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As part of Collider's Exclusive Preview event, we are thrilled to exclusively debut a new image from The Senior, the upcoming inspirational sports drama starring Michael Chiklis as Mike Flynt — a man who, at 59 years old, suits up to play college football more than three decades after being kicked off the team. Directed by Rod Lurie (The Outpost) and written by Robert Eisele (The Great Debaters), The Senior is based on Flynt’s incredible real-life story. After getting expelled during his senior year, Flynt returns to the same Texas college nearly 35 years later, determined to rewrite his past — and his legacy.

For Chiklis, the role was more than a performance — it was a personal reckoning. “My first reaction was, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Fifty-nine years old? Is this even real?’” He told Collider, “And it turns out he really did it,” in reference to Flynt's true story.

"No one's gonna run over me, I'll guarantee you that." Angel Studios has revealed an official trailer for The Senior, a sports comedy being played as an uplifting sports drama. At age 59, Mike Flynt returns to college football to confront the past and change his future. This first premiered back in 2023 at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, but was never released. Religious distributor Angel Stu&dios picked it up it and is dropping it in theaters this fall. The story follows Mike Flynt, a man who, 37 years ago, was kicked off of his collegiate football team for an altercation. Now at 59, he still carries that burden... He decides to go back to school to get his degree and try out for the team to redeem his past. Michael Chiklis stars as aging football player Mike Flynt, with Mary Stuart Masterson, Brandon Flynn, James Badge Dale, and Rob Corddry. Yep this...

Longtime actor Michael Chiklis is gearing up to play real-life linebacker Mike Flynt in the official trailer for The Senior, an upcoming sports drama that will be distributed by Angel Studios later this year. The two-minute footage showcases Flynt returning to his alma mater, Sul Ross State, after getting expelled from the institution in the early 1970s for fighting. At age 59, Flynt returned to Sul Ross State University and rejoined his former college team, later becoming the oldest college linebacker in NCAA history. "I told him I thought he was crazy," said Jerry Larned, who coached Flynt during his time at Sul Ross in 1969 and supported him at the start of his comeback. But Flynt wouldn't take no for an answer. With his undeniable grit and unwavering determination, Flynt proved that he was up for the challenge.

According to Variety, Chiklis will star alongside Mary Stuart Masterson (The Stepford Wives...

Michael Chiklis provides some veteran locker room presence in the first trailer for “The Senior,” a sports drama from Angel Studios.

The footage introduces the unlikely athletic journey of Mike Flynt, a real life linebacker who was expelled by his college shortly before graduating in the ’70s. Decades later and on the other side of middle-age, Flynt decided to make a comeback by rejoining his college roster, becoming the oldest linebacker in the history of NCAA football.

Along with Chiklis, “The Senior” also stars Mary Stuart Masterson, Brandon Flynn, James Badge Dale and Rob Corddry. Rod Lurie directs. Robert Eisele wrote the screenplay, after being introduced to Flynt by producer Mark Ciardi in 2008 — one year after Flynt’s record-breaking season for Sul Ross State University in Texas.

“I love football — everything about it: the intensity, the strategies, the artfulness of the athleticism… but mostly, I am imbued with it as...

Starting with its title, “Fucktoys” announces itself as an irreverent and audacious attempt at making something different from mainstream American movies. Making her debut as writer, director and star, force-of-nature Annapurna Sriram manages to succeed in delivering a singular vision in all aspects of filmmaking, though not without its influences. The story of a Southern sex worker’s bizarre adventures trying to reverse a curse remains witty and watchable for its entire running time, juggling an abundance of strange characters and story threads en route to a surreal and unexpectedly heartfelt ending.

With its sexually frank dialogue and situations, satire of celebrity and media and drug cultures, the good-taste-defying project is guaranteed to offend large swaths of the public, though many will find enough to enjoy here to make it a cult phenomenon. Sriram commands the material from the opening frames. A long, widescreen shot of two characters on a barge floating in the bayou,...

Angel Studios has boarded “The Senior,” Wayfarer Studios’ sports drama starring Michael Chiklis, and set the film for nationwide theatrical release on Sept. 19.

Directed by Rod Lurie and written by Robert Eisele (“The Great Debaters”), “The Senior” is based on the true story of Mike Flynt (Chiklis). Thirty-five years after getting kicked off his college football team, Flynt returned to the gridiron for his senior year of eligibility, proving, as the film’s logline explains, “to his family, former teammates, and himself that it’s never too late to tackle your dreams.” Mary Stuart Masterson, Brandon Flynn, James Badge Dale and Rob Corddry round out the cast.

“’The Senior’ is the kind of story that reminds us it’s never too late to defy expectations, overcome regrets, and live out your purpose,” said Brandon Purdie, Angel’s global head of theatrical distribution and brand development. “The Angel Guild resonated with Mike’s inspiring story,...

