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...

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

FIFA Somali referee denied entry to US for World Cup; DONALD TRUMP booed at NBA Final Game 3; dot cakes; TAYLOR SWIFT’s squad DIY Knicks shirts; Knicks historic game 4 comeback; SpaceX IPO goes public

THIS PAST WEEK IN SPORTS -

- Horse Racing: GOLDEN TEMPO won the Belmont Stakes, the last of the Triple Crown races, which ran at the Saratoga Race Course over the weekend. Golden Tempo was also the winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby but sat out for the second leg in the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.

- ATP: German tennis player ALEXANDER ZVEREV bested Italian tennis player FLAVIO COBOLLI in five sets to win the French Open Men’s Singles title. It was his first Grand Slam title win of his career.

- WTA: Russian tennis player MIRRA ANDREEVA defeated Polish qualifier MAJA CHWALINSKA in straight sets to win the French Open Women’s Singles title, the first Grand Slam win of her career. 19 year-old Andreeva is the youngest player to win the women’s singles title since MONICA SELES won at the age of 18 in 1992.

AWARDS UPDATE -

- The 79^th Annual Tony Awards: “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman” was the big winner at the Tony Awards this weekend, earning 6 Tonys overall including Best Revival of a Play and Featured Actress in a Play for LAURIE METCALF. “Liberation” won for Best Play, making playwright BESS WOHL only the second American woman to win in the category and the first in close to 40 years. “Ragtime” was the big winner among musicals, winning 4 awards including Best Revival of a Musical. “Shmigadoon!”, a parody of the golden age of musicals based on a now-defunct Apple TV series, was named Best Musical, making Apple TV the first company to become an EGOT winner. Other notable wins include: Lead Actor in a Play JOHN LITHGOW for “Giant”, becoming the oldest winner ever in the category at the age of 80, Featured Actor in a Play ALDEN EHRENREICH for “Becky Shaw”, Lead Actress in a Play LESLEY MANVILLE for “Oedipus”, and Best Costume Design for a Musical for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” designer QWEEN JEAN, the first trans person to win a Tony. For a complete list of Tony Award winners, check out the following link: https://www.eonline.com/news/1432642/tony-awards-2026-winners-see-the-complete-list

- The Academy Awards: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present Honorary Oscars to actress GLENN CLOSE, director RIDLEY SCOTT, and Disney’s first Black animator FLOYD NORMAN, while producers CHRISTINE VACHON and PAMELA KOFFLER will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, following a vote by its Board of Governors. The statues will be presented at the 17^th Governors Awards on November 15^th.

GOVERNMENT 101 -

- US: Two Virginia residents filed a federal lawsuit attempting to stop President DONALD TRUMP’s plans to host a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn on his birthday. The suit, which was filed against both the National Park Service and the US Department of the Interior citing several conflicts of interest for the President, and claimed the “UFC Freedom 250” event will line the pockets of Maga allies, like Paramount-Skydance CEO DAVID ELLISON, UFC CEO DANA WHITE, and Trump himself, who the suit claims purchased “up to $50,000 worth of stock in TKO, UFC’s owner”. The suit’s strongest legal argument lies in the National Park Service’s usual permitting regime, which, according to the suit, rules that “no special events of any sort, including any sporting events, may be held on the South Lawn or at the Lincoln Memorial, nor may structures be erected on the South Lawn without express authorization from Congress and a thorough environmental review.” The lawsuit does acknowledge a temporary workaround exists for the permitting regime for “special events planned, organized, and executed by executive departments and agencies or the Semiquincentennial Commission” in observation of America’s 250th birthday. However, the case argues that this is “a private, for-profit sporting event” that is planned by “the UFC, its broadcast partners, and its advertisers,” and not the federal government, “And it is not in any material sense a ‘celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence’—it is, instead, a celebration of the UFC’s brand and the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth.” The UFC fight in question is scheduled to take place on June 14^th and the stage, light rigging, and other equipment needed for the event are already in the process of being erected.

ON BROADWAY/ THE WEST END -

- “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”, the stage prequel to the former Netflix sci-fi horror series, will close on both Broadway and London’s West End this holiday season, with the West End production at London’s Phoenix Theatre staging its last show on December 27^th and the Broadway production at Marquis Theatre on January 3, 2027.

MOVIE NEWS:

- Universal Pictures’ animated feature sequel “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office, becoming the first film of 2026 to do so. The film has made more than $428 million domestically and over $571 million internationally.

- 20^th Century Studios confirmed that a sequel to the 1997 comedy “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” is in the works from director TIM FEDERLE. Actresses MIRA SORVINO and LISA KUDROW are set to reprise their roles as the titular characters; actors JANEANE GAROFALO, ALAN CUMMING, CAMRYN MANHEIM, and JULIA CAMPBELL will also return while new cast members include KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY, ROB HUEBEL, BRECKIN MEYER, PATRICK WARBURTON, and NATHAN LEE GRAHAM. The as-yet-untitled sequel will debut exclusively on Hulu.

