Tag: tv news

Multiple outlets are reporting that arrests have been made following a law enforcement investigation into the death of Friends star Matthew Perry.

According to TMZ, “there have been multiple arrests made, including at least one doctor.” Per The New York Times, “two doctors and two others have been indicted.”

Perry died on October 28 of last year. According to the medical examiner’s toxicology report at the time, “Perry had taken ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety a week-and-a-half before his death.” However “the ketamine in his system at the time of his death … could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less.”

Police then began investigating how Perry acquired the ketamine found in his body at the time of his death. Per TMZ, “multiple law enforcement agencies have executed search warrants and seized computers, phones and other electronic equipment to determine who supplied Perry with the ketamine that caused him to lose consciousness last October and drown in his hot tub in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.”

READ MORE: Matthew Perry Had a Massive Trust Fund When He Died

The Times reports that a federal indictment details charges against “Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors said was known as the Ketamine Queen,’ and Salvador Plasencia, known as ‘Dr. P.’” The charges include conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

The court documents include alleged test messages between the suspects, including one that authorities claim read “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets find out.”

The medical examiner’s report in Perry’s case noted that there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs like cocaine, heroine, methamphetamine, or fentanyl present at the scene of Perry’s death. The Medical Examiner concluded that the ketamine  in Perry’s system resulted in “cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.” It also cited “drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects” as “contributory factors” in his death.

Earlier media reports claimed that “key people in Hollywood” had been spoken to by authorities in connection with Perry’s death.

The family of Perry’s stepfather released a statement that read “We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously … we look forward to justice taking its course.”

HBO and Max have finally pinned down exactly when DC’s The Penguin will premiere.

The show will debut on HBO on Thursday, September 19 at 9PM ET. It will also be available to stream on Max.

The premiere will re-air that Sunday, September 22, at 9PM ET. Then the second episode, and each subsequent episode will air on Sunday nights at 9PM.

The series is eight episodes long.

READ MORE: Why Batman: Caped Crusader Is a Must-Watch

The show spins out of the events of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, where Farrell debuted his version of the Penguin, less a bird-themed super-villain with tricky umbrellas, and more a Tony Soprano-esque scheming mob boss looking to get ahead in the Gotham City underworld.

The spinoff’s cast includes Cristin Milioti (playing Sofia Falcone, who has a long history with Batman in DC Comics), Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Clansy Brown, and Carmen Ejogo.

Here is the series’ official synopsis:

Starring Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb (aka “The Penguin”), the DC Studios series continues filmmaker Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” epic crime saga that began with Warner Bros. Pictures’ global blockbuster “The Batman.” Developed by showrunner Lauren LeFranc, the series centers on the character played by Farrell in the film.

While The Penguin premieres next month on HBO and Max, we haven’t heard much lately about the planned sequel to The Batman, The Batman — Part II. It’s currently announced release date is October 2, 2026. At this point, it’s essentially the last surviving remnant of the previous regime of DC films and shows prior to the arrival of new co-CEOs Peter Safran and James Gunn. Whether that has an impact on the ongoing health of The Batman franchise, only time (and perhaps the ratings of The Penguin) will tell.

Tom Cruise took part in the Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony, and in extremely Tom Cruise fashion: Doing a major stunt.

Cruise performed an impressive dive from the top of the Stade de France, rappelling down from the roof to the floor, before greeting some of the attendees.

Cruise’s role in the proceeding was appropriate because the next Summer Olympics in 2028 will be held in Los Angeles. (And, one assumes, Tom Cruise will do at least one ridiculous stunt at every single event.)

READ MORE: Every Mission: Impossible Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

If you have been paying attention to the news lately, Cruise’s appearance was not a shock; and was rumored in the media for the last few weeks.

After Cruise landed on the ground, he grabbed the Olympic flag and then jumped on a motorcycle. He then appeared to cruise into a plane, and then performed a skydiving stunt over Los Angeles (obviously this bit was recorded earlier).

The United States and China tied for the most gold medals at the Paris Summer Olympics; both countries had 40. (The U.S. did have more total medals, with 125.)

Here are some more images of Cruise in action.

This was not the first time Cruise has been involved with Olympic festivities. In 2004, Tom Cruise was one of the torch bearers during the 2004 Olympic torch relay.

