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Irish Daily Star
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
I'm hooked on Apple TV+'s new crime drama despite problematic episode
Apple TV+'s latest crime drama commits what I perceive is the ultimate sin for a debut series, yet I find myself urging folks to give it a watch. Smoke has dropped its first two episodes, joining the ranks of Apple TV+'s high-end, original drama lineup that already includes titles like Your Friends and Neighbors, The Studio, Stick, Dope Thief, Murderbot, and Prime Target from earlier this year. That's quite the crowd of newbies vying for your screen time. As someone who critiques films and TV professionally, I get some early access to shows pre-release. So, just so you know, at the time of penning this, I've devoured the initial five episodes out of the nine-part season. Smoke is a slow burn until it gets going (Image: Apple) Keep in mind, three of those aren't even out for subscribers until July. This detail is key because if I had only seen the currently streaming premiere, I'd probably advise you to skip Smoke altogether. An early critique hailed Smoke as "nine great hours of television.", reports Wales Online . Here's the kicker: the critic must've binged the whole lot, because if they'd only seen the first couple of episodes, their tune might be different. Heads up, I'm about to share what goes down right at the start of Smoke. But hey, it might just convince you to fast-forward through the first 10 minutes or so. The series chronicles troubled detective Michelle Calderone, portrayed by Jurnee Smollett, who must join forces with arson expert Dave Gudsen, played by Taron Egerton, as they pursue two elusive serial arsonists. They find themselves enmeshed in a "twisted game of secrets and suspicions" as they delve into the crux of the frightening offenses. Drawing inspiration from real occurrences and the esteemed Firebug podcast, enthusiasts of the podcast will recognize where the narrative's critical turning point is headed. Launching a fresh series as it strives to carve out its characters, locale, concept, and convince viewers of its legitimacy is no small feat, encountering several pet peeves. Voiceover narration should be more than mere exhibition; it must authentically complement the visual storytelling, rather than indulging in pretentious reflections mirroring the show's theme. Another concern lies with erratic flashbacks; presenting past or future scenarios prior to identifying the temporal sequence can work effectively. However, juggling timelines incessantly risks obscuring the story's true genesis. Smoke plunges headfirst into these pitfalls. We're introduced to Taron Egerton's character amidst flames, ensnared within a burning structure, as his superfluous voiceover ruminates on conflagrations—and then, suddenly, he awakens! Similarly, when the series unveils our other lead, her background unfolds through sporadic, disjointed glimpses into the past. Despite the presence of these clichés, which is surprising given that the episode is written by seasoned scribe Dennis Lehane, I'd still urge most viewers to stick with it. We've arrived at one of the worst things a review could disclose to potential viewers: you'll need to endure the first two episodes before deciding if this show is your cup of tea. By the climactic scene of the second episode and its jaw-dropping plot twist, I've transitioned from wanting to throw in the towel to being hooked on what comes next. Taron Egerton in Smoke (Image: Apple) Starting from episode three, Egerton's fire investigator character evolves beyond just being an awful stepdad, revealing layers the show is gradually unmasking. Detective Calderone becomes intriguing when he's actually probing the central crime of the story rather than mulling over an affair, and I'm itching to uncover what's up with Ntare Mwine's Freddy Fasano. The series' weekly release schedule might pose a problem here, as it might be more enjoyable as a binge-watch. Smoke isn't the standout show of the year. It doesn't even top Apple's new series roster for 2025 (that honor goes to The Studio, in case you're curious), but I find myself irresistibly drawn to its intrigue, eager to see how it all wraps up and recommending it to anyone in search of a twist-filled crime drama. Smoke is streaming on Apple TV+.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lee Jung-jae, Adam Scott, Noah Wyle, and the best of our Emmy Drama Actor interviews
Over the past two months of Emmy campaigning, Gold Derby has spoken with several contenders in all categories. Now with voting underway ahead of the July 15 unveiling of the nominees, we have compiled 13 interviews for stars vying for Best Drama Actor, including: Charlie Cox (Daredevil: Born Again), Jon Hamm (Your Friends and Neighbors), Aldis Hodge (Cross), Lee Jung-Jae (Squid Game), Diego Luna (Andor), Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Harold Perrineau (From), Eddie Redmayne (The Day of the Jackal), Adam Scott (Severance), Billy Bob Thornton (Landman), Charlie Vickers (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), and Noah Wyle (The Pitt). Read on for highlights from each interviews and links to watch our full video Q&As. More from Gold Derby CBS, CNN, and ABC lead winners at 2025 News Emmys An 'honored' Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond movie: 'To me, he's sacred territory' Cox started playing lawyer Matt Murdock, aka the blind superhero Daredevil, back in 2015, and he's figured out his two priorities for every action scene, based on the character's superhuman abilities and his emotional primacy. 