Categoría: OffSide

Netflix’s ‘Buy My House‘ presents an interesting way for a person to sell their properties. The reality series welcomes potential homeowners to sell their houses to one of four real-estate tycoons effectively. The potential sellers must pitch the advantages the tycoons may enjoy if they were to buy said properties. Apart from the clever bargaining tactics one often sees in the series, the show is also known for its talented and hilarious host, Nina Parker.

No matter the verdict made by the tycoons, Nina always has encouraging words for the homeowners and can be seen rooting for many. Naturally, fans of the show cannot help but be charmed by the host’s antics and are naturally curious to know more about her. For those interested, here’s everything we can tell you.

Nina Parker’s Early Life and Family

Born on October 22, 1979, Nina was raised in Sacramento, California. While the TV star has not revealed much about her parents, her love for them is pretty evident, and she has often praised the strength of their relationship. She has a younger sister named Gina Parker, an entrepreneur based in Sacramento.

Nina graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts for her formal education. During her university years, the California native was a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated member.

Nina Parker’s Profession

Nina’s work in the entertainment industry has been quite diverse since she started working with TMZ in 2007. Her journalism experience helped her next land the job as an entertainment correspondent for ‘The Insider.’ Furthermore, 2015 saw her making a significant impact in the television industry after she became the host of the reunion episodes in ‘Love & Hip Hop‘ and held the position till 2020.

In 2018, Nina became one of the hosts on E!’s ‘Nightly Pop’ alongside Morgan Stewart and Hunter March; her presence on the show cannot be considered anything short of entertaining. However, in August 2022, it was revealed that the show would not air for another season after October 2022. The network wanted to rebrand its talk shows and take the concept in a new direction.

Between 2018 and 2020, Nina worked as a correspondent for ‘E! News,’ which was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 2020 for Outstanding Entertainment News Program. In 2019, the TV personality appeared as a panel member/host for ‘Dating #NoFilter,’ and in 2022, she was seen as the host of Netflix’s ‘Buy My House.’ In May 2021, she stepped into the apparel industry as a designer, following her frustrations with the lack of inclusivity in clothing sizes.

Nina was inspired to make a clothing line for plus-size women in 2019 and worked tirelessly to make that dream come true. She even designed her gowns for her appearances in E!’s ‘Live From the Red Carpet’ during pre-shows of events like the 2020 Academy Awards. On May 14, 2021, Nina released a clothing line for Macy’s- the organization’s first exclusive plus-size brand by an African American designer. The clothing line is named after the TV host and offers several options for plus-size women.

Is Nina Parker Dating Anyone?

Currently, we believe that Nina Parker does not have a significant other. The TV star has long maintained privacy about her romantic life, so the details regarding her past or current romantic interests are sparse at best. Although, we don’t think that Nina is married or engaged at the time of writing. In 2018, the reality TV star was rumored to be with someone named Collins, yet chose not to address the issue, which left many wondering about the validity of the whole situation.

Nina’s focus seems to be on building her career, and has undoubtedly made impressive strides in her chosen fields. She is well-loved on the internet and has a massive following on social media platforms. Nina often shares entertaining content with her followers through said platforms, including hilarious behind-the-scenes tidbits. We wish the talented media personality the best in her life and wish her the best for her present and future ventures.

Read More: Is Buy My House Scripted or Real?

‘Tell Me Lies’ is a drama series based on author Carola Lovering’s novel of the same name and developed for television by Meaghan Oppenheimer. It follows Lucy Albright as she attends college and meets Stephen DeMarco, a charming young man she finds attractive. The narrative jumps forward and backward across an 8-year timeline during which Lucy and Stephen developed a toxic and tumultuous relationship. However, as the narrative progresses, viewers start to get a sense of just how twisted the dynamics between Lucy, Stephen, and their friends are. If you wish to catch up on the three-part series premiere, here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Tell Me Lies’ episodes 1, 2, and 3! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Tell Me Lies Episodes 1, 2, and 3 Recap

The first episode, titled ‘Lightning Strikes,’ opens with Lucy dreaming of passionate sex with her former lover, Stephen. However, she wakes up and prepares for a wedding. At the wedding, Lucy’s friends are concerned that she might fall back into a relationship with Stephen. Lucy reassures them that the chapter is closed.

The story jumps back to 2007, and flashbacks depict Lucy’s arrival at her college. She meets her friends Maisie, Bree, and Pippa. Lucy meets Stephen, who asks her out for dinner, but she turns him down. She learns that Stephen is dating Diana, leading to complications. Meanwhile, Maisie dies in a car accident, and the episode ends with the hint that Stephen and Wrigley’s friend, Drew, is connected to her death.

The second episode, titled ‘Hot-Blooded,’ opens with Drew revealing that he almost crashed into Maisie on the night she died. Maisie’s parents arrive on campus and clear out her room. Meanwhile, Lucy goes out for dinner with Stephen. Stephen ignores a call from his mother but later learns that “something” has happened. In the end, Lucy learns about Diana’s actions towards Stephen and decides to pursue a relationship with him. The episode ends with Lucy and Stephen having sex.

The third episode is titled ‘We Don’t Touch, We Collide’ and opens with Drew spiraling into depression after Maisie’s death. Stephen and Lucy have a conversation about their situation. While both are reluctant to commit to each other, they claim that neither is sleeping with other people. Pippa and Wrigley continue dating but reach a crossroads after realizing they are not on the same page. Lucy and Bree share a drink. Lucy meets a cute stranger at the bar before the police interrupt their conversation.

Meanwhile, Drew falls off the stairs and needs help. Stephen and Wrigley arrive to help him but bring along Pippa with them. After an uncomfortable conversation with Drew in which he is overwhelmed with guilt, Pippa leaves. However, Wrigley tells her about Drew’s involvement in Maisie’s death. Nonetheless, he warns Pippa to remain quiet about the news.

Tell Me Lies Episodes 1, 2, and 3 Ending: Is Stephen Cheating on Lucy?

The third episode shows Stephen and Lucy’s relationship progressing. However, the two are still unsure about their feelings for each other. While it is evident that Stephen is merely stringing along Lucy, he claims that he is not hooking up with anyone else. On the other hand, Lucy spends the night with a stranger, further complicating the situation. However, the final moments of the third episode give viewers a hint of just how tumultuous the duo’s relationship is about to get.

Towards the end of the third episode, Stephen learns that Diana has been selected for the position of research assistant. Stephen coveted the role and wanted to get it to progress his career ambitions. However, he quickly decides that Diana applied for the role only to piss him off. Stephen confronts Diana at her dorm, and the two have a huge argument. The conversation quickly escalates into a sexual encounter, and viewers learn that such situations are standard practice for the former lovers.

The next morning, Stephen and Diana wake up in bed together, and Diana decides to put an end to their on/off hook-ups. She states she has too much self-respect and will no longer allow Stephen to disrespect her. However, Stephen charms his way back into Diana’s heart, and she leaves the door open for reconciliation between them. In the end, Diana calls Stephen and asks him to hang out with her. However, she makes it clear that they are not officially back together.

