The Housemaid movie sequel's future confirmed after Sydney Sweeney thriller is box office hit
Get ready, Freida McFadden fans, because it looks like The Housemaid is set to get a sequel. Following the huge box-office success of the first film, which debuted in December last year, Lionsgate has greenlit a follow-up, based on the second novel in McFadden's Housemaid series, The Housemaid's Secret. The first film followed Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney), a recently released ex-con who begins working as a live-in housemaid for Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar) – but soon discovers a darker web of secrets behind their perfect facade. The film was a major hit for Lionsgate, making over $75 million domestically in its first 17 days of release and taking in $133 million worldwide. According to Deadline, the sequel has been in development for several months, with Sydney Sweeney and Michele Morrone set to return as Millie and mysterious groundskeeper Enzo, respectively. Director Paul Feig is also set to helm the follow-up, from a script once again written by Rebecca Sonnenshine. McFadden will also serve as an executive producer on the project. View Green Video on the source website Announcing the news, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson said: "It’s clear from both the global box office and from the outpouring on social media that audiences have responded strongly – and audibly – to the totally unique and truly theatrical experience of The Housemaid and want to know what happens next. “We believed in these stories from the very beginning, and we are beyond excited to bring the next chapter of Millie’s story to life on-screen in collaboration with our outstanding creative partners Todd, Paul, Laura, Carly, Alex, and Sydney. "The Housemaid’s Secret is another wildly thrilling book in Freida's series that has captivated readers worldwide, and we look forward to translating it into a similarly rousing and riotous moviegoing experience." Read more: Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney gives update on season 3 Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster reveal how one Christy scene was "ruined" while filming Director Feig added: "It's been thrilling to see audiences around the world fall in love with The Housemaid and the incredible work of our talented cast and crew. "We're lucky that Freida McFadden has already extended Millie’s journey on the page, and that we get to work with Rebecca Sonnenshine and Lionsgate to bring this next story to audiences." While Amanda Seyfried is unlikely to return in a large capacity for the second film, as Nina Winchester does not appear in the second novel, the acclaimed actor did tease a possible appearance. At the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival, she told Variety: "I guarantee there will be number 2. And I almost guarantee that I'm gonna be some small cameo in it. "I really want to see how [Millie] keeps Nina Winchester in her pocket, because I will jump the f**k back into that." As of yet, there are no further plot or release date details for the sequel, although the second book of McFadden's series sees Millie taking a new cleaning job for a new family, including wealthy businessman Douglas Garrick and his wife Wendy. Notably, the ending of the first film already hinted at the beginning of the next chapter, with Millie interviewing for a new housemaid job with an unsettling new housewife. As for how things will unfold for her, well, audiences will just have to wait and see. The Housemaid is now showing in cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Stranger Things bosses "not trying to shock" with "surprising" finale as they address Steve's fate
The finale is set to be released on New Year's Day in the UK.
There's only one episode of Stranger Things left, and creators Matt and Ross Duffer have teased how things could wrap up for the Hawkins kids. Fans have recently been speculating about a certain trailer in which Steve (Joe Keery) says to Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) that he is ready to die. And, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the Duffer brothers responded to such speculation. "People are always worried about Steve," said Ross. "It doesn’t matter. We could have put nothing in the trailer and people would still be freaked out about Steve," added Matt. When asked about how worried fans should be about the fate of their favourite characters, including Steve and Hopper (David Harbour), Matt said: "It’s not Game of Thrones. We’re not in Westeros. "I love Game of Thrones, but it’s just a very different type of show than that. There’s not going to be a Red Wedding situation. "I think some things happen in the finale that are very surprising, but we’re not trying to shock or upset anyone. I hope by the time people get to the end of the finale that it just feels like there’s something inevitable about what happens, and that it doesn’t feel painful but feels satisfying." He continued: "We’ll see. But as for Steve’s fate. I don’t know. I can’t say. It would be the next logical step. He keeps getting beaten up more and more. The only way we could take it further is death." Read more: Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 ending explained: What actually IS the Upside Down? Stranger Things creators confirm what actually just happened with Nancy and Jonathan The finale, which is set to air on New Year's Eve in the US and the following morning in the UK, will see the kids of Hawkins preparing for one last showdown with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), as they try to destroy his "ultimate plan" to reshape the world using twelve children he considers the "perfect vessels". With the stakes higher than ever, there could be serious consequences for several fan favourites. So, will Steve be safe? Will Hopper? There's no telling just yet. But with no major character deaths thus far in this final chapter, fans are eagerly anticipating the conclusion of this decade-long sci-fi saga. Stranger Thing season 5 will conclude on New Year's Day. Add Stranger Things to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Pluribus season 2 gets release update from series creator – and it's not good news
With acclaimed sci-fi series Pluribus having now wrapped up its first season on Apple TV, creator Vince Gilligan has addressed when we might expect the second season to be released – and it seems like fans could have quite the wait on their hands. The series has emerged as one of the biggest hits of the year, having earned two nominations at the Golden Globe awards, and follows follows novelist Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), the seemingly sole survivor of an alien virus that transforms the rest of humanity into a hive mind. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the progress of season 2, Gilligan admitted that development is moving slowly. He explained: "We're working on it. It takes us a while. I would love to go faster if I could." Executive producer of Pluribus, Gordon Smith, added: “You know how on a timeline, there's usually an arrow that points towards infinity? "Well, I think we're on the arrow somewhere.” At present, there is no set start date for filming on season 2. According to Forbes, production isn't set to begin until at least spring of 2026, meaning there will likely be a significant gap between the two seasons. The possibility of a lengthy wait for the second season might not prove that surprising for fans, with long hiatuses between seasons of television becoming increasingly common – often due to high expenses and overlapping cast schedules. Recently, Gilligan also spoke to RadioTimes.com about the pressure of following up his acclaimed shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul with a completely new project. He explained: "I'm very much feeling the pressure. It would have been safer doing something else in the Breaking Bad universe. "And I was tempted, because I love that world so much. I loved writing for Walter White. Read more: Pluribus star Rhea Seehorn reacts to shocking finale twist: "I wanted to throw up" Pluribus ending explained: Cast break down every twist and reveal "But I just wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't necessarily a one-trick pony, and I wanted to write a good guy after about 20 years... "But now, after almost 20 years of that, I'm thinking, 'How do I break free of things I've been doing?' And I figured it was time for a change." For now, fans of Pluribus will just have to exercise their patience while they wait for Gilligan and co to finish up the next chapter – and at least season 1 is still there to watch on repeat. Pluribus is available to stream on Apple TV. Add Pluribus to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Brigitte Bardot, French film legend and activist, dies aged 91
The news was announced today (Sunday 28th December) by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.
French screen legend-turned activist Brigitte Bardot has died at the age of 91, it has been announced. Today (Sunday 28th December), the Brigitte Bardot Foundation announced in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse: "The Brigitte Bardot foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation." As of yet, further details surrounding Bardot's death have not been announced. Born in 1934 in Paris, Bardot – also often referred to by her initials BB – rose to international stardom in 1956, with the film And God Created Woman, where she played Juliette, a hedonistic 18-year-old orphan living in 1956 San Tropez. This film made Bardot an international sensation, pushing the boundaries of the representation of sexuality in American cinema and earning Bardot sex symbol status. Over the next two decades, Bardot became one of the most famous faces in European cinema. She went on to star in 1960's The Truth, which earned her a David di Donatello Best Foreign Actress Award, Le Mépris/Contempt (1963), Viva Maria! (1965), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA, Two Weeks in September (1967), Women/The Vixen (1969), The Legend of Frenchie King (1971) and many more. In total, Bardot appeared in over 45 films before her retirement. Alongside her screen career, Bardot also found success as a singer, recording more than 60 songs. Most of the songs she recorded were in collaboration with with Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Zagury and Sacha Distel. In the early 1970s, Bardot announced her retirement from acting and instead moved into the political sphere, with her primary focus becoming animal rights. She created the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, and was a major opponent of the consumption of horse meat. She was a member of the Global 500 Roll of Honour of the United Nations Environment Programme and received several awards and accolades from UNESCO and PETA. Bardot has also been met with her fair share of controversy, having been fined six times for inciting racial hatred, when she criticised immigration and Islam in France and called the residents of Réunion "savages". Across the course of her life, Bardot was married four times, to Roger Vadim, Jacques Charrier, Gunter Sachs and Bernard d'Ormale. She is survived by her son Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, and two grandchildren.
Scarlett Moffatt reveals why she'll "probably never" appear on Strictly's main series after Christmas win
"Getting to be part of the Christmas special means everything to me."
Having now lifted the Strictly Come Dancing Glitterball on Christmas day alongside Vito Coppola, reality star Scarlett Moffatt has opened up about why she is unlikely to ever appear on the main edition of the beloved BBC dancing show. The dancing pair emerged victorious on Christmas Day, performing a Cha Cha to Cher's DJ Play a Christmas Song which received a perfect score of 40 from the judges, as well as topping the vote from the studio audience. Just days before her win, Moffatt took to Instagram to share a heartfelt video to her fans, showing some of her favourite dance moments from her childhood, as well as behind-the-scenes moments from rehearsals and her time on the Strictly set. In her caption, Moffatt explained that her dancing background would likely prevent her from appearing on the main version of the series. She wrote: "I know I’ll probably never get to dance on the main Strictly series because of my past dance experience when I was a little girl so getting to be part of the Christmas special means everything to me. "School wasn’t always easy for me, but dance was my safe place. It’s where I found my people, where I felt happiest, and where I could just be me." While not an official rule, fans of Strictly will know that contestants with extensive dance experience are often not featured on the main show, as to keep the competition fair. However, some celebrities with prior theatre experience have competed on the show, such as Lewis Cope and Layton Williams. The former Gogglebox star went on to reflect on how much she had enjoyed her experience dancing on Strictly, adding: "Dancing on the Strictly Christmas Special, on Christmas Day, feels like a true bucket-list moment — one of those wishes you make quietly and never really expect to come true. Read more: Robert Webb reveals why he's not competing in the Peep Show Bake Off special with Olivia Colman and David Mitchell Love Is Blind UK casting producer reveals efforts to bring everyone’s love stories to the screen – and why diversity matters in all areas of TV "I am so grateful to share this moment with my family, my friends, Vito and everyone watching at home & this will forever be one of the greatest days of my entire life." Moffatt initially rose to fame on Channel 4's Gogglebox, and later was crowned Queen of the Jungle on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Strictly Come Dancing is set to return in 2026 – however, now without long-serving presenting duo Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who have now stepped down from their hosting duties. As for who will be replacing them, fans will just have to wait and see. Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on catch-up on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Housemaid ending explained: Does it differ from the book?
A house isn't always a home – especially in The Housemaid. Let's break down that twist.
*Warning: Full spoilers for The Housemaid ahead* The film adaptation of Freida McFadden's best-selling novel The Housemaid has finally landed in cinemas – and with a star-studded cast including Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, and a four-star review from RadioTimes.com ourselves, it's safe to say anticipation for the psychological thriller has been high. Following the events after ex-con Millie Calloway (Sweeney) is hired to work as a live-in housemaid for Nina Winchester (Seyfried) and her husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), it soon becomes clear that something isn't quite right in the Winchester home. So, what's really been going on in that house? And does Millie make it out alive? Read on for your full breakdown of the intense final scenes of The Housemaid – but be warned, non-book readers, for there are major spoilers ahead. The Housemaid ending explained Across the entire first half of The Housemaid, we’re led to believe that Nina Winchester is at least slightly unhinged – from destroying her own kitchen to forgetting entire conversations, and generally making Millie Calloway’s new life hell. By the time Andrew decides he wants to leave her for Millie, we’ve also learned that she spent time in a psychiatric hospital for attempting to drown her own daughter. So – what’s really going on with Nina? Is she unstable? Does she just despise Millie for coming in and replacing her role in Andrew’s life? No. Of course not! In reality, Nina is a survivor – and a very good actress. She’s been faking everything – the tantrums, the short-term memory, the lot. And following a spectacular screaming-that-turns-into-laughing scene (an elite cinematic trope) from Amanda Seyfried, Nina drives to a hotel, pops open a bottle of champagne and launches into a monologue that reveals the entire truth behind her facade. As it turns out, Andrew Winchester isn’t such a nice guy after all (to be honest, that became pretty obvious when he left his wife after five minutes for the girl she hired to work for them) – in fact, he's far from it. Soon after Nina married Andrew, when Cecelia was just a baby, Andrew’s perfect smile started to turn sinister. What first started as married bliss quickly turned terrifying when Andrew started to lock Nina in the attic for days on end for taking advantage of the things he considered to be “privileges” – like failing to maintain her perfect blonde roots. When Nina finally escaped the attic and tried to leave Andrew, he drugged her, called the police and staged the scene to look like Nina attempted to drown her daughter and then tried to take her own life by overdosing. Realising that nobody would believe her pleas for help, Nina, therefore, purposefully engineered the entire plot so she and her daughter could be free of her evil husband – and hired her new housemaid to be her replacement. So, what does all of this mean for Millie? Well, after accompanying Andrew to dinner and a Broadway play (with a Lana Del Rey Cinnamon Girl needle drop, of course) and later sleeping with him – Millie thinks she’s won the domestic lottery; moving from ex-con to rich housewife in a matter of weeks. But her new life quickly collapses, and after accidentally smashing a couple of plates from Evelyn’s beloved china set, Millie finds herself locked in the attic, just as Nina had done all those times before. From outside the door, Andrew instructs Millie to use these china shards to cut 21 lines into her stomach. And, after hours of pleading and even more hours without food, she eventually gives in. When Andrew comes to release her, a bloodied Millie overpowers him, stabs him in the neck and locks him in the room. It’s then that Millie decides to play a little game of her own. She slides a pair of pliers under the door and instructs Andrew to pull out his front tooth – which, excruciatingly, he does (props to the sound design team for that moment, honestly). As for where Nina is during all of this, she’s busy planning her escape to California with Cecelia. The two are sat in a diner preparing their new life when Cece says something that has Nina feeling guilty – “What about Millie?” With that, Nina returns to the Winchester house and rushes straight up to the attic to rescue Millie, not realising that Andrew is actually the one locked inside the room. Andrew attacks Nina and Millie, apparently causing Millie to flee, before he has a showdown with his wife right above the spiral staircase. Just as Andrew is about to kill Nina, Millie reappears and pushes him over the edge of the staircase, killing him. Nina lies to the police, saying Andrew died in an accident changing a lightbulb, and, despite the inconsistencies in her story and Andrew’s missing tooth, the policewoman (who reveals herself to be the sister of Andrew’s previous fiancée) chooses to sweep everything under the rug. After Andrew’s funeral, Nina and Cecelia move to California, and Millie attends an interview for a second housemaid job, where a new housewife with bruises on her wrists says that Nina recommended her. “Can you help?” the woman asks, picking up a knife. And fingers crossed we’ll get a sequel – because I for one would love to see exactly what “help” Millie can offer up next. Is the ending of The Housemaid film different to the book? Yes – and no. Much of the storyline is the same, with Nina revealed to have been lying about her instability and having constructed the whole story to save herself. However, there are some differences in the climax. In the book, Andrew does not instruct Millie to cut herself with the shards of china – instead, he tells her to balance multiple heavy books on her stomach for several hours. Millie’s retaliation is also stronger, as in the book she forces Andrew to pull out four of his own teeth, not just one. The events of Andrew’s death also largely differ between the two mediums. In the book, instead of being pushed from the staircase, Andrew dies of dehydration in the attic as a direct result of Millie’s actions and does not have a final, cinematic showdown with Nina. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is available now The film also reduces the role of Enzo the groundskeeper, who in the book had an intimate relationship with Nina and had a larger part in the events leading up to Nina’s plan. This change allowed for a closer bond between Millie and Nina to be developed in the film’s final act. Despite these tweaks to the source material, though, The Housemaid is still an extremely faithful adaptation of Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel – and, crucially, is a mega fun watch. The Housemaid is now showing in cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Housemaid cast: Who stars in new thriller alongside Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried?
