Believe it or not, an 8-month-old’s sleep schedule is what led to a face-off between California lawmakers and the entertainment industry over loud commercials on streaming services.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 576 into law this week. The bill, introduced by state Senator Tom Umberg, prohibits Netflix, Prime Video, and other streamers from blasting commercial volume way above the level of whatever show or movie you’re watching in California.
This mission began when Zach and Rachel Keller were doing what new parents do: settling in to watch TV after finally getting their daughter, Samantha, down for the night.
That is when a blaring commercial abruptly ended their moment of peace, waking Samantha again.
“A lot of times, we have the volume so low that we just have subtitles running and still, the commercial ad volumes are so ear-piercing that it wakes her up,” Rachel Keller said.
Federal law already prohibits regular TV broadcasters from running commercials that are way louder than the program you’re watching. However, streaming services weren’t around when lawmakers passed the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act back in 2010. So it doesn’t apply to them.
Zach Keller works for Senator Umberg and approached him about closing that loophole.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got three kids, eight grandchildren. That’s a good idea,’ Umberg told CBS News California in August before Newsom signed the bill. “I think it’s one of the most popular bills in the legislature, but it’s not popular with everyone.”
The bill was unanimously passed by the state Senate and sailed through its Assembly committee, but it stalled before its final vote as the powerful Motion Picture Association fought hard to kill the bill, arguing it could hurt small independent streaming services.
Unlike the broadcasting cable networks, streaming ads come from several different sources and cannot necessarily or practically be controlled by streaming platforms.
“‘Are you kidding?’ That’s my response [to that]. They know which hand I use to basically control the remote. They can basically figure out how to make them within a normal range,” Umberg said in August.
None of the streaming services responded to our emails, and the Motion Picture Association declined an interview.
As for Samantha and her very tired parents, they hope this ultimately helps babies across the country sleep a little more soundly.
“We heard Californians loud and clear, and what’s clear is that they don’t want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program,” Newsom’s office said in a statement after the bill was signed into law.
The Kellers weren’t the only ones who had been frustrated. Forum and forum, and review after review, people across the country have complained about loud streaming commercials and ads.
SB 576 demonstrates the power of the California lawmakers to do something the federal government can’t.
In a state this big, companies generally don’t create one policy or product for California and another for everyone else. So as goes California, goes the nation.
Now signed by Newsom, the commercial volume restrictions for streaming services will go into effect on July 1, 2026.
Each night, you look into your lover’s eyes and ask, “Will no legacy media outlet tell me about the best movies on Hulu?” Luckily, Vanity Fair is here for you. One glance at the platform’s A-to-Z listing reveals that there are almost too many good movies on Hulu to choose from, and it can become a chore to figure out which to select.
After a deep dive into the Hulu archive (the Hu-chive?), we’ve selected a top mix of classics, comedies, dramas, horror pictures, documentaries, and, importantly, a few titles that got overlooked upon their initial release. Our list is in alphabetical order, so you gotta scroll close to the bottom to get to Y Tu Mamá También.
A Complete Unknown (2024)
Director: James Mangold Genre: Drama/musical Notable cast: Timothée Chalamet, Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning, Edward Norton MPA rating: R Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Metacritic: 70
The mercurial, Minnesota-born Robert Zimmerman, best known to humanity and the Swedish Academy as Bob Dylan, gets as good a straightforward musical biopic as the genre allows in A Complete Unknown.Timothée Chalamet nails the nasal twang and aloof demeanor of the musician as he transitions from politically relevant folk music to electric rock and roll. While there’s plenty in the movie that is pure Hollywood, it captures the essence of the Dylan phenomenon and how the transformation affected colleagues like Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, as well as his romantic life.
Alien (1979)
Director: Ridley Scott Genre: Sci-fi/horror Notable cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright MPA rating: R Rotten Tomatoes: 93% Metacritic: 89
The original and still the best. A haunted-house story, a workplace drama, and a twist-filled mystery—all set in outer space. Sigourney Weaver’s rocket to superstardom took off here when she played the greatest interplanetary final girl, and John Hurt’s legendary tummy ache was a milestone for practical special effects. Several (not all!) of the sequels and prequels to this movie are good, but no matter how many times you’ve seen Alien, you will always find something new in it.
BlackBerry (2023)
Director: Matt Johnson Genre: Comedy Notable cast: Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Michael Ironside MPA rating: R Rotten Tomatoes: 97% Metacritic: 78
Glen Powell got the full pro experience as he played the titular college football star in Hulu‘s Chad Powers.
Speaking to Deadline on the red carpet of Thursday’s premiere, the Golden Globe nominee recalled the “really special” experience of working with real former NFL players on the comedy series he co-created with Michael Waldron.
“When I was actually on the field, it felt very immersive,” he explained at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. “Because they also had former NFL players playing with us, putting on pads. Guys that are 350, 6’7, sprinting at me with everything they got.”
Powell continued, “But it felt very much like Chad Powers in the fact that Russ Holliday is getting a second chance to be on that field, these guys got to put on pads and be back on that field with me. And you could see their eyes light up, and their hearts were full. It was really special.”
The actor noted that executive producers Eli and Peyton Manning connected him to Patrick Mahomes’ coach Nic Shimonek and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Pat O’Hara.
In Chad Powers, the first two episodes premiering Sept. 30 on Hulu, Powell plays hotshot quarterback Russ Holliday, who disguises himself as the titular football player to join a new team after tanking his own college career.
Featuring a pilot co-written by Powell and Waldron, Chad Powers is based on the sketch produced by NFL Films and Omaha Productions that aired on ESPN+ as part of the Eli’s Places series.
A three-part docuseries recounting the story of Ellen Greenberg, the Philadelphia teacher who was found stabbed to death in her apartment in 2011, will be available Monday on Hulu and Disney+.
“Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?” will feature over 20 new interviews with Greenberg’s family, friends and colleagues as well as glimpses into the case’s crime scene photos, autopsy analyses and surveillance footage, ABC News Studios said in arelease. Former neighbors and staff members of Greenberg’s Manayunk apartment building were also interviewed for the series.
A trailer for the series was released Monday featuring audio of the 911 call made by Greenberg’s fiancé, Samuel Goldberg, on the night of her death. The clip also alludes to potential “errors” in the investigation on behalf of the Philadelphia Police Department, Medical Examiner’s Office and then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro in maintaining that her death was a suicide.
Greenberg, who worked as an elementary school teacher in Philadelphia, was 27 years old when she was found by Goldberg with 20 stab wounds, 11 bruises and a 10-inch knife in her chest. When police arrived on the scene, officers treated her death as a suicide based on information that they were told by Goldberg, including that the apartment was locked from the inside when he arrived. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled it a homicide before changing it back to a suicide, effectively stifling any criminal investigation.
Over the past 14 years, the case has garnered a meticulous following of true crime junkies and advocates who have pushed for experts to reinvestigate Greenberg’s cause of death.
Earlier this year, the former medical examiner who conducted the autopsy signed a sworn statement saying he now believes the death should be “designated as something other than suicide.” Days later, a settlement on two civil lawsuits was reached between the city and Greenberg’s parents in which the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office agreed to conduct an “expeditious” review of the death. In a Sept. 3 hearing, a judge criticized the city for delaying the release of its findings. The next hearing will be Oct. 14,6ABC said.
From the outside, Eagle Rock Skyland Studios looks like any other industrial warehouse on the edge of town. Inside, however, the cavernous space transforms into a polished Los Angeles law office, a judge’s chamber, and the tangled emotional landscape of Hulu’s Reasonable Doubt. On this particular Saturday, music blasted between takes, crew members hustled across the floor, and a script rework or two slipped into the pages; this was the rhythm of a show in full swing.
With Reasonable Doubt filming in Georgia, Richmond (right) found himself playing on home turf. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
The Atlanta Voice spent the day with Ryan Richmond, 46, an Atlanta-based screenwriter for the Kerry Washington–produced TV drama Reasonable Doubt. On set alongside him was showrunner Raamla Mohamed, a veteran writer best known for her work on Scandal. At the center of the bustling production was Richmond, whose Atlanta roots make him something of an outlier in an industry pipeline that essentially runs through Los Angeles and New York. With Reasonable Doubt filming in Georgia, Richmond has found himself playing on home turf.
“When you find good talent, you don’t let it go to waste,” he said, smiling at the unlikeliness of his position.
Richmond didn’t come to television on the above-the-line side the usual way. He began his career behind the camera doing below-the-line work as a director of photography, which gave him a strong sense of how production flows. Writing episodic television, however, is new territory, one that has expanded his role from page to set.
“As the writer, the goal is to protect the creative vision,” he explained. “The showrunner can’t be everywhere at once, so we’re here to make sure every department has the information they need. You want each episode to have its own flavor, but it still has to fit within the story, like chapters in a book.”
“As the writer, the goal is to protect the creative vision,” Richmond (right) explained. Photo by Noah Washington/The Atlanta Voice
That sense of consistency was important this day, as Episode 7, directed by Anton Cropper and guided by a script Richmond brought to set, came to life. It is a flashback-heavy chapter, one of the show’s signatures. “It’s not a whole dedicated flashback episode,” Richmond said, “but it’s peppered in so you get a sense of the history between Jax, her mom, and her dad. You see how it all came about.”
Even though the story takes place in Los Angeles, much of Reasonable Doubt is filmed in Georgia. The indoor scenes, courtrooms, homes, offices – can be built anywhere. The trick is making Atlanta stand in convincingly for LA. “Atlanta is great because you can get looks that pass for LA,” Richmond said. “We still do exterior work in LA to ground it, but here you can cleverly pull off other cities. It’s always a little bit of faking.”
Even though Atlanta has become a powerhouse for film production, one piece of the industry often missing from the city is the sacred writers’ room, a long-running complaint within the local film community. Richmond managed to break through during the COVID-19 pandemic, when virtual writers’ rooms opened the door for talent outside Los Angeles and New York. For Atlanta writers, it was a rare win, though not without challenges. As the only Atlanta-based voice in the Reasonable Doubt writers’ room, Richmond navigated a space still firmly anchored on the coasts.
