Friday, October 17, 2025
Home Blog Page 745

‘Nancy Drew’: Promo Released for Season 3, Episode 9 “The Voices in the Frost”

0

The CW has released the latest promo for season 3 of Nancy Drew! “The Voices in the Frost” will be directed by series regular Scott Wolf and air on December 10. In the wake of the major revelations about Temperance’s true plans this past week, this episode shows the Drew Crew coming face to face with the Copperhead once again as Ace finds himself in danger.

Nancy Drew airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. You can find our other coverage of the series here!

New ‘Star Wars: The High Republic’ Exclusive Editions Announced

The third wave of phase one of Star Wars: The High Republic is right around the corner, and Lucasfilm has revealed retailer-exclusive editions for two of the books.

There are three exclusive editions fans can choose from of Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray. There is one exclusive edition of Star Wars: The High Republic: Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older.

Lucasfilm

Starting December 6th, Out of Print is offering The Fallen Star with an exclusive jacket designed by artist Jama Jurabaev. Each copy will be signed by the author. It also comes with an exclusive High Republic “For Light and Life” beanie.

Barnes & Noble is offering an exclusive edition of The Fallen Star as well. It features a double-sided poster this is not available anywhere else. You can pre-order this edition here.

Lucasfilm

And Target is joining in on The Fallen Star exclusive editions. Their edition will feature an exclusive cover of the Starlight Beacon, illustrated by Pascal Blanché and painted by Gonzalo Kenny. Pre-orders will launch sometime in the near future.

Lucasfilm

Now for the new young adult novel, Star Wars: The High Republic: Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older is getting an exclusive edition from Walmart. It has an exclusive cover and includes an author Q&A. Pre-orders for this version are available now.

The Fallen Star is arriving January 4, and Midnight Horizon is hitting the stands on February 1. Be sure to stay with Nerds and Beyond for more Star Wars: The High Republic news.

Get a Sneak Peek Behind the Scenes of Universal Orlando Resort in ‘The Making of Jurassic World VelociCoaster’ Special

Universal Orlando Resort and Peacock have released The Making of Jurassic World VelociCoaster special. Hosted by Mario Lopez, it takes theme park fans behind the scenes into the three-year development of the epic new rollercoaster.

Located in Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park, the new coaster is based around the Jurassic World franchise. It launches riders into the Velociraptor enclosure where they will experience speeds of up to 70 mph, heights of 155 feet, high-speed launches and inversions. The coaster also features the franchise’s stars, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and BD Wong.

The special will give fans an insight into what it took to build Florida’s fastest, tallest and most intense launch coaster. It includes insights from Mark Woodbury (President of Universal Creative and Vice Chairman of Universal Parks & Resorts), Thierry Coup (Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of Universal Creative), and project leads, Shelby Honea (Show Producer) and Greg Hall (Art Director) – along with Jurassic World filmmakers, Colin Trevorrow (Director) and Frank Marshall (Producer).

The Making of Jurassic World VelociCoaster is streaming exclusively on Peacock. It is sure to be a hit with theme park fans who love to see behind the scenes. Make sure to check out the clip below!

‘Nancy Drew’: Olivia Taylor Dudley Joins Cast

0

Big news, Nancy Drew fans! Olivia Taylor Dudley has officially arrived in Horseshoe Bay. Dudley is best known for her role on SyFy’s The Magicians, where she played Alice Quinn for five seasons.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “THE BURNING OF THE SORROWS”

Dudley made her debut in last night’s episode, “The Burning of the Sorrows,” as the reincarnated Temperance inside her daughter Charity’s body (confused? Here’s a recap!). It appears Dudley will stick around as Temperance completes her evil plans to finish what she started all those years ago.

Nancy Drew airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. You can find our other coverage of the series here!

‘Nancy Drew’ Recap: Season 3, Episode 8 “The Burning of the Sorrows”

In an episode full of shocking twists, Nancy inches closer to the truth of who (or what) the Frozen Hearts Killer really is as Bess, Nancy, and Temperance team up with Park to take down a demon with its sights set on Temperance. Ace and Ryan find themselves trapped with a ghost as a person from Nick’s past arrives in Horseshoe Bay. Read on to find out whether memories can kill as Temperance’s sorrows come back to haunt her.

