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Jake Giles Netter/Max Hacksseason 4 concluded on May 29 The Max original won Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards The latest season has been the series' most-watched yet Is thisHacks' last act? The fourth season of Max's Emmy-winning hit comedy series saw comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) living out her dream of hosting her own late-night talk show, only to eventually give it all up and choose to stand with her head writer and friend, Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder). Hackshas been a hit since its 2021 debut. The show has racked up 48 Emmy nominations, including three wins for Smart, and it took home the award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2024.According to Max, the most recent season has been the series' most-watched yet, with viewer numbers growing week-over-week since its premiere on April 10. In a May 2025Varietyinterview, when asked aboutHacksbeing renewed for a fifth season, Smart replied, "I'd be kinda surprised if we didn't." Since season 4 ended on May 29, isHackscoming back for a fifth season? Here's everything to know about what's next for the streaming series, including if it has been officially renewed, and which cast members are expected to return. Courtesy of Max Yes,Hackswill be back. The Emmy-winning comedy has been renewed for a fifth season. The renewal was first announced by series creators and showrunners Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky on May 27. In a statement, Max's head of programming, Sarah Aubrey, said, "Yes! More! We congratulateHacks' singularly talented cast and crew and our great partners at Universal Television." Erin Underhill, the president of Universal Television, added, "Like Deborah Vance herself,Hacksonly gets bolder, sharper, and more iconic with time. We're beyond thrilled to keep the laughter rolling with Jen, Paul, Lucia, our extraordinary cast and crew, and our partners at Max." When asked about the renewal, Downs toldTV Insider, "We feel so lucky that we get to do a fifth season of comedy. We're like, it shouldn't be this way, but we feel really fortunate because it's so rare. We feel incredibly lucky." Kenny Laubbacher/Max While there hasn't been an official casting announcement for season 5, it wouldn't beHackswithout leads Smart and Einbinder, who are expected to reprise their roles of Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels, respectively. Other members of theHackscast include Downs,Megan Stalter, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Mark Indelicato, Rose Abdoo, Dan Bucatinsky,Helen Hunt,Tony Goldwyn,Kaitlin Olson, Jane Adams and Lauren Weedman. Season 4 saw the addition of other recurring cast members, including Eric Balfour, Julianne Nicholson, Michaela Watkins, Bresha Webb, Robby Hoffman and Jake Shane. "I'm so excited,Hacksjust got officially picked up for season 5. I'm thrilled!" Smart said in a video posted on theMax Instagramaccount on May 27. "Congratulations to my cast, everybody in the production and to all of ourHacksfans out there, please join us again for season 5." Before the next season ofHackspremieres, Smart can be seen onstage in the one-woman Broadway showCall Me Izzyat Studio 54 in New York. Jessica Perez/Max A season 5 premiere date has not been announced forHacks, but past seasons have premiered in the spring. Courtesy of Max The first four seasons ofHacksare available to stream onMax. Read the original article onPeople

PARIS (AP) — "She's messy. It can be messy. But it's real." So says Cynthia Nixon — not just of Miranda Hobbes, the character she's embodied across almost three decades, but of the show itself. "And Just Like That...," HBO's "Sex and the City" revival, has come into its own in season three: less preoccupied with pleasing everyone, and more interested in telling the truth. Truth, in this case, looks like complexity. Women in their fifties with evolving identities. Not frozen in time, but changing, reckoning, reliving. Queerness that's joyful but not polished. Grief without melodrama. A pirate shirt with a bleach hole that somehow becomes a talisman of power. At its glittering European premiere this week, Nixon and costar Sarah Jessica Parker, flanked by Kristin Davis and Sarita Choudhury, spoke candidly with The Associated Press about how the show has evolved into something deeper, rawer, and more reflective of who they are now. A voice returns Season three marks the return of Carrie Bradshaw's iconic internal monologue — the voiceover that once defined "Sex and the City" and gave millions of women permission to narrate their lives. That rhythmic intimacy is back, and not by accident. "We've always loved the voiceover," Parker said. "It's a rhythm — it's part of the DNA." For Parker, it mirrors Carrie's emotional clarity. The character who once floated through Manhattan chasing shoes and column deadlines is now grounded in reinvention, loss, and cautious hope. She's grown up and she's no longer hiding it. "She doesn't burst into tears or stomp out of the room anymore," Parker said. "She asks smart, patient questions. That's not effort — that's just her nature now." "People seem surprised that she is mature," Parker added. "But that's just basic developmental stuff — hopefully, simply by living, we get better at things. It's not surprising. It's just real." Warts and all Miranda's arc, which now includes a late-in-life queer awakening, may be the show's most radical contribution to television. For Nixon, it was vital that this journey didn't feel sanitized. "There's never a 'too late' moment. Miranda comes to queerness at 55. That doesn't mean everything that came before was wrong. It just means this is her now. And it's messy. It can be messy. But it's real." That embrace of imperfection is central to Nixon's philosophy of storytelling, especially on television, where long-running characters become part of the cultural furniture. "Television puts someone in your living room, week after week. They're imperfect, they make you laugh, and eventually you say, 'I know that person. They're my friend.' That's more powerful than one mythic, perfect film. That's where the change happens." That change includes