For him, that mix of authenticity and illusion mirrors his own journey. An Atlanta-based writer with national credits, he’s carving out space in a system that seldom makes room for Southern voices. And yet, here he is, guiding a multimillion-dollar Hulu production, fielding questions from directors, and ensuring every beat of dialogue stays true to the story.
As cameras rolled on the flashback sequence, Richmond stood just off set, script in hand, answering a quiet question from a crew member. It’s not glamorous, as Showtime’s Californication or Apple TV’s The Studio might make it seem. You are up early and often leave late but it’s essential. Ensuring the words on the page survive the translation to the screen. On this Saturday, as Atlanta once again doubled for Los Angeles, Richmond’s presence was both an anomaly and an advantage.
“It takes on a life of its own once it’s on its feet,” he said. “That’s the magic of it.”
The new season of Reasonable Doubt debuts on Hulu on September 18.
Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd is facing a situation that few tech executives ever encounter: watching her own life story dramatized on screen — without her involvement.
Hulu’s new biopic about the 35-year-old entrepreneur premiered on Sept. 8. Swiped stars Lily James as Wolfe Herd and traces her dramatic rise from Tinder cofounder to Bumble CEO and youngest woman to take a company public. But Wolfe Herd herself says the project has left her deeply uneasy.
In an interview with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin, Wolfe Herd admitted she only learned of the film once it was already “off to the races,” with a script in hand and production underway. Her discomfort ran so deep that she asked her lawyer to intervene.
“I even was asking my lawyer two years ago, ‘What do I do? I don’t want a movie made about me. Shut it down!’” Herd recalled.
As she acknowledged, public figures often have little legal recourse to stop projects based on publicly known stories.
The experience has been unsettling. Wolfe Herd said she finds the idea of a movie about her life “too weird,” confessing she hasn’t been able to watch the trailer all the way through. At the same time, she expressed some appreciation for the casting choice, calling it an “honor” to be portrayed by James. Still, the mix of emotions has left her conflicted.
“I’m obviously both terrified and maybe slightly flattered,” she said. “But the strangeness and the fear of it outweighs any flattery.”
The film arrives at a moment when Hollywood has increasingly turned to Silicon Valley for inspiration. Hulu’s The Dropout chronicled Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, Apple TV+’s WeCrasheddramatized Adam Neumann and WeWork, while older films put the lives of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg on screen.
These projects try to infuse the adrenaline of Silicon Valley invention with the staidness of business reality. And Wolfe Herd’s career—with its combination of early success, controversy, and ultimately a billion-dollar IPO—fits neatly into the genre.
Indeed, Wolfe Herd’s story is, in many ways, cinematic. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to a family invested in both philanthropy and property development, she launched her first business before 21, which was a bamboo tote bag project to raise funds for those affected by the BP oil spill of 2010. She was instrumental in Tinder’s meteoric rise but left following a high-profile lawsuit, only to cofound Bumble in 2014—a dating app premised on women making the first move.
In 2021, Wolfe Herd became the youngest woman in history to take a company public, ringing the Nasdaq bell with her son on her hip. Today, Bumble boasts millions of users and a reputation for promoting safer, more empowering online interactions.
But success doesn’t always mean control over your own story. Hulu’s film, directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg and drawing extensively from public records, lawsuits, and media accounts, bypassed Wolfe Herd’s participation from the start. Some critics have described the movie as entertaining but “thin,” relying on the broader narrative of girlboss ascent while acknowledging the lack of deep input from its subject.
For Wolfe Herd, the challenge is less about accuracy than about the loss of agency. As someone who built her career by upending traditional dynamics and giving women more control over their interactions online, having no say in how her own story is told feels dissonant.
She admits she may eventually watch the film, but not without hesitation.
“I guess I gotta get some popcorn and stay tuned,” she said with a wry resignation.
Fortune Global Forum returns Oct. 26–27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business. Apply for an invitation.
“The Girlfriend” premieres on Prime Video Wednesday Credit: Christopher Raphael/Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Premieres Wednesday:
AKA Charlie Sheen — Now that Bookie has been canceled, Mr. Winning has to fall back on a docuseries that chronicles his amazing career and extensively reported personal troubles. Listen, Charlie, we’ve moved on. Unless you’re planning on hang-gliding into the Taylor/Travis wedding, we’re just not interested anymore. (Netflix)
The Dead Girls — Learn the shocking story of Mexico’s Baladro Sisters, whose day job running a successful bordello was a front for their nefarious activities as serial killers. Ah, Mexico: where running a cathouse qualifies as a respectable cover. (Netflix)
The Girlfriend — The potential for psychodrama is off the charts when an upscale mom (Robin Wright) meets her son’s new squeeze (Olivia Cooke) and decides the girl might not be on the up-and-up. Yeah, that’s what they thought about Michelle Carter, but what a catch she turned out to be. (Prime Video)
Love Is Blind Brazil — Season 5 features contestants who are all over 50 years old. Even more amazing, none of them is in prison for trying to overturn a free and fair election. (Netflix)
Love Is Blind France — Meanwhile, the land of baguettes and ennui becomes the 11th territory to get its own Love Is Blind franchise. Like the flagship American version, it’s hosted by a real-life celebrity couple — in this case, judo champion Teddy Riner and his wife, Luthna Plocus, a … a … well, someone who appears to be Teddy Riner’s wife. Gotta love that European progressivism! (Netflix)
Tempest — The safety of the Korean peninsula depends upon an alliance between a South Korean diplomat and a special agent of indeterminate national origin. Given that the character’s name is Baek San-ho and he’s portrayed by Gang Dong-won, I think we can rule out Dutch. (Hulu)
Carla Sehn as Amanda in “Diary of a Ditched Girl” Credit: Carolina Romare/Courtesy of Netflix
Premieres Thursday:
Diary of a Ditched Girl — Can a Swedish woman finally find true romance, despite having been dumped by half the population of Malmö? I know that sounds bad, but you need to understand that Malmö is only the third-largest city in that country. Heck, they don’t even have room to house everybody in Ghost. (Netflix)
Dylan’s Playtime Adventures Season 1C — New installments further the stripy animated dog’s habit of pursuing a new career in every episode. Just remember you let your kids grow up on this when you one day want to lambaste them for their lack of focus. (HBO Max)
Kontrabida Academy — A Filipina restaurant worker embarks on a journey of self-actualization when she receives lessons in assertiveness from some of TV’s top villains. See, I knew Jim Cramer could find a good side hustle if he really applied himself. (Netflix)
Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black — As Season 2 commences, former stripper Kimmie has assumed control of Bellarie Cosmetics — which is going to require a lot of adjustment on the part of the Bellarie family, who naturally assumed they had dibs based on name alone. Honestly, that’s nothing compared to the catfight Bob and Frisch are having over Big Boy. (Netflix)
Wolf King — Season 2 is the swan song for Drew, whose responsibilities as the last king of the werewolves include picking a suitable queen. I’d say the hardest part is getting the friendship bracelet to her before the show, but it would just look like I have Tay-Tay on the brain. (Netflix)
Premieres Friday:
Beauty and the Bester — Explore the twisted relationship between South African rapist-murderer Thabo Bester and celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana, who’s accused of helping him escape from prison. Gosh, so much romance this week. And to think Half-Valentine’s Day was last month. (Netflix)
Maledictions — An Argentinian politician is determined to find his missing daughter, even if it means exposing some dark secrets that could end his career. And if that doesn’t impress you, Ted Cruz’s kids are lucky he even tells them when he’s going on vacation. (Netflix)
Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series — Four Indonesian women make a new life for themselves as New Yorkers in a series that’s a prequel to the 2021 film Ali & Ratu Ratu Queens. What do you mean you don’t remember it? Girl, you’re such a Chinta! (Netflix)
The Wrong Paris — Miranda Cosgrove plays a contestant on a dating show who thought she was being sent to Paris, France, but ended up in Paris, Texas, instead. As a consolation prize, she may get swept off her feet by a charismatic cowboy anyway. Silly Miranda! That isn’t a cowboy. That’s Wim Wenders! (Netflix)
You and Everything Else — Female bonding is the leitmotif of a K-drama that charts the ups and downs of a best friendship over the decades. The final challenge is when one of the women has to be present for the other on her deathbed. That’s commitment all right, but it has its perks if you’ve had your eyes on a silverware setting. (Netflix)
Premieres Saturday:
Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford — This battle for the super middleweight belt pits reigning champion Alvarez against the upwardly mobile Crawford, a former welterweight who put on enough pounds last year to land himself in an entirely new classification. Wow, you too, huh? (Netflix)
Premieres Monday:
Futurama — Unlike seasons 11 and 12, which followed a release schedule of one episode per week, Season 13 of Matt Groening’s beloved 31st-century comedy is dumping all of its content at once, in one fell swoop. Sounds like somebody’s heard something about the future we’d rather not know about. (Hulu)
Premieres Tuesday:
Love Island Games — Season 2 sees Maya Jama being replaced as host by Ariana Madix, who’s now doing double duty as the presenting face of Love Island USA. Next up: a Kennedy Center honor! (Peacock)
Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story — And to wrap up a week of upside-down courtships, here’s a juicy inquest into the controversial marriage of Norwegian princess Märtha Louise and African American shaman/con artist Durek Verrett — who, among his other questionable statements, has claimed he can rid women’s vaginas of evil spirits. Seriously, and Meghan Markle thinks we want to watch her bake bread. (Netflix)
That leads us to the shrewd bit of cross-pollination happening for ABC and Hulu, owned by the same parent company in Disney. After testing the waters with a Mormon Wives crossover on Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa earlier this year, then casting not one, but two cast members for Dancing With the Stars, the burgeoning reality television universe will triple dip by casting Paul as Bachelorette. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season three returns on November 13 and The Bachelorette is slated for a 2026 debut. This shores up the streaming-first Mormon Wives audience, helping to lure key viewership demographics back to the brand’s broadcast offerings. And that transfer can’t come soon enough: The premiere episode of Bachelor in Paradise season 10 earned roughly 3.2 million fewer viewers than season two of Mormon Wives, both of which aired this year.
