Showtime’s Yellowjackets is really two shows in one. One is about a group of ’90s teenage plane crash survivors, and the other follows them now. The trick is finding that balance between the actors playing the same characters. “Casting just did an excellent job. They found people with similar essences,” says Jasmin Savoy Brown, who plays the younger version of Taissa. “If anyone has a harder job, it’s [Tawny Cypress, who plays Taissa’s older self], because technically, she has to play to who her younger person is, me.” Brown admits it’s “intimidating” to have the modern-day characters played by greats like Cypress, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Melanie Lynskey. “All of them make it so easy. There’s no one that’s snobby or diva or rude.” And Brown, who can also be seen in the upcoming Scream 7—“I’m really honored to be playing the first out queer character in that franchise’s history”—is most aware how special this moment is. “I’m really grateful, I get to work with people who’ve been doing this for a long time, and all of them happen to be really kind.” 

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When you take on a role that somebody else made famous, it’s not easy. Patrick Gibson knew when he started playing a younger version of Michael C. Hall’s Dexter Morgan, a Miami serial killer, in Dexter: Original Sin, that risk is “farther to fall, in a way.” Hall “can’t even be turning in his grave,” because he’s still very much involved with the role. “It must be a weird thing to see somebody else step into that, but I have to say he was so generous and welcoming, I think because he was a part of it getting made.” What makes this origin story so fascinating is that we get to see a time when Dexter didn’t have his murders perfected. “He really is relying on his base instincts and the lessons that he’s picking up from just starting working in Miami Metro.” There’s also “a loneliness at that time of his life that I think was interesting and felt human.” And while he’s very much a psychopath, the audience is still rooting for him. “I think it’s that weird Robin Hood moral gray area.” Gibson is ready for season two. “So much happens in season one, but there’s also so much left unresolved.” 

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Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding is thrilled Renée Zellweger is back in the fourth installment of the series, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. "She's so like Bridget in that she is so warm and kind. There's a gentleness about her, and it's real. There's nothing made up about that," Fielding told Newsweek in early February.  

"Once Renée started playing the role, it all merged together," she said. "And from that point, I started writing Bridget as Renée, all mixed up together.... I write for her, seeing her, knowing what she does." 

In a bonus episode of the Parting Shot, Fielding spoke with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott about the legacy of Bridget Jones, her relationship with Zellweger, and whether she’ll write another Bridget Jones book.  

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"I'm a fan of Bridget Jones.... That I share that with so many people is a really cool thing," Renée Zellweger told Newsweek’s Parting Shot in an exclusive interview. Nearly 24 years ago, the movie starring Zellweger as that young, single, British woman who started a diary was released. Its protagonist subsequently became a cultural phenomenon, a symbol of the modern British woman and an international example of liberated women everywhere. And the real-life woman who made her famous became so identifiable with the character from Helen Fielding's 1996 book Bridget Jones's Diary that it's almost impossible to imagine any other actor in the role. 

Now Zellweger is back with Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Zellweger chats with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott about the legacy of Bridget Jones, what about her she relates to most, and why she’s so protective of her.  

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He’s been in the business for more than 40 years, but Mark-Paul Gosselaar still feels like he hasn’t experienced everything. “I still feel like I have so much left to learn. Every time I walk on a set, I learn something.” Currently on NBC’s Found, Gosselaar plays Sir, a man held captive by Gabi (played by Shanola Hampton), the adult woman his character kidnapped as a child. He chose the role because it was unlike anything he’s done before. “I’m always looking for something to challenge me... that when I read it, I become a bit anxious about playing that role.” And there’s still so much to be revealed about Sir. “We’ve just scratched the surface. There was an episode last season that showed Sir’s childhood. I’ve been told that possibly in upcoming seasons we’ll go deeper into Sir as a child, because there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered.” Part of what Gosselaar loves about Found is the chemistry he has with Hampton. “I enjoy coming to set because we have the leader of the show, Shanola, setting the tone as a good person... It’s just a great environment to be creative in.”

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When it comes to celebrity interviews, the first name that comes to mind is probably not Malcolm Gladwell. But The Tipping Point writer says he will “defend my props as a celebrity interviewer” on Audible’s The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell. “I just thought, it's fun to hang out with Kenya and his celebrity friends... [but] the truth is, we're not just talking with celebrities.” And that mix of celebrities, business figures, politicians and others is what makes their conversations so thrilling.  

“We're actually not as odd, but it's an interesting combination,” Kenya Barris told Newsweek. "We want people who are at the top of their [field]. [We] ask, 'What was the thing behind the thing? What was the thing that you didn't see?'" And if the caliber of their first guests is any indication, there will be lots more to come. "I hope that people will receive it, because there's so many people who I'd love to talk to that I think are culturally zeitgeist-defining characters that people may not know about." 

Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott chats with Malcolm and Kenya about the The Unusual Suspects, their guests, and why their pairing just works.  

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Did you watch The Traitors or RuPaul’s Drag Race this week? Because if you did, this episode is for you. First H. Alan Scott is chatting with Robyn Dixon of Real Housewives fame about her exit from the castle on Traitors. Then he’s joined by Drag Race’s Joella about her exit from the show and she addresses some of her comments that went viral.  

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From Boyz N the Hood in 1991 until now, Morris Chestnut has seen much of Hollywood. "I've been through pretty much everything in the industry." Now he's starring in and executive producing CBS's new drama Watson (January 26). It "was a no-brainer" for Chestnut when he was approached to play Dr. John Watson. "It's just a blessing and an honor to have that opportunity." Based within the mythology of Sherlock Holmes, Watson picks up a year after Holmes' death. "The character's dealing with the loss of his best friend." This depth is something that Chestnut feels he's most qualified to portray now. "Fifteen years ago, I don't know if I'd be able to do the role the way I'm able to do it now." But one thing Chestnut is most grateful for is the relationship he's built with fans from films like Boyz N the Hood and The Best Man. "If I were to say, right now today, let's get a project together where people are going to be talking about it 30 years from now, everybody wants that. But it doesn't happen that often. And I've been blessed enough to be involved in two of them."

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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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