“The Pendragon Cycle” is not just about epic battles and otherworldly magic — it’s also very much a study of human relationships. And one of the most fascinating relationships is the strong yet complicated bond between brothers Aurelius and Uther. 
Portrayed in the series by Finney Cassidy and Myles Clohessy, respectively, the legendary figures are at the heart of Stephen R. Lawhead’s Arthurian saga, embodying two completely different paths toward power, loyalty, and destiny.
For Cassidy, stepping into the role of Aurelius felt less like a decision and more like something that simply “shook out the way it was supposed to.”
“It was kind of between Aurelius and Merlin that I read for,” Cassidy recalled of the lengthy audition process. “But looking back at the project now, when you watch it, and being amongst everyone on set, it was the most perfect casting. There was something about him where there was a bit of me in Aurelius… I felt like I couldn’t have played anyone else.”
Clohessy’s draw to Uther came from a different place entirely, as he’s been a longtime fan of Arthurian legend.
“I was a huge history buff regarding the whole legend and lore of King Arthur in the first place,” Clohessy said. “I grew up with those tales. And especially being an American, getting to dive into the world of King Arthur and the creation of the Kingdom of Britain … that was really cool.”
Both actors immersed themselves in Lawhead’s book to help develop the characters. 
“[The books] gave me real depth for the character,” Cassidy said. “You really understood who he was. When you’ve got the adapted scripts and the novel, you can draw your own version of Aurelius.”
For Clohessy, discovering the deeper layers of Uther’s story was a revelation, even with his knowledge of the legend.
“I had no idea that Uther was essentially King Arthur’s father,” he said. “I didn’t know there was that whole love triangle going on. I thought going in, we were going to be on the same team throughout the whole thing.”
That tension between loyalty and resentment defines the brothers’ on-screen relationship. Cassidy described Aurelius as the level-headed opposite of Uther’s brute strength and volatility.
“Uther’s very much a hothead, and I’m the one who kind of brings it down,” Cassidy said. “He wants to deal with things with his hands. Aurelius absolutely wants to talk things out. But if it got to the point where he did have to fight, he would. He’s not a pushover.” 
Clohessy agreed, noting that their real-life dynamic is surprisingly similar.“Finney is the more level-headed of us as friends, and I’m the more hot-headed brute,” he said. 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Aurelius and Uther Teaser: Brothers Before Kings" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9FOpdnJodis?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
As for his character, the actor says Uther has a singular focus.
“My loyalty is to my brother,” he went on. “And you see in the arguments I have with the other kings, my whole through line &#8230; is to make sure my brother is safe and make sure my brother is king. I&#8217;m his battle chief. I&#8217;m there to support him and to defend him.”
The weight of those roles was amplified by the show’s incredible production scale, which both actors credited as being an important component to their performances. Cassidy recalled his first day on set.
“You turn up, and there’s 50 horses being dressed, a hundred supporting artists,” he said. “The day they put me in the costume… it instantly felt real.’”
Clohessy echoed the sentiment, calling the production value “everything.”
“Without it, the show would be nothing,” he said. “They’re ‘Game of Thrones’ level sets. Hundreds of horses, massive locations across Europe. If the scale isn’t there, not only will the actors not be able to dive in, but the audience won’t either.”
While epic battles define much of “The Pendragon Cycle,” both actors pointed to quieter moments between the brothers as the most impactful. Cassidy described a scene with no dialogue that resonated deeply.
“There was just a look between the two brothers,” he said. “No dialogue, nothing, but it just means everything. They’ve been through a lot. It was my favorite moment of my performance.”
Offscreen, that brotherhood translated into real friendship. Both actors agreed that their favorite behind-the-scenes memory was a snow day that shut down production and turned into an all-cast snowball fight.
“We ended up having this massive snowball fight,” Clohessy said. “Just acting like total doofuses.”
Cassidy said, “Being adults dressed in medieval outfits, having a major snowball fight… that kind of says everything.”
“The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin” premieres January 22, 2026. Early episodes are currently available for DailyWire+ All Access members.

Pendragon-Uther-Aurelius-Thumbnail-DW-logo

Inside ‘The Pendragon Cycle’: Aurelius And Uther’s Brotherly Bond Shapes The Fate Of Britain

DailyWire+

Entertainment

Television

The Pendragon Cycle

Jenny McCarthy gave a definitive answer to the question of whether she’d consider returning to her spot on “The View.”
The 53-year-old celebrity was a co-host of the show from 2013 to 2014 during season 17. She discussed that experience, as well as her current feelings about the show, on a Tuesday episode of  “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
&#8220;The reason why they wanted to bring me on [originally] is because they, quote, said it was too polarizing. They thought it was too polarizing back then, you guys,&#8221; McCarthy told the podcast host. She said her inclusion was meant to add “light and fluffy and fun” content to balance out more serious topics.
&#8220;Well, that lasted a week. That lasted a whole week,&#8221; McCarthy continued. &#8220;And back then, I didn&#8217;t consider myself to be a political person, which is why I thought I was perfect for the job. After a week, when they said they wanted to get political, I was like, &#8216;Oh my God, what am I going to do?'&#8221;
&#8220;They&#8217;re like, &#8216;Today we’re going to be discussing the hostage situation and whether the United States government should pay the ransom or not. And I was like, &#8216;What?'&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;m like, &#8216;I just know who won Dancing with the Stars.&#8217; So getting through that year was really difficult.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Jenny McCarthy Talks Vaccines &amp; Hollywood | KMP Ep.21" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J5zMkOPBhw4?start=2427&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The “Masked Singer” judge said that she is &#8220;much more political in terms of having opinions&#8221; now than she was back then, adding that &#8220;our latest administration has helped so much.&#8221; 
&#8220;But, back then? Ooh, I would not, I would never even,&#8221; McCarthy added. &#8220;They’ve asked me to come back for, like, reunion shows. I was like, over my dead body would I ever step foot in that place.&#8221;
The celeb also said Hollywood gets “everything wrong” about “real America,” pointing to Bill Maher as someone who isn’t afraid to pop the “woke bubble” that Hollywood elites exist inside.
McCarthy, a huge supporter of the MAHA movement, is extremely skeptical of vaccines and supports HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “There are more conservatives than you would know hiding out in Hollywood,” she <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/jenny-mccarthy-hollywood-conservatives-hiding-maha-1236612761/">said</a> in December.