Those in the know have long been calling for the outsourcing of leads. “They should take any single guy from Love Island season seven—he’s the next Bachelor,” Chad Kultgen, cohost of popular Bachelor podcast Game of Roses and coauthor of How to Win the Bachelor,told Vanity Fair earlier this year. “They have done the work for you, made these people superstars in the reality dating TV format. That’s how they should be thinking.”
The powers that be, including newly instated showrunner Scott Teti, former executive producer of Bravo’s Summer House, appear to have been listening. Before Taylor was announced as the next Bachelorette, fans originally believed the news would reveal the lead of The Bachelor’s landmark 30th season due to scheduling. Previously, The Bachelorette aired in the spring or summer, followed by Paradise, then The Bachelor in January. The franchise last cast a lead from outside of its pool of Instagrammable suitors for season 25 in Matt James, who became the first-ever Black Bachelor. Although, he was best known on social media as a close friend of The Bachelorette runner-up Tyler Cameron.
Even the manner in which Taylor was announced feels fresh. This is the first time a lead hasn’t been announced on an ABC-affiliated platform like Good Morning America or an After the Final Rose special. Cooper as conduit for such news feels like acknowledgment that a young female audience tunes into her podcast—and that the podcasting realm itself is key to sustaining The Bachelor’s relevance. Further proof: Former Bachelor Nick Viall, host of the popular Viall Files podcast, hosted the season two Mormon Wives reunion. And the last Paradise reunion was not filmed on an ABC soundstage, but recorded for the official Bachelor Happy Hour podcast.
There will be inevitable growing pains with such a shake-up—the ABC audience has previously been less forgiving of unapologetic women—and Paul has already said that she’ll require any husband of hers to relocate to Utah. (Hope he has his Swig order down!) But this only further stokes the intrigue that comes with casting Paul—who is well-versed in making must-see TV. “The more open you are, the more backlash you can get,” she told VF in May, “but also the more relatable you are.”
Hulu’s new TV and movie releases for August 25-31, 2025, include the complete Bewitched series and the films Little Bites and Trail of Vengeance.
Tuesday, August 26, 2025, brings Little Bites to Hulu. This horror movie was helmed by Spider One. It follows Mindy, a young widow who struggles to protect her daughter, Alice, from a flesh-eating monster called Agyar. However, unbeknownst to Alice or others, Mindy has been slowly sacrificing herself to ensure her daughter’s safety as she has been letting Agyar feast on her instead.
Next, Thursday, August 28, 2025, will see the complete Bewitched series drop on Hulu. This science fiction, fantasy comedy was created by Sol Saks. It follows Samantha Stephens, an ordinary suburban housewife, who secretly leads a double life as a witch. Although her husband Darrin insists she keep her witchcraft secret, Samantha ends up finding herself in situations where she is forced to use and showcase her powers.
Finally, on Friday, August 29, 2025, Trail of Vengeance arrives on Hulu. This Western action film follows Katherine. She embarks on a quest for vengeance after the corrupt Colonel Davis kills her husband, Caleb. Along the way, Katherine is joined by John Scobell, a Black man and former Pinkerton agent who struggles with his complicated past.
Also arriving on Hulu this week is Sisu. This is an action war movie following an ex-soldier who fights German soldiers and a merciless SS officer in his attempts to bring the gold he secured from the Laplands into the city.
New Hulu releases for August 25-31, 2025
Hulu is adding the following movies and TV shows during August 25-31, 2025.
Monday, August 25, 2025
Yu-Gi-Oh! Go Rush!!: Complete Season 1A
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Ruby Red Handed: Stealing America’s Most Famous Pair of Shoes: Complete Docuseries
All eyes are back onto Amanda Knox after a new drama series based on Meredith Kercher’s murder case. Hulu‘s The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox focuses on the 15 years of the author’s life—from when she was accused of murdering her roommate to returning to the crime scene in 2022.
Amanda Knox was studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, and was living with Kercher. in a shared space with two other roomates. Kercher was murdered on Nov. 1, 2007, in their house. Knox claimed she was with her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito. However, both were found guilty of murder in 2009, but both were exonerated by the Italian Supreme Court in 2015. She served four years in prison before being released in 2011.
In the years following the case, Amanda Knox has recounted her times going back to the country where her infamous case was held.
Why did Amanda Knox go back to Italy?
Amanda Knox admitted she regularly goes back to Italy as she feels pretty connected to the Mediterranean country.
In a conversation with NPR’s Fresh Air, Knox says she feels rooted as an Italian American and wants to make the best out of her travels. “One of the things that my husband and I [said] on one of our trips back to Italy was, ‘make good memories.’
The author also talked about the clear experiences she has when going back to the house where she lived in. “And even when I revisited my house in Perugia, where this whole crime happened, I had this shocking realization that it was just a place. Like there was somebody else living in it as if nothing bad had ever happened. It wasn’t like this set-in-amber place of tragedy. It was a place. This was a place where someone had lost their life and also someone had made love and other people had lived their lives and like it was just a place. And every place is the place of someone’s worst tragedy and someone’s best moments.
In 2022, she reunited with her ex-boyfriend in the country on the anniversary of Kercher’s murder. “It was bittersweet to go back as we were supposed to go there in such different circumstances, but it was just nice for us to be able to talk about something that wasn’t the case,” Sollecito told The Mirror at the time.
The following year, she cleared the air with the lead prosecutor in the case, Dr. Giuliano Mignini. During the case, Mignini had painted Knox as a sexual deviant and a cold-blooded murderer. They have since developed an unlikely friendship despite looking at him as a “boogeyman figure” in her life.
“I think that’s an important point to make as I’m not a person whose faith, for example, compels them to forgive,” she told People. “That was not my goal. My goal was to understand him… there was this deep curiosity in me to try to understand this person who decided that I was a dangerous person, who deserved to spend the most years of my life in prison.”
“He was a real person,” she continued. “He wasn’t this dark, dark, mythical figure. He was a real human being who had real feelings and real thoughts, not a boogeyman. And as soon as I saw that, I could empathize with him. And as soon as you empathize with someone, you have compassion for them.”
When the drama series premiered, Knox told NPR that she’s still in frequent contact with Mignini. “Me and my prosecutor are still in contact today,” she said. “I’ve been receiving text messages from him this morning.”
Fans are wondering if the upcoming Hulu series, The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, is based on a true story. It is a crime drama with Grace Van Patten in the lead role as Amanda Knox. With its August 20, 2025 release, the series has already caught the attention of crime drama fans.
Here’s what we know about the story so far.
Is Hulu’s The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox based on a true story?
Yes, Hulu’s The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is based on a real incident.
Amanda Knox was an exchange student in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. She was wrongfully accused of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, after Kercher was found dead in their apartment.
What is the real-world incident that inspired The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox?
Knox shared an apartment with Kercher while studying in Perugia. On November 1, 2007, Kercher was found dead in her room, having been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death (via The New York Times).
After discovering Kercher’s body, Amanda Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were arrested and interrogated without legal representation. During questioning, Knox falsely accused her employer, Patrick Lumumba, of involvement in the murder. Lumumba was jailed for two weeks before police proved his innocence and cleared him. This shifted attention back to Knox and Sollecito, who were then officially charged with Meredith Kercher’s murder.
Later, Rudy Guede, a known drug dealer, was arrested after his DNA was found at the crime scene. Despite Guede’s arrest, Knox and Sollecito remained on trial.
During the trial, Knox was sentenced to 28 and a half years in prison. When the case went to the appeal court in 2010, experts argued that evidence might have been contaminated. The alleged murder weapon did not contain Kercher’s or Knox’s DNA, and lapses in forensic procedures were highlighted. The court eventually found the couple not guilty, and they were released from prison in 2011.
Years later, Amanda Knox returned to Italy and spoke about how the media twisted her image and what it was like to endure the trial.
In just a few short weeks, it’ll be nothing but Hallmark movies and Lindsay Lohan rom-coms, but right now it’s spooky season and if you’re looking to relax with a chainsaw-wielding serial killer, a telekinetic teen hellbent on revenge, or a homicidal merman, we’ve got you covered.
Just in time for Halloween, we’ve pulled together a list of dozens of the best horror movies you can stream right now, from tried-and-true classics that never get old to more recent scare-fests that you might not know exist. The only decisions you have to make is which one to watch first and whether you actually want to share that bag of fun-size candy.
If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism.Learn more.
Suspiria
If you’re not familiar with the work of Dario Argento, prepare for your eyes to be dazzled and your brain to melt. Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) is an American ballet student who hops a plane to Germany after being invited to study at the prestigious Tanz Akademie. From the moment she arrives, however, Suzy suspects that all is not what it seems. Especially when her fellow students start disappearing. Turns out Suzy was right to be suspicious, as the school is more of a front for a coven of powerful witches. While much of the script is admittedly nonsensical, it doesn’t even matter. With its breathtaking production design, innovative camerawork, and an earworm of a theme song by Goblin, Suspiria is the kind of film that will never leave your head. (If you find yourself wanting more, Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 reimagining of the film, starring Dakota Johnson, will scratch that itch.)
The Babadook
Ten years ago, Australian writer-director Jennifer Kent turned the horror genre on its head with this gem of a “creepy kid” film. Amelia Vanek (Essie Davis) is a young widow and mother to 6-year-old Sam (Noah Wiseman), who is acting out in increasingly violent ways. Sam blames his behavior on The Babadook, a monster he claims lives in his pop-up book. Slowly, as weird things continue to happen around the house, Amelia starts to believe that her son might be telling the truth. Now if only she could get someone else to believe her. In the hands of a less talented filmmaker, The Babadook could have been a one-note story. But Kent, Davis, and Wiseman manage to turn it into a compelling and moving psychological thriller, where the real villain turns out to be grief.
Barbarian
Between Uber and Airbnb, the collaborative consumption era has led us to regularly put our trust—and lives—in the hands of complete strangers. Zach Cregger’s Barbarian may convince you that such transactions require much more thought. Tess (Georgina Campbell) rents an Airbnb, only to discover that it’s been double-booked and there’s already a guest staying there. Fortunately for Tess, Keith (Bill Skarsgård)—the current occupant—seems like a kind enough guy who is happy to go out of his way to help accommodate her. Which should have been her first indication that something was amiss.