The episode’s ending implies that Stephen still has romantic feelings for Diana. As a result, his future with Lucy is under threat. Since the two are not dating, Stephen does not technically cheat on Lucy. He did lie to her. Therefore, it is clear that Stephen is not serious about Lucy. Moreover, his conversation with Diana hints that he will continue using Lucy to satisfy his own ego. On the other hand, the episode ends with a shocker by revealing that Lucy spends the night with the stranger from the bar. Hence, Stephen and Lucy’s romance is doomed, and the seeds of their tumultuous romance. Moreover, their interactions will continue to affect their lives in unexpected ways.

Read More: Where is Tell Me Lies Filmed?

Apple is back with a new line of iPhones for 2023, which always means that a new series of premium smartphones that give a glimpse of what the future holds for the main iPhone offerings down the line also emerged from the curtain in the form of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

This year, Apple placed a heavy focus on the internals of the Pro line, introducing the new A17 Pro chip, resulting in a big push toward mobile gaming and pro-grade photography and videography. Apple claims the chip itself is the most powerful one ever included in a smartphone, with a 6-core CPU and 6-core GPU that improve overall performance but with key upgrades to video streaming and gaming.

The presentation hit on videogame performance more than any other iPhone presentation in recent memory, with developers from Ubisoft and Capcom hyping the new tools available on the Pro line, including hardware-based raytracing, mesh shading and MetalFX upscaling. The promise is that games such as Resident Evil Village and the forthcoming Assassin’s Creed Mirage will run on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max with graphical performance unseen on smartphones before.

The jury is still out on that (neither game will be available until later next year/early next year), but the continued innovation in photo and video capture is a bit more tangible to analyze. Apple positioned the Pro line as pro-grade tools last year with the introduction of the “quad-pixel sensor,” and the company says that the new sensor is 25% larger than the iPhone 15’s for even higher resolution images from its 48MP main camera at focal lengths between 24mm and 35mm. That camera array also features a 3x 12MP telephoto lens and the Pro Max includes a 5x optical zoom at 120mm.

The main camera now supports HEIF image formats along with ProRAW, which should be attractive to those heavy into photography. On the video front, the Pro series now supports recording video directly to external storage, and doing so allows users to capture video at up to 4K resolution at 60fps. It’s also the first smartphone to support the Academy Color Enhancing System, the industry standard for color-grading and visual effects. The company also touted spacial video recording specifically for viewing video on the Apple Vision Pro.

The main reason for those video capabilities beyond the internals is the new USB 3 functionality through the Pro’s USB-C charging port, which makes the iPhone 15 Pro series the first smartphone to include USB 3 transfer speeds.

The externals received updates as well, with a new Grade 5 Titanium enclosure for lighter weight, a new Stand By mode that turns the Pro into a tabletop clock/info hub via a collection of widgets when turned on its side while charging and a new Action button in lieu of the standard noise control switch on previous iPhones that is customizable to control various functions including silencing the ringer, starting voice memos among others.

The iPhone 15 Pro’s 6.1-inch and the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch displays feature a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz and both feature, according to Apple, “all day battery life.”

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be available for preorder on Sept. 15 starting at $999 and $1199 for the 256GB base models. Both will be available for purchase on Sept. 22 and will be available in white, gray, black and blue.

Created by Meaghan Oppenheimer, ‘Tell Me Lies’ is a drama series that follows the journey of Lucy Albright and her eight-year-long tumultuous relationship with Stephen DeMarco. Lucy meets Stephen during college, and the couple goes through several ups and downs as Lucy realizes Stephen’s true face slowly.

The series explores the theme of toxic and abusive relationships, making it relatable for viewers. Therefore the audience must question whether the show’s concept is rooted in reality. We also got curious and did some research into the matter. Here is everything we learned about the inspiration behind Hulu’s ‘Tell me Lies.’

Is Tell Me Lies a True Story?

No, ‘Tell Me Lies’ is not based on a true story. The series is an adaption of author Carola Lovering’s novel of the same name, first published in 2018. However, the inspiration for the book is rooted in Lovering’s real experiences. In an interview with Morgan Marie Beauty, Lovering revealed that she was inspired to write the novel after a toxic relationship during her young adulthood.

“I was inspired to write ‘Tell Me Lies’ in the wake of a toxic relationship I experienced in college. I had friends who’d also been in similar toxic situations with men, and I sensed it was something many women had been through, but that wasn’t prevalently talked about,” Lovering stated, explaining the book’s conceptualization. However, Lovering clarified that the novel is a fictional story meant to represent the dynamic of her toxic relationship and not a real account of her experiences.

In a blog post, Lovering revealed that she had met the person who inspired the character of Stephen in the novel. She met the man at the age of 23 and was living with her parents in Westchester. While her relationship with the man lasted several years, it was far from ideal. Eventually, the relationship ended, and Lovering was forced to introspect its effects on her mental health, leading to the formation of the novel.

Meaghan Oppenheimer developed the book’s television adaptation. In an interview with Hollywood Life, the writer/showrunner explained the differences between the novel and the television series. Oppenheimer explained that the series dives into the interpersonal relationships between other characters from the book, making it more of an ensemble. As a result, the series does not focus solely on the relationship between Lucy and Stephen and explores the impact of their toxic relationship on their friends’ lives.

Oppenheimer also revealed that the series expands upon Stephen’s character and makes several changes to his story. “So we had to humanize him a bit more for the show only because this is hopefully an ongoing series,” she said. “But I think at least you will understand him more than in the book. Not that you don’t understand him in the book, but we delve into his personal life and his backstory and his family a little bit more, and we tried to explore why he is the way that he is,” Oppenheimer elaborated.

Ultimately, ‘Tell Me Lies’ is a fictional story that faithfully adapts Carola Lovering’s best-selling novel of the same name. The book is rooted in the writer’s real-life experiences and deals with the complexities of toxic relationships. Therefore, the series is thematically resonant for viewers. Moreover, the series makes some cosmetic changes to the source material, adding more layers and depths to the characters and their storylines from the novel, grounding the story in reality.

Read More: Where Was Tell me Lies Filmed?

The next generation of iPhone made its debut Tuesday at Apple’s Fall 2023 event, giving the public its first look at the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, though many of the new additions may look very familiar to those who purchased the iPhone 14 Pro last year.

As has become tradition with many major smartphone developers, most of what sets the iPhone 15 apart from its predecessor boils down to bringing features from the previous year’s more expensive device to the main device. For the iPhone 15, that means the Dynamic Island, Apple’s minimized notification and app-tracking module that lives at the top of the screen, is making the jump to every iPhone in addition to a much-improved camera array.