Jenny McCarthy

‘Over My Dead Body’: Jenny McCarthy Says She Will Never Return To ‘The View’

Jenny McCarthy Says She'd Never Return To 'The View': 'Over My Dead Body'

Celebrities

Hollywood

The View

Former late night host Conan O’Brien shared words of warning for comedians who do nothing but bash President Trump, saying they are “just screaming” and need to try harder to come up with “funny” material.
“I think some comics go the route of, I’m going to just say ‘F Trump’ all the time and that’s their comedy. And I think, well now … you’re being co-opted because you’re so angry,” O’Brien said during an interview with the Oxford Union on Tuesday.
He added, “You’ve been lulled. It’s like a siren leading you into the rocks. You’ve been lulled into just saying ‘F Trump. F Trump. F Trump. Screw this guy.’ And I think you’ve now put down your best weapon, which is being funny, and you’ve exchanged it for anger.”
“And that person or any person like that would say, ‘Well, things are too serious now. I don’t need to be funny.’ And I think, well, if you’re a comedian, you always need to be funny,” O’Brien went on. “You just have to find a way. And you just have to find a way to channel that anger into a way … because good art will always be a great weapon, will always be a perfect weapon against power. But if you’re just screaming and you’re just angry, you’ve lost your best tool in the toolbox.”
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The late night alum said it’s “tricky” for comedians to tackle politics.
“I have very strong political feelings and views, but my comedy is something that I don’t have that kind of control over, in a way,” O’Brien said. “There’s so much of what I’ve done in my life that’s impulse.”
Last August, following the announcement that “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert was being canceled, O’Brien predicted that late night television in its current form would soon “disappear.”
“It’s all electrifying a new generation of viewers,” the longtime host continued. “Yes, late-night television, as we have known it since around 1950, is going to disappear. But those voices are not going anywhere. People like Stephen Colbert are too talented and too essential to go away,” he said at the time, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/conan-obrien-predicts-late-night-shows-will-disappear-following-colbert-cancellation?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Conan+O%E2%80%99Brien+Predicts+Late+Night+Shows+Will+%E2%80%98Disappear%E2%80%99+Following+Colbert+Cancellation">reported</a>.

Conan O’Brien

Conan O’Brien Criticizes Trump-Bashing Comedians For Nonstop ‘Anger’: ‘You’re Just Screaming’

Conan O'Brien Criticizes Trump-Bashing Comedians For Nonstop 'Anger': 'You're Just Screaming'

comedian

Comedy

Conan O'Brien

Donald Trump

U.S.

Late-night host and chronic Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferer Jimmy Kimmel weighed in on the chaos that erupted in Minneapolis on Wednesday after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman who federal officials say tried to plow him over with her car.
The comedian held up a red T-shirt during his monologue, emblazoned with the words “Donald J. Trump Is Gonna Kill You,” and suggested that this was the “new slogan” for MAGA supporters. Kimmel went on to disparage Trump’s response to the shooting, saying, “This maniac, he’s not just killing people overseas.” 
“An ICE agent today shot and killed an unarmed 37-year-old woman during an ICE operation in Minneapolis. They’re there under the guise of protecting us,” he went on. Kimmel then shared the president’s response on social media and disagreed with Trump’s assessment that the woman was acting in a “disorderly” manner and “obstructing and resisting.”
“Now, I saw this video,” Kimmel said. “It didn’t look like anybody got run over to me. It looked to me like a woman got scared, tried to drive away, and they shot her.” He added that it will be “for the court to decide,” but went on to share a clip of Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey telling ICE to “get the f*ck out&#8221; of the city.
“That’s the shirt I want to see,” Kimmel said, prompting someone to throw him another shirt with those words on it. “Get the f*** out of all of these cities,” the late-night host show repeated.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Trump’s Venezuela Money Grab, Problem Falling Asleep in Meetings &amp; Unarmed Woman Killed by ICE" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x03ZxnzfgNA?start=425&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Video from Wednesday&#8217;s fatal shooting shows ICE agents approach the woman’s car, with one agent attempting to open the driver’s side door. Another agent approached the front of the vehicle, and the woman began to drive toward him before shots were fired. The agent near the front of the vehicle appeared to be clipped by the car.
Minneapolis schools <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-ice-agent-fatally-shoots-agitator-as-chaos-erupts-in-minneapolis?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Minneapolis+Schools+Close+As+City+Braces+For+Anti-ICE+Protests+After+Shooting">are closed Thursday</a> and Friday due to safety concerns. Leftist leaders insist killing was unjustified, while conservatives argue that her actions led to her death.
“The gaslighting is off the charts and I&#8217;m having none of it. This guy was doing his job,” Vice President JD Vance <a href="https://x.com/JDVance/status/2009255599268130914">posted</a> on X on Thursday morning. “She tried to stop him from doing his job. When he approached her car, she tried to hit him.”
“A tragedy? Absolutely. But a tragedy that falls on this woman and all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with,” he added.

Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel Politicizes ICE Shooting, Debuts ‘Trump Is Gonna Kill You’ T-Shirt

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Minneapolis

Politics

Editor’s note: This piece discusses the finale of Stranger Things, so there are obviously going to be spoilers. Consider yourselves warned if you are, like this author, a dork and plan to watch the show.
Stranger Things concluded its fifth and final season with a two-hour New Year’s Eve release, nearly a decade after the vanishing of Will Byers launched a new era of Netflix original programming.
Expectations for the final season rose to the heavens in the four years since the fourth season of Stranger Things. Fans were almost certain to be disappointed — and boy, were they.
Initial waves of criticism gave way to a truly strange mass psychosis wherein superfans have convinced themselves that the series finale was actually a fake, and that creators Matt and Ross Duffer were waiting to drop the actual finale in the coming days.
Those of us who did not develop a parasocial relationship with Gaten Matarazzo realized this was bunk from the start. But for those really pinning their hopes to these theories, Netflix has made it clear that Stranger Things is done. The finale we got was the finale we&#8217;re going to get. And yes, there are plenty of things to criticize with that episode, as with the whole final season: the bad dialogue, the continuity errors, the lazy acting.
But I don’t want to talk about any of that. I want to talk about Steve Harrington.
The fan-favorite character has gone on quite a journey. He began as a stereotypical 1980s jock, Nancy Wheeler’s unlikable boyfriend who bristles at her intelligence and beats up the nerds. The Duffer Brothers planned to kill him off at the end of season one, but they found themselves so charmed by Joe Keery’s performance that they reversed course.
And then they did more than that: they gave Steve warmth and depth unmatched by any other character. Over the course of the show, he not only accepts Nancy’s independence but also her relationship with Jonathan Byers, one of the dorks he once beat up. He becomes a friend and mentor to the younger children, constantly putting his life on the line for their safety. And he grows close with Hawke’s character, Robin, accepting her quirkiness without a second thought.
This character development was so effective that, in the run-up to the finale, fans made it clear that Steve’s death was the outcome they most feared. Fortunately for the legions of Harringtonians out there, Steve survives his final journey to a parallel dimension and makes it safely back to Hawkins.
But that’s where things go off the rails.
In the show’s penultimate scene, we see the cadre of older Hawkins kids reminiscing on the rooftop of the town radio station. Jonathan is making anti-capitalist films at NYU. Robin is dating girls at Smith. Nancy reveals that she’s dropped out of Emerson to work as a journalist full-time, and has a girlboss haircut and blazer to prove it.
And what of Steve? Did he settle down and start having the six children he’s been so vocal about wanting? Did his repeated encounters with the supernatural inspire him to seek out a change of scenery? Or did he join up with the Hawkins police department as Hopper’s deputy, harnessing the skills he honed defending the world from Vecna?
No, while all his friends move on to bigger and better things, Steve is still in Hawkins, coaching the high school baseball team. And lest it seem like Steve’s adventures with all those plucky kids had inspired him to pursue a career in education, the finale makes it clear: this is just the path of least resistance. Steve Harrington is a loser.
As he grabs another beer in his poorly-fitting suit, his friends mock the fact that, in addition to his coaching duties, Steve is also teaching sex education. Steve gives them plenty of fodder for their ribbing, noting that he has &#8220;a strict A policy, B if you’re a real knucklehead.&#8221;
There are jokes about him cycling through a series of vapid women, so clearly his plans for domestic bliss haven’t panned out. And lest you miss the point, he delivers this sad little monologue to all his posh friends in which he expresses his utter disbelief that they would ever want to leave Hawkins!
“Come on, I mean, look at this place!&#8221; Steve bellows while looking wistfully at the horizon. &#8220;The sunset, the view. Woo! You guys are seriously telling me you don’t miss any of this? The forest, the quarry? Family Video?&#8221;
This is the most unforgivable part. We’re meant to believe that after all this time — after years of personal growth and confrontations with mortality, to say nothing of countless trips to an alternate dimension — Steve Harrington is just another hometown hero who can’t fathom why anyone would want to leave the glory days behind.
The problem isn’t that Steve didn’t want to leave Hawkins, or that he wanted to become a coach. Those are both fine choices for a young man to make, and consistent with the character we’ve grown to know and love. It’s the myopia, the pigheaded jock mentality that makes everyone roll their eyes, that feels like a betrayal. Steve doesn&#8217;t like the community or the fact that Hawkins is his home. He likes the quarry and the video store, the two lamest and most generic things you could think to name. It’s a last-second reversion to Season 1 Steve, a fundamentally uncurious brute whose gaze extended no further than the Friday night lights at Hawkins High.
To the Duffer brothers’ credit, Steve’s ending isn’t entirely inconsistent with the show’s finale. The epilogue is very John Hughes, an effective tonal shift back to the 1980s nostalgia that launched the show, vibes that played second fiddle to the supernatural in later seasons.
But the return to authentic 1989 didn’t stop the Duffer brothers from showing two openly gay characters living easy lives, or a girl graduating high school despite having spent the past two years in a coma — to say nothing of, you know, the aliens. Disbelief can be suspended, it seems, so long as it serves the narrative. And that narrative can’t countenance the jock being anything other than kind of sad.
To be clear: I don’t think this is some grand neo-Marxist conspiracy to make kids eschew small-town life in favor of more degenerate pursuits like journalism. This is just another instance of a tiresome Revenge of the Nerds mentality we see all the time among creatives.
It doesn’t matter that the Duffer Brothers created one of the most popular shows of the decade, one that largely owes its popularity to the shocking transformation of its stereotypical jock character. They probably got bullied for making home movies in high school, and so the cool guy had to be a loser in the end.
Maybe it isn’t that malicious. Maybe the Duffers really did just get lazy, and making Steve a stereotype was just one of several ways they phoned in this final season. Either way, it’s a disappointing end to the best character arc in a mostly great show.
Steve deserved better, and so did we.