representation. Nixon recalled how earlier generations of queer characters were forced to be flawless to justify their presence. "There was a time when gay people on screen had to be saints or martyrs," she said. "Now, we can be characters like Miranda — who've had rich, fulfilling heterosexual lives and now stumble upon queerness, and not in a tidy way. There's collateral damage. That's important." The power of long form That depth, Nixon said, comes not just from character, but from the format. Unlike film, which requires resolution in two hours, television lets people grow — and falter — in real time. "On long-running shows, if the writers are smart, they start to weave in the actor," Nixon said. "When I started, Miranda and I were very different. But now we've grown closer. We're almost the same person — in temperament, in values." That closeness is reflected in the material. Season three narrows its scope, pulling focus back to the emotional cores of Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte. Several side characters are gone, including Che Diaz, and what remains is a cleaner, more character-driven story. "I think one of the great things about our show is we show women in their 50s whose lives are very dramatic and dynamic," Nixon said. "You get to this age and there's a lot going on — if you choose to keep moving forward." Friends, friction, and freedom Kristin Davis, who plays Charlotte, noted that those life shifts come fast and often overlap. "She really starts to unravel," Davis said. "But the joy is her friends are there." Sarita Choudhury, who plays real estate powerhouse Seema, echoed that sense of late-blooming autonomy. "She's feeling that, if you have your own business, your own apartment, your own way, you get to say what you want," Choudhury said. "There's power in that." It's a subtle rebuke to the long-held media narrative that midlife is a decline. In "And Just Like That...", it's the opposite. Not just fashion — declaration Fashion, as ever, is present — but now it feels more personal than aspirational. Parker described insisting on wearing a ripped vintage Vivienne Westwood shirt with a bleach hole in a key scene. "I didn't care," she said. "It had to be in an important scene. It meant something." Even the show's iconic heels, still clacking through New York's brownstone-lined streets, feel louder this season. They're not just accessories. They're declarations. And yes, Carrie is writing again, though not her usual musings. A "historical romance" project, mentioned only briefly on screen so far, hints at the show's comfort with poking fun at itself and its heroine's occasionally pretentious flair. If early reviews are right, it might be one of the season's most enjoyably ludicrous storylines. "And Just Like That..." is a show that's learned to walk — loudly — into its next chapter. It may be messy. But it's real. "You're better today than you were ten years ago," Parker said. "That's not just Carrie — that's everyone." ___ Season three of "And Just Like That…" premiered on Thursday on HBO Max

This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged pattern of sexual and physical abuse is coming into focus as more of the hip-hop mogul's former associatesspeak outduring hiscriminal trial. After harrowing testimony from Combs' ex-assistant, awoman going by the pseudonym "Mia,"prosecutors returned to court on May 30 to continue building their case against the Grammy-winning rapper in his sweeping federal sex-crimes case. During her May 29 testimony, Mia was emotional, slow and considered in her responses. Her voice often cracked as she teared up while alleging Combs attacked her and his then-girlfriendCassie Ventura Finemultiple times. "He's thrown things at me. He's thrown me against the wall. He's thrown me into a pool," she said. Mia's testimony followed similar allegations fromDeonte Nash, a friend and stylist ofVentura Fine, who claimed Combs tried to control all aspects of Cassie's life during theirdecadelong relationship. Combs, 55, wasarrested in September 2024and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty. Diddy on trial newsletter:Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges. Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling lawsuit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry. He wasarrested in September 2024and later charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper has pleaded not guilty to all five counts against him. Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity. Using RICO law, which is typically aimed attargeting multi-person criminal organizations,prosecutors allegethat Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors allege they have video of. The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings. USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom.Sign up for our newsletterfor more updates. Contributing: USA TODAY staff If you are a survivor of sexual assault,RAINNoffers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) andHotline.RAINN.organd en EspañolRAINN.org/es. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Diddy trial updates: Mogul's alleged sexual abuse exposed in court

Dean Williams /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty The landmark 1983 TV movieThe Day Aftershowed viewers the aftermath of a fictional nuclear strike in Middle America It remains one of the highest-rated TV movies of all time The new documentaryTelevision Eventexplores the making of the film There's an old saying that goes like this: "If there's a nuclear war, only two species will survive: the cockroaches andCher." Thankfully, that theory has yet to be tested, although a 1983 ABC television movie calledThe Day Afterpainted a vivid and terrifying what-if nuclear Armageddon scenario. The newly released documentaryTelevision Eventgoes behind-the-scenes of the Cold War-era television classic, which presented an alternate (and to many at the time, seemingly inevitable) reality in which a nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union leaves two cities — Lawrence, Kans., and Kansas City, Mo. — flattened. Both real-life cities were chosen as settings for the telefilm because of their proximity to numerous missile silos. The Day