The team is on the hunt for stolen works of art on CBS’s FBI season eight episode two. “Captured” will air on Monday, October 20, 2025 at 9pm ET/PT.
Missy Peregrym stars as Special Agent Maggie Bell, Zeeko Zaki plays Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan, Jeremy Sisto returns as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, Alana De La Garza is Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille, and John Boyd stars as Special Agent Stuart Scola.
“Captured” Plot: When paintings from a high-profile international cultural exchange are stolen—leaving a security guard dead—the team races to recover the priceless artworks. Meanwhile, Maggie turns to a friend for help profiling suspects. Aaron Ginsburg wrote the script and Carlos Bernard directs.
FBI is a fast-paced drama about the inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This elite unit brings to bear all their talents, intellect, and technical expertise on major cases in order to keep New York and the country safe. Born into a multigenerational law enforcement family, Special Agent Maggie Bell commits deeply to the people she works with as well as those she protects.
Her partner is Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan, a West Point graduate via Bushwick who spent two years undercover for the DEA before being cherry-picked by the FBI. Overseeing them is Special Agent in Charge Isobel Castille, who operates under intense pressure and has undeniable command authority.
The team also includes Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, the nerve center of the office whose ability to easily relate to and engage with both superiors and subordinates makes him a master motivator, as well as Special Agent Stuart Scola, an Ivy League-educated Wall Streeter-turned-FBI agent. These first-class agents tenaciously investigate cases of tremendous magnitude, including terrorism, organized crime, and counterintelligence.
Kaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata in ‘High Potential’ season 2 episode 5 (Disney/Mitch Haaseth)
ABC’s High Potential season two episode five kicks off with two kids arguing over control of a drone, causing it to accidentally crash into Shea Ranch Pond. It’s still filming as it enters the water, and the kids are shocked to see there’s a dead body inside a car underwater.
(This is a recap of season two episode five and there are spoilers ahead!)
Morgan (Kaitlin Olson), wearing super cute boots, surprises Arthur (Mekhi Phifer) as he’s wrapping up landscape work. He’s been ghosting Morgan after checking on her and the kids for Roman. Prior to their recent contact, he hadn’t spoken with Roman in 15 years. Roman used a burner phone and Arthur admits he never saw him. When he doesn’t immediately agree to handing over Roman’s backpack, Morgan threatens to have his business investigated. He has no choice but to agree to meet up again.
Lt. Selena Soto (Judy Reyes) addresses her unit, complimenting them for being tenacious. She introduces Captain Nick Wagner (Steve Howey), also describing him as tenacious. Nick’s there to support the team and looks forward to getting to know each of them. He’s doing one-on-one chats, takes over Selena’s office with her permission, and starts off with Oz (Deniz Akdeniz).
Daphne (Javicia Leslie) and Adam (Daniel Sunjata) fill Morgan in on Nick’s background, describing him as being part of a family dynasty who’ve all made captain. Morgan doesn’t learn much more before heading to the Shea Ranch Pond crime scene with Adam.
Although the driver’s license doesn’t look like the victim, Morgan concludes they’re one and the same. (Tori must have had some work done recently.) The victim is 31-year-old Tori Nolan, and she has two bullet holes in her chest along with what looks like steam or chemical burns and red dye. They examine her car, and Morgan finds a gun and a key to a storage unit.
Tori’s keychain had a Hula Hound fob, so Morgan believes she used the storage company next to it. They discover her unit is full of file cabinets and has a workstation setup, but the laptop is missing. Labels on the filing cabinets match the fake passports with different identities that Adam finds on the desk. Morgan realizes each of the locations was the site of a big scandal. The trashcan is full of shredded paper with red symbols that Morgan decides are editing marks, and the numbers on the file cabinets are dates and issue numbers. Apparently, Tori was an investigative journalist. It’s possible whatever she was recently investigating got her killed.
Later, Daphne and Oz investigate Tori’s financials and Daphne confirms Tori worked for Takedown Magazine. Oz confirms she wrote under pseudonyms and that she’d go off the grid when she was working on a story. Her outlet always had her check in to make sure she was safe, and Daphne forwards a recent photo Tori sent them. Morgan spots poodle dog plants in the background.
Morgan has Adam head to the site of a recent fire in the hills. These bushes sprout after fires, and based on the size of the plant, this area fits the timeline. Morgan’s right, of course, and they find the exact spot where Tori took her recent proof-of-life photo. There’s a no trespassing sign on the hill, and up above is an impressive house.
Morgan explains it’s a “content house” where influencers shoot videos. Tori must have gone undercover as an influencer and one of the influencers recognizes Tori’s photo but calls her Darla. Adam and Morgan gather the dozen or so influencers and learn Tori had been living there for a few weeks. She concentrated on autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) videos, and they all liked her.
Morgan looks around as Adam learns the last time she was home was probably at least a day ago. Morgan believes all the influencers are under a tremendous amount of pressure to make content that generates views and that the guy who runs the house, Phineas, is running the place like a sweatshop.
