Paul Giamatti in ‘Black Mirror’ season 7. (Nick Wall/Netflix)
Black Mirror has been renewed for season 8 at Netflix.
The long-running dystopian anthology series is returning for an eighth season, the streamer announced on Friday. Its creator, Charlie Brooker, is currently writing the new season and teased what fans can expect.
“Black Mirror will return, and hopefully it’ll be more Black Mirror than ever,” Brooker told Netflix’s Tudum.
As for the future of the show, Brooker said, “Well, luckily it does have a future, so I can confirm that Black Mirror will return, just in time for reality to catch up with it. So, that’s exciting. That chunk of my brain has already been activated and is whirring away.”
Brooker said that putting a season of TV together is like creating an album. He was then asked what kind of tune season 8 will be.
“It’s a useful thought experiment when approaching a new story. I’ll often think of, ‘Well, what haven’t we done yet, and what tone am I looking for? … Where does this track come on the album, and what musical direction are we going to go into?'” Brooker said. “We’ll find out. Very unlikely you’ll ever see a Black Mirror hoedown.”
There is currently no word on when fans can expect to see season 8 of Black Mirror arrive on Netflix or who will appear in the new episodes.
Trump: .S. President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to his Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)/Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the 2022 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/WireImage)
Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ push for a commutation of his sentence continues. In addition to pursuing an appeal, he reportedly asked President Donald Trump for his sentence to be reduced.
The request was revealed in an interview with The New York Times. “[Diddy] asked me for a pardon,” Trump said. “Through a letter.”
The publication continued, “Mr. Trump said he is not considering granting the request. Mr. Trump also indicated that he had no intention of pardoning several other high-profile people.”
Rumors had circulated that Trump was considering clemency for Diddy — a claim The National News Desk reports was “fake news.” Trump later confirmed Combs was among many people who had asked him for a pardon and told Newsmax that Combs’ shift in attitude toward him during his first presidential election makes that unlikely.
“We’re human beings,” Trump said. “We don’t like to have things cloud our judgment, right? But when you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements. So, I don’t know. It’s more difficult … I’m being honest.”
Diddy is currently serving a 50-month sentence after being convicted of federal prostitution; he was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges and is continuing to appeal his conviction.
Luigi Mangione attends a suppression of evidence hearing in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan Criminal Court on December 18, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty Images)
Mangione returned to Manhattan federal court Friday, where prosecutors have said they would seek the death penalty if he’s convicted of stalking and killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson on a New York City sidewalk in 2024.
Two women who flew in from Sicily and came straight from the airport were among those in the courtroom gallery, which was filled with Mangione’s supporters, mostly young women. Many of them were wearing green, the color that has come to represent advocacy for Mangione.
“We have a full house here today,” U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said at the outset of the hearing. “It is very important that decorum be maintained.”
The appearance of Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges, follows a three-week hearing in state court during which Mangione sought to convince the judge in his state case to exclude some of the critical evidence police said they found in his backpack, including writings and the alleged murder weapon. The judge has yet to issue a ruling.
Judge Garnett, in issuing her ruling on the legality of the backpack’s seizure, said, “I don’t think it’s really disputed that if you’re arrested in a public place, the police are supposed to safeguard your personal property.”
The judge she does not need to schedule a hearing to determine whether to exclude evidence taken from the backpack, but has yet to rule on what, if anything, should be suppressed.
“The Government searched the contents of the defendant’s notebook pursuant to a judicially authorized search warrant that expressly covered, among other things, handwritten materials, including notebook entries, contained within the defendant’s backpack,” prosecutor Sean Buckley argued in an earlier court filing.
“To the extent that the defendant now seeks to challenge the validity of the Government’s warrant — an argument the defendant similarly did not make in either his moving or reply papers — that argument would also fail on the merits because the warrant, which disclosed the initial search of the defendant’s backpack by the Altoona Police Department, was supported by ample probable cause,” wrote Buckley.
The remainder of Friday’s hearing was expected to focus on oral arguments over a defense motion to dismiss the charges that make Mangione eligible for the death penalty.
