Entertainment

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is paying tribute to Hulk Hogan.

Hogan, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer and former world champion, whose real name was Terry Gene Bollea, died Thursday, according to Clearwater, Florida, police and WWE. He was 71.

On Friday, Johnson, also a professional wrestler and actor, took to Instagram to remember Hogan, calling him “a childhood hero” to millions of little kids, including him.

Johnson also recalled the moment that Hogan gifted him a headband as a kid after Johnson had returned the one he caught from Hogan in the crowd at Madison Square Garden in 1984.

“You were shocked and so happy after the match because you told me that was your very last headband, and if it weren’t for me, you’d have no way of getting that exact one made again,” Johnson wrote. “You promised me that you would get more made and give me a Hulkster headband of my own as a thank you gift.”

He continued, “A month later in Madison Square Garden, you did just that. You kept your word, with a handshake and a ‘thanks kid’. And that meant the world to that little 12 year old boy.”

Johnson also recalled the moment he faced off with Hogan at Wrestlemania X8 in 2002. While Johnson won the match and Hogan passed him the torch that night, the actor said that Hogan “drew the house.”

“You sold out every arena and stadium across the country in your prime as Hulk Hogan, on your way to becoming the greatest of all time,” he said. “From deep in my bones, and on behalf of this wild and crazy world of professional wrestling that we love, I say to you now, and forever, thank you for the house, brother… thank you, for the house.”

Johnson was among the many celebrities and figures in the wrestling world who shared tributes to Hogan on social media following Hogan’s death.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SPOILER ALERT) Fans of The Buccaneers were left in shock after a main character died in this week’s episode.

While in pursuit of saving Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse) and her baby, Freddie, from his brother, Lord Richard Marable died at the end of season 2’s sixth episode. Worse, he died at the hands of said brother, Lord James Seadown (Barney Fishwick).

ABC Audio spoke to Josh Dylan, who played Richard on the show, about what it was like to film the emotional episode.

“I actually really, really enjoyed filming that episode. It’s probably the most enjoyable bit of filming, possibly across the seasons,” Dylan said. “It was intense. But, you can’t be conscious of it being a sad thing when you’re doing it, obviously.”

Alisha Boe, who plays Richard’s wife, Conchita, also spoke about the shocking development.

“It’s really sad because [Richard and Conchita] had worked so hard for their relationship at that point and they were really coming to a place of finding joy,” Boe said. “When you think about the circumstances, it’s really, really heartbreaking.”

Boe said it was sad and strange to continue making season 2 without Dylan by her side.

“I was really sad because, Josh, you wrapped, what, middle of the season? We had two more months left without you,” Boe said. “As Alisha, I really missed Josh. And that was strange because it was a weird thing. I associated The Buccaneers with working with Josh. So that was really sad to not have you for the rest of the season. That was really heartbreaking.”

Josie Totah, who plays Mabel on the show, also shared why she thinks Lord Richard’s death was so devastating.

“He’s arguably the most lovable male character in the whole show,” Totah said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

If you thought we were done with The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping cast announcements, think again.

Iris Apatow and Edvin Ryding are among the several new names joining the upcoming Lionsgate film’s ensemble cast.

Apatow will play Prosperina while Ryding will play Vitus in the film. Their characters are the two Capitol University students who are assigned to the District 12 tributes prep team.

Apatow is an actress and the daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann. Ryding is known for his starring role in the Netflix teen drama series Young Royals.

Also announced to be joining the film’s cast are Jax Guerrero and Sandra Förster as Tibby and Hersilia, respectively.

They all join a star-studded cast led by relative newcomer Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy. Also part of the ensemble are Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Ralph Fiennes, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Jesse Plemons, Billy Porter and Lili Taylor.

Francis Lawrence is directing the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ novel from a screenplay by Billy Ray.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026. 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

We are getting our first real look at the upcoming sequel to the 1984 rock mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap.

A trailer for the film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, has just been released, following the band Spinal Tap – Michael McKean as lead guitarist David St. Hubbins, Christopher Guest as frontman Nigel Tufnell and Harry Shearer as bassist Derek Smalls – as they attempt to stage a reunion concert 40 years after the first film.

