A bloody battle unfolds both inside and outside the prison in the season finale. Mayor of Kingstown season 4 ending explained: Does Kyle get revenge? A bloody battle unfolds both inside and outside the prison in the season finale. By Randall Colburn :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/RandallColburnauthorphotoe7e8b48d9f8645588439077e721a5f48.jpg) Randall Colburn Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at . His work has previously appeared on The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer, and many other publications. EW's editorial guidelines December 28, 2025 7:07 p.m.

A bloody battle unfolds both inside and outside the prison in the season finale.

Mayor of Kingstown season 4 ending explained: Does Kyle get revenge?

A bloody battle unfolds both inside and outside the prison in the season finale.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on *The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer*, and many other publications.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 28, 2025 7:07 p.m. ET

Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky in the 'Mayor of Kingstown' season 4 finale. Credit:

Jeremy Parsons/Paramount+

- *Mayor of Kingstown* wrapped its fourth season on December 28.

- The season finale finds Mike chasing down escaped prisoner Merle Callahan, an Aryan who murdered the wife of Mike's brother.

- It also culminates in a gang war between the Crips and Colombians with no definitive winner.

Justice is served in the ugliest way possible during the *Mayor of Kingstown*'s season 4 finale.

Blood and betrayals have come fast and furious this season. Mike (Jeremy Renner) orchestrated the arrest of Frank Moses (Lennie James) to help facilitate the release of his brother, Kyle (Taylor Handley), from prison. But Kyle is suicidal after his wife, Tracy (Nishi Munshi) is murdered by Callahan (Richard Brake), who was furious over Kyle's refusal to join the Aryans.

Meanwhile, Nina Hobbs (Edie Falco), the season's new warden, is collapsing under the weight of her debt to the Colombians, who've forced her into doing their dirty work.

The finale begins with the long-simmering gang war between the Crips and Colombians about to boil over, while Mike, Kyle, and Ian (Hugh Dillon) are determined to make Callahan pay for Tracy's murder. First, however, they need to survive the masked shooters that opened fire on them at the end of the penultimate episode.

Ready to break down the *Mayor of Kingstown* season 4 finale? Let's rock.

Does Kyle get revenge on Callahan?

Taylor Handley as Kyle McLusky in 'Mayor of Kingstown'.

Jeremy Parsons/Paramount+

Kyle's had a hard season. An incarcerated cop behind bars, he's got a lot of targets on his back, and Mike's coziness with the Crips can only help him so much. Callahan spent much of season 4 trying to worm inside Kyle's head and lure him over to the Aryans in order to undercut Mike, but Kyle managed to resist his twisted siren song.

Tragically, his strength resulted in the murder of Tracy, whom Callahan killed upon escaping from prison. And though Kyle eventually gets his revenge, it's as ugly as it is satisfying.

After outflanking the gunmen sent to kill them at the diner, Mike, Ian, and Kyle beat and torture one in order to ascertain Callahan's whereabouts. They don't get much, but it's clear that Callahan is still within the city limits. Mike and Ian vow to reach him before the local police can. In their eyes, he deserves old-school justice.

Edie Falco 'fell on my face' on her first day filming 'Mayor of Kingstown'

'Mayor of Kingstown' cast: All about the new stars facing off with Jeremy Renner in season 4

But Callahan, sensing their murderous intent, turns himself in to the police station. Ian tries to sneak him out back, but Captain Walter (Rob Kirkland) throws him in an interrogation room.

Walter, though, has come to a similar realization as his corrupt colleagues. "An evil man can never go right," he muses, acknowledging that prison isn't punishment for someone like Callahan. "F---ing hell is his home," he says. "Ain't nothing in our laws or philosophies to contain this."

He wipes his hands clean and turns to Ian, muttering, "He was never here." The captain then allows Ian to leave with Callahan after all, knowing full well he intends to kill him.

Thus, Ian brings Callahan to Mike at the railyard, ready to make him pay.

Who wins the gang war — the Crips or Colombians?

With the Russians vanquished from Kingstown at the end of season 3, several competing forces have worked to undermine the Crips for control of the city's underworld.

There was Detroit gangster Frank, who tried to take down Crip leader Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa) before Mike intervened. And then there are the Colombians, who have a terrifying ally in Cortez (Derek Rivera), a hitman with leverage on Hobbs.

Hobbs, we learned earlier in the season, is doing their bidding to protect her daughter, who's being threatened by the cartel. Her complicity has facilitated a drug smuggling operation through the prison that's lent them a foothold in Kingstown.

