The BBC and PBS Masterpiece love producing a good mystery series, whether they feature brutal murders, cozy small-town crime, or anything in between. This year, though, they’ll be trying their hand at a new type of mystery: the literary mystery. More specifically, the mystery of why Cassandra Austen burned almost all of renowned author Jane Austen’s letters.

It’s a question that has confounded the literary community and historians for decades—centuries, even. Was Cassandra merely trying to save her younger sister’s fragile reputation in a gossiping, opinionated, high-brow English society, or was her intention more personal? This and more will be explored in the upcoming period drama Miss Austen, based on the novel of the same name by author Gill Hornby.

With less than a month until Captain America: Brave New World hits theatres, it’s about time Anthony Mackie finally gets recognized for the large shoes he’ll be filling for the first time on the silver screen.

Although Mackie’s Sam Wilson has officially been Captain America since 2021’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier, this is his film debut, and it’s a long time coming. He’s hustled for decades, and put in his hours. Now he gets to reap the rewards.

The horror genre often goes unrecognized for its feats and acclaim in the critical sphere, but this year’s Oscar nominations reveal three of 2024’s best horror movies have broken a decades-long curse.

Content warning: This article contains brief mentions of sexual assault.

Donald Trump has tried to justify ending birthright citizenship with his most deplorable justification yet.

In a recent press conference, Trump told reporters that birthright citizenship was “meant for the children of slaves” and that it wasn’t “meant for the whole world to come in and pile into the United States.” The president’s remarks come on the heels of his sweeping executive orders on immigration, which attempted to put an end to birthright citizenship entirely.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and this story from Somerville, Massachusetts, proves it. Imagine being a taxi driver, focused on your routine, picking up passengers, and mentally planning dinner, when suddenly, your shift turns into a real-life cheesy heist movie. That’s exactly what happened to Boston-area driver Dennis Ferrante.

The heist

On an otherwise unassuming day, Ferrante picks up a passenger in Porter Square. On the way to his destination, the man asks for a quick stop at the bank. This is probably a common request. So, Ferrante does what any taxi driver would do—he pulls up to the East Cambridge Savings Branch and waits in the car.

In June 2024, Lionsgate announced plans to adapt author Suzanne Collins’ latest installment in the Hunger Games franchise, Sunrise on the Reaping. The book, due to be published in March, focuses on the story of Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark’s mentor in the original series. In the movie adaptations, Haymitch was played by Woody Harrelson. The cast for the new movie has not been announced yet.

WATCH NOW: The Hunger Games on Hulu

There’s an old saying, “You can’t just walk back in.” It’s not an official rule, of course, but try disappearing from someone’s life for six years and see how well it works. That’s what happened in a AITA Reddit post that struck a nerve, especially for those who have experienced abandonment.

This was no mistake

The story is simple, yet painfully familiar. A young woman (18) shared that her mother left when she was 12 after marrying a man who didn’t want her in contact with her ex-husband. Instead of fighting for visitation, she let it happen. Now, freshly divorced, the mother has resurfaced, hoping to reconnect.

After first playing the aviation expert and throwing out unsolicited advice on how to fly helicopters, President Trump has now made a humiliating joke out of the tragic January 29 plane crash victims on national television.

The press conference on Thursday turned nightmarish as soon as Trump began to speak and blame air traffic control and the unfortunate helicopter pilot for the tragedy, who himself was one of the victims of the crash. But as the conference went on, Trump stooped to a new low and chose the worst place, time, and topic to flaunt his rotting wit.

As if there weren’t enough warning bells ringing just weeks into Donald Trump’s second administration, the Pentagon is now switching which news outlets will have the closest access to the U.S. government—and we should all be very concerned.

Fake and biased news continues to be a hot-seat issue as the world of U.S. politics becomes increasingly more extreme, and Trump’s White House seems to be fueling the fire by installing far-right media publications at the literal Pentagon. And worse? They’re overtaking well-respected outlets including NBC News, National Public Radio, and Politico.

