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The “Streaming Wars” have been the focus of the TV industry for the past half decade as the big platforms duke it out. And in the Samba TV Weekly Wrap Report looking at household-level weekly streaming viewership, we’ve seen how the platforms wrestle and volley for their placement in the top 10. However, one player in particular has been the one to beat for the top spot: HBO Max.

The Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform has held the top spot on our streaming chart for most of the past 12 months, thanks to titles like “House of the Dragon,” “The Penguin,” “Dune: Prophecy,” “The White Lotus,” and, most recently, “The Last of Us.”

This week, however, Max vacates the top spot for the first time in nearly four months, due in large part to the absence of a new Sunday night series to grab the baton from the recently completed “The Last of Us.

Warning: Major spoilers for StrawTaraji P. Henson addresses the surprise daughter twist in Tyler Perry's Straw. Written and directed by Perry, Netflix's new psychological crime drama stars 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 come into conflict with the law. Straw's ending reveals that Aria actually passed away the night before, and a flashback shows that Janiyah had only been hallucinating her presence the entire day.

In an interview with Decider, Henson addressed Straw's daughter twist, saying she was genuinely surprised by it when first reading the script. She went on to say that her daughter's death explains Janiyah's detached behavior, showing she had mentally "snapped" the day before and was functioning on autopilot in denial. Read her full comments below:

I wasn’t either! When I was reading it,...

Celebrity Family Feud season 11 features a galaxy of superstars competing in the classic game show for their favorite charities, including two American Idol icons. Hosted by Steve Harvey, Celebrity Family Feud premiered in 2008 on NBC, but later moved to ABC in 2015. In the past, American Idol alums including Kellie Pickler, Kelly Clarkson, Scotty McCreery, Katharine McPhee, and Clay Aiken, have competed on the show.

Celebrity Family Feud season 11 features a galaxy of superstars competing in the classic game show for their favorite charities, including two American Idol icons.

In a press release, ABC announced that American Idol legends Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia Barrino will appear on the show, but they won't be competing against each other. Instead, Jennifer's team will take on Taraji P. Henson's squad, while Fantasia and her group will go head-to-head with Patti Labelle's team.

In addition, Celebrity Family Feud season 11 will feature match-ups between other fan favorites,...

Do you need help finding the best shows on Netflix and avoiding the stinkers? Here is your easy way to find out what to watch and what to miss. It’s time again to reveal the top five most-viewed movies and shows across the US for the week ending June 8.

Tudum has been updated, and we can share those two top five lists with you. Or, if you want to get ahead of everyone else, then check out what's new on Netflix this week.

Last week, it was a chunk of old movies that had people watching. That comes with a warning: while some are good family fun, one was rated as a bit of a stinker by many, so you may want to consider it a miss. Look out instead for a brand new and tense movie just released on the platform.

The top five most-viewed shows go in the opposite direction.

This article contains major spoilers for Netflix's Straw.Tyler Perry speaks about whether Straw is based on a true story. The Netflix drama thriller tells the story of a single mom who has a horrifically bad day that triggers a series of events that lead to her breaking point. The movie is written and directed by Perry and is part of a multi-film deal between the streamer and the creator. Straw's cast is led by Taraji P. Henson and features a supporting cast including Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Ashley Versher, Rockmond Dunbar, and Mike Merrill.

Speaking with Extra TV, Perry acknowledged whether Straw is based on a true story. While the film is not directly based on one person's experience, he revealed that its plot is inspired by people who are regularly "not being acknowledged [and] not being represented." He felt that part of it reflected his own life...

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...

Ginny & Georgia. (L to R) Brianne Howey as Georgia Miller, Antonia Gentry as Ginny Miller in episode 307 of Ginny & Georgia. Cr. Amanda Matlovich/Netflix © 2025 The week of June 2nd brought some massive hits to the streaming charts, with psychological thrillers and beloved family dramas taking center stage! If you’re wondering what everyone was binge-watching, look no further. Leading the charge on the English film charts was Tyler Perry’s psychological thriller, Straw. This intense film about a woman pushed to her breaking point debuted at an impressive No. 1 with 25.3 million views. Audiences and critics alike couldn’t stop praising Taraji P. Henson’s raw and emotional performance as a single mother navigating crisis after crisis. Meanwhile, the mother-daughter duo from Ginny & Georgia absolutely owned the English TV charts, with all three seasons landing in the Top 10! After last season’s cliffhanger, Season 3 debuted at No. 1 with 17.6 million views,...