With Frank imprisoned, Bunny has aligned the Crips and Detroiters, giving him the manpower to "take out Bogotá" both inside the prison and outside of this. "End this s--- proper," he says.

As Bunny assembles his forces, he tasks Kevin (Denny Love), a prison guard and mole, to mobilize the Crips behind bars.

Hobbs has had the prison on lockdown to prevent an all-out battle between the gangs, but Mike convinces her to lift it. "Let it bleed and close it up and cauterize it," he says.

When the lockdown lifts, shivs fly and bodies fall. Kevin, who's spent the entire season fearing he'll be killed for his alliance with the Crips, is among the dead after he's knifed in the throat by a Colombian.

On the streets, Bunny ambushes the Colombians' headquarters, where they capture Cortez. Mike tells him to keep Cortez so they can find out who he reports to, but the hitman manages to escape, killing several Crips on his way out. It's very likely he'll return with a vengeance next season. Lest we forget, he previously told Mike that his associates are less interested in gang leaders like Bunny than they are "knights and rooks, mayors and kings."**

So, while the Crips seem to have gained the upper hand, their dominance is not secured. Not only is Cortez still in the wind, but Frank could very well pull some strings behind bars to ensure they don't stay in power.**

What happens at the end of Mayor of Kingstown season 4?

Hugh Dillon as Ian and Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky.

Jeremy Parsons/Paramount+

Mike is waiting for Ian and Callahan at the railyard. There, Callahan mocks him, saying that killing him won't assuage Mike of his guilt. "You'll find new cause for nightmares, no doubt," he remarks.

But Mike doesn't plan on killing him. "You don't deserve my wrath," he says, and it's revealed that he summoned Kyle, who spent much of the episode in the ruins of the old McClusky house, which was burned down by Callahan and his allies. With Callahan in the wind, it seemed as if Kyle would pull the trigger on himself.

But Kyle arrives, shaking off Callahan's cracks about his wife's murder. "You're gonna wonder, wonder, wonder what I did to her," Callahan says with a grin.

A straight-faced Kyle unloads a round into Callahan's groin, sending him to his knees in shrieks of pain. When he puts his gun to Callahan's forehead, we see fear in his eyes for the first time. And with that, Kyle kills him, then unloads three more bullets into the body.

"It's over," Mike tells him. "You got him."

They walk across the tracks before Kyle breaks down, hugging Mike and sobbing into his arms.**

Where can I watch Mayor of Kingstown?

*Mayor of Kingstown* is now streaming on Paramount+.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

- Crime & Legal Dramas

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Taylor Swift reveals background singer was diagnosed with breast cancer during Eras Tour: 'Everyo...

&34;When Jeslyn [Gorman] got sick, it was the first blow that the tour family experienced emotionally,&34; Swift recalled in her new docuseries. Taylor Swift reveals background singer was diagnosed with breast cancer during Eras Tour: 'Everyone was just in shambles' &34;When Jeslyn [Gorman] got sick, it was the first blow that the tour family experienced emotionally,&34; Swift recalled in her new docuseries. By Lauren Huff :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/PXL202501060627063092a245c0a56a194868af7b6a47af56223c.

"When Jeslyn [Gorman] got sick, it was the first blow that the tour family experienced emotionally," Swift recalled in her new docuseries.

Taylor Swift reveals background singer was diagnosed with breast cancer during Eras Tour: 'Everyone was just in shambles'

"When Jeslyn [Gorman] got sick, it was the first blow that the tour family experienced emotionally," Swift recalled in her new docuseries.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 28, 2025 8:00 p.m. ET

Taylor Swift with her backing vocalists during Eras Tour. Credit:

Kevin Winter/Getty

Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour family were dealt a devastating blow in the middle of the record-breaking tour: Background vocalist Jeslyn Gorman was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Eagle-eyed fans first noticed Gorman's prolonged absence from the show starting with the Mexico City dates, which took place in late August 2023, though no official explanation was given for it at the time. Six months later, during the 2024 stops in Sydney, Australia, the singer returned. Now, thanks to Swift's Disney+ docuseries, *The End of an Era*, we know why Gorman wasn't around.

In episode 3, the backup singer revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer during the tour, news which everyone took really hard. "When Jeslyn got sick, it was the first blow that the tour family experienced emotionally," Swift recalled. "It was, like, completely unfathomable to us. … I'll never forget when she told us, everyone was just in shambles. And it's the not knowing."

