Author: business

“Golden Bachelor” is back for a second season. And no, its star is not “Golden Bachelorette” favorites Mark Anderson or Charles Ling.

The lead will be a new face for many Bachelor Nation members, though he may be more familiar to NFL fans. Mel Owens will be your next Midwestern leading man.

ABC and Hulu announced the news at an April 22 event in Los Angeles celebrating Disney’s slate of reality TV programs. The former Los Angeles Rams linebacker-turned-lawyer, 66, was once married and shares two sons with his first wife. He’s also a partner at an Orange County, California, law firm specializing in sports injuries and workers’ compensation.

“After several years as a devoted dad, Owens is ready to rediscover a love rooted in the simple joys of companionship – sharing life’s everyday moments, making plans for the future, and growing stronger together as a couple,” ABC’s press release says. “As the Golden Bachelor, he’s eager to meet someone who shares this vision and finally find that perfect teammate he’s been waiting for in his golden years.”

Who is Mel Owens?

After “Bachelor” franchise host Jesse Palmer introduced Owens to the crowd, Palmer noted Owens didn’t know of the casting news until Palmer visited the next “Golden” lead’s home the day before the announcement.

“I didn’t know, then I see you, and I go: ‘Jesse Palmer’s here.’ You came in and met my boys. Since then, it’s been 24 hours of craziness,” Owens said. “The younger (son) said – we were watching the regular ‘Bachelor’ earlier on – ‘Dad, you should be the bachelor. The ad came on for ‘Golden.’ He goes, ‘You should be the real one, though.’”

Owens was previously married for 25 years and said he’s found himself missing “companionship.” As for the kind of woman he’s looking for, Owens said: “Someone that’s honest, charming, loving, fit, someone full of life.”

Jesse Palmer calls Mel Owens ‘genuine,’ a ‘family man’

Right before the news broke to the world, Palmer opened up to USA TODAY about his thoughts on Owens’ casting.

“He’s an excellent choice to be our next ‘Golden Bachelor.’ He’s handsome and he’s charming. He’s been really successful professionally, very intelligent,” Palmer said. “But he’s also very genuine, and he’s a family man.”

Palmer also touched on Owens’ journey to becoming a reality TV leading man, saying, “While he’s had a lot of success professionally, he has had a lot of ups and downs personally with the tragic passing of his dad; he (also) went through a divorce.

“You find out a lot about people when they go through tough times. He really showed his character. He made the decision to really be a dad and take care of his sons,” Palmer added.

When will ‘Golden Bachelor’ Season 2 come out?

A premiere date for “Golden Bachelor” Season 2 will be “announced at a later date,” ABC says.

What happened on Season 1 of ‘The Golden Bachelor?’

Fellow Midwesterner Gerry Turner was the franchise’s inaugural “Golden Bachelor.”

In his September 2023 season premiere, the (at the time) 72-year-old widower welcomed 22 women, whose ages ranged from 60 to 75, to the “Bachelor” mansion. He ultimately chose to wed Theresa Nist over Leslie Fhima, who will get another chance at reality TV love during a revamped “Bachelor in Paradise” this summer, with the two opting for a grand wedding ceremony that aired on ABC at the beginning of 2024.

However, their love did not last long after the lavish event, with the two announcing their upcoming divorce in April 2024. The legal disentanglement was finalized in June and cited “certain irreconcilable differences” between Turner and Nist.

Then in December, Turner announced he was diagnosed with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, a bone marrow cancer.

Joan Vassos, who’d self-eliminated from Turner’s season for family reasons, led the inaugural “Golden Bachelorette” season at the end of 2024 and ended her journey engaged to Chock Chapple.

• Tina Knowles’ memoir, “Matriarch,” details her life from childhood to the present, including raising Beyoncé and Solange and bonus daughter Kelly.
• Knowles discusses the ups and downs of her marriage to Mathew Knowles, including his infidelity.
• Knowles recounts success of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé’s relationship with Jay-Z and the impact of her late nephew.

Tina Knowles’ newly released memoir “Matriarch” is giving fans an inside view of her life from her upbringing to now, and there are some standout moments fans have been noting.

The businesswoman, designer and mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles released her book on April 22. In it, she shares intimate details about her life, including private and public battles. Oprah Winfrey announced the book is the latest selection for her famous Oprah’s Book Club.

