SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for Season 2 of “Wednesday,” now streaming on Netflix.

After more than a few near-death experiences, Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) came out of Season 2 triumphant — mostly.

By the finale of Season 2, Wednesday had identified her newest foes to be Francoise Galpin (Frances O’Connor) and Isaac Night (Owen Painter), the mother and uncle, respectively, of Season 1 monster Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan). Like Tyler, Francoise is a Hyde, and Isaac is the fully regenerated version of Slurp, Pugsley’s (Isaac Ordonez) pet zombie from earlier episodes. Together with Tyler, Francoise and Isaac kidnap Pugsley, planning to use his ability to generate electricity to power a machine to save Francoise. Her monstrous transformations are killing her, and the device Isaac invented will take her powers away and give her her health back.

This isn’t Francoise and Isaac’s first attempt at the procedure. Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) reveals to Wednesday and Hester (Joanna Lumley) that Isaac tried to carry out this same experiment as a student at Nevermore, using Gomez (Luis Guzmán) as the electricity source. (Before hearing this, Wednesday and Hester both thought Gomez had never had powers.) Morticia, however, disrupted the process by chopping off Isaac’s hand, leading the machine to blow up and kill Isaac. Gomez and Morticia buried him, but kept his disembodied hand, which eventually became Thing (Victor Dorobantu).

Wednesday first tries to save Pugsley from Isaac’s clutches by positioning Thing out of sight, ready to shoot. But Isaac catches Thing’s dart, then reattaches Thing to his arm and buries Wednesday alive. Agnes (Evie Templeton) and Enid (Emma Myers) manage to dig her up, but Enid endangers herself in the process. She has just learned that alpha wolve

Farewell, Scranton — and welcome to Toledo! Oscar, everyone’s favorite voice of reason from Dunder Mifflin, steps into a new chapter of his life — a fresh cubicle, new faces, and a whole lot of quirky chaos in The Paper, the much-anticipated spinoff of The Office that has already captured hearts and earned a second-season greenlight.

Premiering Thursday, Sept. 4 on Sep 4, 2025

It’s hard to be a movie star and a dad at the same time — just ask Channing Tatum.

On the latest episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Daniel D’Addario, Variety chief correspondent, details his reporting for Variety’s Sept. 2 cover story featuring Tatum and director Derek Cianfrance discussing how they brought a stranger-than-fiction true crime story to life in Paramount Pictures’ “Roofman.”

Tatum and Cianfrance came together as collaborators at a time when both of them were regrouping in their careers. Tatum is extremely open in discussing the challenges of juggling movie shoots around the world with his most important job of being a parent to his 12-year-old daughter.

Tatum, D’Addario notes, is at a key transition point in his career as he reaches his mid-40s. “Roofman,” which premieres Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival, tells the story of a blue-collar North Carolina man, Jeffrey Manchester, who wound up living secretly in a Toys R Us store and robbing McDonald’s fast food restaurants in order to provide for his daughter. Manchester was sentenced to 34 years in prison after being convicted of several robberies in 2000.

“I think of [Tatum] as the guy from ‘Magic Mike’ or ’21 Jump Street’ — a fun loving, a goofball. He’s lived a lot of life since then,” D’Addario says. “Those movies were almost 15 years ago, and at 45, he is extremely reflective about the kind of career he wants to have and the kind of work he want

SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “Your People Are in Danger,” the Season 1 finale of “Countdown,” now streaming on Prime Video.

Over the course of the last three decades, Jensen Ackles has quietly built up one of the most notable TV careers of his generation. After breaking out as Eric Brady on the long-running NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives” — which earned him three consecutive Daytime Emmy nominations — in the late ’90s, Ackles carved out a niche for playing tortured heartthrobs in all kinds of broadcast dramas: high-concept sci-fi (“Dark Angel”), teen (“Dawson’s Creek”), and superhero (“Smallville”). In 2005, he debuted as Dean Winchester, one-half of a dynamic duo of monster-hunting brothers, on The CW’s “Supernatural.”

Since saying goodbye to the long-running series which transformed him and his onscreen brother Jared Padalecki into icons of fantasy storytelling, Ackles has spearheaded a short-lived spinoff about the Winchester parents (he was the narrator and an executive producer of “The Winchesters”), played a charming county sheriff (“Big Sky”), voiced Batman in a series of DC animated projects and reunited with “Supernatural” creator Eric Kripke in “The Boys” as the hyper-masculine anti-hero Soldier Boy.

Ackles’ latest show, “Countdown,” by comparison, feels just a little more grounded in reality. Created by Derek Haas, who oversaw the inception of NBC’s venerable “One Chicago” franchise, the new crime drama stars Ackles as Mark Meachum, an LAPD detective who is recruited to a covert task force to investigate the deat

The American Eagle brand is basking in the glow of a wildly successful marketing campaign, centered around the catchy phrase “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” What began as a playful fashion collaboration quickly escalated into a cultural phenomenon, sparking a fierce national debate and capturing the attention of both fashion enthusiasts and political commentators alike. Buoyed by the response, the retailer has announced plans to deepen its partnership with the rising star later this year.

Within days of the campaign’s launch on July 23, American Eagle’s shelves were bare. The collaboration with Sweeney sold out in under a week, with select pieces disappearing in a mere 24 hours. “Sydney is a winner,” declared Chief Marketing Officer Craig Brommers during a recent earnings call, his voice tinged with excitement. “In just six weeks, this campaign has driven an unprecedented wave of new customers to our brand.” The sentiment resonated beyond the marketing world—American Eagle’s stock surged nearly 25% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

Despite beating Wall Street expectations in Q2 of 2025, the company reported a slight dip in revenue, with net sales totaling $1.28 billion—down 1% from the previous year. Comparable sales mirrored this trend, also falling by 1%. However, there were bright spots: operating profit rose by 2% to $103 million, and diluted earnings per share reached 45 cents, marking a 15% increase year-over-year.