Taylor Swift and Jeslyn Gorman.

Jeslyn Gorman/Instagram

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

"When I let Taylor know, she came storming in with hugs and crying and just saying, 'I'm so sorry,'" Gorman recalled. "And her mom said, 'You just take care of you, and we'll be here when you're ready.'"

At first, in order to do just that, Gorman would fly home to Los Angeles in between shows for tests. "Obviously, it was devastating," she said. "[I] had biopsies and [got] poked and prodded to learn really what I had to do treatment-wise, and then hopped back on stage and pretended like nothing was happening."**

Gorman ultimately ended up needing to take off six months to complete chemotherapy and surgery, which came with various complications.**

"I had edema, I had skin issues," she said of the side effects she endured. "I usually have all this curly hair. I lost about 75 percent of my hair. I felt and looked completely different and just kind of watched my friends on livestreams in the show."

Taylor Swift makes rare comment about Matty Healy, Joe Alwyn breakups in Eras Tour docuseries

Taylor Swift lyric changes reignite 'Reputation' re-record theories

The docuseries then showed clips of some of the other tour bandmates sending well wishes to Gorman, telling her how much they loved and missed her. Swift made it clear to Gorman, with whom she had worked since the Reputation tour in 2018, that she could return to the Eras Tour anytime, if she was up for it.

Much to Swift's surprise, immediately after finishing treatment, Gorman did exactly that. "I cannot believe that she was back in a few months," Swift gushed. "The will to come back and do the hardest show ever, none of us could believe it. I still can't."**

The first four episodes of *The End of an Era *are now streaming on Disney+.

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Frankie Muniz and Bryan Cranston are back for more mayhem in the first Malcolm in the Middle revi...

Life is still unfair for Malcolm, now in middle age. Frankie Muniz and Bryan Cranston are back for more mayhem in the first Malcolm in the Middle revival trailer Life is still unfair for Malcolm, now in middle age. By Jordan Hoffman :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/JordanHoffmanauthorphotoe4b61cf41b534ce3bd109eae4b8f4eaa.jpg) Jordan Hoffman Jordan Hoffman is a writer at , mostly covering nostalgia. He has been writing about entertainment since 2007. EW's editorial guidelines December 29, 2025 11:21 a.m.

Life is still unfair for Malcolm, now in middle age.

Frankie Muniz and Bryan Cranston are back for more mayhem in the first *Malcolm in the Middle *revival trailer

Life is still unfair for Malcolm, now in middle age.

By Jordan Hoffman

Jordan Hoffman

Jordan Hoffman is a writer at **, mostly covering nostalgia. He has been writing about entertainment since 2007.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 29, 2025 11:21 a.m. ET

Frankie Muniz, Jane Kazmarek, and Bryan Cranston in 'Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair'. Credit:

Disney/David Bukach

Fourth wall-breaking millennials have something great in store this spring.

*Malcolm in the Middle*, the zany kid-friendly sitcom from the early aughts, is returning for a four-episode revival miniseries on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on April 10. That's just in time to get your taxes filed, an issue you likely did not have on your radar the last time you watched *Malcolm in the Middle*.

Frankie Muniz is back as the titular Malcolm, the only sane voice in a particularly wacky family led by Jane Kaczmarek (Lois) and Bryan Cranston (Hal). Also back in the mix are Christopher Kennedy Masterson and Justin Berfield (older brothers Francis and Reese) and Emy Coligado (as Piama, Francis's wife). Youngest brother Dewey is played by a different actor, with Caleb Ellsworth-Clark replacing Erik Per Sullivan, as sometimes happens in these situations (c.f. Fake Ginger on those *Gilligan's Island* specials.)

Frankie Muniz is freaking out in the new 'Malcolm in the Middle' miniseries.

Disney/David Bukach

The central premise of the miniseries, the full title of which is *Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair*, is that Malcolm is embarrassed by his family. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Check out the trailer.

The good people at Hulu describe the four-episode miniseries thusly: "After shielding himself and his daughter from his family for over a decade, Malcolm is dragged back into their orbit when Hal and Lois demand his presence at their 40th anniversary party."

Yes, you read that right. Malcolm has a child now, and she is played by Keeley Karsten, who was also one of the younger sisters in *The Fabelmans*. Malcolm has a girlfriend, too, played by Kiana Madeira, who was in Netflix's *Fear Street* films.

