Here's everything that's been happening in the world of Pop Culture this past week... in case you missed it! Feel free to comment on any of the stories and info shared here, add any news bits that you caught going on that may have been missed, or at least show us some love if you read the post but have nothing to comment on by clicking on that little heart icon at the bottom of the post...

GENERAL POP CULTURE NEWS:

- Actress/producer BLAKE LIVELY and actor/director JUSTIN BALDONI settled their long-gestating multi-million dollar legal war over alleged online smear campaigns and behind the scenes issues during the filming and press tour for their film “It Ends with Us”, just two weeks before a trial over the matter was due to start in New York City. According to reports, there was no money exchanged in the settlement nor was there a requirement that either party apologize or take public responsibility for anything related to the initial claims or what remained of Lively’s lawsuit (which had seen 10 of 13 claims struck down by a judge prior to the settlement). Since the announcement of the settlement, Baldoni waived his right to appeal a court order last year that dismissed his $400 million counter lawsuit against Lively, which has opened the door for Lively to both attempt to recover legal fees and pursue damages under a California law intended to shield sexual harassment victims from retaliatory defamation claims, which she has reportedly filed to do. If her bid is granted, the court will schedule proceedings to assess the reputational fallout that came from Baldoni’s lawsuit and determine whether Lively can receive punitive damages, should the court decide to punish Baldoni for perceived egregious misconduct.

- 34 year-old Detroit-born comic RON TAYLOR was named the winner of season 1 of Netflix comedy competition series “Funny AF with Kevin Hart”.

- NAMES, HASHTAGS, MEMES, AND TRENDS FROM THIS PAST WEEK –

Met Gala protests; LISA KUDROW’s “Friends” hot take; Cruise ship virus outbreak

THIS PAST WEEK IN SPORTS -

- Horse Racing: GOLDEN TEMPO, ridden by jockey JOSE ORTIZ, charged from the back of the pack to make history at the 152^nd running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, passing 17 other horses around the final turn and charging past morning-line favorite RENEGADE (whose jockey was Ortiz’ brother, IRAD ORTIZ) just before the wire to win by a neck, finishing the race in two minutes and 2.27 seconds. Golden Tempo’s trainer CHERIE DEVAUX is now the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner and second woman to train a winner of a Triple Crown race. In third place was OCELLI, a hose that didn’t get into the field until another horse was scratched from starting on Thursday and came into the race with 70-1 odds.

AWARDS UPDATE -

- The Oscars: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced several rule changes that will take effect in time for the 99^th Academy Awards next year. Among the changes were several notes regarding AI, including the specification that only roles “demonstrably performed by humans with their consent” are eligible for acting Oscars and screenplays “must be human-authored” to qualify for screenplay Oscars. Other notable rule changes include the removal of the longstanding “one-country, one-film” rule for the Best international Feature Film category and the allowance of actors to receive multiple nominations in a single category.

- The Tony Awards: Nominations for the 79^th Annual Tony Awards were announced this week with new musicals “The Lost Boys” (based on the ‘80s film) and “Schmigadoon!” (based on the short-lived tv series) topping the list with 12 nominations each, followed by musical revival “Ragtime” with 11, and play revival “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”, reimagined musical revival “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”, and musical revival “Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show” all receiving nine nominations. Additional nominations of note include Actress in a Leading Role in a Play nominee ROSE BYRNE, who scored the rare feat of earning nominations for a Tony and an Oscar in the same year, Featured Actress in a Play nominee JUNE SQUIBB, who became the oldest nominee in Tony history at the age of 96, and two nominations for Original Score being plays (“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and “Death of a Salesman”). Other notable actors nominated include NATHAN LANE, LAURIE METCALF, DANIEL RADCLIFFE, JOHN LITHGOW, LUKE EVANS, RACHEL DRATCH, and ANA GASTEYER. The 79^th Annual Tony Awards will air live on CBS and stream live on Paramount+ on June 7^th at 8pm ET/5pm PT. For a complete list of 2026 Tony Award nominations, check out the following link: https://deadline.com/lists/tony-award-nominations-2026/best-musical-tony-nominees-2026/

GOVERNMENT 101 -

- US: Actress MARISKA HARGITAY’s Joyful Heart Foundation’s ‘End the Backlog’ campaign achieved a milestone, managing to get all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico to enact at least one pillar of rape kit reform in what the initiative called “a testament to the power of sustained, survivor-centered advocacy.” The “Law & Order: SVU” actress’ Joyful Heart Foundation’s initiative has been the driving force behind the national movement ‘the Six Pillars of Rape Kit Reform’, which encompasses everything from mandatory kit testing and statewide inventories to survivor notification rights and dedicated funding “ensuring no kit, and no survivor’s story, is left behind.” The mission of the Joyful Heart Foundation, founded in 2004, is to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and put an end to the violence. The campaign aims to eliminate the backlog of hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits sitting in storage across America, providing closure for victims.

