Fletcher Peters

Miya Mizuno/HBOWarning: Spoilers for the finale of The Regime follow.The Regime has come to a close on HBO, but Chancellor Elena Vernham’s (Kate Winslet) fictional European reign is far from over. That whole shtick with new beau Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schaoenaerts) and hating America? That was nothing. It was all just a “wobble,” Elena says, after nearly being killed in a civil war that takes place in her country.“That’s right, a ‘wobble!’” The Regime creator Will Tracy says with a laugh on a Zoom with The Daily Beast’s Obsessed. “That’s the only way you can phrase it without having a complete collapse in her brain.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Miya Mizuno/HBOThe Regime is taking a page out of the Succession book in the penultimate episode of the season. Herbert (Matthias Schoenaerts) wants to play bitey with Elena (Kate Winslet). He’s been chomping on her fingers super hard, “almost chewing them off,” in his dreams. The new couple sit with a dream therapist to discuss these odd visions on Christmas day in the palace.“Biting doesn’t necessarily signify aggression,” the therapist suggests. He’s wired to equate love with pain, and his dreams are a safe space to explore that. To practice a healthier mindset, Herbert should try placing Elena’s hand in his mouth but not bite it, which could create a nonviolent feedback loop in his dreams. Later, as Herbert and Elena have some intimate time—it’s a nightmare to watch these cringey scenes; get me to that dream therapist—Herbert sucks on her fingers, but doesn’t clamp down on them with his teeth. Elena applauds him, as if he were a rescue dog learning not to munch on humans. They’re “two little lunatics who fit like a glove,” Elena says, an apt title for their oddball relationship.Christmas at the palace is full of chipper music, holly jolly decorations, and the distant sound of bombs coming from a rebellion just a dozen miles away from the palace. Luckily, the explosions are light rumblings, not loud enough to completely distract from the murmurs of “Jingle Bells” on a nearby boombox at the palace. Elena calls for a family photo in front of the tree with young Oskar (Louie Mynett)—whose mother is actually Agnes (Andrea Riseborough)—and Herbert, her bodyguard-turned-live-in boyfriend.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/ABCEach new guest star on Abbott Elementary feels like a special treat. There have been a plethora of surprise visitors during the ABC sitcom’s third season, from big Hollywood names like Bradley Cooper and Keegan-Michael Key to internet sensations like Sabrina Brier and Casey Frey. Even Taylor Swift’s boyfriend’s brother Jason Kelce stopped by for a quick scene! Every guest has been as delightful as the last—but Abbott needs to wrap this shtick up, stat.Why, you may ask, should Abbott Elementary put an end to the guest stars if they are so fantastic? While there are no problems with the guest stars themselves, the real issue derives from the fact that they take away time from the main roster of characters in the show. Cooper visits the show after losing an Oscar—a great get. Hilariously humbling. Miraculous and noteworthy. But as that’s happening, Gregory (Tyler James Williams) hasn’t had a real arc this entire season.This is less of a concern for the main cast, though, who still have an array of episodic storylines and—like Janine (Quinta Brunson) at the district—overarching growth over the course of the season. It’s the secondary characters, like Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) and Tariq (Zack Fox), who are now haphazardly tossed into the plot instead of given thoughtful storylines.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Gilles Mingasson/DisneyThis week’s episode of Abbott Elementary takes place after hours, giving the teachers an opportunity to be a little more PG-13—or even R-rated—on the show. We’re not talking about a little bit of cursing here. We’re talking about sex, violence…and death. (The death of CPR training mannequins, that is.)Most of the Abbott teachers are participating in state mandated CPR training this week, led by firefighter Captain Robinson (Mike O’Malley) and paramedic Avi (Karan Soni). Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) and Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) pair up, while Jacob (Chris Perfetti) and a visiting Janine (Quinta Brunson) also take a dummy together. This is pretty imperative knowledge for the teachers—naturally, they don’t really take it all that seriously.It could be because Captain Robinson and Avi are participating in extracurricular activities with Melissa and Jacob, respectively. Melissa has been casually seeing Captain Robinson, which Jacob has heard all about, seeing as the two now (somewhat randomly) live together in Melissa’s home. Jacob is also hooking up with Avi, having recently broken up with Zach (Larry Owens)—although absolutely no one knows about Jacob’s private, new romantic life.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Aldara Zarraoa/Getty ImagesThere may be a new James Bond hitting the streets of London very soon. The name’s Taylor-Johnson. Aaron Taylor-Johnson.Alright, that may not have the same ring to it as “Bond. James Bond,” but worth a shot, right? A new report from The Sun alleges that Taylor-Johnson has been formally offered the role of Bond. Taylor-Johnson has been a rumored frontrunner to replace Daniel Craig since 2022 after screen testing for Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.Taylor-Johnson reportedly beat out big names like Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, James Norton, and even Cillian Murphy, who just won Best Actor at the Oscars for Oppenheimer.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/HBOA few months have passed, and now, Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) has almost completely taken over Elena Vernham’s (Kate Winslet) chancellorship. The Regime is changing hands. Everyone in the palace is drinking tea brewed in wormy dirt. How scrumptious.But even the muddy tea is complicated: It requires the use of three soils from three different areas of the country in the warm water. If any of the palace staffers screw this up in the slightest, they’ll be ousted. Most of Elena’s employees have grown jumpy, Nicholas (Guillaume Gallienne) warns Elena: “Not hugely terrific for morale, is it?” he asks.“No baby fat,” Elena snarks.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/FXAlthough we watched Truman (Tom Hollander) die in the penultimate episode of Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, we’re going to watch it all over again in the finale. Yes, we have to watch this agonizing sequence play out twice—but now, we get to see the events leading up to Truman’s death, and what Answered Prayers could have been.It’s 1984, six years following Babe’s (Naomi Watts) death, and Truman misses her dearly. He visits her grave, throwing the ugly carnations a friend has left to the side to make room for him to snuggle up to her headstone. “You’re positively frigid, Babe,” says Truman. “Everything’s frigid without you. Is it better in there?” Truman is already flirting with the idea of death. Babe has always set the latest fad, hasn’t she?Truman visits Jack (Joe Mantello), who wants nothing to do with his floozy ex-partner, especially since he’s seeing a younger man now. But Jack’s new piece of ass is excited to see Truman—let’s not forget, Truman is incredibly famous at this time—and invites him in to have dinner. Truman promises he’s sober. He’s fully consumed by his work on Answered Prayers now, which he says will be an apology and an explanation to all the people he hurt, but fictionalized. When Jack walks his guest out, he warns Truman that the swans will never forgive him. But Truman pushes back; people want to forgive. Look at Jack; he allowed Truman to come in for dinner after so many missteps. The heart is built to forgive.Read more at The Daily Beast.