Frankie Muniz, Jane Kaczmarek, and Bryan Cranston in 'Malcolm in the Middle'.

Saeed Adyani/Fox

*Malcolm in the Middle *debuted in January 2000 on Fox, as part of its Sunday night block following *The Simpsons*. (This was back when television shows were on at a certain time on a certain day, a concept that would be fairly alien to someone Malcolm's age today.) Its creator, Linwood Boomer, won an Emmy for the first season for writing for a comedy series, as did Todd Holland for directing for a comedy series.

Hayden Panettiere reveals how she scored 'Malcolm in the Middle' role thanks to Bryan Cranston

Hayden Panettiere reveals how she scored 'Malcolm in the Middle' role thanks to Bryan Cranston

The series won seven Emmys in total before its conclusion in May 2006, including two for Cloris Leachman as guest actress in a comedy series. Leachman played Lois's rather *intense *mother. Muniz, Kaczmarek, and Cranston all received nominations during the show's run.

'Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair' cast.

The revival series's name, *Life's Still Unfair*, comes from the show's theme song "Boss of Me," written and recorded by the quintessential nerd rock group They Might Be Giants. It won them their first of three Grammy awards — triumphing in the best song written for visual media category. (If there was ever a category for best song about why Istanbul is called Constantinople, they would have had that one in the bag.)

When teasing the revival earlier this year, Muniz said that the "experience was straight-up incredible — like stepping back into Malcolm's wild world but with all the love and chaos cranked to 11."

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A good mood is right around the corner with these uplifting Netflix films. The 12 best happy movies on Netflix that'll inspire a smile A good mood is right around the corner with these uplifting Netflix films. By Andrew Walsh and Ilana Gordon :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/ILANAGORDONHEADSHOT80577598f8ed442cacff5de184ceb9f5.jpg) Ilana Gordon is an entertainment, culture, and comedy writer originally from Connecticut. She currently lives in Los Angeles. EW's editorial guidelines December 29, 2025 12:00 p.m.

A good mood is right around the corner with these uplifting Netflix films.

The 12 best happy movies on Netflix that'll inspire a smile

A good mood is right around the corner with these uplifting Netflix films.

By Andrew Walsh

and Ilana Gordon

Ilana Gordon is an entertainment, culture, and comedy writer originally from Connecticut. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 29, 2025 12:00 p.m. ET

Bill Murray as Phil Connors in 'Groundhog Day'; Ali Wong as Sasha Tran in 'Always Be My Maybe'; Noah Centineo as Peter Kavinsky and Lana Condor as Lara Jean Song-Covey in 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before'. Credit:

Columbia Pictures/Getty; Courtesy of Netflix; Ed Araquel/Netflix

Cue the dopamine receptors; these films are designed to light up the joyful parts of your brain. Populated by awe-inspiring documentaries like *My Octopus Teacher *(2020) and holiday gems like *Klaus* (2019), the films on this list vary in genre and subject matter, but they all share an ability to transform bad moods and prompt good cheer.

Read on for **'s list of the 12 best happy movies on Netflix.

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Ali Wong as Sasha Tran and Randall Park as Marcus Kim in 'Always Be My Baby'. Ed Araquel/Netflix

Sasha Tran (Ali Wong) and Marcus Kim (Randall Park) were best friends–turned–high school sweethearts who, after a post-coital fight, lost contact for 16 years. When Sasha makes a triumphant return to San Francisco as a big-time chef, she and Marcus, who is not doing quite as well, find themselves nursing old grudges and long-dormant feelings. EW praises the stars' effortless chemistry, writing, "the bond between them is one of the many elements that make the film feel authentic, sweet, and wildly funny." *—Andrew Walsh*

Where to watch *Always Be My Maybe*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **Nahnatchka Khan

**Cast: **Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito, Michelle Buteau, Daniel Dae Kim

Dumplin' (2018)

Jennifer Aniston as Rosie Dickson in 'Dumplin''. Netflix

Frustrated by the judgment of her pageant-obsessed Texas town, as well as her former beauty queen mother, Rosie (Jennifer Aniston), Willowdean (Danielle Macdonald) — a.k.a. Dumplin' — decides to enroll in the Miss Teen Bluebonnet contest as "a protest in heels."