“Stranger Things 5” UK Special Screening – Arrivals

Steve Harrington Deserved A Better Ending Than Stranger Things Gave Him

Millie Bobby Brown

Netflix

Stranger Things

“The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin” would not be complete without a villain. Actress Emree Franklin plays the role of Morgian in the adaptation of Stephen R. Lawhead’s best-selling series, an “iconic” role she said was “just a dream” to take on.
One of the defining features of Morgian is that she’s not evil from the get-go – her embracing the darkness within is a process that the audience gets to witness firsthand. Franklin told The Daily Wire during an interview that it was “such an honor and privilege” to portray such a vital character in the fantasy series.
As legend goes, Morgian – the “Queen of Air and Darkness” – is a powerful sorceress who wields her evil powers and serves as the antithesis of Merlin, Arthur, and other characters who exemplify goodness.
Like other leading stars, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-pendragon-cycle-tom-sharp-delivers-a-version-of-the-merlin-never-seen-before?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Inside+%E2%80%98The+Pendragon+Cycle%E2%80%99%3A+Tom+Sharp+Delivers+A+Version+Of+The+Merlin+Never+Seen+Before">Tom Sharp</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-pendragon-cycle-rose-reid-on-bringing-life-to-charis-a-heroine-for-our-time?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Inside+%E2%80%98The+Pendragon+Cycle%E2%80%99%3A+Rose+Reid+On+Bringing+Life+To+Charis%2C+A+Heroine+For+Our+Time">Rose Reid</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-pendragon-cycle-james-arden-on-bringing-the-legendary-bard-taliesin-to-life?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Inside+%E2%80%98The+Pendragon+Cycle%E2%80%99%3A+James+Arden+On+Bringing+The+Legendary+Bard%2C+Taliesin%2C+To+Life">James Arden</a>, Franklin was blown away by the production scale and stunning on-site locations, saying it helped her get into character.
“Getting to go to work in a literal castle… is pretty incomparable,” she said during the interview. “We really didn’t have any green screen. Every day, walking onto set and just seeing what our crew had created for us to play in… was amazing.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Morgian Teaser: The Sorceress of Shadows" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vDcnmf8dsB4?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Costume and makeup played a central role in shaping Morgian’s identity as they served as a contrast between her and Reid’s character, Charis. The two were made to look identical in their hair styling and outfits, but had entirely different approaches to their powers.
Some of the physical differences between the two women are more subtle, but still clearly convey their differences. “Morgian, she’s a very somatic character,” the actress explains. “In the books, she&#8217;s described as feline, and her eyes change from green to serpent green.”
“These sort of animalistic clues were something I really tried to embody,” Franklin added, noting the difference between Reid’s “regal stoicism” as Charis and Morgian’s “slinky&#8221; conniving mannerisms. 
That physical transformation portrayed a character shaped by insecurity and ambition. “At her core, she’s just a girl who wanted to be loved by her dad, her sister, and a boy,” Franklin told The Daily Wire. “And she didn’t get that love.” 
“She believes that to attain power, she has to keep cutting away the parts of herself that are seen as weakness,” the actress added.
As the season progresses, Morgian’s sacrifices grow “bigger and bigger,” marking an internal shift. Even at her most powerful, however, she remains fractured. “In the finale, even though she’s supposed to be at the height of her power, she’s also the most vulnerable she’s ever been,” Franklin says. “Chaotic. Not in control.” 
Redemption, though not impossible, is unlikely. “I think she’s chosen her path. Her soul is corrupt,” Franklin said of her character.
Off camera, the atmosphere was much lighter. Pre-production brought the cast together through stunt training, physical training, horseback riding, and dialect coaching, creating bonds that carried through filming and after. “There was a lot of laughter on set,” Franklin revealed, noting how this came in handy during emotionally heavy scenes. “You need that, or the work can pull you under.”
She said the cast members are still close even now. “I met my best friends on the show,” Franklin said.
“The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin” premieres January 22, 2026. Early episodes are currently available for DailyWire+ All Access members.

