Janney made the comments during the first episode of Coming Up, a CNN interview series hosted by Elizabeth Wagmeister.

The series features conversations with performers about the career experiences and pivotal moments that shaped their work.

In the interview, Janney said she was very young and trying to find an agent when she attended the meeting.

“‘What can you play? Aliens and lesbians,’” Janney recalled the agent asking and answering.

Janney said the agent’s remark was connected to her height.

“I’ve played lesbians,” Janney said in the interview.

“I haven’t played an alien yet,” she added, before joking that she might play one in the future.

CNN’s account of the interview described Janney as an Oscar-winning actor discussing her Emmy nomination and career with Wagmeister.

Height and typecasting

Janney is widely described as six feet tall, or approximately 1.83 metres.

In a separate portion of the CNN conversation, Janney said people assumed that being tall and imposing reflected her internal personality, although she said it did not.

The interview therefore connected the agent’s comment not only to a physical characteristic but also to the assumptions that can accompany an actor’s appearance.

CNN promoted the segment under the headline “How an agent completely misread the talent of this Oscar winner.”

The wording reflects the focus of the segment, but neither CNN nor Janney’s interview establishes how many roles the agent discussed or whether the remark represented a formal industry-wide assessment.

The comment also illustrates the use of “lesbian” as a role category rather than as a description of a person’s identity.

Janney’s wording was about the kinds of characters she was told she could portray, not a claim that lesbian people share a particular appearance or personality.

A career beyond the prediction

CNN said Janney’s major Hollywood breakthrough came when she was 40.

That account presents her career as developing later than the conventional path often associated with leading screen performers.

Janney became broadly known for playing C.J. Cregg on The West Wing, according to biographical material about her career.

She later received major recognition for film and television work, including an Academy Award for her performance in I, Tonya.

Her screen roles have included characters who were not defined by her height, including political figures, parents, professionals and other dramatic and comic parts.

The 2026 CNN interview was released while Janney was nominated for an Emmy for her role in The Diplomat.

CNN’s pre-Emmy series included Janney among a group of Emmy-nominated performers interviewed by Wagmeister.

The interviews began rolling out on CNN platforms during the Emmy voting period beginning August 17.

Lesbian roles and representation

Janney’s reference to lesbian roles has drawn attention because she has played LGBTQ+ characters during her career.

Her earlier work has included a lesbian character in The Hours, in which she appeared as a partner of Meryl Streep’s character.

Janney has also spoken publicly about LGBTQ+ themes and lesbian roles in past interviews.

In that 2017 conversation, she discussed her connection to LGBTQ+ audiences and her interest in playing women who love women.

Those earlier comments are separate from the 2026 CNN interview and do not establish that the agent’s prediction influenced the roles Janney ultimately accepted.

Coverage of the new interview has appeared in entertainment and LGBTQ+ media, including Variety, PinkNews, Attitude and Australia’s Star Observer.

The reports consistently identify the CNN interview as the immediate source of Janney’s recollection.

Janney’s response in the interview was lighthearted, but the recollection describes an early professional judgment that reduced her potential to a narrow set of stereotypes based on her appearance.

Her subsequent career, as documented by CNN and biographical sources, encompassed a much wider range of performances.

The full Janney episode of *Coming Up* is available through CNN’s digital platforms for subscribers.

Paulson appears near the end of the roughly two-minute preview, with shaved eyebrows, straggly blond hair, pale makeup and visibly damaged teeth as she adopts Wuornos’ appearance.

In the scene, a voice says that “no one really knows what happened that day,” referring to the 1892 murders associated with Lizzie Borden. Paulson’s Wuornos responds, “Oh, I fuckin’ know what happened.”

The trailer does not present Wuornos as the season’s central character; instead, her appearance connects Borden’s case to the series’ wider examination of women accused or convicted of extraordinary violence.

A Season Focused on Lizzie Borden

The new season stars Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, the Massachusetts woman whose father and stepmother were killed with an axe in Fall River in 1892.

The case became one of the most enduring criminal mysteries in United States history after Borden was accused of killing Andrew Borden and Abby Borden.

Borden was acquitted at trial, but the case continued to shape public fascination with women accused of violent crimes.