Lena Waithe and Brandon Flynn are among those who will be featured in “Reclaim the Flag,” a 30-minute short about the American flag.

The film, directed by designer Alexis Bittar and produced by Oscar winner Bruce Cohen and Bittar, examines how the flag can be reclaimed as a symbol of unity for all Americans, with a focus on the LGBTQ community.

“Reclaim the Flag,” premiering July 17, features interviews with bold-faced names from Hollywood, politics, media and fashion, including Lena Waithe, Gus Kenworthy, Jonathan Capehart, Marc Jacobs, Bill T. Jones, Jim Parsons, George Takei, Gottmik, Gigi Goode, Cheyenne Jackson, Brandon Flynn, Harper Steele, Isaac Mizrahi, John Cameron Mitchell, Paul Tazewell, Raquel Willis, Josh Wood, Jenna Lyons, Justin Tranter and Marc Jacobs.

The trailer for the film, released Tuesday morning, opens with the words and a voiceover asking, “What does the American flag symbolize to you?”

Waithe says in the trailer, “Depending...

Lisa Kudrow and HBO aren’t letting the Friends star’s cult comedy go without a proper goodbye, and so it is that The Comeback is getting revived for a third and final season. The series, created by Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow, celebrated the 20th anniversary of its launch earlier this month, making today’s news monumental for fans. The revival speaks to the show’s lasting appeal, Kudrow’s endearing screen presence, and HBO’s desire to bring a familiar face back for more much-needed laughs.

The third and final season of The Comeback heads to production this summer for a 2026 HBO and HBO Max debut. In The Comeback, Lisa Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish, an ex-a-list celebrity attempting to rekindle the flame of her once prominent acting career with nothing but a camera crew and some determination.

“Valerie Cherish has found her way back to the current television landscape.

A new film drama, Willie And Jimmy Dean, plans to explore the relationship between screen icon James Dean and screenwriter William Bast.

A new film aiming to explore the man behind the legend has just moved a step closer to production with the announcement that it has found its James Dean. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Parenting actor Brandon Flynn has been cast to play Dean in the planned biopic which will explore the actor’s purported relationship with author and screenwriter William Bast. It’s based on Bast’s 2006 memoir, Surviving James Dean.

The film is set to be directed by Guy Guido, maker of the documentary film Madonna And The Breakfast Club, which explored the artist’s early days as a struggling musician in New York. Likewise, Guido’s next project will explore the early days of Dean’s stardom, apparently beginning with the first meeting between...

13 Reasons Why‘s Brandon Flynn has been tapped to play the late James Dean.

The 31-year-old True Detective actor will star in Willie and Jimmy Dean, the new film based on William Bast’s 2006 memoir, “Surviving James Dean” from writer/director Guy Guido, THR reports.

Keep reading to find out more…

The book alleges that the pair met at the UCLA theater school and eventually became lovers. Bast claimed they kept their relationship a secret as to not hurt James Dean‘s career.

Brandon said in a statement, “James Dean is like the known unknown. His short life left behind just three films, a mountain of photographs and a cultural mythology we keep trying to decode. This script is a beautiful attempt at truthfully understanding who he really was — not just the icon, but the man.”

“This is not a traditional biopic,” Guy said of the project. “It’s a...

The planned biopic focusing on James Dean’s personal life has landed its lead actor.

Brandon Flynn, known for True Detective and 13 Reasons Why, has been cast as the late legendary actor in the feature Willie and Jimmy Dean, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. Writer-director Guy Guido’s film is currently in development and is based on William Bast’s 2006 memoir, Surviving James Dean.

In his book, Bast described meeting Dean at the UCLA theater program at the age of 19 and wrote that the two men became roommates, close friends and eventually lovers. Bast claimed they kept their fling private to avoid hurting Dean’s career while the rising star had relationships with female stars, with Bast remaining hopeful that he and Dean would soon live together again. Five years after meeting Bast, Dean died in a car accident in 1955 at the age of 24, with two of his signature films,...

Amber Heard, Brandon Flynn and Lío Mehiel to Join Cast of the 71st Williamstown Theatre Festival Season in 2025 Xmag UK Xmag Editorial

Amber Heard, Brandon Flynn and Lío Mehiel headline the unmissable 2025 Williamstown Theatre Festival, featuring groundbreaking theatre, dance…

The post Amber Heard, Brandon Flynn and Lío Mehiel to Join Cast of the 71st Williamstown Theatre Festival Season in 2025 first appeared on Xmag UK.

