The beloved long-running police procedural and legal drama Law & Order will be returning to NBC in the fall for Season 26. But in advance of its return, you'll want to recall all the developments that took place before the season break. Never fear: Popverse is here to help you remember every piece of evidence that you might have forgotten over the summer.

Law & Order is the long-running police procedural and legal drama created by the legendary Dick Wolf. The series originally debuted in 1990 and ran for twenty seasons before going on an eleven year hiatus. But then in 2022, the show was revived, and the release date for Law & Order Season 26 on NBC will be October 8th, 2026.

Doc season 3 is coming to a screen near you very soon, and Popverse has everything you need to know about the medical drama right here. We'll answer your FAQs as delicately as possible, avoiding getting into specific plotlines, but keep in mind that some of these answers require spoilers. Consider this a spoiler warning for Doc seasons 1 & 2.

The Doc season 3 release date is September 22. 

Doc season 3 will stream on Hulu.

The Rookie season 9 is fast approaching, and Popverse has everything you need to know ahead of the next chapter of the popular cop drama. Airing on ABC and streaming on Hulu since 2018, The Rookie has amassed a giant fanbase, and we're here to guide all of those fans into the next Nathan Fillion-starring season.

The Rookie season 9 release date is confirmed for January 2027, however, a specific The Rookie season 9 release date has yet to be pinned down by ABC or Hulu.

The Rookie season 10 has not yet been confirmed by ABC or Hulu. However, The Rookie season 9 was confirmed in April of 2026 and The Rookie season 8 was confirmed in April of 2025, so it is possible that ABC will confirm The Rookie season 10 in April of 2027.

If you close your eyes and picture the X-Men, Batman, or the Justice League, there’s a very good chance you’re imagining something Jim Lee drew.

For more than 35 years, Lee has been one of the defining artists of superhero comics, transforming Marvel’s X-Men into a record-breaking phenomenon before co-founding Image Comics and creating WildC.A.T.s. He later moved to DC, where books like Batman: Hush, Superman: For Tomorrow, and Justice League helped shape how a new generation saw the publisher’s biggest heroes. Lee’s influence is everywhere: in superhero costumes, blockbuster action sequences, splash pages crammed with meticulous detail, and the belief that a single artist can make a comic feel like the biggest cultural event of the year.

But the best Jim Lee comics aren’t necessarily the ones that sold the most copies, introduced the most collectible covers, or produced the longest lines at the convention signing table. This ranking focuses on the comics themselves: Lee’s visual storytelling, his chemistry with each writer, inker, and colorist, the ambition of the work, and the mark it left on superhero comics. From Uncanny X-Men and Divine Right to Batman and the Justice League, these are the essential Jim Lee stories, and the comics that explain why his version of superheroes became the version so many of us carry around in our heads.

Christmas time is here, or so the song goes. And while you might be scurrying around to pick up holiday gifts for your loved ones, another problem arises: what movies should you watch this holiday season? But fear not: we've got you covered on what to watch for Christmas this year. 

Quick Picks

Best overall: Batman Returns

Dungeons and Dragons has been around for more than 50 years now, and in that time, fans have grown hungry for expansion books, merchandise, dice, maps, miniatures, and more. But that's not all; D&D fans have fallen even more in love with the Forgotten Realms setting in spinoff novels and comics, too. Because what's nerdier than playing tabletop roleplaying games than enjoying a novel that's set within the world of a tabletop roleplaying game? Without much further ado, I've amassed the very best gifts you can get for the D&D gamer and dungeon master in your life. 

Best overall: Norse Foundry Lapis Lazuli Boulder 30 mm D20 die

Best budget gift: Homeland by R.A. Salvatore (Book 1 in The Dark Elf Trilogy)

Our Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You release schedule gives you the latest on both the manga and anime release dates for the series. Like many people, we got introduced to the manga through the anime, so we’re excited to get caught up on the nicotine-laden adventures of Sasaki and Tayama. Like any romance manga, this one is a slow burn, so strap yourselves in for the long haul.

New chapters of Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You come out most months in Monthly Big Gangan. The magazine, which is published by Square Enix, is published on the 25th day of each month. That means that we have a pretty good idea of when new Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You chapters will be released.

The Black Lagoon release schedule has always been pretty sporadic. Not quite as bad as something like Berserk, but it isn’t uncommon to go months between chapters. However, the series is always worth the wait, which is why we try to keep our Black Lagoon release schedule up to date: we don’t want anyone to miss a moment of the action.

There is no set schedule for when Black Lagoon chapters come out. In general, we usually expect two or three chapters a year, but that is not a set rule. When new Black Lagoon chapters are announced, it is always a cause for excitement.

The proud convention tradition of buying so much stuff that your suitcase becomes a structural hazard is beginning early this year. This year, ahead of the four-day blitz on the Javits Center and my wallet that is New York Comic Con 2026, ReedPop and Popverse are setting up a way to pre-order select NYCC merch now to avoid the stress and uncertainty on if (and when) you'll get it. And for our Popverse Superfans and NYCC VIPs, we're giving you a 48-hour head start to make sure you buy what you want first thing.

The 48-hour early access to pre-order select official New York Comic Con merch for Popverse Superfans and NYCC VIPs will begin Monday, September 14 at 12:00 PM E.T. and go through Wednesday, September 16 at 12:00 PM E.T.. Whatever is left will open up for a general pre-order sale to all NYCC 2026 ticketholders after that. That gives Superfans and VIPs a full 48 hours to shop before everyone else arrives to begin clicking with the speed and determination usually reserved for the NYCC show floor... but doing it from your home or phone.

But remember, this is pre-ordering for on-site pickup. There's no shipping involved here, unless you're shipping a romance between the Crystal Palace T-Shirt and the Phone Lanyard.

As we draw to a close on another week of this business we call show, it’s time to look backwards, look forwards and take stock… of just how much good stuff is coming up in the next few months. (We actually have some lists to prove it.) Fall doesn’t officially arrive for another week or so — the first say is officially September 22 — but we all feel the change in the weather and it’s a fine time to curl up with a book, something warm to drink, and some fine entertainment playing in the background. We here at Popverse Playlist are happy to help make that happen for you.

This week: An all-time Apple TV classic returns, the comic book Marvel Universe gets a big new arrival, and a horror franchise is given a makeover by one of the hottest new directors around. Things may be cooling down in terms of overall temperature, but it’s heating up for pop culture vultures.

If you’ve yet to enjoy the particular appeal of Apple’s Slow Horses, then the arrival of the sixth season is a sign that, honestly, you’ve got a lot of fun viewing to catch up on. Simultaneously a well-done spy show and a skewering of spy tropes, the show revolves around Gary Oldman’s gloriously, deceptively shambolic Jackson Lamb, a spymaster who’s seen better days but is nowhere near as past it as he makes out, heading up Slough House: an outpost staffed by a number of British secret service agents who have each, in their own way, screwed up badly enough to be put out to pasture. Do they somehow manage to do good deeds despite that? Yes, they do. Is it all by design and smart planning? Rarely.

Spider-Man’s familiar origin story has always asked readers to accept that a radioactive spider can bite Peter Parker, give him superpowers, and then conveniently disappear. Midnight Spider-Man isn’t letting the spider (or Peter!) off that easily. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist ScieTronc are rebuilding the wall-crawler as a body-horror nightmare in which Oscorp transforms Peter into a grotesque human-spider hybrid. If you want to know when the first issue comes out, you’ll find the complete Midnight Spider-Man release schedule below.

New issues of Midnight Spider-Man are scheduled to come out monthly. The first three issues will be released alongside the corresponding issues of Midnight X-Men and Midnight Fantastic Four, although the gaps between them won’t always be exactly four weeks. Marvel comics are released on Wednesdays, but the particular Wednesday changes from month to month, which is why our Midnight Spider-Man release schedule is worth bookmarking.

The Midnight Spider-Man #1 release date is October 7, 2026. It launches alongside Midnight X-Men #1 and Midnight Fantastic Four #1, with Marvel clearing its regular publishing schedule that day to give the three Midnight Universe comics the spotlight.

Marvel’s First Family is being rebuilt as something far less wholesome. In Midnight Fantastic Four, writer Benjamin Percy and artist Kev Walker are reimagining Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm through cosmic and Lovecraftian horror, turning their familiar origin into the beginning of a stranger, more toxic kind of family. If you want to know when the first issue comes out, you’ll find the complete Midnight Fantastic Four release schedule below.

New issues of Midnight Fantastic Four are scheduled to come out monthly. The first three issues will be released alongside the corresponding issues of Midnight X-Men and Midnight Spider-Man, although the gaps between them won’t always be exactly four weeks. Marvel comics are released on Wednesdays, but the particular Wednesday changes from month to month, which is why our Midnight Fantastic Four release schedule is worth bookmarking.

The Midnight Fantastic Four #1 release date is October 7, 2026. It launches alongside Midnight X-Men #1 and Midnight Spider-Man #1, with Marvel clearing its regular publishing schedule that day to give the three Midnight Universe comics the spotlight.

The Midnight X-Men release schedule is fast approaching. Jonathan Hickman is returning to Marvel’s mutants, but this isn’t the Krakoan Age X-Men he left behind. Working with artist Matteo Della Fonte and concept designer R.B. Silva, Hickman is reimagining the franchise as a full-blooded horror story in which vampires and mutant empires stalk New York City while humanity waits to be caught in the middle. If you want to know when the next issue comes out, you’ll find the complete Midnight X-Men release schedule below.

New issues of Midnight X-Men are scheduled to come out monthly. The first three issues of all three Midnight launch titles (Midnight X-Men, Midnight Spider-Man, and Midnight Fantastic Four) are all going to come out the same week, even. However, the gaps between issues won’t always be exactly four weeks: Six weeks separate the first and second issues, while the third follows four weeks later. Marvel comics are released on Wednesdays, but the particular Wednesday changes from month to month, which is why our Midnight X-Men release schedule is worth bookmarking.

The Midnight X-Men #1 release date is October 7, 2026. It launches alongside Midnight Spider-Man #1 and Midnight Fantastic Four #1, with Marvel clearing its entire publishing schedule that day to give the three Midnight Universe comics the spotlight.

By allowing Kal-El to grow up on Krypton and sending him to Earth as an adult, Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval have turned Superman’s familiar origin into what Aaron calls “the ultimate immigrant story” for the modern era. If you want to know when the next issue comes out, you’ll find the complete Absolute Superman release schedule below.

New issues of Absolute Superman come out every month. DC Comics releases new comics on Wednesdays, but the title’s exact release date changes from month to month. That is why our Absolute Superman release schedule is worth bookmarking.

The Absolute Superman #24 release date is October 7, 2026. The most recent issue was Absolute Superman #23, which came out on September 2. Absolute Superman has been one of the Absolute Universe’s strongest performers since its launch, so DC is unlikely to leave the Man of Steel grounded for long, but we’ll continue checking for any delays or schedule changes.

By taking away Diana’s island paradise and Amazon sisterhood, Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman's Absolute Wonder Woman has transformed Wonder Woman into something radically new yet unmistakably herself. If you’re wondering when the next issue will be released, you’ll find every upcoming issue and release date below in our Absolute Wonder Woman release schedule.

New issues of Absolute Wonder Woman come out every month. However, the exact day each month usually changes, so it isn’t as simple as setting a reminder to go off every four weeks. That is why our Absolute Wonder Woman release schedule can be useful.