Despite declaring she's not the "Joan of Arc" of plus-sized girls, her actions *do *inspire a few other outsiders to join her Dolly Parton-scored revolution and shake things up. "Like a pillow cross-stitched with sassy aphorisms," EW's critic writes, "*Dumplin' *is kitschy and squishy and, if you let yourself, pretty sweet to sink into." *—A.W.*

Where to watch *Dumplin'*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **Anne Fletcher

**Cast: **Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston, Odeya Rush, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Dove Cameron

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

Will Ferrell as Lars Erickssong and Rachel McAdams as Sigrit Ericksdóttir in 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'.

John Wilson/Netflix

Icelandic musicians Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit Ericksdóttir (Rachel McAdams) are lifelong friends and not-yet-sweethearts who dream of winning the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite disapproval from their parents, their town, and the local Eurovision selection committee, the duo dubbed "Fire Saga" refuses to let anything stop them from achieving their goal of songwriting immortality — including their romantic feelings for each other.

Underneath all the spandex and over-the-top production numbers is a sincere film that cares as much about sharing the joy of music as satirizing its ostentatious performance. *—A.W.*

Where to watch *Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga*: Netflix

**Director: **David Dobkin

**Cast: **Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens, Pierce Brosnan

Groundhog Day (1993)

Bill Murray as Phil Connors in 'Groundhog Day'. Everett Collection

Decades before Hollywood started pumping out romantic comedies like *Leap Year* (2010), *Valentine's Day* (2010), and *New Year's Eve* (2011), there was *Groundhog Day*, the ultimate niche holiday comedy. The film follows a TV weatherman named Phil Connors (Bill Murray), who is assigned to cover the annual February festivities in Punxsutawney, Pa., only to find himself reliving the same day over and over again.

*Groundhog Day* casts Murray as a Scrooge-esque misanthrope, places him in an unwinnable situation, and watches as he proceeds to have an existential meltdown — before seizing on his unique situation and attempting to woo his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell). As EW's critic writes, "*Groundhog Day* — with its really high concept — unfolds with a goofy elegance that feels like a tonic." *—Ilana Gordon*

Where to watch *Groundhog Day*: Netflix

**EW grade: **A

**Director: **Harold Ramis

**Cast: **Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott

Happy Gilmore 2 (2025)

Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin and Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore in 'Happy Gilmore 2'.

Scott Yamano/Netflix

*Happy Gilmore* fans waited almost three decades for a sequel and Adam Sandler made it worth their while. *Happy Gilmore 2 *picks up years after Happy won the Tour Championship; he's now broke, dealing with alcohol abuse, and struggling to pay for his daughter's ballet training. After not playing golf for a decade, Happy agrees to pick up the clubs once more to win money for his family and to take down a slimy new golf league.

Sandler treats the film like a giant party, inviting back members of the original cast, old friends and co-workers, his entire immediate family, and one musical sensation. Nineties nostalgists and Sandler fans will appreciate the references and cameos, and golf enthusiasts will enjoy the steady stream of professional players. —*I.G.*

Where to watch *Happy Gilmore 2*: Netflix

**Director:** Kyle Newacheck

**Cast: **Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Bad Bunny

Klaus (2019)

Jesper (voice: Jason Schwartzman) and Klaus (voice: J.K. Simmons) in 'Klaus'.

Netflix/Everett

*Klaus* is a Santa Claus origin story that's enjoyable any time of the year. Starring Oscar winner J.K. Simmons as the film's eponymous hero, *Klaus *tells the tale of a widowed Norwegian woodsman who is recruited by the town's new postman, Jesper* *(Jason Schwartzman), to make toys for him to deliver in an effort to prove his postmaster general father wrong. But when Klaus' toys begin to cheer up the children of Smeerensburg — a town whose inhabitants are perpetually engaged in a feud between two familial clans — Jesper and Klaus must step out of their comfort zones to help save the town from itself. *Klaus* isn't just another feel-good film; it's also a film that looks great. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Klaus*: Netflix

**Director:** Sergio Pablos

**Cast: **Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Neda Margrethe Labba**

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A League of Their Own (1992)

Geena Davis as Dottie Hinson in 'A League of Their Own'.

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Penny Marshall directed one of the great American sports comedies with her work on *A League of Their Own*. A fictionalized take on the beginnings of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League — the league that was created to replace the MLB during World War II — the film stars Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan, the short-tempered manager of the Rockford Peaches, a rag-tag group of athletes who love the game, but lack opportunities to play. EW's critic calls it "a winner of a movie, one filled with a love of sport unlike any seen before in a women's sports picture. It's an accomplishment that puts *A League of Their Own* in a league by itself." *—I.G. *

Where to watch *A League of Their Own*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B+

**Director: **Penny Marshall

**Cast: **Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Jon Lovitz

My Octopus Teacher (2020)

Craig Foster with an octopus in 'My Octopus Teacher'.