It's finally time to step inside the home of the Winchesters.
There is perhaps no better way to spend the festive season this year than sitting down to watch The Housemaid – which is arriving in UK cinemas later this month. The film follows Millie Calloway, a young woman who takes a job as a live-in housemaid for Nina and Andrew Winchester, a wealthy couple who Millie quickly begins to suspect have something darker lurking behind their picture-perfect surface. The hotly-anticipated film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Freida McFadden and boasts a very impressive cast, which includes the likes of Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar. So, if you're wondering who's who in The Housemaid – here's everything you need to know. The Housemaid cast: Who stars alongside Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried? You can find a full list of all the main players in The Housemaid below. Sydney Sweeney as Wilhelmina 'Millie' Calloway Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester Brandon Sklenar as Andrew Winchester Indiana Elle as Cecelia 'Cece' Winchester Michele Morrone as Enzo Elizabeth Perkins as Evelyn Winchester Megan Ferguson as Jilianne Ellen Tamaki as Patrice Sydney Sweeney plays Millie Calloway Who is Millie Calloway? Millie is a young woman with a troubled past who is delighted when Nina Winchester offers her a job as a live-in housemaid. What else has Sydney Sweeney been in? Sweeney is best known for playing Cassie Howard in HBO teen drama Euphoria, a role she will soon be reprising. She has also been seen in an eclectic range of films, including Reality, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Voyeurs, Eden, Madame Web, Immaculate, Anyone But You and Echo Valley. On TV, she has also had roles in Sharp Objects and The Handmaid's Tale. Earlier this year, she starred as iconic boxer Christy Martin in the biopic Christy. Amanda Seyfried plays Nina Winchester Who is Nina Winchester? Nina is the wealthy housewife who hires Millie to work in her house. Millie quickly begins to suspect that Nina harbours some dark secrets. She is Cecelia's mother, and is married to Andrew Winchester. What else has Amanda Seyfried been in? Named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time in 2022, Seyfried's breakthrough role was as the iconic Karen Smith in Mean Girls in 2004. Since then, her film roles have included the likes of Jennifer's Body, Chloe, In Time, Red Riding Hood, Dear John and Mank – the latter of which earned her an Oscar nomination. She has also starred in the acclaimed film adaptations of beloved musicals Mamma Mia and Les Misérables. On the small screen, Seyfried has led series such as The Dropout (a performance that won her a Golden Globe and an Emmy award) and Long Bright River. Seyfried will next be seen in the upcoming historical musical drama The Testament of Ann Lee, for which she is already being tipped for awards recognition. Brandon Sklenar plays Andrew Winchester Who is Andrew Winchester? Nina's husband, who shows kindness towards Millie when she begins working at the house. What else has Brandon Sklenar been in? Sklenar starred in another book-to-screen adaptation, It Ends with Us, last year, but has also had roles in Drop, The Big Ugly, Vice and Mapplethorpe, among others. Michele Morrone plays Enzo Who is Enzo? The mysterious groundskeeper who works at the Winchesters' home. What else has Michele Morrone been in? An Italian actor and singer, Morrone's breakout role was that of Don Massimo Torricelli in the erotic thriller film series 365 Days. He's also starred in Subservience and Another Simple Favour. View Green Video on the source website Indiana Elle plays Cecelia 'Cece' Winchester Who is Cecelia 'Cece' Winchester? The Winchesters' daughter. What else has Indiana Elle been in? Aside from The Housemaid, which is her first big role, Elle has had small parts in No Good Deed, Lessons in Chemistry and I Love LA. Elizabeth Perkins plays Evelyn Winchester Who is Evelyn Winchester? Andrew's mother. What else has Elizabeth Perkins been in? Perkins is known for her roles in films like About Last Night, Big, Enid Is Sleeping, The Flintstones, Miracle on 34th Street, Moonlight and Valentino and Hop, in addition to her three-time Emmy-nominated role in Showtime series Weeds. The Housemaid is also something of a reunion for Perkins and Sweeney, who also both starred in psychological thriller series Sharp Objects. The Housemaid will be released in UK cinemas on 26th December. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster reveal how one Christy scene was "ruined" while filming
Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster shared how one particular tiny cast member derailed a moment on set.
Christy Martin's self-titled biopic Christy is now available to watch in UK cinemas several weeks after its US release, telling the inspiring and, at times, deeply harrowing story of Martin, who rose to boxing stardom in the '90s and early '00s – and does not shy away from depicting the most intense parts of Martin's life. Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney leads the cast, and gives a career-best performance as the titular boxer. She is joined by actor Ben Foster, who plays Christy's ex-husband James V Martin – who was convicted of the attempted second-degree murder of his wife in 2010. Among the film's gentler presences are Christy Martin's Pomeranian dogs – one first named Casey, and now, one named Champ – the latter of whom is often pictured with Martin at premieres and other public events. And it appears that the canine certainly made his presence known behind-the-scenes of Christy, as Sweeney and Foster shared in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. Foster recalled: "Christy and I didn't speak on set, and that's very appropriate. But I'll say that a beautiful backwards compliment was that she was nearby in a scene holding Champ, the real dog. "And when I walked in, the dog ruined the take by barking over [Sweeney's] dialogue. "And I was like, 'Oh okay, good. It's making people uncomfortable in the right ways'." Smiling, Sweeney added: "The dog knew." Sweeney herself also shared some of her memories working with the dog actor in the film and who, as it seems, had very little interest in stardom. "The dog did not wanna bond with anyone," Sweeney laughed. "This dog was not aware that the dog was in a movie. "Honestly, the shot when I'm like shadowboxing outside the trailer. We got so lucky that Casey stayed in frame, because the dog did not want to be in any scene, unfortunately. "Casey thought she was just there for more friends and just wanted to hang out." She also added: "I think the dog was the wrong gender. I can't pinpoint exactly, but I want to say the dog was the wrong gender for the film, but it was the only dog who looked like [her]." Read more: Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney gives update on season 3 Sydney Sweeney stars in first look trailer for "sexy, seductive" film based on mammoth best-seller Sweeney further shared that Christy Martin "visited set a lot" throughout the making of Christy, and the two of them became "real good friends" as filming went on. Martin herself has lavished praise on Sweeney's performance in the film, telling Flickering Myth: "She did a great job." She continued: "What's interesting that maybe a lot of people don't know is that [Sweeney] actually has an MMA background from when she was a teenager. So she already has that competitive spirit. The boxing, she enjoyed." Christy is out now in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Christy director reveals why Sydney Sweeney was the right choice to play iconic boxer
Christy Martin is one of the most influential female boxers of all time – and Sydney Sweeney is taking on her legacy for a new biopic.
Christy Martin's story is one that seems to have been patiently waiting to be told – and now, with the release of biopic Christy later this month, the time has come. The film follows Martin from her early years in West Virginia to her swift rise to the Boxing Hall of Fame, including her attempted murder at the hands of husband James V Martin. Sydney Sweeney – best known for her roles in Euphoria, The White Lotus and Madame Web, among many others – takes on the titular role. In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Christy director and co-writer David Michôd and writer Mirrah Foulkes opened up about bringing Martin's story to the big screen, and why Sweeney was so right for the role. "There was something deeply exciting about the idea of Sydney Sweeney bringing [Christy] to life," Michôd said. "I'd seen what she could do as an actor and I knew that was going to be a massive journey to bring that character to life, it would be a massive journey for an actor." "And she was so up for it, which was great," Foulkes added. The duo went on to share their favourite moments of Sweeney's performance in the film, with both citing boxing sequences. Foulkes said: "I have one particular moment, which isn't a spoiler, which is quite early in the film, and it's when she has her first professional knockout in the ring. "And it's one of my favourite moments in the film. Sydney just does this sort of gorgeous, innocent, surprised smile, and it feels so of Christy – not Christy now, but Christy as a young woman – in terms of just this ball of excited energy, and shock that she's found something that she just happens to be so good at – knocking women out. "I remember seeing that on the day and going, 'there she is, there's Christy Martin.'" Read more: Sydney Sweeney stars in first look trailer for "sexy, seductive" film based on mammoth best-seller Sydney Sweeney details major body transformation for boxing biopic – gaining 30lbs for role Michôd echoed similar moments in the film, adding: "I love those moments too. I really like all the fighting in this movie. Each fight has its own personality, and is a reflection of who Christy was at that moment in her life. "You know, it starts off as this beautiful, innocent, 'I can't believe I've just knocked someone out,' and then next thing you know, because of stuff that's going on outside the ring, suddenly her fighting is full of rage. "And then her finding a kind of peace in the fighting. It's strange that when she's in the ring and she's pummelling another woman in front of millions of people, she's found a serenity in the middle of it all." It's hardly a surprise that Foulkes and Michôd saw the actor completely immerse herself in the role. Sweeney has already been vocal about her transformative journey to play Christy Martin, revealing that she gained more than 30 pounds to fully embody the athlete. In an interview with W Magazine back in June, she explained: "My body was completely different. I didn't fit in any of my clothes. I'm usually a size 23 in jeans, and I was wearing a size 27. "It was crazy! I was like, 'Oh my god.' But it was amazing. I was so strong, like crazy strong." Alongside Sweeney, Christy also stars the likes of Ben Foster as Christy's husband James V Martin, Merritt Wever as Christy's mother Joyce, Ethan Embry as Christy's father John Salters, Chad L Coleman as Don King and Katy O'Brian as Lisa Holewyne. Christy will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 28th November. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Bugonia ending explained: Was Emma Stone's Michelle an alien all along?
Put on your tinfoil hats – it's time to unpack Bugonia's final twist.
There’s a strong potential that Yorgos Lanthimos’s fourth project with Emma Stone might be their best yet – and with Bugonia now available to watch in cinemas, it feels like only a matter of time until the awards start rolling in. Based on the 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet!, Bugonia follows two conspiracy-theorist cousins who become convinced that a powerful pharmaceutical CEO is actually a member of an alien race known as Andromeans. The ending of the film is a rollercoaster of absurd twists and turns, all of which culminate in an intense, and potentially hopeless, climax. So, if you want a recap of those final moments – or you haven’t actually seen the film and you just want to find out if Michelle was an alien or not, which is equally as valid – read on for your full breakdown. Bugonia ending explained: Was Emma Stone's Michelle an alien all along? So, after kidnapping a CEO, shaving her head, slapping her, bathing her in body lotion and accusing her of being an alien, it’s fair to say that Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) is pretty much over the whole ordeal. After giving her some sort of disturbing electroshock therapy (in a scene that is particularly difficult to watch, might I add), kidnapper Teddy (Jesse Plemons) decides that not only is Michelle an Andromedan, she’s also an Andromedan empress. And, not wanting to disrespect the ruler of this extra-terrestrial race any more than he already has, allows her to wash, dress and eat a spaghetti dinner with him and his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis). During the meal, though, it becomes apparent that Michelle and her company were directly involved of the physical decline of Teddy’s mother Sandy (Alicia Silverstone), resulting in her falling into a coma. The dinner party soon unravels into chaos, culminating in a fight between Teddy and Michelle, during which Michelle stabs Teddy with a fork. The confrontation is interrupted when Casey (Stavros Halkias), the creepy local Sheriff, knocks on the door, looking for any evidence that could help find out what has happened to Michelle. Don takes Michelle back down to the basement, while Teddy and Casey chat. Michelle offers to help Don and protect him from prison if he lets her go free, but instead, Don shoots himself in the head and dies. Hearing the gunshot, Teddy kills Casey and rages at Michelle. Michelle tells Teddy that the bottle of anti-freeze she keeps in her car is actually a specific Andromedan medicine that will wake up his mother, and in a panic, a frantic Teddy rushes to the hospital and injects his comatose parent with the liquid which, obviously, turns out to just be anti-freeze. Meanwhile, back at the house, Michelle discovers that this isn't Teddy's first rodeo – in the past, he has kidnapped and killed multiple other people he deemed to be Andromedan. Responding to the anti-freeze, Sandy dies, and a now-furious Teddy rides his bike back to the house to, once again, confront Michelle. Wanting to save herself, Michelle seemingly confesses to being an Andromedan, and launches into a lengthy monologue about how the Andromedans came to Earth and created humanity, but soon became dejected with how humanity progressed. Michelle claims her goal is now to help humanity overcome their violent nature. Michelle then agrees to take Teddy to the Andromedan headquarters. She instructs Teddy to drive her to her office, where she claims that her walk-in wardrobe is actually a transporter that will beam them up to the Andromedan homeland after she types a lengthy code into a calculator. Teddy, revealing himself to be wearing a homemade bomb, gets in the closet and, moments later, when the bomb detonates, is blown to pieces. Michelle is taken into an ambulance, and all seems OK. She's escaped the conspiracy theorists, survived the explosion, and she’s a human. Right? Wrong, because in one final twist, Michelle drags herself out of the ambulance, crawls back to her office and into her closet, where she then gets transported up into the Andromedan mother ship. That's right folks – Michelle was an alien all along. We are then shown a rather surreal sequence of Michelle discussing the fate of humanity with her fellow Andromedan senate. They eventually conclude that, unsurprisingly, humanity is not worth saving. Michelle pops a bubble, and we are then treated to a brilliantly haunting scene of every human being on earth, dead. The film ends where it began, with bees returning to a now human-less earth. What is the message of Bugonia? There are likely several moral threads one could draw from Bugonia – the critique of big corporate power, the question of whether humanity is worth saving, the blurring of lines between good and bad. Perhaps the most obvious, though, how easily humans can dehumanise each other – and how far we’re willing to go to prove ourselves right, even at the cost of our own morality. There is, perhaps, a complexity to this message, though. For if Michelle was an alien all along, does this revelation actually justify Teddy’s cruelty and violence towards her? Or does it instead highlight the idea that even if what we do is “correct”, our actions can still be evil? What if Michelle wasn’t an alien, and Teddy had just kidnapped a regular, human woman? Yes, perhaps her big-evil corporate actions would still be still wrong, she’d still have been complicit in the harm of Teddy’s mother – but would that mean she deserved what she got? While watching those final 10 minutes of the film, I couldn’t help but wonder if this alternative ending would have been somewhat more effective. Whichever way you take it, Bugonia’s ending is likely one that we’ll all be picking apart for a very long time – and is certainly a film that demands a second viewing once you know how it's all going to end. Bugonia is now available to watch in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
It: Welcome to Derry review – Blood-soaked prequel has its frights, and its flaws
Pennywise is back – this time, in a prequel series.
