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Netflix’s new fantasy film with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score ends a Tyler Perry movie's reign in updated streaming rankings. Written, directed, and produced by Perry, the Netflix film, Straw, stars Taraji P. Henson as a single mother caring for her chronically ill daughter who must deal with a series of unfortunate events that cause her to commit unthinkable crimes.

In addition to Henson in the lead role, Straw's cast also includes Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Rockmond Dunbar, Ashley Versher, Mike Merrill, and Glynn Turman. Since its release on June 6, Straw has been dominating the streaming service's charts, finishing at No. 1 on Netflix's Global Top 10 movies for the first past three weeks.

Straw also scored the biggest week for a Netflix film in 2025, racking up an impressive 48.9 million views in its first week. This marked not only the biggest week for any Netflix film in 2025 so far, but...

A truly humorous series is coming to Netflix U.S. for the first time ever, after ending its five-season run nearly a decade ago. House of Lies, starring Marvel star Don Cheadle, will find its way to the platform next month with all fifty-eight episodes, but it remains uncertain how long it will stay on. Created by Matthew Carnahan, the comedy premiered on January 8, 2012, as an adaptation of the 2005 book of the same name by Martin Kihn. Later on May 17, 2016, Showtime cancelled the show, with the series finale airing June 12, 2016.

On Wednesday, July 23, House of Lies arrives on Netflix, per What's on Netflix, taking fans back to the eventful days of Cheadle’s charming Marty Kaan. Although this marks the first time the show has been available on Netflix U.S., it has been streamed in select other territories for periods of time, as reports have shown Netflix in Canada...

Straw scores the biggest audience for a Netflix movie in 2025. Written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry, the psychological thriller stars Taraji P. Henson as Janiyah, a single mother caring for her chronically ill daughter, Aria (Gabby Jackson), who must deal with a series of unfortunate events that cause her to commit unthinkable crimes. In addition to Henson in the lead role, Straw's cast also includes Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Rockmond Dunbar, Ashley Versher, Mike Merrill, and Glynn Turman.

Now, after releasing on June 6, Straw has scored the biggest week for a Netflix film in 2025, racking up an impressive 48.9 million views last week. This marks not only the biggest week for any Netflix film in 2025 so far, but also the best debut week for a new release this year. This week, the movie maintained its position at the top of Netflix's English Films chart. It also ranked among the...

Despite a wave of negative reviews — and even more serious offscreen controversies — Tyler Perry’s latest Netflix film, Straw, has become an undeniable streaming juggernaut. After debuting on June 6, the psychological thriller starring Taraji P. Henson has officially pulled off the biggest single-week viewership of any movie on Netflix so far in 2025. In just its second week, Straw nearly doubled its audience, soaring to 48.9 million views — a 93.3% jump from its opening weekend haul of 25.3 million.

That first-week performance was already enough to make it Netflix’s most-watched film for the week of June 2, but the new numbers solidify Straw as not just a hit, but a record-breaker. The movie easily outpaced Netflix’s next most-watched film, the documentary Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster, which came in second with 17.4 million views during the same window.

Straw’s surge comes at a curious time. In the background of its release, Perry is...

Straw has been holding strong atop Netflix charts for the second week in a row now despite a major controversy, and the film’s biggest star has pulled back the curtain on what it’s like working with director Tyler Perry. Starring in the lead role of Janiyah Wiltkinson in Straw is Taraji P. Henson, who plays a single mother navigating a series of unfortunate events that lead her into a dangerous situation and at the center of suspicion in a terrifying world. Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Rockmonud Dunbar, and Glynn Turman also star in the film. Henson recently sat down for an interview with Decider, and she spoke about the nearly twenty years she’s been working with writer/director Tyler Perry, even praising the scripts he’s sent her over the years:

“I feel like every script that he sends me, he ups it. He challenges me,...

Kevin Costner is a two-time Oscar-winner for his work on Dances With Wolves, but the most recent film from the Yellowstone star just got a disappointing streaming update. Costner stars in and directs Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, which has been streaming on Netflix for the entire year. Unfortunately, as all good things come to an end, Netflix has announced that the last day to watch Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 will be on July 15. This still gives fans roughly a month to check out the three-hour sweeping Western epic that failed to deliver even half of its reported $100 million budget at the box office, grossing only $38 million. The film earned scores of 51% from critics and 70% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

Costner is arguably most famous for his role as John Dutton in Yellowstone, the hit contemporary Western series from Taylor Sheridan, but things didn’t...

Horizon: An American Sagastar Kevin Costner has addressed the possibility of retirement after turning 70 earlier this year. Costner remains an in-demand actor and filmmaker more than 40 years after starting his career.