As fans know, Knowles first announced her book last fall. “I have always been a storyteller, and it’s something I learned from my mother,” she wrote.

“When I had a family of my own, I believed that my daughters needed to know where they came from in order to know where they were going. I’m now ready to share my story with all of you, so that we can all celebrate these themes of strength, motherhood, Black pride, and identity.”

She tackles these ideas in the book while giving fans some notable tidbits, noted below, in a bigger glimpse into her life while raising global superstars.

Tina Knowles battled breast cancer

Knowles shared that she was diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer in her left breast during an interview with Gayle King on “CBS Mornings” and in her new book.

The diagnoses came in July after a delayed mammogram appointment. She also opens up about the moments leading up to her lumpectomy.

Tina Knowles on the ups and downs of marriage to Mathew Knowles

In the book, Knowles is transparent about the hurdles and joys of her marriage to Mathew Knowles, the father of her children. She recalls her family first meeting him.

“But Mathew was undeterred, and started acting to everybody he was my boyfriend,” she writes. “He was charming, handsome and successful, and my family was all in. It was not lost on our neighbors that he’d parked a Mercedes outside. ‘Tenie’s (her nickname) got a good boyfriend.’”

Throughout the memoir, she opens up about his struggles with infidelity, managing young superstars and balancing it all with their day-to-day life.

Discovering and cultivating Beyoncé’s talent

Knowles gives fans more insight into Beyoncé’s early life, discovering her talent and everything in between. “Beyoncé’s shyness persisted into first grade and took even more of a hold of her in second grade,” she writes. “She walked into every class trying to be invisible.”

Later, Knowles writes about seeing her transform onstage. “Watching Beyoncé perform in front of an audience for the first time was my first time seeing her onstage too,” she writes. “I was catching up just as much as the audience, but anyone could see she was home.”

She also shares more about cultivating the talents of her younger daughter, Solange, and making sure to never compare the sisters.

Destiny’s Child hits, hiatus and beyond

Knowles writes about raising her bonus daughter, singer Kelly Rowland, as she and other young girls of the ’90s girl group Destiny’s Child juggled fame and stardom at a young age.

“Even with this success, there was a constant pressure from some at Sony and Columbia for Destiny’s Child to change who they were,” Knowles writes.

Later, she writes about the girls working on hit singles and when they decided to take a hiatus. “Destiny’s Child had decided to take a hiatus, allowing the girls to pursue projects that were wholly theirs,” she writes. “Beyoncé had pushed back her own album so her sister Kelly could take full advantage of the momentum of her own success.”

Beyoncé meets, dates Jay-Z

A tidbit that caught fans’ eyes is Knowles’ insight into the early days of the relationship between Beyoncé and her now-husband Jay-Z.

“As Beyoncé and Jay then kept up with each other in calls, the friendship deepened,” she writes. “She would tell me, ‘He’s just so nice.’ There was another guy in the industry talking to her … she told me they were both coming on at the same time.”

Knowles asked Beyoncé who she liked best.

“I watched her think. It was Jay. Isn’t it humbling how love can begin with such a simple feeling?” Knowles writes. “You like someone over the phone. You’re twenty-one years old and you can’t know someday you will take that love to the stars, but it begins with such a small instinct.”

Late nephew Uncle Johnny’s impact on her life, Beyoncé’s music

Knowles made sure to note the relationships that shaped her throughout the years, including with her mom, siblings and of course her nephew whom the family called “Uncle Johnny.” Not only did he play a significant part in Mama Tina’s life, but also in the lives of her family and daughters before he died of AIDS in 1998. She noted the full-circle moment she felt when listening to Beyoncé’s 2022 album “Renaissance.”

“I hadn’t heard the song ‘Heated’ yet and as we all danced, Jay suddenly said to me, ‘Listen to this.’ Then I heard the next line,” she wrote referring to Beyoncé singing about Uncle Johnny. “I started to cry and smile at the same time, knowing this was what Johnny wanted. To be loved and celebrated.”

How to buy Tina Knowles’ new book ‘Matriarch’

The book is available online and in stores. Fans can purchase a limited-edition signed copy of the book at Barnes & Noble for $35. On Amazon, the paperback is going for $32, and the hardcover is available for $22.86. Meanwhile, the Kindle version is selling for $14.99.

Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network’s Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.

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‘Fire and Rain’ singer James Taylor will serve as the guest mentor for the remaining ‘American Idol’ contestants on the April 27 episode.

In addition to “American Idol” unveiling Season 23’s Top 12, the reality singing competition will be announcing the music legends joining the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

During the most recent “American Idol” episode, host Ryan Seacrest announced the inductees would be revealed on the show.

The upcoming episode will be Rock & Roll Hall of Fame themed, having the remaining 14 contestants performing beloved songs from previous inductees while vying for a spot in the Top 12. Tracks from any of the approximately 400 legends will be eligible, including judge Lionel Richie, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

“Fire and Rain” singer James Taylor, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000, will serve as the guest mentor for the contestants, according to ABC.

After the performances, viewers will vote for their favorites before two contestants are eliminated from the competition in the following episode.

When will the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees be announced?

Ryan Seacrest will announce the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees during the next “American Idol” episode airing on Sunday, April 27 from 8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT on ABC.

Who are the 2025 Hall of Fame nominees?

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees include:

• Bad Company 
• The Black Crowes 
• Mariah Carey 
• Chubby Checker 
• Joe Cocker 
• Billy Idol 
• Joy Division/New Order 
• Cyndi Lauper 
• Maná 
• Oasis 
• Outkast
• Phish
• Soundgarden 
• The White Stripes 

Who joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year?

The 2024 Rock Hall inductees included:

How to watch Season 23 of ‘American Idol’

“American Idol” airs Sunday and Monday nights on ABC, with episodes available to stream on Hulu the next day.

Viewers may also catch the show live on the ABC app or website, along with live-streaming sites that allow viewers to watch in real time.

Contributing: Amaris Encinas/ USA TODAY

“Étoile,” a new dance-centered series by the creators of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Gilmore Girls,” is set to premiere this week with some familiar faces among the cast.

Set in New York City and Paris and described by Amazon MGM Studios as a “dance-world comedy,” the series follows the dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies on an “ambitious gambit” to save their institutions by swapping their most talented stars.

Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino and executive produced by the couple alongside Dhana Rivera Gilbert, the cast includes several members who worked on previous projects of the Palladinos’, including Luke Kirby of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and Yanic Truesdale of “Gilmore Girls.”

When does ‘Étoile’ Season 1 premiere?

“Étoile” Season 1 premieres on Prime Video on Thursday, April 24. All eight episodes of the season will drop at the same time for your binge-watching pleasure.

How to watch ‘Étoile’ Season 1

“Étoile” is a Prime original that members of Prime Video can stream for free. Non-prime members can sign up for one week of Prime for just $1.99 to watch

Prime membership, which includes free shipping and some “Included with Prime” video titles, currently runs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. A Prime Video membership is $8.99 per month.

Watch “Étoile”: Get Prime Video

‘Étoile’ Season 1 cast

• Luke Kirby as Jack McMillan
• Yanic Truesdale as Raphaël Marchand
• Gideon Glick as Tobias Bell
• Charlotte Gainsbourg as Geneviève Lavigne
• LaMay Zhang as Susu Li
• Simon Callow as Crispin Shamblee
• Lou de Laâge as Cheyenne Toussaint
• David Alvarez as Gael Rodriguez
• Kelly Bishop as Clara McMillan
• Ivan du Pontavice as Gabin Roux
• Taïs Vinolo as Mishi Duplessis
• David Haig as Nicholas Leutwylek
• Lala Cholous as Pianiste
• Tiler Peck as Eva Cullman

Watch ‘Étoile’ Season 1 trailer

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Carlo Ratti is posing next to a marble statue of a semi-naked Venus in the Ca’ Giustinian, one of the last gothic palaces to be built in Venice in the late 15th century. Next he’s outside the fancy Hotel Monaco, charming a gondolier into shot for our photographer. Ratti, the curator of this year’s architecture biennale, the 19th to be held in Venice, seems more than happy to indulge in the clichés of the city for a fun portrait. 

