Warning: spoilers ahead for the Season 2 premiere of Matlock, called “The Before Times” and available streaming next day with a Paramount+ subscription.
Matlock had a big plot to pick back up with the Season 2 premiere in the fall 2025 TV schedule after two major cliffhangers in the spring: the arrival of a man claiming to be Alfie‘s father and Olympia learning that Julian stole the Wellbrexa document. Since Matty and Olympia’s dynamic was one of my favorite parts of the first season, I was nervous that they could never be the same after the Julian reveal. Well, the Season 2 premiere proved that I was worried for nothing, and “The Before Times” might be my favorite episode for Kathy Bates and Skye P. Marshall playing Matty and Olympia’s complicated relationship.
Olympia would keep Julian’s secret for the sake of their kids, and it seemed all too possible that any closeness Olympia and Matty had developed in Season 1 would be gone once both dug their heels in about how to pursue the Wellbrexa case. Instead, Olympia did a pretty good job of lying to Matty about Julian and trying to refocus their efforts on only getting dirt on Senior.
from the pilot that won me over to Matlock in the first place. The duo was scheming together, while also secretly conducting side-schemes against each other.
The result was banter, like when Matty pointed out that she did her “missions” by herself without a lookout, as well as heartfelt moments that seem quite sincere despite the double-crossing. Plus, they’re still a powerful pair when it comes to practicing the law. I might always miss the early days of their dynamic when Olympia had no idea about Matty’s secret, but I think I’m going to love what seems to be a relationship that’s now part friendly, part adversarial, and part alliance.
This time, they both at least know that the other is playing a game. The scenario isn’t 100% Matty teaming up with Olympia or 100% Matty vs. Olympia, but something more complicated, and I’m invested in seeing what Skye P. Marshall and Kathy Bates do with it.
The final moments of “The Before Times” admittedly had the potential to blow up everything that I’ve been praising, with Matty stealing the Wellbrexa file from Olympia’s safe to send to the Times, while Olympia convinced Julian to plead to Senior for his job back so that they could dig up dirt on his dad while ideally keeping Julian’s name clean.
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That said, Matlock wasn’t about to wrap up Matty’s Wellbrexa story just one episode into Season 2, and the promo that aired after the end of “The Before Times” reveals that Olympia took a precaution about the document that means a big problem for Matty and Edwin‘s plan to go to the Times. The document that Matty stole from Olympia? A fake, so the leading lady doesn’t actually have the evidence she needs. She does seem to know for sure that Olympia has it, though, so…. the plot doth thicken.
The episode description from CBS for the next installment sheds a little bit more light on what to expect. Called “Another Matlock,” this is what’s in store:
While the team is tasked with protecting a witness, Matty and Olympia square off over the Wellbrexa document. Also, Matty and Edwin contemplate whether or not to help Alfie’s father.
Fortunately, the wait for the next episode isn’t terribly long. Since CBS gave Matlock as well as Elsbeth (with Stephen Colbert as guest star opposite Carrie Preston) special Sunday night premieres, their returns to their usual Thursday night time slots means just a few days between episodes. Tune in to CBS on Thursday, October 16 at 9 p.m. ET for the second half of Matlock‘s two-part Season 2 premiere event, followed by Elsbeth at 10 p.m. ET.
Warning! The following contains spoilers from the 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? episode “You’re Not a Kid Anymore, Dorothy.” Stream the episode with a Max subscription and read at your own risk!
90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? continued its feud between Loren Brovarnik and Libby Castravet, with Yara Dufren playing referee as they all tried to enjoy a weekend getaway together. Friends feuding on vacation feels like fitting primetime drama for the 2025 TV schedule, though I’d love to think this feud would end if Libby would just admit one thing.
90 Day Fiancé cast members have called fake, is mad at Libby because during their latest fight, Andrei Castravet brought up that Loren’s husband, Alexei Brovarnik, fat-shames her. Loren wanted to know how he would even know something like that, and I think the answer is obvious if Libby would just tell the truth.
90 Day couple splitting, and while Loren and Alexei are maybe the most boring couple this franchise has seen, they are the most rock-solid in terms of the strength of their relationship. Divorce can happen at any point in marriage, so it’s best not to tempt fate with past gripes and drama!
To return to the main issue, though, it just didn’t make sense that Andrei read through two years of text messages to dig up that drama. What made more sense is that Libby told him about it, and I think she just didn’t want to admit she shared details Loren told her in confidence with her husband.