-Sony Pictures announced plans to restart the “21 Jump Street” franchise more than a decade after the last film, “22 Jump Street”, was released. The third installment, oddly named “24 Jump Street”, will reportedly bring back previous stars CHANNING TATUM, JONAH HILL, and ICE CUBE.

- Amazon MGM Studios’ “Project Hail Mary”, the film adaptation of the ANDY WEIR novel of the same name starring RYAN GOSLING, will be available to stream on MGM+ on June 18^th. 

TV NEWS:

- The BBC confirmed that sci-fi drama series “Doctor Who” will not go forward with producing a Christmas special this year as had previously been announced. The decision was allegedly made to “invest in the long-term future of the show” over a one-off special. Along with that decision, it was noted that showrunner RUSSELL T. DAVIES and his Bad Wolf production company are both exiting the series. The series also is without a lead actor or actress after previous Doctor, actor NCUTI GATWA, announced his departure after two seasons following the airing of the last episode, “The Reality War”; while the last episode did suggest the Doctor was regenerating into actress BILLIE PIPER, who previously played the Doctor’s companion Rose Tyler, though Davies has since revealed that “there was no script” in place for the Christmas special and “no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor” so it is unclear whether she was intended to be the next Doctor or if that was just a bit of stunt casting. The series also no longer had a US network or streaming service connected to it after Disney opted not to renew its two-year deal to air new episodes on Disney+ following lower than expected viewership. It is unclear how long the BBC plans to shelve the series but the BBC’s director of drama made it clear the show is not cancelled, just being rested for an undetermined period of time.

- Reality competition series/social experiment “The Circle”, which ran for seven seasons on Netflix, has found itself a new home on Hulu. Unlike the Netflix version, which only featured civilians, the Hulu version will also feature celebrity contestants. The Hulu version will also introduce audience voting for the first time in the US as it is being “reimaged” as a “fast-turnaround” social experiment where the season will be filmed in real time, giving viewers access as twists and player ratings unfold, with the audience votes shaping the game.

- JONATHAN SCOTT, who along with his twin brother DREW SCOTT stars in HGTV’s “Property Brothers” franchise, is filming a pilot for a new syndicated daytime talk show for CBS Media Ventures. The potential series, dubbed “Better! With Jonathan Scott”, will feature interview segments with well-known guests and other lifestyle experts to “inspire audiences with fresh ideas to live better all while having fun doing it”. “Better! With Jonathan Scott” will film a pilot episode in New York later this month for consideration for the syndication slate for fall 2027.

- FX announced that comedy series “Adults” will drop a standalone prequel episode a month ahead of the second season’s release in late August. The episode, titled “Marathon Day”, will both show fans how the friend group came to be and provide the origin story for actor JACK INNANEN’s character, Paul Baker. The full episode will be released on both FXX and Hulu on July 31^st and will also receive a limited release on Hulu’s YouTube Channel and FX’s TikTok and Instagram channels.

- TV CASTING UPDATE –

- Actress KELLY KRUGER is joining the cast of ABC daytime drama series “General Hospital” as Serena Baldwin, the surrogate daughter of Lucy Coe and half-brother of Cody Bell. The character was last seen in Port Charles in 2017 when she was played by CARLY SCHROEDER. Kruger’s first airdate as Serena will come in mid-to-late July.

- Actress ELIZABETH PERKINS has been upped to series regular for season 2 of Netflix crime comedy series “Big Mistakes”.

- Actor EDGAR RAMIREZ has been added to the season 2 cast of HBO crime drama series “Task”. He will play Miguel Contreras, a loyal DEA second-in-command torn between duty and guilt.

- Actress ELIA CANTU announced she is leaving Peacock soap opera “Days of Our Lives” after four years as Jada Hunter.

- Actor PETER SARSGAARD will join the season 3 cast of HBO drama series “The Last of Us” as a new character created for the show (rather than a character that features in the video game the series is based on) named Amon, who is said to be one of the leaders of the Seraphites; the role is recurring.

- TV RENEWALS* AND PICKUPS/EXTENSIONS** -

* “Widow’s Bay”, Apple TV, renewed for season 2

* “That Thrifting Show”, Freeform/Hulu, renewed for season 2

* “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder”, Netflix, renewed for third and final season

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

Australia: “Choosin’ Texas” by ELLA LANGLEY

Greece: “Safari” by RIA ELLINIDOU

Hong Kong: “What Makes A Man” by MC CHEUNG TINFU

Ireland: “The Sun Will Never Settle” by KINGFISHR

Japan: “KESHIKI” by JI BLUE

Sweden: “Nar Vi Graver Guld I USA” by GLENMARK, TJUVJAKT & STROMSTEDT

UK/ US: “Hate That I Made You Love Me” by ARIANA GRANDE

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

Australia: “ICEMAN” by DRAKE

Ireland: “The Essential” by MICHAEL JACKSON

Italy: “Vangelo” by SHIVA

UK: “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” by PAUL MCCARTNEY