Forgive Me

At The Claw, George finds Eve, a friend of Nick’s from childhood. She calls him “Ned” and knows about George being his fiancée. George admits he’s missing and asks Eve to join her so they can get to know each other. Jessie is suspicious, but George brushes her off. At the youth center, the kids ask Eve about Nick’s past. 

Addy tells George what happened the day before as George gets a text from Jessie. Without showing what it says, she goes to leave as Eve follows. Jessie had shared a social media post proving Eve had been to Maine with Nick years ago, which she lied about. George leaves her at the center to find Nick herself. 

Later, when both are unsuccessful, George and Eve meet at The Claw. Eve reveals that she was the one Nick was protecting when the fight broke out that led to his manslaughter conviction. Eve says Nick never answered her letters and that’s why she came to find him. She was scared to tell George because she feels partially responsible. Suddenly, Eve realizes where Nick must be. 

Nick is at the field he played on at football camp, the last place he went before everything changed. George urges Eve to go to Nick alone, and she does. Eve tells Nick he built a good life here, and that she’s sorry. But it turns out she needs help: Eve thinks she killed someone. 

Freddie Freeloader

Ace and George are frantically looking for Nick as Ryan arrives to help. George goes to The Claw while Ryan offers his services to Ace. Ace accepts, “unless you’re having an existential crisis and you don’t want to be alone with your thoughts” (cutting right to the chase).

The two head to the historical society, where they hear knocking sounds (Ace: “It’s probably just old pipes.”) They head to the archives where Ace pulls security footage. Ace asks Ryan if “that feeling” of guilt from couch surfing ever goes away, with Ace sharing that he feels guilty for needing George and Nick’s hospitality and is feeling directionless overall. Just then, the door slams shut on its own and won’t open when Ryan tries it. Ace yells “Hey, let us out!” on the assumption that it was probably a supernatural being, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s right! The pipes clang again as Ace sagely tells Ryan, “I’ve developed a feel for these things.” 

Ryan calls Nancy mid-demon attack (more on that later) to ask for help. Ace stops him from sharing that they’re in danger. Ryan asks what’s going on, and Ace says, “I’m tired of leaning on other people to fix my messes for me,” adding that Ryan does the same. Ryan tells him that whatever’s happening between Ace and Nancy, Ace shouldn’t take it out on him. Ace insists it’s not about Nancy as Ryan scoffs, “Keep telling yourself that.” 

Ryan realizes the knocking the ghost is making is a message. They’re timestamps, and Ace goes to the security footage. It’s all the moments an unknown entity interfered in — the caution tape, Addy kissing Bess while the paper unrolled by itself, and the coaster moving from where Bess placed it. There’s a glitch in the footage each time. Ace tells the ghost that he needs his editing equipment to figure out the glitch, and the door opens. Ace sends Nancy the photos of Burke’s writing. 

Ace listens to the footage alone later, which only contains a voice saying “Die” over and over again.

Better Than Revenge

Shane Harvey/The CW

Park arrives to the Drew home with ominous news: Trott is dead from the effects of the stroke that Temperance caused. He’s investigating the death as foul play, and has some pointed questions for Nancy. She answers them successfully, but it’s clear he’s not fully convinced. 

At the historical society, Bess excitedly tells Temperance about her research into “Copperhead” (her name for the entity). She found a political cartoon from the Civil War featuring men with a similar look, forgetting that Temperance was born in 1824. Bess continues to spill, telling Temperance about how Nancy found the entity’s lair. Temperance sees an old torture device that Bess found in the archives, with Bess explaining that the device can be used to trap supernatural entities. Bess wants to trap the Copperhead, and Temperance agrees to help. As they talk, a roll of caution tape unrolls by itself, hitting Bess’ foot (gee, I wonder what the spirit world is trying to tell her!). In a fantastic shot, the camera (and Temperance) focus on the soul splitter. Bess proudly explains what happened with Odette, and Temperance tells her she’s talented and that she’s glad she put her faith in Bess. 

Nancy rushes in, telling Temperance that Park knows about Trott. She tells Temperance that she made a pledge to rid the town of all evil, and that includes her now. Temperance saunters out, telling Nancy she’s making a mistake as Bess tells Nancy to apologize. It’s clear Nancy’s guilt about her involvement in Trott’s death is clouding her judgement and causing her to be more reckless than usual. 