A couple of the influencers barge in as Morgan’s looking at a dye and confess they killed her. But they take it back when they learn she was shot. Apparently, Raquel and Pranks set up the “devil’s toothpaste” prank in the backseat of Tori’s car. Right after Tori got into her car, the dye exploded, and all her windows blew out. They immediately told Phineas what happened, and he claimed he spoke with Tori. She was fine but angry and was going for a drive to cool off. Adam says that isn’t possible, as Tori had to have been concussed and unable to drive anywhere.
The explosive ingredients were dye, soap, peroxide, and yeast. Morgan realizes Tori’s steam burns were from the peroxide. Plus, the peroxide would have cleaned up the blood from the gunshot wounds that should have been in the car.
Raquel confesses they pulled the prank because Tori stole her L3 protein powder that was supposed to be used for an exclusive video shoot.
Morgan and Adam search the nearby hillside and find red dye and tire tracks. It’s probably where Tori was shot. Phineas drives up, spots them, and races off, with Adam’s first instinct to chase the car giving Morgan the laugh she needed.
Morgan gets home early for once and sends Elliot out of the room to check on the baby so she can tell Ava (Amirah J) she tracked down Arthur. Ava wants to go with her mom to get the backpack, but Morgan won’t let her because it might be dangerous.
Kaitlin Olson, Deniz Akdeniz, Daniel Sunjata and Judy Reyes in ‘High Potential’ season 2 episode 5 (Disney/Jessica Perez)
Back at the station, Oz and Adam are letting Phineas stew a bit before interrogating him. Captain Wagner speaks with Daphne and Selena and suggests that Daphne should take the sergeant test. Her work’s impressed him, and he’ll even set up the test for her if she agrees.
Morgan joins them and Nick wants to have their one-on-one chat. She wants to postpone, preferring to listen to Adam and Oz’s interrogation. Adam asks Phineas why he shot a reporter who was embedded in his house, and Phineas claims not to have any idea what they’re talking about. Oz whips out Phineas’ financials and suggests he was skimming from the creators. Oz notes that Phineas was charging them $50,000 a month each, and Morgan uses the mic to tell Adam she needs to see his watch. Adam holds it up to the two-way mirror and Morgan says it’s obvious the titanium inside has come in contact with corrosive fluids, like peroxide.
Oz and Adam believe Phineas was in Tori’s car after he shot her and got the peroxide on him when he moved her body from the driver’s seat. Phineas confesses he moved the body but didn’t even realize she was shot until he got to the pond. He moved her to keep his landlord from finding out and evicting them.
Phineas claims he was busy buying bots to increase Tori’s channel’s views when Raquel and Pranks told him about the devil’s toothpaste prank. He wouldn’t have bought bots if he was going to kill her.
Later, the team’s looking at the murder board when Oz joins them and reveals Phineas turned over Tori’s bag in exchange for leniency. (He was booked for evidence tampering.) Tori’s laptop is in the bag, but it’s encrypted. Raquel’s protein powder is also in the bag along with lab results of the powder. Morgan thinks the only interesting ingredient is castoreum—beaver butt secretion, which is used as a flavoring agent.
Tori was investigating L3 because the person in charge is Bobby Romano, an old classmate who doxed her and forced her into hiding after she wrote an exposé of his business. Morgan and Adam pay him a visit at his warehouse and he’s super excited about his upcoming powder release. Lamar, the operations manager, joins them and asks if they have a warrant to look around. Bobby doesn’t think that’s necessary; he’s super chill about the whole thing. He assures them Lamar’s just being vigilant since he pretty much runs the operation.
Morgan and Adam point out that Bobby’s former businesses were all scams and that Tori Nolan got them all shut down through her investigative reporting. He claims he regrets doxing her and forcing her to leave school. “I was a stupid kid and I did stupid things,” says Bobby, sounding pretty convincing.
They make it to his office and inform him that Tori is dead. He’s shocked and then suddenly realizes they think he killed her. Bobby admits she called him a week ago and said she was going to take him down for good. He hung up on her and doesn’t know how she was going to do that. Bobby truly believes L3 is legit.
He invites them to look around because he’s an open book and Morgan immediately takes him up on it. She snatches his phone, and he doesn’t really care. Morgan quickly determines he has an alibi for the time of the shooting. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he didn’t kill Tori.
Adam has his one-on-one with Nick and Nick reveals he didn’t even bother reading his file. Adam has a terrific reputation. Nick asks about Morgan, and Adam says they work well together. The chat ends less than a minute after it began.
Bobby’s phone included mention of a Serenity Arms that he visited once a week. It’s a halfway house for ex-cons and the guy in charge of it, Gavin, agrees to meet with Adam and Oz.