ON BROADWAY/ THE WEST END -

- Musicals “Titanique” and “The Rocky Horror Show” have extended their limited Broadway engagements into the fall, with “Titanique”, which had initially been set to close in July, now continuing performances through September 20^th and “Rocky Horror”, which was previously scheduled to run through June 19^th, now sticking around through November 29^th. Both shows have been big box office draws since debuting this spring.

- Producers of Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon” cancelled performances of the musical comedy through May 17^th due to a fire that occurred on May 4^th at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, where the production is staged.

MOVIE NEWS:

- Netflix announced that “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew”, director GRETA GERWIG’s film adaptation of the C.S. Lewis book starring CAREY MULLIGAN, DANIEL CRAIG, and MERYL STREEP, has been pushed back from a Thanksgiving 2026 theatrical release to February 12, 2027. Sneak previews of the film will begin on Imax screens on February 10^th. The film will be available to stream on Netflix as of April 2, 2027.

- MOVIE CASTING UPDATE -
- Actor DIEGO LUNA has been added to the cast of Disney’s live-action remake of “Tangled” in an all-new character made for the film. Details about the new character are being kept under wraps.

- Actors RALPH FIENNES, COLIN FARRELL, and WAGNER MOURA are set to star as three friends in the comedy “Art”, based on YASMINA REZA’s Tony-winning play that satirizes modern art, friendship, and intellectual pretension. 

- Actor MATTHEW LILLARD has been added to the cast of the DC Studios’ “Superman” sequel “Man of Tomorrow”.

- Actors SEBASTIAN STAN and ANA DE ARMAS will costar in the espionage thriller “Impunity” from Chilean filmmaker FELIPE GALVEZ.

- “Hamnet” costars JESSIE BUCKLEY and PAUL MESCAL will reteam in the love story “Hold On To Your Angels” from director BENH ZEITLIN.

- Actors CHRIS O’DOWD, JANE FONDA, CIARAN HINDS, JOHN C. REILLY, and TOM HOLLANDER will lead the TERRY GEORGE political thriller “Ceasefire”, set against the backdrop of the Northern Ireland peace process.

TV NEWS:

- CBS shared their Friday night lineup will remain intact in the fall – with “Sheriff Country” at 8pm, “Fire Country” at 9pm, and “Boston Blue” at 10pm – but they will not all receive a full season order as they previously had. “Fire Country”, which has previously produced full seasons every year since its inception save for the strike-impacted 2023-34 season, has received only a 13-episode order for season 5. The series is not the only CBS show that will air fewer episodes next season – “NCIS: Origins” will also receive a reduced season 3 order and will make way for “NCIS: Sydney” in midseason. Both of those shows will produce 10 episodes next season, down from 18 and 20, respectively, this season. “Matlock” will also be returning at midseason with a 13-episode order for season 3. Most of the reduced episode orders are due to the network’s crowded schedule, having only cancelled only one drama and two comedies (because the majority of its current slate of shows are performing well) while adding three new dramas and one comedy, but in the case of “Matlock” the reduced order is reportedly a creative decision.

- Amazon Prime Video announced that the series finale of drama series “The Boys”, which drops in two weeks, will also be available for fans to watch in 4Dx theaters across the country on May 19^th at 9:30pmET. Those who purchase tickets will also receive a concession voucher which will be good towards sweets and soda on the day.

- Hulu dropped a surprise prequel episode of dramedy “The Bear” this week. The hour-long episode, dubbed “Gary”, follows EBON MOSS-BACHRACH’s Richie and JON BERNTHAL’s Mikey on a work trip to Gary, Indiana before the events of the main series. The two Emmy winners also penned the episode. The new episode does not appear to count toward the show’s upcoming fifth and final season’s episode count.

- Hot on the heels of ordering a reboot of ‘80s lifeguard drama series “Baywatch” to series this fall, Fox announced it has also ordered a reboot of the ‘80s drama series “Highway to Heaven” for the 2027-2028 tv season.

- E! announced it has ordered a mixology competition series called “Cocktail Wars”. The ten-episode series will pit mixologists against each other to be judged on flavor combinations and technique for the chance to win $10,000 per episode. Former NSYNC members JOEY FATONE and LANCE BASS will cohost the series and will be joined by a series of celebrities and an expert judge to determine the weekly winners. “Cocktail Wars” will premiere on E! this summer.

- CBS late night series “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” announced that fellow late night talk show hosts JIMMY FALLON, JIMMY KIMMEL, SETH MEYERS, and JOHN OLIVER – who along with Colbert hosted the podcast series “Strike Force Five” during the writers’ strike in 2023 – will all appear as guests on May 11^th, less than two weeks before the series wraps after 11 seasons. Colbert will also host his “Late Show” predecessor, DAVID LETTERMAN, on May 14^th.

- Fox has greenlit “Nation’s Dumbest”, a new series based on a Scandinavian game show format. The series, which will be hosted by British comedian/actor JACK WHITEHALL, will see celebrities fight it out in hopes of being eliminated from the competition as quickly as possible to avoid being crowned the nation’s dumbest. The contestants will be put to the test in a series of physical and mental rounds about “all the thing you really should know”. Celebs set to appear are former NFL quarterback MATT LEINART, politician ANDREW YANG, musician ELLE KING, actors ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL, CARMEN ELECTRA, and JON HEDER, rapper/actor ICE-T, reality stars JOJO SIWA, HILARIA BALDWIN, STEV-O, and DR. DREW PINSKY, and TikTok star CHASE HUDSON. “Nation’s Dumbest” will premiere on July 15^th at 9pm.