The Absolute Wonder Woman #24 release date is September 23, 2026. The most recent issue of Absolute Wonder Woman was #23, which came out on August 26. With Absolute Wonder Woman earning both strong sales and an Eisner nomination for 'Best Continuing Series,' DC is unlikely to let Diana disappear from shelves for long, but we’ll keep checking for any changes or delays.

Since 2008’s Iron Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become known for its iconic villains as much as its heroes - and with threats like Galactus, Thanos, and Loki, fans have some pretty cosmic threats to choose from when picking their favorite. But which MCU villain is the strongest? The question intrigued us, so we decided to do what we do best and make a nerdy ranking. Bring on the bad guys!

Determining the strongest MCU villain is tricky, because power levels can be inconsistent. To determine the strongest MCU villain, we looked at each villain at the peak of their powers, then compared them to one another. This means we’re judging Thanos based on when he wore the Infinity Gauntlet and Wanda based on when she had the Darkhold.

We also had to be picky about the villains we chose for this ranking. For example, Spider-Man: Brand New Day had Scorpion, Jean Grey, Tombstone, Tarantula (for a scene), and Damage Control. If we were to use EVERY MCU bad guy, this list would go into the triple digits. In order to make this reader friendly, we’re only using the main villain from each MCU project.

It's not New York Comic Con 2026 yet, but we're already in a NYCC state of mind. Popverse's entire team (and then some!) will be there, writing, talking, recording, and more... and once again, we will be filming many of the big panels from the whole weekend.

As I write this, details are still being worked out on which panels we'll be filming and which will be livestreamed, but bookmark this very page, ahead of Thursday, October 8 to watch the NYCC 2026 livestream and circle back any time after that for a list of all the panels we filmed, and how to watch them.

It’s Labor Day weekend, which means after this we can only wear white if we accept that all rules of fashion are imaginary and the best clothes to wear are the ones that make us feel good. It’s also a sign that the seasons are changing as ever, and we should start planning for more evenings inside away from cold and unpleasant weather. But that’s a good thing, as it means you get to watch and read more things in the comfort of your own space — and that’s Popverse Playlist’s whole bag, baby!

This week: celebrate two different views of an optimistic future in these trying times, and then think about what two brothers from Manchester meant to the world three decades ago, because we’re all about the extremes here. Someday you will find us, caught beneath the landsleeee-iiiiiiiiiide…

You might not be aware of this, but Star Trek celebrates its 60th anniversary on September 8, six full decades after ‘The Man Trap’ debuted on NBC. (Yes, ‘The Man Trap’ was chosen to be the first episode to air, despite not being the show at its best; maybe it was simply the first episode to hand at the time.) Since then, we’ve had 12 shows — the original series, the animated series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, Strange New Worlds, and Starfleet Academy — and 13 theatrical movies (with one TV movie, and a series of shorts) all attempting to boldly go where our imaginations had never gone before. At its worst, it’s rarely less than diverting and entertaining, and at its best, Star Trek is American television at its best — so why not celebrate the show’s anniversary by revisiting some of your favorite episodes across the next week? Nostalgia may not be the final frontier, but it’s also not a bad way to fill some hours.

You've got a Naruto fan in your life that you're shopping for, and you want to make sure that you're getting them the perfect gift, whether they're a kid, an adult, or somewhere in between. Now, there's no shortage of Naruto collectibles, apparel, and merch available on the internet, but how do you sort through it all to separate the good from the mid from the bad? Well, fear not, dear reader, because I already have. Without much further ado, here's my guide to the best Naruto gifts that money can buy at any budget. 

Quick Picks

Why it's a great gift: The Naruto fan in your life may have watched all episodes of the anime, but have they read the manga? This box set is a compact collection of the first 27 volumes of the blockbuster series. What I like about this box set in particular is that instead of being incredibly long horizontally like most manga box sets, this one's packaging is double-decker style, saving you lots of space on the bookshelf.  

When fans think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most think of the Infinity Saga. The MCU’s Infinity Saga began in 2008 with Iron Man before ending in 2019 with Spider-Man: Far From Home. Those 23 films, which made up the MCU’s first three Phases, are filled with so many gems (no pun intended), character introductions and mic drop moments. But how do these films rank against one another, and which one is the best? We’ve thought about that. Here's our full ranking of all 23 MCU Infinity Saga movies.

These rankings were determined based on a few factors, including writing, directing, and acting quality. However, since film enjoyment is subjective, this list is primarily based on how much I enjoyed each film. Rankings are subjective, and I won’t pretend mine is infallible; if you feel Doctor Strange should be higher or think Thor: The Dark World should’ve gotten the top spot, feel free to drop your own ranking in the comments section.

Additionally, this list only applies to Marvel Studios movies that make up the Infinity Saga. Although Marvel Television projects like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daredevil were released during this period, they aren’t considered part of the Infinity Saga. 

It’s been a week in pop culture this week, hasn’t it? Not going to lie, the loss of Dolly Parton on Tuesday hit hard amongst the Popverse crew, who spent a significant amount of time afterwards sharing stories about how much we loved her; same with the loss of Tim Curry the next day, although we’ll get to him in more detail in a minute. For now, let me offer up a quick station identification: You’re listening to Popverse Playlist, and we’re here to tell you what to watch and read across the next seven days, just to make your life a little easier as you deal with the other stuff.

This week: Glen Powell is a catfish in more ways than one, we revisit a Tim Curry classic, and there’s a beautiful, unexpected comic book for us to close out the week with. Come with us, why don’t you?

In between his big screen outings, Glen Powell’s made time for this sports comedy about a football player who finally has the career he’s dreamed of… while pretending to be someone else entirely. The second season drops in its entirety — six episodes — on Hulu and Disney+ this week, making it the ideal binge-watch while you’re waiting in between Ted Lasso episodes. This is, however, arguably the show for people who wish that Ted Lasso was more American, less sincere, and far, far less subtle; Chad’s team is called the South Georgia Catfishes, after all.

If there's one thing that Britain does better than most, it's comedy, and if there's two, then it's comedy and game shows in which British comedians get to play around with pre-determined formats in the name of light entertainment. For the past decade, the show Taskmaster has consistently demonstrated why both things are true - and for those unfamiliar with the series, we've come up with the 10 best seasons to get you started.

(Yes, we're saying "seasons," because it's an American website; I know they're called "series" in the UK.)

The concept behind Taskmaster is very simple: every season, five comedians compete to complete a series of random tasks as judged by the eponymous Taskmaster, Greg Davies. Davies awards scores based purely on his own judgment and whatever mood he's in - anyone looking for logic or consistency, you're out of luck - and his assistant Alex Horne (actually the creator of the series and the mind behind many of the tasks)... well, he assists, in some form or another. It isn't a particularly complicated set-up, and that's because what the show is really about is how fun, inventive, and occasionally downright dumb the comedians will be as they attempt to do what they've been asked. Highbrow, it isn't; irresistibly entertaining, it is.

There are great comic book writers, there are influential comic book writers... and then there's Alan Moore.

Over the past 40+ years, Moore has repeatedly changed the conception of what comic books — especially superhero comic books — are capable of, and was on the frontlines of broadening comic books from being seen as juvenile literature into a place where more difficult subjects such as politics, philosophy, horror, history, and the human condition could be tackled no different than great prose novels... and in some cases, even better with the help of the right artistic collaborator. His works on Swamp Thing, Superman, and especially Watchmen reshaped superhero comics in such a way that there is now a clear demarcation line for superhero comics before Alan Moore's influence, and then superhero comics after Alan Moore's influence.

In making a list of the best Alan Moore comics, I'm not going for the biggest-selling or the ones with the best adaptations. Instead, I'm focusing on the comics themselves, and not the business around it; ranking them based on storytelling, artistic collaboration, influence, and lasting impact on myself as a reader... and hopefully how it'll be for you. 

The Marvel Universe is filled with lots of movers and shakers, but who is the most powerful character? There are cosmic entities that have the power to rewrite reality, mutants with untold power levels, and villains who could almost qualify as gods. Here at Popverse, we’re a bit crazy about Marvel, so we thought it would be fun to dive into our comic book longboxes to try and figure out who the strongest character is. After going through hundreds of pages and looking at tons of cosmic battles, we found our answer.  

Determining the strongest Marvel character is tricky, because sometimes the power levels of a character are inconsistent from story to story. It also becomes a rock-paper-scissors situation, because the Thing has defeated Molecule Man (Marvel Two-in-One #1), but that doesn’t mean the Thing is more powerful than Molecule Man. The nature of superhero comics is that even the most powerful heroes and villains get defeated from time to time, so power is subjective.

To determine who the strongest Marvel characters were, we looked at the strongest entities at the peak of their power and compared them to one another. Some characters have been powered up or depowered as time has gone by. For example, the Beyonder’s power levels have been retconned and rewritten for decades. Cosmic artifacts have also powered up characters like Thanos and Doctor Doom. In cases like these, we’ve used the strongest version of the character.

Can't get enough LEGO? Or, for that matter, can't get enough One Piece? Either way, you're probably eagerly anticipating the arrival of the release date for the LEGO One Piece special on Netflix. So, when can you expect the upcoming animated special to arrive for streaming?

If you're a fan of Netflix's One Piece live action series, rejoice: the cast will be reprising their roles for the animated LEGO One Piece special. This includes Iñaki Godoy as Luffy,  Mackenyu as Zoro, Taz Skylar as Sanji, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero as Usopp and Mikaela Hooever as Tony Tony Chopper. Tom Hyndman serves as writer, executive producer and show runner for the special, who teased in a quote provided to Tudum that the special will be narrated from the unique perspective of Usopp.

The LEGO One Piece special release date is September 29th, 2026 on Netflix. The two-part special will retell some of the most popular moments from the first two seasons of the One Piece live-action Netflix series, and both parts will be available to stream on September 29th. It has been less than half a year since Season 2 of the live action One Piece series debuted on Netflix on March 10th, 2026. And of course, there are plenty of other small screen release dates for you to keep in mind during the weeks and months to come.

In the new crime drama Nocturne on Apple TV, homicide detective Jonah Lynn (Liev Schreiber) leaves the city of Philadelphia in hopes of a quiet life... only to find his plans spoiled by the arrival of a serial killer that threatens his family. So, when can you expect Nocturne Season 1 to arrive on Apple TV?

Nocturne is based on the novels Lazarus and The Sandman by Lars Kepler. The story follows Lynn (Schreiber), an ex-soldier turned homicide detective who is relocating from Philadelphia to quiet Western Pennsylvania town. There, he soon finds himself and his family being targeted by serial killer Jurek Walter (Adolescence's Stephen Graham). The emergence of a victim long thought dead leads Lynn to team up with FBI Agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz) to find other missing persons.

The Nocturne Season 1 release date is October 30th, 2026 on Apple TV. The first two episodes of the season debut on that date, with the remaining eight episodes of the ten episode season debuting on a weekly basis thereafter. The finale is expected to stream on Apple TV on December 25th, 2026. Of course, there are plenty of exciting TV and streaming release dates for you to keep in mind in the final months of the year.

If you thought Gotham City was a scary place before, wait until you see the villains of Absolute Batman. The best-selling comic series, which is set in an alternate universe, features twisted redesigns of some of Batman’s classic villains. Writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta lean heavily into body horror to give us a version of Joker who resembles a monster, a version of Freeze who feels like a zombie, and a Bane that makes all the other versions of the character look frail. Interestingly enough, Absolute Batman also blurs the line between the Dark Knight’s allies and enemies, making most of his villains Bruce’s childhood friends.