Amber Heard has been announced as part of the cast for Spirit of the People.The project is a departure for the actress into theatre as it’s a new play by Jeremy O. Harris set to premiere at the 2025 Williamstown Theatre Festival. He said about the work: “I wanted to challenge myself.”The 79th edition of the Massachusetts-based festival, which begins its summer run next year, will include Spirit of the People as a centrepiece. The production is directed by Katina Medina Mora and will feature 38-year-old Amber alongside Brandon Flynn, 30, and Lío Mehiel, 33. Harris, 35, known for Slave Play and the film Zola, and is leading the festival’s new Creative Collective, a shared leadership model also comprised of model and actor Kaia Gerber, 23, producer Alyssa Reeder, entrepreneur Alex Stoclet and choreographer Christopher Rudd.The play’s cast also includes Tony Award nominees Ato Blankson-Wood, 39, and James Cusati-Moyer, 35, as well as Amandla Jahava,...

Amber Heard has lined up a comeback project, but it won't be on the big or small screens. Instead, the Aquaman actress has joined playwright Jeremy O. Harris’ stage production, Spirit of the People.

Heard will be part of the Williamstown Theatre Festival's world premiere production of the play, according to Variety. Harris has also cast Brandon Flynn (True Detective and The Parenting) and Lío Mehiel (Dear Evan Hansen), in addition to previously-announced cast members Amandla Jahava (Dmz), Emma Ramos (New Amsterdam) and Julian Sanchez (Jack Ryan).

Amber Heard Lines Up Comeback With Stage Drama

Tony Award nominees Ato Blankson-Wood and James Cusati-Moyer round out the cast of Spirit of the People, along with Zachary Booth (Damages) and Tonatiuh (Kiss of the Spider Woman). Spirit of the People is told through dual languages – Spanish and English – despite the fact that Harris didn't actually speak Spanish before writing the play.

“I wanted to challenge myself,...

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We Were Liars is a psychological mystery thriller series created by Julie Plec and Carina Adly Mackenzie. Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by E. Lockhart, the Prime Video series follows Candice Lockhart, a teenage girl who comes from an extremely wealthy but toxic family. After a tragic incident results in her losing her memories, she tries to remember what actually happened and who hurt her. We Were Liars stars Emily Alyn Lind, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Mamie Gummer, Candice King, Rahul Kohli, Shubham Maheshwari, Esther McGregor, Joseph Zada, and David Morse. So, if you loved the thrilling mystery, intense drama, and compelling characters in We Were Liars, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is an Australian...

Friendsstar Lisa Kudrow opens up about her "disappointing" cinematic experience with John Travolta.

Speaking to fellow Hollywood icon Posey Parker for Variety, Kudrow discussed her time working with rom-com legend Nora Ephron throughout the nineties and early-2000s. "I did Hanging Up, which she wrote with [her sister] Delia. Diane Keaton directed it. We had great food every day because Nora was around. And then I did another movie that Nora directed, and John Travolta was in it," Kudrow said referencing the film Lucky Numbers. "'Was in it?' How's that? It was a John Travolta movie, and I was in it.... This one was disappointing."

Directed by Ephron from a screenplay by Adam Resnick, Lucky Numbers starred Travolta as Russ Richards, a local weatherman in Pennsylvania who is treated as an outright celebrity by his fans. Despite all appearances, Russ is on the verge of bankruptcy, which paves the way for...

The hit Off Broadway production of Gregg Ostrin’s comedy Kowalski is aiming for a Broadway transfer this fall, producers have announced. They’re on the lookout for a venue.

Directed by Colin Hanlon, Kowalski is set in a Provincetown beach house and imagines the real-life 1947 meeting of A Streetcar Named Desire author Tennessee Williams and his future Stanley Kowalski Marlon Brando. The synopsis: “Over one sultry night, artistic ambition, creative friction, and unspoken desire simmer to the surface, revealing the inspiration behind A Streetcar Named Desire and the fire that would ignite Brando’s meteoric rise.”

The play opened to excellent reviews in January at Off Broadway’s Duke on 42nd Street. The limited run ended on February 23. The Off Broadway cast featured Robin Lord Taylor as Williams and Brandon Flynn as Brando. A cast for Broadway has not been set.

The creative team for the Off Broadway Production...

On April 3, 2024, the world celebrated the 100th birthday of Marlon Brando, one of Hollywood’s most legendary actors and a passionate advocate for human rights, animal welfare and environmental justice.

In honor of this monumental milestone, Mercy For Animals has produced a special short film, Voices of Hope ~ Words of Wisdom by Marlon Brando, released on April 22 in celebration of Earth Day and to commemorate Brando’s lasting influence as an advocate for a better world.

The film features a collection of Brando’s inspiring quotes recited by Marlon Brando himself, alongside an ensemble of more than 20 prominent global figures, underscoring Brando’s unwavering commitment to social justice, animal welfare and environmental sustainability — encouraging people everywhere to carry forward his legacy. The list of influential narrators include:

Erin Brockovich

Martin Luther King III

Arndrea Waters King

Ellen Burstyn

James Cromwell

Marianne Williamson

Stephanie Corneliussen

Ed Begley Jr.