Morgian-Thumbnail-16×9-No-Logo

Inside ‘The Pendragon Cycle’: Emree Franklin Explores The Making Of A Fantasy Villain

Comedian Nikki Glaser, who is hosting the Golden Globes again this year, said the audience would be too clueless to understand jokes about the situation in Venezuela.
The stand-up performer has given several interviews about how she plans to approach her monologue after receiving generally positive reviews last year. Glaser said she’s been trying out jokes in local bars and has noticed that bits about current events aren&#8217;t landing.
“You can’t even anticipate things a week away as being relevant enough,” she said during an<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-glaser-golden-globes-host-interview-jokes-c7f0a605e1b06b92447cd213a5fd619e"> interview</a> with the Associated Press. “You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying ‘Venezuela.’ People aren’t getting the news like we all are.”
The comedian also said she plans to avoid roasting a particular celebrity due to poor reception.
&#8220;I&#8217;m trying out my monologue around L.A. at the clubs here and just even any joke about Julia Roberts, they are not there for,&#8221; she told Gayle King during an<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/comedian-nikki-glaser-host-golden-globes/"> interview</a> on CBS. &#8220;You cannot make fun of America&#8217;s sweetheart. Whatever I end up saying about her, that is the most fine-tuned joke that I&#8217;ve worked on so hard, because it is very delicate.&#8221;
&#8220;I mean, they were booing, and I was like, ‘Is she here?’&#8221; Glaser said. &#8220;It&#8217;s insane.&#8221;
Roberts is up for Best Actress in a Drama for her leading role in “After the Hunt.”
“I’ve been running the jokes constantly,” she told the AP. “I live and die by those crowds. They really tell me what to keep and what not to. Things that I think will kill will just be nothing and things that I think are just a throwaway are like the best joke.”
Glaser revealed one joke she ditched.
“I was going to make a joke about ‘Pluribus’ where I said like, ‘Have you seen it? Pluribly not.’ But we could not find a place for ‘pluribly not’ and so that one is in the graveyard. Probably rightfully so.”
As for her overall strategy for hosting the Golden Globes, Glaser said she wants it to be entertaining and edgy without offending anyone. 
&#8220;You have to be very delicate about making jokes that aren&#8217;t going to ruin anyone&#8217;s night, but you also want to give the people at home something to laugh at, and you want to poke fun at the people that they&#8217;re dying for you to make fun of,&#8221; she told King. &#8220;Like people at home want you to make fun of the A-listers.&#8221;
&#8220;They want you to make them feel a little bit uncomfortable,&#8221; Glaser said. &#8220;So, it&#8217;s covert in the sense that I want to get away with those jokes without just ruining the vibe in the room. So, it&#8217;s really strategic, and it&#8217;s one of the most difficult jobs I&#8217;ve ever had is picking the perfect jokes.&#8221;
The 2026 Golden Globes will air live on Sunday, January 11, from 8-11 p.m. ET / 5-8 p.m. PT on CBS. The broadcast will also be available to stream on Paramount+.

Nikki Glaser

Golden Globes Host Nikki Glaser Says Audience Too Clueless For Venezuela Jokes

Golden Globes

Actor Tim Allen recently criticized DEI constraints on television shows, saying sitcoms need to be funny to succeed.
The 72-year-old “Home Improvement” alum made the comments during an appearance on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast on Monday. 
Allen suggested to Maher that DEI policies should not come at the expense of the show’s quality.
“My wife says, ‘Why do you keep saying that?’ And I said, ‘Somebody told me I was like the Tom Brady of sitcoms.’ When they asked me to do a third [show], I said, ‘I thought they were kidding,’” the comedian told Maher. “I don’t know whether my generation… because all the people that I know that I would make it with are either dead or not the right gender, you know, they’re all light-skinned European older men. And that doesn’t fit the DEI thing that everybody wanted. They wanted, you know, a potpourri of —”
Maher jumped in, saying one solution was to have “DEI in the cast.”
“I didn’t want to get into that. I didn’t want to patronize people. If you’re going to do a sitcom, it’s just got to be funny. You got to have some drama,” Allen went on.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Tim Allen | Club Random with Bill Maher" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/axYP6TfSr1I?start=1095&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The podcast host agreed, saying diversity wasn’t the “only virtue.”
“Not everything in America has to look like Angelina Jolie’s Christmas card, you know, sometimes, and it’s always OK in reverse. It’s like if there’s something where it’s just an all-black cast — and good, I’m all for it. I’m not complaining about it,” Maher continued.
The host went on to question CBS&#8217;s 2020 <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/09/cbs-reality-shows-must-now-have-50percent-non-white-casts-network-says.html">goal</a> of increasing BIPOC representation in its writers&#8217; rooms. 
“I thought, what if the show they’re writing is about a polka band in a ski town?” Maher said.
“I love people of color, and I’m so glad that things are better than they used to be for people of color, but you know, it shouldn’t intrude on the creative process to the degree it has in this town,” Maher said. “It has intruded on the creative process. And by the way, lots of people of color agree with that because they want the creative process to be pure, too.”
Allen currently stars in the CBS sitcom “Shifting Gears,” which follows a father trying to reconnect with his adult daughter. Besides appearing on the well-known ‘90s series “Home Improvement,” he also starred in the popular ABC sitcom “Last Man Standing” (2011-2017).

