Warning! Spoilers for Squid Game: The Challenge Episode 5 to follow! Squid Game: The Challenge has kicked off a surprising new reality game show competition for Netflix spinning off of one of the most popular new series in recent years. Squid Game took over the world when it first debuted on Netflix as fans not only fell in love with the death games as a concept, but also loved the juxtaposition with the childlike presentation of the games themselves. But underneath it all was an incredibly heartbreaking story, and Squid Game: The Challenge finds a way to be just as heartbreaking with its Episode 5 cliffhanger.

The first five episodes of Squid Game: The Challenge have been released in a batch on Netflix, and by the end of the fifth episode you really know why it was done in this manner. The first five episodes introduce fans to how Squid Game: The Challenge adapts the games seen in the original Squid Game series, but also introduces a number of twists to the games and tests seen. It's already proven that the game isn't going to be exactly like Squid Game, but Episode 5 brings it all back down to Earth as contestants pair up to play marbles.

Squid Game: The Challenge Episode 5 Explained

Episode 5 of Squid Game: The Challenge sees more alliances form as the contestants wait for the next full game. They've gone through a number of trials in which they've sent each other home, so the ones left have formed significant bonds. This gets to a point where a group is tasked with juicing enough oranges to win a special treat, and it was revealed that this treat was a picnic. Then asked to form into pairs to enjoy the picnic (with 69 contestants left at this point, there's one left over), each player soon discovers that there's a bag of marbles hidden in their picnic baskets.

As fans remember about the original Squid Game series, this marble game ended up cutting the remaining players in half as the pairs played to become their respective survivors. This means that as the players enjoy their treat for just a little bit, they soon are heartbroken to find the game they have to play next. With each player breaking up into pairs with their friends, it's heartbreaking. There's a mother and son who find their marbles first, and it hits them the hardest.

It's the shocking kind of cliffhanger that really made the original Squid Game series hit as hard as it did, and now it's just a matter of waiting to see if the marbles game in Squid Game: The Challenge is going to be just as big of a deal as it was in the original. What did you think of the cliffhanger in Episode 5? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

Santa Claus may be Father Christmas, but Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias is looking to take over as the face of the holiday. In the second season of Disney's The Santa Clauses, the beloved comedian plays Kris Kringle, a Christmas super-fan who runs a themed amusement park called Santopolis. Kris quite literally eats, sleeps, and breathes Christmas. As it turns out, that role wasn't too much of a stretch for Iglesias.

Following the season debut of The Santa Clauses earlier this month, ComicBook.com spoke with Iglesias about his role in the show. He admitted to being something of a fanatic about Christmas, revealing that he has much more in common with Kris Kringle than you might think.

"Well, first of all, Christmas is my favorite holiday. It's my favorite time of year," Iglesias told us. "I enjoy the decorations. I like driving through neighborhoods that just go all out, and they're the same ones that usually give up the big candy during Halloween. That's what I've noticed. I'm one of those people that actually loves being at the mall. I don't like the fighting over parking part but I do like being in the mall and everybody's just in a different, cool vibe. I'm very much the Santa type. So I'm the giver. I'm the Santa during that time. And doing this series was a lot of fun for me.

"So every day showing up on the set -- you can tell my eye gravitates quickly to certain things, gravitates toward certain things, and Christmas is one of those things. On set you are consumed with Christmas. No matter what direction you look, you are in this world. And so I thought that was really cool. You should charge [to come to the set], you really should. You can get your money back for this set if you just charge and open it to the public."

What Is The Santa Clauses Season 2 About?

The second season of The Santa Clauses is all about the family, as Scott/Santa decides that the business of Christmas should be kept in his actual family. you can check out the synopsis below!

"In the series' sophomore season, the Calvin family is back at the North Pole, as Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) continues his role as Santa Claus after his retirement plans were thwarted when he failed to find a worthy successor in season one. Now that Scott and his family have successfully saved Christmas, Scott turns his focus towards training his son Cal (Austin Kane) to eventually take over the 'family business' as Santa Claus."

New episodes of The Santa Clauses debut on Disney+ every Wednesday.

The second season of Disney's The Santa Clauses got a little bit mad, bringing in an outcast Santa from the Dark Ages as its main antagonist. Eric Stonestreet, best known for his Emmy-winning role on Modern Family, joined the cast of The Santa Clauses Season 2 as Magnus Antas, also known as the Mad Santa. After spending centuries trapped in a nutcracker as part of a curse, the Mad Santa returns in the modern day to discover how much Christmas has changed, and that's not something he's happy about.

Following the debut of The Santa Clauses Season 2 earlier this month, ComicBook.com sat down to talk with Stonestreet about bringing his turkey leg-wielding Mad Santa to life.

"It was fun because I know where we're headed," Stonestreet said. "So I get to make people hopefully love Christmas even more by making them nervous about it potentially being taken away, or something like that. What's that saying? In order to love something more, you've got to let it go to appreciate it. The Mad Santa, that's the threat, the looming threat that he is going to wreck the Calvin family, wreck Christmas. And for the viewer, what's going to happen to this beautiful family and this beautiful set? So I love getting the opportunity to be that person knowing where it's headed."

Stonestreet went on to give a little more background to the Mad Santa's actions, explaining why he has become such an antagonist in the time since he served at the North Pole.

"He deserved what happened to him, obviously, but being in a nutcracker for so many years would have a way of making you not very fun and friendly," he explained. "The gnomes turned his heart dark and he's paid the price. Now he's back to take his rightful place."

What Is The Santa Clauses Season 2 About?

The second season of The Santa Clauses is all about the family, as Scott/Santa decides that the business of Christmas should be kept in his actual family. you can check out the synopsis below!

"In the series' sophomore season, the Calvin family is back at the North Pole, as Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) continues his role as Santa Claus after his retirement plans were thwarted when he failed to find a worthy successor in season one. Now that Scott and his family have successfully saved Christmas, Scott turns his focus towards training his son Cal (Austin Kane) to eventually take over the 'family business' as Santa Claus."

New episodes of The Santa Clauses debut on Disney+ every Wednesday.

Law & Order recently lost one of its lead actors, but the show has announced a new actor is jumping into the franchise for season 23. Deadline is reporting that Mrs. Maisel and Veep star Reid Scott will join the new season of the flagship show as an NYPD Detective in a recurring role, though the name of his character hasn't been revealed just yet. Scott will join Mehcad Brooks (Jalen Shaw) and Camryn Mannheim (Kate Dixon) on the detective side of the show, while the court side will be represented by returning stars Hugh Dancy (Nathan Price), Odelya Halevi (Samantha Maroun), and Sam Waterston (Jack McCoy).

Scott will take over for departing series regular Jeffrey Donovan (Frank Cosgrove), who joined the show when it made its grand return. Donovan reportedly exited the series over creative differences, and that will make the second partner change since the series was brought back for season 21.

When the show made its anticipated return, it brought back Anthony Anderson, who had previously played the role of Detective Kevin Bernard before the series wrapped its run. Anderson only stayed for the first return season, and it was a role he reached out Dick Wolf about returning for. In an interview with People TV, Anderson revealed the phone call that led to his return.

"We were, you know, we were two weeks out from ending our show Black-ish. They made the announcement that Law & Order was coming back. So, I picked up the phone and called Dick Wolf up and said, Hey Dick, is it true?" He said, 'It is.' I was like, 'Well, you know, I'm a free agent as of Nov. 19th,'" Anderson said. "And [Wolf] was like, 'Anthony, you have no idea how happy this phone call makes me."

"Black-ish coming to an end is bittersweet," Anderson said. "We had eight wonderful seasons. I believe the show could have gone on for infinity, but all the things come to an end. And, and, and as, as they say, one door closes and another one opens. I'm happy to be invited back to Law & Order to reprise my role as Detective Kevin Bernard."

Anderson eventually left after one season, and in later interviews, Anderson would reveal it was so he could create more shows like Black-ish. It remains to be seen if the character will ever return again down the road, but for right now it appears that season 23 will have the NYPD Detective duo of Scott and Brooks. After Brooks' fantastic debut last season, we have high hopes for what Scott can bring to the mix.

Are you excited for Scott's Law & Order debut? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things Law & Order with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off has officially premiered around the world with Netflix, and the studio behind the new anime is celebrating the occasion with some special new art! Scott Pilgrim's original graphic novel series has returned for a brand new anime take with the original creator Bryan Lee O'Malley and the team behind the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World movie have also come back for the new project. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off has shown fans a much different take on the series than they ever expected, and it continues to surprise as fans hope to see the anime continue in the future.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a new original anime project from Science SARU, the studio behind series such as Space Dandy, Devilman Crybaby, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and more. With the new Scott Pilgrim anime making its premiere with Netflix earlier this week, director Abel Gongora is celebrating the new anime with some special new art of Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers from Science SARU's official X account (formerly known as Twitter). You can check out the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off art below.

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Netflix ??????https://t.co/siUsEZbVxy#ScottPilgrimNetflix @GongoraAbel pic.twitter.com/HgplHyTwVK

-- ?????SARU (@sciencesaru) November 17, 2023

How to Watch Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is now streaming around the world with Netflix (and you can check out ComicBook.com's review of the series here). Running for eight episodes, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a much different kind of project than fans might have been expecting to see in action. With O'Malley, Wright, and the cast from the movie returning for the new anime take on the Scott Pilgrim franchise, Netflix teases what to expect from Scott Pilgrim Takes Off as such:

"Prepare for an all-new Scott Pilgrim adventure and explore the love story of Scott and Ramona. SCOTT PILGRIM TAKES OFF delves deeper into characters you love. Coming to Netflix on November 17th. Scott Pilgrim meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, and discovers he must defeat her seven evil exes in order to date her. But this time, things get even more complicated. Based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, SCOTT PILGRIM TAKES OFF revisits and reimagines the beloved cult classic, taking Ramona Flowers, her evil exes, Scott, and his friends off on a mysterious new action-packed journey to find love."

How did you like Scott Pilgrim's anime debut on Netflix? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

The first part of The Crown's final season, Season 6, is now streaming on Netflix and while the four episodes deliver what might be the most anticipated element of the series -- the tragic death of Princess Diana -- it isn't delivering viewership, at least not compared to Season 5. According to Netflix, the first four episodes of Season 6 premiered with 36 million hours streamed, a number that is less than half of what Season 5, which had ten total episodes, debuted with a year ago. That season premiered with 107 million hours streamed.

While some of the viewership difference can be attributed to the disparity in number of episodes available -- Season 5 does have more than double the episodes currently available for Season 6 -- though one could argue that simply based on averages Season 6 is a little behind Season 5 for viewership. However, taking viewership numbers away entirely, Season 6 is thus far not quite measuring up to previous seasons of the fan-favorite series from a critical perspective, either. Season 6 has, at the time of this article's writing, a 55 percent Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes compared to a 71 percent for Season 5.

What Is The Crown Season 6 About?

The final season of The Crown, which will be divided into two parts, is set to cover the time period between 1997 and some major events, including the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the premiership of Tony Blaire, and the early relationship of Prince William and Kate Middleton. "The final chapter begins November 16th. Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign. Seasons 1-5 now streaming, only on Netflix," the streaming site shared with the release of the trailer.

The Queen's Real-Life Death Changed The Crown's Ending

The real-life death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 impacted the series' end. Series creator Peter Morgan told Variety that the Queen's death was something that he had to address in the finale -- though he didn't explain quite how the series would accomplish that.

"We'd all been through the experience of the funeral," Morgan said. "So, because of how deeply everybody will have felt that, I had to try and find a way in which the final episode dealt with the character's death, even though she hadn't died yet."

Morgan also explained that he did at one point consider making the Queen's death the end of the series but decided to conclude the series in 2005 to keep things "historical".

"It was the cutoff to keep it historical, not journalistic," he said. "I think by stopping almost 20 years before the present day, it's dignified."

The first four episode of Season 6 of The Crown are now streaming on Netflix.

Adam F. Goldberg is movin' right along to the next series in the "Muppet-Verse." The Goldbergs creator confirmed Tuesday that Disney+ cancelled The Muppets Mayhem -- the live-action musical comedy series he developed with Jeff Yorkes and prolific puppeteer Bill Barretta about Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem -- after just one 10-episode season. Muppets Mayhem may have been disbanded, but Goldberg revealed that "the wheels are in motion" on a new Muppets show involving Kermit the Frog and the gang. Can you picture that?

"Mayhem was truly the most joyful and collaborative experience of my career. From day one all I've cared about is creating a Muppet-verse and YES I am already cooking up more Muppets with [Barretta] and [Yorkes]," Goldberg shared in a post on X, adding: "It's happening." (Is "cooking up" a turn of phrase, or a hint at a Muppets cooking show starring Swedish Chef? Stay tuned.)

"I worked for 3 years with @JeffYorkes to set up our tent in the Muppet camp," Goldberg wrote in a subsequent post. "We love the Mayhem, but think about what could be next for Kermit & the gang! We sure are!" The series co-writer and executive producer previously shared that the goal with Muppets Mayhem was to "begin a Disney+ Muppet-Verse that rivals Marvel and Star Wars."

"Jeff, Bill, and I have very lofty dreams that Disney starts this Muppetverse where it's just like Marvel or Star Wars, this web of movies and specials and animation," he told Gizmodo earlier this year. "We would love to help them do that. But if you're going to do that - they started just with Iron Man, right? So for us, it was like, we're just doing a show about the band; let's focus on this one very specific corner of the Muppet Universe."

The series follows The Electric Mayhem Band -- Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone and Lips on trumpet -- on an epic, music-filled journey to record their first-ever studio album. With the help of a driven young music executive, Nora Singh (Lilly Singh), the old-school Muppet band comes face-to-face with the current-day music scene as they try to finally record their first studio album. Muppets Mayhem received six nominations at the upcoming 2nd Children's & Family Emmy Awards, and the show's soundtrack debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's US Kid Albums chart -- the first time that Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem topped a Billboard chart since their debut in 1975.