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.

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Tyler Perry’s “Straw” and “Ginny & Georgia” Season 3 led the week of June 2 on Netflix. The thriller was the most-watched title of the week with 25.3 million views, while the third season of the Netflix original saw 17.6 million views.

Written, produced and directed by Perry, “Straw” stars Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor and Sinbad. It marks the filmmaker’s latest collaboration with Netflix following “Beauty in Black,” “Mea Culpa” and “A Fall from Grace.”

The second most-watched English-language movie of the week was the 2013 magic heist thriller “Now You See Me,” which secured 4.9 million views. That was followed by the children’s romp “The Bee Movie” in third place (4.8 million views), the beloved cult thriller “M3GAN” in fourth place (3.8 million views) and the biographical comedy-drama “Nonnas” in...

Survey Says! This new Celebrity Family Feud lineup is one you don’t want to miss. The game show has two “families” or groups of celebrities from the same franchise competing against each other to try and win $25,000 for their chosen charity. Celebrity Family Feud will premiere on Thursday, July 10 at 8pm Edt on ABC. It will stream the next day on Hulu. Steve Harvey will be back to host. He also hosts the regular version of the game show. The celebrity contestants will answer survey-type questions that were posed to 100 people. The lineup includes: The Housemaid vs. The Real Housewives franchise The Housemaid: Paul Feig, Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, and Sarah Cooper The Real Housewives franchise: Cynthia Bailey, Dorinda Medley, Eva Marcille, Melissa Gorga, and Alexia Nepola Martina McBride vs. Patricia Arquette Jennifer Hudson vs. Taraji P. Henson Leanne Morgan vs. Lainey Wilson Laverne Cox vs.

Taraji P. Henson is giving more details about her relationship with Oprah Winfrey after shutting down feud rumors.

If you didn’t know, Taraji played Shug Avery in the 2023 musical film version of The Color Purple, and Oprah served as a producer. Fans began to speculate that Taraji and Oprah were feuding after Taraji spoke out about pay disparity for Black women in Hollywood. Both Taraji and Oprah have previously denied the rumors.

Recently, Taraji gave her thoughts about why she thinks the feud rumors went viral.

Keep reading to find out more…

“When have you ever seen me drag another woman, particularly a Black woman, ever? I’m 10 toes down for us. I think it was just a campaign so that this Black movie wouldn’t do well,” she said while on “The Breakfast Club.”

Taraji also revealed the friendly exchange she recently had with Oprah.

“Me and Oprah,...

Tyler Perry’s psychological thriller Straw,about a woman pushed to her breaking point, debuted at No. 1 on the English film charts as the most-watched title of the week, with 25.3 million views. Audiences and critics alike praised Taraji P. Henson for her raw and emotional portrayal of Janiyah, a single mother navigating one crisis after another while struggling to care for her sick daughter.

Meanwhile, the mother-daughter duo at the heart of Ginny & Georgiatook over the English TV charts with all three seasons landing in the Top 10. After Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) left her own wedding in handcuffs last season, viewers couldn’t wait to dig into Season 3, which debuted at No. 1 with 17.6 million views. Fans also spent plenty of time catching up on the show’s first two seasons, with Season 1 charting at No. 6 (3 million views) and Season 2 at No. 9 (2.5...

After ending her five-year hiatus from music this month, Teyana Taylor took the stage at the BET Awards today to perform her latest single, “Long Time,” and a seemingly unreleased track on an artful and complex set.

Her performance began in front of a backdrop of skyscrapers in flames. Taylor wore red from head to toe as she glided across the stage to a new track where she sings, “It’s cold outside, but inside I’m on fire.” Then, actor Taraji P. Henson made a surprise appearance as a narrator,...