The clip features snippets of the original film, and gives fans a look at what the band members have been doing for the past 40 years, as they’re once again followed by a documentarian, played by the film’s director Rob Reiner.

The trailer also gives us a glimpse of some of the A-list cameos in the film. Paul McCartney turns up to comment on a lyric from Spinal Tap’s song “Big Bottom,” noting the line “I’d like to sink her with my pink torpedo,” is “literature,” while Elton John joins them on stage for a performance of “Stonehenge.”

The band’s bad luck with drummers continues, as the trailer notes they’re short a drummer because their last one “sneezed himself into oblivion.” The band offers Questlove the gig, but he turns them down, sharing, “I don’t want to die,” while they try to assure him they’ve only lost 11 drummers.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues opens in theaters Sept. 12. In addition to McCartney and John, it will feature cameos by Garth Brooks, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Days of our Lives is going to continue for many more days of our lives. The long-running daytime drama series has been renewed for two more seasons at Peacock. The show will continue its run as one of the longest-running scripted TV shows in the world with the upcoming seasons 62 and 63 …

Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor star as star-crossed lovers in the new trailer for The History of Sound. MUBI has released the official trailer for the film, which arrives in theaters on Sept. 12. The romance movie follows two young men who meet during World War I and set out to record the voices of the Americans around them …

The official teaser for Netflix’s Train Dreams has arrived. Joel Edgerton stars alongside Felicity Jones in the movie based on Denis Johnson‘s novella. The film follows logger and railroad worker Robert Grainier and the life he leads in the rapidly changing early 20th century America …

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman embark on a romantic getaway that goes wrong in the dark comedy Oh, Hi!

The new film, which releases in theaters on Friday, was written and directed by Sophie Brooks. Gordon helped develop the film’s story with Brooks, and she told ABC Audio all about where the idea came from.

“Sophie had gone through a profound heartbreak, and then a couple years later, I went through a profound heartbreak, and she was my guru in how to get through it and keep the hope,” Gordon said. “I think this movie is Sophie giving a handout to all the women and men and everyone in the world to go keep the hope because you should never beg anyone to be with you.”

Gordon said she related to the desperation of her character, Iris, and how human her desire for love from Lerman’s character, Isaac, is. Brooks said she purposefully played with this idea in the film.

“I think that we have a culture where a man looking for love is viewed as romantic and a woman looking for love is viewed as desperate,” Brooks said. “That’s really unfair because I think all people want love and connection, romantic or otherwise. And there’s nothing desperate about wanting that. It’s quite beautiful and brave.”

Lerman said that while he portrays Isaac in the film, he relates way more to Iris.

“I definitely relate to Iris’ character much more than I do Isaac, and this was a fairly cathartic experience for me to explore why Isaac is the way that he is in this relationship,” Lerman said. “I’ve dated some Isaacs. And I’ve been an Iris! I’ve been that person who desperately wants to make a good thing work.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

We have our first look at season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Disney+ released the teaser trailer for the upcoming season 2 on Thursday. Additionally, the service announced that season 2 will debut on Dec. 10.

In the beginning of the trailer, we see Walker Scobell‘s Percy Jackson and Leah Sava Jeffries‘ Annabeth Chase standing in the pouring rain while on a ship headed into the Sea of Monsters. They both gaze up at something with looks of awe and fear.

Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be based on author Rick Riordan‘s The Sea of Monsters, which is the second book in his bestselling Percy Jackson series.

“Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos,” according to the season’s official synopsis. “Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.”

Additionally, new cast members have been announced to join the show as season 3 is set to go into production. Levi Chrisopulos will play Nico di Angelo and Olive Abercrombie is set for the role of Bianca.

“Look, Peter. We all know that last year you did something cool. But, honestly, I don’t even remember what it was,” Jason Mantzoukas‘ Dionysus says to Percy in the trailer.

Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell, Dior Goodjohn, Daniel Diemer and Lin-Manuel Miranda also star in the upcoming season 2.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Michael Jackson fans who’ve been anxiously waiting for the biopic on the singer’s life will be waiting a little longer.

Lionsgate just announced that the film, Michael, has been pushed back, and will now hit theaters and IMAX on April 24, 2026.