Tim Allen

Tim Allen Pushes Back On DEI Infecting Sitcoms: ‘It’s Just Got To Be Funny’

Tim Allen Criticizes DEI Infecting Sitcoms: 'It's Just Got To Be Funny'

Bill Maher

The Duffer brothers, creators of the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things,” have addressed the backlash to a main character’s coming out scene.
“The coming out scene is something we’ve been building to for nine years now. It was a really important scene for us, and a really important scene for [actor Noah Schnapp] — not just from a thematic point of view, but also a narrative point of view,” Ross Duffer <a href="https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/stranger-things-finale-is-eleven-alive-vecna-killed-rock-spinoff-1236621528/">told</a> Variety in an interview published Thursday.
He added, “This show has always been about our characters overcoming evil, and in order to overcome this evil, Vecna, in so many ways, represents all the dark thoughts and the evil of society. And for our characters to overcome that, it really becomes about embracing themselves, and then also embracing one another and coming together.”
Fans were disappointed by the penultimate episode of the series, giving it the lowest rating out of all episodes and trashing it on social media, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stranger-things-episode-gets-record-worst-rating-for-series-woke-ruins-everything">reported</a>.
“Woke ruins EVERYTHING,” one X reaction said. “Netflix decided to RUIN their most popular show of all-time, Stranger Things, by focusing their final season on Will coming out as a homosexual, promoting the propaganda that Will’s superpowers are because he’s &#8217;embraced his sexuality&#8217; &amp; the villain telling Will that his friends won’t like him if they find out he likes dudes.”
The Duffer brothers insist that Will’s coming out was an essential part of the show.
Matt Duffer called it “the final step in Will’s journey” and noted he was “surprised” by the backlash since he insists the show has been building up to this all along.
“Volume 1 is really about self-acceptance, right? I mean, that’s sort of step one,” he said. “And then step two is Will is talking to Robin — it’s something that he wants to do. He’s trying to figure out how to come out, and he knows that he needs to do that, and that that’s the final step for him. And he finds the courage to be able to do it. And it’s really the ultimate f*** you to Vecna. That was the intention.”
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“We’re proud of the episode, and we’re proud of the scene, and proud of Noah, who gave a really brave, very vulnerable performance,” Ross told the outlet.
Schnapp had an emotional reaction to the scene he revealed during an interview with Netflix&#8217;s Tudum.
“I was really nervous to see how [the Duffer Brothers] would write it, because it was obviously so important for me. And I remember when they sent out the script for Episode 7 for that scene. I read it alone in my room, and I was crying, and it really resonated with me,” the actor said of his character coming out.
“I hope it touches everyone — not just queer people — and makes them feel emboldened and empowered to be who they are and be proud of who they are,” he told Tudum. “That goes back to the heart of our show: What makes you unique is your superpower.”

Duffer Brothers

‘Stranger Things’ Creators Defend Controversial Coming Out Scene: ‘The Ultimate F*** You’ To Villain

LGBTQ

Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr., best known for appearing in “The Wire” and “Veep,” has died at the age of 71. 
The Hollywood mainstay passed away peacefully at home following a brief illness, per his manager Brian Liebman. 
&#8220;It is with tremendous sadness that I share the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr. If you knew him — you loved him,” Liebman <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DS5za6eEdp2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D">posted</a> on Instagram. “A brilliant actor and even better person. May his memory forever be a blessing. Our hearts are so broken. He will be very, very missed.&#8221; 
Whitlock was born in South Bend, Indiana. He got into acting by joining the San Francisco American Conservatory Theater after graduating from college. 
His first important role was on the CBS show “Cagney &amp; Lacey” in 1987. Whitlock spent more than 30 years in Hollywood, appearing in major television franchises, including “Law &amp; Order,&#8221; per <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/12/isiah-whitlock-jr-dead-the-wire-spike-lee-movies-1236658855/">Deadline</a>.
He’s best known for playing the corrupt state senator R. Clayton “Clay” Davis on HBO’s “The Wire.” He also took on the role of George Maddox, U.S. Secretary of Defense, on the popular HBO Max political comedy series, &#8220;Veep&#8221; (2012-2019). 
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The actor had roles in several Spike Lee movies, including &#8220;25th Hour&#8221; (2002), &#8220;She Hate Me&#8221; (2004), &#8220;Red Hook Summer&#8221; (2012), &#8220;Chi-Raq&#8221; (2015), &#8220;BlacKkKlansman&#8221; (2018), and &#8220;Da 5 Bloods&#8221; (2020). 
It was in “25th Hour” that Whitlock’s popular catchphrase, an elongated pronunciation of the word “sh**” that sounds like, “sheeeeeeeeit,” was born. 
Whitlock said hearing fans mimic his performance made him happy.
“I did it there, and I did it in ‘She Hate Me,’” the actor said during a 2008 interview. “But then, when I got on to ‘The Wire,’ I saw a couple of opportunities where I could do it, and I did. And they started writing it in.”
&#8220;I was in, I think, Grand Central Station and far away I heard someone say it and they’d be kind of smiling. I’m glad people enjoy it,” he added.
Whitlock&#8217;s last role was on the Netflix series &#8220;The Residence,&#8221; which debuted in March of this year. He has a voice role in the upcoming Pixar film “Hoppers.”