June Squibb

Frances Fisher...

I get it, there's a lot to keep up with these days whether it's at the theater, on television, or deep within the seemingly endless options on countless streaming services. But there is only one movie in particular that is available to watch right now that has demonic dogs, a family gathering gone horribly wrong for a young couple introducing their parents to one another, and "crazy noodles" projectile vomiting that had me laughing and gagging at the same time. I'm talking about The Parenting, and I feel like it's flying under the radar way more than any film that has Parker Posey as the quirky host of a rental house and a shoutout to the final episode of M*A*S*H has any right to. The Parenting is now streaming on Max, and it truly does have something for the entire family.

I may be somewhat biased, as...

On March 13, 2025, The Parenting, a new horror comedy directed by Craig Johnson, premiered on Max. The film immediately started getting slammed by critics. It currently has a 48% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but a 79% audience score. What are critics saying is wrong with The Parenting, and what is responsible for this reaction disparity?

For one, critics said that the material was not strong enough for The Parenting's stellar cast, which includes several legends from HBO properties like Brian Cox (Succession), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), and Parker Posey (The White Lotus), and various other stars like Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and Dean Norris (Breaking Bad). The other main critique of TheParenting currently in circulation is that it's not actually scary enough to call itself a horror movie.

Well, if history is any indicator, genre can be a prison, and some of the most beloved, boundary-pushing movies have blurred the lines. If...

[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for The Parenting.] When it comes to the horror-comedy genre, Max‘s new film The Parenting is hitting all the right notes with a stellar cast, hilarious moments, and truly terrifying elements. The Parenting tells the story of Josh (Brandon Flynn) and Rohan (Nik Dodani), a couple who have rented a seemingly idyllic house for them and their respective parents to occupy for a weekend of leisure. Lisa Kudrow and Dean Norris portray Josh’s down-to-earth parents, Liddy and Cliff, while Brian Cox and Edie Falco portray Rohan’s mom and dad who are a bit snobby. Max Breaking up the familial dynamics a bit is Josh and Rohan’s friend Sara (Vivian Bang) who arrives unexpectedly at the gathering, which Rohan has planned to use as a platform for proposing to Josh. Mix in the house’s peculiar caretaker Brenda (Parker Posey), and you’ve got quite a group of characters.

Playing like the kinkier granddaughter of Russ Meyers’ Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Annapurna Sriram’s Fucktoys has an axe to grind, and then some. At its core, this is a critique of modern capitalism that feels increasingly relevant, arriving in a time when billionaires are forcing the middle and lower-middle class to go on a diet budget. Younger people have been squeezed, left behind, and fucked-over by a massive transfer of wealth and, in turn, some have viewed young generations as a commodity to project their fantasies. In essence, if you’re unlucky in this economy, you might find yourself becoming a fucktoy. Needless to say, this is a film that’s not safe for work or polite society.

Sriram plays AP, a dominatrix on call in a post-apocalyptic landscape that was never rebuilt after the last storm. She works out of abandoned houses with a band of punk rockers in places to crash,...

“The Parenting” is a 2025 comedy-horror film that blends familial dynamics with supernatural elements. Directed by Craig Johnson, the movie follows a young couple who, along with their parents, encounter unexpected horrors during a weekend getaway. This article provides an overview of the movie – The Parenting’s plot and a detailed guide to its ensemble cast and the characters they portray.

About the Movie

In “The Parenting,” a young gay couple, Rohan and Josh, organize a weekend retreat to a countryside house, bringing together their respective parents for the first time. Their plans for familial bonding take a terrifying turn when they discover that the rental is haunted by a 400-year-old poltergeist. The film combines humor and horror as the families confront both supernatural threats and their own personal dynamics. Released on Max on March 13, 2025, the movie offers a fresh take on the haunted house genre.

Complete Cast & Characters Guide of...

Writer, director and actress Annapurna Sriram’s celluloid fever dream has won over audiences at SXSW.

With her feature directorial debut Fucktoys, which won the fest’s Special Jury Award for a Multi-Hyphenate, Sriram told Deadline she hopes to make right-wing audiences “accidentally fall in love” with her queer, diverse cast of characters.

Sriram stars in her 16mm debut as AP, a fun-loving dominatrix who learns from a tarot reader (Big Freedia) that she’s been cursed, and the only way to lift the curse is to come up with $1,000 and sacrifice a baby lamb. Reuniting with her ex Danni (Sadie Scott), the pair hops around Trashtown to earn the fee while encountering some peculiar characters along the way.

