘Today’ show gig on Monday, explaining where he ran off to in a social media video.
‘Disrupting Politics’ details Green Bay native’s experiences in D.C. tech with eye on AI
(WTAQ-WLUK) -- For the last 23 years, a Green Bay native has had a front row seat in Washington D.C. at the in...
The “Family Stone” sequel: Everything we know about the cast, plot, and more
The gang’s all here, along with an Emmy-winning newcomer.
Newcastle Confirms Coca-Cola Partnership Agreement
Newcastle United continues to expand its commercial operation, with the club looking to strengthen revenue streams and broaden its reach beyond matchday football to eventually compete on equal financial terms with the Big Six. The club has confirmed a multi-year partnership with Coca-Cola, which becomes Newcastle’s official soft drinks partner and the presenting partner of […]
See inside Oheka Castle, a 127-room estate headed to auction
Oheka Castle, which helped inspire "The Great Gatsby," is the second-largest private home in the US — and soon it can be yours.
Slipknot to perform in Hershey next summer; here are the details
Heavy metal band Slipknot recently announced a stadium tour, and Hershey is one of its planned stops in 2027.
Newcastle Creates New Senior Role After Major Recruiting Changes
Newcastle United’s football operation has undergone significant change over the past year, with Ross Wilson overseeing another stage of the club’s restructuring following the departures of experienced figures including Steve Nickson and Andy Howe. Jack Ross has now confirmed that he has become Newcastle’s Assistant Sporting Director, effectively placing him directly beneath Wilson in the […]
Business Beat : Cole Ford announces annual Trunk or Treat event
COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) - Cole Ford has announced its 4th Annual Trunk or Treat event, inviting local families an...
Your 2026 MLB Wild Card Series announcing schedule
Major League Baseball revealed the television schedule and scenarios for the 2026 postseason’s Wild Card Series on Sunday. Details have since emerged about the announcing crews that will call the games across NBC platforms. As was the case during the regular season, local analysts will be in the booth to give each broadcast a familiar…
Jimmy Kimmel Returns to 'The Howard Stern Show'
This week, Jimmy Kimmel Live! is broadcasting from the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York City.
N.D. Insurance Commissioner orders AI company to stop doing business in the state
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) - Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread orders Silverberry Group and WoundScribe AI to sto...
NBA Scout Casts Doubt on Timberwolves’ LaMelo Ball Addition
Does LaMelo Ball move the needle for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
Jess McKenna and Zach Reino are a force to be toured with
Known for their work on an improvised musical podcast and Dropout TV, this duo brings “Off Book” to the Barrymore in Madison on Oct. 17.
'Who? Weekly'’s Lindsey Weber and Bobby Finger's new book excavates fame culture
Hosts of the 'Who? Weekly' podcast, Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber, share why they wrote "I Want to Be Famous" and how 10 years of analyzing tabloid headlines shaped their view on modern media decay.