'One, be clear-minded about how emotionally relevant this scene is to Matt,' Cox explains about the Disney+ character. 'Sometimes we have a scene where he's just trying to garner information, and to get that, he needs to go through people. So make sure that the action is appropriate for that, so that he's not unnecessarily violent or brutal, because it doesn't require huge physical emotion. Then there are scenes where he's fighting someone with whom there's a history, or the person has been in some way involved in something that Matt feels very strongly against. So that fight becomes emotional, and it is more brutal, and probably more unnecessarily violent, and all those things. So to be clear and tell, in the simplest ways, the emotional story of the action.' Watch our complete interview with Charlie Cox. Hamm stars as the morally questionable Andy "Coop" Cooper, who turns to stealing from his wealthy neighbors to keep up appearances when he loses his high-paying hedge fund job on the Apple TV+ series. He says, "What I really liked about his journey in the first season was just how much it settled on him when it was looking very dire in the last few episodes where he was going to have to really kind of come-to-Jesus about what he has gotten himself into and how that not only is going to affect his life, but also the people he really truly cares about, his children, his ex-wife, his sister. The collateral damage of all of this, I think, was something that he was really confronting in the last few episodes. It's a wonderful scene with Amanda Peet, where she says you've got to fight, you can't give up. Are your kids going to be the kids whose dad is in jail for murder? If you didn't do it, figure it out. That was a really lovely, important scene, and I think it really resonated with Coop, and it really hit home. And he really had to double down on figuring this out." Watch our complete interview with Jon Hamm. For the Prime Video series, Hodge's performance as Det. Alex Cross is the perfect combination of cerebral and physical, swaggering and sensitive, and tough and gentle that the role requires. "I think every actor has to maintain independent individuality when they approach any character, right? That's the artist's process," Hodge tells Gold Derby. "So I just thought about the honest foundation of his desires, his wants. What is his current situation as a man? Where can I connect to those things personally with my own life experience? And then it becomes a really easy process from there. When you focus on the nucleus of a character's honesty, it eliminates so many other factors that would serve to only deter your creativity. So really, you come up with your own version by not even trying to come up with your own version. You don't focus on that. You just focus on the character's honesty." Watch our complete video interview with Aldis Hodge. The Emmy winner plays Gi-hun, who is seeking revenge in Season 2 after winning the game for the first season. The cast and creator behind the Netflix show joined us for an exclusive interview. He says, "For Season 1 it was really about the competitive world that we live in. For Season 2, it's more about the democratic voting system. Does it really work? Because are taking sides, grouping together, clashing against one another. So there's that added layer of political message to it. And then Season 3 will come to you with another message. And I think these social and political messages were resonant not just in Korea only, but through the entire global community. It's things that we have to deal with, with all our might together. … And I loved how there's that virtual cycle of us bringing questions to the table, and people would think about it, they would talk about it after watching Squid Game, and then those conversations will circle back to us, the creators and cast, and we can add that to our next season." Watch our complete video interview with Lee Jung-jae. The second season of the Disney+ series wasn't merely the completion of Luna's own years-long trek to tell a story of how Rogue One's Cassian Andor became a hero of the Rebellion, it was part of a greater, game-changing transformation of the overall Star Wars universe. He says, "I'm very pleased. This has been a very long journey for us, but I wouldn't change anything. I think the challenges we went through, the complexity of the production and the executing of this — we went through COVID, we went through strikes, shooting far away from home — all of that paid off because this is a show that represents me as an artist, and as audience too. It's something I would like to see as audience, and I am proud to be part of something that is connecting like the show is connecting with audiences." Read our complete interview with Diego Luna. The Hunkpapa Lakota actor stars as Navajo Tribal Police Lt. Joe Leaphorn, who in Season 3 is navigating the effects of moral gray areas he entered during Season 2 which have landed him in the investigative crosshairs of an FBI agent. 'Authenticity is very important to us,' McClarnon told Gold Derby. 