Ciara and Tyler Perry had a red carpet run-in tonight!

The 39-year-old singer and the 55-year-old actor/filmmaker were seen posing for photos together at the 2025 BET Awards on Monday night (June 9) at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Ciara will be presenting on stage during the show this evening. Make sure to check out the full list of performers, presenters, and honorees!

The appearance comes just days after Tyler‘s new movie Straw premiered on Netflix. He wrote, directed, and produced the new film, which stars Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd, and Teyana Taylor.

Fyi: Ciara is wearing a Cong Tri shirt and skirt.

Browse through the gallery for 10+ photos of Ciara and Tyler Perry on the red carpet at the BET Awards in Los Angeles…...

Tyler Perry continues to roll out his plethora of projects in 2025, as the next film in his Madea franchise takes his popular protagonist and her family to the Caribbean. The upcoming Netflix comedy drama, Madea's Destination Wedding, gets its first trailer ahead of its anticipated summer release.

Netflix unveiled the debut trailer on Jun. 9, with Perry's Mabel "Madea" Simmons front and center in her usual brand of button-pushing humor and short-fused quips. The trailer sees Madea's grandniece Tiffany (Diamond White) announcing her impromptu engagement and upcoming wedding to her rapper boyfriend in the Bahamas, to the shock of her parents, Brian (Perry) and Debra (Taja V. Simpson). Madea claims that she's "illegal in 92 countries" before agreeing to go once she hears liquor is involved and enjoys the best of the Bahamas with her family as they prepare for the wedding. However, Madea insists "something ain't right about it at all,...

Tyler Perry’s most famous character, the gun-toting grandma Madea, marks her 20th anniversary this year and, to celebrate, she’s heading to the Bahamas in “Madea’s Destination Wedding.”

The Netflix movie, which begins streaming on July 11, is Perry’s 13th Madea movie and his 30th overall. And to be clear, Madea’s not the one getting married — which, perhaps, is why she begrudgingly agrees to attend her grand-niece’s shotgun nuptials. The plot kicks off when Brian and his ex-wife Debrah (Taja V. Simpson) learn that their daughter Tiffany (Diamond White) is engaged to Zavier (Xavier Smalls), a rapper she met on a yacht — and the wedding is in two weeks.

“I am illegal in 92 countries. I cannot be going all the way to no Bahamas,” Madea quips early in the new trailer, released Monday. But when she’s reminded that there will be an open bar, she then...

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...

‘Straw’: Tyler Perry’s New Netflix Drama Pits Taraji P. Henson Against a Ruthless System Xmag UK Hernan Ripiert

Taraji P. Henson leads the gripping thriller ‘Straw’, where social drama and suspense collide with intensity. Henson stars…

The post ‘Straw’: Tyler Perry’s New Netflix Drama Pits Taraji P. Henson Against a Ruthless System first appeared on Xmag UK.

Tyler Perry’s Straw (2025) is a raw and emotionally charged Netflix thriller that dives headfirst into the devastating spiral of poverty, systemic neglect, and racial injustice in America. At its center is Taraji P. Henson’s soul-baring performance as Janiyah, a single Black mother desperately trying to survive one of the worst days of her life. As her world collapses piece by piece—losing her job, her car, her daughter, and even her sense of self—Janiyah finds herself entangled in an accidental bank standoff. With a powerful supporting cast including Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, and Ashley Versher, and Perry’s signature blend of melodrama and social critique, Straw is a heartbreaking but timely story of how quickly the system can fail those it is meant to protect.

If you found yourself moved by Janiyah’s harrowing journey and are looking for movies like Straw that also explore desperate individuals confronting injustice,...

Taraji P. Henson has never been one to hold back when it comes to speaking her truth. And her recent appearance during the press run for Tyler Perry’s Straw proved exactly that. While the Oscar-nominated actress has carved out an incredible career for herself over the years, the journey wasn’t always met with open doors.