Amirah J, Kaitlin Olson and Mekhi Phifer in ‘High Potential’ season 2 episode 5 (Disney/Mitch Haaseth)
Arthur catches up with Morgan at a diner to discuss handing over Roman’s bag. Ava pops in unexpectedly and demands to be a part of the conversation. Arthur chuckles and says Ava looks like Roman when he’s digging into something. Arthur also confirms he and Roman have known each other for a long time and used to be practically inseparable. Ava explains that she needs to understand why Roman left her, and Arthur says he hadn’t talked to her dad in 15 years. Ava pleads with him to hand over the bag so that her mom can piece together clues. Arthur finally agrees.
Morgan’s so angry she refuses to speak with Ava as they leave.
Gavin tells Adam and Oz he’s never met anyone like Bobby. He says Bobby believes in the protein powder and believes in making the world a better place. Gavin claims Bobby wasn’t angry at Tori after getting out of prison, but recently she showed up at his warehouse and threatened to send him back to prison for life. Following that, Bobby missed a group session and told Gavin he should have taken care of “this” 10 years ago.
Adam and Oz return to Bobby’s warehouse and find him at his desk, dead from a drug overdose. Selena joins them at the warehouse and Adam explains an employee said Bobby was upset after speaking with the police. He sent everyone home and overdosed on the party drug Dazzle Kitty, which is five times more potent than Ecstasy.
Adam confirms the L3 powder was a cover for shipping the drugs. Bags were hidden in select canisters. Oz reveals they found a gun that matches the wounds on Tori’s chest in Bobby’s desk. However, Morgan finds beef and barley soup on Bobby’s t-shirt and his breath smells like it, too. He consumed the soup and then died, but there’s no soup container in the trash cans. There’s a carrot and a half-melted Dazzle Kitty capsule in the drain, which means someone else drugged the soup and killed Bobby. The killer also murdered Tori.
The team converges on a delivery truck driven by Bobby’s counselor, Gavin. Drugs are found in the canisters, and it turns out the Serenity Arms center was the root of the conspiracy. Bobby had no idea about the drugs, but Gavin and Lamar cooked it up together. Lamar has alibis for the time of the murders. Gavin doesn’t and was apparently the mastermind.
The day ends with Nick chatting up Morgan while she puts coolant in her car. She admits she’s not sure about whether he’s a cop who abuses his power, but she has determined he’s smug, misses being part of the action in the field, and likes to keep people guessing why he’s interested in them. Nick admits she got two out of the three correct and that she’s better at this game than he is. He knows if she’s given a puzzle, she’ll obsess until she completes it.
Morgan finally makes it home and is still upset with Ava for following her to the meeting with Arthur. They argue over trust issues, and Ava calls her mom embarrassing. Episode five ends with someone (probably Arthur) dropping off Roman’s backpack at Morgan’s front door.
New seasons of Discovery Channel’s Expedition Files and Expedition Unknown will air back-to-back in November 2025. Season 16 of Expedition Unknown premieres on Wednesday, November 5 at 9pm ET/PT, followed by season three of Expedition Files at 10pm.
Expedition Unknown‘s new season debuts with an episode that takes explorer Josh Gates to the Great Pyramid in Egypt. And Expedition Files kicks off with an episode focusing on missing Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa.
“This season, I’m taking viewers on the kinds of adventures I dreamt about as a kid,” said Gates, commenting on Expedition Unknown. “I never imagined I’d actually get to seek out the real Spanish treasure that inspired The Goonies or crawl through pitch-black tunnels under the Great Pyramid of Giza. I’m even hunting for a gold rush fortune with a Gold Rush star, Parker Schnabel. These are the kinds of stories that remind us the world is still full of wonder.”
Discovery Channel released the following description of Expedition Unknown:
“With exclusive access to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Gates unravels long-held conspiracy theories about how this marvel of engineering was truly built. Using first-of-its-kind 3D scans of a mysterious tunnel system, Gates executes a daring experiment to replicate the Pyramid’s construction, uncovering a labyrinth of secrets buried deep beneath the stone.
Throughout the extraordinary new season, Gates leads viewers on high-stakes and off-the-map investigations. He teams up with Gold Rush’s Parker Schnabel to chase a multi-million dollar treasure from an infamous stagecoach heist, scours the Oregon coast on a real-life Goonies quest on the 40th anniversary of the iconic film, plunges into the icy Baltic Sea searching for a lost Nazi submarine, and braves crocodile-infested waters in Nicaragua to hunt down Cornelius Vanderbilt’s lost steamship.”
Both series are produced by Ping Pong Productions.
Poster for ‘Expedition Files’ (Photo credit: Discovery Channel)
“Gates reveals fresh evidence and striking, new revelations that could rewrite history as we know it. In the season premiere, Gates examines an explosive new theory about the fate of vanished Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa. He also reveals the extraordinary artifact that may finally end the age-old hunt for the Holy Grail and sets sail to unravel a maritime mystery—the disappearance of German inventor Rudolph Diesel, the man whose engines changed the world,” reads Discovery Channel’s Expedition Files’ synopsis.