'The books are written by Tony Hillerman, and we as Native people are just trying to add a little different perspective, kind of recontextualize the books a little bit, and bring these characters to life — real Natives bringing these characters to life.' Read our complete interview with Zahn McClarnon. The newly-announced knight and Oscar winner Oldman plays abrasive MI5 boss Jackson Lamb, the rude, crass, and often drunk department head with a bracing panache on the Apple TV+ series. "As the seasons go on and incrementally more is revealed of Jackson, you as an actor are forming a more complete picture of him. And then of course we have Season 5, and that pulls back another layer of the onion to his character and really why he is the way he is," he says about fleshing out the why behind his grouchy, ill-tempered exterior. "It works in a way as a defense mechanism. He's not gonna let you in. You're not going to really get to know him. And that really is part of his skill also, because by doing that, he has an edge over you. I mean, we've said it before; people around him are playing checkers and Jackson Lamb is playing chess." Watch our complete interview with Gary Oldman. Perrineau plays Sheriff Boyd Stevens on the MGM+ horror drama set in a decaying old ghost town in middle America that appears to be under the control of an unknown malevolent force that traps anyone who arrives. Director Jack Bender goes, 'here's what we're going to do, kiddo, we're going to have her over there and we're gonna put the camera on you, and we're gonna let it go," he explains incredulously. "That's when you have to dig in, and put images in your brain that you know you don't want to be there forever and but you have to," he says. "That's the great part of it, and if I can let it happen, then I've gotten something out of it. And then, therefore, hopefully, the audience did too. I've gone to a new place in my own self where I can allow this to be, and don't have to be scared of it or anything like that. It was pretty wild shooting it," he recalls. Watch our complete interview with Harold Perrineau. The Oscar winner plays the title character for the Peacock series. By day, he is a quiet assassin, exacting and economical with his kills, a man of few words and a master of disguises. By night, he returns home to his other life in Spain, as Charles Calthrop, who is married to Nuria (Úrsula Corberó) and father to their son Carlito. "The thing that I found most challenging was ... there's something that is incredibly kind of refined and economic and ruthless about him, but that economy, weirdly, takes quite a lot of work," he says. "I'm the most flappable person imaginable and this character is deeply unflappable. So it was weird because it meant that I had to prep. I like prep anyway, but I had to prep, like, I would say fivefold to how I would normally, just on silly things. I remember there's a moment in the opening scene [in] the opening episode when I sort of dismantle this suitcase and turn it into a sniper's rifle, and I wanted it to be like a dance. And I wanted it to have that sort of cathartic satisfaction of everything fitting exactly in its right place. It took me weeks. I would just put classical music on I was sitting in the in the bedroom at the hotel I was staying at and just go over and over, trying to make it as fluid as possible. But that economy was the hardest thing." Watch our complete interview with Eddie Redmayne. The second season of the Apple TV+ series is about a near-future, retro-tinged dystopia where people could separate their work selves from their personal lives. The team behind the show, including Scott, joined our recent group discussion, where she discussed her approach to playing the innie and outie versions of her character. On playing both versions in the same scene, he says, "It was something that had been talked about all season and that I was honestly dreading because it sounded hard, and it sounded like something that I could screw up any number of ways. Shooting it was something I was freaked out about. We started really workshopping and going through it and massaging it pretty early on. Dan and the writers were changing it as we went. When we got on the set, we started really going through it with a fine-tooth comb and trying to figure out exactly what the conversation should be. We had to start shooting it on a Monday morning and we were changing it right up until, what, Friday night? And then we had to stop because I had to memorize it at some point." Watch our complete interview with Adam Scott. Thornton stars as Tommy Norris, an abrasive straight-shooter petroleum landman who takes charge of the lucrative and often precarious oilfields of West Texas for M-Tex, a giant oil corporation, for the Paramount+ drama. "I've had a lot of life experience. I've been around some pretty weird things. So you just kind of draw on those. If you've got a pillowcase over your head and people are dumping gasoline on you, it's not hard to imagine if somebody struck a match, even though it's not gasoline. It's claustrophobic. So the situation itself kind of puts you in the frame of mind," the recent Golden Globe nominee and past Oscar winner explains, referring to scenes in the season premiere and finale where the titular landman is tied to a chair and is being beaten while a pillowcase covers his head. Listen to our complete interview with Billy Bob Thornton. Vickers explains that he shot several episodes of the Prime Video Season 1 without knowing that his character, Halbrand, was actually the dark lord Sauron in disguise. And for Season 2, he also plays Sauron's new form called Annatar. Halbrand feels distinctly human, a 'low man' who works with his hands. By contrast, Annatar is ethereal, regal, and possesses a calm command of any room he enters. 'He's a Maia, which means basically he's a demigod,' explains Vickers, 'So you're going from playing a regular guy to this guy that is larger than life. So I had to learn a whole new way of moving.' Within the actor's physicality is a simmering power that Annatar dare not show. 