The Muppets Mayhem is the latest series from the beloved franchise to be cancelled after one season. The Muppets, a prime time mockumentary sitcom that aired on ABC in 2015, aired 16 episodes before being cancelled; the "unscripted" short-form series Muppets Now, which was the first Muppets project ordered for Disney+, lasted just six episodes. The original animated Muppet Babies remains the longest-running Muppets series at eight seasons; the Disney Junior reboot ran for another three seasons.

All 10 episodes of The Muppets Mayhem are now available to stream on Disney+.

Earlier this month, Disney+ took fans back to the North Pole with the debut of The Santa Clauses Season 2. The series is a continuation of the popular film series that saw Tim Allen's Scott Calvin accidentally take over the role of Santa. This season has put a lot of focus on Santa's kids, Cal and Sandra, and the powers they may or may not have received by being born at the North Pole. As the mythology of the show continues to grow, so does the question of how long the story can continue. After all, there's a whole new generation of Scott children who have stories of their own. Could that mean we have a lengthy Santa Clauses future ahead of us?

ComicBook.com recently talked to Allen and his co-star/daughter Elizabeth Allen-Dick about the new season of The Santa Clauses. We asked how much story there is to tell beyond this second installment, and Allen dove into some of the different things that could be explored at length going forward.

"I'm a sci-fi guy and I love stories. The fact that we haven't really figured out Cal's potential yet, and we're seeing a lot of potential for [Sandra] that all of a sudden opened up," Allen explained. "Even me as I go, 'Wow, this could go somewhere.' She's a human and she has abilities way past what witches are used to. So we don't know where this could go. And all of a sudden me, as a sci-fi guy, [thinking] this could be a whole other world."

The Santa Clauses Season 2 sees both Claus children given more responsibility. Cal has some natural abilities and is chosen as the eventual replacement for Santa, but he struggles with what the mantle requires. Meanwhile Sandra is steadily learning that she might actually be a witch, giving her all sorts of powers she never expected to have.

As the series continues, the journeys of Cal and Sandra present the most obvious paths forward.

What Is The Santa Clauses Season 2 About?

The second season of The Santa Clauses is all about the family, as Scott/Santa decides that the business of Christmas should be kept in his actual family. you can check out the synopsis below!

"In the series' sophomore season, the Calvin family is back at the North Pole, as Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) continues his role as Santa Claus after his retirement plans were thwarted when he failed to find a worthy successor in season one. Now that Scott and his family have successfully saved Christmas, Scott turns his focus towards training his son Cal (Austin Kane) to eventually take over the 'family business' as Santa Claus."

New episodes of The Santa Clauses debut on Disney+ every Wednesday.

As it stands now, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is now the keeper of the World Tree, effectively serving as the battery that powers the infinite multiverse. At one point, however, that wasn't the case; according to Loki helmer Aaron Moorhead, there was a version of the ending that didn't involve the World Tree whatsoever. Instead, Moorhead says the Asgardian instead saved the Time Loom and ascended its throne.

"There was a draft of the script of the very end, the very end. Something wasn't sitting right with both of us about it. And the issue was, this draft didn't have Loki destroying the Loom," Moorhead said on Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Loki Season 2. "He saved the Loom from imploding and then ascended the throne. We all knew something was up, we just didn't know what. 'Cause it was like, well he's trying to save the Loom, he gets the throne, all of this."

That's when Moorhead said the filmmakers thought a much larger sacrifice was needed to make the ending really pop.

He added, "But the problem was, is that he didn't have the sacrifice and we realized, why doesn't he destroy the Loom and then have to take over the Loom's massive responsibility? He doesn't get anything out of it. It seems so obvious now, it seems like exactly the right choice. But that was a watershed moment in the development of it, when we realized Loki needs to destroy and become the Loom."

What is Loki Season 2 about?

Loki is once again joined by Mobius (Owen Wilson) as the two attempt to keep the timelines intact. After the events of Season 1 saw his variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) kill He Who Remains and unleash the wrath of Kang the Conqueror upon the Multiverse, Loki must once again embark on an adventure to keep reality from collapsing. Loki was last seen in the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where he and Mobius were keeping tabs on one of Kang's mysterious variants. Loki Season 2 will continue the story of the Multiverse Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Both seasons of Loki are now streaming exclusively on Disney+. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

One of Netflix's most-popular cooking shows is back on the streamer just in time for Thanksgiving. Season 2 of High on the Hog is here to get everyone nice and hungry before Turkey Day. The show follows food writer Stephen Satterfield and food historian Jessica B. Harris around the world as they chart the development and lineage of African-American cuisine. This isn't the kind of food battle show that Netflix viewers might be expecting. Tone-wise it's closer to a title like Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat than Is It Cake?. Despite the less dramatic trappings, Satterfield's personal experiences and Harris' expertise shine through as they present some mouthwatering dishes from the entire globe.

Here's how Netflix describes Season 2 of the widely-praised series: "In season two of the immersive award-winning docu-series High on the Hog, host Stephen Satterfield travels across the United States to uncover how African-American cuisine has fueled social justice movements, transformed communities and awakened cultural creativity in America in powerful and lasting ways."

Who's ready for seconds? High on the Hog is back November 22! pic.twitter.com/sepaqLTxYS

-- Netflix (@netflix) November 8, 2023

How Will High on the Hog Expand In Season 2?

After the first helping in Season 1, High on the Hog is back to unpack more of the culinary history of the African diaspora. Scholar Jessica B. Harris joined Shadow and Act to talk about bridging the gap between Black history in cookbooks and their living legacy among people all across the world. She mused, "So, what I am hoping is that this, particularly because there are so many intergenerational conversations in this season, might encourage people your age to talk to people my age."

"I think the whole notion of how much history we have within ourselves that we don't know, that we don't examine, that we don't look at," Harris explained to the outlet. "We talk to our elders, but not in the same way that we did when I was your age or younger. We have, in many families, given up the whole idea of family dinner on a weeknight. We may still do it on Sunday, but that's when the exchanges used to take place."

How Did High On The Hog Get Made?

Getting this series off the ground was no easy feat. Executive producers Karis Jagger and Fabienne Toback talked to Oprah Daily about their journey with Netflix. It seems as thought High on the Hog and its reception among viewers is something that they're truly proud of. Jessica Harris's book came out in 2011 and it took a while to find the appropriate venue to tell this story. Now, with Season 2, there's even more goodness to explore in culinary traditions from places like New Orleans, Harlem, and Chicago.

"To celebrate stories of Black American people who are an important part of the American food conversation, some of whose names we don't know," Toback explained. "Their contributions go way, way back, and their stories are deeply woven into the narrative of our food culture."

"We ventured beyond soul food, showing how Black Americans' influence spreads far and wide into all different kinds of cuisine, and how they also used food as a conduit for activism, entrepreneurship, and celebration," she continued. "By diving into our resilience and heritage, and highlighting some of the historical figures of our past, we can pave a way forward for the new generation."

What will you be watching while you're cooking? Let us know down in the comments!

It is hard to imagine what the anime industry would look like now without isekai. For years now, the genre has been growing in scale, and now isekai anime is everywhere you look. From fantasy thrillers to romantic comedies, there is an isekai anime out there for everyone. So of course, there are plenty of people looking for the right show to add to their watch list.

Here at ComicBook, we have put in the hours needed to become isekai experts. From recent hits to genre classics, we are here to share 10 of the best isekai series available. We're taking out the guess work for you, so if you've ever wanted to see what isekai is about, ComicBook has you covered.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reinarnation

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation may be the current leader when it comes to isekai anime. After debuting in November 2012, the story's hit anime has charmed the fandom with the help of Rudeus Greyrat. The harem fantasy tells the story of a 34-year-old man who sacrifices his meaningless life to save some teens in the real world. When he awakens, the man finds himself reborn in a new world as Rudeus, and he finds himself on an escort mission years later when his nation is blighted by a magical catastrophe.

The Eminence in Shadow

If you like dark fantasy, The Eminence in Shadow has what you want. The isekai follows a young boy who dreams of ruling the world from the shadows, but he is killed at a young age. The lead is reborn in a fantasy world as Cid, and his plan begins anew as he forms a cult based on a lie. But as it turns out, Cid's lie was very much real, and his phony cult is thrust into a real dangerous power struggle.

The Rising of the Shield Hero

The Rising of the Shield Hero is one an isekai packed with comedy and action. Created by Anew Yusagi, the series tells the story of Naofumi as the man is summoned to a new world with three others and crowned Cardinal Heroes. While the others are gifted weapons like swords, Naofumi is blessed with a shield that leaves the public unimpressed. Bamboozled and betrayed, Naofumi finds himself a partner named Raphtalia, and his crew works to show the public why Naofumi should be respected as a shield hero.

Inuyasha

If you have been in the anime fandom for awhile, you know the name Inuyasha. The series is considered a classic shonen at this point, and Inuyasha has spawned oh-so many memes. However, the story stands as a damn good isekai. It tells the story of Kagome, a high school girl who falls into a well and arrives in a bygone era of Japan. It is there Kagome learns she is the reincarnation of a priestess who is bound to protect a relic known as the Shikon Jewel. The only problem is that demon from all over want the gem, and this forces Kagome to team up unwillingly with a half-demon named Inuyasha who dreams of becoming a full-blooded demon.

Log Horizon

There are a number of isekai stories that take characters into a video game world. Sword Art Online mastered the tale, but Log Horizon took the trope to new heights. The sci-fi story follows players of the game Elder Tale. When 30,000 fans become stuck in game, tensions arise between the players and the game's NPCs as they become self aware. As such, one gamer named Shiroe team up to form a guild for survival all while searching for ways to escape Elder Tale.

Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World

Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World might be one of the funniest isekai titles ever. Created in December 2012, Konosuba is now seen as a gold standard for anime fans who want a good chuckle. The series tells the story of Kazume Satou after the teenager dies an embarrassing death and meets the goddess Aqua in their afterlife. Agreeing to help the goddess, Kazume is reborn in a parallel world with magic, and the pair from a disjointed party with the hopes of killing the Devil King.

Sonny Boy

If you like more serious stories, isekai has what you're looking for in Sonny Boy. The original series was created by Shingo Netsuke, and it follows a trio of middle school students who are transported into an odd liminal world. Loaded with unique rules, this new world bequeaths our leads with supernatural powers, but the friends still struggle to return home as they fight with one another. And as their journey through This World continues, the gang learns thousands of others are also trapped in this dimension with them.

My Next Life as a Villainess

Sometimes, it is good to be bad. My Next Life as a Villainess proves this much is true as the rom-com follows a young woman who learns she has been reincarnated after death. The girl now lives in the world of an otome game titled Fortune Lover, but there is one issue - Catarina is the villain! Desperate to avoid her nasty fate, Catarina tries to avoid the pitfalls of the game she played in the real world, but her unique choices impact the otome universe in tons of strange ways.

Ascendance of a Bookworm

If you love a good book, Ascendance of a Bookworm was made for you. The fantasy series tells the story of Urano Motosu, a hopeful librarian who is killed by her own books. When she awakens, the girl - now named Myne - is in her worst nightmare. Our heroine was reborn in a world where only the most elite have access to books, so Myne takes life in her own hands. The young girl begins writing books of her own, and this move brings all sorts of unwanted attention to the bookish girl.

Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World

When it comes to isekai anime, no series is better known than Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World, and there is a good reason why. Created by Taipei Nagasaki, this adventure isekai has everything you could want in a story. From death to love and drama, Re:Zero does it all with the help of Subaru Netsuke. The boy finds himself transported to a fantasy world and is killed rather quickly only to discover his unique power. Subaru cannot die; He simply revives himself at a point in time earlier than his death. Using his power, Subaru is able to befriend the next queen Emilia, but threats against this friend leave Subaru cornered at every turn even with is unique power.

What do you make of anime's isekai obsession? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

The Great North is finally returning to FOX with the highly anticipated Season 4 of the animated series, and now it finally has a release date for its big comeback next year! The Great North has been a welcome addition to FOX's lineup for the Animation Domination block in recent years as it has paired nicely with the likes of Bob's Burgers, of which it shares an executive producer and animation studio. The series has been such a hit that when Season 3 wrapped up its run last Spring, fans were already asking to see Season 4 as soon as possible.

FOX has announced their new additions for the midseason schedule starting this January, and with it has also confirmed that The Great North Season 4 will be one of the animated premieres fans will get to see in action as well. FOX has officially revealed that The Great North Season 4 will begin airing on Sunday, January 7th as part of the Animation Domination block. But with the series making a comeback in January, there will also be some big changes to FOX's Sunday night schedules overall.

The Tobin family is back!

Season 4? of #TheGreatNorth starts Sunday, January 7 on @foxtv, next day on @hulu ? pic.twitter.com/1hEFjyoKkv

-- The Great North (@GreatNorthFOX) November 21, 2023

The Great North Season 4 Release Schedule

The Great North Season 4 will be returning to FOX on Sundays at 9:30 PM EST beginning on January 7th, but Sunday evenings will be changing its schedule around next year in some massive ways. The same night will also see the premiere of the Jon Hamm led Grimsburg, which will be making its midseason debut. This means that Family Guy's new episodes will be bumped to Wednesday evenings when it returns later in the Spring, and that's going to be some big changes for long time fans.

If you wanted to catch The Great North's first three seasons before the animated series returns for new episodes next year, you can find it now streaming with Hulu. They tease the series as such, "Following the adventures of the Tobin family, as single dad Beef tries to keep his kids close." When it returns for Season 4, it's likely going to be just as great as the first three seasons were.

Are you excited to see The Great North come back for Season 4 in January? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

Squid Game was one of the most popular Netflix series releases in recent memory, and now the game concept at the center of it all has been morphed into the basis for a new reality game show competition that's just as every bit as depressing as you'd think from a series based on Squid Game. Hwang Dong-hyuk's original Squid Game series really took over the world thanks to its bleak outlook. Taking people who had literally nothing to lose and suffering from mountains of debt and having them compete in a death game with a child like packaging, Squid Game lit the imaginations of fans everywhere.