“Upcoming episodes will also examine a chilling new hypothesis behind the frenzied paranoia of the Salem Witch Trials, a high-tech analysis of the most legendary Bigfoot footage ever captured, a shocking new twist in Cleopatra’s untimely death, the confounding fate of Russia’s Amber Room—the so-called 8th Wonder of the World, and so much more.”
Nominees announced for the 2025 ‘Critics Choice Documentary Awards’ (Photo Courtesy of CCA)
Raoul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5 tops the list of the 10th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominees, earning seven nominations, including Best Documentary Feature. The Perfect Neighbor, also a Best Documentary Feature nominee, followed close behind with six nominations.
“The nominated films and series this year remind us how documentary storytelling can illuminate truth, inspire empathy, and deepen our understanding of the world,” stated Christopher Campbell, Critics Choice Association’s VP, Documentary. “We’re thrilled to recognize the filmmakers whose vision and dedication keep the art form evolving.”
The 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards will honor Ken Burns with the Critics Choice Impact Award, presented by Christine Baranski. Per CCA: “The prestigious award recognizes documentarians whose work has illuminated our shared story, made complex issues accessible to broad audiences, and sparked meaningful dialogue that inspires reflection and action. Ken Burns exemplifies this impact through a career that has brought the American experience vividly to life and deepened the nation’s understanding of itself.”
Filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady will be awarded the CCA’s Pennebaker Award (formerly the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award), with Pennebaker’s widow/collaborator, Chris Hegedus, presenting the honor.
Aasif Mandvi is hosting this year’s awards ceremony taking place on Sunday, November 9, 2025. The 2025 ceremony will be available to watch live on the Critics Choice Awards’ YouTube channel beginning at 7pm ET/4pm PT.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features / The Associated Press)
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Cover-Up (Netflix)
Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO Max)
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber)
The Tale of Silyan (National Geographic)
BEST DIRECTOR
Mstyslav Chernov – 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features / The Associated Press)
Petra Costa – Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim – Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
Geeta Gandbhir – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman – The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Raoul Peck – Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Art for Everybody (Tremolo Productions)
Grand Theft Hamlet (Mubi)
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max)
Seeds (Interior Films)
Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost (Apple TV)
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (Margot Station)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ben Bernard – Architecton (A24)
Jean Dakar – The Tale of Silyan (National Geographic)
Elizabeth Lo – Mistress Dispeller (Oscilloscope)
Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo & Tor Edvin Eliassen – Folktales (Magnolia Pictures)
Brittany Shyne – Seeds (Interior Films)
Toby Strong, Doug Anderson (Underwater Photography) – Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)
BEST EDITING
Michael Harte – Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
James Lester & Oz Rodríguez, John MacDonald (Music Montage) – Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music (NBC)
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Page Marsella – The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Michelle Mizner – 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features / The Associated Press)
Alexandra Strauss – Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
BEST SCORE
Alexei Aigui – Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
Kris Bowers – The Eyes of Ghana (Breakwater Studios / Higher Ground Media)
Laura Heinzinger – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Claudia Sarne – Love + War (National Geographic)
Sam Slater – 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features / The Associated Press)
Paweł Szymański – Trains (EPF Media / Drygas Film Production)
BEST NARRATION
2000 Meters to Andriivka (Frontline Features / The Associated Press)
Written by Mstyslav Chernov, Performed by Mstyslav Chernov
The American Revolution (PBS)
Written by Geoffrey C. Ward, Performed by Peter Coyote
The Americas (NBC) Written by Michael Gunton, Holly Spearing, Steve Cole, Kathryn Jeffs, Matt Richards, Giles Badger, Victoria Buckley, Alex Griffiths, Hannah Hoare, Poppy Riddle, Gillian Taylor, Nikki Waldron, Evie Wright, Charlotte Bostock, Victoria Bobin, & Ingrid Kvale, Performed by Tom Hanks
Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Written by Petra Costa, Performed by Petra Costa
Octopus! (Prime Video) Written by Gabriel Bisset-Smith, Performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon) Written by George Orwell, Adapted by Raoul Peck, Performed by Damian Lewis
BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
One to One: John & Yoko (Magnolia Pictures)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber)
Trains (EPF Media / Drygas Film Production)
WTO/99 (Foghorn Features)
BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
The American Revolution (PBS)
Cover-Up (Netflix)
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 (HBO Max)
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (National Geographic)
Number One on the Call Sheet (Apple TV)
Riefenstahl (Kino Lorber)
BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
John Candy: I Like Me (Prime Video)
Love + War (National Geographic)
Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max)
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO Max)
Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost (Apple TV)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
Becoming Led Zeppelin (Sony Pictures Classics)
Billy Joel: And So It Goes (HBO Max)
Bono: Stories of Surrender (Apple TV)
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (Magnolia Pictures)
Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music (NBC)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix)
Deaf President Now! (Apple TV)
The Librarians (Independent Lens)
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow (Marminchilla)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
The Americas (NBC)
Checkpoint Zoo (Abramorama)
The Last Rhinos: A New Hope (National Geographic)
Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)
Octopus! (Prime Video)
Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey (Netflix)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys (Netflix)
Big Dreams: Little League World Series 2024 (ESPN Films)
Full Court Press (ESPN+)
Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott (ESPN)
We Beat the Dream Team (HBO Max)
BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (Netflix)
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Predators (MTV Documentary Films / Paramount+)
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish (Netflix)
The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max)
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
All the Empty Rooms (Netflix)
Classroom 4 (PBS)
The Devil is Busy (HBO Max)
Exodus (Park County)
Fiddler on the Moon: Judaism in Space (Ironbound Films)
Sallie’s Ashes (Robi Creative)
Saving Superman (Switchboard)
Shanti Rides Shotgun (Voyager)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
The American Revolution (PBS)
Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 (HBO Max)
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (Netflix)
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (National Geographic)
Magic City: An American Fantasy (Starz)
Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (Peacock)
The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN Films)
American Masters (PBS)
The Reluctant Traveler (Apple TV)
Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross (Roku Channel)
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)
Trainwreck (Netflix)
Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision) is stuck with a difficult decision that affects her afterlife in A24’s second trailer for Eternity. Apparently, once you pass away, you’re only allowed to choose one significant other to pass eternity with.
Miles Teller (The Gorge) stars as Olsen’s longtime husband, and Callum Turner (Masters of the Air) plays her very first love. The romantic comedy also stars John Early and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
David Freyne co-wrote the screenplay with Pat Cunnane and directs. Producers include Tim White and Trevor White. Freyne’s behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Ruairí O’Brien, production designer Zazu Myers, editor Joe Sawyer, and costume designer Angus Strathie.
“I’ve dreamed all my life of making rom-coms in the vein of Lubitsch, Wilder, and Sturges,” said Freyne. “I adore that era when people believed rom-coms could say everything, could be the deepest films, no matter how feathery their touch. And here was my chance. Eternity might be set in the afterlife, but what mattered to me is the characters are caught up in conflicts that feel very human and very true to our experiences.”
A24 offers this synopsis: “In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan (Olsen) is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with (Teller) and her first love (Turner), who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.”
Opens in theaters on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf and Jane Krakowski as Arianna Burnett in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 4 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)
NBC’s Brilliant Minds season two, episode four, opens at Hudson Oaks Behavioral Services where Dr. Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) deals cards to his fellow patients and goes all in with his pile of pretzels. He deliberately triggers one of the players and while the staff is distracted, Oliver grabs the phone and makes a call.
(The following is a recap of episode four, “Lady Liberty,” and there are spoilers ahead.)
The time shifts to five months earlier and Oliver barely pays attention during a staff meeting led by Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears) acting as interim chief. The hospital is struggling financially, and Dr. Anthony Thorne (John Clarence Stewart) believes it’s the fault of Oliver’s neuro department. Josh agrees, and Anthony adds that neuro is bleeding the hospital dry.
When Anthony points out the time the entire neuro staff went to church, Oliver reminds him the pastor has a condition that caused her to mistake her husband for a hat. (The series is based on the real Dr. Oliver Sacks who wrote a book titled The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.)
Oliver makes the case that patients don’t trust doctors, yet his team’s satisfaction scores are at 97% because he invests time in understanding what’s wrong. His patients trust him, which means they trust the system. Which ultimately means he’s helping the hospital stay in business.
After the meeting, Oliver and Josh exchange words about the fate of the hospital. Josh’s father practiced there, and he loves the place and doesn’t want to see it snatched by a corporation. Oliver agrees to help, and Josh wants him to stop any unnecessary expenses—including group field trips.
Josh hopes he can trust Oliver to handle a case involving the Burnetts, huge donors whose name is on the building. (Oliver never noticed that.) Arianna Burnett, a retired entrepreneur, fell down a flight of stairs and has head trauma. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Josh wants Oliver and Dr. Carol Pierce (Tamberla Perry) to visit her at home and warns Oliver not to screw it up.
Meanwhile, Ericka (Asheigh LaThrop) tosses all her medication into the trash. Her roomie and co-worker Dana (Aury Krebs) is shocked that Ericka wants to run to work. Dana’s admission that she turned in Carol has obviously added strain to the friendship.
Oliver informs Dana, Ericka, and Charlie (Brian Altemus) that they need to tighten their belts. He advises them to play by the rules. They should ask themselves what he would do and do the opposite.
Oliver’s heading out so Charlie takes charge, and he’s happy to suggest Oliver won’t even last until Halloween. Charlie’s being a total jerk about being in charge, ordering them to report to him from now on and he’ll report to Oliver.