“I sort of wrote the script out of feeling like I just want to be in a John Waters movie or a Gregg Araki movie or a Jim Jarmusch movie,” said Sriram.

After her tooth falls out, AP, the young woman at the center of Annapurna Sriram’s delightfully audacious feature debut F*cktoys, visits a tarot reader for answers. The cards — an upright Sun, a Five of Cups and the Hanged Man — are not in her favor. The bad news, according to her seer (Big Freedia), is that someone has cursed AP (played by Sriram). The good news? The doomed sex worker can change her luck with one thousand dollars and a sacrificial lamb.

F*cktoys, which won a special jury prize in the narrative feature competition after its SXSW premiere, follows AP as she embarks on a chaotic journey to spiritual freedom. Her adventures through Trashtown, U.S.A, the fictional locale where the film is set, are marked by unexpected reunions, surprise encounters and occasional flirtations with real danger. Sriram takes bold swings in F*cktoys, which adopts John...

Although LGBTQ representation was few and far in between among the headliners at this year’s SXSW, several indie darlings broke the industry’s cis-heteronormative mold to stand out.

From Special Jury Award winner Fucktoys, multi-hyphenate Annapurna Sriram’s bold celluloid fever dream of a feature debut, to The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick, co-writer/director Pete Ohs’ captivating model for cooperative filmmaking, there’s a glimmer of hope that the future of the industry lies in the hands of a new generation of marginalized folk with the right amount of passion, vision and ingenuity.

While catching up with Sophia Bush about her upcoming One Tree Hill revival in the works at Netflix, the actress emphasized the importance of LGBTQ representation in media as the Trump administration continues to dismantle Dei.

“I think 2025 sucks for everyone, to be clear, but what I think is worrisome, particularly for us,...

Horror comedies can be tricky things. Finding the balance between humor and scares can lead to some films pushing too far in one direction or another. The new film The Parenting approaches both genres differently by telling a story centered around family dynamics rather than demons or pratfalls. While the film is chock full of both, it has its heart in the right place and tells a story that may catch some viewers off guard.

The Parenting follows Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn), a couple renting an Airbnb for the weekend. They have invited their parents to meet for the first time and Rohan is ready to pop the question. Unbeknownst to any of them, the house is haunted by a demon that has plans much different than a surprise proposal. As Liddy (Lisa Kudrow), Cliff (Dean Norris), Dorothy (Edie Falco), and Gerald (Brian Cox) contend with one...

Nestled in the Massachusetts countryside, a cozy house that’s equal parts gorgeous and spooky was invaded by some of the entertainment industry’s most seasoned pros, including Edie Falco and Brian Cox — both playing just about as far from their usual casting as they can get — to film the horror comedy “The Parenting,” now on Max. The duo plays a married couple invited by their gay son to a weekend away in a rented house to meet his boyfriend’s parents. They soon find out that the house isn’t vacant after all, but rather haunted by an ancient demon looking for an earthbound host to occupy… and it finds an unsuspecting one in Cox.

This is quite a leap from Logan Roy, the role the classically trained Cox so brilliantly played on HBO’s “Succession.” In “The Parenting,” he gets to be downright silly — in a foul-mouthed, mischievous way.

“The Parenting” (2025), HBO Max’s latest, is a heavy-handed genre-bending attempt that vacillates between campy merriment and vexing ineptness. Directed by Craig Johnson and written by Kent Sublette, the film survives to work, largely due to momentary flashes of comedic brilliance by its veteran actors. In addition, it has some usual horror jump-scares that blend seamlessly with outrageously hilarious moments, making the film enjoyable in patches, particularly if you are in for some B-movie cheers.

The Parenting (2025) Max Movie Synopsis & Plot Summary:

A quick opening sequence shows a family of three dying at the hands of an unseen terror. This monster kills the mother and the elder brother before proceeding to terrify the youngest member of the family, a teenage girl named Allie. Years pass, and now the same house is used as a holiday getaway destination. Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) choose the same for their romantic getaway.

If you’re looking for an awards contender to watch on streaming or video on demand this weekend, there’s one Oscar nominee newly streaming. There aren’t any new contenders beyond that, but there’s some other stuff worth checking out, even if only out of morbid curiosity. Our list includes a top pick that just became available on subscription streaming, three other new releases on streaming, and an older movie that would make for a nice triple feature with the top pick. Got all that? Let’s get streaming!

Top pick: Better Man

2024 was a great year for fascinating flops. Madame Web. Horizon. Joker: Folie à Deux. The last great flop of 2024 is our top pick this week: Better Man, Michael Gracey’s adventurous music biopic about British pop singer Robbie Williams. Better Man got great reviews and even earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects,...

A new horror film from A24 is now playing in theaters, the latest Samara Weaving genre movie is available for you at home, and Terrifier 3 now has its own official streaming documentary.

