Matt covers celebrity lifestyle, pop cultural history, and internet subcultures for PulpBeat.
Pop CultureDennis Haskins, the actor best known as Principal Richard Belding on 'Saved by the Bell,' has died at age 75. His longtime agent confirmed the news to Variety on Monday; a cause of death has not been released.
TV ShowsNBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson hosted the Saturday Night Live Season 52 premiere, kicking off his monologue with jokes about leading the Knicks to their first title since 1973.
TV ShowsSixteen-year-old Thai singer and guitarist Nene Royal was crowned winner of America's Got Talent season 21, winning the $1 million grand prize and a headlining Las Vegas show.
MoviesSabrina Carpenter will portray Ginger Rogers in the big-screen Fred Astaire biopic starring Tom Holland, directed by Paul King, with Margaret Qualley as Adele Astaire.
Pop CultureA Tennessee judge granted Dolly Parton's estate a temporary restraining order against her nephew Bryan Seaver, citing text messages that allegedly paired threats with demands for payment.
MusicU2 will release 'Carnaval de Luz,' their first album of new songs in nine years, on Nov. 13, closing with 'Torn,' which features the final vocal performance from Dolly Parton.
Pop CultureOscar-winning actress Natalie Portman has welcomed her third child — her first with partner Tanguy Destable — giving birth in Paris last month, according to reports.
TV ShowsPrime Video has canceled 'Spider-Noir,' the Nicolas Cage-led Marvel noir series, after just eight episodes — even as it heads into Emmy weekend with 11 nominations, the most of any Prime Video program this year.
MoviesNoah Jupe has been tapped for an under-wraps role in Marvel's Avengers: Secret Wars, sources tell Deadline, with the part expected to play a key role in the story. The Russo brothers direct the film, slated for a December 2027 release.
TV ShowsLiz Meriwether is shutting down reunion talk, insisting no scripts exist despite Max Greenfield's claim he'd read 'amazing' ones. The cast will still reunite at a Los Angeles gala in October.
MoviesWillem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage have boarded the voice cast of Starburns Industries' 'Lincoln in the Bardo,' joining Tom Hanks as Abraham Lincoln in the hybrid stop-motion and live-action film.
Pop CultureA judge awarded Blake Lively about $400,000 in attorneys' fees in her dispute with 'It Ends With Us' co-star Justin Baldoni — a fraction of the $8 million she had sought.
MoviesChristopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, crossing $1.35 billion worldwide and overtaking 2024's 'Deadpool and Wolverine.'
MusicDr. Dre says he doesn't view AI as a threat, comparing it to the drum machine and synthesizer, and argues that only people 'who have trouble creating' are afraid of it. He and Jimmy Iovine shared the view in a New York Times interview.
Pop CultureJason Blum will host a special performance of the Paranormal Activity Broadway play on Aug. 26 at the August Wilson Theatre. The Blumhouse founder is a producer on the show, which opens the night before after a week of previews.
MusicShakira and Burna Boy's World Cup anthem 'Dai Dai' tops the Billboard Global 200 for a fifth week and the Global Excl. U.S. chart for an eighth, while Tame Impala's 'Loser' surges into the top 10 on the strength of its Spider-Man: Brand New Day sync.
MusicApple Music says it will begin labeling songs made with artificial intelligence later this year, requiring labels and distributors to disclose when AI was used to create a material portion of a track.
MusicRemi Wolf is back with Mud, her first album since Big Ideas, arriving October 9 via Island. The California singer-producer frames the record as a journey from feeling 'covered in shit' to coming out 'clean and clear.'
TV ShowsHBO renewed the Stephen King prequel It: Welcome to Derry for a second season, with Brad Caleb Kane stepping up as sole showrunner and the story shifting to 1935 and the bloody massacre of the Bradley Gang.
Pop CultureBob Iger, the architect of Disney's modern era, was inducted as a Disney Legend at D23 — and Robert Downey Jr., Harrison Ford and Ellen Pompeo took the stage to honor the former CEO, who this week also bought the L.A. Lakers.
