Entertainment

It’s been 45 years since ABC News’ iconic late-night show Nightline debuted on March 24, 1980, and a special 45th anniversary episode is now streaming on Hulu. 

Nightline evolved out of a late-night news segment that ABC started in November 1979 to cover the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the United States embassy in Iran, during which 53 U.S. citizens were taken hostage. 444 days later, the hostages were released, and Nightline and anchor Ted Koppel had forged an important relationship with the American public.

Current Nightline anchor Juju Chang tells ABC Audio that, while it’s changed formats and timeslots over the years, the current iteration of the show still carries the original’s DNA.

“I think we try to do more in-depth [stories] and provide more perspective. And that’s what Nightline has always been,” says Chang. “At the end of your long workday, when you finally settle down in front of a TV, you get to see, not just the headlines, but the issues behind the headlines.”

Chang’s co-anchor Byron Pitts adds, “I think there is always a space and a place where people can go — in this age of people yelling at each other and emphasizing our divides — [to see] some grown-ups show up [and say], ‘Calm down, lower your voice, let’s listen to each other. Let’s talk about the facts and not just feelings’ … that’s still important to many people in America.”

Chang believes that Nightline’s “bridge to the future” is its presence on streaming, along with its sister show, IMPACT X Nightline. But in this age of TikTok, Pitts appreciates the traditional aspects of the show as well.

“All of us may enjoy going to a fast food restaurant every now and then … but there’s something about grandmama’s cooking,” Pitts says. “And things made from scratch. And that’s still kind of what you get at Nightline: grandmama’s cooking, which is dense. It can sustain you for a while.”

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Adam Driver is making his return to TV alongside Jessica Chastain. The actors will star in the new Apple TV+ series The Dealer, as Deadline first reported. The show will be executive produced by Sam Gold, Lucas Hnath and Sarah Lunnie. The story takes place in the high-end art market world. Chastain will play an aspiring gallerist, while Driver will play a gifted and unnerving artist …

The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s Verity now has a release date. Amazon MGM Studios has set the movie to be released in theaters on May 15, 2026. Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett, Ismael Cruz Cordóva and Brady Wagner star in the psychological thriller, which is directed by Michael Showalter …

The name’s Pascal and Heyman. Amy Pascal and David Heyman. The two producers have joined the upcoming James Bond film, Amazon MGM Studios announced on Tuesday. The producers are behind two of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time with Spider-Man and Harry Potter, respectively. They take over from producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, who retained creative control of the James Bond franchise until 2025 …

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The new series Dope Thief is currently streaming on Apple TV+. The show follows longtime friends Ray and Manny, who met while incarcerated as teens. They become low-level grifters upon release, posing as DEA agents and robbing small-time drug dealers until things go left and they find themselves on the run.

Brian Tyree Henry, who portrays Ray, tells ABC Audio that people like Ray and Manny who get caught up in a cycle of violence while trying to survive should receive support from those around them. 

“What we tend to do sometimes is that we see people in those situations and we immediately come up with our own prejudices about how they got there,” he shares. “Here you have these two men who’ve been incarcerated, whatever their circumstances were, since they were 15 years old. And usually you have a system that keeps you there and wants to keep you trapped into that dynamic for the rest of your life.”

“And it’s like, well, how do we embrace them? How do you see a future when the system is telling you you don’t deserve?” Brian continues. “And so for me, it’s really about the people who are there to embrace them when they come out. When you see them on the street, when you see them trying to make it … you have to in some way open yourself up in a way to understand them, to listen to them [and] allow them to be vulnerable instead of keeping them trapped within this system that told them that they couldn’t be anything.” 

Wagner Moura portrays Manny in the show.

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Daisy Edgar-Jones is collecting internet boyfriends like infinity stones.

The actress told Elle in a recent cover story that she just happens to have worked with many actors that the internet loves — including Paul Mescal, Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson, Andrew Garfield, Sebastian Stan and Glen Powell.