Squid Game's main hook was that those in charge of the games themselves were actively ridiculing those contestants losing their lives for the chance at a massive money prize. Squid Game: The Challenge then takes this already, eerily realistic premise and makes it even more real. It's almost a perfect setting for a reality television game show as not only does Squid Game: The Challenge further enhance that inherent cruelty that reality shows are capable of, but puts its contestants through the bleak Squid Game wringer to deliver some honestly enthralling and intriguing television like no other.

Why You Should Watch Squid Game: The Challenge

Squid Game: The Challenge is inspired by the original series, but is not beholden to it. While the competition plays out through the same overall core idea of gathering over 400 contestants for the chance of winning a massive prize, there are several twists and turns that even the most dedicated Squid Game fans would not see coming. This is to throw off not only the audience, but the contestants themselves as they are always kept on their toes for what could come next.

Although it's (thankfully) far from the death game seen in the original series, Squid Game: The Challenge is no less brutal. In fact, it might even be more so because it's being played without that threat of death. Instead, the real hook comes from the contestants themselves who each have their own compelling stories. You'll likely pick someone to root for, and find out the (often) tragic reason the money could change their lives, only for them to be quickly eliminated not long after.

It's going to hit hard when some of these contestants are eliminated because these are real people with very real lives to go back to after this. Their tears are real, their panic is real, and ultimately their eliminations hit that much harder. And just like the best reality competitions, the opposite can also be very true as well. Like Squid Game, there are contestants that approach the competition in a very aggressive manner. Some who paint big targets on their back early on, and there's a bit of celebration to each of their respective eliminations.

Squid Game: The Challenge is all of the fun of the Squid Game games (with plenty of new and unexpected trials), but without the threat of death. It's even more heartbreaking, however, as these very real people put themselves through hell for the chance at changing their lives. And for someone sitting on the outside of it all, someone fully immersed in the inherent wickedness of reality shows, watching it all play out makes for some top-tier television.

Squid Game: The Challenge is now streaming its first five episodes on Netflix.

It's been a wild year for Yellowstone, not only was it announced earlier this year that Season 5 will be the last for the hit Paramount Network series and there will be a significant wait for the remaining episodes of the season, but it was also recently announced that series star Kevin Costner -- who plays patriarch John Dutton -- won't be returning for those final episodes. All these developments mean that there will likely be major changes ahead as the series comes to a close and now, we know one of the things is being cut. According to TVLine, Christian musician Cory Asbury had been cast as a long-lost Dutton brother for Season 6, a season that is now not happening.

Asbury says that he had been cast to play a long-lost Dutton brother -- sibling to Kayce, Beth, and Jamie. No details about the character or the role they would play in the overall Dutton family drama were revealed, but Asbury said that he was "so bummed" when the series was cancelled.

"I was fired up about it and so bummed when it was cancelled," Asbury said. "So bummed."

Asbury also said that he and his family were prepared to move to Montana to film the series, something that would have been a full year commitment.

Kevin Costner Previously Revealed There Were Plans for Season 6 and Season 7 of Yellowstone

Asbury's revelation that he had been cast as a lost Dutton sibling for the now-cancelled Season 6 of Yellowstone isn't the first time we've heard about future seasons of the series. Back in September, during Costner's court proceedings in his divorce case with Christine Baumgartner, Costner revealed that here were negotiations for further seasons of Yellowstone and that he had been offered $24 million to do Seasons 5, 6, and 7, though "issues about creative" caused talks with series creator Taylor Sheridan to break down.

The Yellowstone Story Will Continue

While Yellowstone is concluding with Season 5, it isn't the end of the story. Paramount has already confirmed a sequel series, 2024, is in the works. The series will star Academy Award winning actor Matthew McConaughey. Another spinoff, 1944, is also in the works.

"Within five years, we grew Yellowstone from a hit U.S. cable show with five million viewers into a global hit franchise with over 100 million fans around the world and multiple extensions - and, we're just getting started," said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios. "On the heels of 1883 and 1923's success, our new planned spinoffs, 1944 and 2024, will take audiences on a thrilling, new and unexpected journey with the complex and compelling storytelling that has become a hallmark of the franchise and has helped turn it into a worldwide cultural phenomenon - thanks to the creative mastermind of Taylor Sheridan."

"The global success of Yellowstone continues to thrill and excite us at 101 Studios and Bosque Ranch. This has been such an exhilarating ride with our partners at MTV Entertainment Studios and we can't wait to bring 1944 and 2024 to audiences everywhere," said David Glasser, CEO, 101 Studios."

Rick and Morty first introduced Evil Morty as one of the main antagonists in the series before introducing a seemingly bigger villain with Rick Prime in Season 6, but Season 7 has already proven that Evil Morty is going to be the big villain that Rick will need to keep an eye on in the future. Rick and Morty Season 7 shook things up in a massive way by bringing back both Rick Prime and Evil Morty within a single episode, and with it demonstrated the differences between the two villains. Differences that highlighted that Rick wasn't his own worst enemy.

Evil Morty returned in Rick and Morty Season 7 following a successful escape from the Central Finite Curve, which was already a massive victory over Rick in a string of other major victories in the series since his debut appearance. Evil Morty has seemingly had the upper hand over Rick this entire time, and although Rick had been focused on his greater nemesis, Evil Morty's big return further demonstrated that he really has been the biggest threat in Rick's multiverse overall.

Why Evil Morty is Worse Than Rick Prime

Rick and Morty Season 7 sees Evil Morty return when Rick begins to mess with the Central Finite Curve in an attempt to locate Rick Prime, and notably it's only when Evil Morty gives Rick an idea to narrow down the search that Rick actually hones in on a location. Through "Unmorticken" fans see how Evil Morty stacks to not only C-137 Rick, but the other Ricks in the multiverse. Easily defeating them, the biggest test comes when he stacks up to Rick Prime and defeats him as well.

Evil Morty is able to take advantage of the fact that Ricks don't really see Mortys as a threat (something that has been the through line in each of Evil Morty's plans so far), and tricks Rick Prime into leaving a big enough opening to paralyze him. Then he takes Rick Prime's ultimate weapon, the "Omega Device," with the intent of enhancing it and making it even better than Rick did. Now as he lords it over Rick and teases future appearances, Evil Morty has the biggest threat both literally and metaphorically over Rick. He's a Morty that can and does win, and he has the weapon to make it happen.

How are you feeling about Evil Morty as a villain in Rick and Morty right now? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

There is little need to introduce Demon Slayer at this point. Following its anime debut, the series has become a bonafide hit, and it is considered a leader within the industry. With several seasons under its belt, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba hardly needs to prove itself to fans given its popularity. However, a new report has gone live with the show's latest ratings, and it proves season three was a total hit.

The update comes courtesy of Videor in Japan as the company released its TV findings. After looking through the data, the company released a report breaking down the top-watched programs in Japan during this year's first half. So when anime was put on the spot, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba came in first place.

It turns out the finale of season three brought tons of eyes to Fuji TV back in June. The show pulled 22.87 million viewers with its finale broadcast. As for second place, Demon Slayer took the silver with a different finale. Fuji TV released a special blending the anime's Entertainment District into a double-feature. The episode brought in 22.51 million viewers, and these findings are leagues above any other anime listed.

After all, third place went to an episode of Sazae-san from February, and it brought in just over 14 million viewers. Detective Conan came in fourth place, and fifth was dedicated to Chibi Maruko-san as a January episode drew in 10.6 million viewers.

Clearly, Demon Slayer has incredible pull with fans, and the anime has the hard data to back up the claim. From record-breaking box office hauls to finale ratings, Demon Slayer is in a league of its own right now. So if you are not caught up with the series, you can always check out Demon Slayer's anime on Hulu as well as Crunchyroll. For those wanting more info on the series, you can read its official synopsis below:

"It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself. Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a "demon slayer" so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family."

Did you enjoy Demon Slayer season three? Are you looking forward to the anime's next arc? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

The 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be making some strange history, as it will mark the debut of the first-ever balloon to be themed after NFT characters: Cool Cats.

In a press release today, the Web3 company Cool Cats Group hyped their brand characters Blue Cat and his friend Chugs the milk carton making their way into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

"This is a big moment for me as an artist and as the founder of Cool Cats," Cool Cats creator and founder, Clon, said in a statement. "Personally, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has always been an important event in my family and it holds a lot of memories. Being able to showcase my artwork alongside some of the world's most recognizable characters is a dream come true. It means even more to me that we are participating in this monumental event due to the support of our Cool Cats community. Blue Cat and Chugs will be flying high and I'm excited to see new fans engage with our characters as we look ahead to an exciting new year for our brand."

"As two of the most popular Web3 characters, we could not be more thrilled to build upon last year's success and introduce Blue Cat and Chugs in the physical world at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this fall," added Jordan Dabby, producer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "We know that our fans will be delighted to see these iconic characters soar above the streets of Manhattan this Thanksgiving."

The Cool Cats being featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade isn't purely coincidental; the press release reveals that "Cool Cats will also be unveiling a curated collection of limited-edition merchandise that will be available at 11 Macy's flagship stores and online at macys.com. The merchandise collection includes a plush of Blue Cat and a vinyl collectible. Fans in NYC can also purchase a hoodie available exclusively at Macy's Herald Square. All merchandise will come with digital activation features."

No doubt there will be some humor in the fact that the Cool Cats NFT brand is being featured in the parade - in the same year when many financial analysts claimed that the NFT market had "crashed."

You can find more details in the press release, below:

Cool Cats Group, the Web3 company and global character brand behind the blue-chip digital collectibles Cool Cats, together with Macy's has announced their upcoming appearance in the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade(R). Cool Cats will debut as the firstever NFT collection to be featured in the iconic holiday event, which will take place live in New York City on November 23, 2023. The new Cool Cats character balloon will feature their core mascot character Blue Cat and his adorable friend Chugs, the milk carton.

Cool Cats, a digitally native character brand that has evolved into the mainstream through storytelling and partnerships since its founding in 2021, was voted as the winner of an online contest held by Macy's that provided one of five NFT brands the chance to be included in the beloved Parade.

Clon, Creator and Founder of Cool Cats, is a long-time fan of the Parade. For years growing up, he watched the Parade on television with his grandfather, and now he'll get to experience the holiday spectacle in a whole new way - seeing his characters as larger-than-life balloons at one of the world's most celebrated events.

The exciting Macy's announcement arrives following news of three upcoming games with nWay and iCandy-both a part of the Animoca Brands ecosystem-and Sync Studios. In addition, Cool Cats received strategic investment from Web3 giant Animoca Brands, and has a strategic partnership with leading AI and metaverse technology and content company Futureverse. Earlier this summer, Cool Cats was one of the first Web3-rooted companies to host a booth at the international convention Comic Con.

The 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will air nationwide in the U.S. on NBC and stream on Peacock, on Thursday, November 23, 2023, from 9 a.m.- noon; in all time zones. For more information visit macys.com/parade. To follow and participate in the excitement, check out @macys on various social platforms and follow #MacysParade.

While the Bella Twins ended their full-time wrestling careers on good terms with WWE, the two sides have had a bit of a falling out in the years since. The bad blood began earlier this year in the lead-up to the WWE Monday Night Raw 30th anniversary special. Both Nikki and Brie were originally advertised for Raw is XXX but were pulled from advertising just days before the show went down. Nikki responded to the change on social media, revealing that WWE told her and Brie that "they had nothing for [them]." When Raw is XXX eventually took place, Nikki criticized the show for its lack of female matches and segments.

Nikki Bella Responds to WWE Raw Snub

WWE's relationship with the Bella Twins has seemingly not improved.

This past Monday on WWE Monday Night Raw, promotion for fellow USA Network program Barmageddon aired. Announcer Michael Cole spoke about the drinking game show but neglected to mention that Nikki Bella is one of its hosts.

"It's sad. There's obviously a lot of things I could say about that. I think more than anything it's disappointing," Nikki, who now goes by "Nikki Garcia" professionally due to WWE owning her ring name's trademark. "I worked there for 16 years and I helped paved the way for them. Not only that, they've always been family to me. Walking away, for me, it wasn't malicious. I'm at a point in my life and I wanted to do things without hearing the word 'no' and it was just strictly business."

Nikki last wrestled for WWE as an entrant in the Women's Royal Rumble Match back in January 2022. Herself and sister Brie were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame nine months earlier ahead of WWE WrestleMania 37.

"Maybe there were some personal things that happened over the years that also pushed me toward that but I think more than anything it's disappointing because I don't see it happening with the men," Nikki continued. "For some reason with the women who are outspoken and we've seen this with the women in the past, they just want to ban us. I think it's sad because we all look at it as family and so, okay, they don't want to say my name. That's fine. Hey, Barmageddon got a shout out."

New episodes of Barmageddon air on Mondays at 11 PM ET, immediately following WWE Monday Night Raw.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 could enter production before the end of the year. Paramount+ renewed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds before the WGA strike and SAG-AFTRA strikes ground production across the industry to a halt, and fans are eager to see how the second season's cliffhanger ending is resolved. Now that the unions and the studios have reached agreements, work is beginning to resume, which includes putting the next season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds into production. Collider reports to have learned from sources that filming on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 is expected to occur between December 2023 and June 2024.

Paramount+ has not confirmed an episode count or release window for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3. Since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' first two seasons consisted of 10 episodes apiece, it seems likely that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 will have the same number of episodes. If the filming of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 does run through June 2024, fans may be looking at a year with the series. The soonest it would premiere is late 2024, with early 2025 being more likely.

When will Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Premiere?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds came close to entering production before Hollywood's writers and actors went on strike. Producing director Chris Fisher revealed how close on an episode of TrekMovie.com's All Access podcast.

"I was going to direct the premiere episode... I had storyboarded pretty much the entire first episode," Fisher said on the podcast. "That's how close we were to starting shooting. We were one day away from flying the actors in. We were like, 'Do we fly the actors in?' That's when it went above my pay scale."

Fisher said that he and the show's other producers continued planning how to get production started quickly once the strikes ended. That planning should serve them well now.

"Myself and the producers up in Toronto, we kind of say, okay [the strikes end] at the end of this month, what would happen?" Fisher explained. "What would we need to do to then get going? And then once the strike passes that, then we set it for the next month. We're not that many weeks away from being able to start, absent all the other conflicts which may have arisen by now."

