Streaming successes: What's coming to your screens later this year
'Squid Game' season 3
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Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon
Where: Netflix
When: June 27
The final season of the South Korean survival thriller about a game show where the rewards are enormous but loss means death, Seong Gi-hun (or player 456, as you might know him) and his friends must fight for survival in ever-more fiendish challenges. The VIPs — the wealthy individuals who fund the games — return to the island once again, perhaps setting the stage for a vengeance-fueled finale and a showdown between the Front Man and his brother, police officer Jun-ho.
'Ironheart'
Starring: Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Lyric Ross
Where: Disney+
When: June 25
This Marvel miniseries is a spinoff from the 'Black Panther' movie franchise and follows MIT student and genius inventor Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, who was responsible for creating the vibranium detector that sparked the events of 2022's 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,' in which she also invented an exoskeleton to rival that of Tony Stark/Ironman so that she could fight alongside the Wakandans. Now Williams has returned home to Chicago, where she meets Parker Robbins, aka The Hood, who is able to access dark magic, setting Williams on a 'path of danger and adventure.'
'The Bear' season 4
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri
Where: Disney+
When: June 26
The first two seasons of the horribly tense kitchen-based drama 'The Bear' were fantastic TV. The third? Not so much. (Although it should be said that even weak episodes of 'The Bear' are still better than the vast majority of shows.) But hopefully season four finds super-talented chef Carmy Berzatto and his crew back on form as they try to make a success of the titular family restaurant which they've shifted from run-down sandwich shop to fine-dining venue. And after a wait of almost a year, we'll finally get to find out what that all-important review said.
'Wednesday' season 2
Starring: Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman
Where: Netflix
When: August 6
Wednesday Addams is back at Nevermore Academy for another year. And this time around, the rest of her spooky, kooky family will be spending a lot more time there, too — much to Wednesday's chagrin — and not just because her brother Pugsley has enrolled. Co-showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have promised a 'darker, more complex' series. And at Netlix's live Tudum event last month, it was announced that Lady Gaga will be guest starring as the 'mysterious and enigmatic' Nevermore teacher Rosaline Rotwood.
'Slow Horses' season 5
Starring: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas
Where: Apple+ TV
When: Sept. 24
Former British super-spy Jackson Lamb and his unfortunate crew of misfit spooks return for another series of this excellent, darkly humorous espionage drama. This time around, the trouble starts when Slough House's resident tech nerd Roddy gets a glamorous new girlfriend, who everyone — or, at least, everyone except for Roddy — can see is well out of his league. The show is an adaptation of Mick Herron's 'Slough House' novels, and this season is based on 'London Rules.' 'Ted Lasso' star Nick Mohammed is perhaps the biggest new name to join the cast; he'll be playing an ambitious London mayoral candidate.
'Stranger Things' season 5
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown
Where: Netflix
When: November 26
The final (really?) season of the phenomenally successful Eighties-set sci-fi horror drama has a lot to live up to. Once again, psychokinetic Eleven and her pals in Hawkins, Indiana, must fight to save the Earth from the alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. Since its arrival on our screens in 2016, 'Stranger Things' has been one of the world's most talked-about and beloved series. Showrunners The Duffer Brothers have got pretty much everything right so far. Can they stick the landing?
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Review: Ginny & Georgia
The emotionally charged third season of Netflix's 'Ginny & Georgia' dropped earlier this month and has hovered steadily in the top 10 shows in the Kingdom since. This season, the show focuses even more strongly on the fast-talking, faster-thinking Georgia, a single mother with bleached-blonde Southern belle looks whose dark past is fast catching up with her. Flashbacks — some heartbreaking, others alarming — offer glimpses of her past life. The story picks up moments after the dramatic finale of season two. Georgia is arrested, still wearing her wedding dress after a picture-perfect ceremony with Paul Randolph, the town's popular mayor, as her two children and the whole town look on in horror. The death of a seemingly minor character triggers a chain reaction that threatens Georgia's carefully cultivated fairy-tale life. Mayor Paul must decide between his new bride and his political career. He chooses the easy way out, but everyone knows there is no such thing. His life gets increasingly more complicated — as do the lives of every man, woman, and child drawn into Georgia's orbit. They love her anyway. But at what cost? The headlines swiftly label Georgia the 'Mayoress Murderess.' This is not just a catchy phrase. We soon find out that she has been accused of murder before — and more than once. Is she a serial killer? But this is not only Georgia's story. Ginny, her 16-year-old daughter, is a budding poet trying to navigate a new chapter in her life, while dealing with school pressures, fragile friendships, and the growing realization that she is now the one keeping her mother in line. Meanwhile, Ginny's younger brother Austin ditches his dark-rimmed, Harry Potter-style glasses with no lenses — his emotional security blanket in earlier seasons — and begins shedding his childhood innocence. He is no longer someone who can be overlooked. The comparisons to the cult classic 'Gilmore Girls,' which aired from 2000 to 2007, still apply. Like Lorelai, Georgia is a teen mom who ran away from her hometown to raise a daughter on her own, far away from the parents she never got along with. But Ginny, Georgia, and Austin do not live in Stars Hollow. They settled in the fictional town of Wellsbury. Amid the drama, the show does not shy away from more challenging subjects, including eating disorders, self harm, and depression, which are handled with more nuance than in earlier seasons. When a new life-changing secret is revealed in the final minute of the finale, the stage is set for an inevitable fourth season.
