After nearly a whole year, a bidding war and a lawsuit, Paramount and Warner Bros. have officially merged. Now comes the hard part—what to call the company. ParaBros. or Warnermount? While you’re pondering that, Netflix remembers iconic comedian Norm Macdonald with a new documentary. Jason Voorhees’ mother gets a backstory of her own in a new Peacock prequel and Gilmore Girls fans get an immersive recreation of Stars Hollow. Plus, David Bowie can be a birthday boy again, just for one day, but he’s getting a yearlong tribute for his 80th.
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There’s a lot of business lingo and jargon surrounding the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger, but when it really comes down to it, what almost all of us want to know is what’s going to happen to Paramount+ and HBO Max. For right now, the answer is nothing. They will stay standalone streaming services.
But eventually, they will merge into one unified collection of content. While that certainly means greater access to shows like Yellowstone, The Sopranos and Sex and the City, it also means it’s going to come with a price. The merger, now operating under the newly formed Skydance company, will take on $80 billion of debt. Who is going to cover that debt? Well, partially you (and every other subscriber). Which means prices are likely to rise for greater access to this combined catalog of content.
But it’s not just us shouldering the cost. The financial hit may also impact employees of this newly merged company in the form of layoffs, as Skydance could eliminate jobs in order to cut costs, joining companies like Disney who have recently laid off good portions of their staff. So, while no major changes are going to be felt in the immediate future, get ready. They’re coming.
Comedy: The Quiet Genius of Norm Macdonald
If you ask a stand-up comic to name some of the comics they most admire, the ones that made the art of joke telling look effortless and defined the art form, Norm Macdonald’s name would be high on that list. This might come as a surprise to many. To the mainstream public, Macdonald was the Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” anchor who got fired. But to comics, Macdonald was quietly the funniest person in the room.
Now Judd Apatow’s Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald on Netflix aims to show the mainstream the near-universal admiration Macdonald received in his lifetime from many of his peers. Working until the end of his life, Macdonald kept his acute leukemia diagnosis secret from the public, with many only finding out upon hearing the news of his death at 61 in 2021.
Less a tribute, Apatow’s Norm is more of an archive of what made Macdonald so respected, adding a new dynamic to the legacy of a man who gave us so much.
Movies: Returning to Camp Crystal Lake
Have you ever wondered, “How did the mom from Friday the 13th get so intense?” Well, you’re in luck. Crystal Lake, a new prequel series based on the story from the 1980 horror classic, is coming to Peacock.
In this iteration, Emmy-winner Linda Cardellini stars as Pamela Voorhees, a cook and single mom at Camp Crystal Lake who must grapple with the trauma of losing her son due to a drowning, which she blames on the negligence of camp counselors. If you remember what happens to her in the film, you know things don’t exactly work out for Voorhees. That is partly what makes Cardellini’s performance so exciting.
The series is able to scratch that nostalgic itch of ’80s horror camp while also giving it the serialized drama treatment in a truly satisfying way. It’s a perfect way to spend Halloween and a great reminder to avoid being a camp counselor because, well, you never know what or who might be lurking in the shadows.
Television: Exploring Stars Hollow is the Ultimate Cure for Seasonal Depression
From " la-la-las" to "fa-la-las,” Gilmore Girls fans can keep the cozy season going at the ultimate holiday fan event.
Every autumn brings a mass migration back to Stars Hollow, as viewers return to the comfort-show gold standard and relive the joys and dramas of small-town Connecticut life. Netflix might have removed all seven seasons of the CW hit drama (we don't mention the mess of A Year in the Life), but now, Warner Bros. Studios is recreating that charm in Hollywood.
Running from December 12 to January 3 as part of the show's 25th-anniversary celebration, Gilmore Girls Holidays expands on previous seasonal events with immersive experiences inspired by the series. Fans can visit the sets of the Chilton courtyard and the Gilmores' Hartford estate and spend the day like Lorelai and Rory. Stroll around the iconic spots throughout Stars Hollow, like grabbing coffee at Luke's Diner or bidding on a basket at the gazebo. Scott Patterson, the actor who plays lovable grump Luke Danes, will also make special appearances. Unfortunately, brooding teen love triangles are not included.
Music: Bowie's 80th Birthday is a Year-Long Tribute to the Cultural Icon
Put on your red shoes and get ready to celebrate David Bowie’s 80th birthday. Bowie80 is launching a year-long global tribute packed with fashion collaborations, exhibitions, fan activations, special releases and live events honoring the late icon’s outsized impact on music, art and culture.
Highlights include immersive Bowie-themed experiences at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, exclusive collections through Nordstrom and Strange Fascination, a major photography exhibition featuring rare and previously unseen images from across Bowie’s career. There’s even a new symphonic production that pairs Bowie’s songs and voice with the work of composer Philip Glass.
In true Bowie fashion, the celebration is equal parts nostalgia, innovation and fearless reinvention. And who knows? By Bowie’s 90th, maybe SpaceX will finally help fans answer that eternal question and go looking for “Life on Mars?” themselves.