In a bold move that further cemented its place in pop culture, American Eagle announced a new partnership with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce—ju

SPOILER ALERT: This tale unravels secrets from Season 2, Part 2 of “Wednesday,” now streaming on Netflix.

The visionary behind the eerie elegance of “Wednesday,” production designer Mark Scruton, faced his most ambitious challenge yet: crafting the atmosphere for an extravagant fundraising gala.

But this was no ordinary gala—it was an event for the one and only Nevermore Academy. At the start of Season 2, the sanctuary for misfits welcomes a new principal, Barry Dort, portrayed with unsettling charm by Steve Buscemi. Among his first initiatives? A grand gala, with hopes that Morticia’s (Catherine Zeta-Jones) formidable mother, Grandmama Frump (Joanna Lumley), will open her purse. “We wanted to outdo what we did last season and create something entirely new,” Scruton reflects, “something utterly different, yet unmistakably Wednesday.”

Under the watchful eye of director Tim Burton, Scruton was given a directive as bold as it was vague: “go to town.” He was to dream up something opulent and magnificent, but rooted in the show’s dark reality. “I think the scenes are so richly written,” he explains. “The characters are so vivid, the situations so clear, that the sets almost design themselves. You just sit down, and you know exactly what needs to be built to bring that moment to life.”

Yet, the true test came not from imagination, but from time and space. “Twenty-four hours before we started building the gala ballroom, there was a massive forest set in that same space,” Scruton recalls. “That’s where Morticia and Wednesday dueled with swords.” His team had only a weekend to clear away towering trees, mud, and earthworks. “Within 48 hours, we were back in there, constructing the Grand Canal for our gala, rol

It’s been just over a week since Devon Walker left “Saturday Night Live,” and he’s ready to talk about his three-year tenure on the show.

The comic and actor, best known for playing Eric Adams on the sketch comedy show, shared mixed feelings about “SNL” while announcing his departure, writing, “Sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell … We made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a fucked up lil family.”

Strolling laps around Madison Square Park on Tuesday afternoon, Walker tells Variety in an interview, “I’m so grateful to have been at the show. I’ll be eternally grateful, for the good parts and the bad parts. I’m glad to have seen what that place is.”

He’s just come from recording an episode of his podcast, “My Favorite Lyrics,” an independent venture that Walker says is now courting distribution offers. In the past few days, he’s also had conversations with producers and streamers about his next move.

“I want to tell stories, and I want to tell mine. I want to make stuff that feels honest and true to me,” he says. “Sketch has never been the medium I’ve felt most drawn to, so I’m excited to get into film and TV projects where I can expand what I’ve been trying to do creatively.”

I appreciate it, because if you’re sad about it, that means I made something that meant something to you, which is what’s most important to me. I do this, first, because I enjoy it, and, second, because any artist hopes the things they make resonate with people. I respect people being sad, but I think the level of sad

Justin Manfredi is parting ways with Apple TV to embark on a new chapter in his career — stepping into the role of Executive Vice President of Worldwide Television Marketing at Lionsgate.

Manfredi steps into the shoes of Suzy Feldman, a beloved 10-year veteran of Lionsgate who is now gracefully retiring. In his new role, Manfredi will not only oversee all original series marketing for the studio but also play a pivotal role in advancing Lionsgate’s global content licensing strategy. His responsibilities will extend to supporting the studio’s growing proprietary channel initiatives, including its impressive portfolio of over 30 free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels across 18 countries, as well as navigating the ever-evolving digital media landscape.

At Apple TV , Manfredi served as the Head of Series Marketing, crafting visionary global campaigns that brought critical acclaim and widespread attention to shows like “The Studio” — a Lionsgate Television production that recently garnered a record-breaking 23 Emmy nominations for a first-year comedy. He also led marketing efforts for other iconic series such as “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” “Shrinking,” “Hijack,” and “Chief of War.” Prior to Apple, Manfredi held senior marketing roles at AMC Networks and Activision, where he helped shape some of the most recognizable entertainment campaigns of the past decade.

“Justin brings a rare and diverse perspective from his time

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for Season 2, Part 2 of “Wednesday,” now streaming on Netflix.

The previous Halloween, Colleen Atwood, the Oscar-winning costume designer, stood on stage at SCAD Savannah Fest, accepting Variety’s Creative Impact Award. The moment the applause faded, she was off—racing back to Los Angeles for a secretive VIP fitting, one cloaked in mystery and tied to the enigmatic world of “Wednesday.”

That fitting, as it turned out, was for none other than Lady Gaga—whose haunting cameo in Episode 6, “Woe Thyself,” brought the spectral figure of Rosaline Rotwood to life. In the series, she appears as a ghostly remnant of Nevermore’s past, a teacher long gone but never truly forgotten.

One fateful night, Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday follows the cryptic wisdom of her grandmother, Grandmama Hester Frump (played by the inimitable Joanna Lumley), in search of a deeper psychic connection. Standing before Rosaline’s tomb, she deciphers the inscription and, in doing so, is drawn into the grave itself—where she comes face to face with the ethereal presence of the long-departed educator.

For this otherworldly character, Atwood selected a fabric that whispered of the past: a “putty gray French wool crepe.” But the true artistry lay in the subtleties. “It was adorned with silk embroidery of feathers,” she reveals, each stitch a whisper of Rotwood’s tragic legacy.

Colleen Atwood, a constant presence across both seasons of the show, drew inspiration from the character’s lore. “The sto