Wells Adams, the Bachelor in Paradise bartender, unfortunately had an early boot from this season of Peacock’s The Traitors. But his time on the show was memorable, particularly because of his game play and just how charming he was. He speaks with Newsweek’s Parting Shot about all of this, what he would have done differently and who he’s rooting for to win.

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Now that Julia Stiles has directed her first feature film, Wish You Were Here, she sees the work of directors in a whole new light. “I almost wanted to call some directors that I had worked with and be like, ‘I'm so sorry that I was annoyed with you when you told me to do that thing.’” Best known for acting, when she read the novel the film is based on, she knew she needed to adapt it. “The book broke my heart but also made me laugh. It felt like it had such a good spirit to it, and I'm a romantic at heart.” The film follows a young woman swept up in a new romance only to learn he’s terminally ill. While she says she ran “in the other direction” of making the film too saccharine, she didn’t let that cynical voice fully take over. “There is something really important about showing how much this girl takes care of him, and that it's okay to be kind and loving toward another person.” And now she says adding director to her credits has made her a better actor. “I think I realized that if you trust your director, and I mean really trust that person and believe in their vision, you can throw spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks.”

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Nearly 30 years after Marianne Jean-Baptiste received an Oscar nomination for her first collaboration with director Mike Leigh, Secrets & Lies, the pair are back together with Hard Truths. “It’s been so nice to just spend time with him,” Jean-Baptiste tells Newsweek’s Parting Shot. Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a depressed, angry, middle-aged woman who seems to find conflict with everyone. “I’m not too worried about her not being likable, but I was worried about people not having compassion for her.” Part of what makes a Leigh film so unique is the preparation that goes into crafting a character. “He is the only one that works in the way that he works, with the preparation, with the rehearsal.” Once again, Jean-Baptiste is receiving awards buzz for her multilayered performance. But for her, it’s less about her performance and more about people discovering the film. “It’s becoming more and more difficult to get people to go to the cinema to see films, especially one like this that hasn’t got that big money behind it. So for this film to be sort of the little David against Goliath, it’s a real thrill.” 

Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Mike Leigh chats with H. Alan Scott about Hard Truths, their collaborations and Leigh’s singularly unique way of filmmaking.  

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After the massive success of last season’s The Traitors (streaming now on Peacock), host Alan Cumming knew this season had to be bigger. “There was a pressure to not just repeat ourselves, it actually upped the ante.” And they did just that, with a more explosive cast and even wilder twists. “It is bigger. I'm sort of a cult leader. I've gone from just a dandy, Lord of the manor in his castle, to official cult leader. I'm fine with it.” Cumming hosts a castle full of reality TV stars who all play a game of murder in order to win upwards of $250,000. Even though contestants are from shows like Survivor and Real Housewives, Cumming actually thinks the shows that made them famous has little to do with how well they do. “Everybody has this sort of myth that you have to be in one of those gamer shows to do well at this game and it's not true. Sometimes it's actually good to have better social skills.” Last year, Cumming’s Emmy win ended RuPaul’s historic 8-year winning streak for RuPaul’s Drag Race. “I saw Ru, and I went up to him, and I just went, ‘I am so sorry.’ And he just went, ‘Con-drag-ulations.’ And I was like, ‘He said it!’” [laughs] 

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With inauguration day just around the corner, a lot of people are asking themselves: What can we expect from this new era of Trump? Trump 2.0, if you will. And what actions will he take in his first 100 days? H. Alan Scott is joined by Newsweek’s Katherine Fung to break down everything we can expect from Trump once he takes office. 

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2024 was quite a year. From the wild ride that was Donald Trump this year to Taylor Swift’s dominance over, well, everybody, Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott and Jenni Fink break down all the stories that had us talking. 

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Donald Trump and Elon Musk are having a very public bromance, with Musk having a large influence over Trump and his decision making. (Just this week Musk was seemingly instrumental in Trump pulling his support from a budget bill to keep the government open.) Is Musk even qualified to have this level of influence? Also, Lays Chips is just the latest food item recalled in recent months. What’s going on and is anything safe to eat? And finally, podcasts had a stellar year this year, will that continue into 2025? Pro-podcaster and co-host of the Enemy in Paris podcast, Sam Kieffer, joins to break down the news of the week.  

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Survivor 47 was an incredible season. Rachel LaMont, a dominant player with four historic immunity wins, won the million dollars and cemented herself in Survivor history. She chatted with Newsweek about her win and that truly incredibly hidden immunity idol moment this season. (If you know, you know.) We’re also chatting with the rest of the top 3, Sam Phalen and Sue Smey, and Teeny, whose fire making challenge was next level epic.

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Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, went viral (for all the wrong reasons) this week after his arrest in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s. In other news, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to go after your Ozempic, but can Elon Musk, a proponent of the weight loss medication, convince President-elect Donald Trump otherwise? And finally, Jay Z denied allegations of sexual assault after he was accused of it alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs in a new civil suit this week, and social media went into overdrive with conspiracy theories.  

Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott is joined by comedian Kara Klenk (co-host of That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast) to make sense of the news of the week.

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Fans of Daniel Aleman’s books are about to get to know the author even better with his new book I Might Be in Trouble. “I will say with this one character; I was very intentional about making him a mirror of myself. I wanted him to basically be me,” Aleman told Newsweek’s Parting Shot.  

The novel follows David Alvarez, a young author whose debut success has dwindled and finds inspiration for new work after discovering a one-night stand has suddenly died in his bed. (For the record, this part of the novel is not based on Aleman.) But at its core, the dark comedy novel is about discovering your path even though it can sometimes feel uncertain. 

Aleman spoke with H. Alan Scott about the inspiration for the novel and whether he’s still worried about finding a date dead in his bed.  

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