The trailer depicts Beatty’s Borden surrounded by blood, family conflict and suspicion as investigators attempt to determine who could have committed the killings.

One investigator says, “No way a woman could do this. This is the work of a man,” establishing the gendered assumptions that appear to shape the investigation in the dramatized story.

The preview also features Vicky Krieps in dual roles as Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan, a Borden family maid, and Elizabeth Bathory, the 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman often described in popular history as a serial killer.

Paulson and Wuornos

Wuornos was a convicted serial killer who was executed in Florida in 2002 after being convicted of killing seven men between 1989 and 1990.

Her life and crimes were previously dramatized in the 2003 film Monster, in which Charlize Theron portrayed Wuornos and won the Academy Award for best actress.

Paulson’s casting marks a new screen portrayal of Wuornos, this time within an anthology series that places her alongside other historical figures associated with violence, criminal prosecution and public mythmaking.

The role reunites Paulson with Murphy, whose television projects have included American Horror Story, American Crime Story and earlier seasons of Monster.

Netflix’s Tudum describes Paulson as a recurring presence in Murphy’s creative universe and identifies Wuornos as her character in the new season.

The trailer’s brief scene leaves the precise nature of Wuornos’ involvement unclear, and Netflix has not said that the season will retell Wuornos’ life in full.

The Creative Framework

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is the fourth season of the anthology series created by Murphy and Ian Brennan.

The anthology previously dramatized the cases of Jeffrey Dahmer, Lyle and Erik Menendez, and Ed Gein.

The new season shifts the focus to a woman at the center of a highly publicized 19th-century murder case.

The trailer uses familiar elements of the Borden case, including an axe, blood-covered clothing and the nursery-rhyme line commonly associated with the killings.

Netflix’s preview also emphasizes the language of power and freedom, with Krieps’ Sullivan declaring, “There’s nothing wrong with blood. Blood is power. Blood is freedom.”

Those lines are part of the series’ scripted dramatic presentation and do not establish historical facts about the real people portrayed.

The casting and trailer therefore position the season as a dramatization of Borden’s case rather than a documentary account.

Release Date and Cast

All eight episodes of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story are scheduled to premiere globally on Netflix on September 17, 2026.

In addition to Beatty, Paulson and Krieps, the announced cast includes Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden and Rebecca Hall as Abby Borden.

Billie Lourd is also listed among the season’s cast.

Netflix released an earlier teaser on August 11 before issuing the full trailer on August 20.

Paulson’s appearance is the full trailer’s most unexpected casting reveal, but the season’s narrative remains centered on Borden and the events surrounding the deaths of her father and stepmother.

The series will be available to stream when its scheduled September 17 premiere arrives.

The video used Grande’s 2024 single “we can’t be friends ” as its soundtrack while showing footage of Donald Trump walking toward a rally podium.

Text displayed over the footage began with a lyric from the song: “Me and my truth we sit in silence…”.

The message then stated, “Men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.”

The post’s caption reportedly said, “This shouldn’t be controversial!” and included the hashtags “#trump,” “#arianagrande” and “#maga.”

Grande responded in the comment section with a direct demand: “Never use my music again.”

She added, “Also, your truth is false.”

Audio Removed From the Post

Grande’s response was reported after the video appeared on TikTok on Thursday, August 20.

Deadline reported that Republic Records, Grande’s label, was working to remove the song from the clip.

The song was subsequently removed from the post, according to reporting by Them and El País.

Them also reported that Grande’s comment was visible at one point but later appeared to have been deleted or removed by the account operating the post.

The available reports do not establish whether the music was removed following a formal copyright complaint, a licensing dispute or another platform action.

The incident therefore centers on two distinct issues: Grande’s rejection of the video’s political message and her objection to the use of her recording in that message.

A Message About Transgender People

The video’s language referred to transgender women through the claim that “men” should not compete in women’s sports.

News organizations described the post as anti-transgender or transphobic because it presented a political position opposing transgender women’s participation in women’s sports.

Grande did not issue a separate policy statement in the reporting reviewed for this article.

Her public response was directed at the use of her music and at the assertion presented in the video as “your truth.”

The wording of the post invoked Grande’s lyric about “truth” before attaching it to the statement about pregnancy and sports.