This review is based on the first five episodes of It: Welcome to Derry. As a lifelong Stephen King fan – with over 30 of his books in my collection and almost every film adaptation watched – you can probably imagine how excited I was when I heard that HBO was creating a prequel series to the It film series. A potential origin story of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, with Bill Skarsgård himself set to return? Yes please. The 2010s It movies, while obviously not perfect, always held something of a soft spot in my heart. Maybe it's because of the stellar cast, led as children by the likes of Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell and Finn Wolfhard, and as adults by Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader, who managed to tap into King's iconic original universe in a way that was so wonderfully unsettling – from screaming in blood-soaked bathrooms to investigating monster-infested sewers. I went into It: Welcome to Derry with high hopes, and while the pay-off was far from a flop, it didn't quite reach the heights of its predecessors. The series follows a similar premise to the original films, only this time set in the 1960s. A kid goes missing and a bunch of other kids try to work out what's happened to him, only to discover that a certain ancient alien presenting most commonly in the form of a dancing clown is behind everything. Where this series differs, though, is with its adult characters. Several of them are the parents of the Derry kids, who also find themselves embroiled in their children's nightmares, while others – including a group of marines – are trying to end Pennywise for good. It's a strong set-up. And there's certainly a lot to enjoy in the series. The opening sequence, for example, is particularly stand-out. Without spoiling anything, it's remarkably nauseating, atmospheric and easily one of the best scenes across the first five episodes – making a solid return back to the monstrous horror that made the town of Derry so terrifying in the first place. The show is also visually impressive. Set in the '60s, there's enough to admire in the set and costume design, with the pastel hues of domestic suburbia juxtaposing against the literal horrors lurking under the surface of Derry – it's intelligently crafted. Notably, the opening credits are also hugely eerie – accompanied by a lullaby that sets the scene for scary before the action's even really kicked off. The problems arise, predominantly, with the characters. While some, like Lilly (Clara Stack) and Will (Blake Cameron James) have enough development across the episodes to resonate with, a large portion of the characters just simply don't land. Several are underdeveloped, underused and borderline uninteresting, with not enough time spent on them to make us care about their fates or even really remember their names. If the It films made us fall in love with the Losers Club in only two films – it's fair to question why Welcome to Derry struggles to do so over the course of a season. The plot itself also isn't the cleanest. With so many characters and storylines weaving together, from the kids, to the marines, to telepathic Dick Hallorann, to the parents, to the origins of Pennywise, the narrative can at times feel a little cluttered, unable to decide exactly which storyline is the most important and struggling to find a through-line between them. (Though there still may be time to repair this issue in the final three episodes.) Welcome to Derry does have all the tropes of a successful horror – enormous gore, dark rooms, childhood trauma. At times, it's guaranteed to make you jump. When the show leans into the uncanny – a creepy stranger following you around a supermarket, or having a conversation with a friend who's suddenly stopped blinking – the scares are massively effective, and truly skin-crawling. There are times, though, that it shifts into overexposure – revealing far too much of the alien and, in doing so, losing its fear factor. Because, really, is anyone actually that scared of a CGI monster-baby with multiple heads? I'm not sure. What I do know is that the show is far more effective when it's not trying to do too much, because ultimately, the more we see of It, the less frightening he becomes. Another of the show's strengths lies within its connections to the wider Stephen King universe. From nods to Shawshank Prison to an unexpected role for telepathic Dick Hallorann from The Shining (this time played by Chris Chalk), the Easter eggs are well handled. They don't solely serve as forceful, distracting fan service, but are cleverly connected to the storyline, and I'm excited to see how much further the references could go. (If we could get a glimpse of Rose Madder or Desperation in there somewhere, I'd be elated, but that's probably asking for too much). Of course, Bill Skarsgård is just as inhumane as ever as Pennywise – with his characteristic iconic grin and creepy, inflection-filled voice. And although his appearances in the show aren't exceptionally frequent, his monstrous presence is large, and you're always left awaiting his arrival. Skarsgård constantly remains the true horror of the show, even when he's not on screen. Taylour Paige's performance as protective mother Charlotte Hanlon was another standout. While not unexpected – this is the same woman who played Zola, after all – Paige's character remains one of the most interesting in the show, and despite not having the largest role in early episodes, what she does bring is compelling, and I look forward to seeing what the show does with her character beyond the first half. So, while Welcome to Derry perhaps isn't quite the nightmare I was hoping for, it's also not a total disappointment. For horror fans, and those who consider themselves to be Constant Readers (apparently that's the name of Stephen King's fandom), it will likely scratch an itch, especially as we head into the Halloween season. But if you're tuning in to Welcome to Derry and expecting to return to exactly the same sewers as It Chapters 1 & 2, perhaps you won't be floating too. It: Welcome to Derry is coming to Sky Atlantic and NOW on Monday 27th October 2025 – sign up for Sky TV. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. Add It: Welcome to Derry to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Maika Monroe says The Hand That Rocks the Cradle remake is a "completely different movie" to original
The '90s cult classic thriller has been given the remake treatment with a certain scream queen at its helm.
It's been over 30 years since The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was released in all of its suspenseful, baby-stealing, white picket fence glory – and in the years since its release, the story about a vengeful nanny out to confront the family she believes stole her life has earned itself a cult following. Now, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle has been given the remake treatment, with the latest iteration of the domestic psychological thriller now available to watch on Disney+ in the UK – this time with It Follows and Longlegs star Maika Monroe stepping into the central role originated by Rebecca De Mornay. The remake appears to have a darker premise than its predecessor, this time around being described a horror-thriller, which is probably no surprise, given that Monroe has top billing on the film. While promoting her other upcoming film Reminders of Him during an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com – the first trailer of which has just been released – Monroe spoke about how the new rendition of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle differs from the original, and reflected on the process of reinventing the classic. "The movie we made is a completely different movie," explained Monroe. "I mean, it's called a remake but we were not remaking a movie. "Really the only similarity is that there's a nanny that shows up and wreaks havoc on a family, but beyond that it's completely different characters. "So that felt nice that we weren't trying to copy. It felt very fresh and current." Although in this version, the eerily furtive nanny's name may be Polly and not Peyton, taking on a role that was so closely associated with De Mornay's iconic performance could have easily become an exercise of imitation for Monroe – so how did she approach it? "You know, I watched the original and I think what Rebecca did was so iconic," she said, "And my god, you know, just trying to honour that, but also, you know, just trying to do your own thing [was important]." Alongside Monroe, the film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Caitlyn Morales, Raúl Castillo as Miguel Morales, Caitlyn's husband, and Mileiah Vega as Emma Morales, Caitlyn and Miguel's daughter. There are also roles for Martin Starr, Riki Lindhome and Shannon Cochran. And with the film now available to stream, whether you're a fan of the original or not, it's certainly set to be a fun, if mildly unsettling, watch for the Halloween season. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is available to watch on Disney+. You can sign up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month now. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Maika Monroe teases her role in film of Colleen Hoover's Reminders of Him as first trailer drops
As the first trailer for Reminders of Him is released, lead actress Maika Monroe exclusively shares how she brought Colleen Hoover's complex heroine to life.
Since her acclaimed breakout role in It Follows in 2014 (which is soon getting a sequel I'm already seated for), California native Maika Monroe has rightfully earned her spot as the 2020s’ answer to Neve Campbell or Jamie Lee Curtis – a modern-day scream queen. From starring in Longlegs, the scariest film of last year (I won’t be taking any arguments), to the psychologically intense Watcher, to the uncanny-valley horror-comedy Villains, Monroe has become synonymous with all things dark and twisted – she’s an absolute final girl. Now, though, Monroe is stepping out of the scary. Her latest project (well, except for the upcoming 100 Nights of Hero and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, that is) comes in the form of a Colleen Hoover adaptation titled Reminders of Him, the first trailer of which has just dropped – and you can watch it below. View oEmbed on the source website The story follows Kenna Rowan – a woman who, having recently been released from prison, attempts to reconnect with her young daughter and rebuild the past bridges she’s burned, despite her checkered past. Also starring the likes of Tyriq Withers, Lauren Graham, Rudy Pankow, Bradley Whitford and Lainey Wilson, Reminders of Him is a world away from sex demons and peeping toms, but perhaps just as emotionally intense as some of Monroe's previous roles. “I think after Longlegs, I was just really ready to try something completely different, and this sort of presented itself at the perfect time. I was just ready to try something new,” Monroe explains. And it’s no surprise Monroe was ready for something a little softer, especially considering the reports that she was so unnerved by looking at Nicolas Cage while filming Longlegs that her heart rate spiked to 170 beats per minute. (If you were unaware, the average resting heart rate is between 60 and 100.) In Reminders of Him, the character Monroe is taking on comes with brand new challenges. Kenna has often – unfairly, in my opinion – been considered something of an unlikeable protagonist – she’s grief-stricken, complex, and certainly filled with flaws. Monroe, however, says she was able to easily see beyond Kenna’s past actions when forging her character. “[Kenna] seemed very complicated to me, which I thought was interesting. It wasn’t just sort of a one-note character, which sometimes can happen in this genre of film. I felt there was so much to explore, and so many layers [to her]. “I feel like I always could understand where she was coming from, and she went through an incredible traumatic experience. Not only losing the person she loves most, but also giving birth and having this child taken away from her. I don’t know how one can continue on. “And I always felt for her, and thought I could understand her brokenness and also her toughness, and what it took for her to have this drive to continue on.” Taking on a character that has such a colossal fanbase behind her, from a book that is so beloved, of course comes with its own heavy expectations – and Hoover's fandom certainly aren't afraid of being vocal. So was Monroe particularly nervous about taking on such a responsibility? “With Colleen, she has such a massive fanbase, so of course there’s a pressure," she explains. "But also, immediately I connected with the character. Not only having a script but also an entire book to really understand the inner workings of this character was really helpful. So I’m hoping the fans are happy.” Monroe also reveals that Reminders of Him is the first of her book adaptions that Hoover has been a producer on, despite being the brains behind the likes of 2024’s It Ends with Us, this week’s release Regretting You and the upcoming Verity, starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson – so it seems this project has been particularly important to her. “Colleen was a producer, and on set every day, which she hasn’t been on one of her [adaptations] yet, so she was super involved, which I think paid off," says Monroe. “I was kind of left [to craft Kenna’s character]. I feel like we all knew what we needed to do. I think some conversations I had [with Colleen], I think she trusted me. And it was really nice to have her on set – if something came up or if I had a question, it was so great to have the source there.” The newly released trailer offers us an interesting look at Kenna's journey – from her trial, the early strings of her love for Scotty, and her complicated relationship with Ledger – and so far, it all seems perfectly book accurate. As for whether fans will be happy with the final product? Monroe is very positive. “We did a pretty great job of following the book,” she says. “So I feel like the fans will be really happy.” She laughs: "You know, we have a great orange truck! But yeah, it’s so hard to know. But my gut is that fans will be happy.” We’ll have to wait until 2026 to find out, but with Maika Monroe leading the project, there’s sure to be no lack of magnetism, whether she's saving her best friend from a sadistic, handbag-wielding widow or emotionally reckoning with the past – so I’d say she’s to be trusted. Until then, at least we have the trailer to tide us over. Reminders of Him will be released in cinemas on Friday 13th March 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Savant could help stop violence in a digital age – so why have Apple delayed it?
The upcoming Apple TV+ political thriller has been indefinitely delayed.