The camera system is anchored by a 48MP main camera, up from last year’s 12MP, that uses Apple’s “quad-pixel sensor” and Smart HDR technology to produce bright, colorful and crisp images in various lighting conditions. The company touted that images shot on the new iPhone boast double the resolution compared to last year’s model. The main camera also has 2x telephoto capabilities at 12MP and is joined by a 12MP Ultrawide camera.

The 12MP front camera remains fairly unchanged, but selfie lovers do get new tools to play with in Apple’s new Auto Portrait Mode, which packs in new focus and depth tools with better shutter speed that allows users to edit images in the Photos app to have that Portrait Mode feel. These tools are available on both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.

Viewing those images on device also gets a boost from a display with improved brightness. The iPhone 15’s 6.1-inch display and iPhone 15 Plus’ 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR displays can reach brightness levels of up to 2000 nits or 1600 nits for HDR images. The display’s refresh rate is fixed at 60Hz, which is good but a bit of a letdown considering other devices, including Apple’s own iPhone 15 Pro line, including variable refresh rates.

The chip powering these improvements is also familiar to last year’s iPhone 14 Pro line. The A16 Bionic chip ups the processing power sizeably, touting a 16-core neural engine and 6-core CPU. The improved performance also secures more battery life from the iPhone 15’s larger battery (the iPhone 15 Plus’ battery is a bit larger than the iPhone 15’s), with Apple claiming “all day battery life” without giving exact metrics.

The most interesting cosmetic change lies in the device’s back glass, which is now color-infused and has a new textured feel which the company believes will feel better in users’ hands along with its new contoured edge.

Noise cancellation during phone calls gets a boost with the new voice isolation mode, which Apple said will cut nearly all background noise during calls, and the still cumbersomely named Emergency SOS via Satellite function now includes roadside assistance via AAA.

The best news, though, is that Apple finally ditched the Lightning port and joined the USB-C party and perhaps writing the final chapter for proprietary charging ports in favor of the universal standard. MagSafe charging is still available for wireless charging for any Apple fans fretting that end.

The company also hit its commitment to carbon neutrality hard throughout the entire presentation, stating that the iPhone 15 line’s aluminum enclosure is 75% recycled and its battery and internal components include 100% recycled cobalt and copper respectively.

Though many of the upgrades come from shifting components and tools from last year’s premium line, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus represent a marked improvement in Apple’s signature smartphone line, especially as other market players continue to run neck-in-neck with the smartphone innovator.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will be available for preorder on Sept. 15 starting at $799 and $899 for the base 128GB models before hitting store shelves on Sept. 22. Both will be available in pink shade, blue, green, yellow and black.

Buffy acolytes, rejoice! Earlier this year, Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s series finale celebrated its 20th anniversary, but now, some of the most iconic names in the Buffyverse are coming back, this time for an original audio drama from Audible. Boasting a dream creative team and a fantastic Buffy cast reunion, this series is not one to miss for both new and old fans of the classic series.

The series, titled Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, takes place (at least partially) in an alternate universe than the one we followed for seven years in the original series. According to a press release, “the upcoming scripted audio original picks up 10 years after the events of the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since then, Spike (James Marsters) has gone deep undercover in Los Angeles, convincing the forces of darkness that he’s back to his evil ways. When his cover is compromised by sixteen-year-old Indira Nunnally (Laya DeLeon Hayes), Spike finds himself on baby-slayer-sitting duty once more. While he attempts to track down a watcher for his eager new protégé, their paths collide with the veteran Slayer of a parallel reality where Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) never existed… a reality where Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) is the one-and-only Slayer. She needs Spike’s help with a classic big bad terrorizing her world… his old flame, Drusilla (Juliet Landau).”

Featuring the returns of not only Marsters, Carpenter, and Landau, Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Amber Benson (Tara), James Charles Leary (Clem), and Danny Strong (Jonathan) will all be reprising their iconic roles as well.

Aside from the star-studded line-up, the creative team includes similarly significant players in the Buffy canon: Amber Benson and Christopher Golden. Benson, best known for playing fan-favorite Tara in the series, has briefly written for the Buffyverse in the past (she co-penned a comic mini-series called Willow & Tara for indie publisher Dark Horse in 2003), and is now stepping in as co-writer of this series. While Golden may be relatively unknown to casual viewers of Buffy, he has written a vast majority of the Buffyverse tie-in novels, as well as numerous guide books and other various texts about the show. Benson and Golden, alongside Kc Wayland, also act as co-directors of Slayers.

Most notably, series creator Joss Whedon’s name is nowhere to be found within the press release for the show, marking the series’ first true step away from the disgraced showrunner. Up until this point, anything still carrying the Buffyverse banner still lists Whedon’s name among the credits, like the Boom! Studios comic reboots of both Buffy and Angel, so his absence from any mention in the press release is interesting to say the least, and may mark the franchise’s newfound severing from his tainted legacy.

For fans of the Buffyverse, this is sure to be a welcome return to the Hellmouth, and for any new fans, there’s still time before its October 12th release date to catch up. For fans new and old, there is nothing more exciting than the prospect of returning to Sunnydale this fall, and hopefully for more visits in the future.

Slayers: A Buffyverse Story premieres October 12th on Audible. 

Anna Govert is the TV Editor of Paste Magazine. For any and all thoughts about TV, film, and her unshakable love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you can follow her @annagovert.

For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV.

Netflix’s ‘Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer’ is a documentary series that explores the baffling tale of Ram Niranjan (better known by his alias Raja Kolander) from every conceivable angle. It thus charts not only all the criminal events leading up to his ultimate capture for the 2000 disappearance and murder case of a journalist but also his personal beliefs as well as experiences. So, of course, there was a significant (yet indirect) focus on his wife Phoolan Devi as well — and now, if you wish to learn more about her in particular, we’ve got the essential details for you.

Who is Phoolan Devi?

As residents of Chheoki in Allahabad (Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, back in 2000, Phoolan was a proudly elected member of the district council, while her husband served as a government clerk. She was actually born Gomti Devi, but Raja decided to name her after the bandit turned female rights activist turned politician before making her contest in the elections, as per the Netflix original. He’d hoped the mother of his children — Adalat (meaning court), Zamanat (meaning bail), and Andolan (meaning protest) — would become as famous as her namesake, yet it didn’t really work out.

That’s because the tragic case of journalist Dhirendra Singh soon came to light, implicating the couple as well as Phoolan’s brother Vakshraj Kol through a mere phone call, according to reports. The former had vanished on December 14, 2000, but their Chheoki home landline number had been dialed from his personal device two days later, the 16th, making it clear something was awry. The investigators hence made their way to question Phoolan, driving her to reveal “the truth” regarding her husband and his activities — it was also apparently he who’d called her using Dhirendra’s phone.

Where is Phoolan Devi Now?

While the exact charges placed against Phoolan remain unclear, we do know she was apprehended alongside her closest family members around December 18 for her role in the atrocious offense. Therefore, like Raja, she’s currently serving a life sentence in a district prison, indicating she could’ve been found guilty of either murder, conspiracy, or aiding & abetting since she likely knew of her husband’s tendencies yet never reported him.