Grande’s Earlier Objection

The TikTok dispute follows another disagreement between Grande and the Trump administration over the use of her music.

In June, Grande criticized the White House after a video featuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents used her song “Bye.”

Grande wrote in response to that earlier post, “Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense.”

The “Bye” audio was later removed from that video.

Variety reported in June that a representative for Grande confirmed her comment about the ICE video and that her team was working to remove the audio.

The latest dispute is therefore the second reported instance in two months in which Grande has challenged the Trump administration’s use of one of her recordings in social-media content.

Broader Debate Over Artists’ Music

The episode reflects a recurring conflict between political campaigns and musicians over the use of copyrighted songs in campaign-related videos.

Deadline listed Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Katy Perry, Kesha, Radiohead, Noah Kahan, Jess Glynne and Kenny Loggins among artists who have also objected to the Trump administration or its supporters using their music.

Those examples involve different artists, songs and circumstances, and the reporting reviewed does not establish that they share the same legal basis.

In Grande’s case, the immediate outcome reported by multiple outlets was the removal of “we can’t be friends ” from the Team Trump video.

Grande’s comments remain the clearest public indication in the reporting that she did not want her music associated with the video’s message about transgender people and women’s sports.

Groff and Radcliffe previously appeared together in the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. Both actors received Tony Awards for their performances in that production, which brought renewed attention to Sondheim’s nonlinear story about friendship, ambition, compromise, and emotional connection. Their reunion in Trust the Man gives audiences another opportunity to see the performers share the screen after their successful stage partnership.

The new film is not being presented as a conventional romance. Instead, available descriptions frame it as a thriller involving military intelligence, secrecy, obsession, and an unstable bond between two men. Queerty described the project as homoerotic, while the publicly released synopsis emphasizes the psychological pressure created when an investigation becomes personally and emotionally consuming.

The story behind Trust the Man

Trust the Man centers on an ambitious officer in the U.S. Army’s intelligence service who is assigned to investigate a decorated soldier during the Vietnam War. The soldier’s background contains unexplained elements, and the investigation gradually develops into a perilous relationship marked by secrecy, loyalty, and attraction. The publicly available reports do not identify which actor plays the intelligence officer or the decorated soldier.

That limited information leaves room for the film’s central relationship to unfold without reducing it to a simple label. A story about two men navigating intimacy inside a military environment can explore how authority, masculinity, fear, and desire collide under extreme circumstances. However, the production’s precise approach to sexuality, identity, and historical context has not yet been fully disclosed.

Graham is writing and directing the film, and the production is backed by Invitation Media. Graham is also listed among the producers alongside Tonia Davis and Max Linsky, while Luke Rodgers and Alex G. Scott are also credited as producers. Daniel Radcliffe is among the project’s executive producers.

The film was shot in New Jersey, with production activity reported in communities including Montclair and Seaside Park. Local reporting documented filming locations along the Jersey Shore and described the project as a large production involving equipment, trailers, food service, makeup facilities, and other on-location operations.

An expanded ensemble

The production’s cast grew substantially as filming progressed. Deadline reported that Kate Mara, Finn Wittrock, Justice Smith, Victor Garber, Angus O’Brien, and Jack Ball joined Groff and Radcliffe. The ensemble connects established film, television, and theater performers with younger actors known for work in contemporary drama and LGBTQ+-inclusive entertainment.

Justice Smith’s involvement may be of particular interest to LGBTQ+ audiences. Smith publicly came out as queer in 2020 and has appeared in projects including The Get Down, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Detective Pikachu, and All the Bright Places. His casting in Trust the Man adds another openly queer performer to a production whose central story appears to involve same-gender emotional and erotic tension.

Graham’s nonbinary identity is also relevant to the film’s place in current queer cinema. Representation behind the camera can shape which stories are considered filmable, whose interior lives receive attention, and how gender and sexuality are handled in a script. At the same time, a filmmaker’s identity does not by itself establish the content or quality of a finished work. The film should ultimately be assessed on its storytelling, historical care, performances, and treatment of the characters.

Why the project matters to LGBTQ+ viewers

Queer stories set during wartime often confront the gap between private feeling and public expectation. Military institutions have historically been associated with rigid ideas about masculinity and loyalty, while LGBTQ+ people serving in the armed forces have navigated changing policies and uneven social acceptance. Trust the Man’s premise places that tension at the center of a suspense narrative rather than presenting queer characters only through a coming-out storyline.

