Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld are ahead!
Until last year, Asajj Ventress was assumed to be dead considering that she, well, died at the end of the novel Dark Disciple, which adapted an eight-episode arc from Star Wars: The Clone Wars that was never made. And yet, Ventress was seen alive and well in the Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 episode “The Harbinger,” though no explanation was given for how this was possible. Well, now we finally have that answer thanks to Disney+’s Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, which just premiered on the 2025 TV schedule, and Nika Futterman, Ventress’ voice actress, shared with me how she feels about that major moment.
Barriss Offee (one of the subjects of Tales of the Empire) had framed Ahsoka Tano for the bombing on Coruscant. So for anyone who’d watched that show, but never heard of Dark Disciple, it probably wasn’t weird to see her return in The Bad Batch. But Dark Disciple is official canon, so Ventress’ resurrection was a loose end that needed tying up. Not only was Nika Futterman pleased that she got to return to the character after so long away, she also approved of how it was handled.
Although the Star Wars franchise has always dabbled in the supernatural with the Force, The Clone Wars took it a step further with the Nightsisters’ magick. Resurrection was one of the many abilities afforded to them, and even from beyond the grave, Talzin was able to give Asajj Ventress a second chance at life. However, as Nika Futterman pointed out, exactly what
Now we don’t know exactly yet how it happened. But, I thought, ‘Well, why can’t we make it happen? [Dave] Filoni can do anything. He’s got the power. He can say the yes.’ And I guess he loved her as much as we do. And he said, ‘All right, let’s bring the chick back, and then we’ll tell everybody how it happened.’ It’s magic!
It’s true that we didn’t see exactly what transpired between Ventress’ spirit agreeing to be revived and when she awoke on Dathomir, and maybe that will never be shown. What we do know is that in order to come to life, Ventress had to agree to never be with Quinlan Vos again. The two of them fell in love during Dark Disciple, so her to agree to that stipulation was surely agonizing.
Asajj Ventress did come close to reuniting with Quinlan Vos during Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld. She learned from Lyco Strata, her new Jedi companion, that Vos was running the “The Path,” which sheltered Order 66 survivors from the Empire. Upon getting confirmation of this herself, she oped to stay away, comforted by the knowledge that Vos was ok.
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Fortunately for her, she didn’t have to continue living a life of solitude, as Lyco also forwent The Path and decided to keep traveling with Asajj Ventress. So now we wait to see if these two will return in any of the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows. Ventress has a new lease on life, and I’d welcome hearing Nika Futterman voice her in more stories.
How To Watch The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Online
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Watch The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2: Preview
Rising from the grave like one of its titular zombies, The Walking Dead franchise continues on as the first of its three main character spin-offs returns for a second season. Dead City follows former enemies Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffery Dean Morgan) as they continue their adventures in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, now cut off from the mainland and full of danger from both the dead and the living. So, read on below as we explain how to watch The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 online, for free and from anywhere with a VPN.
When we left the crumbling NYC at the close of season 1, Maggie had traded Negan to brutal faction leader ‘The Dama’ (Lisa Emery) in return for her son Hershel (Logan Kim). Season 2 teases the pair on opposite sides of a war for power in the city, hinting that Negan’s alliances may well be changing as he attempts to win his freedom, and for fans keen to see the former villain return to his antagonistic ways, that’s a mouth watering prospect.
TVNZ+ streaming service at 2pm NZST on Monday, May 5.
TVNZ+ is 100% free to use. Simply go ahead and sign-up for a TVNZ+ account. All you need is an email address and a NZ postcode.
Overseas? Use a VPN using the instructions below to access TVNZ+ like you would at home.
How to watch The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 online from anywhere
If you’re a UK citizen on vacation or working overseas, you can still watch The Walking Dead: Dead City online just as you would at home.
While services like TVNZ+ block access from IP addresses outside of New Zealand, there’s a handy piece of software called a VPN that can change your IP address, allowing you to watch as you usually would by making it look like you’re accessing streaming services from any country in the world.
For example, Kiwi citizens overseas can subscribe to a VPN, join a NZ-based server and access their subscription from anywhere in the world, just like they would back home.