Personally, I thought it was wild to tell any married person something and expect them to keep it from their spouse, but if Loren expected that, I can see why she’d be upset Libby betrayed her trust. I wish she’d admit to it so we can finally move past the narrative Andrei was parsing through years of text messages.
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This Whole Storyline Feels Suspicious, But I’m Enjoying It Anyway
It felt all too convenient that this storyline involves three former 90 Day Fiancé couples, all entangled in the same drama, and more of an excuse to feature a big chunk of them at the same time. I also suspect this will ultimately lead to Andrei and Libby appearing on 90 Day: The Last Resort, with Loren and Alexei tagging along as well.
While I think there’s a chance this drama is scripted or edited to be more dramatic than it actually is, that doesn’t mean I hate it. To be honest, I rolled my eyes at the start of this storyline, but the more that I’ve watched I realized I’ve missed seeing a lot of these couples and it’s fun to see them interact.
That being said, I hope 90 Day Fiancé does this sparingly and doesn’t start pairing couples for storylines every season. As fun as it has been to get this little inter-cast drama, I do feel like it’s rooted in the actual friendship all of these cast members have. I don’t think it would work as well pairing off other couples, but maybe I’ll be proven wrong if we see it happen again.
90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? airs on TLC on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to catch up as we get into the back half of this season, because I’m sure the tell-all for this spinoff is sure to be full of drama.
Prime Video users became obsessed with Jensen Ackles’ crime thriller series “Countdown.” But it seems the obsession didn’t take hold as widely as Ackles and co. might have hoped, as Amazon cancelled the show just two months later. That decision likely came as somewhat of a shock to both cast, crew, and fans, as from the outside, “Countdown” appeared to be a solid hit. Alas, it seems the show’s global viewership might not have met Prime Video’s expectations.
Hailing from creator, executive producer, and showrunner Derek Haas (“Chicago Fire”), “Countdown” saw Ackles play LAPD detective and former Army Ranger Mark Meachum, who’s recruited to a secret task force where he finds himself working alongside agents from multiple law enforcement agencies. The covert crew is tasked with solving the murder of a Department of Homeland Security officer, but as you might expect, they quickly discover a much wider and more sinister conspiracy that has them racing to prevent a major terrorist event. Prior to the show’s launch, Ackles touted it as a sort of homage to action filmmaking of the past. “It was everything I grew up loving about entertainment,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “There was action and salty characters — there was the ‘will they or won’t they,’ are they going to make it? Are they going to save everyone and catch the bad guys? It was a bit of a throwback, and I gravitated to it.”
Prime Video has certainly seen success catering to the sensibilities of action-starved dads across the nation — just take a look at “Reacher,” season 3 of which broke ratings records. “Countdown” appeared to be yet another hit in that vein, but its quick cancellation revealed that it might not have been quite the success it seemed on the surface.
Countdown might not have been the global hit Prime Video was hoping for
Prime Video
When “Countdown” debuted, it looked to be a big hit, and as time went on, it seemed to maintain its popularity, remaining on Prime Video for more than a month after the season 1 finale was released. Indeed, as of October 10, 2025, the show is still in the U.S. TV charts (via FlixPatrol), where it sits at number 10 and continues to chart in other countries around the world. On top of that, “Countdown” charted on the Nielsen Top 10 for Streaming Originals, which is a much more impressive feat due to the fact that this particular ranking system takes into account originals across all streaming services. With all that in mind, you’ve got to wonder what on earth prompted Prime Video to put an end to this series so early.
Making matters worse for fans, the show ended on a cliffhanger when Jessica Camacho’s Agent Amber was forced to run through a field at gunpoint while a sniper trained his rifle on her before the episode cut to black. Fans were no doubt eager to see how that played out, but on October 10, 2025, Deadline reported that “Countdown” had been cancelled alongside fellow Prime Video series “Butterfly.” As the outlet noted, the decision was somewhat surprising given the show’s apparent success, but claimed that the cancellation might have had more to do with “total global viewership” than anything else. If accurate, that would mean that while U.S. viewers were quite taken with Jensen Ackles’ action series, the rest of the world wasn’t so keen. But given the show is still charting in multiple markets around the world at the time of writing, that explanation also seems a tad suspect.
Was something else at play? Perhaps. While reviews by themselves likely weren’t the reason for the cancellation, “Countdown” wasn’t exactly a critical hit. The show was released on a weekly schedule, which typically gives shows a chance to build popularity as word of mouth spreads. But that didn’t help the critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Countdown” holds a 35% critic score based on 17 reviews.