The United States formally ended its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2011, allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members to serve openly. That policy change did not erase the experiences of earlier generations, nor did it settle every question involving transgender service members or broader LGBTQ+ inclusion in the military. A period thriller set during the Vietnam War therefore has an opportunity to show how historical conditions shaped queer people’s choices and risks.

For LGBTQ+ audiences, the film’s value may lie in its willingness to make queer subtext, desire, and danger part of the main dramatic engine. Queer characters have frequently appeared in historical dramas through coded gestures or tragic outcomes; contemporary filmmakers have more room to explore complicated relationships with emotional depth and agency. Whether Trust the Man fulfills that promise will depend on the completed film, which has not yet received a publicly announced release date.

The project also reflects the continuing movement of LGBTQ+ storytelling across genres. Rather than limiting queer cinema to romance, comedy, or explicitly activist drama, Trust the Man places its apparent queer tension inside a military mystery. That approach can broaden the kinds of lives and relationships audiences expect to see in mainstream entertainment while allowing queer viewers to encounter characters defined by more than their sexuality.

What comes next

Trust the Man has completed filming, but its distributors, release platform, and official release date have not been publicly announced in the sources reviewed for this article. The production’s next stage will include postproduction, marketing, and decisions about whether the film premieres theatrically, through a festival, or on a streaming service.

For now, the strongest confirmed details are the completed production, Graham’s role as writer-director, the Vietnam War setting, and the reunion of Groff and Radcliffe. The film’s queer significance is clear in the way its reported premise centers an intense relationship between men, but audiences will need to wait for further official information before drawing conclusions about its characters or final themes.

Tutor announced the news in an Instagram post on Wednesday, August 19, writing that “the secret’s officially out.” She said she was joining the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and was excited about “this next chapter.”

“Beverly Hills is home,” Tutor wrote in the post, adding that she had raised her daughters there and built her career in the area. She concluded the announcement with an explicit expression of enthusiasm for the upcoming season.

Bravo’s announcement described Tutor as a longtime Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles star and luxury real estate broker. TMZ separately reported that Tutor had officially joined the series and would begin filming for the current season.

Role and Production Details Remain Undisclosed

Although Tutor has confirmed that she is joining the show, it is not yet clear whether she will hold a full-time Housewife position or appear as a “friend of” the cast. TMZ reported that the status of her role remained unclear, and People reported that Bravo had not yet shared further season 16 details.

Bravo has also not announced a season 16 premiere date. The network’s official Real Housewives of Beverly Hills page lists returning cast members but, as of August 20, does not provide a complete season 16 cast announcement that identifies Tutor’s final billing.

The available reporting confirms that filming is underway or beginning, but it does not establish the season’s episode count, release schedule, or full cast composition.

From Million-Dollar Real Estate to Beverly Hills

Tutor became known to Bravo viewers through Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, where she joined the main cast in 2017 during the program’s 10th season. Bravo identified her as the show’s first female real estate broker in a main cast role.

The series followed luxury real estate professionals as they worked on high-value property transactions in Los Angeles. Tutor’s Bravo biography describes her as a real estate agent, author and entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience in luxury real estate sales.

Her transition to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills links two reality formats built around wealth, relationships and Los Angeles social life, although the programs have different structures and casting roles. Unlike Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, which centers on real estate transactions, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills follows the personal and social lives of its cast members.

TMZ reported that Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles had been put on pause and that Tutor continued working in luxury real estate. The report did not state that the series had been permanently canceled.

A Previously Discussed Possibility

Tutor had previously indicated interest in joining The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills during a 2023 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Bravo reported that she had said she would “100 percent” join the series if the opportunity arose.

That earlier public interest preceded the current casting announcement by more than three years. The reports reviewed for this article do not establish when negotiations began, whether Tutor auditioned, or what factors led to her casting.

What Is Known About Season 16

Tutor’s addition follows the departure of Amanda Frances, who appeared during the previous season. E! News reported that Frances had announced her departure after season 15.