Costner made his big-screen debut in 1981's Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. but didn't necessarily break through as a mainstream star until his portrayal of real-life lawman Eliot Ness in 1987's The Untouchables. An impressive career as both an actor and director followed, with Costner receiving two Academy Awards and three Golden Globes over the next 38 years.

Kevin Costner Addresses Possible Retirement and His Career Bucket List The Actor and Filmmaker Is Trying to Finish His Horizon Series of Four Westerns

Costner looked ahead at what he still wants to accomplish while speaking to People, revealing that he's given no serious thought to retiring.

"I don't even think about retiring, because I'll just move to the next thing that captures my imagination,...

Netflix debuted its new thriller film, Straw, on the platform last Friday, and the film has hit its stride with a legendary run of streaming success. Straw stars Taraji P. Henson and follows a single mother as she finds herself wandering down a path she never envisioned for herself, suddenly in the middle of suspicion in an indifferent world. Straw hit Netflix on June 6, and the film is still the most popular movie on the streamer, sitting at #1 at the time of writing. What makes this even more impressive is that the film has not been particularly well-received by critics or audiences. Straw currently sits at a “rotten” 50% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and even the audience-driven Popcornmeter lands at a 74%.

Straw was written and directed by Tyler Perry, and it also stars Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Glynn Turman, and more. Perry will always be known for his work on the Madea franchise,...

Nearly five years after suffering a major stroke, Sinbad has returned to acting with his with a role in Tyler Perry’s film Straw.

Straw is a thriller film directed by Perry that debuted on Netflix on June 6th, starring Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Rockmond Dunbar, Glynn Turman, and more. In it, Sinbad portrays Benny, the sympathetic neighbor of the protagonist Janiyah (Henson).

It marks the comedian’s first major on-screen appearance since prior to suffering a stroke in October 2020, which was followed by nine months in the hospital re-learning how to walk. In March 2024, he made his first public appearance after the incident, appearing with his former co-stars from A Different World for a virtual reunion event, and posting a statement to Instagram thanking well-wishers for their support.

In that same Instagram statement, Sinbad told fans to “expect to see more of me soon.” Now, he’s returned,...

Tyler Perry’s Straw Rises To Netflix No. 1 Despite Mixed Reviews (Photo Credit – Netflix)

Netflix has found another global success with Straw, the new psychological thriller from Tyler Perry, starring Taraji P. Henson. The film, despite its lukewarm 46% score on Rotten Tomatoes, has taken the No. 1 spot on the platform’s Global Top 10 list and pulled in over 25 million views and more than 45 million hours watched in its debut week.

What Is Straw About on Netflix

The film follows Janiyah, a single mother played by Henson, who is caught in a downward spiral while caring for her chronically ill daughter, Aria. After a string of incidents upends her life, she finds herself tangled in a web of legal trouble and desperate decisions.

Perry has handled the writing, direction, and production of the movie with a cast that includes Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Rockmond Dunbar, Mike Merrill, Ashley Versher, and...

Tyler Perry has a multi-year deal with Netflix that has proven to be very lucrative. His latest addition, the mystery thriller Straw, is one of his many hits.

Perry has had a long series of projects with the streaming service, both films and TV shows. The Madea creator's new film debuted with mixed reviews from the critics but positive ones from the audience. This turned Straw into a streaming hit, as it debuted with very strong numbers at the top of the global charts, per Tudum.

For the week between June 2 and 8, the mystery thriller debuted in first place with 25.3 million views and 48.5 million hours viewed. Since the film debuted on June 6, it only had three days to gather views and it became a massive success. Straw entered the Top 10 in 81 countries around the world and became the No. 1 film in 26 of them, including the U.S.

This comes despite Straw's poor reviews.

Image Award-winning filmmaker Tyler Perry must have precious little free time. It seems that he’s always got a project in development. Case in point: His latest film, Straw, recently landed on Netflix. Given the creator’s track record for creating catchy streaming content, it likely comes as no surprise that just four days after its release, Straw is already claiming the #1 chart position on the platform.

Fans seem to be reacting rather enthusiastically thus far. In perusing social media responses, we found more than a few subscribers who openly admitted that the film had them in tears.

Many seem to be responding to Taraji P. Henson’s emotional turn as the lead character, Janiyah. Several viewers have taken care to praise Henson’s nuanced portrayal of a single mother struggling to get by. You can scope a sampling of subscriber reactions to the flick below.

https://twitter.com/__JKSR/status/1932444606865834101 https://twitter.

Tyler Perry and Taraji P. Henson's new thriller movie has become a global Netflix hit despite its 46% Rotten Tomatoes score. Perry is an actor, writer, director, and producer who is perhaps best known for playing Madea in over a dozen movies. In recent years, he has made movies mostly for Netflix – writing and directing A Fall from Grace, A Madea Homecoming, A Jazzman's Blues, Mea Culpa, and The Six Triple Eight – many of which were panned by critics, but were somewhat popular on the streaming service.