This guide breaks down the most iconic villains of Absolute Batman. It should be noted that this article doesn’t cover every thug, gang member, or criminal Batman ever fought, as there simply isn’t enough space. However, this will give you a rundown of the main villains, and how Snyder, Dragotta, and their collaborators twisted them into something truly terrifying.

First Appearance: Absolute Batman #1

The next chapter in the Blade Runner saga debuts on Prime Video this fall. Starring Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer, Blade Runner 2099 is (appropriately) set five decades after the 2017 movie Blade Runner 2049. So when can you expected the release for Blade Runner 2099 to arrive?

Blade Runner 2099 is set, as the title suggests, fifty years after the events of Blade Runner 2049. (For those wondering, the original Blade Runner was set in 2019, which sure seemed futuristic when the movie was released back in 1982.) The story is set in a post-Replicant uprising world, where humans have become second-class citizens and Replicants now possess the power. Olwen (Yeoh) is a Replicant nearing the end of her life who is working alongside her partner Cora (Schafer), a human pretending to be a Replicant, as they hunt down a gang of rogue Replicants.

The show also stars Dimitri Abold and Lewis Gribben, with recurring roles for Katelyn Rose Downey, Daniel Rigby, Johnny Harris, Amy Lennox, Sheila Atim, Matthew Needham, Tom Burke, Maurizio Lombardi and Hugo Hamlet.

Our Grand Blue release schedule can tell you exactly when the next chapter of Grand Blue Dreaming is coming out. While new chapters come out most months, there are occasional hiatuses and breaks to contend with. We’ll update our Grand Blue release schedule regularly to make sure you never miss the next chapter.

New Grand Blue chapters typically come out every month, usually around the sixth day of the month. That is the day that Good! Afternoon magazine comes out, which is where Grand Blue Dreaming is serialized. The exact release date for that magazine shifts slightly every month, so it is always an approximate date until the release date is confirmed.

The Grand Blue 113 release date is around October 6, 2026 when the November 2026 edition of Good! Afternoon magazine comes out. The exact release date hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it is fairly consistent that new chapters come out around this time. The most recent chapter, Grand Blue 112, came out on September 6, 2026.

Each season of the Netflix anthology biography series Monster, created by Ryan Murphy, focuses on a different real-life murderer, and Season 4 is no exception. While previous seasons focused on Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers and Ed Gein, the new season will focus on an infamously murderous woman: Lizzie Borden. So when can you plan on the release date for Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story to arrive?

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story stars Ella Beatty in the titular role. Also featured in the cast is Vicky Krieps as the Borden family housemaid Bridget Sullivan, as well as alleged serial killer Elizabeth Báthory. Charlie Hunnam plays Lizzie's father, Andrew Borden, while Rebecca Hall plays Lizzie's stepmother, Abby Borden. Rounding out the cast is Jessica Barden as Nance O'Neill, Joey Pollari as John Morse, Billie Lourd as Emma Borden, Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos and Oliver Spenceman as Stephen.

The Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story release date is September 17th, 2026 on Netflix. The episode will consist of eight episodes, all of which will be available for streaming on that date. The third season of the series, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, was released about a year ago, on October 3rd, 2025. Of course, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is just one of the release dates you'll want to keep in mind in the months to come.

To say that contemporary crime thriller MobLand has an impressive cast is something of an understatement. The series features legitimate movie stars Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy and Helen Mirren. So, when can you plan on the arrival of the release date for MobLand Season 2 on Paramount+?

MobLand was created by Ronan Bennett. The series stars Hardy as fixer Harry Da Souza, who works for the Harrigan organized crime family. Heading up the family are Conrad Harrigan (Brosnan) and Maeve Harrigan (Helen Mirren). The cast also includes Paddy Considine as Kevin Harrigan, Joanne Froggatt as Jan Da Souza, Lara Pulver as Isabella "Bella" Harrigan, Anson Boon as Eddie Harrigan, Jasmine Jobson as Zosia, Mandeep Dhillon as Seraphina Harrigan, Janet McTeer as Kat McAllister, Jordi Mollà as Jaime Lopez and Toby Jones as Colin Tattersall.

The MobLand Season 2 release date is September 18th, 2026 on Paramount+. The show's sophomore season will consist of ten episodes, which will debut weekly on Mondays through November 20, 2026. It has been a little over a year since the MobLand Season 1 finale debuted on June 1st, 2025. And of course, we know that MobLand Season 2 is just one of the release dates you'll want to mark on your calendar as we head into the autumn season.

It's no secret that Rick Riordan's smash hit fantasy YA series Percy Jackson and the Olympians is being adapted into a smash-hit fantasy streaming series on Disney+. Soon, the third season of the show will adapt The Titan's Curse, the 2007 third entry in Riordan's prose series. So when will the release date for Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3 on Disney+ finally arrive?

In Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3, Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries) is kidnapped, it's up to Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) and Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) to rescue her. The show also features Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan, Daniel Diemer as Tyson and Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue, Kate McKinnon as Aphrodite, Hubert Smielecki as Apollo and Ming-Na Wen as Hera.

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3 release date is November 20th, 2026 on Disney+. The season will consist of eight episodes which will debut on a weekly basis. It will have been a little under a year since the previous season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians debuted on Disney+ on December 10th, 2025. And naturally, there are plenty of other small screen release dates you'll want to keep in mind as the year draws to a close.

In the America of the 22nd century, only one thing is certain: Judge Dredd is the law. Since 1977, the future lawman of Mega-City One — a reimagined East Coast of the US — has maintained law and order in the pages of long-running weekly anthology comic 2000 AD and beyond. Created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, Dredd has become a vehicle for stories spanning almost every genre imaginable, becoming one of the high points of the British comic industry in the process.

As the character prepares to celebrate his half-century anniversary, it’s time to look back at the long and varied career of Judge Joseph Dredd, and choose the best Judge Dredd comics of the past five decades. For those who have always wanted a chance to dive into the character’s acclaimed history, this is a guide for how to do so. Just make sure you behave while doing so, or else it’ll be five in the iso-cubes, creep.

One of the many things that Judge Dredd (the comic strip) is, is a comedy strip, and the Kenny Who? stories — which center around a Scottish comic book artist who tried to make it in Mega-City One — are some of the finest examples of Dredd-as-comedy. Simultaneously smart satire about comics and genuinely silly stories, the Kenny Who? trilogy demonstrates the versatility of Dredd as a vehicle for telling all kinds of tales about all kinds of people… all the while showcasing some genuinely beautiful art from Cam Kennedy. (His color work on ‘Beyond our Kenny’ is breathtaking.)

The world may be falling apart, but at least we still have South Park. The long-running, profanity-laden animated satire created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone will be returning for Season 29 on Paramount+ before you know it. So when can you plan of the release date for South Park Season 29 arriving?

South Park originally debuted on Comedy Central on August 13th, 1997 and the crude, deceptively simply animated series became an almost instant cult classic. The show follows a quartet of boys who live in South Park, Colorado, a "quiet mountain town" that is the epicenter for a plethora of chaotic events, including the genesis of the supervillain Professor Chaos. The show follows elementary school students Stan Marsh (Parker), Kyle Broflovski (Stone), Kenny McCormick (Stone) and Eric Cartman (Parker) as they deal with the cavalcade of bizarre and topical events that transpire in South Park. Over the decades, the cast has expanded to include a plethora of recognizable recurring characters, many of them voiced by Parker and Stone.

The South Park Season 29 release date is September 16th, 2026 on Paramount+. The season will be comprised of six episodes which will debut every other Monday, with the season finale debuting on November 25th, 2026. It has been roughly a year since the previous season of South Park debuted on October 15th, 2025. Naturally, South Park is just one of the small screen release dates that you'll want to keep in mind in the months to come.

The first Stephen King novel is getting a brand-new adaptation from Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, The Life of Chuck). Carrie is the story of Carrie White (Summer H. Howell), a teenager who developed telekinetic powers in the wake of a series of traumatic events. So, when will the release date for this new adaptation of Carrie arrive for streaming on Prime Video?

Carrie stars Howell in the titular role. Samantha Sloyan plays Carrie's religious and abusive mother, Margaret. Siena Agudong plays Carrie's classmate Sue Snell, while Alison Thornton plays mean girl Chris Hargensen. Joel Oulette plays Sue's boyfriend Tommy Ross, Josie Totah plays Chris's prank co-conspirator Tina Blake, Arthur Conti plays bad boy Billy Nolan and Thalia Dudek plays Emaline. Rounding out the cast is Amber Midthunder as gym teacher Rita Desjardin and Matthew Lillard as school principal Henry Grayle.

The Carrie Season 1 release date is October 7th, 2026 on Prime Video. The miniseries will consist of eight episodes, all of which will be made available for streaming on that day. Carrie has previously been adapted several times, with movie adaptations in 1976, 2002 and 2013, a movie sequel in 1999 and a musical that debuted in 1988. Of course, Carrie is just one of the TV and streaming release dates that you'll want to keep in mind in the months to come.

The cult classic story Ranma 1/2 is in the midst of getting a new adaptation on Netflix. Based on the 1987 manga series of the same name by the legendary Rumiko Takahashi, this is just the latest onscreen adaptation of the story. So, when can you plan on the arrival of the release date for Ranma 1/2 Season 3 on Netflix?

Ranma 1/2 is the story of Ranma Saotome (Kappei Yamaguchi), whose life is turned upside down when he accidentally falls into the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. Forever after, Ranma is transformed into a girl when they come into contact with cold water, and then back into a boy when they come into contact with hot water. The series also stars Noriko Hidaka as Akane Tendou, Kouichi Ymadera as Ryouga Hibiki, Rei Sakuma as Shampoo, Kaori Nazuka as Ukyou Kounji, Miami Takayama as Nabiki Tendou, Kazuhiko Inoue as Happousai, Cho as Genma Saotome, Tomokazu as Sugita, Kikuko Inoue as Kasumi Tendou, Souun Tendou as Akio Ootsuka, Toshiyuki Morikawa as Toufuu Ono and Kenichi Ogata as the Narrator.

The Ranma 1/2 Season 3 release date is October 3rd, 2026 on Netflix. Currently, the number of episodes in Ranma 1/2 Season 3 has not been officially stated, however, both previous seasons consisted of 12 episodes apiece. The season is expected to debut new episodes one at a time on a weekly basis. It will have been about a year since Ranma 1/2 Season 2 debuted on Netflix on October 5th, 2025. And of course, there are a plethora of small screen release dates you'll want to keep in mind this autumn.

In War Season 1, created by George Kay for HBO Max and Sky Television, two rival London law firms face off against one another over the course of a volatile, high-profile defamation case. So when can you plan of the arrival of the release date for War Season 1 on HBO Max?

War Season 1 features an impressive cast who are more than capable of bringing the legal drama to life. Leading the series is Dominic West as tech mogul Morgan Henderson and Sienna Miller as renowned actress Carla Duval, two high profile public figures. Representing law firm Taylor & Brine are Phoebe Fox as Serena Byrne and James McArdle as Nicholas Taylor. Meanwhile, representing law firm Cathcarts are Pip Torrens as St. John Smallwood and Nina Sosanya as Beatrice "Queen Bea" Ubosi.

The War Season 1 release date is October 1st, 2026 on HBO Max in the United States and October 2nd, 2026 on Sky Television in the United Kingdom. The first season will be comprised of eight episodes, which will be released on a weekly basis, with the season finale expected to debut on November 19th, 2026 in the U.S. Of course, there are plenty of TV and streaming release dates for you to keep in mind in the weeks and months to come.