We should mention Raja had initially claimed an affair between Dhirendra and Phoolan as his motive for the slaying, but ‘Indian Predator’ paints this assertion as a complete lie. In fact, it was purportedly his innate need not to have his criminal endeavors be exposed to the public that drove him to kill the journalist before slashing off not just his head but also his genitals.

Read More: Where is Raja Kolander’s Brother-in-Law Vakshraj Kol Now?

Early Monday morning Reuters reported that Swedish videogame company Embracer Group is considering selling U.S. developer Gearbox Entertainment. The news comes just two years after the acquisition of the company behind the popular Borderlands franchise, and seems to be part of a wave of financial losses and company restructuring currently faced by Embracer.

The Reuters report claims that Embracer is “working with Goldman Sachs and Aream & Co to explore a sale” in an effort to “reduce its net debt to less than SEK 10 billion ($903 million) by the end of its financial year from SEK 16.7 billion at the end of June.”

In recent years Embracer Group has found itself on a buying spree of big names in the videogame industry. This included studios such as Crystal Dynamics and Eidos—developers of the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex series, respectively. Just a few months later in August of 2022, Embracer also entered a deal to obtain IP rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as part of its “IP-driven transmedia strategy” to develop games stemming from a range of media and a varied IP library. 

However, at the end of May, Embracer suffered a financial hit when a $2 billion deal with Saudi-Arabian company Savvy Games Group fell through. In an open letter later published by Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors, it was announced that the company would be slimming down and restructuring in a plan due to last until March 2024 in an effort to cut costs, prioritize growth, and reduce debt after the acquisition of so many major IPs. This will be enacted through layoffs, the halt of current projects, and studio closures. Just under two weeks ago Embracer already closed developer Volition Games, with the divestiture of Gearbox possibly hot on its trail.

When it comes to the state of Virginia, selling rare and allocated bourbon or other whiskey has frequently amounted to a massive headache. The state-run Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, otherwise known simply as the Virginia ABC, has struggled repeatedly in recent years to both keep up with the demand for popular, “allocated” bourbon brands and figure out a way to get those bottles into the hands of customers in the most fair, equitable manner. At seemingly every turn, their efforts have been hamstrung by people figuring out how to game the system, or internal corruption from profiteering employees taking advantage of the consumer mania to acquire rare bottles. And now, Virginia is tweaking their system for distributing allocated products yet again, implementing a new system that will inform customers directly via text when bottles become available at local Virginia ABC locations.

The cavalcade of whiskey-related issues at the Virginia ABC first became widely publicized in the spring of 2022, when stores all across the state abruptly appeared to stop selling any allocated bourbon brands, without offering any explanation. This was followed by the state launching a new system of “random drops,” on a daily or weekly basis, with Virginia ABC social media accounts and email lists informing consumers when some of these products became available. This system continues to receive a mixed reaction, with some Virginia bourbon geeks feeling it gives them a better chance to snag a rare bottle–provided they’re ready to drop everything and run to the liquor store when an alert comes–and others preferring the prior system, which rewarded those willing to wait for hours outside a liquor store before it opened.

The situation, though, is complicated by its entanglement with further Virginia ABC internal scandals, most notably the former employee convicted of felony computer trespass as part of a scheme to sell advance warning to local bourbon geeks of which bottles would be at which stores, and when. Four high-ranking ABC officials were likewise placed on leave this June after an embezzlement scheme was discovered in seven stores, while the ABC’s lottery system for especially rare bottles also endured a scandal of its own when the agency admitted it was experiencing “statistically abnormal” outcomes, resulting in a small handful of entrants winning far more bottles than they should have. Keep in mind, this has all happened in about the course of 1.5 calendar years in the Virginia whiskey scene.

So with that said, it’s safe to say that the newly announced text message system from the Virginia ABC will be looked on by local drinkers with a healthy share of skepticism, and a cynical expectation of further complications. With that said, the agency says that “On September 12, 2023, Virginia ABC will introduce text notifications for limited availability product drops. Beginning October 15, 2023 Spirited Virginia will no longer announce limited availability product drops on Facebook or Instagram. Email notifications will remain. To sign up, text keyword: DROPS to 80424.”

We would suspect that the further automation of this system is at least partially meant as a way to shield the Virginia ABC social media team from needing to deal as frequently with the histrionic entitlement of the state’s voracious bourbon community, given the way that almost every Facebook or Instagram post from the ABC is simply inundated with people complaining about allocated bourbon. If the system does somehow work, though, it could make acquiring that rare bottle in Virginia a little bit easier … provided, as always, that you’re free to drop everything you’re doing and race to the liquor store whenever that bottle arrives.

Or–and I know that you won’t listen to me, but I’ll just suggest it anyway–perhaps you could take us up on our pleas to look past bourbon and diversify your drinking? There’s never been a better time to get into something other than American whiskey, so hopefully some folks will take advantage of this opportunity to do so.

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.

Five years after his technically ambitious feature Long Day’s Journey into Night wowed Cannes audiences with its final hour-long 3D sequence, Chinese writer-director Bi Gan is back in business with plans for a sci-fi drama titled Resurrection. According to Variety, Bi is currently finishing the script, with plans to begin filming before the end of the year. The film will be co-produced by Charles Gillibert’s CG Cinema, the same studio that financed Long Day’s Journey, with actors Shu Qi (The Assassin, Millennium Mambo) and Jackson Yee (Better Days) set to star and past collaborator Dong Jingsong attached as DP.

According to Variety, Resurrection will center on a woman who gets trapped in an “eternal time zone” made up of her own dreams while undergoing surgery. There, she finds an android corpse whose senses gradually awaken when she begins to tell it stories.

Known for his challenging narratives and alluring compositions, the filmmaker previously broke out with his sophomore feature, Kaili Blues—which won Bi Best Emerging Director at Locarno in 2015. It then went on to pick up awards at Taipei’s Golden Horse festival as well as the Three Continents Festival in Nantes. 

His following film, Long Day’s Journey into Night, was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and won Best Cinematography, Best Original Film Score and Best Sound  Effects at the Golden Horse Awards. His upcoming fourth feature could premiere in festivals as soon as next year.

Ursula Muñoz S. is a critic, journalist and MFA candidate at Boston University who has previously written for news and entertainment outlets in Canada and the United States. Her work has appeared at Xtra, Cineaste, Bright Wall/Dark Room and more. For further reading, feel free to follow her on Substack and X, where she muses about Taylor Swift and Pedro Almodóvar (among other things).

As a three-part documentary series that delves deep into the tale of alleged cannibal Raja Kolander (born Ram Niranjan), Netflix’s ‘Indian Predator: Diary of a Serial Killer’ is brutally captivating. That’s because it features not just first-hand accounts of several individuals close to the matter but also some grim details of the convict’s actions, all the while he tries to proclaim his innocence. But for now, if you simply wish to learn more about his accomplice/brother-in-law Vakshraj Kol — with a specific focus on his offenses as well as his current standing, we’ve got the details for you.