Add The Savant to your watchlist. “How didn’t we see it coming?” It’s an age-old question – often asked in a painful silence after horrifying acts, or lazily written in Instagram comment sections and plastered on placards at protests. But this is precisely the question Apple TV+’s upcoming show The Savant wants to interrogate. How can we stop acts of violence occurring before they happen? How do we recognise the red flags? How can tragedy be prevented before it’s had the chance to become one in the first place? View oEmbed on the source website Inspired by a 2019 Cosmopolitan article detailing the life of a woman who infiltrates online extremist groups to prevent acts of mass violence, the show isn’t interested in over-dramatising its brutality. Uniquely, it instead aims to examine extremism at its source: in digital whispers, online forums and dark corners of the internet. Which is why the recent news that The Savant has been indefinitely delayed, reportedly due to recent, condemnable violent acts in the US, feels like it’s such a huge mistake. Though previously due to arrive on the platform today, Friday 26 September, on Tuesday an Apple TV+ spokesperson explained in a statement: "After careful consideration, we have made the decision to postpone The Savant. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to releasing the series at a future date." Of course, it’s understandable to see why networks and streamers are cautious of releasing such a harrowing series during a tense news cycle, when fiction is so closely echoing reality. But in this volatile, unpredictable climate, it’s not more silence we need – it’s clarity, learning, prevention. And that’s precisely what The Savant aims to make its viewers understand through its eight episodes. It just needs audiences to see them. The Savant hasn’t been alone in its concerns. Just earlier this year, Netflix released four-part drama Adolescence onto its platform, a show that floored audiences with its portrayal of a 13-year-old boy who is accused of murdering his classmate by stabbing her seven times in the car park behind their school – prompting worldwide scrutiny of toxic incel culture and the online “manosphere”. These shows serve as warnings. Signs that the red flags are always there – that a child showing his classmate a video of a beheading might actually be something that we should be concerned about, that when a young boy starts calling his mother a “b***h” because he heard some bitter man online doing it and thought it was funny, we tell him that it’s not OK before he becomes that same faceless man he’s seen in the videos. Or something worse. In an age of digital obsession, where conversations are no longer happening in small, quiet backrooms and instead in very wide, very encrypted, online spaces, they're increasingly becoming harder and harder to monitor – and more of it is happening. We’re no longer shocked when we hear another mass shooting has taken place, that another innocent life has been lost for some inconceivable reason that will no doubt be spun into political rhetoric and not mourned as the death of another living, breathing human being. We’re exhausted by it. We don't keep the news on in the background any more while we work from home or eat our dinner, out of fear we’ll accidentally stumble upon another story we didn’t want to – instead, we scroll past headlines and turn the channel to something that can distract us, something to make us forget that the horror outside our fronts doors is only a few inches from crawling in. And that’s why the delay of The Savant is so frustrating. Once again, we’re choosing to look away from the issues we need to confront directly – even when the issues are stood in front of us, screaming at us in the face, asking us to understand them, to intervene, to stop them. As lead actor Jessica Chastain herself put it: “I hate that this show is relevant, but maybe through this conversation and through unearthing this darkness in society, then we're gonna work together to fix it.” Classically, we might not view television as an intervention. Historically, these kinds of shows have always worked to solve problems backwards – from the aftermath to the origins, but in the case of The Savant, it’s exactly the origin that is most important. Of course, no TV show alone can stop a shooting – and it would be unethical to suggest as much. What it can do, though, is shift perspective; help us rebuild the narrative from punishment to prevention, and teach us what violence can look like before lives are lost. “How didn’t we see it coming?” We could have. We just looked away.
Jessica Chastain's new series The Savant could help stop violence in a digital age – so why delay it?
“How didn’t we see it coming?” It’s an age-old question – asked in the painful silence after every horrifying act, written lazily in Instagram comment sections, plastered on posters and placards at protests. This question is precisely what Apple TV+’s upcoming show The Savant wants to interrogate. How can we stop acts of violence occurring before they happen? How do we recognise the red flags? How can tragedy be prevented before it’s had the chance to become one in the first place? Inspired by a 2019 Cosmopolitan article detailing the life of a woman who infiltrates online extremist groups to prevent acts of mass violence, the show isn’t interested in over-dramatising its brutality. Uniquely, it instead aims to examine extremism at its source: in digital whispers, online forums and dark corners of the internet. Which is why the recent news that The Savant has been indefinitely delayed, reportedly due to recent, condemnable violent acts in the US, feels like it’s such a huge mistake. Though previously due to arrive on the platform this upcoming Friday, last night an Apple TV+ spokesperson explained in a statement: "After careful consideration, we have made the decision to postpone The Savant. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to releasing the series at a future date." Of course, it’s understandable to see why networks and streamers are cautious of releasing such a harrowing series during a tense news cycle, when fiction is so closely echoing reality. But in this volatile, unpredictable climate we are living through, it’s not more silence we need – it’s clarity, it’s learning, it’s prevention. And that’s precisely what The Savant aims to make its viewers understand through its eight episodes. It just needs audiences to see them. The Savant hasn’t been alone in its concerns. Just earlier this year, Netflix released four-part drama <a id="menur1221" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/adolescence-season-2-release-date/" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/adolescence-season-2-release-date/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Link Adolescence">Adolescence onto its platform, a show that floored audiences with its portrayal of a 13-year-old boy who is accused of murdering his classmate by stabbing her seven times in the car park behind their school – prompting worldwide scrutiny of toxic incel culture and the online “manosphere”. These shows serve as warnings. Signs that the red flags are always there – that a child showing his classmate a video of a beheading might actually be something that we should be concerned about, that when a young boy starts calling his mother a “b***h” because he heard some bitter man online doing it and thought it was funny, we tell him that it’s not okay before he becomes that same faceless man he’s seen in the videos. Or something worse. In an age of digital obsession, where conversations are no longer happening in small, quiet backrooms and instead in very wide, very encrypted, online spaces, they're increasingly becoming harder and harder to monitor – and more of it is happening. We’re no longer shocked when we hear another mass shooting has taken place, that another innocent life has been lost for some inconceivable reason that will no doubt be spun into political rhetoric and not mourned as the death of another living, breathing human being. We’re exhausted by it. We don't keep the news on in the background anymore while we work from home or eat our dinner, out of fear we’ll accidentally stumble upon another story we didn’t want to – instead, we scroll past headlines and turn the channel to something that can distract us, something to make us forget that the horror outside our fronts doors is only a few inches from crawling in. And that’s why the delay of The Savant is so frustrating. Once again, we’re choosing to look away from the issues we need to confront directly – even when the issues are stood in front of us, screaming at us in the face, asking us to understand them, to intervene, to stop them. As lead actor Jessica Chastain herself put it: “I hate that this show is relevant, but maybe through this conversation and through unearthing this darkness in society, then we're gonna work together to fix it.” Classically, we might not view television as an intervention. Historically, these kinds of shows have always worked to solve problems backwards – from the aftermath to the origins, but in the case of The Savant, it’s exactly the origin that is most important. Of course, no TV show alone can stop a shooting – and it would be unethical to suggest as much. What it can do, though, is shift perspective; help us rebuild the narrative from punishment to prevention, and teach us what violence can look like before lives are lost. “How didn’t we see it coming?” We could have. We just looked away. The Savant will premiere on Apple TV+ – sign up to Apple TV+ now. Add The Savant to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Jessica Chastain reveals why filming The Savant left her "more hopeful" about the future
"I'm always going to navigate from a place of hope because I do think that at our core, humanity and people are good."
From tackling terrorism in 2012 political thriller Zero Dark Thirty to being investigated by the FBI in 2017's Molly's Game, Academy Award-winning actor Jessica Chastain is no stranger to taking on challenging, real-life roles. And in her latest project, Chastain tackles a completely different threat, one that feels increasingly prevalent in today's society: the rise of online hate and extremism. The Savant is the latest eight-part thriller to drop on Apple TV+, and follows Jodi Goodwin (Chastain), a woman who becomes known as 'The Savant' for infiltrating online hate groups to stop acts of violence. The show is based on the Cosmopolitan article Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?, with the character of Jodi inspired by the anonymous subject of the article – a woman named only as 'K'. As with any politically relevant thriller, The Savant is undoubtedly an intense watch, but perhaps what makes the series so frightening is the fact that those Jodi infiltrates – the ones planning these hateful attacks – are far from the monsters you'd expect them to be: they're neighbours, doctors, even friends. Despite working with such a dark subject matter, and even with the knowledge that there really are so many of these people out there, Chastain tries to hold on to hope. When asked if filming The Savant made her more concerned or hopeful about the issues it raises, Chastain explained to RadioTimes.com: "I'm more hopeful, but I always choose to live from a place of hope. "I mean, there's that Dolly Parton quote, I'm not gonna say the quote because I won't be able to do it perfect, but it's something about, like, 'The rainbow only shows up after the rain'. Something like that, you know? "I hate that this show is relevant. I hate it. I hate that there are mass acts of violence. But maybe through this conversation and through unearthing this darkness in society, then we're gonna work together to fix it. We're gonna work together to protect our children, to create some legislations, to put some guardrails on the things that they're seeing. "I'm always going to navigate from a place of hope because I do think that at our core, humanity and people are good. And the ones who aren't are the ones who make the loudest noise. But there's more power in goodness." With a powerful performance from Chastain, who also acts as an executive producer on the show, The Savant also stars Nnamdi Asomugha, Pablo Schreiber, James Badge Dale, Cole Doman, Michael Mosley, Dagmara Domińczyk, Jordana Spiro, Trinity Lee Shirley and Toussaint Francois Battiste. The Savant will premiere globally on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday 26th September, followed by new episodes every Friday – sign up to Apple TV+ now. Add The Savant to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Death in Paradise star returns for BBC spin-off – and filming has already started
It looks like we're returning to Shipton Abbot!
Fans of Death in Paradise, rejoice, as filming for the show's much-loved spin-off Beyond Paradise is reportedly underway for its fourth season. Kris Marshall is set to return to the fictional Devonshire town of Shipton Abbott, reprising his role as the charming Detective Humphrey Goodman. As reported by The Express, a fan account on Facebook confirmed that season four of the cosy crime drama had began filming, posting a series of behind-the-scenes pictures. Such pictures included a shot of a sign indicating "BP Unit", alongside a caption reading "Back filming in Cornwall". Other fans in the comments quickly appeared to identify the location, with one eagle-eyed viewer writing: "The sign is at St Mellion Golf Club; it's where they store their filming trailers and lorries." While the BBC are yet to confirm an official air date for season 4, it's expected to air some time in 2026. So far, plot details also remain scarce, though there are certainly enough loose-ends to tie up in the new run. The third season of Beyond Paradise wrapped up on something of a tragic note, with Humphrey and Martha saying goodbye to their foster daughter Rosie. Fans are, of course, eager to find out what could happen next for the couple: Will they welcome another foster child into their lives? And will they finally tie the knot? Marshall joined the original Death in Paradise series in 2014, taking over from Ben Miller as the lead Saint Marie detective. He departed the main series in 2017, with his character choosing to return to the UK, but his story continued in 2023 in Beyond Paradise, with Humphrey now settled and ready to marry fiancée Martha (Sally Britton). Aside from Marshall, we'd also likely expect returns from Sally Britton as Martha, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford, Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins, Melina Sinadinou as Zoe Williams and Jade Harrison as CS Charlie Woods, in the upcoming run. Meanwhile, over in Saint Marie, original series Death in Paradise has been confirmed for a 15th season, with actor Don Gilet confirming on Instagram that he and the rest of the cast and crew would begin filming in April. Beyond Paradise seasons 1-3 and Death in Paradise seasons 1-14 are available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Lana Del Rey albums in order: Full albums and track lists
From Born to Die to Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, it's easy to get lost in Lana Del Rey's iconic discography – so we're here to help.