Step-by-step of using a VPN to unblock:
1. Choose your ideal VPN and install – our go-to recommendation for unblocking is NordVPN.
2. Connect to a server – for TVNZ+, for example, you’ll want to connect to a server based in New Zealand.
3. Go to the live stream you wish to access – for The Walking Dead: Dead City , head to TVNZ+.
How to watch The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 online in the US
(Image credit: AMC+)
In the US, zombie fans will be able to stream The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 on AMC+ with the premiere set for Sunday, May 4 at 9pm ET/PT.
AMC+ is available from $6.99 per month and can be accessed as a standalone app or as an add-on for Prime Video, Apple TV and Roku.
Episodes will also air on the AMC channel at 9pm ET/PT every Sunday, which cord cutters can watch on a live TV service such as Sling TV.
A NZ citizen trying to access your free stream? Use a VPN to port yourself back home.
How to watch The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 in the UK
(Image credit: Sky)
In the UK, season 2 of The Walking Dead: Dead City will air on Sky. There’s no exact release date confirmed yet, but we know it’ll arrive in June.
You’ll also be able to stream via Sky Go, and the platform’s pay-as-you-go option, Now.
A NZ citizen trying to access your free stream? Use a VPN to port yourself back home.
How to watch The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 online in Canada
(Image credit: AMC+)
Canadians can stream The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 on AMC+alongside their US neighbors.
AMC+ prices start from CA$7.99 after a 7-day free trial.
Kiwi in Canada? Simply download a VPN to connect to TVNZ+, regardless of where you’re located.
How to watch The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 online in Australia
(Image credit: Stan)
Season 2 of The Walking Dead: Dead City is streaming on Stanin Australia with episodes starting on Monday, May 5.
Stan prices start at AU$12 per month, up to $22 for the premium tier
Aussie abroad? If you’re abroad and want to connect to your usual streaming services, you can purchase a VPN to allow you to watch no matter where in the world you happen to be.
The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Trailer
The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Official Trailer | Premieres May 4 on AMC & AMC+ – YouTube
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The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Release Date & Episode Schedule
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 will premiere on Sunday, May 4 in the US and Canada and on Monday, May 5 in Australia and New Zealand. it’ll arrive in the UK in June.
Episodes will release weekly on the following schedule:
Episode 1: “Power Equals Power” – Sunday, May 4
Episode 2: “Another Shit Lesson” – Sunday, May 11
Episode 3: “Why Did the Mainlanders Cross the River?” – Sunday, May 18
Episode 4: “Feisty Friendly” – Sunday, May 25
Episode 5: “The Bird Always Knows” – Sunday, June 1
Episode 6: “Bridge Partners Are Hard to Come by These Days” – Sunday, June 8
Episode 7: “Novi Dan, Novi Početak” – Sunday, June 15
Episode 8: “If History Were a Conflagration” – Sunday, June 22
Even though Friends premiered over 30 years ago, we’re still chomping at the bit for all the BTS stories we can get. Now, fan-favorite guest star Paget Brewster has given us one that had to be mortifying in the moment, but she can laugh about it now. I say that because she shared a story involving Matthew Perry and a wardrobe mishap that he handled in a very “gentlemanly” way.
While Brewster was only in six episodes of Friends across Season 4, she’s remembered fondly. She played Kathy, a woman who started out dating Joey but ended up in a brief fling with Chandler, and she was featured in some of Matthew Perry’s best episodes, like “The One with Chandler in a Box.” That means she spent a lot of time with Perry, and one day, while they were between scenes, he invited her over to play basketball in a pool, as the actress told The Independent:
I remember we had one day where Matthew and I were not going to be in scenes for about three hours. And so he said, ‘Hey, do you want to go? Do you want to go play basketball at my house? It’s just up Mulholland [Drive in Los Angeles]. And I was like, ‘Sure, let’s — I’ll go play basketball at your house.’
Paget Brewster said:
[He was] such a gentleman and a sweetheart. He was really a lovely guy. And I’m really glad I was able to read his book before he passed.
The Criminal Minds actor was referencing her co-star’s memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which came out the year before Perry passed away. Along with this story and appreciation for his book, Brewster paid tribute to her co-star and spoke fondly of working closely with him on the beloved sitcom.
Clearly, she adored Matthew Perry and their time working together on Friends, even when it involved a potentially embarrassing wardrobe mishap. And it’s always fun as a fan to hear stories about what it was like to work on this massive hit.
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Now, if you want to go back and see these two and the rest of the cast of Friendson screen and in character, you can stream the sitcom with a Max subscription.