What have the cast and crew of Countdown said about its cancellation?
Prime Video
“Countdown” isn’t the first, and it certainly won’t be the last streaming series to be cancelled after initially performing well. Netflix’s “Pulse” suffered a similar fate when it was cancelled after one season, despite the fact that it appeared to be a hit at launch, and streamers are generally more willing to axe shows earlier than traditional networks. There are a variety of reasons that play into this state of affairs, from streamers not having to adhere to programming schedules to the economic incentives involved in the streaming business. No doubt some of that played into “Countdown” being canned early, which clearly hit Jensen Ackles hard.
The actor posted a video to Instagram in which he thanked the cast and crew, as well as Amazon for green-lighting the project in the first place. Ackles, who looked visibly disappointed in the video (as you might expect), also said the cancellation was a “bummer” and that he had “such an amazing time” making the series. “Sometimes you can set out to do your best and check all those boxes,” he added, “and ultimately it’s out of your hands. That’s the way it goes in this industry.”
The “Supernatural” star, who once lost the role of Superman in “Smallville” to Tom Welling before going on to play Dean Winchester for 15 seasons on “Supernatural,” had already showcased his talents on Prime Video by playing Ben/Soldier Boy on “The Boys,” which finally gave Ackles the spotlight he deserved. He’ll soon lead Prime Video’s upcoming “The Boys” spin-off, “Vought Rising,” and has an ongoing first-look deal with the streamer via his Chaos Machine production company. So, it’s not as if he needs to worry too much, even while it was clearly a big disappointment to lose “Countdown.”
Meanwhile, creator Derek Haas took to Bluesky to provide a quick response to the cancellation and update fans on one burning question. “Hey, thank you to Amazon Prime and a great cast and crew for our season of Countdown!” he wrote, adding, “Fun to make all around! (pssst … Oliveras lived).”
The shadow of the Uchiha massacre hangs over Konoha in “Naruto.” This tragic incident is constantly brought up in the series in relation to Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last surviving members of the Uchiha clan. A part of Kakashi’s Team 7 alongside Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke has been haunted by the incident since he was a child, which directly shaped his trajectory as a future defector seeking revenge. To add insult to injury, the massacre in question was carried out by his brother, Itachi, whose seemingly violent motivations (and constant instigations for Sasuke to get stronger) veered Sasuke off the well-treaded path of an honorable shinobi.
But honor has little place in a world brimming with convoluted machinations and deceptive intentions. Sasuke’s defection is a complex subject, but so are Itachi’s actions — to better understand the latter, we need to contextualize the incident in question. You see, Konoha was shaken up after the attack of the Nine-tailed fox, and some of the leaders started suspecting the Uchiha clan due to their ability to use the Sharingan (which could be used to control the beast). This brewing suspicion/mistrust led to the Uchihas being completely isolated, leading to the clan’s decision to organize a coup d’état (and overthrow the existing leadership).
However, a coup cannot be carried out overnight, especially in a society where being a shinobi is the default. The Uchiha clan appointed several spies, including Itachi, to infiltrate Konoha’s command structure for information. The plan was to identify structural weaknesses and remain up-to-date about any counter-moves. Sadly, the Uchiha were never able to anticipate the terrible string of events that would eventually lead to their demise.
Itachi was manipulated into making a horrific choice to protect Sasuke Uchiha
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I must preface that Itachi was labeled as a prodigy, as he displayed exceptional talent that helped him quickly ascend the ranks of the Anbu Black Ops (an elite, morally grey shinobi faction). What’s more, he was also a deeply affectionate person whom Sasuke looked up to as a child. To think someone like Itachi would ruthlessly slaughter his own clan (and his parents) and mock Sasuke throughout his life is unthinkable, so what exactly happened here?
While Itachi spied for his clan, he wasn’t in agreement with the coup, as he wanted to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. Sensing this conflict, the Konoha leadership manipulated Itachi’s well-meaning motivations and persuaded him to become a double agent. The Third Hokage was the only person who genuinely aimed for a peaceful resolution of conflict, but the others, specifically Danzō Shimura, strongly believed that eliminating the Uchiha was the lesser of two evils. Amid this chaos, Itachi’s friend Shisui tried to use his Mangekyō Sharingan’s Kotoamatsukami to change the minds of these leaders, but Danzō took one of his eyes (!) instead. Fearing misuse of his other eye, Shisui left it to Itachi for safekeeping before committing suicide. Unfortunately, the Uchiha erroneously concluded that Itachi had killed Shisui after betraying his own clan.