A viral Reddit r/AmItheAsshole post details how one man stood up for his girlfriend when his uncle made inappropriate comments and got too handsy at a family event. Instead of brushing it off, he called him out publicly, pitting him against his other family members.

Red flags

The original poster (OP) explained that his uncle started with backhanded compliments meant for his girlfriend, Kate, saying things like “Wow, you’re way too pretty for him.” That alone was cringeworthy, but then it escalated into outright predatory comments, such as “I would have snatched you up back in the day.” 

A true—and sorely needed—Oscar Isaac renaissance is upon us, and all it took was one peek at Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Netflix collaboration, Frankenstein.

Look, I’ve known I would be a freak about 2025’s Frankenstein from the start, as Guillermo del Toro + Oscar Isaac = my personal Super Bowl Sunday. The film has been decades in the making, with del Toro first mentioning the idea of directing a “Miltonian tragedy” take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 2007. Now, his vision will finally come to fruition thanks to the folks at Netflix, and from the look of it, we’re in for a—literally—dead sexy take on the classic creature flick.

The Caitlin Clark buzz hasn’t slowed down in the WNBA offseason. Hanging out with Taylor Swift at Chiefs games, getting her college jersey retired at Iowa, turning down the NBA’s offer to participate in All-Star weekend … basketball’s biggest star continues to shine even away from the hardwood.

The WNBA might not be officially back until May, but that hasn’t stopped fans from snapping up tickets to some of the hottest games, which includes pretty much any time the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark steps on the court.

An investigation into the American Airlines crash that killed 67 people is underway, but Donald Trump is attempting to handle it himself.

In a recent press conference, the president gave a rambling series of explanations for the tragedy—as well as some oversimplified helicopter piloting advice—and then quickly launched into a tirade blaming it on DEI. After the press conference, the president continued posting about the disaster on Truth Social, offering up facile generalizations about aviation in an attempt to demonstrate that he had an intellectual grasp of the situation.

Trump supporters believe that America is being haunted by a boogeyman: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

In a post on X, venture capitalist firm partner Shaun Maguire decided to tell a right-wing horror story, writing “DEI kills people, literally.” He went on to call inclusion practices “structural racism,” seemingly unaware of the fact that structural racism is what DEI initiatives were created to combat. “DEI means do anything to [ensure] equal outcomes,” he wrote. “That’s not meritocratic it’s racist.”

Josh Ruben is no stranger to crafting captivating stories, and his latest film, Heart Eyes, is no different. The Mary Sue sat down with Ruben and delved into the creative process behind the film, its brutal yet heartfelt tone, and the standout homage to classic horror in the trailer.

Heart Eyes and good vibes

From the outset, Ruben wanted Heart Eyes to stand apart in the crowded slasher genre by making the characters more than just fodder for a killer’s rampage. “The brutality was always there, that was always the North Star,” he explained. 

This latest TikTok trend proves millennials and Gen Z love using humor to cope with their trauma.

TikTok has been the epicenter of trends for years (though we don’t know for how much longer). Over the years, we’ve watched trends come and go, such as dance challenges and mukbang. This latest TikTok trend has users revealing some of their deepest, darkest secrets.

When Karla Sofía Gascón of Emilia Pérez became the first trans woman nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, the internet celebrated. But those celebrations were cut short in the last days of January when the media uncovered racist, Islamophobic, and ableist old Tweets sent by Gascón.

Variety translated the tweets originally recovered by journalist Sarah Hagi, and they’re truly shocking. In one, Gascón complains about Muslims in Spain, her home country, and says, “Next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.” In another, she speaks about George Floyd, the man whose murder by American police sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, and calls him “a drug addict swindler.”

The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is returning, at least if the new administration has its way.

A week after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the first anti-trans executive order of his second term, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” declaring that the feds will now only recognize two sexes, “male and female,” he issued another E.O. attacking the transgender community.