*My Octopus Teacher *is an Oscar-winning documentary that chronicles South African free-diver Craig Foster's bond with an octopus he discovers while on an underwater expedition. As he observes the creature's life, playfulness, and harrowing encounters with predators, he notices changes in his approach to his own life and relationships out of the water. Filled with gorgeous, entrancing cinematography, this true story of an unlikely friendship inspires wonder about the natural world and our place in it. *—A.W.*

Where to watch *My Octopus Teacher*: Netflix

**Directors: **James Reed, Pippa Ehrlich

**Cast: **Craig Foster

Nimona (2023)

Nimona (voice: Chloë Grace Moretz) in 'Nimona'. Netflix

Shape-shifting troublemaker Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) aspires to be the villainous sidekick to the Queen's would-be assassin, Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), despite the latter's protests that it was a frame-up. As the unlikely pair of outcasts team up, the kingdom's ancient history and modern politics throw unexpected wrinkles into their quest to clear Ballister's name.

We expect animated family adventures like this to be uplifting and heartfelt, but *Nimona *ups the ante with its explorations of chosen families, queer identity, self-expression, and its complex but inspiring understanding of heroism. *—A.W.*

Where to watch *Nimona*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B+

**Directors: **Troy Quane, Nick Bruno

**Cast: **Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint

Paddington in Peru (2024)

Paddington Bear (voice: Ben Whishaw) in 'Paddington in Peru'.

Britain's fuzziest marmalade enthusiast is back for his third adventure, and this time he's headed home to the jungle. After learning that the bear who raised him after his parents died has gone missing, Paddington convinces his adoptive family to join him on a quest to Darkest Peru to find and rescue his Aunt Lucy.

Of course, nothing on a quest is ever as it seems, and Paddington and the Brown family must contend with gold hunters and scheming villains on their journey. In times of great stress, there's nothing quite like turning on a *Paddington* movie and setting off on a well-mannered adventure. *Paddington in Peru* doesn't reinvent the franchise, but it does not disappoint. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Paddington in Peru*: Netflix

**Director: **Dougal Wilson

**Cast:** Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent

Rescued by Ruby (2022)

Ruby in 'Rescued by Ruby'.

Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix/Everett Collection

Based on real events, this heartwarming tale of interspecies friendship stars Grant Gustin as Dan O'Neill, a state trooper who dreams of joining the K-9 unit. The only obstacle in his way is his lack of an actual canine. Enter Ruby: a rescue dog whose behavioral issues have kept her from finding a home outside of an animal shelter. Dan, who has dyslexia and ADHD, recognizes a kindred spirit, and the two set out to rescue each other. *Rescued by Ruby *is a treat for animal lovers, but also ideal for anyone who loves a good underdog story. *—A.W.*

Where to watch *Rescued by Ruby*: Netflix

**Director: **Katt Shea

**Cast: **Grant Gustin, Scott Wolf, Kaylah Zander, Camille Sullivan

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)

Noah Centineo as Peter Kavinsky and Lana Condor as Lara Jean Song-Covey in 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before'. Netflix

Lara Jean's (Lana Condor) meddling little sister, Kitty (Anna Cathcart), unleashes havoc on her life when she finds the teen's secret collection of love letters and mails them to her crushes — including to their older sister Margot's (Janel Parrish) ex-boyfriend, Josh (Israel Broussard).

To do damage control, Lara and classmate Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) agree to fake being in love to disguise her feelings from Josh and make Peter's ex jealous. EW praises the film for having "more substance than you expect. And Condor as Lara Jean has a winning, be-true-to-yourself sense of independence that's infectious." *—A.W.*

Where to watch *To All the Boys I've Loved Before*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **Susan Johnson

**Cast: **Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Anna Cathcart, Janel Parrish, Israel Broussard

- Movie Reviews & Recommendations

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The 12 best happy movies on Netflix that’ll inspire a smile

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Melora Hardin has the perfect pitch for her Office character Jan Levinson to appear on spinoff Th...