“Just Timothée Chalamet and Austin Butler left!” Edgar-Jones said. “I have worked with basically all of the internet’s boyfriends.”

Edgar-Jones said she feels lucky to have worked with actors who are secure enough in themselves to let her be the first-billed actor.

“I’m lucky that every actor I’ve worked with has been incredibly supportive of me being the lead. Glen, Sebastian, Paul, all of them. I think that’s why they’re so successful and so loved and so good: that they are so generous, and they really serve the story and are not serving themselves,” Edgar-Jones said.

In particular, she described acting alongside Mescal in Normal People as being “like playing tennis with your best friend.”

This good luck seems to have Edgar-Jones pinching herself in anticipation it one day runs out.

“I’m nervous for the point that it comes to working with someone who might not be so chill with it,” Edgar-Jones said. “Because there’s so much ego that can exist in this industry.”
 

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Death seems to be inevitable for one family in the new Final Destination Bloodlines trailer.

The new look at the latest installment in the horror franchise previews the story of a grandmother warning her family of death’s grip on them after she evaded a violent death in her past.

The trailer opens with a backyard barbecue that nearly turns fatal several times over.

A shard of glass lands in a beverage, a grill catches fire, and a trampoline collapses, among other potentially disastrous events.

Elsewhere in the trailer, grandmother Iris explains that years ago, she had a “premonition” that saved several people from death.

“I saved a lot of lives that night. Lives that were never meant to be saved. But Death doesn’t like it when you mess with his plans,” Iris says.

Actress Kaitlyn Santa Juana plays college student Stefanie, who sets up the central conflict. “Death is coming for us because we were never supposed to exist,” Stefanie says in the trailer.

A synopsis for the upcoming film reads, “Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.”

Final Destination Bloodlines hits theaters May 16.

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Believe it or not, we’re only a few months away from the summer movie season.

In celebration of the upcoming roster of blockbusters coming to cinemas, Fandango has revealed the results of its annual Moviegoing Trends and Insights study on the most anticipated 2025 summer movies.

According to the study, the most anticipated summer movie is Jurassic World Rebirth. The film, which stars Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, will attempt to reboot the franchise. It has a script by the original Jurassic Park scribe, David Koepp.

Rounding out the top five are The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, Superman and Thunderbolts*. All of the films in the top five are promising action-filled adventures for audiences of all ages.

Going further, the rest of the top 10 films are From The World of John Wick: Ballerina, 28 Years Later, How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch and Freakier Friday.

“As consumers’ appetite and interests continue to evolve, understanding moviegoing behaviors is essential to find new areas of opportunity and help drive industry growth,” Jerramy Hainline, EVP of Fandango, said in a press release. “With a diverse slate of upcoming films, from superhero epics to action thrillers to cult classic sequels, this summer is proving to have something for all movie fans.”

It seems as though the appetite for the moviegoing experience is holding strong. Sixty-six percent of all who were surveyed in the study plan on seeing four or more movies in theaters over the summer. That number rises to 69% when the focus is on Gen Z audiences.

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Ben Affleck has made his first public comments about his divorce from Jennifer Lopez.

The actor spoke about the dissolution of his marriage in a recent cover story for GQ, which was published on Tuesday.

Affleck opened up about why he chose to be involved in the 2024 documentary about their marriage, called The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

“Part of it was, ‘Okay, if I’m going to participate in this, I want to try to do it in an honest way and in a way that’s interesting.’ Because I thought it was an interesting examination,” Affleck said. “There are a lot of people who I think have handled celebrity more adeptly and more adroitly than I have, Jennifer among them. My temperament is to be a little bit more reserved and private than hers. As happens in relationships, you don’t always have the same attitude towards these things.”

Affleck said he found the documentary to be interesting because it discussed how a couple is able to reconcile such a large difference in belief.