Late Night With the Devil
Siblings Colin and Cameron Cairnes cowrote, directed, and edited this new(ish) found footage flick, where a late-night talk show host named Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) decides to boost his ratings by hosting an occult-themed episode for his Halloween night broadcast. Among the invited guests are a psychic (Fayssal Bazzi), a parapsychologist (Laura Gordon), and a teenage girl (Ingrid Torelli) who is purportedly possessed by a demon. When Jack accidentally unleashes the demon on his audience, he realizes that there’s nothing “purported” about it.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Leatherface may have just turned 50, but he’s still got the upper body strength to swing around his beloved chainsaw just as he did in the 1970s. There are now nine films in the Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise, but not one of them can hold a candle—or a chain saw—to the original. A group of teens take a road trip through Texas, in part so that siblings Sally (Marilyn Burns) and Franklin (Paul A. Partain) can visit the cemetery where their grandfather was laid to rest after reports of grave-robbing in the area. Then, wouldn’t you know it, they run out of gas on their way home … and find themselves contending with a family of cannibals. Hey, it happens. The movie, which is partly based on the life of grave robber Ed Gein, remains as potent today as it did when it was originally released.
Halloween
Is it really Halloween without Halloween? While you have plenty of sequels, reimaginings, and reimagined sequels to choose from today, there’s a reason why horror fiends still make a point to watch the original—and utterly perfect—1978 original today. John Carpenter’s tale of a babysitter (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends being stalked by an escaped killer set the bar for every slasher film that has ever followed, and very few have managed to even come close to it. If you want to keep the Michael Myers theme going, there are now 13 films in the franchise—including Rob Zombie’s gritty reboot and its sequel (which are both streaming on Peacock) and David Gordon Green’s recent book-end trilogy, which kicked off with 2018’s Halloween (which you’ll find on Netflix).
The Exorcist
Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) may be the precocious 12-year-old daughter of a well-respected Hollywood actress (Ellen Burstyn), but that means nothing to Pazuzu, the hell demon who comes to inhabit this could-be nepo baby’s tween body. You’ll never want to eat pea soup again. After tinkering with Halloween, David Gordon Green took a stab at resurrecting The Exorcist with last year’s The Exorcist: Believer, which didn’t fare as well (it’s a “skip” for us but is streaming on Amazon Prime Video if you want to give it a watch).
Hereditary
Ari Aster achieved instant icon status with Hereditary, his feature directorial debut, which makes a compelling argument against rolling down the windows on your car—ever. An artist (Toni Collette) and her shrink husband (Gabriel Byrne) seem to be living the American Dream with their two teenagers, Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). Until a series of tragedies turn the family’s life upside down and all hell breaks loose—seemingly literally.
Carrie
“Creepy” Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) is a teenage pariah who is brutally mocked by her high school classmates and doesn’t find much solace at home with her totally unhinged mom (Piper Laurie). Sometimes a girl’s just gotta let loose, and sometimes that means using telekinesis to burn your bullies down to the ground, along with the high school gym in which they’re dancing. Make sure to keep watching all the way to th end!
The Blair Witch Project
Nearly a quarter-century after Jaws became a masterclass in doing more with less, Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick did much the same with this found-footage flick that had many people believing the film’s own backstory: that a group of film students got lost in the woods while attempting to make a documentary about the Blair Witch, who supposedly trolls the area near Burkittsville, Maryland, looking for youngsters to murder. That people believed the story, and believed that the footage they were watching was indeed only later discovered, is a testament to just how effective the found-footage format can be when employed in just the right way, as well as the filmmakers’ brilliant marketing acumen.
Get Out
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Jordan Peele went from being one half of the hilarious Key & Peele to a modern horror icon. And it all started with Get Out, Peele’s stunning directorial debut, in which a young couple have gotten serious enough that Rose (Allison Williams) invites new love Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) to leave the city for the suburbs to spend the weekend with her family. While Chris seems more concerned that he is Black and Rose is not, she assures him it doesn’t matter … until he realizes that’s kind of the point. Peele brilliantly blends elements of horror, comedy, and psychological drama with a pulsing commentary on racism, and won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his efforts. The film also received nods for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Kaluuya—all massive achievements for a horror movie. Make it a twofer by pairing Get Out with Peele’s impressive follow-up, 2019’s Us, which is streaming on Hulu.
The Fly
David Cronenberg’s mind works in some truly demented ways, which is a blessing to horror movie fans. Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is a scientist who is much cooler than he should be; Ronnie Quaife (Geena Davis) is a science journalist tasked with interviewing Brundle but quickly falling for him. If only he hadn’t decided to use himself as the subject in a teleportation experiment gone horribly wrong, these two kids could’ve maybe had something. Instead, Brundle slowly morphs into a housefly with some pretty putrid habits and a tendency to randomly lose body parts.
It Follows
For decades, young women in horror films who dared to be sexually active—and actually enjoy it (gasp!)—could usually be counted on to be the killer’s next victim. But in this smart indie from writer/director David Robert Mitchell, doing the deed is the conduit by which the supernatural spirit that’s haunting Jay (Maika Monroe) is able to move from one host to the next. Which is bad news, as she just slept with her new beau, who just happened to be infected and has now passed it on to her. While she could just fuck some guy and pass it on, Jay’s a much more complicated heroine.
The Witch
Puritanism in and of itself is pretty creepy. Add in the bizarre disappearance of a child and it gets even scarier. Robert Eggers, who went on to make The Lighthouse and The Northman, deftly balances what is essentially a period piece/supernatural horror film hybrid about a family that ends up living in the woods, secluded, after being banished by their Puritan community. This is when even creepier things start happening, all building up to an unforgettable climax (though it’s admittedly a bit of a slow burn).
The Shining
Stephen King just may be the only person who didn’t love Stanley Kubrick’s take on The Shining. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a writer looking for some quietude so that he can finally finish writing the novel he’s been working on, agrees to take a gig hotel-sitting the Overlook, an enormous resort, while it’s closed down for the winter, bringing his wife (Shelley Duvall) and young son (Danny Lloyd) in tow. For Jack, the Overlook feels like home, and he quickly settles into a work routine; his wife and son aren’t as enthralled, especially when they begin to suspect that malevolent forces didn’t vacate for the winter along with the rest of the guests.
The Strangers
What’s more terrifying than a masked psychopath on the loose knocking off victims as revenge for a childhood trauma? How about a handful of masked sociopaths on the loose knocking off victims at random? James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) are a couple who find themselves at an unexpected crossroads while spending the night at a secluded vacation home. (Is there any other kind?) But they don’t have much time to wallow in what the future of their relationship looks like, because there are people at the door. And in the house. And on the swing set. You get the picture. Creepy imagery abounds in this vastly underrated film, which saw its storyline continue this year with Renny Harlin’s The Strangers: Chapter 1.
Paranormal Activity
For better or worse, The Blair Witch Project kicked off a found-footage movie flood, which has really yet to end (though they’re definitely in much shorter supply these days). For all the mediocre efforts we had to suffer through, there was also Paranormal Activity, a beyond solid effort that was made on virtually no budget. Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) are a young couple in love, looking forward to spending their lives together. But when they move in together, so does the evil spirit that’s been trailing Katie for most of her life. Katie wants to rid the house of it once and for all; Micah wants to videotape it (which only seems to embolden the angry spirit).
Scream
The meta horror movie to end all other meta horror movies, the original Scream might have outgrown some of its more garish fashions (most of them worn by Courteney Cox’s Gayle Weathers), but the story is still solid. And the many nods and winks to modern horror tropes are still true. High schooler Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is a teen spiraling from the recent murder of her mom but who suddenly finds herself in the crosshairs of a new hatchet-wielding serial killer who keeps picking off her pals.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
OK, so maybe it’s not a straight-up “horror” movie. But if you’re looking for something kind of creepy that the whole family can get in on, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better choice than this stop-motion classic that works equally well as a Halloween film or a Christmas movie. Jack Skellington is the pumpkin king of Halloweentown, a place where it’s Halloween—hijinks and all—24/7. But when Jack accidentally discovers Christmas and its holly, jolly traditions, he decides to co-opt both holidays with the help of the hooligans of Halloweentown. (Kidnapping Santa is all part of the plan.)
An American Werewolf in London
Horror-comedy is not an easy genre to pull off—especially when a movie like John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London has been around for comparison for more than 40 years. American pals David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) get slightly lost as they backpack their way through England and end up being attacked by a werewolf. While Jack is torn to bits, David survives but wakes up weeks later in a London hospital with little recollection of what happened. Fortunately, his old pal Jack—looking very much worse for the wear—shows up to warn David that a full moon is coming and if he doesn’t kill himself before it arrives, he too will transform into a flesh-craving canine. Landis expertly balances laugh-out-loud humor with genuinely terrifying frights—most of them courtesy of special effects makeup wizard Rick Baker, who won a much-deserved Oscar for his work on the film. (The werewolf transformation scene is iconic for a reason.) Throw in a killer soundtrack and one of cinema’s most satisfyingly efficient endings and you’ve got a horror-comedy for the ages.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
When she reviewed it for WIRED, senior writer Kate Knibbs called this horror flick a “coming-of-age creepypasta.” It’s all that and more. Director Jane Schoenbrun’s debut feature is about a young girl named Casey (Anna Cobb) who becomes increasingly obsessed with an online role-playing game that asks players to do a series of rituals that over time summon a supernatural force that ultimately overtakes them. Less jump-scare-y than mind-bend-y, We Are All Going to the World’s Fair is the kind of horror that sits in the back of your brain, just waiting to scare you again long after the credits roll.