TV ShowsCue the 'Nobody cares, Sean' memes: Scott Foley is reprising his fan-favorite role as Sean Kelly in Season 2 of the 'Scrubs' revival — and he's rekindling his romance with Elliot, just as J.D. starts something new.
TV ShowsDisney ordered an anime series based on the beloved 'Kingdom Hearts' video game franchise, developed with creator Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix for Disney+ and Disney Channel.
MusicTaylor Swift will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame this fall, becoming — at 36 — the youngest writer ever to receive the honor. The hall announced the news Tuesday in a livestream, alongside inductees Lyle Lovett, Shawn Camp, Lee Thomas Miller and Bruce Channel.
MusicAriana Grande's team announced she will step back from public visibility after the Eternal Sunshine tour wraps Sept. 1 in London — and the singer addressed the decision directly to fans in Chicago, denying that outside negativity drove it.
TV ShowsDisney and TikTok announced a content-sharing alliance that will bring short-form Disney and Marvel videos to TikTok and a new vertical video feed on Disney+, with creators gaining access to hundreds of film and series assets.
MusicGlen Hansard's Dublin funeral on August 4 featured performances by Bono, The Edge, Eddie Vedder, Hozier and others celebrating the Oscar-winning Irish musician's life and legacy.
MusicGlen Hansard, the Oscar-winning Irish musician and star of 'Once,' died July 29 in a Dublin motorcycle crash at age 56.
MusicCarly Simon has disclosed a Parkinson's disease diagnosis and the removal of facial skin cancer in a candid letter to fans, while also announcing her first album in nearly 20 years.
MoviesMarvel announced at Comic-Con that David Jonsson will play T’Challa’s grown son in Black Panther 3, with Ryan Coogler returning to direct.
MoviesMarvel unveiled Ryan Gosling as the next Ghost Rider at Comic-Con ahead of a 2028 theatrical release, with Shawn Levy directing.
MusicFresh from halftime at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, Shakira brought Tyla, Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy to Barclays Center for her first New York show of the tour’s U.S. leg.
MusicLou Koller, the unmistakable frontman of New York hardcore pioneers Sick of It All, has died following a battle with esophageal cancer. His band announced the news Saturday, marking the end of a 40-year career that helped define the sound and ethos of American hardcore.
TV ShowsAmazon Studios debuted the first Season 3 trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power at Comic-Con, revealing Simon Pegg as the voice of the Balrog during a San Diego Hall H presentation.
MusicCharli XCX has released her follow-up to Brat. Music, Fashion, Film lands on July 24 with 11 tracks and a cover featuring John Cale, Marc Jacobs, and Martin Scorsese.
MusicJon Bon Jovi cut his Madison Square Garden show short after 90 minutes, citing a sinus infection, and told fans to hold their ticket stubs for a rescheduled date within the MSG residency.
Pop CultureJelly Roll filed on May 18, 2026; the couple’s confidential settlement ends about 10 years of marriage.
MusicFIFA confirmed that Post Malone will headline the 2026 World Cup closing ceremony before the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19, joined by Jennifer Hudson, Nicole Scherzinger, Laura Pausini, Robbie Williams, Tom Cruise and IShowSpeed.
Pop CultureSan Diego Comic-Con 2026 runs July 21-26. Marvel is back in Hall H on Saturday, Apple TV+ makes its Hall H debut with Silo and Matchbox, and Disney Entertainment Television fills Thursday with Percy Jackson and American Horror Story.
MoviesChristopher Nolan pushed back hard on Matt Damon's claim that The Odyssey may be the last big movie of its kind, slamming 'AI slop' backlash as premature and insisting human cinema has a durable future.
Pop CultureMeta disabled its Muse AI image generator on Instagram after CAA and SAG-AFTRA publicly criticized the feature for using users’ likenesses without consent.
TV ShowsMariska Hargitay will host the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the first woman to emcee the ceremony in 15 years.