Isiah Whitlock

Isiah Whitlock Jr., Actor In ‘The Wire’ And ‘Veep,’ Dies At Age 71

actor

Death

The year in pop culture gave us reality stars smiting governors, a Coldplay concert going viral for nothing music-related, and a pop star’s career crashing upon re-entry.
And even though late-night TV had begun to fizzle out years ago, in 2025, Stephen Colbert and co. watched their gigs finally go up in smoke.
It’s impossible to look back on the last 12 months and not gawk at late-night propagandists getting their just desserts.
For Colbert of “The Late Show” fame, that meant getting a time-release pink slip. Someone finally crunched some serious numbers behind the scenes and realized Colbert’s DNC agenda is costing CBS a pretty penny … <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/go-f-yourself-colbert-unleashes-anti-trump-tirade-amid-report-his-show-loses-40m-annually">$40 million a year</a>, to be precise.
So Colbert was forced to read his professional obituary on-air. And the show won’t even go on without him. Come May, “The Late Show” heads to the dustbin of history alongside eight-track tapes and TiVo devices.
<div id="attachment_1021603" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1021603" class="size-large wp-image-1021603" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 30: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest Jimmy Kimmel during Tuesday's September 30, 2025 show. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2238453774.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images</div>
Fellow progressive Jimmy Kimmel was spared that fate, but not by much. The ABC host insinuated MAGA nation fired the bullet that killed conservative hero Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, setting off a series of events that led to Kimmel’s week-long suspension.
He got his job back and a tepid show of support via a one-year contract extension. The damage was done. Kimmel’s “Man Show” past and irreverent shtick is no more. Now, he’s more likely to cry on-camera than make us howl.
His only hope is that Colbert’s audience tunes in for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” come May, delaying his show’s inevitable cancellation.
On the film front, theaters once again struggled to reclaim their pre-pandemic mojo. The box office receipts looked awfully similar to 2024, hardly a golden age for theatrical attendance.
Films like “Superman,” “Thunderbolts” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” failed to duplicate that ol’ superhero magic, leaving it to video game adaptations like “A Minecraft Movie” to pick up the slack.
At least we weren’t subjected to <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/skibidi-toilet-michael-bay-movie-adam-goodman-1236077245/">“Skibidi Toilet: The Movie</a>.” Not yet, at least. 
Meanwhile, Hollywood’s far-Left agenda got a workout via “One Battle After Another.” The Paul Thomas Anderson screed so overtly progressive even some Antifa types might cry foul.
And, of course, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/is-the-best-picture-race-already-over">it’s bound for Oscar glory come March</a>.
Speaking of Oscars, 2025 saw an awards hopeful crash and burn in record time. The woke musical comedy “Emilia Pérez” seemed likely to dominate awards season until we learned some of the less-than-progressive comments made by its trans lead, Karla Sofia Gascón.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce finally made their courtship official, but the best news for football fans is that his Kansas City Chiefs missed the playoffs. That means no more obligatory “Taylor is crying/cheering/laughing” shots interrupting the NFL action.
<div id="attachment_1021607" style="width: 865px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1021607" class="size-large wp-image-1021607" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061-855x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 06: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) presents actor Sylvester Stallone (R) a medal for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees during a medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House on December 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. The 2025 Kennedy Center honorees are Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, the rock band KISS, Gloria Gaynor, and Michael Crawford. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)" width="855" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061-855x576.jpg 855w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061-300x202.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061-768x518.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250411061.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 855px) 100vw, 855px" />Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images</div>
Sylvester Stallone capped a remarkable career by picking up a Kennedy Center Honor at long last, courtesy of former reality show star and two-term president Donald Trump. The 79-year-old legend also defied Father Time by returning for the third season of Taylor Sheridan’s “Tulsa King.”
Of course, it would be impossible to recap entertainment in 2025 without a tip of the hat to Taylor Sheridan, television’s undisputed king of rugged episodic dramas. From “The Mayor of Kingstown” to the “Yellowstone” franchise, Sheridan’s shows keep attracting A-list talent and plenty of eyeballs. And he’s positioned to strike gold again in 2026 with the release of the next “Yellowstone” spinoff, “Y: Marshals,” starring Luke Grimes.
Sheridan made headlines once again in 2025 by signing a mega-deal with NBCUniversal and having his “Landman” series skewer the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-sheridan-show-landman-mocks-the-view-bunch-of-ped-off-millionaires">“p***ed off millionaires” of “The View.”</a>
<div id="attachment_1021611" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1021611" class="size-large wp-image-1021611" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789-864x576.jpg" alt="INDIO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 30: Taylor Sheridan speaks onstage during Day 3 of the 2023 Stagecoach Festival on April 30, 2023 in Indio, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Stagecoach)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1486674789.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Stagecoach</div>
The devastating Palisades fires should have roasted Governor Gavin Newsom’s political fortunes for good. Not quite, but reality show alum Spencer Pratt made it his mission to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/reality-star-spencer-pratt-slams-california-plan-to-build-low-income-housing-in-fire-ravaged-areas">shame both Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass</a> for their extreme incompetence.
“Having the people in charge of the town they just let burn down make any decisions in rebuilding it … seems crazy to me,” Pratt said in one of many well-earned rants. Podcaster Adam Carolla piled on, filing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8IKPIDVIoY">vlog posts</a> decrying the lack of progress on the home building front all year long.
HBO Max’s “The White Lotus” became the show everyone talked about at the cyber-water cooler – AKA Elon Musk’s X. This season’s ick factor likely played a part, thanks to guest star <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/sam-rockwell-white-lotus-monologue-acting-coach-1236175014/">Sam Rockwell’s disturbing revelations</a> to that <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/the-white-lotus-brothers-kiss-season-3-1236164899/">brotherly buss</a> with Ah-nold’s son getting too much attention.
And while the culture remains hopelessly divided on political grounds, Americans did unite to mock a Coldplay concert moment that went insanely viral. A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/viral-coldplay-kiss-cam-woman-speaks-out-is-furious-with-gwyneth-paltrow">Kiss Cam caught Kristin Cabot</a> canoodling with her boss, Andrew Byron, a moment that proved inescapable for anyone remotely online.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-969733 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert-1022x576.png" alt="Coldplay concert" width="1022" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert-1022x576.png 1022w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert-768x433.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Coldplay-concert.png 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 1022px) 100vw, 1022px" /></div>
Netflix remained atop the streaming heap, and its plans to swallow Warner Bros. will have sizable implications for Hollywood and beyond. The streamer’s signature show, a four-episode saga dubbed “Adolescence,” caught everyone by surprise. Each installment, shot in a single take, captured a young boy in the weeks following his arrest for a shocking murder. Must-see TV? Perhaps, but it left audiences feeling queasy for the next generation.
If that wasn’t enough, 2025 had us focus on the Sean Combs trial. Sure, we cracked wise about baby oil sales, but the particulars of P. Diddy’s life and alleged crimes made us wonder what else is happening behind the scenes in Hollywood that we won’t hear about for years to come?
<div id="attachment_1021623" style="width: 842px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1021623" class="size-large wp-image-1021623" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015-832x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 11: Katy Perry performs onstage during Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour - New York at Madison Square Garden on August 11, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for KP)" width="832" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015-832x576.jpg 832w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015-300x208.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015-768x532.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2229729015.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 832px) 100vw, 832px" />Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for KP</div>
And then there’s Katy Perry.
The “I Kissed a Girl” superstar headed into space, or at least a small part of it, via Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard rocket. The experiment became social media fodder, in part due to the “astronaut&#8217;s’” inflated sense of self.
Perry might have been better off staying in orbit. She <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/katy-perry-experiences-frightening-onstage-mishap-concert-san/story?id=123894140">experienced not one</a> but <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1420864/katy-perrys-bloody-knee-injury-photo">two</a> concert accidents, watched her choreography get roasted on social media, and capped 2025 by winning a legal victory over a <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/11/28/entertainment/katy-perry-to-receive-1-8m-payout-from-dying-veteran-in-years-long-battle-over-montecito-mansion/">dying military veteran</a>.
She’ll be lucky to Dance with Any Stars come 2026.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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The Year Pop Culture Finally Began To Eat Its Own