With Lana Del Rey’s 10th studio album one of the most anticipated new records of 2025, what better time to revisit the star’s discography? Having originally forged her career under her real name, Lizzy Grant, the New York native broke onto the scene back in 2011 with Video Games, quickly leaving her mark across the world with her soulful '60s-inspired tones. With groundbreaking 2012 debut album Born to Die, Lana solidified her status as one of the most exciting songwriters of her generation – and went on to gain even more of a cult following with 2019's Norman F**king Rockwell. Known for stylistic, haunting lyrics, and her dreamy, melancholic voice, Lana Del Rey has crafted an artistic universe of her own over the last decade, and she shows no sign of slowing down (nor do her legendary song names, for that matter – I'm looking at you, Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he's deep-sea fishing). Read on for everything you need to know about Lana Del Rey's albums – from release order to track lists. Lana Del Rey albums in order: Full albums and track lists Lana Del Rey has released nine studio albums. Her 10th album, which has gone through several title changes, including Lasso and The Right Person Will Stay, was initially set to come out in May 2025 – but back in April, the singer confirmed that it will not “come on time” – and that it will have a new title. Her albums in release order are as follows: Lana Del Ray AKA Lizzy Grant Born to Die Born to Die: The Paradise Edition Ultraviolence Honeymoon Lust For Life Norman F**king Rockwell Chemtrails over the Country Club Blue Banisters Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd Untitled 10th album (upcoming) Lana has also recorded one spoken word album, Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass, which features 14 poems from her poetry collection of the same name. Buy Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass on vinyl here Read on for full track lists of each album. Lana Del Ray AKA Lizzy Grant (2010) Kill Kill Queen of the Gas Station Oh Say Can You See Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven) For K Part 2 Jump Mermaid Motel Raise Me Up (Mississippi South) Pawn Shop Blues Brite Lites Put Me in a Movie Smarty Yayo Lana Del Ray, AKA Lizzy Grant, is the debut studio album by Lana Del Rey – though, at the time of release, she still spelled her name as Lana Del Ray rather than Lana Del Rey. The album introduced fans to the idiosyncrasies that would later become recognised as signature elements of Lana's style. The album was never released physically, though the tracks can still be found on platforms such as YouTube. One song on the album, Yayo, was later re-recorded for the extended version of Lana's second album, Born To Die. Born to Die (2012) Born to Die (reached No.9 in the UK charts) Off to the Races Blue Jeans Video Games (reached No.6 in the UK charts) Diet Mountain Dew National Anthem Dark Paradise Radio Carmen Million Dollar Man This Is What Makes Us Girls Without You Lolita Lucky Ones Lana's second album, and the one which would become known as her breakout record, Born to Die is an alternative pop album that chronicles the themes of love, loss, disillusion and Americana, with songs like Video Games, Radio and Summertime Sadness having earned cult status since their releases. In 2023, Born to Die made history as the second album by a woman to spend over 500 weeks on the US Billboard 200. It has since earned widespread acclaim, consistently ranked among the greatest albums of all time by major publications, including Billboard and The Guardian. Buy Born To Die on vinyl here Paradise (2012) Ride American Cola Body Electric Blue Velvet Gods & Monsters Yayo Bel Air Less of an album in its own right and more of an extension of Born to Die, Paradise was released some 10 months after its predecessor. It was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, and added eight tracks to Born to Die's B-side. A bonus short film, Tropico, was released alongside the EP, set to three songs: Body Electric, Gods & Monsters and Bel Air. Ultraviolence (2014) Cruel World Ultraviolence Shades of Cool Brooklyn Baby West Coast Sad Girl Pretty When You Cry Money Power Glory F**ked My Way Up to the Top Old Money The Other Woman Black Beauty Guns and Roses Florida Kilos Is This Happiness With a far darker premise than the former, Ultraviolence marks Lana Del Rey's third studio album. Delving deeper into Lana's classic themes with more of a gritty, brooding, psychedelic rock influence than Born to Die, the album debuted at number one in 11 countries, and at the time of release, held the record for the largest album sales debut by a female artist. Buy Ultraviolence on vinyl here Honeymoon (2015) Honeymoon Music to Watch Boys To Terrence Loves You God Knows I Tried High by the Beach Freak Art Deco Burnt Norton (Interlude) Religion Salvatore The Blackest Day 24 Swan Song Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood Perhaps the perfect album for a languid summer in Treviso, Honeymoon's lustful jazz and hypnotic strings debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Initially set to be titled Music to Watch Boys To – named after the album's second track – Honeymoon incorporates influences from a range of artists, including David Bowie and Nina Simone. Buy Honeymoon on vinyl here Lust for Life (2017) Love Lust for Life (feat The Weeknd) 13 Beaches Cherry White Mustang Summer Bummer (feat A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti) Groupie Love (feat A$AP Rocky) In My Feelings Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind God Bless America – and All the Beautiful Women in It When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing Beautiful People Beautiful Problems (feat Stevie Nicks) Tomorrow Never Came (feat Sean Lennon) Heroin Change Get Free We've had pop, rock and jazz – now it's time for hip-hop, for Lana Del Rey's fifth album, Lust for Life, stands as one of her most unique releases. With features with everyone from The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky to Sean Lennon and Stevie Nicks, Lust For Life proved Lana's true versatility, and that her haunting, angelic vocals can effortlessly adapt to any track. Buy Lust for Life on vinyl here Norman F**king Rockwell (2019) Norman f**king Rockwell Mariners Apartment Complex Venice B**ch Doin' Time F**k it I love you Love song Cinnamon Girl How to disappear California The Next Best American Record The greatest Bartender Happiness is a butterfly hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it Undeniably one of the best, if not the best, album on this list, Norman F**king Rockwell was the first of Lana's albums to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys. Met with widespread critical acclaim upon its release, NFR has everything from a 10-minute long Los Angeles lullaby to a cover of a Sublime track so good you'll forget it wasn't originally hers, and has been named by everyone from Rolling Stone to Apple Music to Billboard as one of the best albums of all time. From its reverent opening to a cathartic climax, there's no wonder that Pitchfork readers voted NFR the best album by a female artist of the last 25 years. Buy Norman F***ing Rockwell on vinyl here Chemtrails over the Country Club (2020) White Dress Chemtrails over the Country Club Tulsa Jesus Freak Let Me Love You Like a Woman Wild at Heart Dark But Just a Game Not All Who Wander Are Lost Yosemite Breaking Up Slowly (feat Nikki Lane) Dance Till We Die For Free (feat Zella Day & Weyes Blood) The first of Lana's albums with a country influence, Chemtrails over the Country Club, as well as Blue Banisters, are sometimes known as Lana's 'Covid' albums – having both been released during the pandemic and containing subtle references to such. Chemtrails is Lana's shortest album, coming in at only 45 minutes long, and, according to Lana, it honours her female friends and family, with songs like White Dress capturing Lana's perfect falsetto notes and transcendent melodies. Buy Chemtrails over the Country Club here Blue Banisters (2021) Text Book Blue Banisters Arcadia Interlude – The Trio Black Bathing Suit If You Lie Down with Me Beautiful Violet for Roses Dealer Thunder Wildflower Wildfire Nectar of the Gods Living Legend Cherry Blossom Sweet Carolina Lana's seventh album, Blue Banisters, was released the most quietly – with Lana having deactivated many of her social media accounts prior to its release. Upon its released, Lana explained: "I didn't promote it, period, at all. I didn't want anyone to listen to it. I just wanted it to be there in case anyone was ever curious for any information." Nonetheless, the album, which is perhaps one of Lana's most introspective, delicate, personal works (especially the 11th track on the album, Wildflower Wildfire) was received well by critics. Buy Blue Bannisters on vinyl here Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (2023) The Grants Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd Sweet A&W Judah Smith Interlude Candy Necklace (feat Jon Batiste) Jon Batiste Interlude Kintsugi Fingertips Paris, Texas (feat SYML) Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he's deep-sea fishing Let the Light In (feat Father John Misty) Margaret (feat Bleachers) Fishtail Peppers (feat Tommy Genesis) Taco Truck x VB Often considered the sister album to Norman F**king Rockwell, DYKTTATUOB is Lana's most recent album, and the second to have been nominated for Album of the Year. Praised by critics for its profound lyrics and exceptional production value, the album marked a powerful return to form for Lana – ruminating, cinematic and deeply soulful. Buy Did you know there's a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard on vinyl here Untitled 10th album (expected in 2025) Henry, come on Bluebird 57.5 (expected) Quiet in the South (expected) Stars Fell on Alabama (expected) Lana's upcoming 10th studio release has gone through several transformations leading up to its release. Originally titled Lasso, then The Right Person Will Stay, the project is now reportedly going by the title Classic, though this is yet to be confirmed by Lana herself. The album was initially due to be released on 21st May 2025, but back in April 2025, Lana took to Instagram to explain that the upcoming album will not "come on time". Described by Lana as a "classic country, American, or Southern Gothic production," the album is also expected to feature covers of tracks such as Tammy Wynette's Stand By Your Man and John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads. Check out more of our Radio coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Final Destination at 25: Bloodlines continues a franchise that never dies
On 17th March 2000, flight Volée Airlines Flight 180 crashed onto our screens. Twenty-five years later, the Final Destination franchise continues to terrify audiences with its relentless, iconic legacy. From defective roller coasters to faulty tanning beds, Final Destination has taught us fear in the everyday – turning the most mundane experiences into death traps and making us wonder whether every intrusive thought that passes through our heads could be a premonition. What began as a standalone horror has cascaded into a cinematic phenomenon, spawning five sequels that have collectively grossed over $100 million at the box office. Each instalment has been bloodier and more brutal than the last, finding new, twisted ways to terrify us with every run. And now, Final Destination Bloodlines is set to arrive in cinemas, passing down the terror to a whole new generation of horror fans. Over two decades on, Final Destination’s legacy certainly loomed over the heads of the cast and creators of Bloodlines. Stepping into such a beloved franchise didn’t prove particularly easy, as the cast reveal exclusively to RadioTimes.com. "We tried not to think about it," laughs Rya Kihlstedt, who plays distant mother Darlene in Bloodlines. "It’s been so long since number five that if we leaned into that too much, there would be a lot of pressure, and yet it also allowed us to look at it as a separate film." Such a sentiment is echoed by Teo Briones, who plays Darlene’s son Charlie. "If we thought about it too much, we’d lose our minds," he laughs. For some, stepping into Final Destination was a dream come true. "I was a massive fan of the franchise," says Richard Harmon, who plays Erik. "I watched the first one when I was 11 years old without my parents knowing. I’ve seen them all multiple times, so it was an honour to be part of the franchise. It’s horror greatness." And he’s not wrong. From ladders through eyeballs to dismemberments by fences to nail guns to the head, it is the inventive deaths and terrifying premonitions of Final Destination that make the franchise so brilliantly unique. There is perhaps no scene better to demonstrate how well Final Destination taps into our fears than the opening sequence of Final Destination 2, in which our leading lady Kimberly (AJ Cook) has a vision of a massive highway pile-up, caused when logs detach from the back of a logging truck. It was the scene that traumatised a generation and has left its audiences with a permanent fear of getting behind the wheel. View oEmbed on the source website "The opening premonitions are all so incredible. I mean, the opening pile-up with the logs is, of course, unbeatable," says Adam Stein, co-director of the latest run. Stein also highlights the gymnastic death from Final Destination 5 as another personal favourite: "It’s such masterful filmmaking. You’re just watching close-ups of a screw, and feet missing it. And nothing’s happening, but you’re feeling such tension and suspense. And that definitely inspired us." For Anna Lore, who plays Julia – the sceptical cousin of Kaitlyn Santa Juana’s lead character Stefani – the escalator death in the fourth film stands out as particularly memorable, as does the laser eye surgery debacle in the fifth film. Though, for Lore, it’s the subversion of expectation so present in Final Destination that draws her in. "She goes to get LASIK, and you’re worried about the LASIK the whole time, and then she dies by falling out of a window. It’s the subversion. I like those deaths." Harmon adds another gruesome moment to the list: "The moment in Final Destination 2 where little Timmy runs into the pigeons to scare them off and a pane of glass squishes him. I was in love after that." It’s no wonder that, with so many ways to die playing out on screen, some of the cast went home with death playing on their minds. "There was a lot of conversation on set about ways to die," recalls Kihlstedt. "I’m afraid of electrical cords after this movie," laughs Kaitlyn Santa Juana, who plays protagonist Stefani in Bloodlines. "This movie scarred me for life." And after 25 years, what keeps fans wanting to return to these films, despite the premise remaining largely the same? "In the horror movie realm, there are so many different genres," says Kihlstedt. "I think people really like the scare, the dolls, the killers – this (franchise) really stands on its own because it kind of has all of it. It has body count, and gore and humour." And she’s right – Final Destination stands apart not just for the fact people die, but for how they die. It’s what makes the franchise so compelling. Each scene is so brilliantly coordinated, playing out like a twisted puzzle before the inevitable, gory outcome. We go into every Final Destination film knowing that people (most of the time, everyone) will die. We keep watching to find out exactly how it happens. "The fan base in incredible," adds Santa Juana. "The fans really uphold this franchise. For something so scary and gory, there’s so much love." And it seems Briones agrees: "For me, going into this franchise was making sure we did service to the fans, and that we made a movie that they want to watch." For Santa Juana, stepping into Final Destination was a particularly unique experience, following in the footsteps of the franchise's past leading ladies – Kimberly Corman, Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and, of course, Clear Rivers (who gets a mention, albeit brief, in the latest run). So, what was it like preparing for the final girl – the Final Destination girl, if you will – role? "I got an acting coach," she explains, "I kind of made [Stefani] at first a detective, then in the middle she was a protector, and then at the end, she was a survivor. So, on the days we went to set, I was like, 'Where are we in the story, who am I right now?' And that’s how I found my through-line." As for the future of the franchise, there is currently no word on if it will continue with a seventh run. Santa Juana and Briones, though, have a few interesting ideas. "We need a movie about a movie set. Number seven. Who do I call to make this happen?" Santa Juana jokes. "It should be about filming a Final Destination movie!" Briones laughs. And though their ideas may simply be jokes, it’s not something that seems entirely out of possibility. For what is so superb about Final Destination is its ability to make any moment horrifying. Indeed, from that first flight back in 2000 to the present day, Final Destination has kept audiences on the edge of their seats. You might not be able to cheat death, but the legacy of Final Destination will never die. Final Destination Bloodlines is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Final Destination Bloodlines directors reveal scene that was altered for final cut
One particular moment could have played out quite differently.
A Devil Wears Prada sequel, a third Princess Diaries and now, a sixth Final Destination film – could it be the 2000s are returning? Already hailed as one of the best in the franchise, the latest sequel, Final Destination Bloodlines, offers a unique twist on the franchise's usual format. While in all the past films, the main character has a premonition of the way they and their friends will die, this time, the lead (played by Kaitlyn Santa Juana) inherits her grandmother's premonition from the 1960s. As usual, though, all the same regular bloody, brutal chaos ensues. And now, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, directors Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky have revealed which scene in the film could have looked completely different. Lipovsky explained: "One sequence that eventually became the backyard barbecue, originally before that it was actually more like... Chuck E Cheese, sort of family, kids' restaurant, where you've got sort of arcade machines and bowling and bumper cars, and all sorts of stuff like that. "But eventually, it made more sense to do that in a backyard where it's all about family, and kind of has the relatability of all the things that everyone experiences, you know, when you go over to someone's house. "So that felt better for that scene, especially as they're saying goodbye to a family member who's just died. And so we tried to bring all the different things that could come to life in a backyard barbecue." Read more: Hailee Steinfeld "forever grateful" to Sinners role for pushing her to research her multiracial heritage Thunderbolts* isn't really like an indie film, director emphasises One could only imagine the Final Destination-esque carnage that could have ensued in an environment such as a Chuck E Cheese – drowning in a ball pit, an exploding arcade machine, a faulty animatronic? The possibilities are endless. Marking 25 years since the first film, a certain scene in Final Destination Bloodlines also reportedly broke the record for the oldest person to be set on fire on camera, with 71-year old stunt actor Yvette Ferguson coming out of retirement for the scene. Final Destination Bloodlines is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Final Destination Bloodlines director opens up on working with Tony Todd on his final movie
Todd is the only actor to have appeared in all six Final Destination films.
This week, Final Destination is returning to cinemas for its sixth outing: Final Destination Bloodlines. Since debuting back in 2000, the franchise has grown a huge fanbase and has long been admired for its unique premise – a character experiences a premonition that allows them, and often their group of friends, to escape from a deadly disaster, only to later find that Death is still coming for them. Over the entirety of its 25-year run, only one actor has returned for all six of the films – horror legend Tony Todd, who sadly passed away in November of last year at the age of 69. Playing the mysterious William Bludworth in all six films, Bloodlines is the last to feature Todd, and also the first to delve a little deeper into his character. Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Final Destination Bloodlines director Zach Lipovsky reflected on the experience of working with Todd. "We were so grateful to have him there," he said. "We knew he was ill when we were working on the film and writing the film, and he was very, very eager to be in the movie, even though he was sick." He continued: "So it presented itself as a potential moment where we could give his character, that he's had in all these films, more of a backstory. To make him a bit more of a character rather than this sort of mentor figure that shows up. [And] give a bit more of an explanation of who he is, which he was very excited about. "And then also craft the ability for him to have a goodbye. You know, when we were filming that scene we knew that it was likely his last Final Destination movie, and potentially his last movie ever." Lipovsky also explained that Todd's scene was intentionally crafted as a farewell. He explained: "The narrative was built around that idea that Bludworth would be saying goodbye to the characters, but also, on another level, that he was saying goodbye to the audience. Read more: Thunderbolts* star Lewis Pullman breaks down how movie tackles mental health Tom Hardy recalls struggling with Havoc action scene: "I'm not gonna make this" Lipovsky added that he and co-director Adam Stein "worked very closely" with Todd, and that the actor "had so much fun with the cast – there was like this electricity with him and the cast". On filming Todd's emotional final scene, Lipovsky said that it was a particularly poignant moment on set: "When it came time for his last moment in the movie, which is quite powerful, we told him to, for a moment, throw the script away and sort of speak from the heart about what was on his mind, about what all these movies have been about, what his life had been about, thinking about his own mortality and Bludworth's mortality, and just [letting] us know what was on [his] mind. "And those lines about cherishing what you have all came from him in that moment. And I think that's why it's so powerful, is it's really earnest and honest, and it's been something we thought about a lot, and even through the whole rest of making the movie, [we've] been trying to cherish every second, just like he said, because you can see how much it meant to him." Final Destination Bloodlines will be released in UK cinemas on Wednesday 14th May. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Lana Del Rey 10th studio album: Release date speculation and latest news
Here's everything we know about the highly anticipated release.