Who is Vakshraj Kol?

It was seemingly by chance that Vakshraj was alongside his sister’s husband Raja when officials approached the latter regarding Dhirendra Singh’s December 14, 2000, vanishing mere days later. However, since he was in company, he was taken into custody to be interrogated as well, only for things to take a drastic turn once it became apparent he was extremely nervous and scared. He hence became the mark for harsh lines of inquiries, especially as someone had noticed his shoes were eerily similar to a pair owned by the missing journalist, as per the Netflix production.

Vakshraj eventually broke and told detectives the reality of their cellphone link to Dhirendra, following which Raja admitted they’d worked together to slay him, essentially for self-preservation. According to the original docuseries, they consciously took matters into their own hands because they just didn’t want the respected scribe to report on the latter’s criminal past of car looting. ‘Indian Predator’ further indicates it was actually Vakshraj who pulled the trigger on Dhirendra at his brother-in-law’s piggery farm before they disposed of him that evening — Raja was the one to dismember him.

Where is Vakshraj Kol Now?

Although Vakshraj was arrested and charged with murder on December 18, 2000, it took nearly 12 whole years for both him as well as his brother-in-law to be found guilty for good. He was thus sentenced to life in prison on November 30, 2012, along with an additional sentence of three years in rigorous imprisonment and an order to pay two fines totaling ₹15,000, just like Raja. Therefore, today, he continues to serve his penalty in a District Prison in Uttar Pradesh, India. We should mention that the court’s 2012 verdict did clarify that Vakshraj’s involvement in any other case tied to his brother-in-law has not been proved.

Read More: Dhirendra Singh Murder: How Did He Die? Who Killed Him?

In the tenth episode of ‘Made in Abyss’ season 2 or ‘Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun’ titled ‘All That You Gather,’ Nanachi is finally freed by Belaf, who has realized that the end of the village has finally come. Meanwhile, Faputa shows no mercy to the inhabitants of Ilblu and brutally murders them one after another. At some point, it becomes obvious that she won’t stop until somebody takes a stand against her, that’s when Reg decides to take things into his own hands. Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Made in Abyss’ season 2 episode 10. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Made in Abyss Season 2 Episode 10 Recap

After the commotion outside the cave becomes too loud, Nanachi finally wakes up from her deep sleep. Belaf informs her that the village is being destroyed by the princess. He then tells Nanachi that she is free to go but as soon as she will walk away, Mitty will disappear since creatures created in the village can’t really survive outside of it. While Nanachi is initially reluctant, when she realizes that she does not have much of an option, she decides to bid goodbye to her old friend on her own terms this time.

As she walks away from Belaf, she reassures Mitty that they will reunite in the afterlife. Furthermore, she also tells her about her plans to go on adventures with Riko and Reg. After she reaches some distance, Mitty’s body begins to disintegrate as Nanachi gives her one last hug. Meanwhile, Faputa is mercilessly killing the inhabitants of Ilblu. Faputa appears very determined and it seems that she will only stop once the entire village is destroyed and she has fulfilled her goal.

The massacre is brutal as the hollows desperately try to defend themselves but are too powerless in front of Faputa. Luckily, Reg realizes that he cannot allow something this horrible to go on any longer and springs into action. Reg tells Faputa about Nanachi. He asks her to stop so that he can save his friends. Unfortunately, Faputa sees through his deceptive attempt to stop the destruction of the village and asks him to save his friends without coming in her way.

When Reg tries to stop Faputa from hurting the villagers, the duo begin to fight each other. Despite being quite aggressive so far, Faputa is very careful as she clearly does not want to hurt her friend. However, the heated conversation between them makes both of them quite emotional and it soon becomes obvious that they are not going to give up on their goals.

Made in Abyss Season 2 Episode 10 Ending: What Was Reg’s Promise to Faputa?

Reg had met Faputa for the first time just after Gaburoon was brutally attacked by a Turbinid dragon and was in terrible shape. Faputa was naturally skeptical of the stranger and was even prepared to attack him if it was necessary. However, Reg turned out to be quite useful for her and Gaburoon. He soon started spending time with Faputa and the two got emotionally attached to each other. Their relationship was so emotionally intimate that Faputa even planned to have kids with him.

Unfortunately, Reg has to leave the 6th layer in pursuit of his personal goals and to continue climbing upwards. Therefore, he knew he did not have much choice but to part ways with Faputa. Before their emotional separation, Faputa talked about her desire to be with Reg forever. Reg also had similar feelings and promised that he would return one day and then will take the Princess on countless adventures. Sadly, he ended up losing his memories sometime afterward and did not remember making any promises to Faputa in the past.

Will Reg And Faputa Be Able to Reconcile After Their Brutal Fight?

Since Reg refuses to let Faputa fulfill her twisted goal, Faputa realizes that she does not have much of an option. Therefore, she decides to fight Reg. Unlike the inhabitants of Ilblu whom she had massacred without remorse, Faputa appeared to struggle emotionally as she tried to hurt him. Meanwhile, Reg has also not lost hope and was constantly trying to convince her to give up on her goal to destroy the village. Sadly, most of his emotional appeals fell on deaf ears and by the end of the episode, Faputa seemed quite frustrated by him.

Faputa violently attacks him as she can’t allow anyone to come in her way. Although at this point, it seems that Reg and Faputa’s fight will end up permanently damaging their relationship, it is actually not the case. Akihito Tsukushi’s manga series which serves as the inspiration for the show clearly states in chapters after the village arc that the duo will end up reconciling. Furthermore, Riko will even help Faputa get comfortable with the rest of them as they embark on adventures in the sixth layer.

Read More: Made in Abyss Season 2 Episode 9 Recap and Ending, Explained

The third episode of FX on Hulu’s thriller series ‘The Patient’ follows Alan Strauss’ attempts to deal with Sam Fortner’s impulses to kill others, possibly including him. Alan meets Candace Fortner, Sam’s mother, and requests her to unlock his chain to save Sam. Candace, who doesn’t want to turn her son into the police, decides against helping Alan fearing that he will contact the authorities if he gets saved from her son. Alan makes progress with the therapy sessions as he manages to dive deep into the childhood of his patient. The enthralling episode, titled ‘Issues,’ ends with an astounding development. If you are trying to know more about the same, let us be your ally! SPOILERS AHEAD.

The Patient Episode 3 Recap

‘Issues’ begins with Alan meeting Candace, who introduces herself as Sam’s mother and a big fan of the therapist’s books. Alan requests her to unlock him and call the police to “save” Sam but the woman cannot betray her own son. Candace also asks the therapist whether he knows all about Sam’s separation from his wife Mary. When Sam comes back home from work, Alan lets him know that he had met his mother and proposes to have a joint therapy session with him and Candace. Although Sam insists that his mother is not his problem, Alan insists and he manages to conduct the session.