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2's Cliffhanger Ending

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2's season finale saw the Enterprise responding to a distress call from a colony outside of the United Federation of Planets' space that had come under Gorn attack. Starfleet recommends against getting involved since the colony is outside Federation borders, but the crisis is personal for Captain Pike (Anson Mount) because of the USS Kayuga's involvement. That ship is commanded by Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano), with whom Pike has a complicated romantic relationship.

The Gorn ship destroys the Kayuga before the Enterprise arrives. Pike takes a team of volunteers to search for survivors. Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), and Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) join the away team that heads down to the colony, where they find Captain Batel, Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn), and several other survivors. Unfortunately, only Pike, Batel, and Scotty make it back to the Enterprise as the Gorn beam up the rest of the survivors - including the away team - to their ship as prisoners and several additional Gorn ships arrive. The finale ends with the crew awaiting Pike's order to attack or retreat, a decision made more tense for fans who know that La'an and Erca aren't a part of the Enterprise crew by the time Captain Kirk takes over for Star Trek: The Original Series, for one reason or another.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is streaming now Paramount+. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 is also available as home media on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4k UHD, and Season 2 will soon also come to home media.

Jujutsu Kaisen season two is far from over, and its next update may be what tips the fandom upside down. It has been weeks since the anime began its journey with the Shibuya Incident arc, after all. The story has brought out a number of intense episodes, and they have left several sorcerers in the balance. And now, the voice actor behind Nanami Kento is reaching out to caution fans ahead of season two episode 18.

The information comes straight from Kenjiro Tsuda on social media as you can see below. The voice actor, who has voiced Nanami since Jujutsu Kaisen began, shared a message with fans. "Tomorrow, November 23rd, is the broadcast date of Jujutsu Kaisen in Japan. To all Nanamin fans and Jujutsu Kaisen fans, please support us," he wrote.

Tomorrow, November 23rd, is the broadcast date of "JujutsuKaisen" in Japan.
To all Nanamin fans and JujutsuKaisen fans, please support us.#JujutsuKaisen #nanamikento #nanamin #kenjirotsuda

-- ????? KENJIRO TSUDA (@tsuda_ken) November 22, 2023

Continuing, Tsuda told fans that it doesn't matter what language they use when sending in their messages; It is the sentiment that means the most. After all, Tsuda admits the love will be needed this week, and anime fans are already fearing the worse.

It is no secret that Nanami has had a rough time since the Shibuya Incident arc began. After Gojo was sealed, Nanami arrived on scene to protect his students, and he has not left their side for any reason. From facing an army of soldiers to fighting Dogan, Nanami is hurting something fierce these days. It would not be wrong to say Nanami is just a few steps from death, so Tsuda's message to fans has them feeling worried.

And of course, manga readers know exactly what awaits them this week. Jujutsu Kaisen season two has been a whirlwind, and its action sequences have been center stage as of late. Now, Jujutsu Kaisen is ready to shift gears and hone in on its emotional plays. After all, the hour of Nanami's death is near, and you know Tsuda will hold nothing back in his performance.

If you are not caught up with the Jujutsu Kaisen anime, don't fret! The show is easy to find online courtesy of Cruncyroll. So for more information on the series, you can read the official synopsis of Jujutsu Kaisen below:

"Yuji Itadori is a boy with tremendous physical strength, though he lives a completely ordinary high school life. One day, to save a classmate who has been attacked by curses, he eats the finger of Ryomen Sukuna, taking the curse into his own soul. From then on, he shares one body with Ryomen Sukuna. Guided by the most powerful of sorcerers, Satoru Gojo, Itadori is admitted to Tokyo Jujutsu High School, an organization that fights the curses... and thus begins the heroic tale of a boy who became a curse to exorcise a curse, a life from which he could never turn back."

What do you think about this latest Jujutsu Kaisen update? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

Chainsaw Man has put Denji through the wringer time and again. From birth, it seems the boy has been destined for pain, but Denji is doing his best to circumvent that fate. After becoming Chainsaw Man, Denji's life has been thrown into pure chaos, and some of its insanity has involved romance. So of course, it was just a matter of time before Denji began opening up about his feelings for his latest love interest, Asa.

The update came this week in Chainsaw Man chapter 149. This week, creator Tatsuki Fujimoto leveled with Denji as he and Nayuta discussed the pros and cons of humanity. With the world against Chainsaw Man, Denji's path has never been more unsure. This truth led Nayuta to suggest the pair work as devils, but the thought of Asa Mitaka kept Denji from swapping sides.

"I've kissed a bunch of times up until now, and it always went horribly wrong. That kiss with Asa was the one time I didn't get hurt," the boy admitted. In the manga, Denji's face is unusually vulnerable as he admits this, but it does not last long. When Nayuta asks who he likes better, the Control Devil reincarnate is picked quickly, but Denji did admit to liking Asa somewhat.

As most know, being a teenager is hard, and love is complicated no matter what age you are. In the past, Denji has been used and abused by his love interests. From Makima to Reze and even Himeno, Denji hasn't had the best luck with love. Asa seems to mark a major shift in Denji's love life even if the boy is not sure how to voice his feelings. But for now, well - it seems Denji is fine leading his life with Nayuta as he tries to prevent the Death Devil from taking over the Earth.

If you are not caught up with the Chainsaw Man manga, the series can be read over on the Shonen Jump app. For more info on the series, you can read the official synopsis of Chainsaw Man below:

"Denji is a young boy who works as a Devil Hunter with the "Chainsaw Devil" Pochita. One day, as he was living his miserable life trying to pay off the debt he inherited from his parents, he got betrayed and killed. As he was losing his consciousness, he made a deal with Pochita, and got resurrected as the "Chainsaw Man": the owner of the Devil's heart."

What do you think about this latest Chainsaw Man update? Do you think Denji's love life is in for an overhaul? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

When it comes to romance, anime has its fill. From rom-coms to shonen loves and beyond, the industry has more couples than fans could ever count. Of course, some of its ships are more popular than others, and that goes doubly for couples who manage to tie the knot. Now, a new anime poll is out ranking the industry's best marriages, and it seems Naruto has taken the top spot.

The information comes from Numan as the Japanese site polled users about anime's best married couples. After bringing in votes, the poll revealed its top ten picks, and Naruto's Sasuke x Sakura ship won first place.

In fact, Naruto showed up more than once on this list. The series took second place as well thanks to Naruto x Hinata. Only one other anime landed on this top ten list twice, and that is Bleach. So clearly, the shonen fandom doesn't mind a bit of romance.

From Bleach to Sword Art Online, this poll takes a number of popular conversations into account. So if you want to read through its top ten picks, you can read the full list below:

1. Sasuke x Sakura
   
2. Naruto x Hinata
   
3. Yoh x Anna
   
4. Loid x Yor
   
5. Ichigo x Orihime
   
6. Kiyoka x Mayo
   
7. Yusaku x Yukiko
   
8. Kirito x Asuna
   
9. Hohenheim x Trisha
   
10. Renji x Rukia
    

As you can see, this couple breakdown features some of the anime fandom's biggest ships. Naruto sparked shipping wars left and right in its heyday, after all. By the time Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was released, fans were eager to see how the story's romances would shake out. Other old-school series like Shaman King and Fullmetal Alchemist made the cut here as well, but some newer titles are also represented. Spy x Family and My Happy Marriage are seen on this list, so there is a good variety of ships here to stan.

What do you make of this latest anime ranking? Did the poll pick the right couples? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

Jujutsu Kaisen is gearing up for another season two blow out. If you have been keeping up with the anime, then you know the animators behind Jujutsu Kaisen are pulling all the stops. Despite recent complaints against MAPPA Studios' harsh deadlines, Jujutsu Kaisen has managed to make something special out of season two. And thanks to some new stills, we have been given a first look at episode 18.

And just so you know, this episode is going to break our hearts. Jujutsu Kaisen never said the Shibuya Incident arc would end happily, and it seems things are about to end for one character.

As you can see above, the stills for season two episode 18 focus on three heroes while the last puts Mahito in view. In one shot, we can see Yuji in focus as he bleeds from a cut on his face. Looking at a separate shot, we can see Nobara flashing a manic smile, and the third image is all about Nanami Kento. We can see the sorcerer in some sort of mindscape moment as Nanami walks the beach free of injury. But of course, we know Nanami is nowhere near the ocean.

After all, Nanami is in the thick of the Shibuya Incident, and he has yet to stand down. Despite facing dozens of opponents including Dagon, Nanami has yet to stop exploring the area. The man is very much on death's door right now, and his condition has had fans in knots for weeks. And given this episode's fourth still, well - it is safe to say Nanami and Mahito are about to have an unwelcome reunion.

If you have read the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, you will know how this upcoming episode ends, and its twist will break hearts across the world. You can catch up on the anime's second season with ease thanks to Crunchyroll. So for anyone wanting more info on Jujutsu Kaisen, you can read the story's official synopsis below:

"Yuji Itadori is a boy with tremendous physical strength, though he lives a completely ordinary high school life. One day, to save a classmate who has been attacked by curses, he eats the finger of Ryomen Sukuna, taking the curse into his own soul. From then on, he shares one body with Ryomen Sukuna. Guided by the most powerful of sorcerers, Satoru Gojo, Itadori is admitted to Tokyo Jujutsu High School, an organization that fights the curses... and thus begins the heroic tale of a boy who became a curse to exorcise a curse, a life from which he could never turn back."

What do you think about this latest peek at Jujutsu Kaisen season two? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

The holiday season is nearly upon us. In less than a day's time, millions will celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States, and the special day will mark the start of a holiday rush. Of course, the arrival of Thanksgiving marks a wave of good food and Black Friday specials, but there is more going on this week than turkey time. Godzilla is a busy monster, after all, and the titan is making way for Thanksgiving by putting out a new episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters early.

If you head over to Apple TV+ right now, you will see that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 3 is now streaming. The big release comes a few days early as the MonsterVerse show traditionally goes live on Fridays. Last week, the show proved as much by releasing its two-episode premiere on Friday, November 17th. And after this week, the show will resume its normal release schedule.

For those unaware of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, you should know the Apple TV+ original is a hit with fans. Set after the events of Godzilla (2014), Monarch: Legacy of Monsters follows two narratives that converge upon the arrival of MUTOs. A pair of estranged siblings find themselves searching for answers about their father's tie to Monarch, but their journey unlocks more secrets than they could have imagined. Despite having just three episodes to its name, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has made an impressive impact on fans. So if you need a show to share with your loved ones this Thanksgiving, let Monarch: Legacy of Monsters lead the way!

Want to know more about the series? No sweat! You can read up on the official synopsis of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters below:

"Following the epic battle between Godzilla and the MUTOs that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, two siblings, following in their father's footsteps, uncover their family's connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch. Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw, taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga - spanning three generations - reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives."

What do you think about Monarch: Legacy of Monsters so far? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

Below you'll find a breakdown of the latest Funko Pop waves complete with direct pre-order links. Look for pre-orders to begin around 11:30am / 12pm ET and wrap up at some point in the afternoon. The list will update as new Funko Pops are added and exclusives will be highlighted. You can also keep tabs on the following retailer links as some will be slower to launch than others:

• Shop New Funko Pops on Amazon
• Shop New Funko Pops at Entertainment Earth
• Shop New Funko Pops at Hot Topic
• Shop New Funko Pops at Funko.com
• Shop New Funko Pops at GameStop

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For November 22nd:

• Trigun - Vash w/ Kuroneko - Crunchyroll exclusive
• Marvel Hulk, Miles, Loki, Matt Holiday Funko Pops - Hot Topic exclusive
• A big wave of new Naruto Funko Pops - Details here
• Friends Bitty Pops - See at Entertainment Earth
• Hulk Hogan Sports Illustrated Cover - See at Entertainment Earth
• Ozzy Osbourne Glitter Funko Pop - See at Entertainment Earth
• Demon Slayer and Avatar: The Last Airbender Funko Pop Pins - See at Entertainment Earth
  

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For November 15th:

• God Loki - Funko Exclusive
• Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Funko Soda 6-Pack With Cooler - Details here
  
• Disney Encanto Bruno Madrigal 2023 Holiday Exclusive Glow-in-the-Dark Pop - BoxLunch Exclusive
  
• House of the Dragon Wave 2 - Details here
• TMNT Dark Leonardo PX Exclusive - Details here
• Cher Living Proof Glitter Funko Pop! - See at Entertainment Earth
• My Hero Academia Tomura Shigaraki Metallic Funko Pop and Tee - See at Entertainment Earth
• Star Wars Holiday Stormtrooper Metallic Funko Pop and Tee - See at Entertainment Earth
• Blackpink Adult Boxed Pop Tee - See at Entertainment Earth
• BTS Adult Boxed Pop Tee - See at Entertainment Earth
  
• Marvel Bitty Pop - See at Entertainment Earth
• Demon Slayer Glow Mitsuri - Fundom Exclusive
• The Boys Billy Butcher With Laser Baby - Funko Exclusive

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For November 8th:

• Yellowjackets Funko Pops - Details here
  
• Disney's Robin Hood Funko Pops - Details here
• Yu-Gi-Oh Jinzo Funko Pop! Vinyl Figure with Time Wizard Pop! Buddy - See at Entertainment Earth (Specialty Series Exclusive)
  
• Marvel Deadpool Seasons Mystery Box Collectors Kit - GameStop Exclusive
• New NFL Funko Pops - See at Entertainment Earth
• New NBA Funko Pops - See at Entertainment Earth
• One Piece Sniper King - Chalice Collectibles Exclusive
• Harry Potter Dumbledore Pop and Bag Bundle - Funko Exclusive
• Clerks III Silent Bob With Camera - Funko Exclusive

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For November 1st:

• Buy 1 Funko Pop, Get 1 50% off sale - See at Entertainment Earth
• Numerous Funko Shop exclusives launched today along with a deal that takes up to 70% off select exclusives - See at the Funko Shop
• Funko Iron Maiden Pop! Albums The Trooper - See at Hot Topic / Entertainment Earth
• Manchester City Funko Pops - See at Hot Topic / Entertainment Earth
• Captain Action Funko Pop - See at Entertainment Earth
• Mariah Carey Emancipation of Mimi Funko Pop - See at Entertainment Earth
• New NHL Funko Pops - See at Entertainment Earth

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For October 25th:

• X-Men 1991 Magneto Comic Cover Funko Pop - Details here
• The Wire Funko Pops - See at Entertainment Earth / Hot Topic / Amazon
  
• TMNT Bitty Pops - See at Entertainment Earth

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For October 18th:

• Clerks 3 Funko Pops - Details here
• My Hero Academia Minoru Mineta - Chalice Collectibles Exclusive
• Star Wars Hyperspace Heroes Anakin in Naboo Starfighter - Details here
  
• Vinyl Gold 18-inch Iron Man - Funko Exclusive (Only 3000 units)
• Captain America Civil War Build-A-Scene Captain America (Pop #12 of 12) - Details here

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For October 11th:

• Dragon Ball Z Wave - Details here
• Crayola Funko Pops - See on Amazon / Entertainment Earth
  
• Netflix Rebel Moon Funko Pops - See on Amazon / Entertainment Earth
• NFL Funko Pops - See at Entertainment Earth
• Jolly Rancher and Nerds Plush - See at Entertainment Earth
• ICYMI Blackpink Funko Pops from 10/10 - See at Amazon / See at Entertainment Earth
• Your guide to this week's NYCC 2023 Funko Pop exclusives can be found right here.