Henson, on the other hand, is an acclaimed actress who rose to prominence playing a prostitute in Hustle & Flow (2005), but it was her performance as a nursing home caretaker in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Another one of her most acclaimed roles is the mathematician Katherine Johnson in Hidden Figures.

Writer-director Tyler Perry addressed the real-life influences of his new Netflix movie, Straw. The 2025 drama follows the story of a single mother, Janiyah Wilkinson (Taraji P. Henson), who finds herself on the wrong side of the law after doing something desperate for her sick daughter.

Straw is part of Tyler Perry's roster of movies under his first-look deal with Netflix that began in 2023 and includes the likes of Mea Culpa, The Six Triple Eight, and Duplicity. Straw, which premiered on Netflix on June 6, 2025, is headlined by an incredible cast led by Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Glynn Turman, Sinbad, and Rockmond Dunbar. 

Is Straw Based on a True Story? Tyler Perry Connects His Own Life and 'People on This Planet' to Movie Read full article on The Direct.

Tyler Perry recently released a psychological crime drama film called Straw. The movie, which debuted on Netflix on June 6, has been a hit with viewers.

Per ScreenRant, the latest thriller from Madea creator Perry has closed out its first weekend on Netflix with some solid reviews from viewers. At the time of writing, Straw holds a 76% approval rating via review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes' user-generated "Popcornmeter," as averaged across more than 250 user-submitted ratings. Although there are not currently enough critical ratings to generate a "Tomatometer" score for the film, early reviews from critics point towards it being a general success.

Written and directed by Perry, who also produced alongside Angi Bones and Tony Strickland, Straw stars Taraji P. Henson as Janiya Wiltkinson, a single mother living with her often ill daughter Aria. Over the course of the film, a series of minor crises eventually build up to a full-blown lethal breakdown...

The film Straw opens not with a bang, but with the crushing weight of a life lived on the margins. We meet Janiyah, a single mother in Atlanta, through a montage of domestic struggle—a color-drained apartment, mounting bills, and the ever-present exhaustion etched onto her face.

Her world is one of quiet desperation, centered on providing for her young daughter, Aria, whose chronic medical needs add another layer of financial strain. The film’s cinematography here is stark and intimate, refusing to romanticize her poverty.

This focus on the individual against a failing social structure is a powerful, universal theme, reminiscent of the gritty realism found in Indian Parallel Cinema from directors like Shyam Benegal, who similarly documented the lives of the dispossessed. Janiyah’s persistent kindness, like giving her last change to a neighbor, establishes her not as a flawed person but as a good person in an impossible situation,...

Janiyah Wiltkinson (Taraji P. Henson), the protagonist of Tyler Perry’s latest feature Straw, is having one of the worst days of her life. The trouble starts when her daughter Aria (Gabrielle Jackson) tells Janiyah that she needs $40 to pay her school lunch debt, otherwise the administrators will publicly shame her again. Then Janiyah’s landlord threatens to evict her that day if she doesn’t come up with rent.

Things only get worse at work: Janiyah gets into a minor altercation with a customer trying to buy prohibited items with her Wic card, and her boss, Richard (Glynn Turman), a cantankerous old man, refuses to give her an advance on her paycheck. Later, when Janiyah confronts Richard about the money, the pair gets robbed by masked gunmen.

The harrowing situation turns violent when the thieves try to steal Janiyah’s backpack, which holds her daughter’s seizure medication. A...

A compelling new drama-thriller, “Straw,” from the exceptionally prolific filmmaker Tyler Perry, has officially premiered on Netflix. Featuring Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson in a demanding lead role that promises to be a pivotal career moment, the film is set to make a significant impact on audiences, further cementing the undeniable success of Netflix and Tyler Perry collaborations.

“Straw” is meticulously written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry himself, a testament to his complete creative command over the project. This characteristic hands-on approach, where Perry embodies multiple key roles, frequently culminates in a singular, uncompromised artistic vision—a defining hallmark that has shaped his extensive body of work and will undoubtedly inform “Straw.” The direct involvement of an acclaimed actress like Taraji P. Henson immediately elevates the film’s standing, signaling a potentially raw and powerful central performance destined to be a cornerstone of the movie’s widespread appeal.

Even diehard fans of the tireless Tyler Perry sometimes wish he’d slow down a bit to focus on quality over quantity. But Netflix feature “Straw” has a cultural pulse-taking urgency that lifts it above his usual run of comedies and melodramatic potboilers, flawed as it is. Starring Taraji P. Henson as a single mother loaded with more crises than a woman can bear in one day — resulting in a hostage situation à la “Dog Day Afternoon” — “Straw” sports its writer-director-producer’s familiar faults.