Jaws
Jaws is to horror movies what Star Wars is to sci-fi films. It’s just hard to believe there are people who haven’t seen it. Still, whether you’ve never seen it or have watched it 100 times (Steven Soderbergh claims to have seen Jaws28 times in theaters alone!), the story of a water-phobic police chief living on an island who sets off to sea in pursuit of a ginormous great white shark that’s killing his residents and scaring off the tourists never gets old. It’s also a masterclass in less-is-more filmmaking—even if that approach was more the result of a perpetually busted machine shark than anything else. While the film’s sequels in absolutely no way live up to the original—and get worse with each successive entry—all four Jaws movie (including the charmingly cheesy Jaws 3-D) are currently streaming on Netflix).
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Bodies Bodies Bodies is, bluntly, a slasher for the TikTok generation. Beginning with a very old-school premise—a group of friends goes to a secluded house for a fun getaway—it quickly surfaces the horrors of the very online: no cell service, toxic friends. But just because it’s full of hip actors—Pete Davidson! Amandla Stenberg!—and very-now dialog doesn’t mean it won’t also freak you the hell out. And maybe even make you laugh.
Night of the Living Dead
Had George A. Romero only ever cowritten and directed this one movie, his feature directorial debut, he’d still go down in history as a horror pioneer. Because even though the word zombie is never uttered in Night of the Living Dead, it’s clear to the audience that that’s what his half-living monsters are. It all kicks off when siblings Barbra (Judith O’Dea) and Johnny (Russell Streiner) pay a visit to their father’s gravesite and are subsequently attacked by a strange man. Barbra, seeing a farmhouse nearby, runs there for help—only to discover the dead body of the home’s owner—and many slow-walking creatures coming her way. That’s when the ever-resourceful Ben (Duane Jones) shows up to help. Though many critics of the time attempted to declare Night of the Living Dead DOA because of its extreme gore, its reputation as a game-changer in the genre has given it continued life, with several sequels and even a couple of remakes, including Tom Savini’s 1990s redux, with Tony Todd in the role of Ben.
Nosferatu the Vampyre
Over the course of his near-60-year career, Werner Herzog has proven that there’s nothing he can’t or won’t at least try to do for the love of filmmaking (eating his own shoe included). Over the years, he has long maintained that F. W. Murnau’s original Nosferatu is the greatest film to ever come out of his native Germany. So on the very day that Bram Stoker’s Dracula entered the public domain, Herzog set about creating his own version of the film—one that, unlike the 1922 original, could legally use parts of Dracula without any legal headaches. What Herzog did, however, was create one of the most human versions of the legendary bloodsucker we’ve ever seen, as portrayed by Klaus Kinski. In Herzog’s mind, Dracula’s immortality and vampirism are burdens that make him a more sympathetic character. “He cannot choose and he cannot cease to be,” Herzog toldThe New York Times in 1978. If you want to expand your understanding of Dracula’s cinematic arc, pair this with a screening of Murnau’s original Nosferatu. Then take it one step further by adding to the mix with My Best Fiend, Herzog’s 1999 documentary about his tumultuous relationship with Kinski.
The Cabin in the Woods
Much like Scream before it, Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods takes a meta approach with its material, turning what could otherwise be a by-the-numbers horror movie into an immensely clever take on the “a group of attractive twentysomethings end up in a cabin in the middle of nowhere that just so happens to be surrounded by malevolent forces” sub-genre. All of the standard tropes are set up—the weird old townie who tries to warn the kids off, a creepy old basement filled with bizarre and ominous paraphernalia, etc.—though maybe they’re set up just a little too perfectly. The Cabin in the Woods is a loving wink to serious horror movie fiends and goes off in surprising directions that you’ll never see coming.
Fright Night
We’ve been through enough vampire crazes over the years that there are times when some moviegoers would happily agree to never see another bloodsucker in their lives. Then they remember Fright Night, Tom Holland’s iconic love letter to the golden age of horror movies and late-night television schlock jocks who entertained us with tales of blood and guts. Like Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon)—the glowing-eyed vampire in serious need of a manicure living next door to teenager Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale)—Fright Night doesn’t really seem to age. It still stands out as a perfectly subtle horror-comedy with just the right balance of both genres to make it as seductive as Vampire Jerry on the dance floor. (Its 2011 update, starring Colin Farrell and Anton Yelchin, which is streaming on both Hulu and Peacock, is one of the few horror remakes that is worth your time.)
The House of the Devil
In 2002, Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever brought the horror genre back to its 1980s heyday. Ti West managed to successfully recapture that same spirit at the end of the decade with The House of the Devil, which sees a broke college student (Jocelin Donahue) in need of cash to pay her rent reluctantly agree to “babysit” an allegedly frail old lady for a few hours. You know something’s going to happen, but you’re not quite sure what: Is the house haunted? Is there someone outside stalking the babysitter? Is it all in your head? Is it all of the above? While you wait for the other shoe to inevitably drop, West takes advantage of his very clear time frame—the satanic-panic-ravaged ’80s—to showcase a treasure trove of horrifying cultural relics of the past, including one particularly high-waisted pair of jeans.
The Host
South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho became a household name, and a force to be reckoned with, in 2020 when he stormed the Oscars with Parasite (which is streaming on Max, by the way). If that was your first introduction to his work, you should immediately seek out all of his previous films, including The Host. Like Parasite, it’s a horror movie with a social message. In this case, more of an eco-minded one where the pollution in Seoul’s Han River leads to the creation of a gigantic sea monster with a taste for humans.
Let the Right One In
Having a vampire as a BFF just might be the greatest thing a bullied kid could wish for. But the relationship that picked-on tween Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) builds with his neighbor Eli (Lina Leandersson)—who does just happen to crave human blood—is much deeper than a simple revenge fantasy in this Swedish slow burn. In fact, Eli being a vampire is really secondary to the story. Like Werner Herzog with Nosferatu, Tomas Alfredson puts character-building first and paints Eli with a kind of sadness, which is what connects her with Oskar. Sure, it’s bloody, but it’s also kind of sweet.
This article will be updated throughout October as more horror offerings become available on streaming services.
It’s the best time of year again! As the leaves start to fall and high temperatures drop, we turn to horror movies to kick off the seasonal shift — and the streamers answer the call. The powers that be at companies like Netflix, Hulu, and Peacock understand that horror has always been one of the top performers on streaming services, which is never truer than in the weeks leading up to Halloween. This year, almost every streaming service has an interesting new offering for anyone looking for a chill in their bones to match the one in the air. Some of these have already premiered at film festivals like Toronto and Fantastic Fest, while others are still tantalizingly unknown quantities. We picked out 12 of the most interesting ones for your calendar, with another 12 alternates for the real genre completists.
October 3, Hulu
It wouldn’t be October without Sarah Paulson haunting your streaming algorithms, but she’s actually not involved in the recent Ryan Murphy projects Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story or Grotesquerie. Instead, she’s leading a new Hulu original horror film that premiered at the end of the Toronto International Film Festival last month. Set in 1930s Oklahoma, Hold Your Breath is a story of a terrifying dust storm which a young mother asserts hides a supernatural entity that means her harm. It co-stars Emmy winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear), and critics praised Paulson’s work out of Toronto. Of course they did. She almost never misses.
October 3, Max
Creatives keep returning to Stephen King’s second novel, now almost four decades old. Tobe Hooper made an underrated miniseries version in 1979, and the less said the better when it comes to the Rob Lowe take from 2004. This film version really sparked to life after the success of It in 2017, when every studio went looking for a King classic to remake. The Conjuring mastermind James Wan was attached as a producer from the beginning, as was writer-director Gary Dauberman, who wrote the two movies about the murderous clown. Starring Lewis Pullman of Lessons in Chemistry, the tale of a writer who returns to his hometown to find it overrun by vampires was actually shot years ago and was set to be released in September 2022. COVID reportedly delayed postproduction and then the notoriously weird things going on over at Max/WB appeared like they could bury this film forever à la Coyote vs. Acme. It seems like it took King himself asking questions in February 2024 to get the film a release date. It’s also worth noting that it opened the famous genre celebration Beyond Fest late last month, usually a sign that there’s something worthwhile about to drop.
October 4, Netflix
The biggest deal to come out of Sundance this year wasn’t for a clever comedy about a family coming to terms with one another — it was for the film that Netflix hopes will be the next huge horror hit for the streaming company. That’s why they paid $17 million for Greg Jardin’s It’s What’s Inside, though the director doesn’t exactly embrace the genre branding, telling producer Colman Domingo that “it’s a sci-fi thriller with jokes.” What’s the killer concept that broke the bank in Park City? At a pre-wedding party of close friends, one shows up with a body-swapping machine, leading to revelations, betrayals, and what Jardin calls “existential chaos.” The key to the film’s likely success is that it doesn’t sound like anything else on any of the streamers, and standing apart from the genre crowd is sometimes the best thing a new movie can do.
October 4, Netflix
Five years after the original took Netflix by storm, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia returns with The Platform 2, a sci-fi-horror sequel that promises to expand on the many ideas brought up by the first movie. The Platform cleverly imagines a future prison system wherein vertical housing facilities include a massive platform that runs down their center and contains enough food for everyone to survive, presuming those close to the top leave enough for those close to the bottom. Of course, that’s not how society works. The Platform was a sharp, grisly piece of work that seemed extra dark as most of us watched it in the early days of the COVID lockdown — and there are so many directions in which a sequel can go, making this easily one of the most interesting original streaming productions of the entire year, not just October.
October 10, Starz
Ella Purnell has become a reliable force in television, first stealing scenes in Yellowjackets and then anchoring the gigantic Fallout for Prime Video. Her latest for Starz sees her in a new register in this adaptation of the book by C.J. Skuse about an ordinary woman who is pushed to extraordinary extremes by the many people around her who ignore her. Purnell plays Rhiannon Lewis, a bored, annoyed, average woman who struggles at work and in romance. Unlike most people, Rhiannon takes drastic, murderous action, eliminating those who have brought her life down. This U.K. import doesn’t really sound like anything else premiering this season, which might help turn it into the cult hit that Starz could really use this time of year.