David Burnett confirms his wife’s prone to falls and she’s been growing aloof. Oliver and Carol introduce themselves to Arianna (Jane Krakowski) and she doesn’t speak. She has bruises all over her arm and doesn’t follow Oliver’s penlight as instructed.
There are paper birds around her (David said they calm her) and Oliver glances at them as she says, “Look at my birds. If only they could fly.” The birds spell out “help.” David walks in and uses his foot to wipe out the word. Oliver and Carol talk him into bringing Arianna to the hospital but don’t mention the message made of birds.
Oliver and Carol fill in Charlie, Dana, and Ericka on Arianna’s condition and that she’s in a guardianship. Ericka reads from the file, noting Arianna was placed in a guardianship due to destructive behavior, self-harm, and gambling away her fortune. Carol points out the guardianship gives David complete control, even when Arianna can use her phone.
She’s in their care for a very limited time so they must work fast. Carol goes first and Arianna confesses her memory gets worse each day in the house. She believes her husband and daughter, Jill, are poisoning her. Carol swears she’ll get to the bottom of it.
Oliver speaks with David and Jill about the guardianship, and David says they saw erratic behavior and cognitive decline. They obtained the guardianship after she was diagnosed with dementia to keep her safe.
Josh reminds Carol that Arianna is a big donor, but Carol refuses to spy on Oliver. She believes bringing Arianna to the hospital was the right idea, even though Josh isn’t happy about it. But he lightens up when he reminds Carol he’s trying to set her up with his friend, Harrison. Carol isn’t interested until Josh shows her a photo. She agrees to one drink.
Ericka’s out running in the park when she sees Sam, a guy who’s been in the hospital waiting room quite a few times, rummaging for food in the trash. He agrees to let her buy him lunch and reveals his parents want him in therapy, but he prefers sleeping outside. Sam confesses a doctor wrote schizophrenia in his chart and suddenly looks away at nothing. Ericka suggests he should get a brain scan because he may have been misdiagnosed. She’ll even set one up for him.
Dana delivers a lighthearted case presentation of a patient and Charlie reacts by telling her she could be a great doctor if it wasn’t for her personality. He calls her a “human Mad Lib” and suggests she should act like an adult.
Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf and Tamberla Perry as Dr. Carol Pierce in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 4 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)
Carol and Oliver try and figure out how to investigate Arianna’s poisoning claim without upsetting her husband, the hospital’s megadonor. They agree it’s possible her family is poisoning her and she also has dementia. They have to do blood work to find out the truth.
Arianna’s not in her bed when they visit her room, and Oliver figures out she’s in the roof vent. They locate her and get her down safely, and Oliver notes it was a sign of desperation. She correctly lists the five items Carol told her to remember during their first session. Carol tells Arianna’s husband and daughter it’s shocking she can remember them.
Arianna’s been weaned off her meds while at the hospital and sounds completely lucid. She asks for the hospital’s budget since there are rats in the vents. Their donations should be enough to keep the place rat-free.
Oliver pleads his case with Josh, describing why Arianna needs the more expensive functional MRI. He wants to rule out something that could have been mistaken for dementia.
Charlie turns down Ericka’s request for a neuro exam and imaging for Sam. She explains he was never given the proper workup, but Charlie doesn’t feel it’s necessary.
Josh, Oliver, and Carol look at Arianna’s scan, and Josh believes it matches the dementia diagnosis. Her blood tests were clean; she’s not being poisoned. Oliver gives Carol a hard time about her date that evening but approves once Josh shows him Harrison’s photo. Oliver will handle Arianna’s follow-up tests so Carol can relax on her date.
Apparently the tests include sneaking Arianna out of the hospital on his motorcycle. They head to a casino and she proves she understands the odds, the best bets to place, and how to make the most money. Arianna’s right and they celebrate with a drink.
Ericka goes against Charlie’s orders and performs an MRI on Sam. Sam panics, and it takes Anthony’s threat of sedation to get him to calm down. After security escorts him out of the room, Anthony demands to know why Sam was having a scan done. Ericka admits it was all her fault; she was just trying to help Sam.
Aury Krebs as Dr. Dana Dang and Brian Altemus as Dr. Charlie Porter in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 4 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)
Dana presents her patient’s assessment to Charlie in a totally dialed-down manner. She hates it and refuses to let anyone dim her light, and Charlie does the unexpected. He admits she’s funny but needs to understand when to shine. Medicine’s all about showmanship, and she needs to understand what role to play and when to play it.
Arianna and Oliver have a heart-to-heart, and he describes her as a thrill-seeker and a risk-taker who lives for the chase. He doesn’t believe she has dementia, and she confesses she threw herself down the stairs to get help. Carol interrupts the chat, calling Oliver to say Harrison won’t stop talking about his ex-wife. She thinks she needs to escape.
Speaking of escape, Arianna takes off while Oliver’s occupied on the phone. She rides off on his motorcycle!