It’s overloaded with plot contrivance, histrionics and on-the-nose messaging, piling on too much of everything. Yet what breaks the camel’s back for this put-upon heroine is an accumulated rage that feels particularly tuned to our political moment, when to many Americans it seems societal institutions have ceased to even pretend they serve any citizens below a narrow economic elite. So as it plays out,...

Danger always follows Percy Jackson and the Olympians' hero around, even in the comforts of Camp Half-Blood.

Speaking with Screen Rant, Chiron actor Glynn Turman briefly addressed the new drama Percy will face upon returning to the demigod campgrounds, including the arrival of mythogical figure Tantalus (Veep's Timothy Simons) as Camp Half-Blood's new activities director. Being a far less pleasant face in the role than Chiron, the actor teased how the series' status quo will be "shaken up in a good way. You have to remember the stakes are even higher now. Everybody is trying to form different alliances, even Chiron gets in a little trouble here and there. You'll see that in Season 2. It's quite a dynamic."

Much like his mythology backstory, Percy Jackson's Tantalus was punished in the Underworld for the crime of killing and feeding his son to Zeus as a meal, forever surrounded by food...

We are counting down the months before Percy Jackson and the Olympians returns with its highly anticipated second season in December. The Rick Riordan-inspired series will be dealing with familiar plotlines as Season 2 brings the events of The Sea of Monsters to life. Walker Scobell's Percy Jackson and his friends, Annabeth (Leah Jeffries) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri), will be returning to Camp Half Blood for more Olympus-powered adventures. The trio will be joined by Glynn Turman, who plays Chiron in the Disney+ series, as the show welcomes some interesting new characters such as Tantalus.

Timothy Simons comes on board as Tantalus, a ruthless and mean demigod son of Zeus who joins the staff at Camp Half-Blood. The arrival of new characters means change, which is likely to test the resolve built up by our heroes so far. Speaking with ScreenRant on the red carpet for the 2025 movie Straw,...

Taraji P. Henson is stepping out for the premiere of her new Netflix movie!

The 54-year-old Oscar-nominated actress joined co-stars Teyana Taylor and Sherri Shepherd at the premiere of their new movie Straw on Tuesday night (June 3) held at The Plaza in New York City.

Fellow cast members Rockmond Dunbar, Mike Merrill, Glynn Turman, and Ashley Versher were also in attendance along with Tyler Perry, who directed and wrote the movie.

Keep reading to find out more…Here’s a brief synopsis of the movie: “What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation.”

Straw hits Netflix on Friday, June 6.

Fyi: Taraji is wearing a Stephane Rolland dress. Teyana is wearing a Schiaparelli dress. Tyler is wearing an Amiri suit.

Click through the gallery inside for 40+ pictures of the stars at the premiere…...

Kevin Costner's Western film series, Horizon: An American Saga, keeps being saddled with issues -- and the future beyond 2024's first installment looks bleak. With part two of the four-part blockbuster still yet to get a theatrical release, one of its stars has given a "frustrating" update on its status and what's happening with the rest of the Horizon slate.

Speaking with Screen Rant at the premiere of Tyler Perry's Straw, Horizon actor Glynn Turman revealed that "not a thing" has been shared with him about Horizon since Chapter 1 hit theaters last June. However, he's hopeful Chapter 2 will soon see the light of day. “They started filming Part 3. I don’t know if they’ve continued it," he added. "I think there was a temporary shutdown, and I don’t know if they went back, but Part 2, I can’t wait to see."

Though Chapter 1 wasn't a critical...

What happens when your haven is no longer safe? That’s the big question on everyone’s mind after a recent tease from Percy Jackson and the Olympians star Glyn Turman, who dropped a bombshell about the show. Disney+’s adaptation of Rick Riordan’s beloved book series has all our attention since it premiered in December 2023.

The show earned praise from longtime fans for its faithful storytelling and also from newcomers who were bewitched by how epic this adventure seemed! Now that the show has been officially renewed for a season 2, be prepared to experience some turbulence!

Tantalus joins the chaos of Percy Jackson and the Olympians A still from Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Credits: Disney+

Before Tantalus ever sets foot in Camp Half-Blood, the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians had already taken us on a wild ride. Season 1 adapted the first installment, The Lightning Thief,...

The hits just keep on coming for Kevin Costner’s four-part Western epic, Horizon: An American Saga. In the last week alone, the actor and filmmaker was hit with a lawsuit from one of the production’s stunt performers, only to turn around and be handed yet another lawsuit from United Costume Corporation over an alleged breach of contract. Meanwhile, we’re steadily creeping up on the one-year anniversary of the release of the first film, with no news surrounding when — or at this point if — the follow-up film will ever make it into cinemas. We know that the production was fully shot and completed, as it screened at last year’s Venice Film Festival, but not even those closest to the title are sure what’s going on behind the scenes.