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For October 4th:

• Pokemon Funko Pops - Details here
• Monster High Funko Pops - Details here
• Jujutsu Kaisen Kento Nanami Exclusive - Details here
• Daredevil Shadowland Exclusive - Details here
• Marvel Comic-Cover X-Men #1 Beast - Previews Exclusive
• Die-Cast Indiana Jones - Funko Exclusive (Die-Cast Funko Pops are buy 2, get 1 free at Funko)
• Parks and Rec Funko Pops - See at Entertainment Earth / Hot Topic
• Five Nights at Freddy's Plush - See at Entertainment Earth / Hot Topic
• Mad Max - See at Entertainment Earth / Hot Topic
• Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon Pop Album (Flocked) - The Mighty Hobby Exclusive
• NBX 30th anniversary Mystery Minis - See at Entertainment Earth
• Disney 100 Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century Nebula Wade - See at Entertainment Earth
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space Baby Klown - BAM Exclusive
  
• Iron Man (Facet) - Funko Exclusive

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For September 27th:

• Iron Man Gold (18-inch) - Funko Shop Exclusive
• Naruto Mystery Box - Funko Shop Exclusive
• Stranger Things Season 4 - Details here
• Disney Ultimate Princess - Details here
• Godzilla Singular Point - Details here
• Star Wars Hyperspace Heroes Luke Skywalker in T-47 Airspeeder - Details here
• Paddington Bear - See at Entertainment Earth / Flocked - Amazon Exclusive
• Soccer LFC Darwin Nunez, Jurgen Klopp, and Luis Diaz - See at Entertainment Earth
• Hocus Pocus 2 Sisters Adult Boxed Funko Pop! T-Shirt - See at Entertainment Earth
• Ad Icons Reese's, Jolly Rancher and Whoppers - See at Entertainment Earth
• Star Wars Chewbacca (Facet) - Funko Shop Exclusive
• Home Alone - Funko Shop Exclusives
• The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - 60th Anniversary Hulk with Pin - Amazon Exclusive (Details here)
  
• The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - 60th Anniversary Captain America with Pin - Amazon Exclusive
  

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For September 13th:

• New Wednesday Funko Pops - Funko Shop Exclusive (drop at 12pm ET)
• X-Men '97 Marvel Collector Corps Box - Amazon Exclusive
• Pop Yourself has added Halloween accessories and baby options - Funko Pop Yourself
• One Piece Wano Wave - Details here
• Demon Slayer Zenitsu Protecting Nezuko's Box (Exclusive) - Details here
• Marvel Beta Ray Bill and King Daredevil (Previews Exclusive) - Details here
  
• Avatar: The Last Airbender - Details here
• Fortnite - Pre-order at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Bridgerton - Pre-order at Entertainment Earth / Amazon

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For September 6th:

• Hunter X Hunter Killua Zoldyck - Funko Shop Exclusive
• NFL Funko Pops, Including Troy Aikman Funko Pop Exclusive - See at Funko Shop
• Amy Winehouse Back to Black - See at Entertainment Earth / Hot Topic / Amazon
• Avatar: The Last Airbender Kyoshi Spirit (Glow) - Entertainment Earth Exclusive (check out the packaging image for upcoming Avatar Pops)
• Bitty Pops - Toy Story, Five Nights at Freddy's - See at Entertainment Earth / Hot Topic / Amazon
  
• Yu-Gi-Oh: Jinzo with Time Wizard - Chalice Collectibles Exclusive
• 
  

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For August 30th:

• Beauty and the Beast Tale as Old as Time Deluxe Moment - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Harry Potter Hufflepuff Art Cover - Funko Exclusive
• Santa Mickey Mouse (Diamond Collection) - Hot Topic Exclusive
• Loungefly The Nightmare Before Christmas Oogie Boogie Mini-Backpack, Wallet, and Pins - Amazon Exclusive
• Ozzy Ozbourne - Funko Exclusive
• 300 Movie - Details here
• BTS Proof - Details here
• Schoolhouse Rock - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Formula 1 Pop Rides Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Friends - Details here
• Queer Eye - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Marvel Iron Man Tales of Suspense Comic Cover - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Moana Translucent Funko Pop - Entertainment Earth Exclusive
  
• Five Nights at Freddy's Survive 'Til 6AM Security Breach Edition Game - See at Entertainment Earth
  
• Starfield Vasco Funko POP! - Xbox Gear Shop Exclusive
  
• NFL Funko Pops - Fanatics Exclusives
• Genshin Impact - Details here

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For August 23rd:

• Star Wars: Ahsoka - Details here
• Peaky Blinders - Details here
• Diablo 4 - Details here
• X-Men '97 - Details here
• New Funko Soda - See at Entertainment Earth
• Five Nights at Freddy's PEZ - See at Entertainment Earth
• Comic Cover: X-Men Wolverine (The Incredible Hulk Comic no. 181) - GameStop Exclusive
  
• Star Wars C-3PO (Facet) - Funko Exclusive
• Dolly Parton '77 Tour (Diamond Collection) - Entertainment Earth Exclusive
  
• Demon Slayer Kyojuro Rengoku (Jumbo) - Target Exclusive
• Demon Slayer Nezuko Kamado - Target Exclusive
• Demon Slayer Zenitsu Agatsuma - Target Exclusive
• Froot Loops Toucan Sam (Flocked) - Amazon Exclusive

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For August 16th:

• Die-Cast Spider-Man - Funko Exclusive
• The Seven Deadly Sins - Details here
• NBX Santa Jack and Christmas Sally 2-Pack - Funko Exclusive (Coming Soon)
• NBX Snowman Jack / Carolers Deluxe Funko Pop! Moment - See at Entertainment Earth
• The Haunted Mansion Funko Pops - Details here
• New WWE Funko Pops - Details Here
• Power Rangers Ranger Slayer PX Exclusive - See at Entertainment Earth
• Harry Potter Pop Art Covers / Slytherin - Funko Exclusive (Coming Soon)
• Bugs Bunny as Buddy the Elf - See at Hot Topic / Entertainment Earth
• Zenon Kar - See at Entertainment Earth
• Dolly Parton 1977 Tour - See at Hot Topic / Entertainment Earth
• Go-Gos Vacation Pop Album Cover - See at Hot Topic / Entertainment Earth
• Avatar the Last Airbender Pop Pins - See at Entertainment Earth

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For August 9th:

• New The Office Fun Run Funko Pops - See at Entertainment Earth
• The Office Michael as Jesus Funko Pop - Funko Exclusive (Coming Soon)
• Overwatch 2 Funko Pop Wave - Details here
• Naruto Jiraiya with Rasengan Glow-in-the-Dark Funko Pop - Details here
• Naruto Funko Soda - Funko Exclusive (Coming Soon)
• DBZ Goku With Wings Previews Exclusive - Details here
• Iron Man Captain America: Civil War Build-A-Scene Funko Pop #11 of 12 - Details here
• The Simpsons TreeHouse of Horror Nightmare Willie Funko Pop (Super-Sized) - Funko Exclusive
• My Hero Academia Himiko Toga Funko Pop - Funko Exclusive / Additional Details can be found here.
• Haunted Mansion Hatbox Ghost Funko Soda - See at Entertainment Earth
  
• New Funko Pop Pins - DC / Star Wars / The Simpsons - See at Entertainment Earth
• McDonald's Vampire McNugget Loungefly Mini-Backpack - Entertainment Earth Exclusive
• Minnie Mouse Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skull Loungefly Mini-Backpack - Entertainment Earth Exclusive
  
• The Nightmare Before Chriistmas This Is Halloween Bag Collection - See at Entertainment Earth
• Tapat?o Man Funko Soda - Funko Exclusive (Coming Soon)
• Michael Jackson 1984 Grammys (Diamond) - Funko Exclusive (Coming Soon)

Funko Pop Pre-Orders For August 2nd:

• Trick 'r Treat Sam with Razor (Flocked) - Spirit Halloween Exclusive on Amazon
• My Hero Academia Fatgum (Super-Sized Metallic) - Funko Exclusive
• Huge Demon Slayer Wave - Details are available here
• She Hulk Daredevil - Funko Exclusive
• New The Nightmare Before Christmas 30th Anniversary Funko Pops - Details are available here
• Elvis' Christmas Album Funko Pop Album - See at Entertainment Earth
• Michael Jackson Thriller Funko Pop - See at Entertainment Earth
• Formula 1 Max Verstappen Funko Pop - See at Entertainment Earth
• Formula 1 Sergio Perez Funko Pop - See at Entertainment Earth
• Formula 1 Sergio Perez Funko Pop With Helmet - Distrito Max Exclusive
• New Five Nights at Freddy's Funko Pops - See at Entertainment Earth
• Dragon Ball Z Majin Vegeta Glow-in-the-Dark Funko Pop and T-Shirt 2-Pack - See at Entertainment Earth
• Donald Duck Halloween Glow-in-the-Dark Funko Pop and T-Shirt 2-Pack - See at Entertainment Earth
  
• Creepshow - Jordy (Flocked) - See at Entertainment Earth
  
• Hocus Pocus 2 - Winifred Sanderson (Stone) - Funko Exclusive
• Hocus Pocus 2- The Witch Mother - Funko Exclusvie
• Hunter x Hunter - Killua - Funko Exclusive
• Spider-Man Die-Cast (with Chase) - Funko Exclusive
• Captain America (Facet) - Funko Exclusive
• Naruto - Naruto with Rasenshuriken - Funko Exclusive
• Naruto - Sasuke (Glow) - Funko Exclusive
• The Exorcist - Regan in Bed - Funko Exclusive
• Captain Planet (Flying) - Funko Exclusive
• Toucan San With Fruit Hat - Funko Exclusive
• Maui 3 Liter Soda - Funko Exclusive
• Bumble 3 Liter Soda - Funko Exclusive
• Maleficent 25th Anniversary Set - Funko Exclusive

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is almost here, providing viewers with a once-a-year opportunity to revel in a lot of pop culture spectacle. A number of new balloons will be added to the 2023 festivities -- including one for the beloved anime and manga franchise One Piece. On Tuesday, Macy's revealed the first look at the official Monkey D. Luffy balloon, which you can check out below.

"We're thrilled to have the celebrated anime franchise One Piece join the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with our Monkey D. Luffy giant character balloon," said Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation Inc. "Over the past 24 years, One Piece has built a huge global audience and today, the franchise is now more popular than ever before -- both in the U.S. and around the world. We're excited to introduce One Piece to the tens of millions of people that watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade every year - especially the friends and families of current One Piece fans!"

How Big Is the Luffy Macy's Parade Balloon?

Measuring a massive 43-feet long, 39-feet wide and 50-feet tall, Monkey D. Luffy will be impossible to miss during his inaugural flight from Central Park West to Herald Square, home to Macy's famed flagship store. He will be led the entire way by his own pirate crew of skilled marchers -- all honorary Straw Hats for the day -- to the cheers of the millions of spectators lining the Parade route and the millions more watching from home.

"Our balloon lineup includes some of the most iconic characters from around the world and spans all genres of entertainment, including anime, which continues to captivate our audience. We're excited to welcome such a beloved fan-favorite to the Parade this year," said Jordan Dabby, producer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "For decades, Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates have delighted fans of all ages, and we couldn't be more thrilled to see him sail the skies of New York City this Thanksgiving."

Is One Piece Renewed For Season 2?

Earlier this year, One Piece branched out into a whole new medium, with a live-action series debuting to great acclaim on Netflix. Soon after, Netflix confirmed that One Piece has been renewed for a sophomore season, which will make its debut at a later date.

In One Piece, as a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer "Red-Haired" Shanks. But Luffy's life changed when he accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubber...at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventure...one guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary "One Piece," said to be the greatest treasure in the world...

What do you think of the first look at One Piece's balloon for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

NBC is setting the table for a holiday favorite: the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with all the trimmings. The time-honored tradition returns to the streets of New York City with 31 floats, 25 classic and new balloons, 18 big-name entertainers, 11 marching bands, 7 groups of performers, 1 Santa Claus... and a partridge in a pear tree. With the Thanksgiving Day Parade starting a half-hour early this year, there's extra time for Cher to unveil a new holiday song, plus appearances by characters from Disney, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, Baby Shark, Elf on the Shelf, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and many more.

Read on for more details, including everything you need to know about how to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade this year:

What Time Is the Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023?

The parade starts at 8:30 am ET/PT on Thursday, November 23, and ends at 12:00 p.m.

How to Watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade

You can watch the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live at 8:30 am in all time zones on NBC, followed by an encore at 2 pm.

