The Wilkerson Reunion, Heated Rivalry Audio Romance & Chappell's Bardot Backtrack

'Malcolm in the Middle' Family Reunites for Hulu Revival

The middle child is back, and the chaos hasn’t aged a day. Frankie Muniz is officially returning to his breakout role in the highly anticipated revival series, Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, set to debut April 10 on Hulu. Fans can expect a full-blown family reunion, as Bryan Cranston (Hal), Jane Kaczmarek (Lois), Christopher Masterson (Francis), and Justin Berfield (Reese) all reprise their iconic roles. While the original cast returns to their dysfunctional roots, the series introduces a new generation of mayhem, including Malcolm’s daughter, Leah (Keeley Karsten), and his youngest sibling, Kelly (Vaughan Murrae).

This revival promises to explore the hilariously stressful reality of the Wilkerson family in the modern day. While most of the original lineup remains intact, the role of Dewey has been recast with Caleb Ellsworth-Clark, following Erik Per Sullivan’s departure from acting. Between Malcolm’s new life as a father and Hal and Lois’ enduring (and loud) parenting style, the first look at the series suggests that while the kids have grown up, the family's signature brand of frantic energy and "life is unfair" philosophy remains perfectly intact.

Pandora and Ping-Pong Dominate the Holiday Big Screen

Hollywood is closing out 2025 on a strong note, with the best Christmas Day box office since before the pandemic. James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash leads the pack, earning $217.7 million domestically in two weeks and $542.7 million overseas. Though it opened softer than the original, its slim 28% second-week drop suggests long legs and raises the possibility of a third $2 billion entry for the franchise. Disney also crossed $6 billion worldwide for the first time since 2019, powered by the lasting success of Zootopia 2 and Lilo & Stitch.

Timothée Chalamet reinforced his star power with A24’s Marty Supreme, a $70 million 1950s-set table tennis drama that earned $27.1 million over the four-day holiday frame, beating bigger-budget studio comedies like Anaconda. The year’s domestic total of $8.76 billion is essentially flat with 2024, but strong PG-rated originals and high audience scores for films like Song Sung Blue hint at brighter days ahead. With 2026 releases such as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the way, theater owners see real momentum toward a full recovery.

ICYMI:

• PopBase followers have crowned “eternal sunshine: brighter days ahead” as their Top Album of 2025. 

• Anthony Joshua has survived a deadly car crash in Nigeria which has killed two people.

Chappell Roan Apologizes Over Tribute to Brigitte Bardot

Chappell Roan has issued a brief but firm apology after her public tribute to the late French star Brigitte Bardot drew sharp backlash. In the wake of Bardot’s death at 91, Roan, whose hit “Red Wine Supernova” references the actress, initially praised her as a major inspiration, then quickly retracted the comments on Instagram after learning of Bardot’s long record of political extremism, including multiple convictions for inciting racial hatred and disparaging LGBTQ+ people and the #MeToo movement.

Addressing fans, Roan said she was shocked by Bardot’s “insane” views and stressed that she does not support xenophobia or homophobia in any form.

POP FACT: On this day in 1998, Hunter Schafer was born.

'Heated Rivalry' Stars Lead New Audio Romance 'Ember & Ice'

Stars of the hit Canadian series Heated Rivalry, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, are reuniting ahead of the show’s 2027 second season for an immersive audio project titled Ember & Ice. The three-episode fantasy romance, created by Quinn, follows two fae princes from warring kingdoms and swaps the show’s hockey backdrop for a more traditional, narrative-driven gay love story. The project, which keeps Storrie in his natural voice despite joking attempts at an accent, is designed to showcase the pair’s chemistry and sustain momentum from the Heated Rivalry finale, which recently dominated Crave and HBO Max.

ICYMI:

• Taylor Swift has returned to #1 on Spotify Global’s Daily Top Artists Chart. 

• BTS have teased a March 20th date in message to membership fans ahead of their highly-anticipated comeback.

• SZA and Doechii have released their new single, ‘girl, get up.’

• The Weeknd has become the first artist in Spotify history to have 30 songs surpass 1 billion streams.

— Katie Macbeth

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