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Katy Perry

Movies

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Taylor Swift

Woke Culture

Fans are overwhelmingly disappointed by the penultimate episode from season five of the hit Netflix series &#8220;Stranger Things.&#8221; 
Complaints about the episode titled &#8220;The Bridge&#8221; range from bad acting to tired plot lines, but the scene catching the most attention is the awkward moment when one of the main characters, Will (Noah Schnapp), decides to come out as gay to his friends before gearing up to battle the show’s mythical monster villain, Vecna.
“Woke ruins EVERYTHING,” one X reaction <a href="https://x.com/JonnyRoot_/status/2004745807090589752">said</a>. “Netflix decided to RUIN their most popular show of all-time, Stranger Things, by focusing their final season on Will coming out as a homosexual, promoting the propaganda that Will’s superpowers are because he’s ’embraced his sexuality’ &amp; the villain telling Will that his friends won’t like him if they find out he likes dudes.”
“How did Stranger Things go from such a great show to the only way they could defeat Vecna is if Will tells everyone he’s gay first,” another person agreed.
During the scene in question, Will gathers his friends together and admits, “I don&#8217;t like girls.” They proceed to form a group hug and seemingly downplay the upcoming battle to save the world. Will explains that the monster convinced him to keep his sexual identity hidden all this time. 
Season five of the series initially had a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes before the release of the latest episode. Now it’s <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/stranger_things/s05">dropped</a> to 56%. The episode also has a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?count=250&amp;series=tt4574334&amp;sort=user_rating,asc">record-low</a> 5.4/10 rating on IMDb, which is even lower than the notoriously despised season 2 episode, “The Lost Sister.”
Schnapp had an emotional reaction to the scene he revealed during an <a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/stranger-things-5-noah-schnapp-will-coming-out">interview</a> with Tudum. 
“I was really nervous to see how [the Duffer Brothers] would write it, because it was obviously so important for me. And I remember when they sent out the script for Episode 7 for that scene. I read it alone in my room, and I was crying, and it really resonated with me,” the actor said of his character coming out. 
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“I texted them, and I was like, ‘This is great. This is awesome.’ I didn’t know if they were ever gonna write that story for Will. They could have just left it up in the air, so getting to finally see it happen was amazing.”
The “Stranger Things” actor, who is also gay, said he felt the scene on a personal level. “I hope it touches everyone — not just queer people — and makes them feel emboldened and empowered to be who they are and be proud of who they are,” he told Tudum. “That goes back to the heart of our show: What makes you unique is your superpower.”
The two-hour series finale of “Stranger Things” premieres on Netflix and in select theaters on New Year’s Eve.

‘Stranger Things’ Episode Gets Record Worst Rating For Series: ‘Woke Ruins Everything’

Penultimate 'Stranger Things' Episode Gets Record Worst Rating For Series: 'Woke Ruins Everything'

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