Hardin tells EW she'd &34;happily go back&34; to playing her infamously icy exec on the spinoff or even on a reboot of the beloved sitcom. Melora Hardin has the perfect pitch for her Office character Jan Levinson to appear on spinoff The Paper Hardin tells EW she'd &34;happily go back&34; to playing her infamously icy exec on the spinoff or even on a reboot of the beloved sitcom. By Ryan Coleman :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/RyanColemanauthorphoto0081ce8f0254478080f35972c433877b.

Hardin tells EW she'd "happily go back" to playing her infamously icy exec on the spinoff or even on a reboot of the beloved sitcom.

Melora Hardin has the perfect pitch for her Office character Jan Levinson to appear on spinoff The Paper

Hardin tells EW she'd "happily go back" to playing her infamously icy exec on the spinoff or even on a reboot of the beloved sitcom.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 29, 2025 2:00 p.m. ET

Melora Hardin on 'The Office' with Steve Carell. Credit: Justin Lubin/NBCU Photo Bank

It's been over a decade since the world last caught sight of Jan Levinson, the frosty, imperious, yet hilarious sales executive played by Melora Hardin on *The Office*. With the recent premiere of *The Paper *marking the beloved sitcom's first spinoff, Hardin has the perfect pitch how to get Jan back in the habit.

"Are you kidding? I would totally go back," Hardin tells ** in a career-spanning conversation. "I love Greg Daniels," Hardin notes, referring to the TV maven who developed the American adaptation of Ricky Gervais' British counterpart. "He really knows television, and he really knows comedy, and we spitball sometimes, you know. 'What could Jan be doing now?'"

At a certain point, that hypothetical became an easily actionable proposal that would meld perfectly into *The Paper*'s wry style.

Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson on 'The Office'.

Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Co-created by Daniels and *Late Night with Conan O'Brien* writer Michael Koman, *The Paper *follows the same mockumentary crew that captured the lives of Michael, Jim, Pam, and yes, Jan 20 years ago to Toledo, Ohio, where a ragtag band of volunteer reporters tries to keep a declining newspaper afloat.

The only connective casting thread between *The Paper* and *The Office *is Oscar Nuñez's Oscar Martinez, and it's with Oscar that Hardin's plan begins.**

"I had this idea that they have Oscar kind of being like, 'Did you guys get enough out of this?'" Hardin explains that after watching the pilot of *The Paper*, she fell in love with Nuñez's fourth-wall-breaking interactions with the mockumentary crew, who are never seen. "I said to Greg and to Suzanne, his wife, 'It would be really fun, if Jan was the director, and eventually, every now and then, the camera turns around, and it's her."

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***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

*The Paper *takes after *The Office *in never directly showing the crew filming the employees of the *Toledo Truth Teller*. Across the 10 episodes of its first season, which aired over the summer, various characters like Oscar signal to them, joke around with them, and bump into them, but they're never glimpsed.

*The Office *came close, but never quite revealed its fictitious mystery crew. But there was a close call written into the fourth season episode "Branch Wars," in which Josh Krasinski's Jim is exposed by a cameraman while trying to hide from Rashida Jones' Karen in a car. "Come on man!" he mouths directly to the camera in anger.

The cast of 'The Paper'.

Aaron Epstein/PEACOCK

"Maybe we'll find something that Jan could do," Hardin muses. "But of course, I would totally, happily go back."

So far, Nuñez is the only core cast member from the flagship series to appear on *The Paper*. The spinoff's pilot episode did, however, include a cameo from Robert R. Shafer's Bob Vance, the oft-mentioned, rarely seen owner of Vance Refrigeration, and husband of Phyllis Smith's Phyllis Vance.

In the short scene, Bob updates the camera crew on the whereabouts of some fan-favorite *Office *characters. "Bill (Terrence Beasor) and Stanley (Leslie David Baker) keep in touch; we both have Schnoodles," he notes. Bob also speaks fondly and in the present tense of Phyllis, indicating that one of the series' strongest relationships is a solid as ever.

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Comedy"

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Source: Comedy

Published: January 01, 2026 at 12:38PM on Source: MORNING MAG

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January 01, 2026

Melora Hardin has the perfect pitch for her Office character Jan Levinson to appear on spinoff Th...

Hardin tells EW she'd &34;happily go back&34; to playing her infamously icy exec on the spinoff or even on a reb...