October 10, Peacock
Even after two episodes premiered at Fantastic Fest, little is known about this promising new Peacock offering, but the pedigree is undeniably impressive. It’s a new series based on the novel Stinger by Robert R. McCammon, a big name in ’80s and ’90s horror. (It’s kind of a deep cut, but there’s an amazing episode of the ’80s reboot of The Twilight Zone called “Nightcrawlers” that was adapted from one of his short stories. There’s a reason it’s on this list.) It was produced by James Wan, the mastermind behind The Conjuring universe, and it stars Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Scott Speedman (Felicity), along with some other interesting character actors. It seems like the kind of project that’s going to be better appreciated the less we know about it, so let’s just say that it’s about a rural ranch in Georgia, where bad things start to happen. That’s enough for us.
October 11, Shudder
Benjamin Barfoot’s nightmare fuel was one of the few films at Fantastic Fest this year that was legitimately creepy, and it’s making a quick turnaround to Shudder to keep everyone up at night. Rupert Turnbull plays a young man named Isaac whose father dies in a car crash, leaving him alone at an isolated estate in the middle of nowhere with a stepmom who never really wanted to be a single parent. Before the domestic drama can really unfold, Isaac is visited by something that has the same head as his father. Elements of folk horror and science fiction blend into a singular vision, a study of grief that’s unlike anything else on Shudder right now. It’s a movie that will haunt you, especially when you’re alone late at night and you could swear you just heard or saw something that shouldn’t be there.
October 18, Peacock
Creative people will never tire of mining the awfulness of the satanic panic for horror or even dark comedy. It’s hard to be sure exactly where this one will fall on the genre spectrum, but the involvement of Julie Bowen and Bruce Campbell suggests it may be a little tongue-in-cheek in its telling of the disappearance of a varsity quarterback in small-town America in the 1980s. With townspeople convinced that the athlete was sucked up by the waves of satanism spreading across the country, a group of outcasts in a band named Dethkrunch decides to lean into the panic, turning the members into targets themselves. It sounds fun, and all eight episodes drop on Peacock on the same day.
October 18, Shudder
One of the best films of Fantastic Fest is a oner that owes a great deal to films like Victoria and [REC], but it’s also got the energy of a George A. Romero telling of the end of the world. Yeah, it rules. David Moreau, who wrote the awesome Ils (Them) from 2006, directs this truly bonkers movie that unfolds in real time over about 90 minutes of escalating horror. It starts when a bandaged, bloody woman jumps into the car of a young man named Romain. After she gets her blood all over him and promptly disappears, Romain starts to act, well, abnormally. But the party must go on. As whatever twitchy, zombie-esque disease this woman was carrying spreads, it becomes clearer that no one is making it out of this night alive. This is a smart, fast-paced movie that’s almost certainly going to become the kind of thing that someone tells you to watch after they discover it on Shudder. Get on the bandwagon early.
October 18, Netflix
Anna Kendrick proves herself to be a nuanced director with her debut, a film that’s closer to thriller than horror compared to most on this list, but it’s chill-inducing enough to qualify. Kendrick also stars as Cheryl Bradshaw, a woman who appeared on The Dating Game in 1978, where she was paired with a seemingly ordinary guy named Rodney Alcala. Later, it was revealed that Alcala was a serial killer, and Kendrick uses this encounter to unpack Alcala’s subconscious and how a culture that casually tosses off phrases like “get the girl” may feed into the worldview of the insane. It’s about systemic misogyny in a way that’s not preachy, and it’s a tightly wound thriller (only 94 minutes!) that will almost certainly become one of the biggest Netflix streamers of the year.
October 18, Apple TV+
Consider this a tasty appetizer before the full meal that will be Robert Eggers’s take on Nosferatu (in theaters on Christmas Day). The main reason to be excited about this fascinating project is the involvement of Doug Jones, the physically brilliant actor from Hellboy, The Shape of Water, and Pan’s Labyrinth. He plays the title character in David Lee Fisher’s version of the 1922 silent original, shot scene by scene as the same story but with a new cast and green-screen technology designed to heighten the experience. It promises to feel old and new at the same time, something out of place, kind of like Nosferatu itself.
October 21, Hulu
Excuse me, did you say “sentient pumpkin”? Arguably the weirdest project of Spooky Season 2024, this original film is reportedly about a murderous pumpkin that stalks a group of young people on Halloween when they get stuck in a historical reenactment village. Will it be a comedy? Are we supposed to take a murderous pumpkin seriously? It’s too soon to tell, but major points for originality here. It might not be great, but it won’t be like anything else. Think twice before you carve yours this year. You wouldn’t want to make it mad.
➼ The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist (Netflix, October 3) — The hit books by Aaron Blabey were turned into a huge film for DreamWorks in 2022 but are becoming seasonal staples for Netflix as their 2023 holiday special is now joined by a Halloween outing.
➼ House of Spoils (Prime Video, October 3) — Oscar winner Ariana DeBose plays a rising chef who opens a new destination restaurant in a remote house that just might have ghosts on the menu.
➼ V/H/S/Beyond (Shudder, October 4) — If it’s October, there must be a new V/H/S. This one includes segments directed by Justin Long and Kate Siegel, from a script by her husband, Mike Flanagan.
➼ Caddo Lake (Max, October 10) — M. Night Shyamalan produces this original thriller about a missing girl near the titular lake, an actual hotbed of supernatural activity on the border between Texas and Louisiana.
➼ Mr. Crocket (Hulu, October 11) — A children’s-TV-show host in the ’90s comes out of TV sets to kidnap children and murder their parents in this Hulu original film.
➼ Family Guy Halloween Special (Hulu, October 14) — A Hulu exclusive special for the Griffin clan that features star du jour Glen Powell as the king of the annual Quahog pumpkin contest.
➼ American Horror Stories (Hulu, October 15) — Five new episodes in the AHS anthology series that include appearances by Michael Imperioli, Henry Winkler, June Squibb, Jessica Barden, and more.
➼ The Shadow Strays (Netflix, October 17) — Timo Tjahjanto is one of the craziest action directors alive, helming The Night Comes for Us and The Big 4, among others. His latest isn’t horror but has such a massive fake-blood budget that it qualifies for a list like this one.
➼ MaXXXine (Max, October 18) — Ti West closes out his trilogy with Mia Goth, which includes X and Pearl, available exclusively on Max.
➼ Trap (Max, October 25) — M. Night Shyamalan’s divisive latest lands on Max just in time for those looking to perfect their Lady Raven costumes for a Halloween party.
➼ What We Do in the Shadows: Season Six (FX on Hulu, October 22) – The final season of the hit FX show that’s basically “Real World With Vampires” launches just before Halloween.
➼ Hellbound: Season Two (Netflix, October 25) – The first season of this Korean nightmare fuel about creatures basically escaping hell aired way back in 2021 and finally returns to pick up the pieces three years later.
Twenty years ago, MySpace and Facebook ushered in an inspired age of social media. Today, the sticky parables of online life are inescapable: Connection is a convenience as much as it is a curse. A lot’s changed since those early years. In June, the US surgeon general, Vivek H. Murthy, called for a warning label on social platforms that have played a part in the mental health crisis among young people, of which “social media has emerged as an important contributor.” Social Studies, the new FX docuseries from documentarian Lauren Greenfield, bring the unsettling effects of that crisis into startling view.
The thesis was simple. Greenfield set out to catalog the first generation for which social media was an omnipresent, preordained reality. From August 2021 to the summer of 2022, she embedded with a group of teens at several Los Angeles–area high schools for the entire school year (the majority of the students attend Palisades Charter), as they obsessed over crushes, applied to college, attended prom, and pursued their passions.
“It was an unusual documentary for me,” Greenfield, a veteran filmmaker of cultural surveys like The Queen of Versailles and Generation Wealth, says of how the series came together. “The kids were co-investigators on this journey.” Along with the 1,200 hours of principal photography Greenfield and her team captured, students were also asked to save screen recordings of their daily phone usage, which amounted to another 2,000 hours of footage. Stitched together, the documentary illuminates the tangled and unrelenting experiences of teens as they deal with body dysmorphia, bullying, social acceptance, and suicidal ideation. “That’s the part that is the most groundbreaking of this project, because we haven’t really seen that before.”
The depth of the five-episode series benefits from Greenfield’s encyclopedic approach. The result is perhaps the most accurate and comprehensive portrait of Gen Z’s relationship to social media. With the release of the final episode this week (you can stream it on Hulu), I spoke with Greenfield over Zoom about the sometimes cruel, seemingly infinite experience of being a teenager online today.
JASON PARHAM: In one episode, a student says, “I think you can’t log in to TikTok and be safe.” Having spent the previous three years fully immersed in this world, I’m curious if you think social media is bad?
LAUREN GREENFIELD: I don’t think it’s a binary question. I really went into this as a social experiment. This is the first generation that has never grown up without it. So even though social media has been around for a while, they are the first generation of digital natives. I thought it was the right time to look at how it was impacting childhood. It’s the biggest cultural influence of this generation’s growing up, bigger than parents, peers, or school, especially coming out of Covid, which was when we started filming. You know, I didn’t go into filming with a point of view or an activist agenda, but I certainly was moved by what the teenagers said to me and what they showed in their lives, which is that it’s a pretty dire situation.
Hulu live coverage of multiple sporting events, including the Dodgers game, on Thursday night was interrupted by technical difficulties as users reported — with some heat — about the streaming service suddenly cutting out.
“Turns out @hulu does not, in fact, have live sports,” one X user posted.
Thursday night is Game 4 of the best-of-seven National League Championship Series in New York between the Dodgers and the Mets. The Dodgers currently lead the series 2-1.
They were tied 1-1 going into the second inning, around the time that Hulu’s streaming servers encountered trouble. Users missed the second through fourth innings and were still having issues logging in at 7 p.m.
Here’s what Hulu watchers missed: The Dodgers broke the tie with two runs in the third on hits by Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernandez. The Mets made it 3-2 in the bottom of the third before the Dodgers added two more runs in the top of the fourth on a double by Mookie Betts, leaving the Dodgers up 5-2.
Meanwhile, the third game in the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees at the Cleveland Guardians was a nail-biter. The Guardians’ Jhonkensy Noel sent the game into extra innings with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, setting the stage for David Fry’s walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th. The Yankees still lead the series, 2-1.