Bravo’s official cast listing, updated August 20, names Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Sutton Stracke, Bozoma Saint John, Rachel Zoe, Amanda Frances, Kathy Hilton, Jennifer Tilly and Natalie Swanston Fuller. That page does not yet present a finalized season 16 lineup incorporating Tutor, so the relationship between the listed names and the upcoming season should not be treated as fully confirmed.

Reports have not confirmed whether all previously listed cast members will return for season 16. They also have not confirmed whether Tutor’s appearance will be promoted as a full-time cast position or a recurring supporting role.

For now, the confirmed development is that Tutor is joining the production of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 16 after years as a central figure on Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles. Further information about her role, the complete cast and the premiere date will depend on subsequent announcements from Bravo or verified statements from the people involved.

Faris discussed the period during an Aug. 20 appearance connected with Chelsea Handler’s podcast, describing a time when she felt detached from both Hollywood and her own professional ambitions.

“I didn’t know what my ambition ,” Faris said, according to Entertainment Weekly’s account of the conversation.

“I didn’t know where I stood, what opportunity there was,” she added.

The actor said she felt as though her career was “being put out to pasture” and recalled wondering whether she had enough money to stop working.

Faris said that, looking back, she believed she had been “pretty depressed.”

“Like, premenopausal depression without recognizing it,” she said.

Her comments were personal reflections rather than a formal medical diagnosis reported by a clinician.

Leaving *Mom*

Faris played Christy Plunkett on Mom, a comedy created by Chuck Lorre, Gemma Baker and Eddie Gorodetsky.

The series premiered in 2013, and Faris left before its eighth season after completing seven seasons.

Although Faris announced that she was leaving to pursue new opportunities, she later described the decision as part of a broader reassessment of her professional life.

In an earlier interview, Faris said stepping away from the sitcom was sufficiently relieving that she asked herself whether she had enough money to retire.

She ultimately did not announce a permanent retirement, instead taking time to reconsider what she wanted from her career.

Mom continued for one additional season without Faris and concluded in 2021.

Mental health and alcohol

During the recent conversation, Faris connected her feelings about acting with what she now understands as mental-health difficulties.

She also spoke about alcohol and said she had noticed a correlation between drinking and depression in her own experience.

Faris said she stopped drinking because she wanted to avoid what she described as “self-sabotage.”

She also attributed an improvement in her mental health to hormone patches.

Faris’s comments do not establish that alcohol or hormonal changes were the sole causes of her distress, and the reports do not describe a physician’s assessment of her condition.

The impact of losing her home

Faris said she was experiencing these doubts before losing her home in the 2025 Pacific Palisades fires in Los Angeles.

People previously reported that Faris was among the people displaced by the January 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires and that her home burned while she and her family were unharmed.

She compared the experience of losing the house to “a million different winces,” describing the memory as something that returned repeatedly throughout the day.

At the time of the fire, Faris had already been cast in Spa Weekend, giving her a professional commitment during a period of major personal disruption.

She said the work was beneficial because it provided a distraction, although she did not initially interpret the project as evidence of a career revival.

A renewed connection with acting

Faris said her perspective changed after Marlon Wayans called to tell her that the Scary Movie franchise was returning.

The franchise helped launch Faris’s career, and she is returning as Cindy Campbell in the new film.

Faris described the opportunity as prompting her to reconsider whether her future necessarily involved a gradual retreat from acting.

She said the subsequent year was “very wonderful and heady” and that she now feels more confident in what she can offer as a performer.

“I feel more solid in my own ability,” Faris said.

The remarks add new context to Faris’s departure from *Mom*: she has previously described the exit as a choice to pursue other opportunities, while her latest account frames the years afterward as a period of uncertainty, emotional difficulty and possible retirement.

Netflix has also released a set of first-look photographs showing returning leads Brittany Snow as Sophie O’Neil and Malin Åkerman as Margo Banks, as well as several of the season’s new characters.

All eight episodes are scheduled to become available on the premiere date, according to Deadline.

The release-date announcement makes Season 2 one of Netflix’s prominent scripted offerings for the 2026 Thanksgiving holiday, although the available reports do not provide viewing projections or a ranking of its global importance.

John Stamos Joins the Maple Brook Story

John Stamos is among the most visible additions to the cast, playing Chase Brylan, a new character shown in the first-look images alongside George Ferrier’s Brad.