Catching up with Horizon star Glynn Turman, ScreenRant asked about the missing movie and the two that are expected to come after it.

Kevin Costner's Horizon franchise is sinking deeper and deeper into quicksand, and even the franchise's cast is uncertain about the future of the Western epic. Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 was released in 2024 to middling reviews and an underwhelming box office take, putting plans on hold for Costner's partly self-funded passion project franchise. As we eagerly await Chapter 2 to receive an official release date, the actor/director has already made a start on filming Chapter 3. However, Horizon's ongoing legal troubles appear to be more than the franchise can handle.

The new update came via actor Glynn Turman, who spoke to ScreenRant at the premiere of Tyler Perry's Straw. On the red carpet, Turman, who is set to make his Horizon debut in the already filmed Chapter 2, gave a very worrying update on the state of Costner's franchise. "They started filming Part 3," the actor said, getting fans'...

In a Screen Rant Exclusive, a Percy Jackson star has teased how a new character joining season 2 will shake up Camp Half-Blood and Chiron. When Disney+’s Percy Jackson TV show was released in December 2023, it quickly became a hit with fans of Rick Riordan's titular book series and newcomers alike. Luckily, the streaming giant picked the show up for a second season. Percy Jackson season 2 will feature many new characters, including Tantalus (played by Timothy Simons), a ruthless and mean demigod son of Zeus who joins the staff at Camp Half-Blood.

While new characters always mean changes, Tantalus will definitely impact the dynamic at Camp Half-Blood in major ways, according to Glynn Turman, who plays Chiron in Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Screen Rant reporter Liam Crowley caught up with Turman during the red carpet for the 2025 movie Straw, and the actor teased how the power dynamics will change.

This article contains a brief mention of sexual assault.

One of the stars of Kevin Costner's four-part epic Horizon: An American Saga provided an exclusive update to ScreenRant's Liam Crowley about the status of the beleaguered epic Western series. Costner's long-gestating passion project has run into a bevy of issues ranging from lack of funding to multiple legal battles, and while it was originally planned to include four interconnected epic movies, its future remains uncertain at best. Costner's personal financial stake in the movie along with his decades-long commitment to the project has kept hope alive, but the obstacles to its completion have continued to pile up.

Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor Glynn Turman opened up about the Horizon franchise's future in an exclusive interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley on the red carpet of the premiere of Tyler Perry's upcoming thriller Straw. The former child actor more recently...

In the days before cable television got serious about creating original programming, the networks were just about the only game in town if you wanted to watch a new hour-long drama or half-hour sitcom. This meant it was on three broadcast entities to serve a diverse array of viewers with cop procedurals, family-friendly comedies, urbane farces, nighttime soaps, Westerns and science fiction. There were certain formulas that worked and got rehashed as needed, but the networks were always on the lookout for something out of the ordinary, a smarter-than-average take on one of the aforementioned genres, or, even better, a daringly innovative series that captured the public's imagination. Shows like "Soap," "St. Elsewhere" and "Twin Peaks" pulled this off with stunning élan, but when a network risk went south there was always the chance that you'd wind up with a pop cultural punchline like "My Mother, the Car," "Supertrain," or "Cop Rock.

After the news that Netflix has ordered a pilot for the upcoming spin-off to the 1987 seriesA Different World, six series regulars have been added to the cast, including someone to play Dwayne and Whitley's daughter, according to Deadline. Chibuikem Uche, Maleah Joi Moon, Cornell Young, Jordan Aaron Hall, Alijah Kai Higgins, and Kennedi McClure are all now a part of the call sheet. According to Deadline, the series will follow Whitley Gilbert-Wayne's (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne's (Kadeem Hardison) youngest daughter, Deborah, during her time at an Hbcu. It's not been confirmed if the series will be returning to the fictional Hillman College (though with Whitley's penchant for legacy it wouldn't be surprising for the show to go in that direction). Moon has been cast as Deborah, giving fans their first look at Dwayne and Whitley's children. According to Deadline, Netflix has declined to comment on the casting.

The...

The next season of the live-action fantasy TV series "Percy Jackson and the Olympians", directed by James Bobin, starring Walker Scobel, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Dior Goodjohn, Charlie Bushnell, Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Megan Mullally, Olivea Morton and Timm Sharp, streams December 2025 on Disney+:

"...modern 'demigod', 'Percy Jackson', comes to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when sky god 'Zeus' accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to 'Olympus'..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Netflix’s followup to “A Different World” has added six cast members to the pilot, Variety has learned from sources.