'He's a lot more still and a lot more controlled and contained,' says Vickers, 'it is quite fun to play with the potential of this energy that is within him.' Watch our complete interview with Charlie Vickers. The star, executive producer, writer, and director plays Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch. His team at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center would go on to have a stressful, chaotic day, capped off with a mass casualty incident. He says, "The line of demarcation in healthcare can be drawn in 2020 before COVID, and we're living in the A.D. of it all. And I think, in some ways, that reset the clock on what modern healthcare looks like, and that became the focus of the show. How do we do a show that's more practitioner-centric, less patient-centric, and has a fidelity not just to terminology and to procedure but to the emotional truth of the compounding aggregate experiences that practitioners shoulder and don't have a lot of opportunity to offload?" Read our complete interview with Noah Wyle. Best of Gold Derby Kathy Bates, Minha Kim, Elisabeth Moss, and the best of our Emmy Drama Actress interviews Everything to know about 'The Pitt' Season 2 Adam Brody, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and the best of our Emmy Comedy Actor interviews Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Deserving Has Nothing To Do With It: Why Negotiation Is The Real Superpower
By Damali Peterman 'You don't get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate.' That line from Apple TV's hit show Your Friends and Neighbors hits hard — because it's true. In a world where Black excellence is often overlooked, undervalued, or underpaid, waiting to be recognized isn't a strategy. It's a stall. I once worked with a brilliant Black woman who was up for a leadership role. She had the experience, the results, and the loyalty. But instead of making a clear ask, she said, 'They know I deserve it.' She was right, but guess what? They promoted someone else. I've also seen entrepreneurs spend months building a product or service, only to undersell it because they were afraid to ask for more. One client nearly gave away equity in her company just to 'keep the peace' — until she paused, reset, and negotiated a deal that respected both her vision and her value. The truth? Deserve is emotional. Negotiation is strategic. And strategy wins. Here's how to shift your mindset and use negotiation as your everyday superpower: Lead with Logic. Let Emotion Inform, Not Control. We often walk into negotiations carrying emotion — frustration, exhaustion, pride, fear. That's human. But feelings should inform your strategy, not derail it. Ask yourself: What do I feel? Why? And how can I translate that into what I want? For example: Anger might mean your value has been dismissed. Use that insight to frame a clear ask. 'Here's the impact I've made — and what I need moving forward.' Emotional intelligence isn't about shutting down how you feel. It's about leveraging it with discipline. Master the Foundational Five: Know Your Power Before You Speak Before you walk into any negotiation, you need to know five things. I call them the Foundational Five — they're essential to every successful negotiation: 1. Know what you want 2. Know what you need 3. Know how to actively listen 4. Know how to communicate 5. Know when to close These five elements keep your approach grounded and focused. If you don't know what you want, how can you ask for it? If you don't know how to listen, how can you discover what matters to the other side? And if you don't know when to close, you risk losing the deal you already earned. You don't have to be the loudest or the most experienced. You just have to be prepared. The Foundational Five will get you there. Practice in Small Places So You're Ready for Big Ones Negotiation is not a once-a-year event. It's a daily habit. You negotiate when you ask your child to take a break from the screens. When you say 'I need 10 minutes' before jumping into another conference call. When you ask for support instead of silently carrying the load. These small moments build muscle memory. So when it's time to ask for a raise, pitch your business, or push back on bias — you've already trained for it. Final Word: Your Power Is in the Ask Negotiation is not manipulation. It's alignment. It's advocacy. It's how you close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. So let go of waiting for what's fair. Let go of hoping someone sees your value. Let go of 'deserve.' And remember this instead: You get what you ask for. You get what you prepare for. You get what you negotiate. RELATED CONTENT: Awkward To Authentic: Conference Networking Tips for Introverts
Business Upturn
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