This is the second time the film’s release has been delayed. The movie, which has the support of MJ’s estate, was originally supposed to open April 18, 2025, and was later pushed to Oct. 3, 2025.

Michael stars Jackson’s nephew Jafaar Jackson, and the cast also includes Colman Domingo, Miles Teller and Nia Long. It was directed by Antoine Fuqua, director of films like Training Day, The Equalizer trilogy and Olympus Has Fallen.

According to the description, Michael will follow the Grammy-winning singer’s journey to becoming a superstar, and will present “an intimate look at the life and enduring legacy of one of the most influential, trailblazing artists the world has ever known.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Chef Anne Burrell died by suicide, ABC News confirmed.

It’s been just over five weeks since Burrell was found unresponsive in her Brooklyn home on June 17. The City of New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner concluded its investigation on Thursday, determining suicide as her cause of death.

The chef died by “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of diphenhydramine, ethanol, cetirizine, and amphetamine,” the medical examiner said.

Burrell is survived by her husband, Stuart Claxton, whom she married in October 2021, and his son, Javier; her mother, Marlene Burrell; her sister, Jane Burrell-Uzcategui, and Jane’s children; and her brother, Ben Burrell.

Burrell was a longtime co-host of Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America, and she left a lasting impact on her culinary TV family.

Tributes poured in from all corners of the food world in the days following her sudden death, with sentiments from fellow titans of the industry like Tyler Florence, Alex Guarnaschelli and Elizabeth Falkner, who shared fond memories and deep remorse for the loss on social media.

Burrell was born on Sept. 21, 1969, in Cazenovia, New York, and developed a passion for cooking early on, inspired by her mother’s home-cooked meals and TV icon Julia Child.

As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in 1996, Burrell went on to study at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners, where she honed her love for Italian cuisine through apprenticeships across the country.

Upon returning to the U.S. in 1998, Burrell worked at kitchens in New York City under Lidia Bastianich and later led the kitchen at Savoy in SoHo, where she crafted Mediterranean-inspired dishes over an open wood fire.

After several years in the restaurant world, Burrell transitioned to teaching at the Institute of Culinary Education.

She began her television career as a sous chef on Iron Chef America, eventually landing her own Emmy-nominated show, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, which ran for nine seasons.

Burrell was an early star and staple figure on Food Network, appearing in shows including Chopped, Chef Wanted and Food Network Star, most recently competing in House of Knives in 2025.

The new season of Worst Cooks in America, featuring Burrell’s final appearance as a mentor, premieres on Food Network on Monday at 9 p.m. ET and streams the next day on HBO Max.

She also authored two cookbooks, including The New York Times bestseller Cook Like a Rock Star.

If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or by visiting 988lifeline.org. You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Air Bud is looking to shoot for more success at the movie theater.

The franchise about a golden retriever who can play basketball returns in the upcoming film Air Bud Returns. Cineverse and Air Bud Entertainment have announced the latest film in the family-friendly franchise will arrive with a wide theatrical release in summer 2026.

Air Bud Entertainment founder Robert Vince wrote and will direct the film. He previously produced all 14 other films in the franchise, and wrote and directed 10 of them.

“Air Bud Returns isn’t just another sequel or remake—it’s a unique story,” Vince said in a press release. “This movie will engage nostalgic Air Bud fans while introducing a new generation to the beloved basketball-playing golden retriever, Buddy. It builds upon the legacy of the OG Air Bud with all the fun, the magic, heartwarming scenes, and Buddy playing basketball. More than anything, it’s a deeply human story about a dog and boy, centered on themes of adaptation, redemption, and teamwork.”

This new film follows 12-year-old Jacob, who has always dreamed of being a basketball player. After his dad passes away, he feels like his dream might be impossible, until he “discovers an original VHS of the Air Bud movie in his father’s belongings and has a chance meeting of a stray golden retriever he names Buddy,” according to an official synopsis. “Together they embark on a journey of healing, unite a team of misfits, and chase a championship. Through it all they learn to play from the heart, believe in each other, and always take the shot!”

More than 1 billion people in over 30 languages worldwide have watched the original Air Bud film, according to a press release. It was released in 1997 and starred Kevin Zegers.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.