“I love and support this person. I believe in them. They’re great. I want people to see that,” Affleck said. “You don’t marry a ship captain and then say, ‘Well, I don’t like going out in the water.’ You’ve got to own what you knew going into any relationship.”

The actor said he was happy to open up about the relationship, as long as his actual feelings and intentions were accurately communicated.

“I hope I was clear that really this is somebody I have a lot of respect for. And I get wanting to divine or explore the kind of differences in perspective that we have in terms of how a person feels comfortable approaching the line between public and private life,” Affleck said. “But I really hope that whatever you use doesn’t suggest that I have any negativity or judgment or anything regarding that. I have nothing but respect.”

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Bachelor Grant Ellis officially popped the question during the season 29 finale of The Bachelor on Monday night.

The finale saw Ellis, a day trader and former pro basketball player from New Jersey, propose to contestant Juliana Pasquarosa, choosing her over fellow finalist Litia Garr.

Ellis and Pasquarosa sat down with ABC News’ Jaclyn Lee after the finale to discuss their new love in an interview that aired Tuesday on Good Morning America.

“It’s a blessing, you know, to go on the show. You don’t know what the outcome is going to be, but I had the best possible outcome,” said Ellis.

Pasquarosa said she felt “lucky” to be engaged to Ellis, adding, “I think there were so many amazing girls on his season.”

The finale showed Ellis conflicted over his final decision, looking for guidance from both of his parents.

“They told me whatever decision I chose, they were going to support and love through it,” Ellis said.

The finale also featured Ellis’ goodbye to Garr. During that conversation, the outgoing Bachelor told Garr, “I hope you don’t view me any differently,” to which Garr responded, “Well, I do for sure. Come on now.”

Ellis addressed that breakup while speaking with ABC News.

“Everybody’s going to have their own opinion,” he said, asking his critics to empathize with him.

He continued, “I empathize with Litia. Like, I can admit my wrongs. But I went in there searching for my person, and I found it.”

Pasquarosa said she and Ellis discussed his breakup with Garr prior to the show’s debut.

“We talked about things right before everything even started airing. I think that we kind of ran through everything,” she said.

Speaking to Ellis, she added, “I don’t doubt anything you say, because you show up with your actions, and that means more to me than anything.”

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What, like it’s hard? Tom Everett Scott is set to play Elle Woods’ father in the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle, Deadline reports. The show will be for Prime Video and is executive produced by the film’s star, Reese Witherspoon. Elle follows how Elle Woods’ high school experiences shaped her into the woman and lawyer she becomes …

Lizzo will star as Sister Rosetta Tharpe in an upcoming biopic, Deadline reports. Tharpe, who died in 1973, was a Black gospel singer, songwriter and guitarist who influenced and shaped early rock ‘n’ roll artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley …

Linda Cardellini will play the lead role in the new Friday the 13th prequel series at Peacock, as Variety reported. The actress will play Pamela Voorhees in the new show, which is titled Crystal Lake. Pamela is the mother of Jason Voorhees, the famous slasher from the horror franchise …

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Jason Issacs is passing his wand over to another wizard.

The actor, who played Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, has a specific actor in mind to take over the role for the upcoming HBO TV series. In fact, Issacs would like to see the role gender-swapped, he told Variety in a recent interview.

“Meryl Streep,” Issacs said when asked who he would cast in the part. “She can do anything, that woman. There’s literally no limit to what she can do.”

As for any advice for those entering the Wizarding World, Issacs said he doesn’t have any to give.

“I wouldn’t have any advice at all. Why would I bother? I know some of the people they’re casting already. They’re brilliant actors. It’s going to be fantastic, and the last thing they need is advice from some old fart like me,” Issacs said.

HBO announced in June 2024 that Francesca Gardiner will serve as the series’ showrunner, while Mark Mylod will executive produce and direct episodes. The network also released an official synopsis for the show at that time.

The show “will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling,” the synopsis reads. “The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail and much-loved characters Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years.”

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