“You could say it’s one of the first geoengineering projects ever,” says Ratti of the patchwork of land-spattered lagoon that human ingenuity formed into a city, as we settle on the terrace of the Hotel Monaco with an espresso. “This wasn’t meant for human living.” It is also an example of a place that has dealt with the damaging consequences of that human occupation — the ruinous effects of fishing and transport that have hollowed out the lagoon and threatened its marine and plantlife alongside the frequent invasion of acqua alta that floods its streets, squares and homes. “The Mose [Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico] has been built — a huge piece of engineering that works as a flood barrier — and it works and everyone is happy. People can occupy the ground floors of their buildings again.”

You could say Venice is one of the first geoengineering projects ever. This wasn’t meant for human living

This is exactly the type of project Ratti is referring to when he talks about adaptation, which he does frequently. He is promising a biennale that will look at some of the crises to hand — climate change and depopulation — and how architecture can offer solutions by adapting itself to offset or accommodate these conditions. Historically, the architecture Biennale has had a tendency to reflect upon the state we’re in; Ratti wants to offer ways to move forward in the face of intractable problems.

“Usually when people talk about climate change, they talk about mitigating harm in travel, industry, construction,” he says. “But now it’s too late for that. The ecological movement thought that adaptation was like surrender, and I understand that. But now it’s inevitable. As things become more extreme, we need a new approach, a new level of thinking.”

Ratti speaks fast, in perfect English, though he grew up in Turin, the son of an engineer father. He is 53 but has an indefinable agelessness — his eyes keenly focused behind metal-rimmed glasses, his mind quick, theoretically and scientifically driven.

He studied engineering and architecture at the Politecnico di Torino and the fancy Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées — one of those Paris institutions for the crème de la crème de la crème. He was swept off to Cambridge to complete an MPhil and then a PhD which he finished at MIT. It was at Cambridge, where he attended the Martin Centre, a research institution focused on sustainable buildings and cities, that he became aware of the value of integrating architecture, biology and just about everything else. “Cambridge inspires inter-disciplinarity, because of the college system,” he says. “You end up being with people from any subject but your own. It breaks the bubble.” 

Ratti is applying this interdisciplinary approach to his Biennale, which is titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. “I thought about calling it NI — Natural Intelligence,” he says. “But then I decided that we need to learn from all three types of intelligence.” The exhibition will fill 7,000 sq m of the Arsenale, Venice’s former shipyards and armouries. Ratti is also keen that the national pavilions will fall under his spell as well. These are dotted through Venice’s Giardini, like a 19th-century view of the western world in miniature, while newer arrivals (which this year include Oman and Togo) are to be found in the further reaches of the Arsenale and around the city. “I met with the national participants four times,” says Ratti, who has clearly worked exhaustively on the project with his small team. 

“The national pavilions are often good, but a hodgepodge,” he continues. He was part of the 2014 Biennale curated by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who famously forced countries to march to the beat of his thematic drum: Absorbing Modernity. It seems unlikely that Ratti will be able to orchestrate similar conformity. Many teams had embarked on their projects before his own theme emerged. Britain had already teamed up with Kenya, to focus on how to reverse the destruction brought about by the geological extraction exacted by colonial systems. The pavilion of the Nordic countries (Finland, Norway, Sweden) is looking at architecture through the lens of the trans body. Still, his subject — in the face of recent fires in LA and floods in Valencia and Bangladesh — will be on many participants’ minds.

Ratti was appointed to the directorship in December 2023, and the fact that he is the first Italian for years to take the role (the last was Massimiliano Fuksas, who directed with his wife Doriana in 2000) has been seen by some as the rightwing government’s determination to Make the Biennale Italian Again and neutralise the event’s perceived leftism. “Ratti doesn’t talk about politics,” says Dario Pappalardo, an editor at the left-leaning La Repubblica. “But his approach is technical, smart, new. It can seem cold in a way. But he’s the most interesting of his generation coming from Italy, and he has an international career.” 

In fact, Ratti’s range is vast. As well as heading up MIT’s Senseable City Lab which he founded in 2004, he runs a busy architectural practice with offices in Turin, New York and London. He has worked on large buildings, introducing lush tropical nature to a 280m tower in Singapore designed with the Danish architects Big, while one of his personal hits is the Makr Shakr, a robotic cocktail dispenser which is a star turn on cruise ships. A project for Helsinki aims to help decarbonise the city’s heating system by 2030 thanks to large floating islands that function as thermal batteries. 