SXSWEvery generation of teens should have its own moving coming-of-age story, and the youngsters of 2024 now have Tommy Dorfman to thank. The actress makes her directorial and screenwriting debut with the tender I Wish You All the Best, a portrait of a non-binary teen finding their identity with a fraught family life, an accessible, Love, Simon-esque movie for anyone questioning their gender identity.I Wish You All the Best, which premiered Tuesday at the SXSW Film Festival, follows the events of Mason Deaver’s YA novel of the same name. Ben (Corey Fogelmanis) is a teenager who’s positive they’re non-binary but unsure of how to announce that fact to the world. They try their best to practice coming out to their religious parents. But when they finally become brave enough to explain their gender identity, they’re immediately told to leave the house. Ben seeks refuge with their older sister Hannah (Alexandra Daddario), who has been estranged from the family for about a decade, as well as her husband Thomas (Cole Sprouse) and their baby Clyde.Hannah and Thomas’ gentle compassion for Ben is immediately endearing. Hannah takes Ben shopping for a new, more androgynous closet they actually feel confident wearing while Thomas, a high school teacher, helps enroll them in classes and introduces them to the eccentric art teacher, Ms. Lyons (Lena Dunham). And for the record: Dunham was born to play a quirked-up, somewhat cringe-inducing art teacher. This is perhaps the best casting job in ages. Although Ms. Lyons only appears in a few scenes, her effect on Ben is lasting, and Dunham is transfixing in her few minutes of screentime.Read more at The Daily Beast.

SXSWA new documentary exposing the hellish landscape of Brandy Melville reports that the male-run company is racist towards non-white employees, steals designs from other stores, and has an obsession with tiny, usually underaged girls. Premiering at the SXSW Film Festival (and airing on HBO later this year), Brandy Hellville and the Cult of Fast Fashion delves into the toxic environment behind the scenes of the California style-themed shop, featuring interviews with both former and current employees, photographers, and former company execs.Until a few years ago, the CEO of Brandy Melville was nearly untraceable online. Kate Taylor, an investigative reporter at Business Insider who broke the news of Brandy’s poor biz practices in a 2021 bombshell exposé, states that this was one of the hardest details to find as she reported on the company. Google any other business, and their CEO will pop up almost immediately. But if you searched for “Brandy Melville” anytime before 2021, no CEO would appear. Taylor was able to connect the dots to Stephan Marsan, who founded the company but had no digital footprint. For a store that’s entirely based on online aesthetics—skyrocketing in fame on Tumblr, Instagram, and Pinterest—it’s pretty odd to have a CEO with no online presence.But that’s always been the vibe of Brandy, a handful of employees and photographers claim: older men—sometimes with braces, sometimes European—who appear out of nowhere and control the entire company. Brandy Hellville features a couple of interviews with former Senior VPs who remain anonymous. These guys mostly preach about the company’s success; one celebrates the fact that “Kyla Jenner” and “Ciley Myrus” sported Brandy garb on their Instagram. Other than picking skinny white blonde girls to spotlight the brand, they seem to lack any brand strategy.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Disney/Gilles MingassonBradley Cooper may not have picked up the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Maestro—that went to Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy instead—but he did get something equally as wonderful: a cameo on Abbott Elementary. Between an Oscar and a chance to meet the cast of Abbott…actually, no. I’d take the Oscar. Sorry, Bradley. At least this is half as cool!Cooper stars as himself in the episode, titled “Willard R. Abbott.” He’s just visiting the Philly area when he runs into one of Melissa’s (Lisa Ann Walter) students at a nearby sandwich shop.“Whenever I’m in Philly, you know the deli across the street?” Cooper asks, greeting a flurry of starry-eyed teachers. “That’s my first stop. My dad used to always take me there. They have the best hoagies in the city!”Read more at The Daily Beast.