Netflix identifies Chase as one of the season’s new faces but provides limited information about his role in the story.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Chase appears to be connected to Brad’s storyline, while the photographs show Stamos wearing a country-inspired look.

The series’ official materials do not describe Chase as a country music star, political operative or law-enforcement character, so those identities should not be treated as confirmed.

Stamos joins Dale Dickey as Zelda Moffitt, Cam Gigandet as Gentle John Moffitt, Kim Matula as Nadia Kelly and Alex FitzAlan as Lincoln Trout.

The first-look material places Zelda in the orbit of Gentle John, while Nadia is shown shooting guns with Jaime Ray Newman’s Callie.

The images also feature FitzAlan’s Lincoln, who Entertainment Weekly describes as appearing to be part of Jed Banks’ political team; the publication presents that connection as an observation from the images rather than a detailed character biography.

Sophie and Margo Are On the Outs

Season 2 begins with Sophie and Margo separated after the events of the first season, according to the official description supplied by Netflix and reported by Deadline and Entertainment Weekly.

The description says that old secrets and new adversaries eventually force the two women back together.

It frames the central question of the new season as whether Sophie and Margo are the hunters or the hunted.

Netflix’s first-look account says the relationship between Sophie and Margo has become more intense, while the official synopsis indicates that their reunion will take place amid continuing danger.

The photographs show the pair separately as well as in intimate settings, but the released materials do not establish the outcome of their relationship or identify every threat they will face.

Returning Characters and Political Trouble

Dermot Mulroney is returning as Jed Banks, Margo’s husband, who is running for governor.

The political campaign adds a public dimension to the private conflicts surrounding Margo, although the available first-look reports do not state how Jed’s campaign will affect the season’s broader plot.

Newman returns as Callie, described by Entertainment Weekly as Margo’s friend with benefits, while Evan Jonigkeit returns as Graham O’Neil, Sophie’s husband.

Ferrier is back as Brad, the troubled son of Jill, a character whose murder was part of the first season’s story.

Karen Rodriguez returns as Deputy Wanda Salazar, and the new images show her investigating another major case in Maple Brook.

Hunter Emery is also returning as Deputy Walter Flynn, Salazar’s partner, while Branton Box returns as Sheriff Jonny, Callie’s husband.

The published reports do not identify the details of Salazar’s new investigation, leaving the nature of the case .

Angel Reese and a Story Beyond the Novel

WNBA player Angel Reese is joining the ensemble as Trainer Barbie, a co-starring role announced in Netflix’s Season 2 cast information.

The first-look coverage identifies Reese among the season’s new cast members but does not provide additional details about Trainer Barbie’s background or connection to Sophie and Margo.

Rebecca Cutter remains the series creator, showrunner, writer and executive producer.

The first season was adapted from May Cobb’s novel The Hunting Wives, but Season 2 continues with an original story rather than adapting a second published installment.

That shift means the television series’ next chapter is not tied to a previously published plot, while specific story outcomes remain undisclosed by Netflix.

What the First Look Shows

The released photographs show Sophie and Margo returning to the social and sexual tensions that defined the series, while also introducing a wider group of characters around them.

Other images show Callie alongside Nadia, Stamos’ Chase with Brad, Zelda with Gentle John and Salazar with colleagues at the sheriff’s office.

Netflix also highlights a photograph of Sophie standing beside her car, the same vehicle involved in a major event at the end of Season 1.

The network has not released a full trailer with the first-look photographs, so the images provide atmosphere and character introductions rather than a complete account of the season’s narrative.

Snow told Entertainment Weekly that Sophie faces greater danger in the new season, while Åkerman described the season as involving more twists and turns.

Those comments are the actors’ stated descriptions of their characters and the season, not independently verifiable plot facts.

For viewers following the series, the confirmed information is straightforward: Sophie and Margo are returning, their alliance is fractured at the beginning, new characters are entering Maple Brook, and the eight-episode season will arrive on Netflix on November 26.

Pate confirmed the project’s status in an interview published ahead of the premiere of Outer Banks’ fifth and final season. “We’re working on the script,” Pate said.