Alan explores Sam’s childhood with his abusive father in the session. He reminds the serial killer how much his mother means to him and how he should protect her by putting an end to his killing spree. Alan wants Sam to think about his mother and the pain he causes to her every time he takes another human being’s life. Alan constantly thinks about his dead wife Beth Strauss, particularly the song she sang on the occasion of their son Ezra Strauss’ marriage, despite the rabi’s reminder that women do not sing on such Jewish occasions. He also remembers the day she died in his and their daughter’s presence.

The Patient Episode 3 Ending: Whom Does Sam Bring to His House? Why Does Sam Abduct Him?

During a particular night, Alan wakes up hearing Sam, dragging a man all tied up to the basement to lock up in an adjoining room. The serial killer doesn’t offer any explanation to Alan, who watches the same. The man can be the son of the restaurant owner AKA the “restaurant guy” Sam badly wants to kill. Before abducting him, Sam has gone to the same restaurant to buy food. The serial killer’s “compulsion to kill” returns to him but he manages to resist the same by limiting the homicidal urges to mere thoughts of killing the man in his head.

After explaining the same impulses to Alan over dinner, Sam tells the latter that he was able to stop himself from killing the man “because of” the therapist. Sam must have been thinking that Alan has a hold on his psyche to stop his homicidal impulses. He can be believing that as long as Alan is around to control his actions, he will not stoop to being a murderer again. Sam’s words indicate that the person he drags into his basement can be the restaurant guy and he must have abducted the man to not kill him.

Sam’s trust in Alan may have led him to abduct the restaurant guy to keep him in the presence of the therapist. He must be thinking that he will not be able to kill the individual while Alan can see and influence him or Alan will stop him from committing a murder that he will regret later. Since Sam’s murderous impulses haven’t subsided, the restaurant guy’s life will always be hanging by a thread if he is free. As far as the serial killer is concerned, the only way to stop himself from murdering the person is by locking up the latter in a place where his homicidal urges are very low, which is in the basement under Alan’s watch.

Sam’s return to his potential victim’s restaurant to buy food indicates how much he loves to test himself and his compulsion to kill. Abducting the same person can be another test to find out the magnitude of his ability to control his impulses and Alan’s influence on him. If Sam can mentally prepare himself to kill the restaurant guy despite Alan’s presence, influence, and words, he may even start to believe that the therapist has failed to help him. If that happens, Alan and the restaurant guy’s lives will be in danger.

Read More: Is The Patient Based on a True Story?

Peacock’s ‘Last Light’ is an action thriller series that follows Andy Yeats (Matthew Fox), a renowned Petro-chemist working for a major energy and oil company. Ironically, his daughter, Laura (Alyth Ross), is an environmental activist. During an emergency business trip to the Middle East, Andy discovers an elaborate plot that causes a global energy crisis that might be tied to his past. Meanwhile, his wife, Elena (Joanne Froggatt), is in Paris with their son Sam when widespread riots break out across Europe due to the crisis.

In London, where the family resides, Laura suddenly discovers that she is being followed. As a disaster of an unprecedented scale looms on the horizon, all members of the Yeats family make a desperate bid to reunite. ‘Last Light’ is a show that explores some of the direst issues of modern society, including climate change, energy crisis, and unstable geopolitical situations. If that has made you wonder whether the thriller series is inspired by actual events, we got you covered.

Is Last Light a True Story?

No, ‘Last Light’ is not based on a true story. It is a television adaptation of Alex Scarrow’s 2007 namesake novel, the first in the book duology. In a September 2022 interview with Coming Soon, director Dennie Gordon stated she was drawn to Scarrow’s book because of its universal themes. “I just thought it was so insightful. When something’s in the zeitgeist, and you feel like this is a story that has to be told now, today, it just spoke to me urgently. It’s a theme that we all cared deeply about, and we wanted to hurry and get the story out,” she said.

Gordon added, “It checked all the boxes for me. It was thrilling, it had tremendous heart, and it was punctuated by the opportunity for tremendous action, which I love doing. It was, for me, the chance to showrun a show and bring all the people together to do it from top to bottom. So it was very, very exciting. And we hit the ground running! The minute Matthew Fox said, yes, we were off.”

Actor Matthew Fox, arguably most known for portraying Jack Shephard on the ABC series ‘Lost,’ returns to screen with ‘Last Light’ after a seven-year-long hiatus. The series also marks his first television appearance in 14 years. Fox echoed his director’s sentiments in a September 2022 interview with CBR about what garnered his interest in ‘Last Light’ and Andy Yeats. “I’m not sure it was Andy so much as it was just the whole story,” the ‘Bone Tomahawk’ actor explained.

Fox continued, “I felt like the story is very timely — this notion of our reliance on fossil fuels and what the world has to do over the next decades, so I felt that that was timely. I think the concept of families being torn apart… I think that is always a source of great drama and narrative storytelling. So I felt like we have this family that, at its core, they love each other very, very much, and that is separated through this crisis, and then the quest of trying to put it back together again.”

“So I was really drawn to the sort of macro-elements to the story rather than specifically to Andy. He’s a bit of an enigma and was a challenge for me to play, but I was really drawn to the bigger macro-elements of the story,” the actor concluded. Furthermore, he shared he was excited about serving as an executive producer. Clearly, ‘Last Light’ is not based on a true story but an adaptation of a novel. Nevertheless, it does tackle several pertinent themes like family relationships, geopolitics, and the climate crisis in a realistic way.

Read More: Where Was Last Light Filmed?

HBO Max’s ‘Harley Quinn’ is an adult-animated series that revolves around the shenanigans that the titular character (Kaley Cuoco) and her crew get into in Gotham and beyond. In Harley Quinn’ season 3 episode 9, titled ‘Climax at Jazzapajizza,’ Bruce shows his newly resurrected zombie parents what he has done to their ancestral home, all giddy and without a care in the world. He doesn’t realize until later that his actions have caused a zombie apocalypse. Although this isn’t part of her initial plan, Ivy (Lake Bell) adapts to the situation and begins taking control of the zombies. Meanwhile, Harley’s transformation to become a force for good continues, and she convinces the Bat-family to let her try to dissuade Ivy from her plans. Here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Harley Quinn’ season 3 episode 9. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Harley Quinn Season 3 Episode 9 Recap

As the episode begins, Harley, Ivy, Doctor Psycho, and Clayface are at Wayne Manor, bound and helpless. By now, Bruce has already brought back his parents, who died 30 years ago. Nightwing and Batgirl refuse to believe their mentor will do something that puts other people in danger, even though they admit that he has been depressed lately. They are immediately proven wrong when Bruce walks in with Zombie Thomas and Zombie Martha, who don’t exactly look like traditional zombies of pop culture. Instead, their limbs have been turned into tree branches, the result of using Frank, who was only meant to resurrect dead plants.