Paresh Patel, a lawyer from Maryland who recently joined Mangione’s defense team, argued stalking “fails to qualify as a crime of violence” and therefore cannot be the predicate to make Mangione eligible for the death penalty.
Mangione entered the courtroom with his ankles shackled but his hands free. Unlike his recent appearance in state court, when he wore slacks and blazer, Mangione was dressed in a beige smock and pants and a white long-sleeve T-shirt as he took a seat at the defense table between defense attorneys Karen and Mark Agnifilo.
Earlier this week, prosecutors disputed a defense claim that Mangione should not face the death penalty because of a purported conflict of interest by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The defense said Bondi is continuing to benefit from a 401k established while she worked at the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, which represents UnitedHealthcare.
Prosecutors said Ballard has made no contributions to her retirement plan since her Senate confirmation as attorney general, and argued that she stands to gain nothing from a “capital outcome” in the Mangione case.
“There is simply no factual basis for the assertion that outside corporate interests influenced the Attorney General’s charging decision in any fashion. The defendant’s insinuations otherwise rest on an inaccurate financial narrative,” Buckley wrote in a court filing.
Nine artists will make their debut at RodeoHouston in 2026, including Russell Dickerson, Megan Moroney, Shaboozey, Koe Wetzel and the Red Clay Strays.
Non-country acts Lizzo, Forrest Frank, Creed and Pepe Aguilar are set to play the annual event for the first time, as well.
Luke Bryan will be back to play the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo for the 13th time, while Tim McGraw returns for his 11th show. Dwight Yoakam, Kelly Clarkson and Cross Canadian Ragweed will all be back for the first time in two decades.
Riley Green will take the stage at NRG Stadium for the second year in a row, with Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, Parker McCollum and Rascal Flatts also returning.
The nearly monthlong extravaganza kicks off March 2 and closes March 22 with a show featuring Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi and Randy Houser.
Paul Mescal attends the 37th annual Palm Springs International Film Awards at Palm Springs Convention Center on Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Springs, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Society)
Paul Mescal is set to follow in the footsteps of Timothée Chalamet and Jeremy Allen White by doing his own singing on the big screen.
The actor is the subject of a new article in British GQ, where it’s confirmed that Mescal will be doing his own singing when he plays Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles project, The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event.
“I’ve learned so much. It’s really inspired a love,” Mescal tells the magazine. “I’ve always loved music, but getting to play one of the great songwriters and great frontmen has really lit a fire in terms of personally writing music and engaging and hearing music in a different way.”
Mescal, who has met with McCartney a couple of times, calls the rock legend “the most brilliant man.”
“I feel emotionally attached to him,” he says. “He received me with great kindness and warmth.”
As for the story of The Beatles, he notes, “[T]hey had the most fascinating lives, and the interpersonal politics between them all, the love and the frustration, it’s such rich territory.”
The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event is scheduled to hit theaters in April 2028. In addition to Mescal, it stars Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Each film will be told from the point of view of one of the band members.
The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of the band members and their legendary catalog of music.
A sign advertising flu testing is seen in front of a pharmacy in Orlando. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(ATLANTA) — Flu activity continues to remain elevated throughout the United States, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC on Friday estimated there have been at least 15 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations and 7,400 deaths from flu so far this season.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
‘Yo Gabba GabbaLand!’ season 2 soundtrack artwork. (BMG)
Silversun Pickups have released a new version of the song “Party in My Tummy” for the soundtrack to the second season of Yo Gabba GabbaLand!, Apple TV’s revival of the beloved Yo Gabba Gabba! children’s show.
“Party in My Tummy” is a song from the original Yo Gabba Gabba! run.
“What a thrill to be asked to be a part of this special show. A show that means a lot to people,” says SSPU frontman Brian Aubert. “And we were given the keys to a track that also means a lot to people. We did not take this task lightly.”
“We tried our best not to mess with it too much, but still, hopefully adding something fresh,” he adds. “This whole thing was such a pleasure. So yummy. So yummy.”
Yo Gabba GabbaLand! season 2 will premiere on Apple TV Jan. 30. Its soundtrack, which also features Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers and CHVRCHES, drops that same day.
