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:

- Manosphere influencer brothers ANDREW TATE and TRISTAN TATE were arrested in Miami in connection to sexual offense charges in the UK. The Crown Prosecution Service in England released a statement informing the public that they were bringing charges against the Tate Brothers for sexual offenses after four further victims came forward with claims. Andrew Tate was already facing “seven further counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 19 additional charges for offences relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography,” while Tristan Tate was already facing “one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation,” prior to the new claims.

- A California judge granted a temporary restraining order on Monday to the Attorneys General of 12 states seeking to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger from going through. The move prevents the deal from closing until August 18^th at the earliest. Paramount is seeking to close the deal by a September 30^th deadline to avoid paying a penalty. Meanwhile, the European Commission, competition enforcers in the European Union, have signed off on the deal after Paramount agreed to withdraw from United International Pictures (Paramount’s film distribution joint venture with Universal Pictures). Paramount also stated it wouldn’t enter into any film distribution deal with Universal for the next ten years in order to assuage the concerns identified by the Commission. The UK still has yet to decide whether it plans to challenge the merger or will approve it.

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

“Avengers: Doomsday” first trailer; JIMOTHY, the viral raccoon

THIS PAST WEEK IN SPORTS -

- FIFA: SPAIN defeated ARGENTINA by a score of 1-0 in extra time to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It is the second time in World Cup history that Spain has won the competition, previously winning in 2010 against the Netherlands (in a game that also ended with a score of 1-0). Spain only gave up one goal the entire tournament (in their quarterfinal game against Belgium). Despite the loss, the game was also notable for Argentina as it marked Argentinian superstar LIONEL MESSI’s third time starting in a World Cup Final; he is the only player to have ever achieved the feat.

AWARDS UPDATE -

- The 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards: The Television Academy’s board of Governors voted to cut five award categories from the main Primetime Emmy ceremony. The categories – supporting actor and supporting actress in a limited series or movie; writing for a limited series or movie; directing for a limited series or movie; and writing for a variety series – will be moved to the Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies held on September 5^th and 6^th. The main Emmy ceremony, which will air live on NBC on September 14th, will now feature a total of 19 award categories, with the reduced number allowing for more musical performances, comedy sketches, and longer speeches. The Television Academy reasoned that the decision to shift some categories to the earlier ceremonies  is a “thoughtful evolution” to ensure that this year and future broadcasts of the Primetime Emmy Awards would remain “deeply engaging and tailored to the television audience” and “allow for more made-for-tv moments.” The Hollywood guilds – the DGA, SAG-AFTRA, and the WGA – issued a joint statement denouncing the decision, saying it “devalues the contributions of the talented people the Academy is meant to honor.”

GOVERNMENT 101 -

- UK: Recently re-elected MP ANDY BURNHAM became the UK’s seventh Prime Minister in a decade, taking over for outgoing Prime Minister KEIR STARMER, after King CHARLES III ratified his appointment to the role and formally requested he form a government. Starmer announced his resignation last month amid low ratings, poor results for his Labour Party in recent local elections, and an ongoing scandal involving Starmer-appointed US Ambassador PETER MANDELSON’s connection to late alleged sex trafficker JEFFREY EPSTEIN. Burnham, who ran unopposed to become the new Labour Party leader and thus become Prime Minister, previously served as the Culture Secretary then Health Secretary in the Labour government of the late ‘00s before leaving Parliament to become the mayor of Greater Manchester for nearly a decade.

ON BROADWAY/ THE WEST END -

- “RuPaul’s Drag Race” drag queen VALENTINA, who also previously appeared in Fox’s “Rent: Live”, made her Broadway debut this week taking over the role of Columbia in the cast of “The Rocky Horror Show”.

TECH TALK -

- Apple is raising prices for its music streaming service, Apple Music, for subscribers in the US and other countries, citing rising licensing costs. The individual Apple Music plan is increasing by a dollar to $11.99 a month; the student plan also has been raised a dollar to $6.99 a month, while the family plan will go up three dollars to $19.99 a month.

- Tech mogul ELON MUSK, who has been criticizing various casting decisions since current box office hit historical fantasy drama “The Odyssey” for months, claimed this week on his social media platform X that his AI tool Grok Imagine will make a “historically accurate” full-length feature version of the ancient Greek poem that will be released by the end of the year.

MOVIE NEWS:

- A newly restored version of the KEANU REEVES and PATRICK SWAYZE-starrer “Point Break” is set to be released to theaters in celebration of the film’s 35^th anniversary. Surfer MATT ARCHBOLD, who served as a surf double for Swayze and helped both leads and other cast members learn how to surf for the film, will present an exclusive introduction ahead of the film. The 4k restoration of “Point Break” will head to theaters on August 16 and 19^th.

- Paramount Pictures has tapped JONATHAN LEVINE to direct a sequel to 1990 racing drama “Days of Thunder”. Original film star TOM CRUISE is on board to reprise his role and will also serve as a producer on the film alongside JERRY BRUCKHEIMER, who also was one of the producers on the original.