I don’t think I’ll ever get over my experience watching the Midsommar ending for the first (and only) time. I felt so incredibly unsettled as the Ari Aster horror movie unfolded into a cult-y nightmare all during a sunny Swedish midsommar festival. However, it also introduced me to the incredible talent that is Florence Pugh, so no regrets. Now, I’ve just learned that the actress actually took her grandparents to go see it back when it was in theaters, and I can’t get enough of how they reacted.
Florence Pugh is always involving her family in her career, and it’s the sweetest thing. Just last week, she made sure to get her whole team together at a special screening for Thunderbolts*, including her granny, and it was adorable. But as Pugh recently recalled, she also took her grandparents to Midsommar. As she tells it:
I took my gran and my grandad to watch Midsommar in the cinemas. It wasn’t even a premiere, I just took them to our local view. And I remember afterwards, my granddad going, ‘Welp, I wouldn’t have watched it if you weren’t in it.’ I’m like, ‘Not surprised.’ He was like, ‘You were brilliant, absolutely brilliant, darling.’
Late Night with Seth Meyers:
The bit that was just so — I remember going like, ‘Oh my God, I forgot about that’ is when there’s a naked body splayed over, like, breathing organisms. And I was like, ‘How am I supposed to explain this to my grandparents?’
So much happens in Midsommar that makes it so inappropriate for elders – unless they are big horror fans, of course. Multiple people throw themselves off a huge cliff, there’s a really awkward sex scene towards the end, oh, and the part where she watches her boyfriend burn alive in a suit of bear skin? It’s wild! Florence Pugh also has a different view on the final scene than the director, but no matter how you slice it, it’s got messed-up imagery.
Pugh also said this about why she took them:
I think I just worked so hard on it, and I knew the performance that I’d given, and I knew how impactful that time shooting it was that I was like, ‘Well, of course, my family will want to see that.’ And then you watch it with all the people that you’ve taken, and you’re like, [mouths] ‘Oh, fuck.’
Florence Pugh’s Granny Pat Took Over the Thunderbolts* Director’s Chair – YouTube
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This is such a great story. You just don’t think about the family of the actor in a movie like Midsommar, and how things go when she wants to show off her work, but there you have it. The Ari Aster movie was a very technical film that required a lot of precision out of the actors, so it makes a lot of sense that she would want to show it to her close family. Earlier this year, Pugh also spoke to the movie being a bit “too much” on her wellbeing, but she remains “proud” of being part of it.
Thankfully for the actress and her family, her new movie Thunderbolts* is a lot more family-friendly. It’s in theaters now.
The Law & Order franchise has been filming on the streets of New York since the ‘90s, and there are probably loads of stories that actors can share from those experiences. As one of the longest-running actors in the L&O franchise, Christopher Meloni knows a thing or two about shooting the drama out in the open and coming across fans. Unfortunately, there are times when a scene is ruined due to interference, as Meloni reveals some of the F-bomb-laced comments people have yelled at him.
In 1999, Meloni began portraying Detective Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU and departed in 2012. He returned to the role in 2021 to lead his own spinoff, Organized Crime, which is airing now on the 2025 TV schedule. So it’s not surprising that he’s experienced quite a lot of fan interactions while filming in the Big Apple over the years. While taking part in BuzzFeed’s popular Puppy Interview segment, Meloni was asked about the most wild or memorable experiences he’s had while filming in NYC, and these sound crazy:
It’s usually you’re on the streets, you’re trying to be in character and stay in this moment and someone drives by and is like ‘Ice-T get that motherfucker!’ And you’re like ‘OK, well, that kind of blew that take’ or ‘Stabler my man, fuck ’em up!’ You’re like ‘OK, I will! Thanks for blowing the take.’
Dick Wolf’s procedural-based franchise. One would still hope that devotees would be respectful, though, given that filming can be stressful as is.
Although it seems filming Law & Order in public in New York can have its ups and downs, positive developments can result from it. Last year, Mariska Hargitay was mistaken as an actual cop by a lost child while filming SVU. Production briefly paused while Hargitay helped the child find her mother, eventually reuniting the two. She may only play Captain Olivia Benson on TV, but I’d say she’s certainly a hero in real life as well.
When it comes to Meloni’s Organized Crime (which is available to stream with a Peacock subscription), the long-awaited fifth season premiered last month. It delivered a sad exit, with Ainsley Seiger’s Jet departing. At the very least, both Hargitay and Peter Scanavino have guest starred on the show, and the series is effectively building on its shared universe.