Meanwhile, Silversun Pickups will release a new album, Tenterhooks, on Feb. 6. It includes the lead single “The Wreckage.”
‘Weapons of Beauty’ album artwork. (Sacred Tongue Records/Thirty Tigers)
Rival Sons frontman Jay Buchanan has released a new solo song called “True Black.”
The track will appear on Buchanan’s debut solo album, Weapons of Beauty, due out Feb. 6. The record also includes the previously released single “Caroline.”
“‘True Black’ is such a contrast to ‘Caroline,’ it’s a burner for sure,” Buchanan says. “Time to get up!”
You can also see and hear Buchanan perform in the Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me from Nowhere, and its soundtrack.
Rival Sons’ most recent album is 2023’s LIGHTBRINGER, a companion to their record DARKFIGHTER, released earlier that year.
In related, more somber news, Buchanan reveals in an interview with TalkShopLive that his wife is currently battling breast cancer.
“I appreciate everyone’s well wishes and she’s gonna be OK,” Buchanan says. “I just really wanna focus on doing everything I can to make sure that she gets back to health.”
“Rival Sons, the whole band, they’re behind me,” he continues. “We’re a family, and so everyone understands. But I’m going to take some downtime and make sure that she’s OK, which she will be.”
David Bowie performing on the Thin White Duke tour at Wembley, London, 1976. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
David Bowie fans will soon be able to visit his childhood home.
The Heritage of London Trust has acquired the south London home at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, where Bowie lived from ages 8 to 20. A press release notes that the house is “where Bowie’s musical journey began” and where he wrote his iconic song “Space Oddity.”
The trust plans to restore the railway cottage to replicate what it would have looked like in the 1960s when Bowie lived there, with a goal to be open by late 2027.
Geoffrey Marsh, the co-curator of the Victoria and Albert museum’s David Bowie Is exhibition, will work alongside the organization to faithfully recreate the home’s interior layout, specifically focusing on Bowie’s bedroom.
“It was in this small house, particularly in his tiny bedroom, that Bowie evolved from an ordinary suburban schoolboy to the beginnings of an extraordinary international stardom,” Marsh said in a statement.
The plan is for the home to be open to visitors, as well as to host workshops for young people.
“David Bowie was a proud Londoner. Even though his career took him all over the world, he always remembered where he came from and the community that supported him as he grew up,” Dr. Nicola Stacey, director of Heritage of London Trust, said. “It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to tell his story and inspire a new generation of young people and it’s really important for the heritage of London to preserve this site.”
A general view of Le Constellation wine bar after a memorial ceremony in tribute to victims of the Crans-Montana bar fire on January 09, 2026 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Harold Cunningham/Getty Images
(LONDON) — Prosecutors on Friday detained the owner of a Swiss bar where a deadly New Year’s Day fire killed 40 people and injured 116 others, according to officials.
Jacques Moretti was placed in pre-trial detention after a meeting with prosecutors in Sion, the prosecutor’s office for Switzerland’s Valais region said.
The blaze ripped through Le Constellation, a popular bar in the resort town of Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps, early on Jan. 1.
Moretti’s wife and business partner Jessica Moretti also attended the meeting but was not detained, according to the office. She was present at the bar during the fire and was burned on her arm.
“My constant thoughts are with the victims and those who are fighting today. This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Moretti told reporters outside the prosecutor’s office.
The bar had not had any inspections in the last five years, Swiss officials said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“There was a culture of reckless risk-taking”, Nicolas Féraud, the municipal chief of Crans-Montana, said at a press conference earlier this week. “This endangered customers and staff,” he said.
Féraud said that the municipal government had “never received any alerts” about problems in the bar. He also confirmed that there was an emergency exit in the basement, but could not say whether it was open, closed or blocked.
The blaze of “undetermined origin” broke out at the bar at about 1:30 a.m. local time on Jan. 1, the Cantonal Police of Valais said in a statement at the time of the fire.
On Jan. 2, the Valais attorney general told reporters that investigators are “pursuing several hypotheses” based on evidence they’ve gathered.
“We currently assume that the fire was caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling,” she said at a news conference.