Shane Harvey/The CW

Bess goes to Icarus Hall without Nancy to beg Temperance to stay. Temperance notes that she’s done nothing but help Nancy while Nancy insists she’s a villain, asking Bess to pick a side. When she leaves, Bess steals the supernatural bait Temperance was going to bring for her (what could go wrong?). In the woods, she and Nancy set up the trap. As they wait for the entity to appear, Park shows up to ask further questions, but as he does so, a beam of light is trapped in the device. Temperance arrives and pushes the three down to save them, getting hit in the process. It burns her, and they run to the hall. 

As Bess freaks out, Park has a rough introduction to the existence of the supernatural as the light demon escapes, following them. But he takes it in stride, surprising Nancy with his casual acceptance. He says, “Just because science can’t explain it, doesn’t mean it’s not real.” He asks about the Copperhead, and Nancy tells him they need to deal with this monster first. 

Bess finds the monster’s name in the archives: the Burning Sorrows. It burns people to feed on their greatest heartbreaks. The only way to stop it from killing Temperance is if it eats her worst memory before she dies — then, the venom will neutralize and the monster will go dormant. Nancy and Bess woke it up. As Bess and Nancy discuss previous cases, Park is once again accepting that this has happened before. Bess thinks that if they feed it with their own heartbreaks, it won’t kill Temperance. 

She goes first, listing her traumas as Nancy joins in. To their surprise, it works. Then Park chimes in with just one name: Eleanor Harris. But it still doesn’t work, and Nancy goes to Temperance, asking her to recall her greatest heartbreak. A ghostly apparition of a woman in Civil War clothes appears, and Temperance is heartbroken. It’s her daughter Charity, and when Nancy asks her to feed that memory to the monster, she angrily shouts that the monster cannot have her as she collapses. 

Park finds out about Temperance’s true nature, which he again handles very well — much to Nancy’s surprise. He notes that nothing is more heartbreaking than the loss of a child, with Nancy realizing that’s why the demon wants that memory. Bess warns Nancy to tread lightly, but still angry at Temperance, Nancy coldly asks her how Charity died. When Temperance refuses to answer, Nancy looks up Charity in old records. Charity died at 18 in 1863. Temperance writhes in pain as she tells them Dow is the reason Charity died. Charity was a nurse in the Civil War who died in the Battle of Gettysburg. Suddenly, the hall fills with the ghosts who died that day, creating a picture of the horror Charity saw. 

Temperance risked everything by coming out of hiding to save her daughter and say goodbye one last time, but she got there too late. Dow used the soul splitter to try to save Charity at the direction of the Women in White specifically to keep Temperance from getting to see her daughter before she died. Charity’s soul split into four pieces, each going to a different soldier on the battlefield that day. This meant Temperance could never find her. Nancy rushes to open the windows as all three believe there couldn’t be a greater sorrow than that one. But it’s not enough, and the wound spreads. 

Shane Harvey/The CW

Bess uses leftover blood of Nancy’s to heal the wound, with Nancy adding fresh blood to help. When she is on the phone with Ace, she asks him to look at the photos from Matthew Burke’s tent (the first FHK victim). He was having recurring nightmares about a battlefield. 

Park bandages Nancy’s hand as she asks him about Eleanor. Eleanor was a six-year-old patient who died in a school shooting while Park was doing a rotation in the ER. Her death was brutal, and it shook Park, inspiring him to become a profiler. Nancy notes he doesn’t carry a gun, and Park says Eleanor is the reason he doesn’t. 

Park asks Temperance what really happened with the Women in White. We see the day Temperance was banished, with Cora Dow taking little Charity away by turning Charity’s father against Temperance. Cora, Charity’s father, and Charity appear as ghosts. Charity’s doll is the doll from the entity’s cage. As Temperance’s mind resists the demon, the three ghosts become real in a creepy sequence, going after Bess, Park, and Nancy. They open a window to let the demon in, destroying the ghosts. 