- Actor/screenwriter/producer RYAN REYNOLDS confirmed a fourth “Deadpool” movie is in the works. He was light on further details including whether the film would be a solo superhero installment or more of an ensemble film.

- Amazon MGM Studios confirmed the secret Ali G movie, starring SACHA BARON COHEN as his famed British hip-hop character, has officially been titled “Ali G: Who Iz I?” and will hit theaters on October 23^rd. The film also is Cohen’s directorial debut. 

TV NEWS:

- Amazon Prime Video has officially picked up a series adaptation of the ‘80s film “Robocop”. The series has been given an eight-episode order.

- Paramount+ has greenlit the Scottish Highlands-set family drama “Laird” with actor/director/producer KENNETH BRANAGH set to both produce and star. The series will follow a local estate owner, the Laird of Castle Drummoch, played by Branagh, who challenges the ambitions of an American billionaire intent on buying up large swaths of the glens. The series hails from “Mobland” showrunner/“The Agency” co-creator JEZ BUTTERWORTH and his brother, “The Agency” co-creator/“Edge of Tomorrow” screenwriter JOHN-HENRY BUTTERWORTH. No word on when the series will premiere on the streamer. 

- CBS announced it will air “The Run for a Million”, the arena-based elite horsemanship event featured in the TAYLOR SHERIDAN-produced reality show “The Last Cowboy”, which has aired on the Paramount-owned CMT for six seasons thus far. The equestrian competition features 16 riders guiding horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops in pursuit of reining the highest honor and the grand prize. “The Run for a Million” will air as a one-off special event on August 22^nd at 8pm. The competition airing on CBS will later be incorporated into the seventh season of “The Last Cowboy”, which will air on CMT this fall.

- TV CASTING UPDATE –

- Actress AVA BUNN has been upped to series regular for season 2 of ABC comedy revival “Scrubs”. Bunn recurred in season 1 as intern Sam Tosh. Additionally, it was announced that actors JOEL KIM BOOSTER and X MAYO, who recurred as Dr. Kevin Park and Nurse Raymond, respectively, will not return next season. 

- Actor REID SCOTT is departing NBC drama series “Law & Order” ahead of season 26. Scott has played Senior Detective Vincent Riley since season 23. Filling the void left by Scott will be actor JAMES BADGE DALE, who is set to join the season 26 cast as a new Senior Detective.

- Actress ZOSIA MAMET is set to join the season 5 cast of HBO drama series “Industry”. She will play Carmen Dame, a fitness influencer-turned-wellness tech founder and CEO.

- TV RENEWALS* AND PICKUPS/EXTENSIONS** -

* “Beauty in Black”, Netflix, renewed for season 4 (reversing earlier decision to end after season 3)

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

* “The Morning Show”, Apple TV, upcoming 5^th season will be show’s last

MUSIC NEWS:

- The UK Official Charts Company updated its list of the bestselling albums of all time as part of its 70^th anniversary celebrations, revealing British rock band OASIS’ 1995 album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” is officially the UK’s bestselling studio album of all time, selling 6.2 million chart units since its release, overtaking fellow British rockers THE BEATLES’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, the previous top selling studio album on the list (it has fallen back to No. 5 with 5.6 million chart units). The refreshed rankings include pure sales dating back to each album’s release and figures from streaming over the past decade. While Oasis own the bestselling studio album (meaning all new music rather than a compilation of previously recorded material that has been recorded in a studio rather than a concert setting), they were bested overall by two compilations – British rock band QUEEN’s “Greatest Hits” remains at No. 1 (7.8 million chart units), followed by Swedish pop quartet ABBA’s “Gold” at No. 2 (7.1 million chart units). British pop singer/songwriter ADELE’s “21” sits at No. 4 with 5.7 million chart units sold, making it the only album released in the 21^st century to land inside the top 10. The most recent album to land inside the top 70 list is “Divide”, the 2017 album from British singer/songwriter ED SHEERAN, which sits at No. 13 with 4.5 million chart units.

- British rock band OASIS’ ‘90s classic “Wonderwall” has returned to the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time since 1996 after being adopted as an anthem by fans of the English men’s team during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The song reentered the chart at No. 27, led by 8.7 million chart-eligible US streams – a 73% surge week over week – and totaled 2.2 million in all-format radio audience, up 41%, and 1,000 downloads sold, up 112%. The song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard charts in 1996 and spent a total of 20 weeks on the chart prior to this week’s return. To date, the song has totaled 1.5 billion official US streams, 1.7 billion in radio reach, and 2.9 million in download sales.  

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

Germany: “Killy Manjaro” by SUMMER CEM & BILLA JOE

Greece: “Geitonia Kai Tilefono” by TOQUEL & BLOODY HAWK

Japan: “Good Time” by SNOW MAN

Philippines: “Kalapastangan” by FITTERKARMA

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

Australia: “You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So in Love” by OLIVIA RODRIGO

Canada: “Iceman” by DRAKE

Italy: “Million Dollar Babe” by ANNA

UK: “Foreign Tongues” by THE ROLLING STONES

US: “The Real Me” by FUTURE