How to Stream the Thanksgiving Day Parade

You can stream the Thanksgiving Day Parade live on Peacock by tuning into the simulcast with a Peacock Premium account. According to the streamer, the parade won't be available for replay on Peacock.

You can watch the parade on Peacock on most devices, including web browsers, mobile and tablet devices, game consoles (including PlayStation 5 and XBox Series X and Series S), connected TVs, Smart TVs, and streaming devices (including Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, and Apple TV).

Is There a Peacock Free Trial?

Peacock does not currently offer a Peacock free trial. Peacock plans start at $5.99/month for Premium or $11.99/month for Premium Plus (which includes ad-free streaming and your local NBC channel live 24/7).

How to Watch Countdown to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023

Hosted by Amber Ruffin with appearances by TODAY anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker, NBC kicks off the holiday season live from the famous starting line on the eve of the iconic Thanksgiving Day parade. Viewers will get a sneak peek at the incredible stories behind the floats, balloons and bands on their journey to the streets of New York. Tune in Wednesday, November 22, from 8 -- 9 pm on NBC.

Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023 Balloon Lineup

25 balloons are featured during the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. They include:

• Beagle Scout Snoopy (Peanuts Worldwide)
• Bluey and her Keepy Uppy Balloon (BBC Studios' Bluey)
• Blue Cat & Chugs (Digital collectibles)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams Book's Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
• Dino and Baby Dino (Sinclair Oil)
• Goku (Dragon Ball Z)
• Grogu (Star Wars: The Mandalorian)
• Kung Fu Panda's Po (Kung Fu Panda 4)
• Leo (Netflix's Leo)
• Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
• PAW Patrol (Nickelodeon & Spin Master's PAW Patrol)
• Pillsbury Doughboy (Pillsbury)
• Pikachu & Evee (The Pok?mon Company)
• Red Titan (Ryan's World)
• Ronald McDonald (McDonald's USA)
• SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary (Nickelodeon)
• Smokey Bear (U.S.D.A. Forest Service)
• Stuart the Minion (Illumination)
• Tiptoe (Macy's)
• Uncle Dan (Illumination's Migration)

Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023 Floats

31 floats lead this year's parade route. They include:

• 1-2-3 Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop)
• Big City Cheer! (Spirit of America Productions)
• Big Turkey Spectacular (Jennie-O)
• Birds of a Feather Stream Together (Peacock)
• The Brick Changer (The LEGO Group)
• Camp Snoopy (Peanuts Worldwide)
• Celebration Gator (Louisiana Office of Tourism)
• Colossal Wave of Wonder (Kalahari Resorts and Conventions)
• Deck the Halls (Balsam Hill)
• Elf Pets (The Lumistella Company)
• Fantasy Chocolate Factory (Kinder)
• Geoffrey's Dazzling Dance Party (Toys "R" Us)
• Harvest in the Valley (Green Giant)
• Heartwarming Holiday Countdown (Hallmark Channel)
• Igniting Memories (Solo Stove)
• Macy's Singing Christmas Tree (Macy's)
• Magic Meets the Sea (Disney Cruise Line)
• Mutant Mayhem (Nickelodeon & Paramount)
• Palace of Sweets (Brach's)
• Pinkfong Baby Shark (Nickelodeon)
• People of First Light (Macy's)
• Santa's Sleigh (Macy's)
• Tom Turkey (Macy's)
• Winter Wonderland in Central Park (Macy's)
• The Wondership (Wonder)
• The Deliciously Delectable World of Wonka (Warner Bros.' Wonka Movie)
• Big Red Shoe Car (McDonald's)
• Good BurgerMobile (Paramount+'s Good Burger 2)
• A Merry Moment (Universal Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's)

Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023 Performers

18 big names, music icons, and rising stars are set to perform or appear, including:

• Alex Smith
• Amanda Shaw
• Ashley Park
• Bell Biv Devoe
• Brandy
• Cher
• Chicago
• David Foster & Katharine McPhee
• Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
• Enhypen
• En Vogue
• Jabari Banks
• Jessie James Decker
• Jon Batiste
• Manuel Turizo
• Miss America Grace Stanke
• Paul Russell
• Pentonix

What Is the Macy's Parade Route?

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will begin on W 77th St & Central Park West and follow Central Park West to Columbus Circle. The parade will continue down 6th Ave through Midtown and finish in front of the 34th St Macy's location. There will be 2.5 miles of public viewing along the New York City route.

Also reference our guide to NBC's 2023 holiday programming schedule to find out when and where to watch A Saturday Night Live Thanksgiving Special, A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special, the National Dog Show 2023, Christmas in Rockefeller Center, and more holiday-themed specials and events.

Sadly, Miracle Workers has come to an end. The only live-action comedy at TBS wrapped up its fourth season in August, and it now appears that it won't be getting a fifth. This may come as a surprise to some, given the star power of the series. Miracle Workers, which went to different time periods with each season, starred Daniel Radcliffe, Geraldine Viswanathan, Karan Soni, and Steve Buscemi.

According to TVLine, TBS has opted to cancel Miracle Workers after the release of its fourth season, which ended on August 28th. The most recent season was titled Miracle Workers: End Times, and focused on a post-apocalyptic world. The very first season saw Buscemi play God and Radcliffe portray an angel working for him. Miracle Workers also explored the Dark Ages and the Oregon Trail.

The series also starred Jon Bass, Quinta Brunson, Kyle Mooney, Ego Nwodim, Lolly Adefope, Garcelle Beauvais, Lisa Loeb, and Paul F. Tompkins.

Miracle Workers: End Times

The fourth and final season of Miracle Workers saw Radcliffe and Viswanathan play a couple trying to figure things out in the middle of an apocalyptic world. Earlier this year, ahead of the season's debut, they spoke to ComicBook.com about the new story.

"I think when [showrunner] Robert [Padnick] pitched the idea of it being, of using the whole thing as the this ... the questions, people are always asking themselves, 'Should we have a kid? Is it a bad time?' And then the idea of asking yourself those questions as a nuclear holocaust has happened already and you're still kind of having those debates," Radcliffe recalled of what excited him about the new season. "There's something about that that says human beings are both really stupid but also really wonderful."

He continued, "And I feel like the idea of that, I was just really taken with the chance to play around in ... I think we had all, between Season 3 and 4, there's only so many jokes about the past is bad that you can make. So I think we'd all hoped we would end up in a futuristic world of some kind. And I'm very happy that they went so dystopian with it."

"I remember, because I was nervous about, in the script, she's so scary and this menacing warlord," Viswanathan said when asked about her reaction to her costume. "And I was like, 'How are we going to do that?' But as soon as I saw the costume and worked closely with the makeup artist and the hair, it all made sense and did so much of that work and was so exciting to get to wear the spikes. But that was pretty much all them. They were geniuses."

The first three seasons of Miracle Workers are currently streaming on Max.

Rick and Morty Season 7 has made some shake ups both behind the scenes and in the episodes themselves, and the showrunner behind it all opened up about when the new voice actors really locked into their new roles! Ahead of Rick and Morty Season 7's premiere, Adult Swim announced it was cutting ties with co-creator and former voice star behind the titular characters, Justin Roiland. Following a lengthy and secretive casting process, it was then revealed that Ian Cardoni would be the new voice behind Rick Sanchez and Harry Belden would be the new voice behind Morty Smith for Season 7 and beyond.

Rick and Morty's new voice actors were essentially thrown into the deep end of things as they had to join a series that was already seven seasons in, and a season that was essentially already set before the recast. So the two of them have had to learn on the fly, and Rick and Morty showrunner Scott Marder revealed that not only have Cardoni and Belden improved with each episode, it was the spaghetti episode in particular that Marder and the team were definitely sure that they found the right replacements.

When Rick and Morty's New Actors Locked In

Speaking to The Wrap about Rick and Morty Season 7, Marder explained that the structure of the season was unintentional but was ultimately a "big proof of concept as to how they sounded together." Revealing that he felt like Cardoni and Belden had been growing stronger in their respective performances with each new episodes, it was Episode 4, "That's Amorte" where they felt locked in, "That was the one where we were like, 'We got them. We got our guys, Rick and Morty," Marder stated.

"We've put in our 10,000 hours now," Marder continued as he explained that Cardoni and Belden are now set for Rick and Morty's expansive future. "And those guys, they can feel when they're in the pocket. So now it feels like bringing anyone in to do in any role. It's been enjoyable. We're really set up for the future now with the with these guys." And when opening up about the response to the new performances, Marder stated "I expected a lot more negativity just because I feel like the people that speak out on the internet are largely more negative than positive. But it felt like a real tidal wave of positivity that caught me off guard. It felt like winning an award," Marder continued. "I'm just glad that people feel like we can keep moving forward."

How are you liking Rick and Morty's new voice actors so far? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

via The Wrap

It might be a little while longer until Silk: Spider Society can swing onto our television screens. On Tuesday, a report from The Ankler claimed that Amazon Studios is being threatened with a lawsuit, after the studio continued to put shows "on ice" following the end of the Writers Guild of America strike earlier this fall. According to their reporting, Silk: Spider Society remains one of several shows that the studio -- which makes shows for Prime Video, MGM+ and other platforms -- has continued to suspend work on.

Prior to this, the most recent update around Spider Society actually arrived in the midst of the WGA strike earlier this year, with a report from TVLine suggesting that the live-action series was definitely still in the works. The Walking Dead's Angela Kang is set to write, produce, and showrun Silk: Spider Society, with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's Phil Lord and Chris Miller also attached. No casting details have been made public, and the series does not currently have a release date.

What Will Silk: Spider Society Be About?

According to previous cast listings, the Silk: Spider Society series would follow fan-favorite Marvel Comics character Cindy Moon, who has previously been described in casting descriptions for the series as a Korean-American between 19 and 29 years old who is a kid from Queens who is on her own for the first time. Although she's a total beginner in law enforcement and fighting crime, she is said to love the feeling of beating up criminals to let her frustrations out, and has an affinity for '80s and '90s pop culture. She also struggles with her identity and heritage, but she tries to focus on her family, friends, and relationships.

"It's a huge focus certainly for all of us here, and for me in particular. I was already a fan of Angela Kang, so I'm really, really excited to be working with her on Silk. She's just brilliant and a total pro," A,azon's Katherine Pope revealed in an interview earlier this year. "This is also an example of working really closely with Tom Rothman and Sanford Panitch, and the motion picture group, to make sure that we are in lockstep with them and also executing at the same level. They've done such an incredible job with that franchise, so we want to make sure we're executing at that level."

What Spider-Man TV Shows Is Sony Making?

Lord and Miller are set to produce Silk: Spider Society part of their overall deal to develop Spider-Man-themed TV shows for Sony, which also includes a Spider-Man Noir series.

"We are so grateful to everyone at Sony Pictures Television for choosing to partner with us and expand our enduring relationship with the studio," Lord and Miller said in a statement when that deal was first announced. "Together we aim to make groundbreaking work of the highest quality and integrity, and to place that work in convenient proximity to your eyeballs and earholes, wherever you may be."

What do you think of the latest update surrounding Silk: Spider Society? Do you hope the series comes to fruition? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Rick and Morty Season 7 has left longtime fans of the show (and Rick Sanchez himself) all wondering: what now?

(SPOILERS) In Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 5 "Unmortricken" we got the long-awaited - and yet somehow totally unexpected - final showdown between series protagonist Rick C-137 and his nemesis Rick Prime. The entire premise of Rick and Morty's core canon storyline (however much it mattered) was that Rick Prime had killed C-137's wife Diane and daughter Beth, starting a multiversal manhunt and feud that ultimately led Rick C-137 to take Rick Prime's place in the villain's native universe, waiting for him to return one day. Instead, it was the "Evil Morty" who finally helped Rick C-137 achieve his mission, trapping and killing Rick Prime.

Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 6 made it clear that the series isn't treating Rick's brutal victory over Rick Prime as a glorious victory without weight or consequence; Rick has a whole new existential crisis to face, now that his reason and purpose for living are gone. We expect that Rick will have an oddesy of sorts, trying to find new ways to define his life - or denying that the mental/emotional issue exists at all. Ultimately though, there will probably be only one thing that truly gets Rick C-137 back on his game: a new archnemesis to chase.

Who Is Rick and Morty's Next Big Villain?

Evil Morty - The obvious bet for the next series "Big Bad" is, of course, Evil Morty. For a long time Rick and Morty had viewers believing that Evil Morty was the big bad of the show; he was the only one to outwit Rick - as seen in the Season 1 episode "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind" - and by the time he got an entire bottle episode dedicated to his rise of power in the Citadel of Ricks (S3E7), it seemed pretty clear that Evil Morty was the bad guy that the show wanted us to be wary of.

Ever since Evil Morty achieved his goal and broke free of the Finite Curve of the multiverse Rick created for himself, it seemed like only a matter of time before he returned to wreak havoc. That's why one of the biggest surprises of "Unmortricken" was seeing Evil Morty actually team up with Rick and Morty against Rick Prime. But while we saw that Evil Morty can work with Rick and Morty, he also used the encounter to learn about the most dangerous piece of tech in the multiverse: Rick Prime's Omega Device. Now Evil Morty arguably has the means to erase anyone from existence: we should all definitely wonder what he aims to do with that power.

Mr. Nimbus - We know that Mr. Nimbus (the Namor/Aquaman parody Rick has a longstanding feud with) isn't really the Big Bad type, but in the context of the Season 7 storyline, he's an easy distraction for Rick's existential dread. Rick could very well pick a new fight with Nimbus just to cement that "nemesis" relationship he may need so badly right now. Nimbus does admittedly have power over the ocean (and the police), so he can at least be a worldly threat worthy of Rick's (and the President's) attention. Plus, there's an Aquaman movie coming out this year... so that would be fun timing.

Another Rick - "Unmortricken" came out of nowhere and put an end to Rick Prime faster than anyone could've guessed.

Or did it?

Rick and Morty has always loved pulling off big twists other series couldn't dream of doing - like an episode about the characters "Cronenberging" the entire Earth into a mutant hell, and then moving to a parallel universe to side-step any consequences. We're due for a major fakeout where Rick Prime isn't really dead (another Evil Morty scheme?), or a reveal that there's another unseen Big Bad really pulling the strings - some version of Rick and/or Morty we have yet to meet.