Even after a high-profile role in a $335 million blockbuster alongside Brad Pitt, she felt slighted. Henson recently got candid about how Hollywood responded to her after her Oscar nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. What should’ve been a moment that propelled her into A-list stardom quickly turned into a harsh reality check. But when everyone else went silent, one man, now a billionaire, stepped up in a way no one else did.

Tyler Perry was the only one who called Taraji P. Henson

In a powerful town hall conversation hosted by Bevy Smith for SiriusXM,...

Actress Taraji P. Henson is currently trending for her portrayal of Janiyah, a beleaguered single mother enduring one crisis after another in Straw. Henson delivers an emotionally raw and powerful performance, capturing the crushing weight of marginalization and the resilience it demands.

Henson’s performance is emotionally charged and empathetic, capturing Janiyah’s desperation. Through this character, Henson showcases not just the pain and fear of a woman in crisis, but also her deep humanity and unwavering resolve. However, this reminded the viewers of the time Henson opened up about her harrowing tales of domestic violence.

Taraji P. Henson claimed to be a victim of domestic violence

Taraji P. Henson has spoken openly about her alleged harrowing experience with domestic violence, offering a deeply personal account in her 2016 memoir, Around the Way Girl. She was just 17 when she began dating a man she calls “Mark.”

Taraji P. Henson in Straw / Credit: Netflix

The relationship,...

Nick Offerman andDennis Quaid have each featured in major projects already this year, but the duo is teaming up for a new crime thriller that just got its most exciting look yet. Quaid and Offerman will star alongside Jacob Tremblay (The Little Mermaid) in Sovereign, which is due in theaters on July 11, the same day as James Gunn’s Superman. Sovereign will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, and Collider is thrilled to partner with Briarcliff Entertainment to debut an exclusive clip from the film, which can be found below and shows Offerman's Jerry Kane preaching a harmful sermon loaded with propaganda. The movie was written and directed by Christian Swegal, who previously made his screenwriting debut with Proud Mary, the 2018 action thriller starring Taraji P. Henson and Neal McDonough.

Sovereign, which is inspired by true events, follows a father and his teenage son (Offerman and Tremblay), who...

Straw has now debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score, and viewers seem to be liking the new thriller. Featuring Perry as writer, director, and producer, the new Netflix film stars Taraji P. Henson as Janiyah, a single mother with a chronically ill daughter who, after a series of unfortunate events, finds herself on the wrong side of the law. In addition to Henson, the Straw cast also includes Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Ashley Versher, and Rockmond Dunbar, among others.

Following the film's release on June 6, Rotten Tomatoes reveals that Straw has started strong with an 81% Popcornmeter score from over 100 audience ratings. Though this score could fluctuate as more reviews are added, the film is off to an impressive start. No critics' score has taken shape just yet, but one will likely appear as more reviews emerge online.

What This Means For Straw How It Compares To Recent...

Halle Bailey Net Worth Breakdown (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Halle Bailey is officially making waves and the numbers back it up. At just 24, this multitalented singer and actress has amassed an estimated net worth of around $3 million in 2025. That’s no small feat for someone who’s only recently stepped into Hollywood’s spotlight as a leading lady. From her early YouTube days with sister Chloe to starring as Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid live-action hit, Bailey’s journey is just getting started and her bank account shows it.

Bailey’s rise began long before her Disney debut. As part of the R&b duo Chloe x Halle, she earned critical acclaim, Grammy nods, and a loyal fanbase. Their mixtape The Two of Us landed on Rolling Stone’s top R&b albums list, and Ungodly Hour brought their first Billboard Hot 100 entry.

But it’s her acting that...

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 Watkinson (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...

“Straw” (2025), Tyler Perry’s latest production that is streaming on Netflix, is a bluntly effective depiction of the socio-economic ills a black single mother could face in modern America. An earnest Taraji P. Henson plays Janiyah, a woman having the worst day of her life after having a string of bad days. Circumstances have her at the end of perpetrating an accidental bank robbery. If it sounds like Fredrik Backman’s “Anxious People,” it is a bit like that. Only the understated Swedish humor is replaced by the over-the-top portrayals of anguish. Theatrical histrionics are part of a Tyler Perry movie, after all. And in this case, perhaps necessary.