Look, this is all well and good. But I’m waiting to find out how Dead Reckoning ends! Tom Cruise, stop jumping off of buildings for the Olympics, and start jumping off of buildings for Mission: Impossible! Thank you.

The Stranger Things stage play, which is already a hit in London, will make its Broadway debut in the spring of 2025.

A new video teaser announces the show’s Broadway debut date: March. 28, 2025. Titled Stranger Things: The First Shadow, it is a prequel to the hit Netflix TV series about a group of teenage friends investigating the various supernatural happenings in their small Indiana hometown. Set decades before the show, it tells the origin of Henry Creel, who eventually becomes Stranger Things’ ultimate villain, Vecna.

The trailer announcing the show coming to Broadway — complete with plenty of glimpses of what you can expect to see on stage — is below.

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Here was Netflix’s official description of The First Shadow:

Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach. Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end.

The London production of The First Shadow has been successful enough that Netflix is reportedly planning to make it the first part of a trilogy of stage shows based on Stranger Things. The show hasn’t gotten uniformly positive reviews, though; The New York Times described the West End production of The First Shadow as “a gaudy, vertiginous fairground ride of a play, exactly what you’d expect from a show co-produced by Netflix: Cheap thrills, expensively made.”

Stranger Things: The First Shadow premieres on Broadway on March 28, 2025; you can get more information on tickets at the show’s official website.

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This week’s Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon also marks the halfway point of the entire season. That’s because, according to series showrunner Ryan Condal, the Game of Thrones spinoff will likely end after four seasons.

Condal confirmed the info at a virtual press conference timed to the conclusion of the show’s second season. Asked whether House of the Dragon will run for five seasons, Condal replied “No, I think it’s four.”

Game of Throne ran for eight seasons and 73 episodes on HBO. It was also based on an expansive series of five novels (plus two more that George R.R. Martin still has yet to publish), while House of the Dragon is largely drawn from a single Martin book, Fire & Blood.

READ MORE: House of the Dragon: Our Full Season 2 Finale Breakdown

Even if House of the Dragon does end after two more seasons on HBO and Max, it will almost certainly not be the end of the Game of Thrones universe on the cable channel and streaming service. Warner Bros. Discovery has been developing several other potential prequels, sequels, and spinoffs set in Martin’s fantasy world. One, titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on the author’s Tales of Dunk and Egg stories, is already in production and should debut on HBO and Max at some point in 2025.

The first two seasons of House of the Dragon are now available for streaming on Max. Condal also said at the press conference that Season 3 of House of the Dragon should begin production early in 2025.

The John Wick franchise will continue — on television.

Lionsgate, the distributor of the Wick movies, is reportedly shopping a new TV series set after the events of the most recent film, John Wick: Chapter 4. Dubbed Under the High Table, the show is described thusly:

John Wick has left the world of the High Table in a tenuous position and a collection of new characters will look to make a name for themselves while some of the franchise stalwart characters remain committed to the old-world order. The series will combine new and old and thrust the Wick universe into a new age.

This would be the second John Wick television series. In 2023, Peacock released The Continental: From the World of John Wick, a prequel show set in the underworld hotel made famous by the John Wick movies. That show took place in the 1970s and starred a younger version of the character played in the films by Ian McShane.

READ MORE: The Making of John Wick: Chapter 4’s Stairwell Sequence

Both Keanu Reeves and John Wick series director Chad Stahelski are executive producers on Under the High Table.

There’s still no official word on a fifth John Wick movie, although there are two different Wick spinoff films already in the works. A spinoff called Ballerina starring Ana de Armas, was announced back in 2022; after a series of delays and reshoots, it is currently scheduled to open in theaters in June of 2025. Lionsgate has also announced that Caine, Donnie Yen’s blind assassin from John Wick: Chapter 4, will also be the subject of his own movie; that spinoff is set to be shot in Hong Kong next year.

Is the audience this invested in a John Wick universe that (at least at the moment) does not appear to include much involvement from John Wick himself? Lionsgate would surely want a fifth official John Wick “chapter.” Whether Stahelski and Reeves can both be coaxed into returning for it is the big question mark there. In the meantime, you can look forward to seeing Reeves as Wick at least one more time; he did shoot some scenes for Ballerina.