Shane Harvey/The CW

Nancy runs to Temperance, asking what greater heartbreak could possibly have happened. Temperance says that Charity betrayed her, and teenage Charity’s ghost appears again. She married Beckett Dow, Cora’s son and the inventor of the soul splitter who eventually tried to save her with the device. She also told Cora that her mother was still alive. In one last fight, Temperance tells Charity she hopes she dies on the battlefield, an angry moment she regrets. This is the memory, and when they fling open the windows again, Temperance screams in agony as she burns. 

Outside Icarus Hall, Nancy tells Park the truth about Trott. Park says she was never a suspect, but he could tell she was lying. He also tells Nancy Temperance is awake, and she goes inside to ask about Burke. Temperance tells Nancy his Gettysburg memories are a result of Charity’s split reincarnated soul, noting that only the Copperhead can find her now. The Copperhead is Beckett Dow, transformed by his mother’s magic. The connection between the victims is that they all carried a piece of Charity’s soul. Burke and Jake were two out of the four pieces, and once he gets the final two, the Copperhead will destroy himself. Temperance weeps as she says she just wanted to touch those pieces one last time. 

Shane Harvey/The CW

Temperance says that her body is corrupted, but that she can use a lock of Charity’s hair to renew her body in a ritual. Nancy, Bess, and Park all offer to help, but Temperance says she has to do it alone. In a twist, Temperance returns: but in Charity’s body (welcome to Horseshoe Bay, Olivia Taylor Dudley!). All seems well … until Temperance writes a letter to Charity explaining her evil plan. Temperance intentionally baited the Burning Sorrows to get Nancy to trust her. Nancy is the key to her plan to unite her and Charity’s souls once again … “and finish what we started.” Temperance picks up the original soul splitter and stares at it fondly as the screen goes black. 

Nancy Drew airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. You can find our other coverage of the series here!

‘Nancy Drew’: Images Released for Season 3, Episode 9 “The Voices in the Frost”

0

The CW has released the latest batch of images for season 3 of Nancy Drew! “The Voices in the Frost” will air on December 10 and features Nancy and Park looking into the origins of the Frozen Hearts Killer as Ace is prevented from assisting. Nick, George, and Bess will be investigating the mysterious death of a college student.

Nancy Drew airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. You can find our other coverage of the series here!

‘Riverdale’: New Photos Released for Season 6, Episode 5 “Chapter One Hundred: The Jughead Paradox”

0

The CW has released new photos from the fifth and final part of Riverdale‘s five-episode event, “Rivervale,” which will also serve as the series’ 100th episode! “Chapter One Hundred: The Jughead Paradox” will find Jughead uncovering the truth about Rivervale.

The full synopsis for the 100th episode of Riverdale reads:

“100th EPISODE — Unnerved by a series of strange happenings around him, Jughead’s (Cole Sprouse) quest for answers leads him to uncover the truth about Rivervale.”

Check out the photos below, which feature some very familiar faces and pay tribute to Archie Comics!

“Chapter One Hundred: The Jughead Paradox” airs Tuesday, December 14 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on The CW! Check out our other coverage on the “Rivervale” event here.

‘The Flash’: Season 8, Episode 4 “Armageddon, Part 4” Photos

1

New photos for “Armageddon, Part 4,” the third installment in the five-part special kicking off season 8 of The Flash, have finally arrived. Before checking out the images below, make sure to check out the description of the episode here.

“Armageddon, Part 4” (the penultimate episode in the Armageddon special) will air on December 7.

As always, check out all of our coverage concerning the Scarlet Speedster here. Stay tuned for more updates, and make sure to tune in to The Flash on The CW in its new time slot — Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.

Interview: Adam Sherman, Vanessa Marano, and Natasha Henstridge Discuss ‘This Game’s Called Murder’

0

Adam Sherman’s newest film, This Game’s Called Murder, is out now. The movie follows the eccentric Wallendorf family. Mr. Wallendorf (Ron Perlman) is a fashion mogul who only makes one type of shoe: red high heels. Mrs. Wallendorf (Natasha Henstridge) is his conniving wife harboring her fair share of brutality. Their daughter, Jennifer (Vanessa Marano), dominates social media, seeking love, friendship, and her own path in the world. However, as the family attempts to maintain their public image, their violent tendencies begin to tear them apart.