- TV CASTING UPDATE –

- Actors MICHAEL SHEEN, RICHARD E. GRANT, and BELLA RAMSEY are among the notable names announced for the cast of season 2 of the BBC/Peacock reality competitions series “Celebrity Traitors UK”. Other participants in the next season of the series include singer/songwriter JAMES BLUNT, model/actress JERRY HALL, singer/former Little Mix member LEIGH-ANNE PINNOCK, actress/comedian MIRANDA HART, “Love Island UK” host MAYA JAMA, and notable UK comedians JAMES ACASTER, JOE LYCETT, ROB BECKETT, and ROMESH RANGANATHAN. Season 2 of “Celebrity Traitors UK” will be released sometime this fall.

- Actors DAVID ARQUETTE, WILLIAM ZABKA, TROY GARITY, KILLER MIKE, and HOLLAND TAYLOR are among the season 2 cast additions for Amazon Prime Video drama series “Scarpetta”.

- Actors ELIJAH WOOD and MELISSA BENOIST have been added to the season 3 cast of Hulu drama series “Paradise”.

- Actors REX LINN, SASHA ALEXANDER, and MISSI PYLE are joining the season 2 cast of Apple TV comedy series “Stick” in recurring roles.

 - Actor PETER GALLAGHER will join the season 3 cast of Fox drama series “Murder in a Small Town”. Gallagher will be a series regular.

- Actress LIZZY CAPLAN will recur on season 5 of Apple TV drama series “The Morning Show” as Broadway theater director Gwen.

- Pop singer KELLY CLARKSON will return as a coach for season 30 of NBC reality competition series “The Voice”, rejoining fellow coach ADAM LEVINE, who previously announced his return for the next season. Clarkson and Levine are so far the only coaches confirmed for season 30.

- TV RENEWALS* AND PICKUPS/EXTENSIONS** -

* “Murder in a Small Town”, Fox, renewed for season 3

* “When Calls the Heart”, Hallmark+, renewed for season 2

* “Harry Potter”, HBO, renewed for season 2 ahead of season 1 premiere

* “Law & Order”, NBC, renewed for season 26

* “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins”, NBC, renewed for season 2

* “Temptation Island”, Netflix, renewed for season 3

* “Saturday Night Live UK”, Sky/Peacock, renewed for season 2

- TV CANCELLATIONS* AND TRIMMED/NOT-EXTENDED SEASONS** -

* “Going Dutch”, Fox, cancelled after two seasons

* “Brilliant Minds”, NBC, cancelled after two seasons

* “Stumble”, NBC, cancelled after one season

* “The Night Agent”, Netflix, will end with season 4

MUSIC NEWS:

- Pop singer ZAYN MALIK cancelled all planned stops in the US for his upcoming Konnakol Tour. The former One Direction member, who shared the news Friday that he would be reducing the number of shows he would be playing on the upcoming tour, did not give a specific reason for cutting the US leg of his tour but did recently share he had been hospitalized for a period of time last month for an undisclosed medical condition.

- Newly reformed American girl group THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS cancelled all but one of their planned US tour dates for the PCD Forever Tour, with just a scheduled performance at the OutLoud WeHo Pride Show in West Hollywood still set for June 6^th. The group, now a three piece, stated that tour dates scheduled for the UK and the rest of Europe will go on as planned. No specific reason was given for the cancelled US tour dates but it has been suggested that tickets for those tour dates were not selling well.

- Country singer/songwriter DOLLY PARTON cancelled her planned Las Vegas residency due to ongoing health issues. Parton had already previously postponed the residency last year due to health issues.

- British rock band THE ROLLING STONES announced their 25^th studio album, “Foreign Tongues”, will be released in July. The album is the first by the band since 2023 and features guest appearances including PAUL MCCARTNEY, STEVE WINWOOD, The Cure lead singer ROBERT SMITH, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer CHAD SMITH. The album, due out July 10^th, will also feature the last recordings by the band with late drummer CHARLIE WATTS. 

- LAST WEEK’S NEW #1 SINGLES AROUND THE WORLD –

Argentina: “Punaladas” by LAUTA & AMIGO DE ARTISTAS

Australia/ UK: “Rein Me In” by SAM FENDER & OLIVIA DEAN

Canada/ US: “Choosin’ Texas” by ELLA LANGLEY

Greece: “BANANA” by FLY LO ft. TRANNOS

Hong Kong: “Jimo Yuanwu” by KEUNG TO

Japan: “All 4 U” by INI

Sweden: “Djurens Vaggvisa” by HUMLAN DJOJJ

- LAST WEEK’S NEW #1 ALBUMS AROUND THE WORLD –

Australia/ Canada/ Ireland/ UK/ US: “The Great Divide” by NOAH KAHAN