Carol and Oliver explain their findings to Jill and David, who are incredibly worried that Arianna is missing. Her MRI matches Alex Honnold, the free climber, in that the area that registers fear in her brain is inactive. Carol points out that men who take enormous risks while acting irrationally are thought of as geniuses. Women in the same situation are thought of as crazy.
Back at the hospital, Charlie seems to think he and Dana are friends now, and for some reason she confesses to him that she’s the one who turned in Dr. Pierce. He admits he would have done the same thing.
Oliver meets with Ericka about the Sam situation and reminds her Sam isn’t her patient. He didn’t ask for help. Oliver knows this behavior all stems from Ericka not being able to save the woman in the elevator. She has to understand she can’t save everyone.
Arianna makes a public statement and the hospital staff, including Josh and Oliver, watch on TV. She accuses her family of trapping her in a guardianship, but she’s taking back her life. “My life, my choice,” she declares.
Oliver and Carol bring Arianna, David, and Jill in for a joint test. They have Jill and Arianna watch videos that should induce fear, but the monitors reflect Jill reacting while Arianna’s not at all scared of what she sees. Oliver and Carol believe Arianna’s treatment needs to include three risk-taking events a week, with her family joining in. Jill and David realize the guardianship caused depression and memory loss because her brain wasn’t being stimulated.
The family agrees to end the guardianship and try and return to their normal life prior to her mistakenly being diagnosed with dementia.
Ericka’s had a rough day and retrieves the meds she tossed out. She takes a pill to calm down.
John Clarence Stewart as Dr. Anthony Thorne and Tamberla Perry as Dr. Carol Pierce in ‘Brilliant Minds’ season 2 episode 4 (Photo by: Pief Weyman/NBC)
Anthony teases Carol about her date, and she wonders if her dating skills are gone. Anthony admits he fell asleep on his first date after his divorce.
Oliver turns in all the billable charts Josh requested and promises to keep up with them in the future. However, he will not change his approach to treating his patients. He refuses to be controlled.
In a voiceover, Oliver says, “Once we lose who we are, we lose everything.”
Episode four ends with a flash-forward to the opening scene. Oliver calls Josh and tells him Hudson Oaks took away his phone. They won’t let him leave and he has no autonomy. The staff forces him to end the conversation.
Josh remains on the line for a few seconds and then hangs up. Charlie’s in his office and is apparently, at least temporarily, the head of the neuro department. He tells Josh the neuro department is in good hands.
NBC announced a series order for Stumble in July 2025 and in September, the network confirmed it’s adding the half-hour single-camera comedy to its fall primetime lineup. Today, NBC launched the official trailer for the new series, which is set to premiere on Friday, November 7, 2025 at 8:30pm ET/PT after new episodes of Happy’s Place.
NBC’s super short synopsis reads, “A mockumentary about the ridiculously high-stakes competitive world of junior college cheer.”
Season one stars Jenn Lyon as Courteney Potter and Taran Killam as Boon E. Potter. The cast also includes Ryan Pinkston, Jarrett Austin Brown, Anissa Borrego, Arianna Davis, Taylor Dunbar, and Georgie Murphy. Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth is a recurring guest star.
Jeff Astrof and Liz Astrof are the writers and Jeff Blitz directs. Executive producers include the Astrofs, Blitz, Dana Honor, and Cheer‘s Monica Aldama.
Kristin Chenoweth as Tammy Istiny and Monica Aldama as Monica in ‘Stumble’ (Photo by: Matt Miller/NBC)Jenn Lyon as Courteney Potter (Photo by: Matt Miller/NBC)Jenn Lyon as Courteney Potter and Taran Killam as Boon E. Potter (Photo by: Matt Miller/NBC)Jenn Lyon as Courteney Potter and Kristin Chenoweth as Tammy Istiny (Photo by: Jocelyn Prescod/NBC)The Buttons Cheer Team on ‘Stumble’ (Photo by: Matt Miller/NBC)
Disney+ has set a December 12, 2025 premiere date for a deep dive into all things Taylor Swift. The 14-time Grammy winner allows fans behind the scenes of the record-breaking “The Eras Tour” with Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era. The six-part documentary series charts the development of the tour, featuring never-before-seen footage and interviews.
The first two episodes will stream on December 12th, followed by two more episodes on December 19th. The final two episodes will stream on December 26th.
Disney+ offers this synopsis: “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era is an illuminating docuseries on Disney+ that gives an intimate look at Taylor’s life as her tour made headlines and thrilled fans around the world. In addition, the series spotlights performers, family members, and friends—including Gracie Abrams, Sabrina Carpenter, Ed Sheeran, and Florence Welch—offering never-before-seen insight into what it took to create a phenomenon.”
The streamer’s also launching Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show on Disney+. The concert film, which will include the entire The Tortured Poets Department set, was shot during the last concert of the tour.