Chibuikem Uche has been cast as Kojo along with Maleah Joi Moon as Deborah, Cornell Young as Shaquille, Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir, Alijah Kai Haggins as Rashida, and Kennedi McClure as Hazel.

Netflix declined to comment.

The followup to “A Different World” was first reported to be in development in August 2024, with the pilot being announced in March. As reported at that time, the new series would return to Hillman College, a fictional historically Black university, and follow the daughter of original series characters Whitley and Dwayne.

Felicia Pride serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the project. Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Tom Werner, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Bythewood also serve as executive producers. Werner produced the original show via The Carsey-Werner Company, while Allen also produced and...

Exclusive: Netflix’s A Different World spinoff pilot has cast 8 in leading roles. They are Chibuikem Uche as Kojo, Maleah Joi Moon as Deborah, Cornell Young as Shaquille, Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir, Alijah Kai Higgins as Haggins, and Kennedi McClure as Hazel, Deadline has learned.

Netflix declined to comment.

As Deadline reported previously, the streamer will shoot a pilot for A Different World, a sequel to the 1987 sitcom, which will chronicle Dwayne and Whitley’s daughter’s time at an Hbcu. The project had been in development at the streamer since last year, and the commissioning of the pilot is part of that process.

The pilot is a one-off and not part of a strategy shift, sources said. The pilot model in general is more often employed in comedy as a proof of concept for tone, chemistry among the ensemble cast, comedic timing and other key ingredients of a successful series.

"It seems like you had a lot to get over today." Indeed. Netflix has unveiled an official trailer for the crime thriller titled Straw, the latest Tyler Perry film created for streaming on Netflix as part of his deal with the film studio. This will be out in June - his second film this year following Duplicity for Prime Video a few months ago. In Straw, Taraji P. Henson a single mother who watches her desperate day spiral into chaos. Sounds like that title is a reference to the idiom about "the last straw." She becomes the prime suspect in a crime she never meant to commit—suddenly, her survival depends on the one thing she’s never been able to trust: the people around her. "She finds herself in a horrible situation where one of those days, you wake up and everything that could go wrong, goes wrong." The film also stars Sherri Shepherd,...

Tyler Perry's array of Netflix projects continues to emerge as his next film for the streaming giant gets a first look. Straw, the upcoming drama starring acclaimed actor and long-time collaborator Taraji P. Henson, drops a new trailer.

Netflix unveiled the Straw trailer on May 14, highlighting Henson's main character, Janiyah, a struggling single mother pushed to her breaking point as she risks her freedom to care for her sick daughter. The trailer shows a conflicted Janiyah apologize as she's shown holding a gun in a bank, saying, "I didn't mean to do this. Something inside of me broke." Janiyah's emotions are all over the place in the trailer as she deals with an eviction, being separated from her daughter and facing increased fallout from a bank robbery she insists she never committed.

According to the official Straw synopsis, "A single mother’s world unravels in chaos as her...

We’re still more than six months away from the release of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2, but the already-confirmed third season of the hit Disney+ series just took a huge step forward. Fans were waiting on pins and needles throughout the first season of Percy Jackson for news of a renewal, and it didn’t take Disney long after the Season 1 finale to announce that Percy Jackson had been renewed for Season 2. It was then announced back in March that Percy Jackson had already been renewed for Season 3 to cut down on the wait between seasons.

ScreenRant recently caught up with stars Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, and Leah Jeffries at Disney Upfront, and when asked if the rumors of Season 3 beginning production this July were true, Simhadri confirmed, “We go up in July for bootcamp.” Scobell also confirmed the news and mentioned that Season 3 will be “probably my...

Taraji P. Henson makes her dramatic debut as a struggling single mother in the first trailer (above) for Tyler Perry’s Straw, a Netflix film co-starring Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Glynn Turman, Sinbad, Rockmond Dunbar, Mike Merrill, and Ashley Versher. The film will premiere on June 6.

The film follows Henson’s character, who faces a series of unfortunate events that lead her down an unexpected path. Struggling against circumstances beyond her control, she becomes entangled in a situation she never imagined. Fueled by desperation, she finds herself at the center of suspicion in a world that seems indifferent to her existence.

Related: Deadline’s Complete Coverage Of The 2025 Netflix Upfront

In the trailer, Henson’s character visits a bank with a dire need to cash her check to get prescriptions that her daughter desperately needs. However, something escalated, leading her to rob the bank.

“I didn’t mean to do...

Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Sagafaces another hurdle that may spell trouble for the Western movie franchise. The passion project by the Oscar-winning filmmaker has had a number of setbacks as of late, especially as Costner has found himself self-financing sequels to the 2024 box office bomb. Now, another development in an ongoing financial dispute between New Line Cinema and the company that produced the Horizon films, which began with Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, New Line Cinema has filed an arbitration claim against Horizon Series, the firm founded by Costner to finance the films. As a part of their defense in the co-financing agreement, New Line Cinema alleges that they require repayment from Horizon Series. This is the latest hurdle to an already fractured franchise that sees Chapter 2 still in limbo, while Chapter 3 started production last year without complete financing. While Horizon Chapter 2 is...

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 isn't coming to Disney+ anytime soon, but Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson book series, is sharing more good news with fans this spring.

Riordan revealed on Goodreads that he's "guardedly optimistic" about the Percy Jackson season running for five seasons on Disney+ and covering all five books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series.

Here's what Riordan said, via Collider:

"I'm guardedly optimistic about future seasons. No one knows the answer right now. It will depend on continued viewership, but we're certainly off to a great start! All I can say for certain is that everyone involved is hoping and assuming that we will have the full five-season arc, but we'll just have to wait and see. As for how fast they will come out, the hope is certainly that we can pick up the pace of release dates,...

Percy Jackson and the Olympians author Rick Riordan opened up about the future of the hit coming-of-age action fantasy series, after more than a month since receiving an early Season 3 renewal. Riordan also serves as an executive producer and creator on the live-action TV adaptation of his bestselling novel series.

Per Collider, Riordan was asked on Goodreads about the possibility of Percy Jackson and the Olympians lasting for more than three seasons. Although nothing has been finalized yet, he admitted that he’s actually “optimistic” about the Disney+ show’s future. "I'm guardedly optimistic about future seasons. No one knows the answer right now. It will depend on continued viewership, but we're certainly off to a great start! All I can say for certain is that everyone involved is hoping and assuming that we will have the full five-season arc, but we'll just have to wait and see,” Riordan said.

The Netflix summer 2025 movies have been announced and include something for just about every mood. The streaming service is promising another unforgettable summer.

Go to your happy place with Happy Gilmore 2, crack the case with the star-studded whodunit The Thursday Murder Club, strap in for the adrenaline-racing action of The Old Guard 2, get spooked by the horror of Fear Street: Prom Queen, or feel your heart pounding with the high-stake thrills of Tyler Perry’s Straw.

Prefer to be immersed in the real world instead? Look forward to thought-provoking documentaries that range from true crime to powerful investigative pieces.

Happy Gilmore 2 Netflix Summer 2025 Movies

Available May 8

Karol G: Tomorrow was Beautiful (Documentary)

Karol G was told her dream was too big — that she was the wrong gender, and from the wrong place, to ever be a global star. But only fools bet against a Bichota. Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful,...

Ted Sarandos recently stated that “Netflix is saving Hollywood” and that theaters are “an outmoded idea” for audiences. As the big summer movie season begins for cinemas, which will feature future releases like The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Jurassic World Rebirth and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Netflix is now running down their offerings for the summer movie season that will include Happy Gilmore 2, The Thursday Murder Club and The Old Guard 2.

May 9 Nonnas

After the loss of his mother, a man risks everything to honor her by opening an Italian restaurant with a group of local grandmothers as the chefs.

Director: Stephen Chbosky

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Linda Cardellini, Drea de Matteo, Joe Manganiello, Michael Rispoli, Campbell Scott

May 23 Fear Street: Prom Queen

Welcome back to Shadyside High. In this installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season is underway,...

Take a look at more ‘Old West’ gun-slinging footage, from Oscar winning director Kevin Costner’s epic “Horizon: An American Saga", rated 'R' for "violence, nudity and sexuality," chronicling a 15-year span of pre-and post-'Civil War' settlement of the American Old West, now streaming on Netflix:

“A lot of times we measure ourselves against other generations," said Costner about his new film.

"I think about what was at stake. How did people survive? There's a rawness and an unpredictability about it. I'm haunted by that."

Costner, in addition to directing, stars in "Horizon", alongside his son Hayes Costner, who plays his younger version.

Cast also includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jamie Campbell Bower, Luke Wilson, Thomas Haden Church, Michael Rooker, Jena Malone, Isabelle Fuhrman, Alejandro Edda...

...Tatanka Means, Tom Payne, Abbey Lee, Douglas Smith, Wasé Chief, Tim Guinee, Michael Angarano…

....Jon Beavers, Glynn Turman, Kathleen Quinlan, Giovanni Ribisi…

…Colin Cunningham,...

Walker Scobell’s Percy Jackson will get the chance to take on “The Sea of Monsters” just like Logan Lerman before him in the film version.

Disney+’s television series, based on Rick Riordan’s books, was renewed for a second season in February 2024.