After Bruce takes the zombies to show them around the mansion, the rest of the Bat-family and Harley’s crew realize that Bruce has inadvertently begun a zombie apocalypse. A group of said zombies break into the mansion and attack the people inside. One of the zombies vomits on Doctor Psycho, and that is how the non-zombies realize that the zombies can transform ordinary human beings into trees by vomiting over them.

Ivy gets Frank back and delves into the Green to see if she can control the zombies through it. Realizing that all the dead in Gotham are back, Clayface leaves, likely to see if Billy Bob Thornton has been resurrected as well. Harley lets Nightwing and Batgirl know that she knows that Bruce is Batman and convinces them to let her help them. Batgirl subsequently takes the motorcycle, Harley the jet, and Nightwing the penny farthing as they venture out into Gotham to stop an apocalypse.

Harley Quinn Season 3 Episode 9 Ending: Why Does Harley Choose to Sacrifice Herself?

While she is in the Green, Ivy speaks to the Swamp Thing, who implores her to use the Green for good, but Ivy has little time for sage advice. She intends to turn Gotham into a utopia without any humans. As she dives into a swirling mass of light, she gains control of the zombies in the outside world and heads toward the jazz concert where the zombies are heading as well. She changes and turns the zombies as she travels.

Meanwhile, Harley, Nightwing, and Batgirl head in the same direction, taking out as many zombies as possible along the way. Soon, they discover Ivy’s plan, and no one is more troubled about it than Harley. As Batgirl and Nightwing prepare to take Ivy out for good, Harley convinces them to give her 10 minutes so she can stop her girlfriend from going through her diabolical plan.

Harley’s initial attempts to dissuade Ivy fail. But when she exposes herself to the vomit of one of the zombies, Ivy has no choice but to abandon her plan and save her girlfriend. Both Harley and Ivy actively make choices in this episode. Ivy chooses to remain a villain, while Harley chooses to become a hero. While this doesn’t mean that they will break up, it does place the two characters on opposite sides of the law.

Why Does the Shark King Volunteer to Kill Zombie Martha and Zombie Thomas?

As she leaves to stop the zombies, Harley calls King Shark and asks him to come to Wayne Manor and protect Ivy. However, by the time he gets there, Ivy has already left. Initially, Bruce is combative seeing him there. But when he learns what his actions have caused, he becomes deeply remorseful. His parents’ death is the most definitive moment in Bruce Wayne’s life. It seems that after this failed attempt to bring them back, he is finally learning to move on. Bruce realizes he needs to kill the zombie version of his parents, but the Shark King spares him another 30 years’ worth of trauma by taking over that responsibility.

Read More: Does Doctor Psycho Appear in Harley Quinn Season 3? Who Voices Him?

The Disney+/Hulu series ‘Wedding Season’ is a British action thriller created by Oliver Lyttelton. It stars Rosa Salazar (‘Brand New Cherry Flavor‘) as Katie, a mysterious woman who comes under suspicion of killing her new husband and in-laws. As a result, Katie is forced to go on the run and drags her ex-lover, Stefan, along with her. The dark and witty series slowly unveils Katie’s past, her romance with Stefan, and her twisted motivations. Therefore, viewers must wonder whether the series is inspired by actual incidents, news reports, or a book adaptation. In that case, allow us to share everything we know about the inspiration behind ‘Wedding Season.’

Is Wedding Season a True Story?

No, ‘Wedding Season’ is not based on a true story. Likewise, the series is also not an adaptation of a book. Instead, the series is based on an original concept from creator Oliver Lyttelton. The writer is best known for his work on the comedy-drama series ‘Cheaters.’ In an interview, Lyttelton opened up about the conceptualization of ‘Wedding Season.’ The series follows Stefan, a hopeless romantic who is dragged into a murder mystery by his ex-lover, Katie. Lyttelton explained that the series’ primary theme is the evolving perspective on love and marriage. The writer revealed that he drew from personal experiences to craft the show’s concept.

Lyttelton said that he was going through several complex feelings while attending his friends’ weddings. The ideas of stags, hens, couples, and their roles in weddings, contribute to the show’s premise. Moreover, Lyttelton stated that attending weddings stirred up different emotions within him that he used to develop the concept. However, the writer explained that he did not want to create a warm, cozy, and feel-good rom-com as his personal experiences with romance and relationships incited feelings of terror and anxiety within him. Therefore, Lyttelton opted for a unique approach to the story and added thriller and crime elements to it. The same is represented in the series through Katie and Stefan’s journey as they are forced to go on the run after they are framed for a series of murders.

In the same interview, actor Gavin Drea who plays Stefan in the series, expressed that despite the over-the-top action sequences and heightened drama, the series is still very much rooted in reality through the character’s emotional conflicts. Drea elaborated on his statements by saying that the series deals with the anxieties that people deal with in their late 20s and early 30s while settling down with a partner or searching for a partner to settle down with. Both sides of the coin are universal conflicts that resonate with the viewers. Furthermore, the series also deals with the theme of adult friendships and their importance in one’s life.

Ultimately, ‘Wedding Season’ is not based on a true story. The romantic series tells a fictional story with heart-pumping action sequences and slapstick comedy moments. However, at the center of the dramatization remain relatable and heartfelt conflicts that help ground the narrative in reality. The emotionally resonant and universal themes add charm and charisma to the story, while the enthralling murder mystery keeps viewers invested in Katie and Stefan’s journey. Hence, it is evident that the series belongs more to the world of fictional realism and does not share any ties with actual events.

Read More: Best Romantic TV Shows

Although ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ does center around stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds as they navigate the world of soccer club ownership, the true heart of it is honestly the club’s fans. That’s because no matter their gender, their personal struggles, or their professional experiences, they prove time and time again there’s a reason sports is known for bringing people together. Among them is none other than the spirited Shaun Winter — so now, if you wish to learn more about this native Wrexham AFC supporter as well as his current standing, we’ve got you covered.

Who is Shaun Winter?

From the moment Shaun saw his first hometown game at The Racecourse Ground as a young boy alongside his father, he not only fell in love but also realized the small moments mean the most. “This football club, this ground, it’s just everything,” he said at one point in the FX original series, before later adding, “It’s more than football, it’s more than just having a pint, it’s your mental well-being as well.” He actually knows this first-hand since not being able to attend a single game at the stadium with his two young boys during COVID did affect him in ways he never expected.

The local painter also candidly admitted that “when I heard about [Hollywood stars] Ryan and Rob taking over this club, I thought… like everyone else did… f**k off! It’s not gonna happen.” Yet, considering the way Wrexham has managed to progress under their vision despite their lack of experience, it goes without saying Shaun has come to terms with this deal; he’s even glad for it. Moreover, it’s likely this change gradually helped him deal with the changes in his situation as well — the recent split from the mother of his boys — through the sheer sense that this is what life is.

Where is Shaun Winter Now?