It’s probably reasonable to assume that the cast and crew of Law & Order shows will continue to have to deal with fan reactions while filming in public. Despite that, I’d expect Christopher Meloni and co. — being the professionals that they are — to continue to handle such situations with grace. All the while, after hearing Meloni’s comments, I’m interested in hearing experiences from some fellow franchise alums.
CBS rolled out its renewals and cancellations in the 2024-2025 TV season rather than announcing the fates of the full slate at once. The Equalizer, starring Queen Latifah, Tory Kittles, Liza Lapira, and Adam Goldberg, was the last show standing until early May in the 2025 TV schedule. Alas, joins like two FBI shows and Shemar Moore’s S.W.A.T. (again), the series has been cancelled by CBS, and fans only have one episode left before the only option for reliving the action will be by streaming older installments with a Paramount+ subscription.
Queen Latifah herself wasted no time in posting a message in reaction to the news, and it’s worth looking ahead at what to look forward to (or dread) out of the series finale on May 4.
The Equalizer Cancelled After 5 Seasons, And Queen Latifah Has thoughts
Deadline, a possibility to bring The Equalizer back at least one more time was a 13-episode sixth and final season, with producers and Queen Latifah reportedly making budget concessions to CBS for that possibility.
Whatever debates may have been happening behind the scenes, the show will not return, the potential spinoff is not moving forward, and it’s said that Universal Television is not planning to shop The Equalizer around to be rescued by another network or streamer.
While the cancellation undoubtedly stings for fans, hopefully Queen Latifah’s message on Instagram will be a bit soothing. The leading lady.executive producer wrote:
Stepping into a kick-ass role like Robyn was everything I hoped it would be. Shakim and I at Flavor Unit are always excited to bring these kinds of roles and projects to life—and then we just hope you love them as much as we do. The Equalizer blew past every dream we had for it, and having the opportunity to do this for five seasons honestly feels surreal. Thank you to our amazing cast, crew, and producers and writers! And I can’t say enough about the FANS!Y’all have been so loyal, so loud, and so ride-or-die—and that’s exactly why we keep doing this. We can’t thank you enough. It means the world to us. And don’t worry—I’ll be back kicking ass in something new real soon. Can’t wait to share it with you.
The Equalizer being cancelled obviously wasn’t the ideal result of any deliberations at CBS, but Queen Latifah’s first public response to the decision was positive and focused on the great parts of the experience. Specifically addressing the “ride-or-die” fans just ahead of the series finale was a lovely move by the star, and I’m just hoping that the finale ends in a satisfying way rather than a stressful cliffhanger that will never be resolved.
And on that note…
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What To Expect From The Series Finale
The cancellation news coming less than 48 hours before the season finale – and now series finale – airs on CBS of course means that it’s far too late to film a different ending than the one originally produced. The Deadline report states that The Equalizer creative team did plan the Season 5 finale in a way that could double as a series finale. That should come as some relief – The Equalizer has delivered big cliffhangers in finales before! Per CBS’ episode description, here’s what to expect:
While on a romantic getaway, McCall and Dante are abruptly ambushed by Salazar and his army. Meanwhile, Aunt Vi finally decides to take the next step in her relationship with Captain Curtis, and Dee meets with her favorite author who may be able to help her get into her dream university.
So much for a romantic getaway! It’s hard to predict how that storyline could go down or end just based on preview material, but hopefully Dee’s meeting with her favorite author is a nice way to end her story of The Equalizer. As for McCall and Dante, the promo sheds more light on just how unromantic their getaway is going to get:
The Equalizer 5×18 Promo “Decisions” (HD) Season Finale | Queen Latifah action series – YouTube
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Maybe they’ll get a few minutes to enjoy the cabin before it’s invaded by gun-toting bad guys? Nothing is ever too straightforward for Robyn McCall on The Equalizer! The promo also doesn’t give away any of what happens in any of the subplots, so we’ll all just have to tune in for these characters’ primetime swan songs.
The series finale of The Equalizer airs on Sunday, May 4 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, following the penultimate episode of Watson (with the return of Randall Park’s Moriarty) at 9 p.m. ET and the long-awaited return of Melissa Roxburgh as Dory Shaw on Tracker at 8 p.m. ET. All three shows are also available streaming on Paramount+.