Your Friends and Neighbors Season 2: Release date speculation, cast and plot details – Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on June 18, 2025, 18:30 IST Last updated June 18, 2025, 11:20 IST Apple TV+'s dark comedy crime drama Your Friends and Neighbors has captivated audiences with its sharp wit, shocking twists, and stellar performances, particularly from Jon Hamm as Andrew 'Coop' Cooper. Following the gripping Season 1 finale, fans are eager for updates on Season 2. From release date speculation to cast additions and potential plot developments, here's everything we know so far about Your Friends and Neighbors Season 2. Release Date Speculation for Your Friends and Neighbors Season 2 While Apple TV+ has not announced an official premiere date for Your Friends and Neighbors Season 2, there are promising signs of a relatively quick turnaround. The show was renewed in November 2024, before Season 1 even premiered on April 11, 2025, reflecting Apple's strong confidence in the series. Filming for Season 2 began just three days after the Season 1 premiere, which suggests a potential release as early as Spring 2026, likely around April or May, aligning with the Season 1 schedule. Your Friends and Neighbors Season 2 Expected Cast The core cast of Your Friends and Neighbors is expected to return, with Jon Hamm reprising his role as Andrew 'Coop' Cooper, the disgraced hedge fund manager turned thief. Amanda Peet will return as Mel, Coop's ex-wife, and Olivia Munn as Samantha 'Sam' Levitt, Coop's on-again-off-again lover who played a pivotal role in the Season 1 finale. Other returning cast members likely include: Hoon Lee as Barney Choi, Coop's friend and business manager Mark Tallman as Nick Brandes Lena Hall as Allison 'Ali' Cooper Aimee Carrero as Elena Benavides Eunice Bae, Isabel Gravitt, and Donovan Colan in supporting roles Your Friends and Neighbors Season 2 Potential Plot Season 1 of Your Friends and Neighbors followed Coop's descent into crime after losing his job and marriage, culminating in a shocking finale where Sam framed Coop for her husband Paul's murder, only for it to be revealed as a staged suicide to exploit an insurance clause. Coop, cleared of charges, chose to continue his thieving ways, stealing a coveted Francis Bacon painting in the final moments, setting the stage for a darker, more ambitious Season 2. Creator Jonathan Tropper has teased that Season 2 will delve deeper into the consequences of Coop's actions while exploring the independent arcs of Mel and Sam. 'It's darker. It's more intense,' Tropper told The Hollywood Reporter . The season will focus on the Cooper family dynamics, including Coop's relationships with his children and his evolving bond with Mel, who may also find herself in trouble. Sam's storyline will explore her reinvention in the face of public scrutiny and emotional fallout after her actions in Season 1. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Your Friends and Neighbors Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Toronto Sun
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
CHAUDHRI: Terminations can be hard to fight – even for the powerful
Jon Hamm and Amanda Peet in "Your Friends and Neighbors" Photo by Apple TV+ I usually like to tie my columns to court cases or news events but today I will share a fictional story with raw employment undertones. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account In the new television show Your Friends and Neighbors , John Hamm plays a fictional character Andrew Cooper, a brilliant hedge fund manager with a Princeton pedigree. Despite his status and strong track record, he is terminated after an indiscretion with a subordinate employee. Coop, as he is called, is hamstrung by a two-year, non-solicitation clause in his employment agreement. He is shunned by colleagues and locked out of his capital account. Coop takes interviews at other financial shops but is summarily dismissed at each meeting; the shadow of his non solicit, predetermining the outcome. While most of this fictional story isn't relatable to the average employee, one element is: Coop is entirely reluctant to sue his employer. Desperate to maintain his lifestyle, he laments to a friend about his plight, certain his employer will never negotiate. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More The sepulchral tones of this plot line aren't limited to the world of fiction. I think back to the story of the founder of JetBlue Airways David Neeleman I shared with you years ago. Neeleman launched the successful airline after waiting out a five-year, non-competition clause flowing from his termination at Southwest Airlines. Neeleman recounted the exchange he had with the CEO of Southwest, Herb Kelleher, after he was let go on a podcast. About one-and-a-half years into the non-competition period, he called Southwest's CEO and said, 'Hey Herb, you know, I've consulted legal counsel … this thing isn't really enforceable.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Kelleher responded, 'David, you're the last person I want to see in the airline business. So, I will fight you tooth and nail. I do not want to see you in the airline business.' Neeleman was quite a powerful figure, but he too recounted the emotional hurdles in taking on his former employer. What may be shocking to some is that employers also fear the unpredictable, mercurial nature of litigation. The fear is never one-sided despite the illusion. RECOMMENDED VIDEO If we all played nicely in the sandbox, litigation wouldn't exist. It's here to balance the scales, to allow parties to seize upon leverage, and to force fair outcomes when none are on the table. While never a life goal, taking on a former employer may crystallize your retirement plan or hold you over until your next opportunity. On occasion, it unlocks new wealth. Terminations can be hard to fight, even for the powerful, well-heeled executive. But it can also be the best business decision one makes during one's career. Have a workplace question? Maybe I can help! Email me at sunira@ and your question may be featured in a future column. The content of this article is general information only and is not legal advice. World Sunshine Girls Golf World Sunshine Girls