Shisui’s death cemented Itachi’s belief that a non-violent solution was impossible. Once again, Danzō took advantage of this and convinced Itachi that he had only two options: to allow the coup to happen, but it would lead to the clan’s lawful extermination, or Itachi could assassinate everyone himself while sparing Sasuke’s life. With threats of an inevitable civil war looming, Itachi decided to bear a terrible burden that would crush his sense of self forever.
Sasuke’s moral complexity in Naruto is directly shaped by the Uchiha massacre
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Sasuke was only 7 years old when the Uchiha massacre happened. He returned home to find his entire clan slaughtered, alongside his parents, with Itachi standing over their lifeless bodies. To make his brother think that he’s a ruthless killer, Itachi attacked him, while egging him on to embrace vengeance. Broken and traumatized, Sasuke retaliated, trying to do exactly what his brother asked him to and attacked Itachi in an attempt to awaken his Sharingan. Despite being able to knock off Itachi’s forehead protector, Sasuke passed out due to the trauma, and his mind erased this violent retaliation to protect him.
As intended by Itachi, the damage was done, as Sasuke spent every waking moment trying to get strong enough to kill Itachi and avenge his clan ever since. After Orochimaru’s repeated interventions to corrupt him (along with some choice visits by Itachi to provoke him further), Sasuke defected from Konoha, choosing a dark path marked with pain and rage. The truth about that fateful night was lost to time, but Sasuke learned the truth a little too late in “Naruto: Shippuden”, making him realize that Itachi’s actions only stemmed from a need to protect him.
Instead of sobering him, the truth enraged him further, prompting Sasuke’s desire to destroy Konoha, as he held the village responsible for what happened to his brother. Ultimately, a reincarnated Itachi stopped Sasuke, urging him to realize that he had already achieved the goal of becoming stronger and that attacking the village would be the opposite of what he had sacrificed everything for. This marked the inception of Sasuke’s gradual reform, where he went on to protect Konoha alongside Naruto through every crisis.
What a weekend for MCU updates, specifically when it comes to the slate of upcoming Marvel TV shows. Tons of big announcements were made at New York Comic-Con, such as new reveals for the already exciting VisionQuest cast to confirmation that Daredevil: Born Again will be back for Season 3 to the long-awaited release of Wonder Man’s first trailer. It turns out Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s new show will feature a former Daredevil star, though not from Charlie Cox’s shows, but the Ben Affleck era.
The forever great Joe Pantoliano is officially part of the MCU now, 22 years after co-starring with Affleck in 2003’s Daredevil as journalist Ben Urich. Regardless of one’s thoughts on that movie, and people DO have thoughts to put on blast at a moment’s notice, Joey Pants is certainly one of its high points, which pretty much goes for every project he’s ever been a part of. (He was in a Last of Us episode for like five minutes and delivered one of that show’s Top 3 performances.)
EW) where Laurence Fishburne was also present. The Memento and Sopranos vet went ahead and spilled those beans himself, saying:
Deadpool and Wolverine move of bringing non-canonical comic book movie characters into the MCU — its real-world approach doesn’t make this seem likely — I don’t see how Pantoliano’s character can possibly tie back to his Daredevil role, given that Vondie Curtis-Hall’s portrayal of Ben Urich in Netflix’s Daredevil was seemingly canonized through Genneya Walton’s surviving niece BB Urich. But someone will find a way to make that make sense, surely.
Beyond the reveal, Joe Pantoliano had nothing but pleasant things to say about working with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, without saying how long they worked together, though I hope it’s for every single ep. He also shared that he was especially pleased to work with Sir Ben Kingsley, who refused to use the Bad Boys vet’s famed nickname. As Pantoliano put it:
And Sir Ben Kingsley. Just to hear him say my name, Joe Pantoliano. . . . No, never, he never did [call me ‘Joey Pants].. He called me Lord Trousers. I can’t be Joey. I’m 74, so it’s Joseph Trousers.
I’m going to be so disappointed when his character’s name in Wonder Man doesn’t end up being Lord Joseph Trousers. Damn you and your genius ways, Ben Kingsley.
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Check out the first trailer for Wonder Man below!
Available to stream via Disney+ subscription on January 27, 2026, so be sure you’re ready to nail that audition, and that you’re wearing your best (Joseph) pants for the job.