Straw (2025) ‘Netflix’ Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:

Janiyah (Taraji P. Henson) lives with her daughter, Aria. A montage of shots of her home is enough to tell us that she is barely able to provide for Aria. She wakes up to...

Did you hear the one about the armed robbery that occurred at an Atlanta house party after Muhammad Ali’s landmark 1970 comeback fight? If not, it’s Ok; “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” creator and showrunner Shaye Ogbonna had very little information himself.

“I knew probably less than 1% because it was a little bit before my time,” the writer of series including “The Chi” and “The Penguin” said. “But when it first showed up on my radar, two things happened. Number one, I wasn’t

surprised because it sounds like a story that would take place in Atlanta around that time, and second, I was also not surprised to know that a lot of my family members from that generation not only knew about it but knew someone who had some type of connection.”

Kevin Hart in “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” (Peacock)

Peacock’s eight-part miniseries leans...

Tyler Perry’s Straw, starring Taraji P. Henson, is an emotional drama film revolving around an overworked, underpaid mother desperately trying to make ends meet. From the moment Janiyah Wiltkinson woke up, she had a hard time. She had already received an eviction notice, her daughter, Aria, had complained about the rest of the students in her class making fun of her because she couldn’t afford the school lunch, and she also had to buy the very expensive medication that Aria routinely needed for her chronic illness. Janiyah often felt overwhelmed, but she knew she had to keep on grinding for the sake of her baby girl. But things soon started to spiral out of control; she felt almost as if the whole world was trying to go against her, and she snapped. The title can be interpreted as both ‘straw,’ dried and desiccated grass, to signify how society had completely drained Janiyah,...

The Oscar nominated actor gives a powerhouse performance as a woman pushed to the edge but the punishing film around her does a disservice

Tyler Perry is not beating the allegations. For decades, the content-creating studio chief has been roundly criticized for making the traumatization of Black women a persistent theme in his work. In Straw, his latest exercise in misogynoir for Netflix, he pulls out all the stops to break the camel’s back.

The guinea pig for this cultural stress test is Janiyah (Taraji P Henson), an apex Perry caricature who is past the point of exhaustion. Her loud, hot and dumpy apartment isn’t all that keeps her in perennial discomfort. There’s also a precocious young daughter (Gabrielle E Jackson) with nagging medical issues, and that eviction notice on the dining table. She can’t make ends meet despite working three jobs, and her cashier’s...

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,...

Paramount+ already has Rocky Balboa; now they’re adding Nick Fury.

Samuel L. Jackson has signed on to star in Nola King, a new spinoff of the streamer’s Sylvester Stallone-led series Tulsa King, according to our sister site Deadline. Jackson will reportedly play Russell Lee Washington Jr., who hails from the crime underworld just like Stallone’s Tulsa King character Dwight “The General” Manfredi.

More from TVLineCasting News: Gh Brings Back Kelly Thiebaud, Love Story Adds 3 and MoreCasting News: Jonathan Jackson's Gh Exit, Paige Quits Summer House and MoreCriminal Minds Star Shares the Trick to Pulling Off...

“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” and “Say Nothing” both take place during the “Me” Decade, but in wildly different worlds. Peacock’s “Fight Night” unfolds in Atlanta in 1970, when Muhammad Ali flew into town and won his comeback fight after a three-year boxing ban, while the country’s most powerful figures in the Black Mafia got robbed at a party celebrating that victory. Across the Atlantic and up through the Irish Sea to Belfast is FX’s “Say Nothing,” which chronicles the Troubles in Northern Ireland beginning in the early ’70s. On one side: suave gangsters led by Samuel L. Jackson’s Frank “the Black Godfather” Moten. On the other: working-class members of the paramilitary Irish Republican Army fighting for a united republic free of British soldiers. Here, we dive into both limited series.

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist

Frank “The Black Godfather” Moten and Richard “Cadillac...

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…...

Bevy Smith hosts a Town Hall with the cast of Netflix’s upcoming film “Straw” with director Tyler Perry and stars Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd, and Teyana Taylor.