For more than 60 years, the BBC's Doctor Who has kept the universe safe from monstrous threats in space and time. With almost 900 episodes to date, it's no surprise there have been certain alien races and creatures that pop up again and again across the decades, proving their own deadliness over and over. Here’s our ranking of Doctor Who’s adversaries by just how adversaries they truly are.

Four years before David Bowie sang about Life on Mars, there was proof of it on television screens across the United Kingdom, thanks to the Ice Warriors — refugees from the red planet hibernating in secret on Earth in advance of a planned invasion to flee their dying homeworld. Unlike many Doctor Who monsters, though, there’s a happy ending for the Ice Warriors if you can navigate the confused timeline of a time travel series: they eventually become members of the Galactic Federation, and even assisted the Third Doctor at some point in the future. Their future, I should clarify, not the Doctor’s future.

What’s more terrifying than an alien race that’s a creepy organic monster? An alien consciousness that can only possess plastic, and therefore turns anything made out of plastic — including mannequins and dolls! — into creepy non-organic monsters! If that sounds a little bit silly, then… okay, the Autons (technically the name given to plastic animated by something called the Nestene Consciousness) were slightly silly, as their trick of opening their hands to reveal hidden guns made clear. But just because they were ridiculous, that didn’t make them also somewhat unsettling. There’s a reason this was the monster that relaunched the series with 2005’s ‘Rose,’ after all.

Shopping for the Batman fan in your life should be easy, but with countless Batman gifts, collectibles, comics, toys, and other DC merchandise available online, finding something worthy of the Batcave can feel like its own detective case. Whether you’re a lifelong DC Comics reader or a well-meaning newcomer shopping for someone who knows every Robin in chronological order, we’re here to help.

We’ve rounded up the best Batman gifts you can buy right now, including essential comics, collectible box sets, action figures, statues, and even Batman musical instruments. Whatever your budget—or your loved one’s particular corner of Gotham City, these gift ideas should help you find the perfect present for any Batman fan.

Quick Picks for Batman gifts

Marvel Phase 7 currently consists of three confirmed movies in 2028: X-Men, Ghost Rider, and Black Panther III. These are the first Marvel Studios releases scheduled after 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars, giving us our first look at the MCU's next era. What that era looks like after Doctor Doom has had a chance to remake everything in his own image is another question entirely.

(Last update: August 24, 2026.)

These are the only confirmed Marvel Phase 7 movies as of writing.

Right now, we’re in a bit of a lull for the Tower of God release schedule. Production on the hit manhwa’s fourth season is currently underway, but new chapters are not currently being released, either in the main story or the Urek Mazino spin-off. Therefore, we’re all just waiting for the Tower of God release schedule to kick back in.

Right now, there is no schedule for when new Tower of God chapters will come out. The manhwa has been on hiatus since February 2025, when the Season 3 storyline wrapped up. Similarly, the Urek Mazino spin-off manhwa finished earlier in 2026, leaving no new chapters to be published.

We don’t currently have a release date for the next Tower of God chapter. The most recent chapter of Tower of God was Tower of God: Urek Mazino 58, which was released on August 18, 2026. The next release will be Tower of God Season 4, but we don’t know when this will come out yet.

Hercule Poirot endures as one of the greatest detectives in all fiction. Created by the world's bestselling author, Agatha Christie, in 1920, Poirot featured in 54 short stories and 35 novels, a literary career spanning 55 years. However, Poirot's gentlemanly demeanor and brillaint mind have also left an indelible mark on the cinematic world, with a list of TV or movie adaptations nearly as long as Christie's original stories. To help you make sense of it all, Popverse presents this complete watch order of all Hercule Poirot adaptations.

Above you can see all of the movies and television programs that were based on an Agatha Christie-written story starring Hercule Poirot. Some notes to make here: Firstly, there are three early adaptations of the Poirot stories made in the 1930s starring Austin Trevor as the Belgian detective:

These were not included in the list because, as of this writing, they are believed to have been lost. The second note is that Poirot's animated adaptation, Japanese anime Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple, is incredibly difficult to find DVD copies of, and thus is hard to put on a watch order.

Boston Blue season 2 won't just continue the story begun with 2025's Boston Blue season 1 - it's the next chapter in a cop drama that's been a staple of CBS TV ever since 201. But when will Boston Blue season 2 episodes come out, and where will fans be able to stream them? That's exactly what Popverse's guide to Boston Blue season 2 is here to answer. 

Before you continue, a quick spoiler warning: some of the internet's questions about Boston Blue season deal directly with plot points from the previous season. So while we won't try to reveal those plot points without cause, consider this a spoiler warning for Boston Blue season 1.

Boston Blue's season 2's release date is October 9, 2026. If you'll recall, the end of Boston Blue's debut season wrapped up raised the stakes for the show's leads, Detectives Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) and Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green). Specifically, a special election for the District Attorney promises to weigh heavily on Boston Blue's season 2.

Fire Country season 5 promises to be CBS's hottest chapter of the drama yet (pun intended). Starring Max Thieriot as ex-con-turned-firefighting-hero Bode Donovan, Fire Country season 5 has been confirmed to air this fall. But exactly when will Fire Country season 5 drop? Where can you stream it, and what time do episodes come out? Popverse's guide to Fire Country season 5 is here to answer your questions.

Be aware - we're going to do our best not to give away too much of the story unnecessarily, but there are some FAQs out there that require us to spoil parts of the plot. Allow this to serve as a spoiler warning for Fire Country seasons 1-4. 

Fire Country season 5's release date is October 9, 2026. After Fire Country season 4 ended with the events of the Pineville Dam disaster, we expect the upcoming chapter to pick up from that fallout, as well as the [no spoilers] lovey-dovey events that concluded Fire Country season 4.

It's been months since audiences got a chance to see a happy ending (and Crawford and Violet get married!) in the season 4 finale to Fire Country - but the show is set to return this October for a new season of heated hijinks. So, what do you need to remember before the release date for Fire Country Season 5 on CBS arrives this fall?

Created by Max Thieriot, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, Fire Country stars Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a young convict who joined the California Conservation Camp Program, in which prisoners assist Cal Fire in firefighting. Now no longer an inmate but simply a full-fledged Cal Fire firefighter, Donovan is assigned to his fictional Northern California hometown, Edgewater.

In addition to Donovan's storyline, Cal Fire also follows the stories of other fire fighters (including some former inmates) as they work together to fight wildfires in the titular and volatile region. In addition to Thieriot as Donovan, the show also features Kevin Alejandro as Manuel "Manny" Perez, Jordan Calloway as Jake Crawford, Jules Latimer as Eve Edwards, Diane Farr as Sharon Leone, and Olivia Thirlby as Cecilia Jade “CJ” Ryan.

The Shonda Rhimes-created medical procedural drama Grey's Anatomy has been captivating audiences for more than two decades, and that's set to continue with the imminent launch of Season 23 on ABC. So, what do you need to remember from Grey's Anatomy Season 22 in advance of the upcoming season's impending arrival?

Grey's Anatomy follows the personal and professional lives of the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. The cast of characters includes Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Jason George as Ben Warren, Chris Carmack as Atticus Lincoln, Anthony Hill as Winston Ndugu, Alexis Floyd as Simone Griffith, Harry Shum Jr. as Benson Kwan, Adelaide Kane as Jules Millin, Niko Terho as Lucas Adams and Trevor Jackson as Wes Bryant.

The show has, as we said above, run for more than two decades and launched three separate spinoffs during that time. If you're looking to catch up, we have a guide on how to watch it all right here.

It's time to break out your finest suits, because Guy Ritchie's Netflix show, The Gentlemen, will return for its second season in just a matter of weeks. The show, starring Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, and Ray Winstone, is back and looking more glamorous than ever. Whether you're into fine Italian tailoring or homey fair isle sweaters and tweeds, the costumes for The Gentlemen season 2 are not playing around. 

The Gentlemen season 2 release date September 3, 2026 on Netflix. The story will bounce between Italy and England, and according to Netflix's Tudum, has the following premise: "...a year will have passed since Eddie Horniman (Theo James) became the reluctant heir to his aristocratic family’s rambling estate. Now, after joining forces with Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario) and her luxuriously incarcerated father, Bobby (Ray Winstone), Eddie is discovering that being a power player in the criminal underworld fits him like an immaculately tailored suit."

"The new season takes Eddie and Susie’s operation out from a buried cannabis farm underneath Halstead to the lakeside villas of Italy, where the power duo is establishing a foothold."

The world is onto Chad Powers. While folks aren't sure exactly what is up about the "college" quarterback, there is something iffy about him that begs further investigation. Will the college football world discover his secret? It all comes to a head in season 2 of Chad Powers on Hulu. 

Chad Powers season 2 release date September 3, 2026 on Hulu. Glen Powell returns as the titular Chad. Here's the trailer below, in case you never thought you would ever see Glen Powell say the word "circumcision." 

Now, given Chad Powers' tendency to say weird phrases in an even weirder voice, is Hollywood undervaluing Glen Powell's acting skills when it comes to playing A Weird Little Guy onscreen (not unlike Robert Pattinson)? Hollywood, please take notes. Let Glen Powell do a silly voice. 

As the kids head back to school and the days start getting a little bit shorter each day, you might find yourself wondering if summer felt a little shorter than usual this year. This, dear friends, is the wrong question; the right question is, what should you be watching and reading before summer goes through its final days? What a good question, I say in response, because this is Popverse Playlist and what we care about here is not the seasons but the pop culture that makes those seasons feel so full of content! Content to be devoured!

This week: Alternate realities, Acme products, and Another Gotham City disaster! Join in the spectacle.

Sure, everyone has at some point or another wondered what it’d be like if they could cross over into an alternate reality version of their own life, but what Apple TV’s Dark Matter asks is, “what if you did… and it was because you’d been kidnapped by your own alternate self?” Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Jimmi Simpson and Alice Braga turn that admittedly out-there concept into a show that’s surprisingly tense, paranoia-inducing, and like Fox’s Fringe if it was having a really, really bad day. (I mean that as a compliment; I loved Fringe.) The nine-episode first season is already on Apple TV, the second season starts this week.

Created by Dick Wolf, David Hudgins, Nicole Perlman, David Chasteen, and Warren Leight, CIA is a scripted series that follows the team up between a CIA agent and a FBI agent who investigate cases related to national security in New York City. So, what do you need to remember before CIA Season 2 debuts on CBS?

CIA is a spinoff of FBI, another ongoing scripted police procedural series on CBS. The show features Tom Ellis as CIA case officer Colin Glass, Nick Gehlfuss as FBI special agent William "Bill" Randall Goodman, Natalee Linez as CIA analyst Gina Gosian, and Necar Zadegan as Nikki Reynard, Deputy Chief of the CIA's New York station.

The show has also featured multiple crossover characters from FBI, including Missy Peregrym as FBI Special Agent Maggie Bell, Alana de la Garza as FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Isobel Castille, James Chen as FBI Technical Analyst Ian Lim and Jeremy Sisto as FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Jubal Valentine.

Created by Dick Wolf and Craig Turk, FBI is the ongoing police procedural scripted drama series following the agents and cases of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York City Field Office. The ensemble series will be returning to CBS in the fall of 2026. So, what should you remember from the Season 8 finale before FBI Season 9 debuts on CBS?