When it comes to the Biennale, though, he has some tough acts to follow. Alejandro Aravena, a Chilean architect with movie star looks and a fuzzy humanist agenda, created a highly empathetic show in 2016; and Lesley Lokko, a Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator and novelist, delivered an intriguing and emotional edition in 2023 that turned the (western) world upside down and brought in protagonists from many previously unrepresented countries, particularly African ones.

Ratti is unperturbed. “Inclusion has many dimensions,” he says. “We have many different generations and disciplines involved; maybe the most female participants ever. [American architect] Jeanne Gang is even looking at animals, creating an architecture for them in and outside the Arsenale in which they can thrive.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly in his hands, even AI is given a positive role: ChatGPT is being used to create a series of imaginary conversations between living and historical figures that will be published in the Biennale’s catalogue. “In one, the head of AI at MIT asks Isaac Asimov how we can be sure that robots won’t hurt us,” Ratti says gleefully.

There’s a switched-on quality to Ratti’s wired but tidy mind. His own research underlines the value of real-time data and how it can improve city life. “Even 20 years ago, we didn’t have access to this level of real-time information,” Ratti says. “Data allows us to understand the urban environment better and create real-time loops, real responses. It can turn a city into a living organism.” And then he’s off: Bologna, Paris, London, Milan and — after that — Osaka, where his firm has co-designed the French pavilion at Expo 25. He doesn’t get jet lag, he says: “It’s easy enough not to sleep.”

May 10-November 23, labiennale.org

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The royal family is paying its respects to the late Pope Francis.

Prince William, son of King Charles III, will attend the pope’s funeral in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on his father’s behalf, Kensington Palace announced on April 22. Pope Francis died on April 21, Easter Monday, at age 88 due to a stroke and irreversible heart failure.

The April 26 funeral is expected to be attended by world leaders, with President Donald Trump having already announced that he would fly to Rome with his wife Melania for the service.

Hours before he fell into a coma and his subsequent death, Pope Francis had dazzled an Easter Sunday crowd in St. Peter’s Square by blessing them from a balcony and then rolling among them in his popemobile to raucous cheers.

In an April 21 statement on social media, Charles said he and wife Queen Camilla were “deeply saddened” by the pope’s death, but their “heavy hearts were somewhat eased” knowing “His Holiness was able to share an Easter greeting with the Church and the world he served with such devotion throughout his life and ministry.”

“His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith, and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others,” Charles added. “His belief that care for Creation is an existential expression of faith in God resounded with so many across the world.”

Pope Francis live updates: The pope’s final hours, last words revealed

Charles’ tribute came just two weeks after he and Camilla visited Italy for a four-day state visit the week of April 7. The engagement marked the monarch’s 17th official visit to Italy and his first overseas trip of 2025 as he continues to undergo treatment for an unspecified form of cancer.

“Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many,” said Charles of Pope Francis. “The Queen and I remember with particular affection our meetings with His Holiness over the years, and we were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier this month.”

Charles, 76, whose workload must be managed carefully amid his cancer recovery, wrote privately to the pope when Francis was taken ill, a source previously told Reuters. The pair met during Charles’ visits to Rome in 2017 and 2019 before he became king.

It’s a ‘devastating loss’: Pope Francis’ death mourned by King Charles

As British monarch, Charles heads the Church of England, which split from the Catholic Church in 1534. A palace spokesperson said at the time that his and Camilla’s trip would symbolize a significant step forward in relations between the two and mark celebrations for the 2025 Catholic Holy Year.

“We send our most heartfelt condolences and profound sympathy to the Church he served with such resolve,” Charles wrote in the ending to his statement, “and to the countless people around the world who, inspired by his life, will be mourning the devastating loss of this faithful father of Jesus Christ.”

Contributing: Muvija M and Michael Holden, Reuters; Anna Kaufman, Taijuan Moorman, John Bacon, Thao Nguyen and Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY

An Emily Henry novel reads like a classic rom-com in the making.

How apt, then, that the romance author has optioned several of her beloved titles to be made into movies or TV series. Classic beachside love affairs, five of Henry’s novels are currently slated for adaptation: “People We Meet on Vacation”; “Beach Read”; “Book Lovers”; “Happy Place” and “Funny Story.” 

But how does Henry feel about letting go of the characters on her pages and allowing them to be interpreted for the screen?