Straw Town HallTyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd & Teyana TaylorListen on the App

Listen on the App

The Town Hall premieres on Radio Andy (Ch. 102) at 9am Et on Friday, June 6. Listen anytime on the SiriusXM app after the premiere.

Radio Andy

The Radio Andy channel is Andy Cohen’s universe, spanning pop culture, music, news, and so much more. Hear unbelievable moments play out live on air, plus news-making interviews and unfiltered points of view. Always entertaining, and always unpredictable.

The post Bevy Smith Hosts a Town Hall with the Cast and Director of ‘Tyler Perry’s Straw’ appeared first on SiriusXM.

Tyler Perry’s latest film is about someone you’ve probably walked past on the street. Janiyah (played by Taraji P. Henson) is a Tyler Perry heroine in the classic sense: She’s someone who’s trying to get by in the face of overwhelming odds. In Straw, those odds mount to a point of explosive pressure, and Janiyah reaches her breaking point.

“She’s just trying to survive, just trying to be a great mother to her daughter, and then the circumstances in her life cause her to be in this situation,” Perry tells Netflix. “I think that a lot of people around the world, no matter if you’re a Black woman or not, will be able to relate to that feeling of, ‘I’m at my last straw.’”

Read on to learn more about Straw, hear what writer-director Tyler Perry and the cast have to say about the film,...

Tyler Perry’s new film is called Straw for a simple reason. “Straw is about a woman who reaches her tipping point,” star Taraji P. Henson tells Tudum. In other words, Janiyah (Henson) is on her last straw.

“Everything that can go wrong, goes wrong in this one day,” Henson continues. “It’s about how humans operate in that heightened state of panic and anxiety and pressure. When the pot is boiling and it finally explodes, what happens? What does that look like, and how does it affect the people around you?”

In Janiyah’s case, the explosion leads her down a desperate, chaotic path that even she doesn’t seem in full control of — starting with the killing of her boss, and ending with a standoff with the police as she (almost accidentally) holds a bank hostage. “She’s just trying to survive, trying to be a great mother to her daughter,...

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This June, we are getting a ton of content from the much-anticipated conclusion of Squid Game and return of the beloved series The Bear on streaming, to the release of some of the most anticipated movies of this year, such as Brad Pitt‘s F1, and the much-awaited 28 Years Later. This upcoming month will see the release of many great movies, so we thought of compiling a list of all the best movies that are coming straight to streaming.

Presence (June 3) – Hulu Credit – Neon

Presence is a supernatural thriller drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by David Koepp. The 2024 film follows the Payne family as they move into a suburban home and discover that the house is haunted by a spirit. Presence stars Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday, West Mullholland, Julia Fox,...

Netflix is adding just 11 new shows for the first week of June. That may seem like a light schedule, but that's coming on the heels of a massive 30 new titles on the first of the month. It's never advertised itself as the home of the classics. The Criterion Channel, it ain't. But they're taking a small step toward resolving that by adding six of Alfred Hitchcock's classic films to kick off the month.

Okay, to be honest, they're adding five of his classics and a spare. We'll get to those in a bit. You can also catch some modern classics influenced by the Master of Suspense. Don't worry, fam, there's plenty of lighter fare arriving on the first as well. After all, movies about murder, kidnapping, and the end of the world aren't the best for the kiddies.

And all that arrives before the regular slate for the week.

Sherri is leaning into summer with a fully loaded guest lineup across the week of June 2, pulling in a mix of talent from scripted TV, streaming, Broadway, and daytime staples. Fox and syndication partners are keeping the daytime flow upbeat and buzzy, with a programming slate built to court celeb chasers, lifestyle trend-watchers, and […]

‘Sherri’ Stacks Week of June 2 With Taraji P. Henson, Eva Marcille, Michelle Buteau & Lisa Ann Walter...

Today is rolling into June with a loaded guest list, lifestyle hits, and summer-ready segments as the NBC morning flagship looks to lock in viewers heading into the season. Kicking off Monday, June 2, Today jumps on the tech-meets-wellness wave with a closer look at nutrition apps. That leads into a week of marquee interviews […]

Today: Benicio del Toro, Taraji P. Henson, Robert De Niro Headline Week of June 2...

