Saturday, November 29, 2025

 
Home Blog Page 73

‘Task’ Officially Renewed for Season 2 at HBO

0


Task, the HBO crime drama starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey, has been renewed for Season 2. One of the best shows to come out in 2025, Task follows troubled Philadelphia FBI agent Tom Brandis as he tries to solve a series of violent crimes. After one robbery ends up in a massacre and a kidnapping, Brandis puts together a task force who can come up with some answers for the mysterious hits carried out by a charismatic thief.

The renewal for a second season was announced by Warner Bros. Discovery during a press presentation. Casey Bloys, HBO CEO, revealed that the drama was set to return in the future, with original showrunner Brad Ingelsby also returning. Ingelsby, also famous for his other HBO hit, Mare of Easttown, expressed his excitement about continuing Brandis’ story, and that of whoever remains of his crime-fighting team:

“We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have HBO’s unwavering support of Task from the very first script onwards, throughout production, and during their extraordinary launch of our first season to audiences. They are an unmatched creative home. On behalf of the entire Task team, in front of and behind the camera, I am honored and excited to get back to work on a second season of our show.”

Head of HBO Drama Series and Films, Francesca Orsi, talked about the series renewal, and praised Ingelsby’s storytelling: “We knew well in advance of its launch that we had a powerful drama series on our hands, but it has been so rewarding to witness the audience’s fervor and embrace of this show as it grew week after week. Rarely does a writer balance humanistic storytelling with intricate, explosive plotting, but Brad Ingelsby is one of our industry’s greats, and we have no doubt he will strike as profoundly and addictively once again in Season 2.”

‘Task’ Is One of the Year’s Best Crime Shows – And the Perfect Weekend Binge

HBO

If you’re looking to catch up before the eventual release of Season 2, Task Season 1 is one of the few shows on streaming that’s actually perfect for a weekend binge. The first season consists of only seven one-hour episodes, and they’re available to stream on HBO Max.

The show joins other notable releases by HBO in 2025, such as The Last of Us Season 2, The White Lotus Season 3, The Pitt Season 1, and It: Welcome to Derry. Season 1 of Task holds a whopping 96% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes with a Certified Fresh label. On the audience side, it sits at 74%.

Sophie Butcher, of Empire magazine, says, “You’ve seen this kind of show before, probably many times – but Task’s compelling characters, patient writing and undercurrent of emotion helps it stand out from the crowd.” Writing for Forbes, Erik Kain praises Task as easily “the best thing on TV at the moment. A gripping crime drama with deeply sympathetic and complex characters on a collision course with no good outcomes likely. It’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.” On the other hand, Lucy Mangan writes a negative review for The Guardian, saying, “It flattens the characters into ciphers, deadens the story, and as time goes on, makes the whole thing inescapably boring. It is not as if we haven’t seen everything on shows before.”


03199142_poster_w780-1.jpg


Release Date

2025 – 2025-00-00

Network

HBO

Directors

Jeremiah Zagar





This story originally appeared on Movieweb

Pixar’s Hoppers Trailer Sees A Human Accidentally Sparking An Animal Uprising

0



4

Abigail is an editor for ScreenRant, currently writing and editing movie news. You may also have seen her thoughts on animated television, musical theater, and fantasy literature in Paste Magazine, Fantasy Hive, or The Oxford Blue. She has also written SR lists and op-eds covering movies, TV, and books as well. She is an English major through and through, having graduated with a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and an MPhil from Oxford University.

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Pixar’s next original movie, Hoppers, looks to be a funny adventure with some commentary in its new trailer. Hoppers will follow Mabel, a university student who gains access to advanced technology that transplants her mind into that of an artificial beaver.

From there, Mabel encourages other wildlife to stop letting humans take land from them — sparking an intense uprising. Check out the new trailer for Hoppers below:


Hoppers 2026 Updated Film Poster


Release Date

March 6, 2026

Director

Daniel Chong

Writers

Daniel Chong, Jesse Andrews


This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.



This story originally appeared on Screenrant

The best movies, TV and concerts to catch this holiday season

0


(Katie Smith / For The Times)

In a season of lists — gift lists, card lists, guest lists, ingredient lists — we’ve got the best one of all: holiday entertainment lists. Our holiday preview has everything you need, no shopping, mailing, inviting or cooking required.