Posts to Hulu’s support account on X were filled with angry customers, saying their devices were not accepting correct log-in information. The support team was replying to some accounts, offering a link to Hulu’s support page — which ended up going down too.
“Apologies! We’ve received similar reports and our team is currently investigating this issue. We’re working to get things resolved ASAP. In the meantime, try using: https://t.co/qxlmnIPbSj as a possible workaround!”
The support team was also offering concessions to unhappy customers, asking them to follow prompts on their support contact page.
Hulu’s bundle with live TV, Disney+ and ESPN+ increased its price on the same day its baseball coverage faltered, up to $95.99 a month.
Times staff writer Tim Hubbard contributed to this report.
As humans, we are deeply flawed. We will lie, cheat, and steal…but most of all, we’ll watch any sort of gruesome reality show because we crave drama that isn’t our own.
Growing up, I remember my mom watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I knew about Lisa Vanderpump before Vanderpump Rules entered the chat. But I never understood her fascination with a bunch of women fighting on-screen…until I got older.
Last year, I attended Summer House’s Danielle Olivera’s app launch party, where most of the cast was in attendance. After spending the night unknowingly surrounded by Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard (the night before the end of their engagement), Paige DeSorbo and Craig Conover, and more…I had to find out who the hell these people were.
Now, at 26 years of age, I’ve pored through most of the Bravo catalog myself. I’ve caught up on Summer House, the majority of the Real Housewives franchises, and I was there for Scandoval.
Reality TV has taken over since the Writer’s Strike brought show production to a grinding halt and it’s finally catching up to us. After a slow summer of barely any new scripted shows, it was time to fixate on reality.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives aired on September 6 on Hulu. And at first glance, it seemed like a tell-all documentary about the horrors of Mormonism…but actually, it was a reality television show about crazy Mormon women who founded “#MomTok” on TikTok.
Everyone’s watching, but honestly…this isn’t the finest Mormon television I’ve seen. If you’ve already watched The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and can’t get enough of the “Bad Mormons,” then here are a few shows that are just as shocking.
The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City
I think the real reason I wasn’t utterly shocked by The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was because prepared for it by this show. Because, sure, there’s nothing scarier (I mean better) than a bunch of 20-something Mormon women making TikToks…until you’ve met a group of disgraced Mormon women double their age with double the drama.
In terms of reality television this show has been through everything in only five seasons: Jen Shah, now imprisoned for fraud, Monica Garcia, who ran an anonymous gossip account about her fellow housewives, Meredith Marks, who has a strange Transatlantic accent…I could go on.
Constant drama, mentions of Mormonism, and many quotable moments, this show makes The Secret Lives look like child’s play.
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey
If you want more of a documentary ( shockumentary?), then watch Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey on Netflix. All about the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints cult that’s led by Warren S. Jeffs (from jail!), you’ll hear all about the male-dominated, polygamist group in this tell-all docu.
The series documents the physical, psychological, and emotional abuse of young women in the FLDS, with a focus on the survivors who have safely escaped. There are mentions of child abuse, sexual assault, and more, so be cautious when viewing — this content may not be safe for everyone.
However, if you want the dark truth about some sectors of the Latter Day Saints sect, this is a good start.
Under The Banner Of Heaven
A mixture of fact and fiction, Under The Banner Of Heaven stars Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones. It follows Detective Jeb Pyre as he investigates the murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty and her daughter in Salt Lake Valley. Along the way, Pyre (Garfield) starts to uncover the truth about the LDS religion.
It’s one of Garfield’s best roles (and yes, I’ve seen his Spiderman) as he grapples with his faith while investigating a major murder. It blends fundamentalism, ethics, and the Mormonism in a way that has you questioning what’s real and what isn’t.
Based on Jon Krakauer blockbuster of a novel, it’s a great fictional take on the FLDS that will have you binge watching the entire show in one night.
Hofmann faked documents relating to the Latter Day Saints religion, including letters “from” Joseph Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, and David Whitmer. When Hofmann was close to getting caught, he set off three bombs across Salt Lake City, Utah to kill three people.
It’s a bizarre tale that turns deadly, but is an easy binge watch for you and your friends.
PHILADELPHIA — Nearly two decades ago, a young, attractive and well-educated Philadelphia couple garnered international headlines for their brazen crimes.
And while their crimes were non-violent, some even dubbed them “Bonnie and Clyde.”
The True Crime documentary called “Beauty and the Cheat,” produced by the 6abc Action News Investigative Team, goes behind the scenes into the investigation of the infamous duo.
It is streaming now on Hulu.
Beauty and the Cheat: A true crime documentary streaming now on Hulu | Watch the trailer
Back in 2007, Jocelyn Kirsch and Edward Anderton splashed their social media accounts with their ill-gotten gains which included lavish trips, extravagant dinners, and other images befitting high society.
To their friends, the Drexel University bombshell and University of Pennsylvania graduate seemed to have it all, but it soon was discovered to be funded with stolen riches.
“People like to romanticize an attractive young couple, who had everything going for them and decided to engage in a life of crime,” said Deputy U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen.
In the documentary, investigators reveal more details about the brazen scheme.
“The damage for most people was not financial. It was emotional,” said Detective Terry Sweeney of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Viewers will also hear from the woman who helped police bring them down.
“I was vulnerable that she stole from me, and I wanted payback,” said Jennifer Bisicchia.
And a former lover of Jocelyn Kirsch speaks.
“It just was really hard to discern, sort of, what was lies and what wasn’t,” said Jayson Verdibello.
“They were smart. They were actually very good criminals. And were very successful for over a year,” added Lappen.
But they made one mistake and it unraveled the whole scheme.
The true crime documentary, Beauty and the Cheat, is now streaming on Hulu.
After their collaboration on Nutcrackers, Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films and Rivulet Films will re-team for the pickleball comedy The Dink.
Jake Johnson has nabbed the leading role as he plays a washed-up tennis pro who, to save a club in crisis and win his father’s respect, does the one thing he swore he’d never do: play pickleball. The cast includes Mary Steenburgen and Ed Harris, while Stiller and former tennis champion Andy Roddick will have key supporting roles.
Johnson is coming off Self Reliance, his feature length directorial debut that he also wrote and stars in. Josh Greenbaum will direct The Dink from an original screenplay from Sean Clements, with production to start in Los Angeles in November.
John Lesher and Stiller are producing through their Red Hour Films banner, alongside Rivulet’s Rob Paris and Mike Witherill. Johnson will also produce. Stiller and Rivulet Films most recently worked together on David Gordon Green’s Nutcrackers, which opened the Toronto Film Festival and was picked up by Hulu.
Nutcrackers marked Stiller’s first starring role in a movie since Mike White’s Brad’s Status and Noah Baumbach’s Netflix family drama The Meyerowitz Stories in 2017, as the Hollywood veteran has focused on directing and producing in recent years.
Rivulet is financing The Dink, with Rick Steele, Clements and Greenbaum executive producing.
Johnson is repped by UTA, while Stiller by repped by WME. Steenburgen by repped by UTA and Entertainment 360, and Harris is repped by CAA, and Greenbaum is repped by UTA and Entertainment 360. Clements is repped by by UTA.
I know I say this often, so you probably think I’m a miserable person…but I promise I’m actually quite happy most of the time. There are a few things that anger me to my core — most of them revolving around television series — and I must speak up when it’s right.
So while I’ve harped on Emily in Paris and My Life With The Walter Boys, I actually have a Mortal Enemy #1: Tell Me Lies. And it’s not that the show’s writing is weak, per se. It’s a much bigger issue because there is not one likable character.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here. No need to hate too early on, we have the entire article for that. Tell Me Lies Season 2 just released on September 4, and with a weekly rollout on Hulu, fans can anticipate regular episodes.
The show is based on the novel by Carol Lovering, and to be fair, I have not read it. So I cannot attest to whether or not Lovering is behind the atrocities that occur in the show.
In case you completely forgot what happened in Tell Me Lies Season 1, let’s recap why I’m angry and believe every character in the show should be imprisoned.
Tell Me Lies Season 1 Recap
I meditated before writing this article so I could level my emotions. It starts with Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White), who meet while at Baird College and embark on an eight-year-long, on-and-off, emotionally abusive, toxic relationship.
Lucy is a freshman when she meets Stephen — a junior — who asks her on a date. But before that can happen, Lucy’s roommate Macy is killed in a car accident. I wish the story ended there, but sadly, I’m forced to continue.
Turns out, Stephen and most of his friends are directly involved in the accident that killed Macy. Even worse? Lucy’s best friend, Pippa, knows about it. But this isn’t fully revealed until the end of season 1, so as you can imagine it only gets worse.
As the season progresses, we’re caught up in a web of will-they-won’t-they with Lucy and Stephen…who truly traumatize everyone in their path.
If you are entering your freshman year of college, heed my advice: do not put yourself through emotional hell for a junior boy with no aspirations and multiple potential felonies. It’s not worth it. It’s rare that the boy you meet freshman year is “The One.”
But anyways, Lucy and Stephen can’t get it together over the course of season 1. Finally, Lucy finally discovers that Stephen was involved with Macy’s murder. Stephen was with Macy in the car and he got away with it by pushing her body into the driver’s seat and deleting all their messages. Here’s the freaking insane part: Lucy stays with him.
They go on a weekend trip to Stephen’s roommate Evan’s lake house for his birthday…where just about everyone is disrespectful to Evan’s parent’s mansion. This aggravates me simply because (at this point in the narrative) Evan is relatively harmless, but even he ends up disappointing me.
So Lucy writes an anonymous letter to Baird’s Dean of Students blaming Macy’s death on Drew. The school then launches an investigation and Lucy provides Stephen with an alibi.
But how does Stephen repay Lucy for all this? By cheating on Lucy at a party with his ex so he can get an internship with her lawyer father. And how does Lucy react? By hooking up with Evan, who is dating her best friend, Bree.
Tell Me Lies Season 2 So Far
The show flashes forward 8 years later where a different picture is painted. Evan and Bree are getting married, so the gang is forced to reunite for the first time since college.