Based on Riordan’s second book in the original “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” quintet, the second season of Disney’s “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” has already made some key casting announcements.

When will Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 come out?

Disney revealed at D23 2024 that the series will be streaming in 2025. Since then, the premiere window has been updated to December.

Is Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 in production?

Yes, the show has over a week of production under its belt as of D23, 2024. It shoots in Vancouver.

What is Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 about?

Season 2 of the book-based show...

Netflix is eyeing a return to A Different World, but it's using a process not commonly seen at the platform to get there. A sequel series to the original Cosby Show, the spin-off that ran at NBC from 1987 to 1993 has received a rare pilot order at the streaming service, one of only two times in the company's history that such an order has been handed down. Reportedly, the sitcom pilot will shoot this summer to get a better feel for the tone of the show and the dynamic between the cast, none of whom have been finalized yet. Development to continue the story of Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne's (Kadeem Hardison) family was first reported last August.

While shooting a pilot is the traditional process for a lot of television series, especially comedies, Netflix has always just ordered shows straight-to-series. The sole other occasion in which they bucked their...

Netflix will shoot a pilot for A Different World, a sequel to the 1987 sitcom, which will chronicle Dwayne and Whitley’s daughter’s time at an Hbcu. As Deadline reported exclusively in August, the project had been in development at the streamer since last year, and the commissioning of the pilot is part of that process. A rep for Netflix declined comment.

This is the second known pilot pickup at Netflix, whose business is built on straight-to-series orders. In 2023, the streamer ordered another comedy, the single-camera Little Sky, to pilot, whose production was impacted by the WGA strike. It ultimately didn’t go to series.

Like was the case with Little Sky, the Different World pilot is a one-off and not part of a strategy shift, sources said. The pilot model in general is more often employed in comedy as a proof of concept for tone, chemistry among the ensemble cast,...

The sequel series to “A Different World” is moving forward at Netflix, with the streamer giving out one of the only pilot orders in its history for the comedy project.

According to sources, the plan is shoot the pilot at the beginning of the summer to get a better sense of the show’s tone and of the chemistry among the ensemble cast. No cast members have been locked in at the time of this publishing.

An individual with knowledge of the situation says that Netflix does not plan to engage in a traditional pilot season like the broadcast networks, in which shows are competing for a limited number of slots.

Reps for Netflix declined to comment.

Netflix has eschewed a traditional pilot process for most of its history, only announcing their first ever pilot order in 2023. The streamer has instead focused on straight-to-series orders or script-to-series deals for their shows.

For over two decades, "Criminal Minds" has been terrifying and titillating viewers with compelling stories about the most psychologically complex killers they can imagine. The FBI procedural (which aired on CBS for the first 15 seasons before making the jump to Paramount+ for "Criminal Minds: Evolution") follows the investigations of the agency's Behavioral Analysis Unit (Bau), tasked with profiling and tracking down dangerous individuals often referred to as "UnSubs" (short for "unknown subject").

The best episodes of "Criminal Minds" go far beyond the usual procedural format and explore the psychologies, flaws, and personal histories of this ensemble of crime fighters. The stakes are higher, the criminals more dangerous, and the potential for someone (usually Reid) to be traumatized for life is extremely likely. In reviewing the case files, we've determined that these are indeed the 15 best "Criminal Minds" episodes, ranked.

Read more: The 10 Best Sherlock Holmes Actors, Ranked

Believer

UnSub: An...

When J.J. Abrams wrote and directed this film, Steven Spielberg saw an opportunity he couldn’t refuse. “Super 8” is a modern-day re-telling of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) without the tale of friendship between the boy and his alien friend. Set almost 30 years apart, both films have their own problems to deal with. The modern-day “E.T. home phone” would’ve not worked had it not been for the complexity of the retelling. The film is era and politics-appropriate.

Even though the film is based around the late 1970s, the Soviet threat always loomed large for the USA. The biggest imagined opposition that the USA always had was the Soviets. This trend did not die down with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Part of being a democratic process or slight transgressions towards autocratic democracy, there’s always the need for the threat of an invisible enemy. This political anxiety...

Price hikes. Monthly content removals. First season cancelations. In some way or another, I’ve come to just ignore all those deplorable acts from Netflix. But they just had to up the ante, didn’t they? They were sneaky about it this time, too. Instead of doing something on the service itself (which every subscriber would eventually come to see), they put the worst of spins on a new addition to its content library. On February 7 — seven months after it was pulled from Max — A Different World was finally able to be streamed again thanks to Netflix.

Once I heard that all six seasons of The Cosby Show spinoff were available to watch (thanks to MovieWeb news reporter Heath McKnight), I went straight to my Roku and loaded up the Netflix app. You might think I was overreacting. It’s just a television show, after all. But for me, both...