Originally planned as a Law & Order: SVU spinoff for NBC, the FBI series eventually landed with CBS, becoming producer Dick Wolf's first non-NBC show in 15 years. (That said, the series has featured an appearance from a character from Wolf's NBC series Chicago P.D., suggesting they share a fictional universe, if not a network.) As the name suggests, the series centers around agents and cases in the New York City FBI field office. 

FBI features a cast full of interesting characters, including Missy Peregrym as Special Agent (SA) Maggie Bell, Zeeko Zaki as SA Omar Adom "OA" Zidan, Jeremy Sisto as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Jubal Valentine, Alana de la Garza as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Isobel Castille, John Boyd as SA Stuart Scola and Juliana Aidén Martinez as SA Eva Ramos.

When looking for Marvel Contest of Champions codes, it is important to remember that nothing lasts forever. Developer Kabam has a habit of releasing limited-edition codes to get new players excited to try the game and then swiftly having those codes expire before too many players can use them. That is why it is important to redeem any Marvel Contest of Champions codes you can quickly.

There are currently no active Marvel Contest of Champions codes.

It can be a bit complicated to redeem Marvel Contest of Champions codes. First, you need to create a Kabam account and link it to your game account. Once that is done, you need to go to the Marvel Contest of Champions app.

There are plenty of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes codes for you to take advantage of. Despite being out for well over a decade at this point, there are plenty of players out there who are diving into this game for the first time. That’s why we’ve collected all the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes cheat codes that we could find, just in case you’re feeling impatient to unlock your favorite characters.

These are all the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes codes that will help you unlock characters in the game.

These are the codes to allow you to get more studs in LEGO Marvel Super Heroes.

The One Chicago franchise began with Chicago Fire and has since expanded to include several spinoffs, including Chicago PD. The second spinoff of the One Chicago franchise, the release date for Chicago PD Season 14 on NBC will be here before you know it. So what should you remember from Chicago PD Season 13 in advance of the new season's arrival?

Chicago PD, created by Dick Wolf, is a police procedural drama series that details the personal and professional lives of the officers and staff of the Intelligence Unit of the 21st District of the Chicago Police Department. The series was the first spin-off of Chicago Fire, officially launching the 'One Chicago' franchise as something larger than one single series. 

The current cast includes Jason Beghe as Sergeant Henry "Hank" Voight, Patrick John Flueger as Officer Adam Ruzek, Marina Squerciati as Detective Kim Burgess, LaRoyce Hawkins as Officer Kevin Atwater, Arienne Mandi as Officer Eva Imani and Amy Morton as Sergeant Gertrude "Trudy" Platt.

The One Chicago franchise has been a huge hit for NBC, beginning with Chicago Fire and expanding to include two ongoing spinoffs, including the third installment in the franchise, Chicago Med. With the release date for Chicago Med Season 12 on NBC looming, you may ready for a refresher on what to remember about the Chicago Med Season 11 finale. Well, Popverse has you covered!

Co-created by Law & Order's Dick Wolf, Chicago Med follows the personal and professional lives of the medical staff at the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. The series officially launched in November 2015, but an episode of Chicago Fire Season 3 (Episode 19, 'I Am The Apocalypse,' which aired in April 2015) acted as a backdoor pilot for the show, introducing some of the original characters. 

The cast of characters includes S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin, Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles, Steven Weber as Dr. Dean Archer, Jessy Schram as Dr. Hannah Asher, Luke Mitchell as Dr. Mitch Ripley, Sarah Ramos as Dr. Caitlin Lenox and Darren Barnet as Dr. John Frost.

Chicago Fire, created by Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, is the procedural drama series that serves as the foundation for the One Chicago franchise. Following the exploits of the firefighters and paramedics of the fictional Firehouse 51 in Chicago, Illinois, the release date for Chicago Fire Season 15 on NBC will be here before you know it. So, what should you remember in advance of Chicago Fire's fifteenth season?

On Chicago Fire, viewers explore the personal and professional lives of the Chicago Fire Department personnel at Firehouse 51. The show, created by Derek Haas and Michael Brandt with executive producer (and Law & Order empresario) Dick Wolf, debuted on NBC in 2012 and quickly became a hit. Multiple shows have spun out of the series, including Chicago PD and Chicago Med. 

The cast includes Taylor Kinney as Lieutenant Kelly Severide, David Eigenberg as Senior Firefighter Christopher Herrmann, Christian Stolte as Senior Firefighter Randall "Mouch" McHolland, Joe Minoso as Firefighter Josef "Joe" Cruz, Miranda Rae Mayo as Firefighter Stella Kidd, Hanako Greensmith as Paramedic Violet Mikami and Jocelyn Hudon as Paramedic Lyla "Lizzie" Novak. Plus, Chicago Fire Season 15 will see the addition of Da'Vinchi as Marcus Burke.

Redeeming Marvel Omega codes can help give you an important edge in this popular PvP Roblox game. Each of these codes can get you free coins, which can then be used to purchase new popular Marvel heroes like Scarlet Witch or Iron Man. You’ll need to be constantly upgrading your roster of fighters to have a chance to survive in some of the fights to come.

These are all the currently active Marvel Omega codes.

These are the expired Marvel Omega codes.

The Yotsuba release schedule has always been a bit unpredictable and infrequent. Because the mangaka approaches the series as a hobby rather than a full-time job, they can only produce a few new chapters a year. If you’re not sure when the next Yotsuba chapter will be released, our release schedule is here to clarify for you.

There is no set schedule for when new Yotsuba chapters are released. On average, we might get one or two new chapters a year. The pace of release has slowed down to the extent that it is mostly a pleasant surprise when new Yotsuba chapters come out.

There is no official release date for Yotsuba chapter 115. The previous chapter, Yotsuba 114, was released as part of the Yotsuba Volume 16 release. This collection hit Japanese shelves in February 2025 and got an official English translation in January 2026. Because of the erratic release schedule for the Yotsuba manga, it is not clear when we’ll get another chapter in the future.

NCIS is CBS's longest-running scripted drama series, and it's spawned a franchise that encompasses seven television shows as well as video games, novels and other related tie-ins. One of the spinoff shows that will be returning is NCIS: Sydney, which will debut its fourth season on CBS in 2027. So what do you need to remember in advance of the release date of NCIS: Sydney Season 4 on CBS?

NCIS: Sydney follows a fictional task force comprised of agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Set in Sydney, Australia, NCIS: Sydney has proved to be a huge hit, and is the most popular show on Paramount+ in Australia. In the first episode of the series, the task force is formed after a United States Navy sailor dies of radiation poisoning.

The show features Olivia Swann as NCIS Supervisory Special Agent Michelle Mackey, Todd Lasance as AFP Second-in-Command Sergeant Jim "JD" Dempsey, Sean Sagar as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Anthony Jackson, Tuuli Narkle as AFP Liaison Officer Constable Evie Cooper, Mavournee Hazel as AFP forensic scientist Bluebird "Blue" Gleeson and William McInnes as AFP forensic pathologist Roy "Rosie" Penrose.

Can't get enough of NCIS, CBS's longest-running scripted drama series? Fortunately, the popular police procedural drama has several spinoffs that are coming back for more seasons, including NCIS: Origins Season 3. So what can you expect from the upcoming third season when it debuts on CBS this fall?

Despite the title, NCIS: Origins isn't actually a show about the beginnings of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) office, per se. Instead, it follows a younger version of Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) as a newcomer to the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) branch at Camp Pendleton, the forerunner to the NCIS. In addition to learning the ropes of that service, Gibbs is also processing the recent death of his wife and daughter. Gibbs was the original lead character of the core NCIS show, and left NCIS - the show and the department - midway through season 19. 

Mark Harmon, who originated the role of Gibbs on NCIS, returns to play the older version of the character, who narrates the series. Harmon will appear in every episode of NCIS: Origins Season 3, as part of a season-long present-day mystery that unfolds alongside the 90's prequel storyline.

The long-running procedural police drama series NCIS will be returning to CBS for its twenty-fourth season in the fall of 2026. And not only can you expect the main characters to have another season worth of cases to tackle, you can also plan for the return of Michael Weatherly as Tony DiNozzo. Here's what to remember about NCIS before the show returns for Season 24 on CBS.

Short for Naval Criminal Investigation Service, NCIS is the foundation for a franchise that includes NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney. The show follows a special group of agents from the agency, which actually exists in the real world - the Major Case Response Team. That's also a real thing, although the actual MCRT of the NCIS don't get into the kinds of dramatic cases on a weekly basis that their television counterparts do. The show originated as a spin-off from the eighth season of the CBS procedural JAG. 

The current cast includes Sean Murray as Senior Field Agent Timothy McGee, Brian Dietzen as Dr. Jimmy Palmer, Wilmer Valderrama as Special Agent Nicholas Torres, Diona Reasonover as Forensic Specialist Kasie Hines, Katrina Law as Special Agent Jessica Knight and Gary Cole as Supervisory Special Agent Alden Parker.

The Real release schedule largely depends on where you live. Fans in Japan can get new chapters from the iconic creator of Slam Dunk, Takehiko Inoue, irregularly and after frequent hiatuses. Elsewhere in the world, you probably have to wait even longer. Our Real release schedule will help you find the latest Real manga release dates and know exactly where to read this remarkable sports manga for yourself.

There is no set schedule for the Real manga. It comes out when Takehiko Inoue has a chance to finish new chapters. Sometimes this takes weeks or months. Occasionally, it takes years for new chapters to be released. It is rare enough that most fans have to wait for news updates to find out that new Real chapters are being released.

The next Real manga chapter will be chapter 106, but there is no release date for it yet. Real 105 came out in July 2026, but no release date for the next chapters was announced at the time.

You can scour the internet for new Marvel Snap codes if you like, but we’ve gone ahead and put them all together in one place here. New Marvel Snap codes can get you more in-game credits and variants of your favorite cards, so they’re always worth looking for whenever they drop. We can’t help you if you’re looking for Marvel Rivals codes, but we keep this list of Marvel Snap codes up to date for you.

It is easy to redeem Marvel Snap codes. All you have to do is:

Marvel Snap codes are used to get rewards in the game. Most of these are cosmetic, such as new borders for cards or variant images. However, there are some that give Credits and Boosters, which can help you get powerful new cards for your deck.

In brightest day, in blackest night, no pop culture will escape our sight. Sure, I get that many people are returning to the multiplex for another screening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (to be fair, it’s pretty great), but there’s so much more to be discovered out there if you know where to look. This week alone, we’re watching what could be the next big superhero TV show, reading the under-the-radar best Marvel book of the last year or so, and getting into some cosmic dread on the road. (That last one thankfully not literally; it’s all unfolding on the big screen.) This, dear friends, is Popverse Playlist and we’re very happy you decided to join us.

We’ve been curious about this reimagining of DC’s Green Lantern mythos since it was announced as “True Detective, but Green Lantern,” and the casting of Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan just made us even more curious. A downbeat, detective take on one of DC’s most cosmic concepts? It might be counterintuitive, but the fact that Damon Lindelof — fresh off his amazing Watchmen series — and comic book writer Tom King are involved makes us excited to see what’s in store. (Especially knowing that both Sinestro and the Manhunters are likely to be involved.)

Halloween is almost here, which means it’s time for horror movie marathons, spooky TV binges, and revisiting the films that make the season worth celebrating. But nothing kills a Halloween movie night faster than a missing streaming title or an unreliable internet connection. That’s why horror Blu-rays, 4K discs, and collectible Steelbooks remain the best way to ensure your favorite scary movies are always ready to watch.