Jerry - A Jerry variant being the ultimate mastermind would be W I L D.

Rick and Morty Season 7 introduced new voice actors behind its titular characters following co-creator Justin Roiland's exit, and the new stars are calling Season 7 one of the show's best seasons yet! Rick and Morty Season 7 has made some big shake ups that fans weren't expecting as it not only solved one of the massive antagonist plot threads hanging over the series with its fifth episode, but it opened up the rest of the season to a clear path towards a new kind of story. It's this openness that has fans thinking about what could be next.

Rick and Morty Season 7 introduced Ian Cardoni as the new voice of Rick Sanchez and Harry Belden as the new voice of Morty Smith, and the two new star finally opened up about joining the series in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. It was here that the two of them not only opened up about how they feel about joining the series and adjusting to their new roles, but also teased what's coming next in the final episodes of Season 7 with the clean slate set by Episode 5 and 6.

What's Next for Rick and Morty Season 7?

"I think the latest episode leaves a lot of questions as to where these characters could go," Ian Cardoni responded when asked about where they felt the series could go following Rick Prime's death in Episode 5. "The only thing I'd say is there are some pretty exciting places where the story will be taking us. There are some excellent adventures that I think the fans will really enjoy, and new twists and turns." Belden shared this sentiment and even noted Season 7 of the series as the best yet.

"Season seven is the best Rick and Morty has ever been -- the writing is top-tier," Belden stated. "We have felt so welcomed by the production people working on the show, but also by the fans, and the online community have been so welcoming and supportive. We'd just like to say, 'Thank you.'" The new actors just jumped into the series ahead of Season 7, so it's going to be bright future for them as well as fans get to see more of them in future seasons.

How are you liking Rick and Morty's new voices in Season 7 so far? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

via THR

This week, Netflix released the complete list of titles that will be making their way to its streaming roster in the month of December. There's plenty to be excited about when it comes to that lineup, especially with The Super Mario Bros. Movie joining the service, but the newsletter also came with a bit of disappointing news as well. In addition to all of the titles being added to Netflix next month, the streamer is also losing quite a few movies and TV shows.

There will be titles leaving Netflix on various days throughout the month, but most of the big departures won't occur until the final week of December. Six seasons of The Adventures of Puss in Boots are set to exit on December 28th, with quite a few popular films exiting on December 31st.

Both of Will Ferrell's Anchorman movies are leaving Netflix at the end of December, along with Kung Fu Panda, Gladiator, Catch Me If You Can, The Wolf of Wall Street, all four Jaws movies, and four films in the Mission: Impossible franchise. In total, there are 28 feature films set to make their Netflix exit as 2023 comes to a close, so subscribers will need to get any rewatches in while they still can.

Leaving Netflix in December

Here's the full list of every movie and TV show exiting Netflix next month:

Leaving 12/14/23
The Hills: Seasons 1-2
Leaving 12/21/23
Sing 2
Leaving 12/27/23
Da Kath & Kim Code
Kath & Kimderella
Kath and Kim: Kountdown Specials
Kath and Kim: Seasons 1-4
Kath and Kim: The Souvenir Editions
Leaving 12/28/23
The Adventures of Puss in Boots: Seasons 1-6
Leaving 12/30/23
Taylor Swift reputation Stadium Tour US
Leaving 12/31/23
8 Mile
American Beauty
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Casper
Catch Me If You Can
Crank
Crank 2: High Voltage
Field of Dreams
Friends with Benefits
Get Him to the Greek
Gladiator
Jaws
Jaws 2
Jaws 3
Jaws: The Revenge
Kung Fu Panda
Lost in Translation
Love Actually
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible III
Role Models
Runaway Bride
Saving Private Ryan
Scarface
The Wolf of Wall Street

Which of these movies and TV shows are you most disappointed to see leaving Netflix? Let us know in the comments!

Invincible Season 2 is gearing up for the final episode of its run for the year, and now fans have gotten a new look at what to expect with a new sneak-peek clip from Episode 4! Invincible Season 2 returned for the first half of its scheduled episodes this year, and with them fans have been able to see how Mark Grayson and the rest of the hero world has tried to recover from everything that happened in the fight against Omni-Man at the end of the first season. But things have gotten a big shake up with the latest episode.

Invincible Season 2 is setting up for some big shake ups as Omni-Man has officially returned to the series with the end of the third episode, and Episode 4 is teasing that he and Mark will be in the immediate fallout of this surprise reunion. But while Mark is off planet there are still all sorts of things still happening on Earth as teased with the new clip from Episode 4 as Atom Eve is fighting a very familiar villain. Check out the new sneak peek at Invincible Season 2 Episode 4 below.

Big spoilers for Episode 4 this Friday... Killcannon didn't go down to city hall to change his name. pic.twitter.com/0C6K7RDmg8

-- INVINCIBLE (@InvincibleHQ) November 21, 2023

How to Watch Invincible Season 2 Episode 4

Invincible Season 2 Episode 4 will be premiering with Amazon Prime Video on Friday, November 24th. This will be the final of the four planned episodes for Part 1 of the season before Invincible Season 2 returns with Part 2 some time next year. Unfortunately, no release date has been set for the second half as of the time of this writing. If you wanted to catch up before the first half ends, you can currently check out all of the Invincible episodes released thus far (and the Atom Eve special released in between the first two seasons) now streaming with Amazon Prime Video.

Starring the likes of new additions to the cast for Season 2 such as Jay Pharoah, Tatiana Maslany, Sterling K. Brown, Chloe Bennet, Rob Delaney, Paul F. Tompkins, Peter Cullen, Tim Robinson, Phil Lamarr, Lea Thompson, Calista Flockhart, and many more, Amazon Prime Video teases Invincible as such, "Invincible is an adult animated superhero series that revolves around 17-year-old Mark Grayson, who's just like every other guy his age -- except his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man. But as Mark develops powers of his own, he discovers his father's legacy may not be as heroic as it seems."

What are you hoping to see in the final new episode of Invincible Season 2 this year? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

Family Guy will be leaving Sunday nights on FOX for the first time in over two decades since it returned to the network! Family Guy infamously was canceled by FOX a few seasons into its original run, and was then brought back for new seasons following its success on Adult Swim and home media. Ever since, FOX has kept Family Guy as part of their Sunday evening line up alongside other long running animated sitcoms such as The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers. Now it's going to be moved to a new night in order to make room for other shows.

FOX has announced their midseason schedule coming in 2024, and have revealed that Family Guy will then be moving its new episodes to Wednesday evenings beginning on March 6th at a new time of 9:30PM EST. This will pair the long running animated sitcom with broadcasts of The Masked Singer and Animal Control, and will mark the first time the series has been aired on a weekday since before its cancellation way back in 2001. But in its place there will be newer shows.

Family Guy Moves to a New Night on FOX

According to FOX's midseason schedule, the new line up for FOX's Animation Domination block will be then filled by new additions on Sunday, January 7th such as the Jon Hamm led Grimsburg at 8:00PM EST and the returning The Great North (which is returning for Season 4) at 9:30PM. The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers will be remaining on the block itself, and it seems like FOX is really investing in the new series Grimsburg if it's going to bump a long running project like Family Guy to a new night in its stead (as The Great North has been a part of the block with its first three seasons).

Family Guy Season 22 will continue its broadcast on Sunday evenings on FOX through the remainder of the year before coming back with new episodes next year at its new time. If you wanted to catch up with all of the currently available episodes of Family Guy, you can find it now streaming with Hulu. They tease Family Guy as such, "The adventures of an endearingly ignorant dad and his hilariously odd family of middle-class New Englanders."

What do you think of Family Guy moving to a new night next year and leaving Sundays? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

via THR

Oh, it's happening. It was not long ago the anime fandom learned Son Goku has a new anime in the works. Toei Animation is working on Dragon Ball Daima these days, and of course, fans want to know all about the project. Now, a new report has revealed the show's staff is seriously stacked, and we're breaking down the official details.

The update comes from the most recent issue of V-Jump. It was there Shueisha announced the executive staff behind Dragon Ball Daima. Of course, fans were eager to learn who'd be directing the series, and there are two creators up to bat.

According to the report, Yoshitaka Yashima and Aya Komaki are slated to direct Dragon Ball Daima. The pair will be joined by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru who will do character designs. And when it comes to the anime's scripts, writer Yuuko Kakihara has been brought on board. As for the show's animation team, well - this latest report is staying mum on the topic.

If you are not familiar with the names listed in this latest staff teaser, don't sweat it. Fans will known Yoshitaka's work as the animator worked on dozens of Dragon Ball Super episodes. As for Komaki, the artist is known well for their legacy on One Piece. She has directed a slew of episodes for the Toei Animation hit, and Komaki most recently worked on One Piece Film Red as an assistant director.

From top to bottom, this new report is filled with A-list talent, so Dragon Ball Daima appears to be in good hands. Now, fans will just have to wait to see it for themselves. Toei Animation confirmed the new Dragon Ball anime will launch in 2024, and it will follow a de-aged Goku as he travels to undo a wild wish that turns his world upside down.

What do you think about this latest Dragon Ball update...? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights -- and it's time to close the curtain on a Muppets show tonight. After getting The Electric Mayhem Band back together in The Muppets Mayhem, Disney+ has cancelled the live-action Muppets series after just one season, Variety reports. Disney+ dropped the entire 10-episode season simultaneously back in May, marking the brand's first television series since 2015's The Muppets, also cancelled after one season on ABC. (The streamer has since released The Muppets Haunted Mansion Halloween special and the short-lived, short-form sketch series Muppets Now.)

"Huge thanks to the critic & fan love that got us 6 Emmy [nominations] and a #1 Billboard album. Mayhem was truly the most joyful and collaborative experience of my career," Adam F. Goldberg, who co-wrote and co-created the series with Bill Barretta and Jeff Yorkes, wrote on X. "From day one all I've cared about is creating a Muppet-verse and YES I am already cooking up more Muppets with @billbarretta."

Huge thanks to the critic & fan love that got us 6 Emmy noms and a #1 Billboard album. Mayhem was truly the most joyful and collaborative experience of my career. From day one all I've cared about is creating a Muppet-verse and YES I am already cooking up more Muppets with... https://t.co/eckhhQkb5u

-- Adam F. Goldberg (@adamfgoldberg) November 21, 2023

Muppets Mayhem received six nominations at the upcoming 2nd Children's & Family Emmy Awards -- including Outstanding Children's or Family Viewing Series and Outstanding Puppet Design and Styling -- and its soundtrack, featuring a re-recorded version of "Can You Picture That?" from The Muppet Movie, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's US Kid Albums chart in May. The Muppets Mayhem: Music From the Disney+ Original Series LP was the first time that Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem band topped a Billboard chart since their debut in 1975.

The series follows The Electric Mayhem Band -- Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone and Lips on trumpet -- on an epic, music-filled journey to record their first-ever studio album. With the help of a driven young music executive, Nora Singh (Lilly Singh), the old-school Muppet band comes face-to-face with the current-day music scene as they try to finally record their first studio album.

Lilly Singh (A Little Late With Lilly Singh) starred alongside Tahj Mowry (Smart Guy), Saara Chaudry (The Mysterious Benedict Society), and The Electric Mayhem Band: Muppet performers Bill Barretta as Dr. Teeth, Matt Vogel as Floyd, Peter Linz as Lips, Dave Goelz as Zoot, David Rudman as Janice, and Eric Jacobson as Animal. Guest stars included real-life musical talents Paula Abdul, Steve Aoki, Charlamagne Tha God, Kesha, Lil Nas X, Ziggy Marley, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and celebrity appearances by Rachel Bloom, Nicole Byer, Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin, Jack McBrayer, Nico Santos, Kristen Schaal, Ben Schwartz, James Hong, Kevin Smith, Danny Trejo, and more.

"We go wherever the rock n' roll leads us. We'd be most enthusiastical to play any encore performance with another season of The Muppets Mayhem," Dr. Teeth, the Electric Mayhem Band's lead singer and keyboardist, exclusively told ComicBook in May. Added Floyd Pepper (without his trademark sarcasm): "You know it, you know it. But for now, you know, whatever happens, I'm just glad that we made the show, and it's as good as we could possibly do it."

Based on characters created by Jim Henson, the Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television is produced by ABC Signature and The Muppets Studio. The project was developed and written by executive producers Goldberg (The Goldbergs), Barretta (The Muppets, Muppets Haunted Mansion) and co-executive producer Jeff Yorkes. Michael Bostick, Kris Eber and The Muppets Studio's David Lightbody and Leigh Slaughter also served as executive producers.

All 10 episodes of The Muppets Mayhem are now available to stream on Disney+.

Jujutsu Kaisen season two went live this summer, and its reputation this fall has had highs and lows. From its impressive animation to its alleged work conditions, Jujutsu Kaisen has sparked tons of discussion with season two. These days, all eyes are on the anime's staff as a number of employees have shared upsetting details about the production schedule behind the Shibuya Incident arc. And now, one animator is debunking debunking a rumor about Jujutsu Kaiden's latest episode.

The update comes courtesy of animation director and corrector NobiliRoccia. Over on social media, the staffer prefaced season two episode 17 with a note that left fans buzzing. "JJK S2 episode 17 was only 30% complete as animators struggled to meet deadlines," the animator shared.

However, the animator is now clarifying the deleted post. It turns out NobiliRoccia's message was misinterpreted as literal; Instead, it turns out the animator meant the overall vision for episode 17 was barely met due to the staff's deadlines.

"Just a heads up, my tweet was deleted because people were misinterpretating it. In hindsight,I shouldn' t have used a number," the animator shared. "People focused on dumb numbers instead of what actually mattered. I never correlated that number to a dumb "completition" check point, but to the vision."

Of course, this clarification has put Jujutsu Kaiser's most recent episode into question. There is no denying how impressive episode 17 was visually, and it is already being heralded as Episode of the Year material. However, the staff could have done even more with a better production schedule. It seems animators wanted to take the visuals up several notches, but their vision wasn't doable under deadline.

