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| Edward Burns: Brothers view dad differently in 'Finnegan's Foursome' | Writer, director and actor Edward Burns says Finnegan's Foursome isn't autobiographical, but real conversations about family, loss and grief with people he knows helped him develop the dramedy. "Anytime I come up with an early notion of what I want to explore as a writer, I will kind of do these informal interviews with friends of mine or from at a dinner party and one of the early ideas I had for the script was siblings or family members who have differing opinions on their parents," Burns, 58, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "I wanted to make a film that looked at two brothers who had very different opinions on their dead father," he said. |
| 'Friends,' 'Cheers,' 'Will & Grace' director James Burrows dies at 85 | Prolific television director James Burrows died Friday, People and CBS News reported. He was 85. People was the first to confirm with Burrows' family, who said in a statement he died "peacefully today surrounded by his loving family." CBS confirmed with attorney Tom Hoberman. Burrows directed the pilot episode of many long-running TV shows, including Taxi, Cheers, Wings, Friends, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Frasier, Rock, NewsRadio, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Neighborhood and more. He directed every episode of Will & Grace, including its revival. |
| Saweetie joins Season 2 of 'Bet,' Netflix's 'Kakegurui' series | Grammy-nominated singer and rapper Saweetie has joined the cast of Bet. Netflix announced Thursday that Saweetie, 32, will appear in Season 2 of the teen drama series. The streaming service shared the news alongside a photo of Saweetie and Bet star Miku Martineau wearing their school uniform costumes. "It's back to school this summer for Saweetie who just joined the cast of BET S2 is now in production!" the caption reads. Bet is based on the Homura Kawamoto and Toru Naomura manga Kakegurui. Martineau plays Yumeko, a new student at St. Dominic's Prep, an exclusive boarding school where the social order is dictated by underground gambling. Season 1 was released in May 2025. |
| How the 'Toy Story' films explored life's emotional milestones | The original Toy Story (1995) introduced a simple premise: Your toys are never where you left them because they're actually alive and have their own adventures until you find them again. Through five films, four streaming on Disney+ and Toy Story 5 in theaters Friday, the Toy Story movies entertained children with their beautifully animated depictions of playtime and friendships between different toys. It was adults, however, who were more likely to have emotional breakdowns over the films' depiction of milestone life events they'd already lived through. From existential crises to concerns about the pervasiveness of tech, the Toy Story movies have resonated with adult audiences throughout the years due to their timely themes. |
| Gilgo Beach killer sentenced; Peacock, Netflix docuseries examine case | Rex Heuermann was sentenced Wednesday to multiple life terms without parole in the Gilgo Beach killings case. Here are two recent docuseries that examine the murders, investigation and victims. The most recent series, The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets, began streaming in June on Peacock. It features interviews with the family of Heuermann, the Long Island architect convicted in the killings. The other, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, premiered in March on Netflix. It is a follow-up to director Liz Garbus' 2020 film Lost Girls, which dramatized the effort of one of the missing women's mother to find justice for the alleged victims, all of whom worked in the sex industry. |