Arab News
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All of BTS has returned as Suga is discharged from an alternative form of military service
SEOUL: Suga, a rapper and songwriter in the global K-pop sensation BTS, has been discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, marking the official return of all seven members from their enlistment duties. The label confirmed that Suga completed his alternative service duties on Wednesday after using up his remaining leave. His official discharge date is Saturday. BTS' management agency, Big Hit Entertainment, had said earlier that no events were planned for Suga's release out of concern for overcrowding. It is a momentous occasion for fans of the K-pop group BTS. The seven singers of the popular K-pop band plan to reunite as a group sometime in 2025 now that they've finished their service. Last week, BTS superstars RM and V were discharged from South Korea's military after fulfilling their mandatory service. Jimin and Jung Kook were discharged a day later. All four were enlisted in December 2023. Six of the group's seven members served in the army, while Suga fulfilled his duty as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service. Jin, the oldest BTS member, was discharged in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged in October. In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea. The law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige. K-pop stars and other entertainers aren't subject to such privileges. However, in 2020, BTS postponed their service until age 30 after South Korea's National Assembly revised its Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to delay their enlistment until age 30. There was heated public debate in 2022 over whether to offer special exemptions of mandatory military service for BTS members, until the group's management agency announced in October 2022 that all seven members would fulfill their duties.
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
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South Korea's last circus, Dongchoon, holds up as it marks centennial
No more elephant and monkey acts. No more death-defying motorbike stunts. No more singing or acting on stage. Several hundred spectators still clapped constantly when acrobats with Dongchoon Circus Troupe, South Korea's last and 100-year-old circus, twirled on a long suspended fabric, juggled clubs on a large rotating wheel, and rode a unicycle on a tightrope under the big top. 'As I recall the hardship that I've gone through, I think I've done something significant,' Park Sae-hwan, the head of the circus, said in a recent Associated Press interview. 'But I also feel heavy responsibility because if Dongchoon stops, our country's circus–one genre in our performing arts–will disappear. That's the problem.' The golden age of circuses. Founded in 1925, Dongchoon is Korea's oldest circus. In the golden ages of South Korean circuses in the 1960s, when most households still had no TVs, Dongchoon traveled across the country, wowing audiences with then-exotic animals like an elephant and a giraffe and a variety of shows, including skits, comic talks, singing, dancing, and magic shows. At its peak years, it had more than 200 artists, acrobats, and other staff, according to Park. Like in many other countries, TVs and movies later syphoned off the audiences of Dongchoon and other circuses in South Korea. Their actors, singers, and comedians moved to TV stations, and some became bigger stars. The advent of the internet, video games, and professional sports were another blow. South Korean circuses also dropped animal shows that faced protests by animal rights campaigners. Now Dongchoon is the only circus in South Korea after all its rivals went out of business. How Dongchoon survives. Park, who joined Dongchoon in 1963, served as a show host and sometimes sang and acted in the circus's drama programs. He left the circus in 1973 and ran a lucrative supermarket business. In 1978, he returned to the circus industry by taking over Dongchoon, which was put up for sale after devastating typhoon damage. Park, now 80, said he worried Dongchoon could disappear into history after seeing newspaper reports that its assets would be split into parts and sold. 'I thought Dongchoon must not disappear. When we want to study the roots of our country's dramas, we should look back on the traces of Dongchoon. The same goes for the history of our other shows, traditional music performances, and magic shows, as well as circuses themselves,' Park said. Heo Jeong-Joo, an expert at the All That Heritage Research Institute, also values highly the legacy of Dongchoon, which she said incorporated many traditional performers and artists who operated before its 1925 founding. 'Its foundation exceeds 100 years. In a historical perspective, I think it should be designated as an intangible cultural asset,' Heo said. Park said he almost closed the circus in 2009 after his shows drew only 10–20 spectators each for several months during a widespread flu outbreak. It survived after local media reports sympathizing with the plight of Dongchoon prompted many people to flock and fully pack shows for weeks, he said. Dongchoon leaps again at its seaside big top. Since 2011, Dongchoon has been performing at a big top at a seaside tourist area in Ansan, just south of Seoul. Its circus workers also frequently travel to other areas for temporary shows. Dongchoon officials said their business is doing relatively well, drawing several hundred spectators on weekdays and up to 2,000 on weekends at Ansan alone. Ansan official Sharon Ham said local tourism has been boosted by Dongchoon's presence. She said Dongchoon shows are popular with both older generations wanting to recall childhood memories of circuses and younger generations seeking something new. 'It was a very impressive and meaningful circus,' Sim Chung-yong, a 61-year-old spectator, said after one show last week. 'But I also thought about how much big pains and hardships those circus acrobats underwent to perform like this.' Dongchoon officials say they now offer only acrobatic performances and refrain from too-risky acts because many people don't like them any longer. Its all 35 acrobats are now Chinese as a circus job is generally shunned by more affluent South Koreans who consider it too dangerous and low-paying. Park said he bought land at Ansan where he hopes to build a circus school to nurture South Korean circus artists. Xing Jiangtao, 37, has been working for Dongchoon since 2002–initially as an acrobat and now as its performance director. He recalled that when he first came to South Korea, he and his Chinese colleagues all worked as assistants to Dongchoon's 50 South Korean acrobats, but they've all left one by one. 'Now it's the only circus in South Korea, and I hope we will create good circus performances to show to spectators so that we can help Dongchoon exist for another 100 years,' Xing said in fluent Korean.