To help build the ultimate Halloween physical-media collection, I’ve rounded up the best horror Steelbooks and Blu-rays available right now. From classic Halloween movies and cult favorites to modern horror releases and beautifully packaged collector’s editions, these are the best horror Blu-rays and Steelbooks to buy for spooky season, and enjoy long after October 31.

Nothing is better than a quiet getaway in a cabin with friends. Unless the Book of the Dead is involved, in which case you should be prepared for possessions, grisly murders, and more gore than you could handle. From the twisted mind of filmmaker Sam Raimi, Evil Dead is a horror franchise that has frightened viewers for over 45 years. The franchise pushed the envelope so much that some countries banned it, and England actually sent law enforcement officers to video stores to confiscate copies of the first film. Yeah, it was that scary.

The franchise is still going strong, with Evil Dead Burn scaring audiences this summer, and the prequel film Evil Dead Wrath expected to hit theaters in 2028. If you’re looking to catch up on the Evil Dead franchise, but aren’t sure where to begin, Popverse has you covered. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about the horror franchise, and how to watch it in release and chronological order.

The Evil Dead franchise technically began in 1979 with Sam Raimi’s short film Within the Woods. The short was used as a proof of concept for The Evil Dead, which hit theaters in 1981. It’s two sequels, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, make up what is known as the ‘Ash Trilogy,’ which covers the Sam Raimi directed films focusing on Bruce Campbell’s character Ash Williams. The television series Ash vs Evil Dead chronicled more of Ash’s journey.

In the final days of World War II, the Nazis tried to turn the tide by summoning a young demon. A government agency known as the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense got its hands on the young demon and raised him to be one of their best agents. Hellboy, who was created by Mike Mignola, has been entertaining comic book readers since his debut in 1993.

The success of Hellboy has led to spinoff titles that have expanded his world into a full-blown Hellboy Universe, sometimes referred to as the Mignolaverse. From Hellboy to other offbeat characters like Lobster Johnson, let’s explore the Hellboy Universe and how to read it in release and chronological order.

There are a few ongoing titles in the Hellboy Universe, but it should be noted that they are cataloged differently than normal titles. Hellboy’s ongoing title is broken up into various miniseries and one-shots, which each make up their own story arc. While each miniseries has its own numbering, there is a secondary numbering that signifies its place in Hellboy’s ongoing adventures. For example, Hellboy: Wake the Devil #1 is also considered issue seven of Hellboy’s ongoing series. If it seems confusing, don’t worry, because the trade paperbacks keep things organized.

You've got a Magic: The Gathering fan in your life that you're shopping for when it comes to gifts and collectibles. If you don't know a Commander deck from a Draft Night Bundle from a play booster pack from a collector booster pack, then fear not. We've made things simple for you so you don't have to worry about getting the wrong Magic: The Gathering set for them. 

To make things easy, we've structured this guide around Magic: The Gathering gifts - something that all Magic fans need. 

Quick Picks for Magic: The Gathering gifts

It’s the height of summer, which means that most people are out and about to make the most of the sun. Not us, though — and not just because here in Portland, we’re dealing with hazardous air quality because of nearby wildfires. (It's the height of summer!) After all, there’s a whole host of pop culture to be consumed, and this is Popverse Playlist where that’s exactly what we're all about — helping you make the smartest pop culture consumption choices you can in seven-day chunks. So, while the sky burns outside, let’s distract ourselves with Kristen Stewart’s stoner comedy, Alan Ritchson’s behemoth of justice, and one of the finest superhero comics you’ll read all year, shall we?

If there’s one thing the internet loves, it’s a big man meting out justice to people who desperately deserve it, and that’s exactly what Prime Video’s Reacher is about. Sure, there are countless think pieces to be written about just why Alan Ritchson’s retired police officer who wanders the land and does good wherever he goes has proven to be so appealing to so many people, but all of that is entirely unnecessary, because it’s a show about a big man who punches bad people and, really? That’s a formula that never, ever goes out of style.

HBO's Dune: Prophecy offers fans of Denis Villeneuve's Dune films a glimpse of the backstory for the popular movie series. Drawing from The Great School of Dune trilogy but set after the events of those novels, Dune: Prophecy will soon be returning to HBO Max for Season 2. So what do you need to remember about Season 1 before the next season arrives?

Dune: Prophecy is set ten millennia before the events of the Dune trilogy of movies, and just eighty years after humans formed an alliance that allowed them to prevail over their extermination by the thinking machines, an artificial intelligence that attempted to eradicate humanity. (The war against the thinking machines is a primary reason there's so little evidence of computers as we know them in the Dune series.) Bene Gesserit Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) and Reverend Mother Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) attempt to maintain the influence and power possessed by the Sisterhood, so as to ensure they can continue to push back against the forces that threaten the survival of humanity.

Beyond the Sisterhood, one of the core characters in the series is Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), a soldier in the Imperial Army with mysterious powers. His desire to protect the Imperium sets him in opposition to the Sisterhood, whom he believes to be a true threat to Imperial power.

Ahsoka Season 2 is on its way to Disney+ in early 2027, letting Star Wars fans experience the next chapter in the ex-Jedi's storied saga, following appearances in The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels and The Mandalorian. Here's what you need to remember about the previous season before Ahsoka returns to your screens, including what happened to Thrawn, Sabine Wren, and Ahsoka herself.

Ahsoka Tano was originally introduced in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The padawan of Anakin Skywalker, the man who would eventually become Darth Vader, Ahsoka's Jedi training took place over the course of The Clone Wars series, but when Order 66 was executed during the events of Star Wars: Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith, Ahsoka was forced to leave the Jedi Order and go into hiding.

She eventually became the secret agent known Fulcrum, as seen on Star Wars: Rebels, set between the prequel trilogy and the original Star Wars trilogy. By the period of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka had reclaimed her own identity and was hunting down remnants of the Empire. Her main focus was Grand Admiral Thrawn, a thread that followed her into the first season of her own series.

The next chapter in the epic saga of JRR Tolkien's beloved fantasy series is arriving soon, in the form of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3. This season, the Prime Video series will delve into the conflict between Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and the Elves. So, when can you plan on the arrival for the release date for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3?

The Rings of Power serves as a prequel for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The series is inspired by material from Tolkien's voluminous appendices for The Lord of the Rings. Set during Middle Earth's Second Age, which is several thousand years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Rings of Power follows the Dark Lord Sauron (Vickers) as he rises to power. The series also stars Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Owain Arthur as Durin IV, Jamie Campbell Bower in an undisclosed role, Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn, Lloyd Owen as Elendil, Andrew Richardson in an undisclosed role, Benjamin Walker as Gil-galad and Daniel Weyman as Gandalf.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 release date is November 11th, 2026 on Prime Video. The season will consist of eight episodes, which will be released on a weekly basis. It has been several years since the previous season of The Rings of Power concluded on October 3rd, 2024. Here's the official teaser for Season 3:

Crystal Lake, a new series from A24, will give horror fans a chance to see what happened before Jason Voorhees became the hockey mask-wearing, chainsaw-wielding, sometimes spacefaring horror super villain we all know and love. In fact, the release date for the prequel to the Friday the 13th film franchise will be debuting before you know it. So when can you expect to enjoy Crystal Lake Season 1 on Peacock?

Crystal Lake stars Linda Cardellini as Pam Voorhees, a woman who is still in mourning after the death of her son Jason a year earlier. (Spoilers for the 1980 Friday the 13th movie, technically?) But soon two strangers arrive at her door, leading to a shocking chain of events that will leave the town reeling. Callum Vinson plays the role of young Jason. The cast also includes William Catlett as Levon Brooks, Devin Kessler as Briana Brooks, Cameron Scoggins as Dorf and Gwendolyn Sundstrom as Grace.

The Crystal Lake Season 1 release date is October 15th, 2026 on Peacock. All eight hour-long episodes of the season will be available to stream on that date. It has been more than a decade and a half since the most previous most recent Friday the 13th movie debuted in February 2009, which was the 11th movie in the franchise. (The 12th, if you include 2003's Freddy vs. Jason crossover with the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies.) Crystal Lake isn't even technically the first Friday the 13th TV series; there was a syndicated Friday the 13th show that ran for three seasons from 1987 through 1990, although that show had no actual connections to Jason or anything from the movies aside from the name. 

Winning the war was just the beginning. Maintaining peace is the true battle.

Dune Messiah is the second book in Frank Herbert’s epic science fiction book series, which picks up after Paul Atreides has won a 12-year intergalactic war. The book, which was published in 1969, will serve as the basis for the movie Dune: Part Three, which is due in theaters this December. So, who dies in Dune Messiah, how does the book end, and how closely will the movie follow the book? Let’s dive in and explore all your burning questions about Dune Messiah…

Between the manga, anime, and live-action Netflix show, One Piece has never been bigger in pop culture. And chances are, if you're reading this article, you've got a One Piece fan in your life who you're in the process of shopping for One Piece merchandise (in the form of collectibles, books, trading cards, and more) for.

To help you shop for the best One Piece merch and collectibles on this here internet, I've compiled the best One Piece gifts at various price points for your purview. Whether it's manga, the Netflix show, or the anime, we've got you covered for any and all One Piece merchandise. 

Best overall One Piece gift: LEGO ONE PIECE The Going Merry Pirate Ship

And you thought you had a bad boss! In the next season of Helluva Boss, Blitzø (Brandon Rogers) is sure to plunge new depths as Immediate Murder Professionals (I.M.P.) gets even more depraved than ever before (which, we don't need to tell you, is saying something). So, when can you expect the release date for Helluva Boss Season 3 on Prime Video to arrive?

Helluva Boss is the story of Blitzø (Rogers), who is the founder of I.M.P. The stories explore Blitzø's past and current relationships, including his tawdry sexual affair with Stolas (Bryce Pinkham), a prince of Hell, and his relationship with his adopted daughter, the hellhound Loona (Erica Lindbeck). Also playing an important role are Mildred "Millie" Knolastname (Vivian Nixon) and Moxxie Knolastname (Richard Steven Horvitz), a married couple who respectively serve as I.M.P.'s bruiser and weapons expert. Rounding out the cast is Fizzarolli (Alex Brightman), a childhood friend of Blitzø's.

The Helluva Boss Season 3 Part 1 release date is October 14th, 2026 on Prime Video. The season will be released in two batches, with the first seven episodes arriving on that date and the remaining eight episodes to be released in 2027. It has been a little while since the finale of the previous season of Helluva Boss debuted on YouTube on December 21st, 2024. And even if you don't have Prime Video, don't worry: a month after the new episodes debut on Prime Video, they'll be available to watch on YouTube. Of course, there are plenty of upcoming release dates for you to remember in the months to come. Here's a Helluva Boss short for you to enjoy now:

A new comedy series that's destined to be a hit, Brothers starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson will debut on Apple TV+ soon. The show is based on the real-life ride-or-die friendship between the two star actors. So, when will the release date for Brothers Season 1 finally arrive?

The Brothers Season 1 release date is September 23rd, 2026 on Apple TV+. The first two episodes of the show will debut on that day. Comprised of eight episodes total, the rest of Brothers Season 1 will release on a weekly basis, with the Season 1 finale arriving on November 4th, 2026. Naturally, there are plenty of release dates for you to bear in mind in the coming months. An official trailer for Brothers Season 1 has yet to be released by Apple TV+.