Shaun was honestly portrayed as a mere resentful house-painter following in his father’s as well as his grandfather’s footsteps for the last 10-15 years in the docuseries, but he’s genuinely much more. He’d stated in the FX production that he “f**king hates” his job because “you’re looking at the same old s**t, you’re talking to the same people. You just recycle bullshit. I just sit in the bath every night, and it’s just like, there’s gotta be something more to life than this.” There is; the Wrexham resident has even found it via his passion for his hometown, the association, and public communication.

After all, apart from being a painter for the town council, Shaun currently proudly serves as a club host, club promoter, and co-host of the ‘Wrexham & Lager’ Podcast (with James Simmonds). His social media platforms further make it clear he continues to be an unremitting doting father to his two boys despite sharing custody since their happiness matters above everything else. The Welsh family man/”Wrexham FC die-hard” fan actually seems content at the moment, indicating he’ll probably maintain his personal as well as professional pursuits based on his heart’s true desires.

Read More: Where is Michael “Scoot” Hett Now?

As a sports documentary series we can only describe as equal parts captivating, intimate, light-hearted, and local community-driven, ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ is an FX original unlike any other. After all, despite the fact Rob McElhenney as well as Ryan Reynolds helm the production as new owners of a fifth-level football (soccer) club, its fiercely unfaltering supporters are the real story. The prime example is the feature of Michael “Scoot” Hett — so now, if you wish to learn more about him, his past experiences, and his current standing, we’ve got every necessary detail for you.

Who is Michael “Scoot” Hett?

Michael “Scoot” Keith Hett is a true native of the idyllic county borough called Wrexham in Northeast Wales in every way imaginable — born, brought up, educated, and settled in the same area. It thus comes as no surprise that he’s been a fan of the regional association football club for as long as he can remember, especially considering both his parents were devout followers as well. The game has hence played a significant role in every aspect of his existence, whether it be how he spends quality time with friends, family, and his wife or even his motivation to conquer cancer.

The lead singer-songwriter of The Declan Swans (since 1998) actually admitted in the docuseries that the top item on his bucket list was, is, and will continue to be seeing Wrexham get promoted. Michael had undergone two major operations for the complete removal of the tumor from his colon before he began balancing chemotherapy with touring, yet his team was always on his mind.

“I was spaced out a lot of the time [during treatments]…,” the now-proud cancer survivor candidly explained in the FX production. “I did a lot of thinking. Schoolboy memories. You know, I was thinking about me dad. Me mummy passed away a few years back, and I could only imagine what it [could’ve been like] for Wendy (my wife). I haven’t been married that long long, only six years (2016). We do a lot together; she watches Wrexham as well. Football was a big part of me thoughts. I didn’t think about things like death. I would just think, ‘I can’t go yet; I’ve got to see Wrexham get promoted.’”

Where is Michael “Scoot” Hett Now?

From what we can tell through his social media platforms, Michael not only continues to reside in Wrexham alongside his loving wife Wendy Smithies Hett, but he’s also still an active creator. In fact, apart from being a member of The Declan Swans, the socialist is a writer as well — he likes alternative poetic humor, which he accentuates in his music, speeches, as well as Twitter posts.

We should mention that Michael’s band (and thus he) has actually received quite a lot of attention in the past couple of years owing to their catchy song “Always Sunny In Wrexham.” They’d released this single shortly after the takeover by Rob and Ryan, with the lyrics celebrating the hope of Wrexham’s overall improvement — it’s what fans now sing in the stands at almost every match.

“It’s massive,” Michael once said in an interview, referring to the club’s sale as well as its impact. “We’ve done a lot of gigs in the past to raise money for the cub and the Trust, but it had come to a time where we weren’t getting anywhere. I don’t think even the club would’ve survived covid, to be honest. But this kind of takeover is unbelievable; can’t be put into words. Ryan and Rob seem like decent people, they are community people, and there is no nasty incentive like we’ve had when we’ve been ripped off in the past. It’s all brilliant. Rob has said himself that he sees a lot of similarities between Wrexham and Philadelphia, which is good. I’m chuffed.”

Read More: Where is Wayne Jones Now?

With a sheer focus on the skillsets of some of the most renowned tattoo artists as they compete for a $100,000+ grand prize as well as a lifetime of bragging rights, ‘Ink Master’ is unlike any other. That’s because not only is every challenge evaluated by experts and enthusiasts of the field alike, but it also emphasizes the importance of self-expression and creativity at every step of the way. So now that we’ve seen the intricate manner in which things play out within this gripping Paramount production, let’s find out precisely how much of it is authentic — if even at all — shall we?

Is Ink Master Real or Fake?

‘Ink Master’ has been billed as an unscripted reality competition series from the moment it was announced back in 2011 (premiered in early 2012), yet its entire actuality is a little more complex. While it’s true that neither the contestants nor the judges, let alone the human canvases, are ever handed any pre-written lines to execute in front of the cameras, there is producer interference. This facet is not surprising considering the myriad of resources utilized to ensure the show’s long-term success as well as relevance, but the reported extent of the strategic planning/influence is.

According to former human canvas Corey Matchem, several aspects that make it to our screens are purely for entertainment; they’re added to enhance the viewer experience and nothing more. The prime example he gave is of the admittedly thrilling time constraints serving no real purpose since “no one ever came down [to] the wire, most artists finished hours before, and some even went over.” He also candidly added, “none of the judges were ever on set. They only showed up for 5 minutes to walk around from booth to booth so they could edit them being there the whole time.”

As if that’s not enough, Corey further disclosed the interpersonal drama and hostility we often see amongst the body artists rarely exists in the real world, at least, as per his first-hand knowledge. “They aren’t directly asked to argue, but there’s no real tension on set,” he asserted. “The artists are made aware the more of a scene created, the more the cameras will focus on you.” Corey even essentially debunked the whole idea of the canvas jury by conceding they were affected by the producers’ job of controlling the narrative — “We did get to speak our minds, but it never aired.”

However, it’s imperative to mention season 13 tattooist Jessa Bigelow has since backed the authentic notion in an Ask Me Anything session on her Instagram Stories (in 2020). She’d actually clarified the series is “not scripted” by explaining, “There are times where we need to discuss things maybe we wouldn’t normally discuss. So that sucks, [yet] the emotions you see portrayed are real.”

The New Jersey-based artist had continued, “Of course, there are scenes that are too long to air so they show the most important parts. Essentially, it’s a game/contest… and you get to watch how we compete… We aren’t acting behind the camera but we also can’t help the way we look once it’s edited.” Nevertheless, the latter post-production process is unavoidable as it ties everything together.

Apart from scheduling the challenges as well as hand-picking the cast, because there is no direct producer manufacturing involved — merely manipulation — ‘Ink Master’ is thus as real and natural as it can be. Though, we need to reiterate you should always take any such original series’ with a grain of salt as you never really know how far producers can go to maintain the audience’s interest.

Read More: Is Black Ink Crew Scripted?