Browse our picks throughout the week for what to watch on the couch, at the movie theater or on stage. There’s something for everyone: Oscar front-runner “Hamnet” for Shakespeare lovers seeking a good cry; Katseye at the Palladium for K-pop fans eager to collectively scream; “Jingle Bell Heist” for meet-cute admirers and “Bob Baker’s Nutcracker” for nostalgics. We also catch you up on “Stranger Things” (because who can remember 2022), explore a “Fraggle Rock” game-changer and give an inside look at the Neil Diamond-centric “Song Sung Blue,” which may have you chanting “so good, so good” long after the credits run.

Bookmark this page to return to when you’re bored — or you know, looking to escape your own holiday drama. — Brittany Levine Beckman, Entertainment and Features editor



This story originally appeared on LA Times

Lily Allen Calls David Harbour Divorce Album an ‘Act of Desperation’

0


Lily Allen didn’t just want to make music again after her marriage to David Harbour fell apart — she needed to.

In an interview with CBS Mornings that aired Thursday (Nov. 20), the British pop star opened up about making her new album, West End Girl, a visceral 14-track LP detailing the end of her relationship. The project has generated critical acclaim since its Oct. 24 release, but Allen revealed on the show that she wasn’t even sure whether it would “see the light of day” while she was writing it across 10 days in December.

“I wasn’t even really thinking about it as, like, a commercial endeavor,” she told correspondent Anthony Mason. “It was an act of desperation, actually.”

The album was therapeutic to the point where Allen didn’t feel like her “healing process” was complete until it came out into the world. “Since I’ve put it out, it’s felt completely and utterly liberating,” she said. “It was kind of hellish having it in the background. I don’t know. I just feel like I couldn’t, it said everything that I needed to say. And I felt like I couldn’t really like get on with my life until I’d said it.”

Billboard has reached out to David Harbour for comment on Allen’s CBS Mornings interview.

Though she’s now in a much better spot, 2024 was an excruciating year for Allen. One month prior to news of her separating from the Stranger Things actor coming out in February, the musician checked into a treatment facility to get help with her mental health. At the time, she said on her Miss Me? podcast that she was struggling with constant panic attacks and disordered eating.

“I was excited, but also, you know, my life was falling apart,” she reflected on CBS Mornings of writing the album just before going into treatment. “So I had to, like, go and deal with some very practical stuff.”

And while Allen has stated that West End Girl is a mix of real life and fantasy, it doesn’t paint a very flattering picture of her marriage to Harbour, whom she wed in 2020. The lyrics detail a partner who pressured her into having an open relationship before breaking the agreed-upon boundaries, leaving her feeling heartbroken and betrayed.

“That’s what’s fun about this record,” Allen told Interview Magazine in October. “At the time, I was really trying to process things, and that’s great in terms of the album, but I don’t feel confused or angry now. I don’t need revenge.”

Now feeling much better than she did a year ago, Allen is gearing up to go on a U.K. tour in 2026. She says she’s excited to bring her two daughters — whom she shares with ex-husband Sam Cooper — along for the ride, which she plans on expanding to include dates in North America soon.

Watch Allen’s interview with CBS Mornings below.





This story originally appeared on Billboard

Jenna Bush Hager Says Dad George W. Bush Calls Her Show ‘Dumb’

0

What To Know

  • Jenna Bush Hager joked on Today that her father, former President George W. Bush, has referred to her show as “dumb.”
  • The Today hosts came up with ideas for how Bush could appear on Today With Jenna & Friends from home in the future.
  • Bush Hager noted that her father has turned down multiple invitations from her to appear on the NBC morning show.

Jenna Bush Hager hilariously called out her father, former President George W. Bush, for how often he tunes in to Today With Jenna & Friends.

During the “PopStart” segment on the Wednesday, November 19, episode of Today, Bush Hager and her colleagues discussed her dad’s recent appearance on Peyton and Eli Manning‘s Manningcast podcast. In particular, the hosts joked about how many times Bush poked fun at the brothers’ frequent appearances in TV commercials.

“How long have you been preparing for this Manningcast appearance?” Eli asked Bush in a clip from the podcast. “About 10 minutes,” he replied, adding, “I’m so pleased to see your faces not on a TV commercial.”