To celebrate the movie’s release, we sat down to talk with writer/director/producer Adam Sherman, and stars Vanessa Marano and Natasha Henstridge. The three discuss what stood out to them about the film, insight into the characters, and more. Read on to see what the trio had to say about This Game’s Called Murder!

Note: This interview was edited for clarity.

Nerds & Beyond: I’m going to start with Adam. What prompted you to tell this story?

Adam Sherman: I don’t know; I’m a storyteller and I have to tell stories. And I love fairy tales and crazy stories. I try to tell stories that are unique and just out there. I think I wanted to tell a story that was kind of like a fairy tale, and, of course, very dark. But you know, fairy tales usually are. So, I just made a weird modern fairy tale as best I could and let everyone that I was working with help. They were all wonderful at making it even weirder, and so I just went with it, you know. And it became like this cool, crazy thing.

Nerds & Beyond: Similarly, for Vanessa and Natasha, what drew you to this project?

Vanessa Marano: The fact that it was so weird. I mean it’s one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever read in my entire life. There’s something so cool about that, because I think as a performer, as any sort of storyteller, as an artist in general, you always want to be pushing yourself and doing something different. And that’s exactly what this experience was. It was so unique and so special, and there was a tremendous amount of freedom on Adam’s part for us to kind of find these characters and their arcs as we go along and find deeper meaning to the absolutely nonsensical words that they were saying. So, that was really, really awesome.

Also, it’s shot in Los Angeles, which is a huge deal. So many of these independent films take you to the middle of nowhere locations, and it was really awesome to get to shoot in this city and have this city be a part of the narrative. I can only think of a few rom coms where the city plays as big as a role in that it’s a part of the story. I hadn’t seen it done in this type of film before, and it was really cool to infuse that.

Natasha Henstridge: Similarly, to Vanessa, I would say that reading it – I mean, I don’t know if Adam probably hates that I’m saying this, but I’ve always been a fan of David Lynch and just obscure, abstract concepts, ideas. They’re there, but visually they’re interesting. I’ve seen Adam’s other films, and although I’m not quite understanding what I’m saying some of the time when I was reading some of the dialogue, when I first read the script, [there were] undertones and overtones. For me, I got my version of those things. I saw things in there that I was like, “Oh, interesting. I think he’s trying to say this.” [laughs] You can do that to death, right, and part of this is the ride, and it’s the fun. Then it’s getting to do something so off center and just – abstract is kind of a good word for it – getting to act that. And there’s a freedom in that. There’s such a freedom and doing something that’s theatrical in a way.

Then, you know, getting to work with Adam initially and the freedom that we had. There’d be like one comment or two or something that would make you think about something, but there was a lot of freedom involved. So, doing a project where you trust the director, you trust the storytelling process even though the script seems so bizarre, you’re like, “Huh. I’ve seen his other stuff, but I really want to be a part of something he’s doing.” So, for me, that was a big part of it.

this game's called murder interview
Cranked Up Films

Nerds & Beyond: Sort of going off that, this movie is just very zany, and Natasha, I feel like your character really fits into that, you know. She’s got a lot going on. What were some of the challenges of bringing a character like Mrs. Wallendorf to life?

Natasha Henstridge: I think a lot of it – I don’t know if there’s a challenge… well, stabbing somebody while doing a scene and giving dialogue was pretty challenging, not gonna lie… while shooting blood on my face. [laughs] But honestly, I looked at it as even her character with the mirror, and the mirror telling her what to do, when you think of Desperate Housewives – and not to belittle, because they have a lot of… there’s mental illness and a lot of that – but I thought of bipolar disorder, and all of that kind of stuff. But again, not based on the reality. And they had a really sort of intense version of stuff like that. Then I thought if the whole family has people that have so much, and they’re doing some of those crazy things and just expressing that, but in a really, really heightened reality kind of way and making it zany and over-the-top in every possible way. But some of the baseline stuff is that for me, and I thought, “That’s interesting,” and just fun. Just a fun thing to do, just a really fun project to be part of.

And fun costumes. I mean it’s all over the place, isn’t it. Even the hair and makeup and the costume people that we work with. They were so creative. You’re in different periods, and I mean it’s a modern-day film, but the periods and the craziness of all of that. When I read it, I thought, “There’s no way for an independent film they’re gonna come up with [that]. They’re not gonna make this look the way it does in my brain. And then I show up to set one day, and I’m driving up to the house, and Vanessa’s in this crazy outfit, and there’s doll heads hanging, and I’m like, “My god. They managed to do it. They managed to make this as crazy as it read.” [laughs] It’s just fun.

this game's called murder interview
Cranked Up Films

Nerds & Beyond: Bouncing back to Vanessa, I was really drawn to Jennifer and how you portrayed her. Can you talk a little bit about how you approached creating this character?

Vanessa Marano: Yeah! I know, it’s so funny, we do these interviews back-to-back, so I’m sure Adam and Natasha feel like I’m a broken record at this point. [laughs] Once I really pieced together this idea of like fairy tale, Disney princess, going on an adventure but with the attitude of a Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard, who was like, I’m so famous, but it’s so dark, and no one understands me, and also maybe I’m going to murder my boyfriend by the end of this, maybe not. We’ll see who ends up in the pool. Like that really was Jennifer encompassed. That with an alcohol problem. I’ve never chugged so much ginger ale as a stand in for champagne in my entire life. [laughs]

Nerds & Beyond: Bouncing back to Adam, you’ve all been talking about the way that this film was able to look, and I really, really like the general aesthetic of it. How did you go about choosing what you wanted this movie to look like?

Adam Sherman: It was really a lot of work, a lot of hard work, and a lot of great people to work with. I worked all the time. I physically helped with some set dressing. I collaborated with some wonderful people, and you know, I just did my best.

this game's called murder interview
Cranked Up Films

Nerds & Beyond: And a part of that is these very vibrant reds, especially those red shoes. And this one is for all of you. In the context of the film, what do these red shoes mean to you personally? How did they enhance this experience for you?

Adam Sherman: I wanted something kind of iconic and simple. And that goes back to Grimm’s Fairy Tales, like the fairy tale of the red shoes. The red shoes are a thing where the lady dances in them until she dies, and so I wanted it to be red shoes. Then the glossy red shoes were just something that I thought would be iconic and beautiful visually, you know.

Natasha Henstridge: That’s so interesting, Adam, because I always thought there was some connection to Louboutin – you know Christian Louboutin – these very expensive red, bottom shoes, and I thought there was some connection to that. But it’s interesting to hear you say that it goes back to the fairy tales.  I don’t even know the one you’re talking about but fascinating. I need to look that up, that’s interesting.

Vanessa Marano: I think also it’s a stand-in for something so simple. Like it’s a simple red pump and all the corruption that follows it, and sort of that commentary on materialism, consumerism, and advertising. And the world has to have these very, very simple things. Adam revealed in another interview that even ramen in the movie is a very, very simple, cheap thing that, to put into a grocery store, it actually costs way more money to distribute that way. So, it’s a commentary on consumerism in that way, and also the actual buying and selling and the labor involved in the material things that we purchase, and how it’s advertised to us as something we have to have is a huge theme in this movie.

Adam Sherman: Yes. What she said. [laughs]

Natasha Henstridge: Yeah. [laughs] That. That’s it.

Vanessa Marano: Did I figure it out? Did I figure out what the movie’s about?!

Natasha Henstridge: You did! You finally unravelled the whole thing, yipee! [laughs]

Nerds & Beyond: Going back a little bit to your characters, I also thought it was interesting how these women really do depend on Mr. Wallendorf in some respects, but they also have no problem scheming against him. I mean, obviously it has a very shocking ending in that regard. What was your experience like having to play a mother-daughter duo like that who have this one thing in common but don’t really have a great relationship with each other?

Natasha Henstridge: I personally have a lot of experience. I have two children of my own, and so no matter what you do – I mean I’ve got good kids – but no matter what you do, how hard you try, and what you give, and how much you sacrifice and whatever… Mrs. Wallendorf is a little, you know, I mean this is an edgier version those things. But the undertone of that, like even I was saying earlier, even in the trailer there’s a scene where she’s giving advice, and she’s being philosophical, and she’s doing these things, and Vanessa’s character looks at her and is just like, “I hate you.” And it’s just deadpanned. And honestly, even though that’s a crazy, silly, bizarre scene, it struck a chord with me. So, it was like, I’ve been there, I’ve tried, I’ve been, I’ve done all these things. So, it’s a very heightened version of something that actually to me, I responded to in a weird way that I think we all have. I mean I was kind of used to her response to me in the film [laughs] in some ways, you know. What about you, Vanessa? What did you see in our relationship?

Vanessa Marano: I think Jennifer is toeing a line between rebelling against her mother and becoming her mother. I think that’s constantly the thing that leads to rebellion. You’re trying to push yourself so far away from the thing that has raised you, to the thing that you think defines you, to the thing that you think you can’t stand. And ultimately through that rebellion it ends up making you even more like that person. In many ways, Jennifer falls into that trap in some regards with how she ends up handling things at the end. She handles things the way her family has been handling them, in a way to burn it all down, though. So, she kind of accomplishes both of like getting away with it. Or getting away from it but becoming it in order to do so.

Nerds & Beyond: My final question for all of you is what do you hope viewers take away from this movie?

Vanessa Marano: I said it before, I hope they laugh. I hope that they find big enjoyment with the humor that’s infused into this incredibly unique and bizarre world.

Adam Sherman: I just hope people see it and understand that it’s a satirical dark comedy and not something that’s meant to mean something drastic about you and I. In reality, it’s a movie. I just hope someone watches it and they enjoy it. That’s all.

Natasha Henstridge:  I’m with that. I go with that, too. [laughs]

Thank you to Adam, Vanessa, and Natasha for taking time to chat with us! This Game’s Called Murder is out now in theaters and On Demand. Find tickets and digital watch links here. Check out the trailer below.

‘The Expanse’ Season 6 Review: An Appropriate Conclusion to the Sci-Fi Series

The last season of Prime Video’s The Expanse returns for a six-episode run on December 10. Still amid the war between the Free Navy, Earth, and Mars, the Rocinante joins the fleet to put an end to Marco’s persistent asteroid attacks.

Note: This review is spoiler-free.

Through most of the season, the Roci crew, while back together, are still reeling from Alex’s death. It’s shaken them up, testing them like never before, and proves they may not be as whole as they once were. They’ve inserted themselves into a space war and must get on the same page about what exactly their goal is.

Season 5 of the series was arguably its best, finally finding a footing after transferring to Prime Video from Syfy in season 4. With the Rocinante crew on their own adventures, the ten episodes fleshed-out backstories and deeper storylines for many of the characters. It also introduced Filip Inaros, Marco and Naomi’s son. Naomi spent much of last season trying to get him to see the error of his father’s way, but he wanted nothing to do with it. 

Jasai Chase Owens in the expanse season 6
Shane Mahood/Amazon Studios

Jasai Chase Owens’ portrayal of Filip is a highlight of season 6. He’s fiery, wanting to prove himself capable of leading to his father. However, something is eating at him, constantly fighting the mental battle of his belonging.

The on-screen chemistry between Owens and Keon Alexander is truly captivating. Bringing in two new characters so late into a developed series to have them play father and son is no easy feat. Not only that, they’re spearheading an all out war that they’re fighting in for their own reasons.

Nadine Nicole in the expanse season 6
Shane Mahood/Amazon Studios

Including Clarissa once again this season and having her join the Roci crew makes for an interesting development. That Holden can set aside his differences with Clarissa in an “all hands on deck” approach is the beginning of a wonderful redemption arc. 

Her rekindled friendship with Amos was one of the best things to come out of season 5 and it’s amped up even more for season 6. She’s not without her faults and Amos knows that, but he sees a lot of himself in her. She committed heinous acts under the wrong belief system.

A shorter season means less time to pack in a lot of stories, but it doesn’t shy away from the action. While understandable why the season is short, it seemed to have trouble navigating the pace. While the first half was slower, the backend of the season felt too rushed.

As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. Season 6 of The Expanse instills hope for the future in an age of uncertainty. Despite its weaker moments, it is a rewarding, appropriate cap on the beloved characters of Franck and Abraham’s novel series. The Expanse has never shied away from building off of the source material. However, this time it not only honored the series but the fans who have stood by through all of its tribulations.

The Expanse will conclude its six-episode run on January 14, 2022. Stay tuned for our ongoing coverage including recaps and other related content! Check out our season 5 recap as a refresher before the premiere!