Here’s all the new horror that released March 10 – March 14, 2025!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

Now streaming on Screambox is the horror-thriller Uncontained, in which a mysterious drifter struggles to protect an abandoned boy and his little sister from an infection that turns people into a feral-like state and a ruthless militia leader searching for his missing daughter.

Subscribe to the Bloody Disgusting-powered Screambox by the end of the day today, March 14, 2025, with the code SB3 to get your first three months for just $2.99/month!

Uncontained marks the feature debut of police officer-turned-video game writer and technical director Morley Nelson (The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, Mib: Alien Crisis).

Morley Nelson...

It’s almost tantamount to false advertising to describe “The Parenting” as a horror comedy. It’s not just that the new Max original film is neither funny nor scary, but rather that it evinces such limited instinct in eliciting fear or laughter from an audience. Everything from the elevator-pitch premise — “Meet the Parents” crossed with “The Evil Dead” — to the palpable lack of on-screen energy from an ensemble of veteran performers screams of a half-assed stab at content creation. It’s never a great sign when you wish that a movie was worse just so that it would be more interesting.

Rohan plans to propose to his boyfriend Josh at a weekend getaway with their respective parents at a country home rental. Tensions quickly run high when the families’ disparate personalities clash. The previously steady couple experiences friction because of the resulting stress, but things take a more hellish...

Okay, if I’m going to be honest, if your parents can tolerate crass language, and you don’t end up retreating into an awkward silence if someone says a bad word on screen, then you can very much enjoy The Parenting with your family. But before we go into the whys, let me just tell you about the what. The Parenting is a horror comedy, not unlike the Ghostbusters or Goosebumps films, that tells the story of a young gay couple who want to have their first ever family getaway in the middle of nowhere. Rohan (affectionately called Ro by his boyfriend Josh), who has the most common brown boy Bollywood name (second only to Rahul), is the one who has set everything up because he plans on proposing to his one true love, Josh. In your typical Meet The Parents situation, Ro worries that Josh might not make...

A weekend getaway goes off the rails when a haunted Airbnb turns a family introduction into a supernatural showdown.

A weekend getaway with the parents is stressful enough—now add a 400-year-old poltergeist into the mix. “The Parenting” is Max’s latest original film, blending horror and comedy into one chaotic family introduction. Starring Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, and an all-star lineup including Brian Cox, Edie Falco, and Lisa Kudrow, the movie follows a young couple trying to unite their very different parents - until their rental house turns out to be seriously haunted. With a mix of jump scares, family drama, and supernatural chaos, this one’s shaping up to be a wild ride. “The Parenting” premieres Thursday, March 13, exclusively on Max.

How to watch ‘The Parenting’ When: Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 3:01 a.m. Et TV: Max Stream: Watch with a subscription to Max. From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a Vpn.

Scary Movie didn’t establish the idea of horror comedy, but it did become one of the most durable movie franchises in the genre, with five feature films premiering between 2000 and 2013 and a sixth currently in development. So when Kent Sublette was writing The Parenting, which will become his first produced screenplay when the film premieres tomorrow on Max, Scary Movie had to have been at least in the back of his mind. The creative minds behind Scary Movie — the Wayans Brothers for the first few, and Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker later on — come from TV sketch comedy, and the Scary Movie movies are less driven by plot than a series of sketch-like comic setpieces. Sketch dominates Sublette’s background, too — he wrote on Saturday Night Live from 2007 through 2024 — but The Parenting doesn’t feel as sketch-y as its horror comedy forebear. Maybe I would have had more fun if it had.

We’re one day away from the streaming premiere of the new Max film The Parenting and the cast is celebrating the upcoming release!

Brandon Flynn, Nik Dodani, and Parker Posey hit the red carpet for the film’s premiere on Tuesday night (March 11) at the DGA Theater in New York City.

Also in attendance were co-stars Dean Norris and Vivian Bang, as well as director Craig Johnson and writer Kent Sublette.

The Parenting follows young couple Rohan and Josh as they plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental – managed by eccentric local Brenda – is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist. When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed, it’s up to the young couple and their meddlesome Bff...

Ah, the old rite of passage of bringing together your parents... and the parents of your significant other. But where to do it? Your house? Theirs? What about a weekend getaway to set up a neutral ground of sorts? There's your answer. Let's hope the location of choice doesn't turn out to be a haunted house or something... Hey, there's a movie idea for ya. Enter The Parenting, heading straight to Max on Thursday with a talented cast that efforts to save an ultimately underwhelming end result from the great director Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) and the funny writer Kent Sublette (Saturday Night Live).