In Today‘s Studio 1A, Carson Daly asked Bush Hager whether her father was aware of the exposure he would receive from the podcast appearance. “I think yes, but he did it from the comfort of his own art studio,” she said. “Because I’ve actually asked him, and maybe I’ll do a public ask, for him to come and be a ‘friend,’ since he is my father. Well, he said he was retired, so I was surprised as anyone to see him on [the podcast].”

Savannah Guthrie gave Bush the benefit of the doubt for appearing on the podcast and not joining his daughter on Today. “He didn’t have to leave the house, and he would have to leave the house for you to come on and be a friend,” she said. Al Roker even went on to suggest, “Why don’t you go to Texas and do the show from there?”

“Do we have that kind of money?” Bush Hager questioned, to which Craig Melvin replied, “I feel like for a former president, we could find it.” Regardless, Bush Hager said she still thinks her dad would turn down the opportunity to cohost the fourth hour of Today with her.

“I’m sure he’ll still say no. He says things like, ‘I don’t watch your dumb show.’ I know!” she quipped. Her comments surprised her cohosts, who burst into laughter. “Oh, my gosh!” Melvin remarked, while Daly added, “That’s why we love him.”

Bush Hager and her twin sister, Barbara Bush, are the only children of George and former first lady Laura Bush. Bush Hager has hosted Jenna & Friends with a variety of celebrity cohosts since Hoda Kotb‘s Today departure in January, but has yet to be joined by either of her parents.

During the show’s October 6 episode, guest host Justin Sylvester recalled a time when Bush Hager almost got her dad to appear on the show via phone.

“One time, you were calling your dad because you wanted him to come on the show. You wanted him to be phoned into the show. And he goes, ‘Let’s get this party started!’” he explained. “And I said, ‘Wait, hold a minute. Hold a minute, George.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go! Let’s get this party going!’ And it was the cutest thing. I had never heard your dad ever before.”

At the time, Bush Hager joked that her dad “usually says no” to her requests to be on the show.

Today, Weekdays, 7 a.m./6c, NBC

Today With Jenna & Friends, Weekdays, 10 a.m./9c, NBC




This story originally appeared on TV Insider

Microsoft Ignite 2025 — get the latest news and insights – Computerworld

0



Related  Microsoft coverage

Microsoft’s AI research VP joins OpenAI amid fight for top AI talent

Oct. 15, 2024: Microsoft’s former vice president of genAI research, Sebastien Bubeck, left the company to join OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Bubeck, a 10-year veteran at Microsoft, played a significant role in driving the company’s genAI strategy with a focus on designing more efficient small language models (SLMs) to rival OpenAI’s GPT systems.

Microsoft brings Copilot AI tools to OneDrive

Oct. 9, 2024: Microsoft’s Copilot is now available in OneDrive, part of a wider revamp of the company’s cloud storage platform.  Copilot can now summarize one or more files in OneDrive without needing to open them first; compare the content of selected files across different formats (including Word, PowerPoint, and PDFs); and respond to questions about the contents of files via the chat interface. 

Microsoft wants Copilot to be your new AI best friend

Oct. 9, 2024: Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot underwent a transformation last week, morphing into a simplified pastel-toned experience that encourages you…to just chat. “Hey Chris, how’s the human world today?” That’s what I heard after I fired up the Copilot app on Windows 11 and clicked the microphone button, complete with a calming wavey background. Yes, this is the type of banter you get with the new Copilot.



This story originally appeared on Computerworld

WhatsApp is bringing back its very first feature

0


WhatsApp is going back to the past for its latest feature. In fact, it’s going all the way back, because it’s reviving the very first WhatsApp feature. You can think of About (the creators were really not very good at naming things, huh?) as a status update or WhatsApp’s version of an AIM away message. It’s designed to let your contacts know at a glance what you’ve got going on, such as something that’s keeping you busy and might make you slow to respond to messages.

The About message appears on both your profile and at the top of one-on-one chats. By default, the About message will vanish after 24 hours, but you can set it to vanish earlier or stick around for longer. You can do this by going to the “set about” option in the WhatsApp settings. You also have control over who is able to see your About message — you can restrict it to your contacts or allow anyone to view it from your profile.

This is a handy little update that apes the notes feature in sibling apps Instagram and Facebook. WhatsApp is starting to roll About (back) out to all users on mobile devices this week.