Brothers stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as fictionalized versions of themselves. The series sees their friendship tested when the duo decided to move to McConaughey's family ranch in Texas. There, the pair discovers a shocking secret that just might reveal that they've been biological brothers all along. The show also stars Brittany Ishibashi as Joy Harrelson, Natalie Martinez as Valentina McConaughey and Holland Taylor as Ma Mac. Also appearing in undisclosed roles are Nolan Almeida, Noah Carganilla, Ella Grace Helton, Highdee Kuan and Oona Yaffe.

Slow Horses, the hit Apple TV+ series starring Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the notorious curmudgeon who serves as the leader to the misfit spies of Slough House, will soon be returning for Season 6. This upcoming season will adapt the sixth and seventh novels in Mick Herron's Slough House series, Joe Country and Slough House. So, when can you expect the release date for Slow Horses Season 6 on Apple TV+ to arrive?

Slow Horses is a spy thriller series centered on Slough House, which is where the last-chance MI5 agents are sent when they can't be fired outright. The troupe there is led by Jackson Lamb (Oldman), a surly and flatulent exterior hides a man who cares deeply about his team. The series also features Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho, Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander, Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy, Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish, Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner and Hugo Weaving as Frank Harkness.

The Slow Horses Season 6 release date is Wednesday, September 16th, 2026 on Apple TV+. The first episode will debut on that date, and the remaining five episodes in the six episode season will be released on a weekly basis thereafter, with the Season 6 finale arriving on October 21st, 2026. It will have been almost exactly a year since the previous season of Slow Horses concluded on October 29th, 2026. Of course, there are a plethora of streaming and TV show release dates for you to keep in mind in the months to come. In the meantime, here's a clip from Slow Horses Season 5 for you to enjoy:

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, fans of JRR Tolkien's seminal fantasy saga are treated to a live-action adaptation of material originally contained in the Middle Earth appendices. And soon, The Rings of Power will be returning for Season 3, which will take place during the height of the conflict between the Dark Lord Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and the Elves. So, what do you need to remember before the series returns to Prime Video?

In the final episode of The Rings of Power Season 2, Durin III (Peter Mullan) is savagely attacked by a Balrog. Before he fights back, he names Durin IV (Owain Arthur) as his successor. The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) confronts the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds) and rejects his offer to take Sauron's place. Instead, he finds a staff and decides he will adopt the name "Gandalf." 

Meanwhile, Sauron kills Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and claims the nine rings from Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). Adar (Sam Hazeldine) is killed by Orcs. Finally, Durin IV sends his army to assist the Elves. This allows Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Galadriel, Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) and other survivors to escape from the city, where the convene in a valley and resolve to stand together against the forces of Sauron.

Marvel Studios' upcoming VisionQuest will give fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe the next chapter in the ongoing story of synthetic Avengers hero The Vision (Paul Bettany). Under the guidance of showrunner Terry Matalas, VisionQuest will follow up on storylines from Avengers: Infinity War, WandaVision and other MCU stories. So, what do you need to remember in advance of the debut of VisionQuest?

The Vision's backstory begins in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which the artificial intelligence Ultron (James Spader) created The Vision as a synthetic body for him to inhabit powered by the Infinity Stone. However, he was thwarted by Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), who uploaded Stark's in-armor A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. into the body, allowing him to become his own individual; J.A.R.V.I.S. chose the name Vision once in his new form, and fought against Ultron, turning the tide against him. Vision subsequently joined the Avengers and fought alongside them; he also began a relationship with Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), another new recruit to the team.

The Vision served with the Avengers for a brief period, before the events of 2016's Captain America: Civil War split the team in two and left the Vision and Maximoff on different sides of the schism. Wanda goes into hiding after escaping from imprisonment, but she and Vision continue their relationship in secret for years. However, in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, the Vision was killed when Thanos (Josh Brolin) ripped the Infinity Stone from his forehead. He notably died before Thanos's 'snap,' meaning that he was not resurrected at the end of 2019's Avengers: Endgame.

Before the second season of Marvel Animation's Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man arrives on Disney+ in late 2026, we’re looking back at Season 1 of the show that takes the web-slinger back to his early days as a masked vigilante hero. What happened so far, and where did the finale leave things ahead of Season 2? You have questions, we have answers.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man follows Peter Parker (Hudson Thames) in his early days as Spider-Man. It's important to note that this isn't the Spider-Man of the MCU movies, but one from an alternate timeline, which is reflected in some of the character relationships central to the series - such as, for example, Norman Osborn (Colman Domingo) being Peter's mentor instead of Tony Stark. This Peter is still a high school student, and attends Rockford T. Bales High School alongside Nico Minoru. (One for the Runaways fans in the audience, there.) This Spider-Man's origin story also has an extra wrinkle, as you'll see if you keep reading...

Welcome back, dear friends, to the show that never ends but did take a week off for San Diego Comic-Con last week without any warning, for which I apologize profusely. This week, we’re back to highlight the three pieces of pop culture that you should make a point to ingest across the next seven days. And what a tasting menu we have ahead of us, with a long-awaited television return, a streaming horror movie that harkens back to the bad old days, and a comic book that wants to know just how hungry you are for classic Americana from an unexpected creator. This is Popverse Playlist and, as Z-Man once put it, it freaks me out.

It’s hard to shake the feeling that the long-awaited return of Ted Lasso is a month too late, coming after the end of America’s love affair with the World Cup. Is soccer past its prime in the fast-paced world of popular culture after Spain’s victory? For that matter, is Ted Lasso itself past its prime, three years after what we all thought at the time was the series finale? The promotion for the new season has leaned heavily on nostalgia for how much we all loved the first run of the show, and… well, that’s true, we really did. Maybe what the world needs now really is more of the kindness, empathy, and gentle humor with occasional football that’s Ted’s stock-in-trade. We just need to, you know… believe.

If there's not a Hallmark holiday card for Free Comic Book Day 2027, there should be. 

Free Comic Book Day 2027 takes place on Saturday, May 1, giving comic fans across the United States and Canada the chance to visit participating local comic shops and pick up a selection of free comics. And these aren't leftover back issues or clearance books — publishers like Marvel, DC, Image Comics, Dark Horse, BOOM! Studios, and dozens more create special editions exclusively for the event, making it one of the biggest celebrations of comics each year.

Created by California comic retailer Joe Field, Free Comic Book Day debuted in 2002 and has since grown into one of the comic industry's signature annual events. More than 2,000 comic book stores across North America participate, collectively giving away millions of comics every year while introducing new readers to the hobby and rewarding longtime fans with previews, first issues, and exclusive stories.

Marvel Midnight is Marvel Comics' newest shared universe, reimagining Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men as darker, horror-inspired versions of themselves. Launching in October 2026, the new imprint begins with Midnight X-Men, Midnight Fantastic Four, and Midnight Spider-Man, introducing an interconnected supernatural Marvel Universe with a dedicated ongoing publishing line.

If you're looking for the Marvel Midnight reading order, you've come to the right place. Below you'll find every announced comic in release order, along with the creative teams, launch schedule, and everything you need to know about Marvel's new horror universe.

Rather than focusing on established horror heroes like Blade or Morbius, Marvel Midnight transforms some of Marvel's biggest superheroes into twisted, supernatural versions of themselves. Marvel describes the line as an ongoing universe rather than a one-off event, with stories designed to reshape familiar heroes through a horror lens.

The Harvey Awards are one of comics' highest honors, recognizing the best of the best for the past year's comics, graphic novels, manga, webcomics, and adaptations. Presented annually at New York Comic Con, the Harvey Awards have seven big awards voted on by creators, along with 3 special awards decided on by the Harvey Awards committee themselves. Compared to the recent Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the nominees for the Harvey Awards skew more towards literary, international, and bookstore-driven comics while still acknowledging mainstream superheroes.

In fact, DC's Absolute Universe has been the breakout superhero line of the year, and its showing up in the 2026 Harvey Awards with nominations for both Absolute Batman and Absolute Martian Manhunter for 'Book of the Year' - which is notable because in some years, superhero fiction has struggled at the Harvey Awards. That being said, the nominees for 'Book of the Year' are predominantly from the literary side of comics.

Another trend is the number of nominees coming from non-English sources. While the 'Best Manga' and 'Best International Book' in large part is to be expected to be translated, translated works are elsewhere as well - with translator Andrea Rosenberg having four nominations. As a subset to that, while manga is always big at the Harveys, more attention than ever is going towards older works (or those just coming to the U.S. for the first time) such as Naoki Urasawa's Black Bat.

The Eisner Awards are the defining place where critics, creators, and those working in the comics industry decide what the best comics, comic books, graphic novels, and associated material are for the year prior. This year, those winners (and the nominees) were celebrated in a lush banquet hall in the shadow of Comic-Con International: San Diego, where a who's who of comic creators showed up to find out if they won, who won, and to celebrate the medium known as comics.

The big winner of the weekend was DC Comics, and specifically its Absolute Universe line. Titles from that 2-year-old imprint won for 'Best Continuing Series' (Absolute Batman), 'Best One-Shot/Single Issue' (Absolute Batman 2025 Annual), and Best Limited Series (Absolute Martian Manhunter), and Absolute Martian Manhunter artist Javier Rodriguez won for both 'Best Penciller/Inker' and 'Best Cover Artist,' while Absolute Wonder Woman color artist Jordie Bellaire won in her category, as did Absolute Martian Manhunter letterers Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou in theirs.

Trend-wise, formal innovation beat out commercial popularity, with the top comics in terms of Eisner Awards not lining up 1-on-1 with any of the various sales charts. With titles like Assorted Crisis Events, Drome, Physics for Cats, Nocturnos, 'Blood Harvest,'  and Practical Defense Against Piracy beating out other better-selling books, it shows the awards' judges (and then the comics pros who then voted on them) favored experimentation over blockbuster status.

In case you missed it, Marvel Studios’ MCU is getting a Spirit of Vengeance: Ghost Rider. As revealed at their Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Ryan Gosling will play Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider in a film set to be released in 2028, directed by Shawn Levy. But who is this Ghost Rider fella? What is this “Spirit of Vengeance” business anyway? Jules, what are you even talking about? Let me explain. 

In Marvel Comics, lots of characters have been Ghost Rider before (going all the way back to the Ice Age, actually), but the most well-known iteration of the character is Johnny Blaze. Johnny’s Ghost Rider first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1972’s Marvel Spotlight #5, as part of a larger wave of supernatural-themed characters that included Blade, Werewolf By Night, and Moon Knight that proliferated in the early to mid 1970s. Johnny Blaze was introduced as a daredevil stunt rider who performed in a carnival.

But when Johnny’s mentor, a man aptly named Crash, fell deathly ill, Johnny made a pact with the demon Zarathos so that Crash would live. Under Zarathos’s influence, Johnny Blaze became the Spirit of Vengeance, a figure who hunts down all those who hurt the innocent, wherever they are. The trademark ability of the Spirit of Vengeance (and any Ghost Rider) is something called the Penance Stare, where the guilty is made to look directly into the flaming skull’s empty eye sockets, and in that moment, they experience every ounce of pain they’ve unleashed onto other people in their lifetime. This Penance Stare attack reduces the perp to a hollow husk. 

Ever since the trailer was screened for a select few at a panel at New York Comic-Con last year, fans have been wondering when the VisionQuest show starring Paul Bettany will hit Disney+. But now, we’ve finally got all the answers. Or at least some of them. 

At San Diego Comic-Con 2026’s Marvel Studios panel, MCU boss Kevin Feige revealed that VisionQuest will be hitting Disney+ on October 14. That’s less than 3 months away, if you’re keeping track. 