Lana Del Rey is preparing to release her much-anticipated 10th album – although the journey to release has not been an easy one. The release, which is set to lean into a more country sound than her previous projects, was initially named Lasso when first announced, with a confirmation she was re-teaming with Jack Antonoff as well as country singer-songwriter Luke Laird. However, in November 2024, Lana confirmed the name was changed to The Right Person Will Stay, and in April 2025 she told fans it had been changed again, only this time keeping fans in suspense on what she'd landed on. That's before we get into the difficulty with keeping to the release schedule, which has also changed multiple times. We're certain it will be worth the wait, though, with the singer slowly dropping singles from the release before the album is finally unleashed onto the world. Here's everything we know about the upcoming release... When is Lana Del Rey's next album release date? Currently, it is not known when the album will be released. However, Lana is set to go on a world tour this year to promote the release, so it can't be too far away. She'll be coming to the UK in June and tickets are on sale now. Speaking on Instagram to fans, Lana confirmed that the original 21st May deadline will not be met, but it is on its way, simply telling followers: "You know it’s not gonna come on time, right?" She then joked: "Should I even tell you that the name changed again? Maybe I’ll wait." When titled Lasso, the new album was meant to drop in October 2024, but was halted by Lana after she felt an "energetic pause" that stopped it getting done. She told People that month: "I think all the songs have been Americana and I want to wait to see what the musical atmosphere feels like. "Cause I don’t usually feel like I need a pause in the creation process, but if there’s a literal energetic pause that almost feels like physical, then I have to wait and I don’t know why." From there, it was changed to The Right Person Will Stay before she said it was changed again. What is Lana Del Rey's new album tracklist? Currently, there is no official tracklist for her new album. However, it is speculated that there will be a total of 13 songs on the album. The tracks that have been confirmed so far are: Henry, Come On Bluebird As well as these, during her Stagecoach Festival performance on Friday 25th April, Lana debuted three previously unheard songs: 57.5, Husband of Mine and Quiet in the South, all of which are likely to feature on the album. There has also been speculation that two covers of popular country songs could also be featured on the tracklist: Stand By Your Man, originally by Tammy Wynette, and Take Me Home, Country Roads, originally by John Denver. The latter song was officially released by Lana in 2023. What singles has Lana Del Rey released from her new album? On 11th April 2025, Lana released the first single from the upcoming album. The song was called Henry, Come On, and is available to listen to here: View oEmbed on the source website The release was in anticipation of her headline slot at Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California. While performing new song 57.5, which is yet to be released officially, at the festival, Lana said that she "kissed Morgan Wallen and it kind of went to his head". Wallen is yet to comment himself about the claim, and Lana hinted at the show it would be the only time she would sing it, suggesting it would be changed for the album. On 19th April, she released the song Bluebird. On the same day, Lana explained via a video on Instagram that the song is about a real-life event, when a bird flew into her window during a time of confusion in her relationship. She explained: "I had been seeing someone for a very long time and we hadn't seen each other for a while, and he called and he asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. "I was kind of excited, but I didn't think it was a very good idea. And I said yes, and I started getting dressed, and all of a sudden a bird smacked into the double pane window doors of my bedroom, and I was shocked. I opened the little door and I saw this little... I think it was like a little sparrow, right there. And I just was so emotional." The simple yet powerful ballad brings Lana's haunting vocals against an acoustic guitar and violins, and the full audio is available to listen to below. View oEmbed on the source website Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
How The Last Showgirl illustrates the ultimate female paradox
"Feeling seen, feeling beautiful, that is powerful."
Only two years ago, 57-year-old Pamela Anderson went viral for her choice to go without make-up at Paris Fashion Week. “I'm make-up-free at home, so why not for Paris Fashion Week?" she told People magazine. "I really didn't know anyone would notice it, but I'm glad it became a positive message.” And people did notice, because since then, Anderson has continued to make headlines for a choice she sees as liberating, appearing at the Golden Globes, the Met Gala and even the Oscars in long, glamorous dresses, all while showcasing a fresh, minimally-makeuped face. "It's very freeing to be comfortable in your own skin," she explained. The act marked a shift for Anderson, who is best known for being a ‘90s sex symbol after her role as CJ Parker in Baywatch – and a face that became synonymous with red swimsuits. And just as any beautiful woman in the ‘90s, Anderson has long been scrutinised by the public eye, following her whirlwind marriages and a leaked sex tape that was stolen from her. It was only in 2022 that the most controversial and traumatic period of her life was dramatised for the Disney Plus series Pam & Tommy by a group of predominantly male producers who never even asked her if it was OK. Despite Anderson’s newfound approach to beauty, though, some still remain sceptical. “I’m not buying it,” I read recently in a long-form article, dismissing Anderson’s no-make-up look as nothing more than a publicity stunt for the cameras. “What’s so ‘ethereal’ about not wearing any make-up?” Her critics argue that, because of her past as a Playboy model and her decision to have a boob job, Anderson is somehow disqualified from presenting a look she believes liberates her. Anderson cannot win. No matter what she does, there will always be someone ready to criticise her. And that’s the problem. If we want to support women, we must support all women, and that includes the ones with pretty faces and fake boobs. Women are allowed to choose the identity they want – whether you like it or not. “She’s not the sort of woman I want to look up to.” Guess what? She didn’t ask you to. It appears this idea is mirrored in Anderson’s latest film The Last Showgirl, in which Shelly, a middle-aged Las Vegas showgirl (played by the star in truly heartbreaking form – a form that was snubbed by the Oscars, might I add), who must face a harsh reality when she learns that her beloved revue Le Razzle Dazzle is scheduled to close after 30 years. As the film unfolds, we begin to understand that Shelly has a strained relationship with her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), mostly because Shelly struggled to balance the career she adores with single motherhood. Hannah’s father, Eddie – the producer of Le Razzle Dazzle – has, meanwhile, never been present in her life, despite knowing of her existence and seeing his daughter’s mother work herself to death almost every day. Shelly has spent the majority of Hannah’s life trying to balance the career she loves with the daughter she adores, and, in Hannah’s eyes, her career always came first. And now, such career is faltering, because Shelly is getting older. “You were obviously hired at Le Razzle Dazzle because you were beautiful and young a long time ago,” a director coldly informs her during an audition. View oEmbed on the source website The Last Showgirl is a staunch reminder of the fact that women cannot have it all – a family, a career. It’s the ultimate female paradox. In the same way to the actress who plays her, Shelly can do no right to society. If she’s a dedicated mother, she must sacrifice her career, but if she focuses on her career, she sacrifices being the mother her daughter needs. And now, she has lost both. Her daughter resents her, and her career has been lost because she, no longer, is considered young and beautiful. But while The Last Showgirl may paint a sobering picture of womanhood, the fact the story is even being told by a 57-year-old woman carries significant weight. In fact, middle-aged women are increasingly reclaiming the spotlight, what with Nicole Kidman exploring her sexuality in Babygirl, Demi Moore proving her worth in The Substance and Renée Zellweger discovering new romance as a 52-year-old mother of two in the latest Bridget Jones film. After years of being a supporting character, the wife or the daughter or the mother of a much younger protagonist (unless they're a man, of course, who are almost always allowed to be older), women above 50 are re-entering spaces where they were previously called “old” and “ugly”. “But we still have a long way to go. All of these women are white and straight. They aren’t representative of us all,” yes, and of course there should be further room to tell every woman’s story. There is still a lot of work to be done in crafting a space for women who haven’t had it as ‘easy’ as Pam – but a win’s a win, for now, and there is no space to put one woman down to lift another up. “I’m beautiful. I’m 57, and I’m beautiful, you son of a b***h,” proclaims Shelly in the final act of The Last Showgirl, and this International Women’s Day, it’s about time we tell her she’s right. The Last Showgirl is available to watch in cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Oscar predictions 2025: Who will win and should win Best Actress?
It looks like it's Moore vs Madison for the golden statuette.
The race for Best Actress is undoubtedly the most controversial category in this year’s Oscars cycle. From the absence of intimacy coordinators to resurfaced problematic tweets, there has been more than enough drama to go around. But as the Academy prepares for the biggest night in film, who will walk away victorious? At the moment, Demi Moore seems to be the frontrunner. At 62 years old, Moore has defied critics who scrutinised her body, marriage and career with her electrifying, genre-defying, socially relevant performance in The Substance. Having already taken home the Golden Globe and delivered an emotional speech on Hollywood’s dismissal of her in the 1990s, a win for Moore would not only be an apology from the industry, but also an overdue victory for the horror genre and a female-directed film, both of which have long been swept under the rug by the Academy. Moore certainly faces some stiff competition, though, and none of her opponents are more formidable than fresh-faced Mikey Madison, who captivated audiences with her role as Ani in Sean Baker’s comedy-drama Anora. Then there's industry veteran Fernanda Torres, who plays a grieving wife dealing with the forced disappearance of her congressman husband in Brazilian political biography I’m Still Here. Sponsored by Vue Save up to 30% on the latest releases at Vue in 2025 Are you a movie lover who always wants to be up to date with the latest releases? Then you're in luck, as RadioTimes.com readers can enjoy new films at Vue Cinemas for less. Customers will receive up to 30% off films with Vue Pass, as long as they have a RadioTimes.com account. It's a great time for new releases, with films such as Wicked, Nosferatu, The Brutalist and Moana 2 taking UK cinemas by storm. Head to your nearest Vue to catch these movies and more for up to 30% less if you're signed up as a RadioTimes.com member. Save up to 30% with Vue Pass At only 25 years old, Madison has had a breakthrough role with Anora, and her performance is undoubtedly the best of her career thus far – as evidenced by the multiple awards she has received across this award season (including a Critics Choice and a BAFTA). As Ani, Madison is electric and screen-stealing, providing a performance that was almost certainly the reason behind Anora’s Palme d’Or win at the Cannes Film Festival. Despite this, the film has been met with debate regarding the presence of intimacy coordinators, especially after Madison admitted to declining one when offered the chance by Baker, with some suggesting than an intimacy coordinator should be a protective requirement for actors and not just a question from a director. The most traditional nominee in the race, Fernanda Torres's performance in I’m Still Here is poignant and powerful, and has been praised for its depth. Torres’s nomination is already a historic feat – she is only the second Brazilian woman, after her own mother, to be nominated for the category in question – but her presence is not without its own looming controversy, with Torres forced to apologise shortly after the film’s release when footage resurfaced of her performing a comedy sketch in blackface years ago. But the competition doesn’t just stop there. Karla Sofia Gascón also stands in the Best Actress storm for her hugely divisive role in Netflix’s comedy-slash-musical-slash-serious-crime-flick Emilia Pérez. After a large-scale social media controversy involving the resurfacing of problematic tweets, though, Gascón’s prospects have been largely diminished, even though if she were to win, she would make history as the first openly transgender woman to receive the award. Rounding off the roster is Cynthia Erivo, nominated for her portrayal of Elphaba in Wicked. Already an icon to musical fans, Erivo had huge boots, and even bigger lungs, to fill taking on Elphaba – a role originated by 'Queen of Broadway' Idina Menzel in the original's stage production – but her performance was received warmly by critics, who praised her heartfelt characterisation and vocal mastery. Although for the moment, Erivo seems to have fallen underneath the rubble of her fellow nominees, Wicked: For Good is set to be released later this year, meaning Erivo’s golden statuette chances may not be completely lost. View Green Video on the source website The Academy Awards will take place on Sunday 2nd March. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
From an ambitious sex worker to the Wicked Witch of the West – who will be awarded Best Actress at this year's Oscars?
The race for Best Actress is undoubtedly the most controversial category in this year’s Oscars cycle. From the absence of intimacy coordinators to resurfaced problematic tweets, there has been more than enough drama to go round. But as the Academy prepares for the biggest night in film, who will walk away victorious? At the moment, Demi Moore seems to be the frontrunner. At 62 years old, Moore has defied critics who scrutinised her body, marriage and career with her electrifying, genre-defying, socially relevant performance in The Substance. Having already taken home the Golden Globe and delivered an emotional speech on Hollywood’s dismissal of her in the 1990s, a win for Moore would not only be an apology from the industry, but also an overdue victory for the horror genre and a female-directed film, both of which have long been swept under the rug by the Academy. Moore certainly faces some stiff competition, though, and none of her opponents are more formidable than fresh-faced Mikey Madison, who captivated audiences with her role as Ani in Sean Baker’s comedy-drama Anora. Then there's industry veteran Fernanda Torres, who plays a grieving wife dealing with the forced disappearance of her congressman husband in Brazilian political biography I’m Still Here. At only 25 years old, Madison has had a breakthrough role with Anora, and her performance is undoubtedly the best of her career thus far – as evinced by the multiple awards she has received across this award season (including a Critics Choice and a BAFTA). As Ani, Madison is electric and screen-stealing, providing a performance that was almost certainly the reason behind Anora’s Palme d’Or win at the Cannes Film Festival. Despite this, the film has been met with debate regarding the presence of intimacy co-ordinators, especially after Madison admitted to declining one when offered one by Baker, with some suggesting than an intimacy co-ordinator should be a protective requirement for actors and not just a passing question from a director. The most traditional nominee in the race, Fernanda Torres's performance in I’m Still Here is poignant and powerful, and has been praised for its depth. Torres’s nomination is already a historic feat – she is only the second Brazilian woman, after her own mother, to be nominated for the category in question – but her presence is not without its own looming controversy, with Torres forced to apologise shortly after the film’s release when footage resurfaced of her performing a comedy sketch in blackface years ago. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/02/Emilia-Perez-Karla-Sofia-Gascon-Zoe-Saldana-2dcbfec.jpg" width="7200" height="4800" alt="Karla Sofía Gascón as Emilia Pérez looking at the camera with a soft smile, and Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro out of focus in the background." title="Karla Sofía Gascón as Emilia Pérez and Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro in Emilia Pérez" /> But the competition doesn’t just stop there. Karla Sofia Gascón also stands in the Best Actress storm for her hugely divisive role in Netflix’s comedy-slash-musical-slash-serious-crime-flick Emilia Pérez. After a large-scale social media controversy involving the resurfacing of problematic tweets, though, Gascón’s prospects have been largely diminished, even though if she were to win, she would make history as the first openly transgender woman to receive the award. Rounding off the roster is Cynthia Erivo, nominated for her portrayal of Elphaba in Wicked. Already an icon to musical fans, Erivo had huge boots, and even bigger lungs, to fill taking on Elphaba – a role originated by “Queen of Broadway” Idina Menzel in the original's stage production – but her performance was received warmly by critics, who praised her heartfelt characterisation and vocal mastery. Although for the moment, Erivo seems to have fallen underneath the rubble of her fellow nominees, Wicked: For Good is set to be released later this year, meaning Erivo’s golden statuette chances may not be completely lost.