ABC’s daytime juggernaut The View isn’t taking its foot off the gas. Now deep into its 28th season, the show is packing the week of June 2 with a high-wattage guest slate that mixes politics, pop culture, and Broadway—all in line with its Hot Topics-first DNA. Former President Bill Clinton and longtime collaborator James Patterson […]

The View: Bill Clinton, Mark Hamill, Taraji P. Henson Headline Week of June 2...

To help you anticipate and navigate all that television has to offer across broadcast, cable and streaming, TVLine offers daily, weekly and monthly What to Watch digests, as well as an overview of every new TV show premiering in 2025.

Among new TV releases in June, you have the Jensen Ackles action thriller Countdown, the Owen Wilson golf comedy Stick, the Kevin Williamson family drama The Waterfront, and Marvel’s Ironheart. Also on tap are new seasons of The Bear, The Buccaneers, The Gilded Age, Ginny & Georgia and Squid Game (which is ending after three seasons), as well as summertime...

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Netflix is ready with an entertainment-packed June this year. While, we are already know all the brilliant films and TV shows that will be leaving Netflix in the upcoming month, we will also see the premiere of many highly anticipated Netflix original movies and TV shows, including the highly anticipated conclusion of Squid Game and a new season of Shane Gillis’ comedy series Tires. Just like every month, Netflix is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the seven new movies and shows coming to Netflix in June 2025.

Ginny & Georgia Season 3 (June 5) Credit – Netflix

Ginny & Georgia is a comedy-drama series created by Sarah Lampert. The upcoming season 3 of the Netflix series continues the story of the mother-daughter duo Ginny and Georgia after Georgia is arrested for murder during her wedding.

After winning his second best actor Oscar, Adrien Brody took on a new role at the amfAR Cannes Gala on Thursday night — that of an artist.

Brody, who has previously called painting his “first love,” took the stage at the star-studded auction to present a mixed media piece he created of Marilyn Monroe — and demanded the chatty crowd’s attention. Sporting a sparkly black suit, the actor shushed the crowd as he got on stage in a moment reminiscent of his now-infamous five-minute Oscars speech. “Please, for a moment, I know it’s a big room,” he said.

He then explained his inspiration behind the piece, saying that it represents “what Marilyn’s life did not afford her”: “To live a life fully and to cherish all the moments and the imperfections in life.”

Brody continued, “Women are so often objectified in the media and on social media. They...

At a 78th Cannes, which on the party side wasn’t as noisy as previous ones with drone shows (2022’s Elvis) and Elton John performing on the beach (2019’s Rocketman), leave it to amfAR’s 31st fashionista blowout Cannes Gala at Hotel Du Cap at Eden Roc to steal the show. This year fundraiser for the AIDS research foundation racked up $17M+ in an auction of art pieces and experiences with performances by Ciara, Adam Lambert’s sublime Queen covers, and Duran Duran closing with “Notorious” and “View to a Kill”.

Simon Le Bon is hungry like a wolf at amfAR’s 2025 Cannes Gala Adam Lambert has no pressure singing Queen.

Even if you’re ready to throw bread rolls at the stage after what is a four-hour-plus spirited auction by auctioneer, what more than makes up one’s time in the glam oasis is the je ne sais quoi...

Dozens of celebs stepped out for a good cause during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Ciara, Adam Lambert, and Adrien Brody were just a few of the many famous faces on the red carpet at the amfAR Gala during the festival on Thursday night (May 22) at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes, France.

Taraji P. Henson hosted the gala and Adam and Ciara performed at the event!

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy. The Cannes gala has raised $297 million since the first event in 1993.

More celebs in attendance at the event included Colman Domingo, Mariska Hargitay, James Franco, Robin Thicke, Spike Lee, Heidi Klum, Ed Westwick, Teri Hatcher, and many more.

Head inside to see photos of all the celebs at the amfAR Gala…

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