Arts & Entertainment

William Shatner replied on X to Stephen Miller's criticism of Starfleet Academy and said he was "on the same page," while noting Paramount+ should increase budgets for its Star Trek shows.

Valentino Garavani died at age 93 at his home in Rome, and his foundation announced on Instagram that he was surrounded by loved ones; the foundation also shared funeral timing and location.

Melissa Gilbert filed a letter asking a judge to keep her husband Timothy Busfield safe as he remains jailed in New Mexico on child sex abuse charges, and a detention hearing is scheduled to determine whether he will remain in custody.

Three former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance are due to stand trial this week on charges of "inciting subversion of state power," after the group was forced to disband amid allegations it acted as an "agent of foreign forces." The Alliance had organized annual Victoria Park candlelight vigils to mark the 1989 Tiananmen events.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy includes humpback whales in season 1, episode 2, with Caleb Mir bringing Tarima Sadal to the USS Athena's Cetacean Ops observatory; the appearance continues a franchise motif that dates back to Star Trek IV.

Reports say The Batman Part II will again use multiple villains, with Colin Farrell's Penguin returning and Sebastian Stan reported to be cast as Harvey Dent.

HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiered on January 18 and quickly reached top streaming positions in multiple countries while receiving strong critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

Pole to Pole, a seven-episode Disney+ docuseries starring Will Smith, premiered January 16, 2026 and is reported as holding a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes based on five reviews.

A civil trial opened in London after claimants including Prince Harry and Elton John accused Associated Newspapers of widespread phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering from 1993 to 2011 and beyond. Prince Harry is due to give evidence on Thursday as the nine-week trial proceeds.

The HBO series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres with a lighter, character-focused tone and showrunner Ira Parker says he worked closely with George R.R. Martin to keep the first season faithful to the novellas.

Starfleet Academy includes several references to Star Trek: Prodigy, including a USS Athena wall entry labeled “Zero the Third,” a Brikar student in the halls, and spoken mentions of the Protostar and characters Dal, Murph and Captain Gwyndala.

Thousands gathered at San Francisco's Civic Center on Saturday to celebrate Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead guitarist and founding member who died last week at 78. Musicians Joan Baez and John Mayer spoke and fans left roses and notes at an altar of photos and candles.

Kathleen Kennedy said Simon Kinberg is still writing a new three‑film Star Wars trilogy positioned as the next chapter after Episode IX, and he is due to submit a new treatment in March.

Through two rounds at the Sony Open, Spieth is four under and has picked up two shots on approach after offseason work to restore his swing and wedge play.

Over 100 full episodes of Sesame Street have been uploaded to the show's official YouTube account, including classic episodes; the release followed concerns about access after HBO Max ended its collaboration with the series.

Starfleet Academy, which premiered January 15 on Paramount+, shares characters, themes and timeline with Star Trek: Discovery and leans on events like the Burn to continue similar political and ethical storylines.

Kaley Cuoco stars in MGM+'s Vanished, a mystery thriller co-starring Sam Claflin about a partner who disappears during a European getaway; the series is scheduled for February 2026 and follows Cuoco's successful turn into thriller roles since 2020.

At 75, Gar Sexton guest-starred on the CBS drama Sheriff Country in an episode that aired Dec. 12, 2025, and says the part drew on his real-life experiences.

Paramount CEO David Ellison reportedly met with UK and European figures as the company seeks to contest Netflix's agreement to buy Warner Bros. Discovery; specialists say the deal would likely face an in-depth EU review.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 will put greater focus on Kong and appears to include Godzilla, while season 1 left characters in 2017—seven years before Godzilla and Kong's first onscreen meeting in Godzilla vs. Kong.

Jason Momoa told The Tonight Show that production on A Minecraft Movie 2 will begin in April. The sequel is scheduled for release in July 2027 and follows the 2025 film that earned $958 million at the box office.

Dave Filoni has been promoted to creative director at Lucasfilm, and the article argues that Star Wars: The Clone Wars — a late-2000s animated series — serves as the narrative blueprint for much of the franchise's recent film and television storytelling.

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson scored a season-best 85.47 in the rhythm dance and sit second at the European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield; the free dance that will decide medals is scheduled for tomorrow evening.

A report says Nick Reiner entered an L.P.S. mental health conservatorship in 2020 that ended in 2021; he is currently in custody after his parents were found dead and his arraignment has been postponed to Feb. 23.

HBO is continuing to develop possible Game of Thrones sequels, with an Arya-focused project among ideas while a Jon Snow series remains stalled.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos spoke to The New York Times after Paramount filed a lawsuit seeking disclosure of Netflix’s proposed deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, and said the combined company expects to release more films together and plans to grow content spending over coming years.

HBO cancelled a planned Jon Snow sequel, and reporting says the series would have followed Jon Snow coping with PTSD, isolating himself, and ending in a solitary death; Kit Harington has said the project is on the shelf and that he does not want to return.

Crave's Heated Rivalry premiered in 2025 and Season 2 has been confirmed; the show is adapted from Rachel Reid's seven-book Game Changers series, which the article notes could supply material for additional seasons.

A celebration of life for Stoke City supporters who died in 2025 is being held at Stoke Minster ahead of the club's first home league match of the year against Queens Park Rangers; friends and family can light candles and images of the deceased will be shown on the stadium screen before kick-off.

The Israel–Gaza war has widened divisions in literary circles, leading to disruptions such as the cancellation of Adelaide Writers' Week after a disputed disinvitation and controversy in Canada after the Giller Prize announced a jury made up of independent booksellers.