Yellowjackets season 3 cast: Meet the characters
Eat your heart out – Yellowjackets is back for a third season.
*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Yellowjackets seasons 1 and 2.* There's so much to love about Yellowjackets, the Paramount Plus survival epic about a high-school football team stranded in the wilderness after their plane crashes. From the split timeline, the balance of horror and humour, the imaginative twists and the supernatural elements, it's no wonder the show has amassed a huge following. Another of the show's undeniable charms is its star-studded cast, with '90s icons like Christina Ricci and Melanie Lynskey playing the adult versions of the teens. Whoever was responsible for finding their teen counterparts must be a genius too because they bear a striking resemblance to their adult iterations. With season 3 upon us, read on for everything you need to know about the cast of Yellowjackets. Who's in the cast of Yellowjackets season 3? The main cast of Yellowjackets season 3 is as follows. Scroll down for more information on the actors and where you've seen them before. Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse as Shauna Shipman Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Taissa Turner Christina Ricci and Sammi Hanratty as Misty Quigley Sophie Thatcher as Natalie Scatorccio, AKA 'Nat' Ella Purnell as Jackie Taylor Lauren Ambrose and Liv Hewson as Vanessa Palmer AKA 'Van' Simone Kessell and Courtney Eaton as Lottie Matthews Sarah Desjardins as Callie Sadecki Steven Krueger as coach Ben Scott Warren Kole as Jeff Sadecki Kevin Alves as teen Travis Martinez Elijah Wood as Walter Tattersall Hilary Swank as TBA Joel McHale as TBA Melanie Lynskey plays adult Shauna Shipman Who is Shauna Shipman? Shauna went on to marry Jackie's former boyfriend Jeff and they have a daughter called Callie, who she has a strained relationship with. Shauna had an affair with an artist called Adam, who she murdered due to her belief that he was the one blackmailing her. But it emerged that Jeff, who was having money troubles, was behind the scam. Where have I seen Melanie Lynskey before? Lynskey recently appeared in HBO-Sky Atlantic drama The Last of Us. She's also known for Heavenly Creatures with Kate Winslet, Hulu's Candy, HBO comedy-drama Togetherness, The Informant with Matt Damon, Netflix's I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, Away We Go starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, and comedy Two and a Half Men. Sophie Nélisse plays teen Shauna Who is teen Shauna? Shauna, along with the rest of the high school girls' football team, was stranded in the middle of nowhere after the plane that was carrying them to nationals crashed. She was best friends with Jackie but their relationship fell apart after Shauna and Jackie's boyfriend Jeff slept together, and Shauna fell pregnant. Where have I seen Sophie Nélisse before? Most recently, she starred in The Kid Detective with Adam Brody. She's also fluent in French and has appeared in numerous French films and TV shows. Tawny Cypress plays adult Taissa Turner Who is Taissa Turner? In season 1, Taissa worked in politics, campaigning to become the state senator of New Jersey. But her career – as well as her family life – soon unravelled as she became haunted by her past trauma. She has a son named Sammy. Where have I seen Tawny Cypress before? Cypress has appeared in superhero drama Heroes, police procedural Unforgettable and crime drama K-Ville. Jasmin Savoy Brown plays teen Taissa Who is teen Taissa? After the plane crash, Taissa grows close to Van and the pair become romantically involved. While stranded in the wildness, she also begins sleepwalking and eating dirt, which continues in the present day. Where have I seen Jasmin Savoy Brown before? She has appeared in legal drama For the People and Damon Lindelof's The Leftovers. She has also starred as Mindy Meeks-Martin in the rebooted Scream franchise (5 and 6) and will reprise the role in the upcoming Scream 7. Christina Ricci plays adult Misty Quigley Who is Misty Quigley? Misty works in a nursing home, but she'd make a great PI and spends her time engaging in amateur sleuthing. She lives alone and has an African grey parrot who she loves dearly. Like her teen self, she isn't afraid to overstep the mark morally if it means getting what she wants. Where have I seen Christina Ricci before? She recently starred in Netflix's Wednesday opposite Jenna Ortega. She's best known for The Addams Family, Sleepy Hollow, Casper, Speed Racer, Buffalo '66, Monster and The Opposite of Sex, among others. Sammi Hanratty plays teen Misty Who is teen Misty? The team's equipment manager. She's an outsider who is desperate to be liked but often alienates people with the things she says and does. Misty might give the impression that she's a pushover, but underestimate her at your own peril. Where have I seen Sammi Hanratty before? You might have watched Hanratty in the US series of Shameless, supernatural horror Salem and action-drama The Unit. Sophie Thatcher plays teen Natalie 'Nat' Scatorccio Who is teen Natalie Scatorccio? Nat, another member of the football team, is a tough cookie who doesn't shy away from confrontation when it's necessary. She also grew up with an abusive father. After the crash, she becomes romantically involved with Travis, the coach's son. Where have I seen Sophie Thatcher before? Her most prominent role before Yellowjackets was in Quibi series When the Street Lights Go On. She has since become something of a screen queen, starring in the likes of The Boogeyman, Heretic and, most recently, Companion. Ella Purnell plays Jackie Taylor Who is Jackie Taylor? Jackie was the captain of the girls' football team and one of the most popular students at school. She fell out with Shauna after learning that her best friend and her boyfriend Jeff had slept together. Jackie froze to death in the season 1 finale, but returned for several guest appearances in season 2 as a figment of Shauna's imagination. She also looks set to appear in season 3 in flashbacks, if the trailer is anything to go by. Where have I seen Ella Purnell before? Since Yellowjackets, Purnell has made a name for herself in several acclaimed video game adaptations, having starred as Lucy in Fallout and providing the voice of Jinx in Netflix's Arcane. She has also starred in Sweetpea, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Starz series Sweetbitter, Never Let Me Go, Maleficent and ITV period drama Belgravia. Lauren Ambrose plays adult Vanessa 'Van' Palmer Who is Van Palmer? Van is more introspective than her teen counterpart, and lives with guilt over her past actions. She reveals in season 2 that she has been diagnosed with cancer. Where have I seen Lauren Ambrose before? Ambrose is best known for HBO's Six Feet Under and Apple TV+ series Servant. Liv Hewson plays teen Van Who is teen Van? Another member of the football team. She falls in love with Taissa and is almost killed by a wolf, but miraculously manages to survive. Where have I seen Liv Hewson before? You might have watched Hewson in Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet. Simone Kessell plays adult Lottie Matthews Who is Lottie Matthews? Lottie runs a wellness commune called Camp Green Pine, and in season 2, we learn her visions have returned after decades. Where have I seen Simone Kessell before? You might Kessell her from crime thriller Reckoning, ABC's The Crossing, and Fox's Terra Nova, among others. Courtney Eaton plays teen Lottie Who is teen Lottie? Another member of the football team. Lottie began experiencing visions after her medication ran out, but fans of the show were split as to whether it was tied to her worsening mental health, or if she has supernatural capabilities. Where have I seen Courtney Eaton before? She appeared in Mad Max: Fury Road and Gods of Egypt. Elijah Wood plays Walter Tattersall Who is Walter? Walter first appeared in season 2, contributing to the citizen detective board as PuttingTheSickInForensics with his theories about Adam Martin's disappearance, a move which brought him into Misty's life. Where have I seen Elijah Wood before? Wood is best known for playing Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings films. Other credits include TV series Star Wars: The Resistance, The Afterparty and I'm a Virgo. Steven Krueger plays coach Ben Scott Who is coach Ben Scott? The assistant coach of the high school girls' football team who ends up stranded alongside them in the wilderness following the plane crash in season 1. He set the girls' cabin on fire in the season 2 finale, which is sure to have some serious consequences. Where have I seen Steven Krueger before? Krueger is best known for his role as Josh Rosza on CW's The Originals. Other credits include Pretty Little Liars and Two and a Half Men. Sarah Desjardins plays Callie Sadecki Who is Callie Sadecki? Shauna and Jeff's teenage daughter, who becomes embroiled in her mother's crimes in season 2 and looks set to take on even more of a pivotal role in the show in season 3. Where have I seen Sarah Desjardins before? The actor has previously starred in Riverdale, Under the Banner of Heaven and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Who else stars in Yellowjackets season 3? Other surviving members of the football team in season 3 are: Alexa Barajas (The Flash) as Mari Keeya King (Van Helsing) as Akilah Additional cast members in season 3 include: Warren Kole (Shades of Blue) as Jeff Sadecki – Shauna's husband and Jackie's ex-boyfriend. Kevin Alves (Locke and Key) as teen Travis Martinez – He was romantically involved with Nat during their time in the wilderness. He later dies but circumstances around his death remain a mystery. Hilary Swank and Joel McHale have also joined the cast as guest stars, but little is known about their roles as yet. Read more: Yellowjackets season 2 reveals what happened to Lottie Yellowjackets season 2 reveals Jackie’s grisly fate Former Yellowjackets cast members Juliette Lewis plays adult Natalie 'Nat' Scatorccio Who is Nat Scatorccio? She suffers from addiction and has endured numerous stints in rehab. She spends much of season 1 looking into Travis's death, and she also tries to take her own life, but her attempt is foiled when she's kidnapped. Nat can also hold her own in a fight and knows her way around a gun. She meets a grisly end in season 2 when she becomes the target of Lottie's hunt ceremony – and is accidentally killed by Misty. Where have I seen Juliette Lewis before? Her CV includes Cape Fear with Robert De Niro, Hysterical Blindness with Uma Thurman, and August: Osage County with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. She recently appeared in Hulu-Star true crime series Welcome to Chippendales and the recent adaptation of Queer as Folk. Yellowjackets season 3 will stream on Paramount Plus from Friday 14th February 2025. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why the Oscars battle between The Substance and Anora is so ironic
The race for Best Actress in a Leading Role is on.
"The Anti-Pretty Woman" is the tagline that many critics widely embraced after watching Sean Baker's latest comedy-drama, Anora. The story of a sex worker who is not 'saved' in its final act, Anora follows Ani (played by Mikey Madison), a feisty, high-price New York stripper who embarks on a whirlwind romance with Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the filthy rich man-child son of a Russian oligarch. The film has garnered widespread acclaim, with the Academy announcing this afternoon (23rd January) that it has earned six nominations at this year's Oscars – with Madison tipped by some to win for Best Actress. You’ll understand, then, why I had high expectations going in to this film. A feminist triumph that flips the classic Cinderella story on its head? Count me in. However, when I settled in to watch Anora – feet up, popcorn in hand – and the opening scene consisted entirely of a voyeuristic long shot of stark naked women strip-dancing to a cheesy Take That song, I realised that the film wasn't quite the feminist statement I'd been led to believe. Immediately, the film fails to analyse its protagonist. Ani’s character feels shallow and lacks nuance. Yes, she's a 20-something, hot-headed, naive sex worker – but what else is she? Despite its 139-minute runtime, of which there are some painfully long, not-very-much-happening moments, we somehow get very little exploration of Ani herself. She is seen in the strip club, she is seen in bed with Ivan, she is seen mourning the breakdown of her month-long marriage. We know very little of her history (past one brief mention), how she found herself in sex work, what she thinks about her job, what she does on her off days. What we do see, though, is Ani having sex. Lots of it. Perhaps we don’t need to know everything about our protagonists, and it’s their mystery that makes them interesting. But it remains almost laughable that we learn ostensibly more about Ivan’s life than our titular character’s. It also seems an odd decision that the character of Igor, who spent the first half of the film tying Ani up while she screamed "rape" (hilarious, am I right?), is the one who facilitates Ani’s eventual realisation, not herself. There are one or two saving graces in the first and final acts, though, and if it wasn’t for Mikey Madison’s remarkable performance (the great saviour of the film), these scenes would likely have lacked any real impact. Madison shines when she’s actually given material to work with, rather than being stuck as the punchline of a rich man’s joke. It’s a shame that Ani couldn’t have been a fully realised character throughout Anora. While the film holds potential, the problem with Anora is that it is ultimately self-destructive. Director Sean Baker has long been known for his preoccupations with sex workers and his exploration of the misconceptions surrounding them. I cannot and will not speak for his other films, having not seen his entire filmography, so it’s possible that his other movies effectively and respectfully destigmatise sex work, but in the case of Anora, it feels like yet another case of a male director designing his underdeveloped female characters primarily for the male gaze. I’ve been told that to tell a story about sex workers we simply must include scenes of eroticism. "But sex workers take their clothes off! It makes sense. How else could it have been done?" And yes, in some cases, that might be true. But it doesn’t have to be done in such a male-centric, voyeuristic way – and Janicza Bravo's 2020 black comedy Zola stands as a prime example of how to approach the subject of sex work without resorting to that lens. I have long been vocal about how I think Zola is a well constructed tale of sex workers. In Zola, sex workers are not superficial – they are interesting, funny, fully-rounded, distinctive individuals that, despite the short runtime (40 minutes shorter than Anora), we grow to care about. Even the borderline villainous Stefani (Riley Keough) has emotionally charged nuances, despite her unfavourable actions. Unlike Anora, Zola features nudity that is exclusively male – it's only Stefani’s clients who are shown undressed. In the brief scenes where Zola (Taylour Paige) and Stefani engage in sexual acts, these moments are framed as expressions of power for the women involved. Zola was clearly designed by Bravo with a female-centric gaze in mind, not a male one. (Because, yes, Anora, men get naked too.) Indeed, it appears now, with this year’s Academy Award nominations officially confirmed, that Anora's lead is going head-to-head with the other critically-acclaimed female-fronted film of the year – The Substance. For those who somehow managed to miss this wildly surreal, culturally significant film, it follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an ageing Hollywood actress who discovers that she can relive her youth and maintain her fame by taking a black-market drug aptly named 'The Substance'. In The Substance, writer and director Coralie Fargeat reflects poignantly on Hollywood’s treatment of women over 50 – women with wrinkled foreheads and sagging skin, women who've been told so often that they are no longer beautiful that they tragically start to believe it. Yes, there is nudity. Yes, there is sexuality. But Fargeat does not waste time open-mouthed, drooling over the bodies of her female characters – nor does she invite her audience to. Instead, she comments explicitly and expertly on how women’s bodies have been relentlessly overanalysed, overshamed and oversexualised by society, specifically the entertainment industry, while infusing her characters with intricate personalities, deep imperfections and vivid distinction. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Moreover, it is also a quiet stroke of brilliance that Fargeat chose to cast Demi Moore, a woman who has long been scrutinised under a microscope of misogyny ("a popcorn actress," as Moore recently revealed she was called by an unnamed producer), in the lead role. As someone who understands Hollywood's disparity between youth and ageing better than most, Moore's performance only deepens the meaning of The Substance – not that it wasn’t already powerful. (The scene where Elisabeth hysterically puts on and wipes off her make-up is one particular moment that even I have lived through, and haven’t been able to shake since my first viewing.) It’s striking that the two films vying for Best Actress in a Leading Role are, one, a borderline pornographic tale of a young, beautiful woman, and the other, a commentary on how women shouldn’t have to be young, hot and naked to get a job. The irony is glaring. Now, this isn’t at all to pit Madison and Moore against each other, for it would be a huge disservice to do so. Both women were magnificent in their roles – and both are deserving of kudos. But if Madison is to triumph over Moore at this year’s Oscars, Hollywood is doing little more than proving every last point of The Substance right. This discourse is nothing new, though. In fact, just last year, Emma Stone won her second Oscar for portraying Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos's Poor Things – a child-brained, female Frankenstein's-monster-turned-sex-worker disguised as a figure of feminist liberation. While Stone received widespread acclaim for her performance, many seemed to overlook the fact that her journey to 'liberation' is almost entirely defined by sex. That’s not to say there’s anything inherently wrong with sex scenes – in fact, if they are done right, they can at times be crucial to a film’s storytelling – but by the time the fifth, sixth, or seventh raunchy scene flashes on screen, it’s hard not to view it as gratuitous. In a disturbingly similar fashion to Anora, Poor Things' male creators conflate the reality of feminism with the male illusion of feminism, and the film suffers from a serious lack of understanding of the female experience. Download the Radio Times app for more Oscars 2025 coverage – including interviews with the stars and exclusive features. At its core, this discussion reflects a broader issue within the Academy itself that has long been posited – the male-centric, anti-feminist mentality that shapes how we view media, rooted in the belief that 'if a girl likes it, it’s probably bad'. Society’s obsessive focus on female sexuality and women’s bodies is entrenched, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that this is a deeply ingrained problem, one that may be impossible to fully change – sex will always sell. However, it’s important that we continue to scrutinise so-called "feminist" media and hold it accountable for its shortcomings. It remains to be seen who will take home the coveted golden trophy on 3rd March – only time will tell. But I, for one, will be sat on my sofa at 3am with my fingers crossed on the big night, praying that the Academy will "respect the balance". (Though there's always a chance Fernanda Torres might bag the award, and all of this will be futile...) Anora is available to rent or buy on Apple TV and Prime Video. The Substance is available to watch on Prime Video. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Batman Part II: Release date, cast and latest sequel news
The Caped Crusader returns... eventually.