“It can be a battle,” she told USA TODAY in a recent interview ahead of the release of her latest book “Great Big Beautiful Life.”

Her role, she says, is “to be the person who is shouting ‘the readers won’t like that’ or ‘they’ll love that.’” She’s looking forward to letting the projects unfold. 

Emily Henry reveals what love means to her as ‘Great Big Beautiful Life’ hits bookstores

‘People We Meet on Vacation’ movie and more Emily Henry adaptations to come 

“I’m so, so glad that it’s happening and I’m really excited for readers and that is ultimately why I have enabled myself to let go enough for this to happen is for the readers,” Henry says.

Book-to-screen adaptations can land a beloved book’s story in tumultuous waters. Plot points can be cut or changed. Fans can object to casting choices. Then there’s the media circus and gossip that can follow, most recently seen in actor drama tied to BookTok favorite “It Ends With Us.” 

“It is so hard and weird and painful and it’s humbling in ways that are really beautiful and ways that are really horrible,” Henry says. “When you are working on an adaptation and you’re the author of the original thing, you are the least important person in every room if you’re even in the room.

“That can be hard and painful to loosen your grip that much,” she admits. “It can be a battle because as the original writer, you know, the audience very well, and you’re attuned to what they love and what they don’t like.”

That’s just part of the deal, though, she concedes, pointing out that “you can’t make a movie as one person,” so to see her characters on the big screen, she’ll have to loosen a bit to allow for competing visions of the love stories that have made her famous.

What’s next for Emily Henry?

Yulin Kuang, who is adapting “People We Meet on Vacation,” will also adapt “Beach Read” for film. “Happy Place” is being developed into a Netflix series with Jennifer Lopez’s production company, Nuyorican. And Henry herself is writing the script for the “Funny Story” movie.

Her newest novel, “Great Big Beautiful Life,” at over 400 pages, was a heavy lift − so the first thing on Henry’s docket is to take a “breather,” she jokes.

Then she may pivot back to another classic rom-com novel, a format her latest book strayed from slightly, and she’s looking forward to fans getting their eyes on an adaptation soon. No official release dates for any of the projects have been revealed, but Henry promises one will be ready soon.

“Hopefully we’ll have an adaptation out to view very soon, so that’s something I’m looking forward to,” she says.

May the Force − and a Xanax − be with you.

The first season of the Emmy-nominated Disney+ series “Andor” featured Diego Luna reprising his role as Rebel spy Cassian Andor from the 2016 “Star Wars” movie “Rogue One” and showing how he hooked up with the galactic good guys. A prequel to a prequel (since that film was a backstory to the original 1977 “Star Wars”), “Andor” Season 2 (first three episodes streaming April 22 at 9 ET/6 PT, then three more each Tuesday) sets up the events of “Rogue One” while also upping the action and the anxiety − for its characters and the audience.

As the Empire rules the galaxy with an iron hand (and builds a secret weapon of mass destruction), pockets of resistance are growing, and everybody’s stressed out. That psychological aspect is “the beauty of the season,” Luna says, and explores “how difficult a revolution is. There’s all these factions, and yes, there’s a moment where everyone can aim to the same target, but then you are there, left together, and all those differences become an issue.”

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In Season 1, Cassian was part of a massive prison break and an insurrection against Imperial forces in his home of Ferrix. Twelve new episodes ratchet up the stakes, as he steals a TIE Fighter, goes undercover on the planet Ghorman − where the Empire’s up to no good and there’s a scrappy group of resistance fighters − and is recruited for a high-profile rescue mission.

But all the various personalities around him are tested as well. His girlfriend, Bix (Adria Arjona), has PTSD after being tortured by the Empire. Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) risks her personal and political life for the nascent Rebel Alliance, while the more hardcore guys in the resistance, including Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) and extremist Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), are a bit more morally dubious in their actions. Even Imperial folks are feeling palpable unease, including ambitious couple Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller).

Showing this sort of universal galactic anxiety was important to “Andor” creator Tony Gilroy. “That’s how I fed my family for 30-plus years. I’m in the behavior empathy business,” says the Oscar-nominated director of “Michael Clayton” and writer on “Dolores Claiborne,” “The Devil’s Advocate” and four “Bourne” movies. “The better my ability to inhabit every character, the better the storytelling will be. That’s the game.