Afterwas initially intended to be a four-hour miniseries airing over two nights. It was also meant to put the fear of God into viewers... literally. Ed Hume, the film's credited writer, reveals in the documentary that "Silence in Heaven," a phrase he pulled directly from the Bible's Book of Revelation, was the original title of his screenplay. Television Event, directed by Jeff Daniels (not theEmmy-winning actor, but the maker of activism-minded documentaries likeMother with a Gun) reveals thatThe Day Afterfilmmakers wanted to make a movie in which big-name performers wouldn't overshadow the message. Stars likeDonald Sutherland,Blythe DannerandRootsactor George Stanford Brown were passed over in favor of two-time Oscar winner Jason Robards, John Lithgow and Steve Guttenberg. Much of the cast of extras and actors in some larger roles were handpicked from among locals in Lawrence. Ellen Anthony, who played Joleen Dahlberg, the youngest daughter in one of the featured families, was one of the chosen. She appears in the documentary and shares her memories of being cast in the movie and filming it. "We surrendered our innocence," she says. "We surrendered that to this larger goal. We were going to do something very serious." Walt Disney Television via Getty At one point, Anthony is seen watching the movie's harrowing bombing scenes and breaks down crying. "That's really hard for me to watch. Because that's… It's really hard for me to watch," she says, as tears fall down her cheeks. "Because that's my town, that's my child..." She stops in the middle of the word and closes her eyes before trying to go on. "I'm sorry, I can't see it right now." "Those locations were the locations of my childhood," she continues. "The group of students that you see vaporized was my actual fifth-grade class. That's hard to watch. That's really hard to watch." That was the case for many of those who saw the movie, which remains one of the highest-rated TV films of all time. According to the documentary, 67% of the people in the U.S. watching TV that night — some 100 million people total — watchedThe Day After. BC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Following the movie, ABC aired a special edition ofViewpointin which ABC news anchor Ted Koppel comforted viewers by reminding themThe Day Afterwas just a movie, but also warning them that what happens in the movie could happen in real life. "It's sort of necessary to pick up a glass of water and say, 'OK, well, wake up now," Koppel, 85, says in an interview filmed for the documentary. "We're gonna talk about this, but that movie — you know it was a movie, right? It didn't happen. And everything is OK for the time being.' " That episode ofViewpointincluded an appearance by then U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, who assured viewers that the events of the movie would never happen in real life. Thought leaders of the time, including former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, William F. Buckley, Carl Sagan and former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, took part in a panel to debate the merit of the film. The Day After, which was also shown in Russia and in Hiroshima, Japan — where the U.S. dropped an atom bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, hastening the end of World War II — had a lasting effect. In his memoir,Ronald Reagan, who was president when the movie aired, wrote that it left him "greatly depressed."Television Eventposits that the movie "led to the biggest decline in nuclear weapons in history." "The Day Afterwas an important thing," Nicholas Meyer, who directed the TV movie, says near the end of the documentary. "And people realize, in retrospect, just how important it was — certainly the most valuable thing I've gotten to do with my life to date." Television Eventis now playing in select theaters, including Film Forum in New York City. Read the original article onPeople

TheStewartofNY/Getty Joshua Jackson says starring inKarate Kid: Legendsis a "childhood dream come true" In the movie, Jackson plays Victor, a former boxing champ and pizzeria owner Karate Kids: Legendsis now in theaters Joshua Jacksonis especially grateful for his role inKarate Kid: Legends. Speaking with PEOPLE at the film's premiere on Tuesday, May 27, the actor, 46, shared pride in "being a part of this legacy" that is theKarate Kidfranchise, describing it as a "childhood dream come true." TheDoctor Odysseyactor added that starring in the film was a full-circle moment, as he remembers watching 1984'sKarate Kidwhen he was young. "As [Ben Wang] said very wisely, he's going to be the Karate Kid for my daughter and I just think that that's awesome that I get to be a part of the movie that like pays that forward to the next generation," Jackson said. Karate Kid: Legendsfinds Jackson playing Victor, a former boxing champ and pizzeria owner. The actor shared with PEOPLE how he brought his 5-year-old daughter,Juno, whom he shares with exJodie Turner-Smith, on set. "She came out to visit Montreal for five, six days because my brother lives up there, it was a family trip and I brought her on set the day that we were doing the fight scene," he said, which turned out to be a "really stupid thing" to do. "That was really dumb," Jackson said. "She did not like seeing her dad get beat up. So I don't think I'll watch it with her in the theatrical run, but within a couple years I think we'll be okay." TheStewartofNY/Getty Jackson's role was particularly challenging as he had to gain 20 lbs. to embody his character Victor. "I walk around at 175," he explained on the Tuesday, May 27, episode of theTodayshow. "I was almost 195 for the film." The actor admitted he was surprised to learn bulking up was not so easy. "It was harder than I thought it was going to be," he said. "I was eating 4,000 calories a day." Nonetheless, Jackson welcomed the challenges because for him, "the training part is the fun part of my job." "Every time you pick up a new job, you've gotta pick up a new skill. But the training hits different at 45, 46 than it did when I was in my 20s," Jackson shared. Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Karate Kids: Legendsis now playing in theaters. Read the original article onPeople