It also looks like Stephen’s now engaged to Lucy’s best friend from home — Lydia — which feels like another manipulation tactic. Throughout the wedding rehearsal dinner and festivities, there’s clear tension between Lydia and Lucy.
While the show flashes back and forth between college and the wedding, we discover that Lydia’s younger brother Chris went to college with Lucy. At a party, Diana finds Pippa unconscious in a room with Chris, who claims he was only using the bathroom.
Pippa comes to and is confused and embarrassed while Diana and Lucy take care of her. Pippa admits she doesn’t remember anything beyond kissing Chris. This could be the start of the rift between Lydia and Lucy, but that’s all on the case for now.
The entire show is dedicated to Stephen manipulating different people. For example, he knows that Wrigley hooked up with Stephen’s ex Diana when they were freshmen…but rather than telling Wrigley he’s upset, he enacts a plot of psychological revenge.
Oh, Lucy. I want to feel bad for you, but I don’t. Because you committed multiple crimes for a boy who is an awful person. It’s one thing to be a doormat, but this just hurts to watch.
Tell Me Lies continues to build the tension between every character. We watch Lucy continue to break under the pressure of her affair with Evan…who confessed to Bree that he cheated, but didn’t reveal who it was with.
Bree then turns around and starts having an affair with Oliver, a professor at the college who is married. Again, we all know this is such a bad idea. At the end of the day, no one is a hero in this story.
In the meantime, Stephen’s tormenting Lucy for having feelings for him in the first place. So, Lucy threatens to tell everyone the truth if he keeps harassing her. I’m sure this will go well.
The episodes end in present time, when everyone goes home to their significant others. Pippa, now in a clandestine relationship, finally reveals her lover is none other than Stephen’s ex, Diana.
Now that we’ve recapped the entirety of the show, can you understand why it’s so hateable?
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
“I was actually interviewed for it, and I was told I didn’t have enough drama in my life, so I didn’t get it,” Taylor told StyleCaster in a joint interview with her Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast mate, Mayci Neeley. “But that’s OK because now I have this show.”
However, Taylor suspects that the lack of drama in her life wasn’t the only reason she wouldn’t have made a good Housewife. “There was an interest there. That’s why I interviewed, but I also don’t think I would have fit in. They’re known for having really big houses—very extravagant. I’m not really extravagant.”
Disney/Pamela Littky
Though Taylor and Mayci haven’t watched The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, they have met a couple cast members around the SLC area. “I met Jennie [Nguyen]. She was on it for one season and then got kicked off,” Mayci said. Taylor added, “I met one who was kicked off as well. Dark long hair? I think I met her too.”
Mayci continued, “I’ve seen another one at an influencer event. I think it was Meredith [Marks]. Dark, long hair, and she’s still on the show. There are two that look really similar to me, and I can’t tell them apart. [Secret Lives of Mormon Wives co-star] Jessi [Ngatikaura] does some of their hair, so she’s more the girl you’d want to ask.”
Taylor, Mayci, and Jessi are three of eight cast members on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Hulu’s Real Housewives-esque reality show following a group of Mormon (and ex-Mormon) TikTok moms—known as #MomTok—as they navigate friendships, marriages, pressures from the church, and the drama that comes with everything in between.
Though Bravo didn’t think Taylor had enough drama to be a Salt Lake City Housewife, Hulu (and fans) certainly disagree. The first season arguably revolved around Taylor—who has the most followers in MomTok—and the fallout of her “soft swinging” scandal, which went viral in 2022 when Taylor revealed in a TikTok that she and her then-husband, Tate Paul, were swingers. The controversy led Taylor to file for divorce from Tate that same year and eventually meet her now-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
If her life wasn’t dramatic enough, Taylor was also arrested in 2023 for domestic violence following a fight with Dakota, who she welcomed a baby with in March 2024. But the drama didn’t stop there. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 1 finale ended on a cliffhanger with Mayci calling Jenna, a woman Dakota was accused of cheating on Taylor with. Just as Jenna was about to tell her side of the story. The screen cut to black. So what happened next? Well, if The Secret Lives of Mormon Wivesis renewed for a second season, Taylor and Mayci assure that the Jenna drama will be the first thing addressed.
Now that the show is out, have either of you received any angry texts from your cast mates because of something you said on the show that they didn’t know about?
Mayci: There’s definitely drama going on behind the scenes with cast members in the show, but not that specific situation. There’s a lot going on. But I think for some people, watching the edit back was harder than others.
Can you say who?
Mayci: I think you can probably guess.
I want to move onto that cliffhanger. Mayci, what can you say about that phone call with Jenna and what happened after that we didn’t see?
Mayci: I really can’t say anything. My lips are sealed. It has to wait for Season 2, but definitely was a good cliffhanger. Let’s put it that way.
What was your reaction to Mayci calling Jenna?
Taylor: I was fine with it. If you’re a person that has nothing to hide, there’s nothing to worry about there. Anyone that was worried in that situation, it’s kind of like, “Oh, what do you have to lose?”
Mayci: They cut it out of the show, but we had a conversation. She was like, “Yeah, I don’t care if you call her.” That was cut out, so it wasn’t me going rogue just calling Jenna. I had her full permission to do that.
I think a lot of people are wondering who is Jenna.
Taylor: She is so irrelevant to my life, but so relevant at the same time. She was just a girl. It’s not even her. It’s the feelings that came along with it at that time. Basically, Dakota dating both of us, lying and ending up at her house, t makes me feel worthless, unloved, not good enough. I was so open at that time and in such a low time in my life. That’s how you can get me triggered. Just ask me these questions. At the end of the day, it’s just a girl I’m butthurt over. It has nothing to do with her. It’s a timeline issue.
Disney/Fred Hayse
Would you film with Jenna if there was a Season 2?
Taylor: Yeah, I don’t think I’d have a choice, honestly. I would love to. I have some things to say but I’ll just hold that. We gotta wait for if there’s another season.
If there’s someone who’s been talked about the most from the show, it’s Whitney. Mayci, I know you and Whitney were both at The Bachelorette“Men Tell All.” Where do you both stand with Whitney today?
Taylor: I don’t even care if the girl hates me. I like Whitney, and I actually texted her this the other day. I’m like, “I know you’re going through it. I know you’re getting dragged through the mud right now, but you were the one girl that reached out to me when I was at my lowest, and so for that, I will always be here for you.” I don’t really care what she says behind my back or anything because she was the one girl that helped me out of a dark place.
Mayci: I would say we are still… I don’t know. We went to The Bachelorette together, and it was fine. We’re still friends, but she has been doing some interesting things online, which are not cool. I don’t know where I stand with her right now. To be honest, I thought we were chill, but maybe we’re not. I did reach out to her when the show came out to check in on her, and she didn’t respond. But then she’s bringing beef to the internet, so I really don’t know where we stand, to be honest.
What did she do?
Mayci: She was just posting personal texts between the two of us, which is very slimy and not OK to do. It’s really invasive to post personal messages. It was interesting because it really didn’t prove her point. It proved mine when she posted them. Basically, because in my interviews, I said that she wasn’t there. She didn’t text me or call me the night of my event at all, and she didn’t. She tried to post receipts, but she doesn’t show the top date on the receipt. She didn’t text me that night, so I don’t know what she was trying to prove.
Is she a part of the group chat again?
Mayci: Nope.
Does the group chat still exist?
Mayci: Yup. And it’s very active right now. I can promise you that.
I was surprised no one grilled Whitney more about the Tinder story with her husband and whether or not he actually met up with someone. What do you think about that story?
Taylor: It’s hard to say because I’m not in that situation, but I’m a nosy person. I like to know every detail. That’s probably what messes me up in my head. I would have wanted to know a lot more. So when I asked her on film, “Did he hang out with anyone?” I would want to know everything. She was one that didn’t want to know and that’s OK. To each their own. But for me, I think we were all just wanting to know more. Because I think you can kind of navigate your decision if you know more you know. But that’s my personal preference.
Mayci: I’m probably the same with that. She said she didn’t dig too deep into it. That’s her own personal decision. She decided I’m staying with him, and honestly, Connor is a very nice, genuine guy. It was a situation where it’s like, if that’s what makes you happy and you’re good with everything and not knowing, then good for you.
Do you think Whitney would come back for Season 2?
Taylor: It’s hard to say.
Mayci: She changes her mind everyday. I bet this week it’s no. Maybe in two weeks, it’s yes, It depends.
Something else that was talked about so much from the show was the Fruity Pebbles story with Demi. The way it’s shown leaves a lot of room for interpretation. So can you shed light on what the real Fruity Pebbles story is?
Taylor: I’m keeping that one in my sleeve if she comes at me. Because if she ever does, I’ll be like, “Do we want to talk about Fruity Pebbles?”
Mayci: She’s sworn us to secrecy on that one. I’m keeping that one up my sleeve too if I need to. I’ve had family members ask, “Just tell me.” I’m like, “I ain’t saying nothing.”
Have you seen any theories on the internet that are correct?
Mayci: Not yet, actually, I don’t think I’ve seen one where they got it right. There’s this one girl who was like, “They’re Mormons and they’re really vanilla, so it must just mean this.” I was like, “No, baby. That’s not what it is. Not even close, honey.”
Around the time the trailer came out, the church of Latter Day Saints issued a statement on the show. What was your reaction to that?
Taylor: It was kind of annoying because they hadn’t seen it yet. So they’re judging us before they even see the show. But it wasn’t surprising at the same time. For some reason I felt this was gonna happen.
Mayci: I feel like they had to say something because everyone was freaking out online. They had to do something to put out the fires. I did like how they were like, “Come to us for resources in the church.” Because, yes, we’re not trying to be spokespeople or mouthpieces. We’re just filming this show that happens to have a title with Mormon in it. I don’t think anyone’s really worried. It was a little bit like, “OK, we’re judging a book by its cover.” But I think once they watch the show too, they’ll realize, the church isn’t the show, like, it’s sprinkled in. Religion is involved in our lives, but the show is not about being Mormon.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is available to stream on Hulu.