Some of your favorite small-screen stars, including Lisa Kudrow (Friends), Brian Cox (Succession), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), and Edie Falco (The Sopranos), tackle the parental roles, which ultimately fall victim to thinned-out character development since the folks behind the lens try again and again to freak you out.

Is there anything scarier than spending a weekend with you and your boyfriend’s parents, alone, in the middle of nowhere, for the very first time? In the comedy “The Parenting” the answer is definitely “yes,” which is unfortunate because it’s also a horror movie and that means all the allegedly “scary” parts fall flat. On the other hand, the comedy never gets off the ground either. So I guess this whole movie qualifies as a low point.

“The Parenting” stars Nik Dodani (“Twisters”) and Brandon Flynn (“Hellraiser”) as Rohan and Josh, two young boyfriends who are ready to take their relationship to the next level. Rohan, the fastidious worrywart of the two, has rented a beautiful house in the country for a romantic weekend getaway. With their parents. I can already see a flaw in Rohan’s plan.

Rohan’s adopted parents Frank (Brian Cox) and Sharon (Edie Falco...

Not being particularly familiar with director Craig Johnson’s (The Skeleton Twins) work or screenwriter Kent Sublette’s (Saturday Night Live) writing, expectations for The Parenting were mostly based on its promising premise and impressive cast. The concept fits perfectly within the ever-entertaining fusion of horror and comedy – a genre mix that’s notoriously difficult to balance, but when executed well, can deliver a truly memorable experience.

The Parenting follows young couple Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn), who plan a weekend getaway in the countryside to introduce their parents. However, as tensions begin to rise between the more traditional Sharon (Edie Falco) and Frank (Brian Cox) and the laid-back Liddy (Lisa Kudrow) and Cliff (Dean Norris), the family quickly realizes that their rented house – managed by the eccentric Brenda (Parker Posey) – hides a dark secret: the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist.

The Parenting Review Nik Dodani as Rohan...

A couple’s weekend getaway with their parents takes a supernatural turn in The Parenting, an amusing horror adventure directed by Craig Johnson (Wilson, Alex Strangelove) from a screenplay by Kent Sublette (Saturday Night Live). The film, which bows on Max on March 13, is low on genuine scares, but it does boast an appealing cast, whose comic chops elevate the flick slightly above the standard streamer slush.

Rohan (Nik Dodani, Atypical and Twisters) and Josh (Brandon Flynn, 13 Reasons Why and Manhunt), a sweet couple, are nervous to meet each other’s families. On the drive up to a beautiful countryside mansion, which they have rented for the low cost of $350 a night, the two trade tips and secrets on making the best impression. It’s mostly Rohan trying to prepare his boyfriend for his uptight and judgmental parents. But Josh, a former employee at Rei and aspiring musician, is unfazed.

With a title like “Fucktoys,” Annapurna Sriram’s directorial debut boldly announces its wild intentions. A provocative name like that has been known to backfire, especially as it can over-inflate one’s expectations for the gonzo filmmaking they’re about to witness. But Sriram’s movie — a grotesque odyssey through a place called Trashtown, which has shades of New Orleans and a hint of Los Angeles — is at least impressively strange. It’s the kind of project that, despite some flaws, allows Sriram to stake her claim as a filmmaker to watch, with a distinctive voice that mashes up rockabilly aesthetics with Tarot mysticism and an incredible dig at James Franco. This is the kind of thing you want to see at a festival like SXSW: Messy, but wholly original in its genre mashup.

As an actress, Sriram appeared on the likes of “Billions” and “The Blacklist,” shows that are tonally miles apart from “Fucktoys.

A hilariously terrifying comedy, The Parenting follows young couple Rohan and Josh as they plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental – managed by eccentric local Brenda – is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist.

When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed, it’s up to the young couple and their meddlesome Bff Sara to unite the families and stop the evil entity once and for all.

Brandon Flynn (Hellraiser) and Nik Dodan (Atypical) play Josh and Rohan, and we recently got to speak with The Parenting's leads about the craziness that came with shooting their hilarious new horror comedy.

Reflecting on sharing the screen with icons like Brian Cox and Parker Posey, Brandon and Nik also share some insights into their respective characters,...

Get ready for a thrilling week in film and television, as this week’s lineup of premieres is set to captivate fans across every screen. The best movies and TV shows for March 2025 are arriving in style, with fresh releases hitting streaming platforms and theaters alike. This week, insiders are buzzing about a handful of marquee titles that promise to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Imagine diving into the futuristic mystery of The Electric State, a film that delivers electrifying visuals and inventive storytelling. For TV enthusiasts, The Wheel of Time S3 is back with epic adventures and intricate plots that make every scene feel like a major event.

Meanwhile, The Parenting takes a bold look at family life, mixing humor with heart in a way that resonates on multiple levels. And don’t miss Dark Winds S3, which brings gritty suspense and a cast that feels...