Illustration of the About feature in WhatsApp (Meta)



This story originally appeared on Engadget

UNICEF: One in five children in low and middle-income countries lack most basic services

0

On World Children’s Day, Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Cécile Aptel, Author and Deputy Director of UNICEF’s Global Office of Research and Forecasting. UNICEF is offering a sobering reminder: national and global policies too often leave the world’s most vulnerable in the shadows. In a world of progress and innovation, 417 million children in low- and middle-income countries are still denied the most basic necessities: clean water, healthcare, education, nutrition. And even in a high-income country like France, official figures show that 2.76 million children live in poverty: one tenth of France’s child population. Putting an end to child poverty requires political will and social commitment and to decide, collectively, that children’s well-being is non-negotiable.


This story originally appeared on France24

Woman decapitated by a garbage truck near elementary school in Orange County

0


A woman was decapitated by a garbage truck when she was crossing the street Wednesday in Orange County, according to authorities.

Maria Rubalcava de Ruesga, 69, of Santa Ana, was crossing the street around 7:56 a.m. near Shelton and Bishop streets when she was hit by a garbage truck making a right turn on Shelton, according to a Santa Ana Police Department news release.

Officers from the police department got multiple calls about the traffic collision and along with the Orange County Fire Authority, responded to the scene, according to the release.

The truck had been going east on Bishop Street and making a turn on the roundabout when it hit the woman as she was crossing the street, authorities said.

ABC7 reported that the woman had been decapitated in the collision.

Children and families from the nearby Pio Pico Dual Language Academy were also nearby during the incident, according to the outlet.

The Santa Ana Unified School District has will be providing support for witnesses of the crash.

The Santa Ana Police Department’s Collision Investigation Unit will be investigating the crash, according to the release. Anyone with more information has been asked to contact the Santa Ana Police Department’s Traffic Division at (714) 245-8200.




This story originally appeared on LA Times

If you invested £500 a month in S&P 500 income stocks, here’s what it could be worth in a decade

0


Image source: Getty Images

Many UK investors are interested in generating passive income from the stock market. Typically, this is focused on UK stocks, which I get. However, with growing interest in diversifying portfolios and putting money to work in the S&P 500, it’s worth remembering that this can be useful for income and not just high-flying tech stocks. Here’s what the numbers could look like for a US dividend portfolio.

Why the US has income potential

In contrast to building a portfolio using FTSE 100 companies, the S&P 500 offers a much more comprehensive choice given the large number of constituents. However, it means an investor needs to be disciplined. For example, the average dividend yield in the S&P 500 is 1.18%, well below the FTSE 100’s 3.2%. So active stock picking becomes more critical with a broader pool of companies.

Fortunately, there are still some great dividend shares in the index. From looking at different options, I think it’s possible to build a diversified portfolio of six-to-10 stocks with an average yield of 6%. We’re not talking about small firms here in this bucket. Some of the companies that could be included are the United Parcel Service (current yield of 7.1%), Pfizer (6.91%) and Verizon Communications (6.61%).

If an investor put £500 a month in a portfolio averaging 6%, the money could quickly compound. If we assume the dividends get reinvested straight away, after a decade the pot could be worth £82.8k. The following year, £5.3k could be generated solely from income payments.

Of course, dividends aren’t guaranteed. Over the coming years, yields could fluctuate, making the average 6% harder or easier to achieve in practice. But it goes a long way to show that the US has clear dividend potential.

Sweet potential

One stock that could be included is Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC). It’s one of the world’s largest food companies, serving up everything from ketchup to chocolate. Even though America is a big market, it’s truly global in size. This means it can generate diversified revenue from having the branded food products in grocery stores in various markets.

Over the past year, the stock is down 19%. This is due to a variety of factors impacting the business. For example, it has cited weak consumer demand in recent updates, along with rising input costs and even currency headaches from the global operations. Even though all of these are risks going forward, I don’t see them as long-term problems.

With the US Federal Reserve likely to cut interest rates again next month, demand in the US could increase. Inflation is easing, and cost pressures may become less of a problem in 2026. Against this backdrop, I think the dividend is sustainable. Over the past six years, it has kept up a consistent quarterly dividend payment. The current dividend is fully covered by the latest earnings per share, giving me further confidence in future dividends.

Finally, let’s not forget that many of the brands sold by the company are staples that have been popular with customers for decades in some cases. I think this is a strong point when looking for ideas that can stand the test of time, making it a stock worth considering for investors looking at this stategy.



This story originally appeared on Motley Fool