*Warning: Spoilers for The Batman ahead* Among all the excitement about the beginning of James Gunn's rebooted DC Universe this year, question marks have remained over some of the studio's existing films – perhaps none more so than The Batman II. The film – which will be the second to star Robert Pattinson as The Caped Crusader following The Batman in 2022 – exists separately to Gunn's new franchise, although there have been some suggestions (no more than rumours at this stage) that it could later be folded into the DCU. Fans have already been waiting a while for the second chapter in the saga, and although there's still a fair bit longer to go, we were given some good news at the start of 2025 that filming was set to commence later in the year. Speaking to Deadline at the Golden Globes, writer and director Matt Reeves said: "I can tell you that we’ll be shooting this year" while the trade publication also revealed that they'd heard a summer start date was planned, keeping things on track for the already delayed 2027 release. The sequel is set to be a star-studded event, with Reeves revealing that it will feature Colin Farrell's Penguin – who was most recently seen in his own critically acclaimed spin-off series The Penguin – as well as Andy Serkis as Alfred and Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon. Interestingly, Pattinson's Batman did not appear in The Penguin, with Reeves recently explaining to Digital Spy: "[Batman’s] out there trying to grapple with the aftermath of everything that happened, which to some degree he blames himself for." Reeves also said that fans can expect the film to "dig into the epic story about deeper corruption, and it goes into places that he couldn’t anticipate in the first one. The seeds of where this goes are all in the first movie. It expands in a way that will show you aspects of the character you never got to see". Fans are also expecting Barry Keoghan's Joker to make an appearance, following his cameo in the first film, but Keoghan himself has said he "can't say much" about his ongoing role in the franchise. But what else do we know about Reeves's plans for The Batman Part II? Be warned: spoilers for The Batman follow. The Batman Part II release date We still have a long time to wait, as the film is now scheduled to be released in cinemas on Friday 1st October 2027. On Friday 27th December 2024, it was reported that the release date for the film had been pushed back yet again. This is the second delay for the Batman sequel. In March 2024, it was delayed a year, from October 2025 to October 2026, and now it's been delayed until 2027. Following the second delay, James Gunn took to Threads to write: "Matt is committed to making the best film he possibly can, and no one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write. "Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for pre-production, shooting and post-production on big films." He later defended the gap, explaining: "To be fair, a 5 year gap or more is fairly common in sequels. 7 years between Alien and Aliens. 14 years between Incredibles. 7 years between the first two Terminators. 13 years between Avatars. 36 years between Top Guns. And, of course, 6 years between Guardians Vol 2 and Vol 3." The title was confirmed on 31st January 2023 as The Batman Part II. The Batman Part II cast and character speculation Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz will be reprising their roles as billionaire socialite Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, and Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, in The Batman Part II, it was confirmed at CinemaCon 2022. Pattinson previously discussed his intentions for the trilogy in a 2021 interview with Empire, noting: "I’ve made a kind of map for where Bruce’s psychology would grow over two more movies. I would love to do it." He also confirmed that if Warner Bros was to approach him about reprising his role once or twice more, he wouldn’t hesitate to say yes. "I would love to do it," Pattinson said, as producer Dylan Clark added: "As the first stand-alone Batman in 10 years, the hope is we can lay a foundation that you can build stories upon." There's also plenty of scope for more character development when it comes to Selina Kyle (Big Little Lies' Zoë Kravitz), who is clearly still developing her alter-ego of Catwoman in The Batman. The same goes for detective James Gordon (Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright), who's only a lieutenant in The Batman rather than a Commissioner, as he's more widely known. Sadly, John Turturro is unlikely to return as Falcone after he was shot and killed by antagonist The Riddler/Edward Nashton (Paul Dano), and the same goes for Peter Sarsgaard as the late DA Gil Colson. However, we do know that Colin Farrell is expected to be back as Penguin, following his character's development in his own spin-off show. Reeves told Variety in September 2024: "There are details that actually connect right into the way the next movie begins, and the way that Oz enters that world as we hand the baton back to Batman, and Batman is on another case." It also seems possible that Dano could reprise his role as The Riddler, having told RadioTimes.com, when asked about potential sequels: "If I'm called back to Gotham, I'll be there." Then, there's the question mark over Barry Keoghan's role as the Joker, after he was teased in a cameo scene at the end of the first film. Keoghan has remained tight-lipped about a potential appearance, but for our money it seems very likely he'll make at least another short appearance, perhaps teeing up a bigger role in a third film. Here's a list of who we expect to see in The Batman Part II: Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle / Catwoman Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth The Batman Part II plot speculation Unsurprisingly, specific plot details are being kept under wraps for now, but Pattinson has shared which Batman villains he would like to see tackled next in the series. "I’d love to do something like Court of Owls," the actor told Den of Geek, adding: "There are elements of The Batman which are kind of horror and I think it really feels quite new for Batman." Pattinson has also mentioned the killer Calendar Man as a potential villain, as well as Mr Freeze. Reeves recently told Collider that he wanted to do explore a more "grounded" take on Mr Freeze, explaining: "In my view, I just feel drawn to finding the grounded version of everything. So to me it would be a challenge in an interesting way to try and figure out how that could happen, even the idea of something like Mr Freeze, that is such a great story, right? "I think there's actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really great." Asked around the time of the first film's release whether there were any specific comics he'd like to see adapted for a sequel, producer Dylan Clark was rather more vague. "I think it's incumbent on us to create new stories that are true to the comics that people know and love," he told RadioTimes.com. "So, you know, on this one, Robert read all the comics and there were certain things that we borrowed from multiple storylines. "But really, Matt wanted to create a unique way into Batman and create a unique story. And then my hope is that people go, 'Oh, that's from Long Halloween, that's from Year One, is that a little bit of Killing Joke? And is that Arkham Asylum there?' Those things are important to us, but really for us we wanted to do our own story." Clark also said the creative team "inevitably" had ideas about sequels, but remained relatively tight-lipped about what those ideas might be. "Do we have ideas about the sequels? You just inevitably do, because you'll start to say, you know, wouldn't it be cool if... you know, what we haven't seen yet. And, you know, we didn't get enough of Alfred in this movie, or, you know, Gordon's gonna do this in his career. "So, you know, with 80 years of Batman in the canon and all these great comics, there are multiple storylines that are just exciting." Speaking to Variety in 2024, Reeves teased the plot of the film even more, saying it is "going to dig into the epic story about deeper corruption, and it goes into places that he couldn’t anticipate in the first one. The seeds of where this goes are all in the first movie. It expands in a way that will show you aspects of the character you never got to see." He continued: "Batman is constantly battling these forces. But those forces can’t be entirely exorcised. So the next movie delves deeper into that." And at the Golden Globes at the start of 2025, he added to Deadline: "We’re doing something where the story continues from, but I hope that people will be surprised by." As for the idea of the films being folded into Gunn's DCU, he said: "I mean, it really comes down to whether or not it makes sense. What's been great is there was a story that I wanted to tell that we're calling The Epic Crime Saga which is the thrust of what we wanted to do. It's been important to me to be able to play that out. James and Peter have been really, really great about that and they're letting us do that." Is there a trailer for a sequel? Hold your horses! It's far too early for a trailer, but now that a sequel has been given the go-ahead, fans might not have too long to wait. Watch this space! Read more: The Batman ending explained: How does Robert Pattinson film end? Read more: How to watch Batman movies in order and where to stream Read more: The Batman producer reveals there are “inevitably” ideas for sequels Read more: The Batman soundtrack - full list of music in DC Comics film The Batman Part II will be released on Friday 1st October 2027. Check out more of our Sci-Fi or Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Doctor Who spin-off is "far from transmission" says Russell T Davies
Davies has provided fans with an update on The War Between the Land and the Sea.
Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies has billed an upcoming spin-off as "one of the greatest shows of [his] entire career" – but has warned it'll be a little while before it makes it to our screens. With the 2024 Christmas special but a distant memory, showrunner Davies has provided fans with an update on The War Between the Land and the Sea, which is set to expand the Whoniverse even further. Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine about the spin-off, Davies said: "It's my job to hype, but the hype for that show is still way, way off – it's far from transmission. "Here, right now, in the cool, dry downloads of a distant gaze, I can tell you... that's one of the greatest shoots of my life and one of the greatest shows of my entire career. "You can doubt me and cry hype... and get left behind. Oh my God, it's good!" Filming for the five-parter began in August, and is set to pick up with some familiar characters from Doctor Who as they attempt to prevent a war involving classic monsters the Sea Devils – and it's clear Davies is excited about what's to come. The mysterious synopsis for the spin-off reads: "When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. "With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war." So far, several cast members have been announced for the series, with Doctor Who alumni Jemma Redgrave, Alexander Devrient and Ruth Madeley reprising their original roles as UNIT boss Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT staff member Colonel Ibrahim and scientific advisor Shirley Anne Bingham, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Russell Tovey set to play brand new characters. As for if there there be a cameo from the Doctor himself – only time will tell. Doctor Who aired its most recent episode, the 2024 Christmas special, on Christmas Day, which saw a viewership of 4.11 million. Season 15 is set to air next year, and will pick up with Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor as he journeys across the universe with a new companion played by Varada Sethu. Doctor Who Magazine 612 is on sale from Thursday 2nd January from Panini priced £7.99 (UK) and is also available as a digital edition from Pocketmags priced £6.99. The War Between the Land and the Sea will air on BBC One on BBC iPlayer. Doctor Who season 15 will be released in 2025. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Squid Game season 3 gets release window update as creator teases what's next
The second season of the acclaimed Korean drama has just dropped on Netflix.
*Warning: Spoilers for Squid Game season 2 ahead* Despite the second season of Squid Game dropping on Netflix only two days ago (26th December), it appears that we already have news on when the third instalment could arrive on the streamer. Season 2, which concluded with a dramatic cliffhanger, left viewers clamouring for more, and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has now hinted that season 3 could arrive as soon as summer or autumn of 2025. In an interview with Variety, Hwang Dong-hyuk said: "After season 2 launches, I believe we will be announcing the launch date for season 3 soon. I probably expect that to launch around summer or fall next year. "But as for the storyline of the third season, Gi-hun having lost everything, including his best friend, and all of his attempts going to failure, it’s now, what is he going to be like? "What state is Gi-hun going to be in? And what will he choose to do. "Will he continue on with the mission? Is he going to give up or persist? And so you’re going to meet our character Gi-hun at a very critical crossroads as we begin the third season. "Gi-hun will not be the man he was in season 2." Squid Game was renewed for a third and final season before the second had even aired, with the concluding episodes having already been filmed. Read more: Who plays Thanos in Squid Game season 2? Meet Korean rapper TOP Squid Game season 2 cast: Full list of actors and characters Season 2 saw former winner Gi-hun (aka Player 456) return to the deadly competition to bring down the people responsible, with a whole host of new characters joining the series. Fans may have also noticed a mid-credits scene in the season 2 finale, which hinted at the return of the Red Light, Green Light robot schoolgirl. Of this, Hwang Dong-hyuk teased: "If you saw the hidden clip after the ending credits roll after the last episode of season 2 – if you watch that clip, it’s going to give you a slight hint as to where season 3 might take you." Squid Game seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.