“In this show, everybody’s confronted with epic decisions of great importance all the time, organically. It’s just my job to make them as real as I possibly can.”

‘Andor’: Diego Luna sparks a rebellion in ‘Star Wars’ series

Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and other Rebels scramble to revolt against the Empire in the second season of Disney+’s “Star Wars” series “Andor.”

Gilroy doesn’t tell stories about “good and bad” people, Luna adds. “There’s just people surviving a galaxy that’s turning darker and darker on them. It’s why this show is so relevant today, and it’ll be relevant in years, because it’s about the complexity of community work.”

Gough compares “Andor” to “Angels in America,” which she starred in on Broadway in 2018.  “You have essentially six leading characters across eight hours of the most intense journeys for each of them,” the Irish actress says. “They never cross each other enough to help each other out of whatever. They are all on their own mission. And when I was watching (‘Andor’), I was like, ‘God, you’re sort of alone together.’ ”

The appearance of Ben Mendelsohn’s villainous Orson Krennic, the primary antagonist of “Rogue One,” was one example of a “Star Wars” personality where showing vulnerability and “realness” might demystify him in a way.

“All roads lead to the Death Star, and I had to get him in there to start the fuse on that,” Gilroy says. “Some characters really benefit from learning their DNA and their provenance, and it might diminish his. I’m not sure I want to watch him make coffee in the morning.”

Luna calls “Andor” a “beautiful excuse” to explore the political and social climate of a revolutionary period. Besides a commitment to actual emotions, there’s also an emphasis on bringing more relatability and less fantasy to the “Star Wars” landscape, from mass media to wedding receptions. “If it doesn’t remind you of something you have experienced before, probably it’s not right.”

Gilroy also dipped into our own history, especially when depicting the Imperial massacre at Ghorman − mentioned in various “Star Wars” projects and explored in depth in “Andor” − that ignited the rebellion. A scene from the Season 2 premiere featuring Krennic and the Imperial brain trust was modeled after the Wannsee Conference, a 1942 meeting of Nazi officials pivotal to carrying out the Holocaust.

“One of the things they really needed was propaganda and media,” Gilroy says. “Power has always used narrative as a way of shaping the battlefield, whether it’s the burning of the Reichstag or the Gulf of Tonkin (incident) that gets America into Vietnam or the sinking of the Lusitania. The use of truth and story has been in the playbook of oppression since people were sitting around a campfire. Instead of carrier pigeons, now it’s something else, but that’s a very potent tool.”

Sebastian Stan’s Marvel superstardom may have never happened if it wasn’t for a raunchy 2010 comedy.

In a conversation with Vanity Fair published April 21, the Oscar-nominated actor, 42, reflected on how much the role of Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe changed his life. Stan recalled how he was “actually struggling with work” before he was cast in 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

“I had just gotten off the phone with my business manager, who told me I was saved by $65,000 that came in residuals from ‘Hot Tub Time Machine,’” he told Vanity Fair.

In the 2010 comedy about a group of friends who go back in time through a hot tub at a ski resort, Stan played the over-the-top bully character Blaine, who gets into a fight with Rob Corddry’s Lou.

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“Hot Tub Time Machine” was one of Stan’s earliest movies after he previously had roles in films like “Rachel Getting Married” and shows like “Gossip Girl.”

In a conversation with Variety last year, he said he had some of the “most fun I’ve ever had on a project” working on “Hot Tub Time Machine.”

One year after the movie’s release, Stan debuted as Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) buddy Bucky Barnes in “Captain America: The First Avenger,” catapulting him to global fame.

He has now played the character across numerous Marvel films and TV shows for nearly 15 years, including in May’s “Thunderbolts,” which pairs him with Florence Pugh’s Yelena from “Black Widow.” Stan has also been announced as part of the massive cast of 2026’s “Avengers: Doomsday.”

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Stan previously starred as Bucky in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” In a full circle moment for the actor, “Endgame” included a scene where Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man references “Hot Tub Time Machine” during a discussion about the rules of time travel.

“I was watching the movie and they made that reference, and I kind of looked around excited, but no one cared,” Stan joked during a 2019 panel. “I was the only one that really cared.”

During that same panel, Stan also touched on his past career struggles, revealing that in 2011, his business manager warned, “You have one month left until you’re completely bankrupt.” He quipped, “That’s always a good call.”