If you have not checked out Jujutsu Kaisen season two, no sweat! The show is available to binge on Crunchyroll right now. So for more information on Gege Akutami's hit series, you can read its official synopsis below:

"Yuji Itadori is a boy with tremendous physical strength, though he lives a completely ordinary high school life. One day, to save a classmate who has been attacked by curses, he eats the finger of Ryomen Sukuna, taking the curse into his own soul. From then on, he shares one body with Ryomen Sukuna. Guided by the most powerful of sorcerers, Satoru Gojo, Itadori is admitted to Tokyo Jujutsu High School, an organization that fights the curses... and thus begins the heroic tale of a boy who became a curse to exorcise a curse, a life from which he could never turn back."

What do you think about this latest Jujutsu Kaisen debunk? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

[Spoiler alert for Star Wars: Ahsoka.] "There are so few Jedi left," Baylan Skoll (the late Ray Stevenson) told his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) on Ahsoka. And after "The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord" season finale ended with the fallen Jedi-turned-mercenary pursuing his own path on the wasteland planet Peridea -- one guided by the Mortis gods -- there is one less Jedi in the galaxy. Skoll told Shin to take her place in the coming Empire under the returned Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and then answered the great power calling to him: statues of The Ones.

"He's a person that survived the Clone Wars, that was trained in the waxing-waning days of the Jedi Knights, just like Anakin," Ahsoka series creator and recently promoted Lucasfilm Chief Content Officer Dave Filoni told Vanity Fair of the original character. "He saw his order, his way of life fall apart. And he's basically deemed it a failure: That way did not work. That it's not something worth resurrecting. Which is why he tells Shin, 'I didn't teach you to be a Jedi. I taught you to be something more.'"

As Skoll told Shin, he missed the idea of the Jedi Order -- but "not the truth, not the weakness." While standing over what was once the great Witch Kingdom of the Dathmiri, Skoll felt the pull of the Mortis gods -- the Father, the Son, and the Daughter -- and then parted ways with his apprentice.

"He's tried to take these teachings that he learned as a young person and create his own way of being. And he's looked at the cycle of things and said, 'Enough with this. If I have this power, I should wield it. I should be the one making decisions,' which a lot of people with power decide that's the way to go," Filoni explained. "He's also very certain that what he's doing now is the right thing."

Stevenson died in May at the age of 58, leaving the fate of his Star Wars character up in the air. Whether the role is recast or Skoll's story continues in the interconnected Star Wars comic books, novels, or animated series remains to be seen, but Filoni notes that "obviously, there's a story there."

"We're in a wait-and-see pattern at this point. But I'm glad the conversation is about Ray and how great he was.... I used to have mini debates with him and say, 'Ray, you're the villain here.' And he'd be like, 'I don't think so.' I was like, 'I know you don't think so, but you are. I love that you're playing it like you're not.' Which is exactly the way Baylan thinks," Filoni said, adding the late actor "would've been over the moon" to see fans' reception of his imposing and complicated character.

"The big regret here is that he didn't get to experience that," Filoni said. "I'm glad he was at Star Wars Celebration with us, that he got to see the trailer and get a taste of that from the fans. And they've been nothing but wonderful about Ray and the character."

All episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka season 1 are now available to stream on Disney+.

Star Wars: Ahsoka star Hayden Christensen addressed one of the series' biggest questions. On the heels of the massive announcement about Dave Filoni's promotion at Lucasfilm, the actor talked about whether or not his character was "real" in the recent Disney+ episodes. It seems pretty clear that there were some World Between Worlds shenanigans going on with Ahsoka. But, does that mean that Rosario Dawson's heroine was really reunited with her mentor on that bridge? In the opinion of the Anakin Skywalker actor, probably not. But, he told Vanity Fair that he's willing to leave it up to interpretation without delivering a conclusive answer. Neither Christensen or Filoni will answer up about the series' most hyped sequence. Seeing Ahsoka standing in front of her master in live-action is something that a lot of Star Wars fans had been angling for over the last decade.

"That's the beauty of how the episode is constructed, in my opinion," Christensen explained. "Inevitably, the audience has to question what it is they're watching. Is this really the World Between Worlds? What is the World Between Worlds? Is this actually the spirit of Anakin Skywalker, or is this all in Ahsoka's subconscious and we're just going down the yellow brick road as she's drowning and fighting for her life? I think that the episode provides a few really good clues, but it doesn't spell it out for you."

How Did Anakin Make His Return?

The choice to bring Hayden Christensen back into the fold could have been controversial. But, Star Wars fans have rushed to embrace the actor with open arms. Clearly, the response has touched Christensen who though a return impossible at an earlier point in his career. Talking to IGN, director Peter Ramsey explained how the episode that brought Anakin back unfolded. It seems like Dave Filoni absolutely threw him a fastball that he proceeded to hit out of the park.

"I told Dave [Filoni], 'man, you gave me a foolproof episode,'" Ramsey recalled. "I so lucked out because I got the one where all these different strands of the story kind of converge and it blows up. You'd have to really mess up in order for it not to be compelling in the end."

Ramsey would also single out Christensen, calling the star as happy as anybody else to embrace the return of one of Star Wars' biggest characters."He's a really sweet, low-key guy," Ramsey added. "He was pretty happy about being there after all this time. It had a lot of meaning for him."

"We just talked about what it's like for him to be seeing Ahsoka after all this time, that it's a reunion for them," Ramsey mused. "And I just told him, 'it's like you haven't seen your daughter in two years. She'd gone off to college and you're seeing her again and she's like a different person but still your daughter.'"

What Happened In Ahsoka?

"Fan-favorite Star Wars hero Ahsoka Tano returns in the brand new series on Disney+. Rosario Dawson stars in Star Wars: Ahsoka, which premiered on August 22nd on the streamer. The series picks up after the events of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which we saw the former Jedi searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and helping Luke Skywalker train Grogu."

"Ahsoka will be joined on her new mission alongside longtime allies Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as they attempt to track down Thrawn, who was last seen disappearing to the far reaches of space after a confrontation with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Star Wars: Ahsoka is the latest live-action series from Lucasfilm's creative duo of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni."

Was that the real Anakin? Do you love the idea of more Ahsoka? Let us know in the comments!

This year's writers' and actors' strikes slowed the development on a number of projects in Hollywood, and while Lucasfilm's Star Wars: Ahsoka is one of the projects that saw complications, star Natasha Liu Bordizzo is hopeful that the debut season was only the beginning of her development on the live-action Sabine Wren. While this batch of episodes saw Rosario Dawson's titular Ahsoka start to train Sabine in the ways of the Force, Bordizzo would like to see her character evolve even further in regards to that mystical connection. While a Season 2 hasn't officially been announced, Bordizzo is only one member of Ahsoka's production who is hopeful for more episodes.

"The Force, and Sabine trying to achieve use of the Force, was such a metaphor for me of trying to achieve that groundedness in real life. It just made me laugh," Bordizzo recalled to Vanity Fair of her character replicating her own experiences. "A lot of the time I would read the episodes and be like, 'I can relate to that.' Obviously, I'm not trying to achieve the Force, but it's all related."

She continued, "Hopefully that can evolve ... It didn't have enough time to evolve that much in Season 1, because as you're learning about these characters, they're also going through crazy upheaval and war and problems. So we'll see where that goes."

Part of what took audiences by surprise about this development in the relationship between Ahsoka and Sabine is that, in Star War Rebels, there wasn't much evidence that Sabine had any connection to the Force whatsoever. By the time we reunited with the characters in the Ahsoka premiere, it was clear that their relationship to one another had deteriorated, though their reunion helped signify that, in the galaxy far, far away, it was entirely possible to develop and hone that connection with the Force even if you weren't part of a famous lineage.

Between reports, rumors, and confirmed projects, the only definitive adventure on the horizon that is set to unfold during the time of The New Republic is a movie that is being developed by Dave Filoni, which is confirmed to bring together narrative threads from Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, and Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett. Due to the impact of the strikes, it's unclear if a Season 2 could be expected or if elements of a planned Season 2 could be integrated into Filoni's movie, but with no timeline given for that movie, we could still get more seasons of these various TV shows before that film comes to fruition.

Stay tuned for updates on the future of the Star Wars franchise.

Are you hoping we get a Season 2 of Star Wars: Ahsoka? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has released an extended version of the Bluey theme, timed to celebrate last weekend's Bluey Fest. The marathon, which ran down the 100 most popular Bluey segments as voted on by the audience, is still available to view on the network's website and app, assuming you aren't region-locked. Until noon on November 27, you can watch it anytime on the ABC iview Bluey Fest Live Stream. The extended theme included dance breaks for a guitar solo, followed by Muffin, Socks, Snickers, Winton, PomPom, and Rusty. Apparently they had all come over to the Heelers' house for the BlueyFest viewing party.

The beloved series, which will also have a super-sized episode coming in 2024 that will go longer than 20 minutes for one story, has become a global phenomenon. It's no wonder ABC is celebrating it every chance they get.

You can see the extended theme below.

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"It's been amazing. For me, the most incredible part of it is being a part of a show that is having such a beautiful social impact, that is actually putting good out into the world," series star Melanie Zanetti told ComicBook.com last year. "As an actor, you do a lot of stuff and you're like 'Does any of this matter? I'm not doing brain surgery, I'm not doing aid work -- does this have meaning?' And then to have a show where I've had so many parents tell me, 'This has taught me how to play with my kids,' or dads saying 'this has taught me how to parent the way I want to parent.' I had a teacher who told me they had a student with Autism in their class, and it taught this little boy how to play with other kids and has changed his life at school. When I hear things like that, it makes me go, 'Okay, this is important and useful as well as entertaining and fun and beautiful,' and I think for me, that is the most exciting thing."

Here's how ABC described the Bluey Fest marathon:

Pick your five favourite Bluey episodes and enjoy the Biggest Little Bluey Countdown...for real life!

To celebrate 5 Years of Bluey on ABC Kids, we're counting down the top 100 episodes in the Biggest Little Bluey Countdown!

On Sunday 19 November, Bluey will be taking over the ABC Kids channel from 6am as we count down the top 100 episodes as voted by those who know them best - you and your family!

When it comes to the best shonen anime, there is always a changing of the guard. From Dragon Ball to Naruto and My Hero Academia, each generation has its big hits, and a new era is amongst us. After all, Weekly Shonen Jump has a slew of impressive new titles in print, and now one of them is rumored to be getting an anime at last.

According to a new rumor, Dandadan may be the next Shonen Jump title to head to the small screen. The report has surfaced online ahead of Jump Festa this December. After all, next month will welcome the annual event, and Jump Festa is the place for Shueisha to announce new titles. According to pages like Sugoi Lite, Dandadan is already in the midst of production, but no official word has been given on the report.

Of course, the update has fans clamoring over which studio should handle Dandadan. The supernatural shonen leans to the left with its odd plot and colorful characters. Many netizens believe Science Saru would be a solid choice for Dandadan given its work on Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken. Other studios like Bones could certainly handle the load of Dandadan, so if this anime report rings true, here's to hoping one of these companies oversees its production.

As for those unfamiliar with Dandadan, the series began in April 2021 under Shonen Jump's digital service. The manga is overseen by creator Yukinobu Tatsu, and Dandadan is one of the publisher's best titles of the decade. For those wanting to check it out, the Dandadan manga can be read on the Shonen Jump app. So for more info on Tatsu's story, you can read its official synopsis below:

"Momo Ayase strikes up an unusual friendship with her school's UFO fanatic, whom she nicknames "Okarun" because he has a name that is not to be said aloud. While Momo believes in spirits, she thinks aliens are nothing but nonsense. Her new friend, meanwhile, thinks the exact opposite. To settle matters, the two set out to prove each other wrong-Momo to a UFO hotspot and Okarun to a haunted tunnel! What unfolds next is a beautiful story of young love...and oddly horny aliens and spirits?"

What do you think about this latest anime rumor? Is it time for Dandadan to get a screen adaptation? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

Thanks to his work on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, fans have appreciated Dave Filoni's contributions to the galaxy far, far away for more than a decade, as the filmmaker has become a more and more prominent figure at Lucasfilm, with Filoni himself confirming he is now the chief creative officer at the studio. While Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has long expressed her support of Filoni and how she would consult with him on various projects, Filoni's role will now see him being involved with Star Wars projects much closer to their inception as opposed to offering his input as more substantial projects.

"Now I'm what's called chief creative officer of Lucasfilm," Filoni revealed to Vanity Fair. "In the past, in a lot of projects I would be brought into it, I would see it after it had already developed a good ways."

He continued, "In this new role, it's opened up to basically everything that's going on ... When we're planning the future of what we're doing now, I'm involved at the inception phase."

Kennedy still serves as the president of the studio, while this promotion will see Filoni collaborating more closely not only with Kennedy, but also with Carrie Beck, who is head of development at the studio.

"I'm not telling people what to do," Filoni expressed. "But I do feel I'm trying to help them tell the best story that they want to tell. I need to be a help across the galaxy here, like a part of a Jedi Council almost."

Filoni worked closely with Star Wars creator George Lucas while developing The Clone Wars, and when Lucas sold his studio to The Walt Disney Company in 2012, this resulted in the unexpected end of the animated series. Luckily, Filoni continued working with the studio on Rebels, which ultimately led to him pivoting to the world of live-action directing, as well as a revival of The Clone Wars, the development of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and the development of Star Wars: Ahsoka. Earlier this year, it was announced that Filoni would direct a film set during The New Republic, which would bring together narrative threads from The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett.

The filmmaker confirmed that his new position won't impact the projects he's more directly attached to, such as his movie or a potential Season 2 of Ahsoka.

"To truly help filmmakers, it was really important for me to experience it firsthand," Filoni detailed. "I can also lend a perspective on the challenges that telling these stories will present. I feel more capable of actually being helpful outside of just saying, 'Well, Jedi are like this, and Sith are like this...'"

Stay tuned for updates on the future of the Star Wars franchise.

Are you excited for Filoni's new role? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!