Don Argott directed Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era, produced by Object & Animal and co-directed by Sheena M. Joyce. Glenn Weiss directed Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show, which was produced by Taylor Swift Productions in association with Silent House Productions.
Taylor Swift The End of an Era poster (Photo Credit: Disney+)
Netflix’s Bridgerton dropped a 30-second teaser confirming season four will arrive in two parts. Both parts will consist of four episodes, with part one arriving on January 29, 2026 and part two following on February 26, 2026.
The teaser shows Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) wearing masks and passing on the stairs. Their hands briefly touch. The fourth season also stars Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton, Victor Alli as Lord John Stirling, Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury, Nicola Coughlan as Penelope, Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown, Lorraine Ashbourne as Mrs. Varley, and Masali Baduza as Michaela Stirling. Hannah Dodd is Francesca Stirling, Daniel Francis is Lord Marcus Anderson, Ruth Gemmell is Violet Bridgerton, Florence Hunt is Hyacinth Bridgerton, and Martins Imhangbe is Will Mondrich.
The ensemble also includes Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton, Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton, Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte, Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton, Polly Walker as Portia Featherington, Emma Naomi as Alice Mondrich, and Hugh Sachs as Brimsley. Simone Ashley plays Kate Bridgerton, Isabella Wei is Posy Li, Michelle Mao is Rosamund Li, and Katie Leung plays Lady Araminta Gun.
“The fourth season of Bridgerton turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict,” reads Netflix’s synopsis. “Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down—until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball.”
Commenting on the new season, Luke Thompson told Tudum, “The scripts that Jess [Brownell] and her team have come up with are dynamite. They’re really, really, really exciting. […]The storyline is a bit of a twist on Cinderella. You remember being told those stories as a child—the magic and the romance of them. It’s really exciting to have that weaved into the world that we know of Bridgerton … It’s such a great story, but it’s also, I hope, really relatable.”
Jess Brownell is the showrunner and serves as an executive producer along with Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Tom Verica, and Chris Van Dusen.
Poster for ‘Bridgerton’ season 4 (Photo Credit: Netflix)
Affection plunges the audience into a nightmare scenario and never lets up, serving up a gripping and intense psychological thriller/sci-fi/horror film. Affection revolves around a terrifying premise: what if you woke up one day and everything about your life – your home, your spouse, and even your own face – was completely different? How would you respond to a stranger staring back at you in the mirror?
Happy Death Day’s Jessica Rothe delivers a riveting, physically demanding performance as Ellie, the woman who’s inhabiting a body and a life she doesn’t recognize. Following an accident, Ellie wakes up believing she’s someone different than who her partner (played with unnerving patience by Joseph Cross) claims she is. Nothing in their home looks familiar, not even the framed family photos on the walls. This strange man is calling her “honey,” but who is he, and who is the young girl he insists is their daughter?
The fear and paranoia within the rural farmhouse grow as she struggles to piece together her identity. Ellie’s husband insists she’ll get better and the false memories she’s experiencing are the result of a traumatic brain injury. He claims she just needs to have patience and to accept that she’s suffering from a rare condition that causes untrustworthy images to invade her mind. But as days go by and that feeling of something being horribly off continues, Ellie begins to consider the possibility this strange man masquerading as her husband is trying to erase who she truly is.
First-time feature filmmaker BT Meza weaves a satisfyingly intense tale around the terrifying idea of not being able to trust your mind or your most intimate relationships. Meza’s writing is tight and smart, raising complex questions about love, loss, and losing your sense of self. Every new piece of information – and every terrifying seizure Ellie experiences – ratchets up the tension, making it nearly impossible to distinguish between what could be genuine concern on the husband’s part or sinister manipulation.
Rothe does a fantastic job portraying a woman forced into a matriarchal role that feels both alien and strangely familiar. The character’s rapidly deteriorating physical condition mirrors her state of mind until a twist in their relationship convinces her to make bold moves. It doesn’t matter if you see the twist coming; Meza shows real promise in the way his script handles the shifting dynamics and genres.
Confining the story to three central characters gives the story a penned-in, claustrophobic feel. Cut off from the outside world, the large farmhouse and its imposing surrounding fields lend the setting an end-of-the-world vibe. Joseph Cross and Julianna Layne (as the couple’s daughter) are terrific, but Rothe is the force who drives the narrative. It’s Ellie’s story and Rothe is fully committed to giving her a powerful emotional arc that overcomes the film’s few very minor missteps.
Meza’s debut is an absorbing, relentless, genre-blending thriller elevated by strong performances. Affection, which had its world premiere at the 2025 Screamfest, is a compelling showcase for an emerging filmmaker.
GRADE: B
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Release Date: TBA
Writer/Director: BT Meza
Producers: Bay Dariz, BT Meza, Austin Walk, and JP Ouellette
Executive Producers: Christian Henderson and Christy Walker
Director of Photography: Jason Hafer
Editor: David Gallegos
Production Designer: Nicholas Faiella
Music By: Daniel Berk