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.

This week, you’ll find nine new shows (including Amanda Seyfried in Long Bright River, Brian Tyree Henry in Dope Thief and Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney), 17 returning favorites (including Dark Winds, The Righteous Gemstones and The Wheel of Time) and nine finales (including Animal Control, Going Dutch and Invincible).

More from TVLineEvery New Scripted Show Confirmed to Premiere in 2025 — Save the Dates!

"Wanna swim?" "Duh!" Trashtown Pictures has revealed a first look teaser trailer for a kinky indie comedy known as F*toys that is premiering at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival this month. No this is not porn, this is an artistic indie film shot on 16mm grainy film stock, exploring sex and intimacy. Both written and directed by filmmaker Annapurna Sriram as her feature directorial debut, she also stars in F**ktoys as the lead character known as "AP". Join AP on a bubblegum funky adventure through sunny & romantic Trashtown, USA. In this raucous odyssey a across a dreamy landscape of smut, filth and psychics, wanton minx quests hard to make $1000, find love, and lift a curse. A woman needs $1000 for psychics in a pre-millennium alternate universe. She navigates the seedy underbelly of Trashtown via scooter, encountering bizarre folks along the way. Sriram co-stars with Sadie Scott, François Arnaud, Damian Young,...

Shot on 16mm film, Fucktoys reimagines The Fool’s Journey of the Major Arcana of the Tarot as a bubblegum grindhouse odyssey.

Watch the teaser below ahead of the movie’s world premiere at SXSW this weekend.

Join AP, a rosy young woman seeking salvation from a curse, on an adventure through a dreamy landscape of smut, filth and psychics, where she collides with a series of larger-than-life characters and absurd situations as she winds her way towards the inevitable.

AP is promised by not just one but multiple psychics that her curse can be lifted for a cool $1,000 and a simple teeny tiny sacrifice of a baby lamb. So she makes money the only way she knows how: scootering her way deeper into the night and into the uncouth underbelly of Trashtown, USA.

The dark yet campy romp explores the intersection of intimacy, exploitation, and class in a pre-millenium...

How far would you go to lift a deadly curse?

Ahead of the film’s world premiere at this year’s SXSW, Annapurna Sriram’s “Fucktoys” has unveiled its trailer exclusively to Variety, teasing a grindhouse adventure through a town named Trashtown, USA. After a woman named AP (Sriram) loses a tooth and is unexpectedly cast with a curse, psychics promise that it can be lifted by a measly $1,000 payment and animal sacrifice. AP immerses herself in the underbelly of Trashtown to earn the money she needs to live another day.

The trailer teases the film’s outrageous tone and 16mm cinematography, as AP looks to psychics for advice and proudly proclaims that “I love trash.” The film’s official synopsis teases that: “In this irreverent and sexy dark comedy, AP collides with a series of larger-than-life characters and absurd situations, each more unhinged than the last, as she winds her way toward the inevitable.

Brandon Flynn: “With ‘The Parenting’, I wanted to see if people thought I was funny enough to be in a comedy” Xmag UK Xmag Editorial

Since his success in ‘13 Reasons Why’, Brandon Flynn shares his upcoming professional projects, the preparations for his…

The post Brandon Flynn: “With ‘The Parenting’, I wanted to see if people thought I was funny enough to be in a comedy” first appeared on Xmag UK.

"I'm stuck in a haunted house with my F-ing parents!" Max has revealed the official trailer for a funny new horror comedy movie called The Parenting, streaming on Max this March. Not a series for streaming, this is a one-off movie, directed by Craig Johnson of The Skeleton Twins, Wilson, and Alex Strangelove. Meeting the parents... it's a necessary evil. A young gay couple, Rohan and Josh, host a weekend getaway with their respective parents in a country house rental. Things take a turn when the couples discover the presence of a 400-year-old evil poltergeist. Hilarity ensues as the families all try to have a nice time anyway. The terrific ensemble cast features Nik Dodani as Rohan and Brandon Flynn as Josh, with Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Parker Posey, Vivian Bang, and others. This looks like a properly good time! Especially with this cast. Brian Cox...

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This March, we are getting a ton of content from the much-anticipated release of the superhero action drama series Daredevil: Born Again on streaming to the release of Robert Pattinson‘s highly anticipated sci-fi dark comedy film Mickey 17. 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.

Picture This (Prime Video) Release Date: March 6 Credit – Prime Video

Picture This is an upcoming British romantic comedy film directed by Prarthana Mohan from a screenplay by Nikita Lalwani. Based on the 2024 Australian film Five Blind Dates by Shawn Seet, the Prime Video film follows Pia, a struggling photographer who is told by a spiritual guru that she will find true love and success in her career in the next five dates she goes on.