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One Oscarwinner defends another against a widely negative reaction. James Cameron sticks up for Kathryn Bigelow and A House of Dynamite: 'I utterly defend that ending' One Oscarwinner defends another against a widely negative reaction. By Jordan Hoffman :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/JordanHoffmanauthorphotoe4b61cf41b534ce3bd109eae4b8f4eaa.jpg) Jordan Hoffman Jordan Hoffman is a writer at , mostly covering nostalgia. He has been writing about entertainment since 2007. EW's editorial guidelines December 29, 2025 3:29 p.m.

One Oscar-winner defends another against a widely negative reaction.

James Cameron sticks up for Kathryn Bigelow and A House of Dynamite: 'I utterly defend that ending'

One Oscar-winner defends another against a widely negative reaction.

By Jordan Hoffman

Jordan Hoffman

Jordan Hoffman is a writer at **, mostly covering nostalgia. He has been writing about entertainment since 2007.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 29, 2025 3:29 p.m. ET

James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow in 2010. Credit:

Michael Buckner/WireImage

**The following contains some spoilers for the film *A House of Dynamite. ***

As Michael Caine said in *The Dark Knight*, "Some men just want to watch the world burn." If you happened to be on social media on the day Kathryn Bigelow's latest film, *A House of Dynamite*,* *debuted on Netflix, you may have noticed several comments that confirmed that position.

Bigelow's military thriller is a moment-by-moment examination of how the U.S. government would react in the face of a nuclear attack. (Experts have weighed in, suggesting that the movie gets it mostly right, but isn't terrifying enough.) The film approaches its subject from three overlapping points of view, all climaxing in what appears to be the destruction of a major American city. (Chicago, for a change. New York can breathe a sigh of relief for once.)

However! Though the film starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Greta Lee, and many more lights the fuse, it doesn't *exactly* go boom. In a way, the conclusion is even more disquieting.

Tracy Letts having a really tough day at the office in 'A House of Dynamite'.

Eros Hoagland/Netflix

This annoyed no shortage of Netflix viewers, who are perhaps more accustomed to traditional endings. (This is a polite way of saying there was a mushroom cloud of "Worst. Movie. Ever." comments on the internet that day.)

'Point Break' screenwriter responds to James Cameron claiming he wrote action classic

Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson race to stop a nuclear attack in new trailer for Kathryn Bigelow's 'A House of Dynamite'

But one guy who knows a thing or two about delighting audiences disagrees. That would be James Francis Cameron, a.k.a. the King of the World, and box office titan behind the *Avatar *series. He and Bigelow have a deep history, having once been husband and wife, but he also co-produced two of her films, namely *Point Break* and *Strange Days*. (He also cowrote that one with Jay Cocks.)

In conversation with *The Hollywood Reporter*, Cameron said that he and Bigelow had recently gone out to dinner, and he told her, "I utterly defend that ending."

He continued, saying, "It's really the only possible ending." He then compared it to Frank R. Stockton's 1882 short story, "The Lady, or the Tiger?" saying, "You don't get to the end of [it] and know what's behind which door."

Kathryn Bigelow at a screening of 'A House of Dynamite' in 2025.

Paul Archuleta/Getty

He went on: "But that's not even really the point. The point is: From the moment the scenario began at minute zero when the missile was launched and detected, the outcome already sucked. There was no good outcome, and the movie spent two hours showing you there is no good outcome. We cannot countenance these weapons existing at all. And it all boils down to one guy in the American system, the president, who is the only person allowed to launch a nuclear strike, either offensively or defensively, and the lives of every person on the planet revolve around that one person. That's the world we live in and we need to remember that when we vote next time. So the end of that movie was the only way that movie could have ended because — as the computer says at the end of *War Games* — 'the only way to win is not to play.'"

*A House of Dynamite* was written by Noah Oppenheim, former head of NBC News. He also wrote the screenplay for the Natalie Portman/Jacqueline Onassis project *Jackie *and entries in both the *Maze Runner* and *Divergent* series. Though Bigelow's film is not officially connected to it, it shares many commonalities with Annie Jacobson's 2024 bestseller *Nuclear War: A Scenario*. (Missile defense systems can only fail so many ways, after all.)**

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Movies"

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Source: Movies

Published: January 01, 2026 at 12:38PM on Source: MORNING MAG

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle

byAdministrator

in

January 01, 2026

James Cameron sticks up for Kathryn Bigelow and A House of Dynamite: 'I utterly defend that ending'

One Oscarwinner defends another against a widely negative reaction. James Cameron sticks up for Kathryn Bigelow and A Hou...

Read More