Over the past year, Bettany has been making the rounds on the convention circuit dishing on the themes of VisionQuest. James Spader will reprise his role as Ultron, Vision’s “dad” in the MCU, in a story about “fathers and sons” and “intergenerational trauma,” according to Bettany. Spader first joined the MCU when he debuted as Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron all the way back in 2015. 

In Slow Horses, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) is the unkempt, rude spymaster who leads a team of misfit MI5 agents seemingly despite his better judgment - and it's a good thing, considering how useful they've proven to be even if it doesn't appear so at the time. Good news for the show's many fans: the critically acclaimed series will be returning to Apple TV+ with Season 6 on September 16th, 2026.

Slow Horses follows the employees of Slough House, a banishment room for MI5 rejects overseen by Lamb. The location is meant to provide those who have failed at their assignments (but not failed hard enough to be fired) with tedious work with the expectation that they will eventually quit the service in frustration. However, despite the intention, the Slow Horses frequently become embroiled in cases that might affect the very future of the United Kingdom itself.

The show is called Slow Horses after the derogatory name given to the agents places at Slough House, due to how similar 'Slow Horse' and 'Slough House' sound when spoken aloud.

Apple TV's hit series Ted Lasso follows the titular soccer coach (Jason Sudeikis) as he leads A.F.C. Richmond despite his inexperience with the beautiful game. Boasting an optimistic tone and a charming sense of humor, fans of the series were delighted to learn that Ted Lasso Season 4 will debut on August 5th, 2026, more than three years after the show's previous season.

Ted Lasso is the story of the eponymous American coach, who is hired by Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), the new owner of A.F.C. Richmond, with the expectation that he will fail to lead the team to victory due to his inexperience. Welton hopes to see the team crash and burn so as to exact her revenge against her ex-husband Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head), who valued the team's success above all else in life.

At the conclusion of the third season, some big changes were in store for Ted Lasso (the character, as well as the series). Welton sells forty-nine percent of the team to the fans. Lasso returns to the United States and is seen coaching his son's soccer team. Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) becomes the new Richmond head coach. And Coach Willis Beard (Brendan Hunt) remains in London so as to marry his girlfriend. The end of the third season was originally intended as a series finale, before plans were made to revive the series three years later. 

The Rent-a-Girlfriend release schedule is, thankfully, easier to follow than the accidental harem that Kazuya manages to put together. The long-running romance manga has become one of the biggest anime every year, but if you’re desperate to read ahead and find out how this messy soap opera ends, we’ve got the perfect Rent-a-Girlfriend release schedule to follow.

New Rent-a-Girlfriend chapters come out most weeks in Weekly Shonen Magazine in Japan. Shortly after they are published there, they are available on Kodansha’s K Manga website. There are occasional hiatuses and breaks in the series so that the mangaka can have a much-needed break, but that isn’t the norm.

The next Rent-a-Girlfriend manga chapter is Chapter 440, which will be released on September 16, 2026. The last chapter, Rent-A-Girlfriend 439, came out on September 9. New chapters are published most weeks in Weekly Shonen Magazine in Japan and get an official English translation the same day on the KManga app.

The Kingdom release schedule depends heavily on whether you are reading it in English or Japanese. Only around 10% of the manga has been officially translated into English, which means a lot of the world is still catching up with Yasuhisa Hara’s iconic manga. Our Kingdom release schedule will help you find both the English and Japanese releases and let you know when new chapters come out in both languages.

New Kingdom chapters typically come out every week in the pages of Weekly Young Jump. This is the Japanese release, of course. New chapters of Kingdom come out in English usually on a monthly basis when new volumes are published in English. When this happens, those chapters are released digitally both as a collection and individually.

Kingdom 886, the next chapter in the long-running manga by Yasuhisa Hara, is out on September 2, 2026. The actual release date of Weekly Young Jump, the magazine that Kingdom is serialized in, is Thursday, but through the magic of time zones, readers in the US get it slightly early. The most recent chapter to be published was Kingdom 885, which was released on August 26.

The Walking Dead may be over, but the story that began in the hit AMC series continues across several spinoffs, including The Walking Dead: Dead City. Following the further exploits of Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the series will be returning for Season 3 on AMC on July 26th, 2026.

The Walking Dead: Dead City begins with Maggie forming an uneasy alliance with Negan, the man who killed her husband Glenn Rhee on the original series The Walking Dead. What would bring the two together? Family, it turns out - Maggie is working with Negan in order to rescue her teenage son, Hershel Rhee (Logan Kim). Hershel had been kidnapped by Mile Jurkovic, AKA "The Croat" (Željko Ivanek), a member of the Burazi, a group of survivors who have taken over Manhattan, the 'Dead City' of the show's title. In return for Negan's assistance, Maggie agrees to give Ginny (Mahina Napoleon), a young girl under Negan's care, a home at The Bricks.

At the conclusion of Dead City Season 2, Maggie and Negan were once again at odds with one another, with Negan having taken control of the Burazi. After Negan kills Bruegel (Kim Coates), the leader of another Manhattan gang, Maggie prepares to kill Negan so as to save Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles), a New Babylon Federation marshal. However, the discovery that Ginny has died and resurrected as a zombie forestalls the showdown. Ultimately Negan, Maggie and Perlie determine that their best chance of survival is working together.

Space may be the final frontier, but the five-year mission of Paramount+'s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be coming to a conclusion at the end of the show's fifth season in 2027. Before that happens, however the penultimate season is coming your way beginning July 23, 2026. Here's what to remember before Strange New Worlds Season 4 arrives - and a glimpse of what's to come courtesy of the new season's trailer.

The show follows Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the fabled Enterprise before Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) takes the center seat. However, that doesn't mean there aren't any familiar characters aboard. Pike's first officer, Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn), will be familiar to fans of the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage" (where she's called Number One), while Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck) will be familiar to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the franchise.

Also on the bridge is the iconic character Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), as well as new characters like pilot Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) and Chief of Security La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong). Supporting the explorers on their genre-hopping exploits is the familiar medical team, which is comprised of Doctor M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). And the ship is held together by the engineering team, which includes original character Pelia (Carol Kane) and returning character Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (Martin Quinn).

In Batman: Caped Crusader, the film-noir inspired animated series from Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series), DC's World's Greatest Detective gets a decidedly dark treatment. Starring Hamish Linklater as Bruce Wayne, the show will soon be returning for a second season, and here's what to remember before the show returns to Prime Video on July 31st, 2026 - and a look at the new season's trailer, to boot.

Batman: Caped Crusader tells the familiar story of Batman through a film noir lens. Set in the 1940s, the show depicts Bruce Wayne (Linklater) in his early days as a costumed crime fighter, the show draws inspiration from the Batman comics of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The show also stars Jason Watkins as Bruce's butler Alfred Pennyworth and Eric Morgan Stuart as Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon. Also appearing are Krystal Joy Brown as public defender Barbara Gordon and Michelle C. Bonilla as police detective Renee Montoya. Meanwhile, John DiMaggio plays Harvey Bullock and Gary Anthony Williams plays Arnold Flass, two corrupt police officers paid off by the Thorne crime family.

In the Season 1 finale of Caped Crusader, a newly redeemed Two-Face (Diedrich Bader) sacrificed himself in order to rescue Barbara from Flass. While Batman is tempted to shoot Flass out of anger, he ultimately abstains from doing so, preserving his humanity. However, the season did end on a cliffhanger, as a mysterious man has been murdering people with a combination of toxins that causes them to laugh uncontrollably... Could Season 2 bring the Joker to the series? The trailer for the season doesn't explicitly answer that question, but does feature a new threat in the Joker's familiar purple clothing...

While beloved sitcom The Office was set at a paper company, the ongoing spinoff sequel is set at a local newspaper. Featuring Domhnall Gleeson in the role of Editor-in-Chief Ned Sampson, The Paper is returning to Peacock for a second season. So, when can you expect The Paper Season 2 release date to arrive?

The Paper Season 2 release date is September 9th, 2026 on Peacock. All ten episodes of Season 2 will be released simultaneously, as was the case with the first season. Speaking of Season 1, it's been only a year since the first season was released on September 4th, 2025. Naturally, there are plenty of TV and streaming release dates for you to keep track of in the months to come. Here's a clip from The Paper Season 1:

In the acclaimed sci-fi thriller series Dark Matter, physicist Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) is abducted into a parallel universe where his life took a different path. Based on the 2016 bestselling novel by Blake Crouch, the show will soon return to Apple TV for another season of reality-bending drama and action.

Dark Matter Season 2 will debut on August 28th, 2026 on Apple TV. The first episode of the ten-episode sophomore season will debut on that date, with new episodes released on a weekly basis. The Dark Matter Season 2 finale will debut on October 30th, 2026. It has been a couple of years since the previous season debuted on May 8th, 2026. Of course, the second season of Dark Matter is just one of the many release dates you'll want to keep track of in the months to come. Here's a behind-the-scenes clip for Dark Matter Season 1 on Apple TV:

Average Joe starring Emmy Award-nominated actor Deon Cole as Joe Washington is a dark dramedy created by Robb Cullen. The first season, which was released on BET+, proved to be a huge hit for the streaming platform. But with BET+ having been shuttered in the wake of Paramount buying out Tyler Perry Studios' minority stake, you can plan on streaming the upcoming Average Joe Season 2 on Paramount+.

Average Joe Season 2 will debut on August 19th, 2026 on Paramount+. The first two episodes of the eight-episode season will be available to stream on Paramount+ on that date, with the rest of the new episodes debuting on a weekly Wednesday basis after that. It has been almost three years since the first season of Average Joe debuted on June 26th, 2023. Here's the official trailer for Average Joe Season 2:

In The Shards, a new series based on Bret Easton Ellis' semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, a teenage version of Ellis (Igby Rigney) must navigate life in high school against the backdrop of a 1980s Los Angeles that's being terrorized by a serial killer, The Trawler. Co-created by Ellis and Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story; Grotesquerie), the show will be here before the summer has concluded.

The Shards Season 1 will debut on August 5th, 2026 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on FX. The first two episodes of the series will premiere at that time, and will be available to stream on Hulu simultaneously. 

Based on Ellis' semi-autobiographical 2023 novel of the same name, The Shards is a high school horror-thriller that is sure to swiftly win over a certain type of viewer. In addition to Rigney as 17-year-old Ellis, the cast also includes Homer Gere as Robert Mallory, Kaia Gerber as Susan Reynolds, Wes Bentley as Terry Schaffer, Hayes Warner as Debbie Shaffer and Graham Campbell as Thom Wright. Rounding out the cast is Jordan Roth as Steven Reinhardt, Evan Rachel Wood as Liz Schaffer and Owen Painter in an undisclosed recurring role.

In the upcoming sophomore season of Batman: Caped Crusader, you can expect things to get even darker than they have been. Starring Hamish Linklater as Bruce Wayne, the noir-flavored animated show created by the legendary Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) will be returning for Season 2 on Prime Video on July 31st, 2026.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 will be comprised of ten episodes, all of which will be available for streaming on July 31st. In addition to Wayne, the show also stars Michelle C. Bonilla as Renee Montoya, Krystal Joy Brown as Barbara Gordon, Eric Morgan Stuart as Jim Gordon and Jason Watkins as Alfred. The show's second season will delve more deeply into the 1930s versions of the familiar DC characters, and shows Batman at the "year one-and-a-half" phase of his career, advancing from the action of the first season. And a more polished Batman is a good thing, because Caped Crusader Season 2 is building towards a confrontation with an especially disturbing incarnation of the Joker.

Here's a trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2: