Jensen Ackles stars in trailer for new Prime Video series ‘Countdown’

Jensen Ackles at the CW Summer TCA All-Star Party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 4^ 2019 in Beverly Hills^ CA

Prime Video is sharing the trailer for the new series Countdown, starring Jensen Ackles as LAPD detective Mark Meachum, who is recruited into a secret task force to investigate the murder of a Department of Homeland Security officer.

The show’s official logline reads, “When an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight, LAPD detective Mark Meachum is recruited to a secret task force, alongside undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement, to investigate. But the hunt for the killer soon uncovers a plot far more sinister than anyone could have imagined, kicking off a race against time to save a city of millions.”

Countdown is created, executive produced and showrun by Derek Haas, and also stars Eric Dane, Jessica Camacho, Violett Beane, Elliot Knight and Uli Latukefu.

As previously announced, the series will launch with its first three episodes on June 25, with new episodes to follow weekly, leading up to the season finale on Sept. 3. See the trailer: HERE.

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31st annual Critics Choice Awards to kick-off awards season in 2026, returning Jan. 4

Nicole Kidman at the Critics Choice Awards 2025. SANTA MONICA^ USA. February 07^ 2025

The 31st annual Critics Choice Awards is scheduled to kick-off awards season on Jan. 4, 2026, airing on E! and USA Network. The event will take place at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Per a press release, the awards show celebrates “the finest in cinematic and television achievement,” with television nominations announced Dec. 4, followed by movie categories the next day (December 5th).

Joey Berlin, CCA CEO, in a statement: “The Critics Choice Association is excited to kick off awards season as the first major televised show of 2026. In our expanded partnership with E! and USA Network, we’re joined again in our shared mission to uplift the creative community and their incredible work — while also deepening our relationship with live events audiences and awards devotees alike. Together, we are proud to continue making the Critics Choice Awards a can’t-miss awards season destination, delivering unforgettable speeches and momentum-building moments championing our industry’s best. CCA is excited to build upon our three-decades of experience driving the awards conversation and, this year, take the lead with our show on January 4.”

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Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire, Niall Horan, and Michael Bublé returning to coach Season 28 of ‘The Voice’

Snoop Dogg at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Once Upon a Time In Hollywood' held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood^ USA on July 22^ 2019.

NBC has announced that Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg, Niall Horan, and Michael Bublé will return for the upcoming 28th season of The Voice, which premieres this fall.

McEntire will serve as coach for a fourth time (having previously appeared on seasons 24-26). Bublé returns for a third season (he’s been a coach for seasons 26 and the ongoing 27th season) as will Horan, who coached during seasons 23-24. Snoop Dogg made his coaching debut in season 26, and return for a second season.

According to Deadline, the show will kick off in September with back-to-back two-hour episodes on both Mondays and Tuesdays. After the initial three weeks, The Voice will shift to airing on Mondays only through December (these plans could still change depending on the final NBA schedule).

McEntire will also be working on another NBC project this fall — her comedy series Happy’s Place has been renewed for a second season on Peacock.

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Lorde shares video for ‘Man of the Year’

Lorde arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology May 2^ 2016 - New York^ New York^ USA

Follows the success of her hit single “What Was That,” Lorde, 28, is back with the video for ‘Man of the Year.’

The video for the song, co-produced by Lorde and Jim-E Stack, shows Lorde grappling with a “recent ego death” in a New York apartment that is empty except for a chair and a pile of dirt. She replaces a white shirt with gray tape across her chest.

Lorde also shared the tracklist for her upcoming ‘Virgin’ LP; in addition to “Man of the Year” and the previously released “What Was That,” other songs on Virgin include “Hammer,” “Shapeshifter,” “Favorite Daughter,” “Current Affairs,” “Clearblue,” “GRWM,” “Broken Glass,” “If She Could See Me Now” and “David.”

What Was That debuted at No. 1 on US Spotify and climbed to No. 5 globally, marking Lorde’s highest streaming debut since “Royals.”  She also previously announced her Ultrasound World Tour, which kicks off in September through December.

See the video for ‘Man of the Year’ – HERE.

Pre-order ‘Virgin’ – HERE.

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Dwayne Johnson stars in trailer for ‘The Smashing Machine’

Dwayne Johnson at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Rampage' held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles^ USA on April 4^ 2018.

A24 is previewing The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson as MMA fighter and two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion Mark Kerr.

Written, directed, co-produced and co-edited by Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine tells the story of the legendary mixed martial artist and fighter. The biopic marks Safdie’s solo directorial feature debut from a script he wrote (he previously co-directed and wrote the films “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time.”)

Johnson is nearly unrecognizable in the trailer, which shows him wearing a wig and prosthetic makeup to fully transform into Kerr; while Emily Blunt co-stars as Kerr’s wife, Dawn Staples. Mixed martial artist Ryan Bader, actor and former mixed martial artist Bas Rutten, and Ukrainian professional boxer Oleksandr Usyk also star in the upcoming film.

The real-life Kerr competed in matchups from 1997 to 2009, winning four ADCC World Championships over the course of his career. His life was the subject of a 2002 HBO documentary, which was also titled “The Smashing Machine” (a reference to Kerr’s nickname). Kerr posted about the upcoming biopic on Instagram, writing, “I am still in disbelief that this is real. I am so proud of the work DJ put into becoming The Smashing Machine. I have so much gratitude, humility and respect for ever litlle [sic] detail production uncovered. Can’t wait to share this experience with the world.”

The Smashing Machine debuts in theaters on October 3; see the trailer – HERE.

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Nikki Glaser returning to host 2026 Golden Globes, set for January 11

Nikki Glaser at the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills^ USA on January 5^ 2025.

Comedian Nikki Glaser will return for the second, consecutive year as host of the 2026 Golden Globe Awards ceremony, slated to take place in Los Angeles on Jan. 11. The ceremony is frequently held the first weekend of January, but will shift to the second weekend of January in 2026.

The 83rd annual Golden Globes, honoring excellence in TV and film, will be broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif, airing on CBS and Paramount+. Nominations for the awards will be announced on Dec. 8. Also per usual, the Globes

The Globes announced last month that Glaser would return for a second year in a row as host after helming the award show’s 2025 edition. The most recent Globes posted an average of 9.3 million viewers. Glaser said in a statement: “Hosting the Golden Globes this year was without a doubt the most fun I have ever had in my career. I can’t wait to do it again, and this time in front of the team from The White Lotus, who will finally recognize my talent and cast me in season four as a Scandinavian Pilates instructor with a shadowy past.”

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Bruno Mars sets nine additional 2025 Las Vegas performances

Bruno Mars performs at the inaugural iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Las Vegas^ NV^ USA: September 23^ 2011

Bruno Mars is coming back to Las Vegas, with nine additional 2025 performances at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas.

The multi-Grammy Award-winning singer shared the added dates: August 22, 23, 26, 27, 30 and 31, and September 3, 5, and 6.

Mars recently wrapped up performances this past May/June. Mars originally opened his run at Park MGM on New Year’s Eve weekend 2018, and to date has performed more shows at Dolby Live than any other headliner.

For ticket info, head HERE.

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HAIM share “Take me back” from upcoming LP ‘I Quit’

Este Haim^ Danielle Haim and Alana Haim of HAIM at the Hammer Museum Gala In The Garden held at the Hammer Museum in Westwood^ USA on October 14^ 2017.

HAIM have released “Take me back,” the fourth single from their forthcoming album I quit.

“Take Me Back” follows previously released singles “Relationships” and “Down to Be Wrong” in addition to “Everybody’s Trying to Figure Me Out.”

I Quit will be released on June 20th; the 15-track album was produced by Rostam Batmanglij and Danielle Haim.

In September, HAIM will hit the road for a 23-date North American tour supporting the album, dubbed the “I quit tour.” After the kickoff in Philadelphia on September 4th, the sisters will perform in Toronto, New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Nashville, Los Angeles, and more cities before wrapping on October 11th in Santa Barbara, California. Get tickets here.

Listen to ‘Take me back’ via lyric video – HERE.

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Will Sharpe, Ayo Edebiri to star in Apple TV+ rom-com ‘Prodigies’

Ayo Edebiri at the 77th Annual Directors Guild Awards at the Beverly Hilton. LOS ANGELES^ USA. February 08^ 2025

The new Apple TV+ romantic comedy series Prodigies will star Will Sharpe and Ayo Edebiri.

Described in the synopsis as an “unusual take” on a classic romantic comedy, the series “is set to explore the universal complexities of long-term relationships through the lens of a very unique couple. The story follows Didi (Edebiri) and Ren (Sharpe), two ex-child prodigies who have been together since they were children and, now in their early 30s, are starting to question whether their very ordinary existence is living up to the extraordinary promise of their childhood. As the description goes, they, inevitably, find themselves asking the same questions of their relationship … As they reflect on their individual aspirations and evolving desires, their relationship is inevitably called into question. The series explores the myth at the heart of many romantic stories — that everything is resolved once the couple ends up together.”

Sharpe not only stars in the series, but also serves as creator, writer and director. He and Edebiri serve as executive producers alongside Jane Featherstone, Naomi De Pear, and Katie Carpenter. A release date has yet to be announced.

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Avril Lavigne shares the track “Young & Dumb” featuring Simple Plan

Avril Lavigne at "The Hustle" Premiere at the ArcLight Hollywood on May 8^ 2019 in Los Angeles^ CA

Avril Lavigne have teamed up once again with Simple Plan for a new single called ‘Young & Dumb’.

The Montreal rock band opened for Avril on last year’s Greatest Hits tour, but share a long history – they also appeared together for Lavigne’s first-ever arena shows in 2003.

Lavigne shared of the joint track: “This really feels like a full-circle moment. Simple Plan joined me on the road last year for my Greatest Hits Tour, but our history goes way back—we first toured together in 2003 during my very first arena run. We were just a bunch of small-town Canadian kids who had just released our first records. We clicked right away and have been close ever since .. As for how the joint new track came about. A few months ago, I called them up, and we got together in the studio to write ‘Young & Dumb’. We wanted to capture that special time in our lives – when everything was new, and we were chasing our dreams. This song is for our fans. It’s a tribute to the past, but also a celebration of the present. In our hearts, we’re still those same kids, and our love for music hasn’t changed. It’s about friendship, nostalgia and the way music has kept us connected through the years. I can’t wait to share it with you live this summer.”

The single arrives alongside Lavigne’s spring 2025 North American leg of her Greatest Hits Tour, where she’ll be joined on the road by Simple Plan, Fefe Dobson, and We The Kings. Later in the year, she’s also slated to appear at Las Vegas’ When We Were Young festival in October.

Listen to Young & DumbHERE.

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com