Pate said the creators are developing the project with Netflix and are focused on refining the story. “We’re working hard on it with our awesome partners from Netflix, and we’re just trying to get all of it as good as it can be,” he said.

The project is being referred to as Kildare, a tentative title drawn from the fictional North Carolina island where Outer Banks is set.

A story set two decades earlier

The proposed prequel would take place 20 years before the events of the original series.

Its central subject would be the development of Kildare Island’s social and economic divisions. In the original series, the island is divided between the Kooks, who are associated with wealthier communities, and the Pogues, who are associated with the working-class area known as The Cut.

The prequel would therefore examine the origins of the conflict that has shaped the original show’s setting rather than simply continue the same storyline.

Burke said the project could include both familiar figures and new characters. “It’ll be seen through the stories of some of the characters you know and some new characters,” Burke said.

The available reports do not identify which established characters would appear in the prequel. No cast has been announced for the project.

The original series reaches its finale

The prequel news arrives as Outer Banks begins its final chapter. Netflix scheduled the fifth season to premiere globally on Thursday, August 20, 2026.

The fifth season is the show’s final season, according to Netflix’s release information and coverage of the series.

Outer Banks was created by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke, who have also been involved in developing the proposed prequel.

The original drama follows a group of young people in Kildare whose relationships and conflicts are connected to the island’s class divide and a series of treasure hunts. The reported prequel would move the timeline backward and focus on how the community’s division emerged.

What remains unconfirmed

Although the creators have confirmed that script work is underway, the project remains in development. Netflix declined to comment to TheWrap about the report.

A formal series order, production timetable and premiere date have not been announced in the available reporting. The project also has no publicly announced cast.

The title Kildare is tentative rather than a confirmed final title. The creators have likewise not publicly specified which characters from Outer Banks might return in the earlier-set story.

For now, the confirmed development is limited to the writing stage and the creators’ work with Netflix. The announcement gives the Outer Banks world a possible future beyond the original show’s conclusion while leaving the project’s final form and release plans unresolved.

The update comes as creator Jacob Tierney has offered a clearer account of the creative direction for the new season, saying the queer hockey romance will emphasize emotional impact and sensuality rather than relying primarily on surprise twists.

“This show is not built on secrets,” Tierney told The Hollywood Reporter, according to The PinkNews. “It’s built on feelings and sensation.”

Tierney also said that viewers seeking plot information can consult Rachel Reid’s source material, because much of the upcoming story is already available in the books that inspire the series.

“What’s so funny about the level of secrecy is like there’s a book – you can just look at it,” Tierney said. “It’ll tell you honestly, 90 percent of what you’d like to know is in that book.”

The story remains centered on Shane and Ilya

The first season introduced professional hockey players Shane Hollander, played by Hudson Williams, and Ilya Rozanov, played by Connor Storrie, whose rivalry develops into a secret romantic relationship.

The second season will continue following Shane and Ilya, while incorporating storylines connected to other characters from Reid’s Game Changers novels.

The principal source for the season is expected to be The Long Game, Reid’s direct sequel to Heated Rivalry.

The season is also expected to draw from Role Model, another novel in Reid’s series, which provides the background for the characters Troy Barrett and Harris Drover.

The production’s use of multiple books gives the new season a broader narrative framework while keeping Shane and Ilya’s relationship at its center.

New characters expand the ensemble

Justice Smith has been cast as Harris Drover, described by CBC News as the social media manager for the Ottawa Centaurs.

Charlie Gillespie will play Troy Barrett, a forward for the Ottawa Centaurs.

Crave confirmed the casting of Smith and Gillespie as the second season’s ensemble began to expand.

Five more performers have also joined the season: Emily Hampshire, Edvin Ryding, Robert Naylor, Sabrina Jalees and Priyanka.

Variety reported that Hampshire will play Vanessa, Ryding will play Luca Haas, Naylor will play Wyatt Hayes, Jalees will play Farah Jalali and Priyanka will play Tarek.

The new performers will appear alongside returning leads Williams and Storrie, as well as Smith and Gillespie.

Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady said the casting process sought performers who could bring emotional depth to the new characters.

“Justice and Charlie do exactly that,” Tierney and Brady said in a statement carried by CBC News.

The producers said Smith and Gillespie connected with “the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters.”

Tierney is co-writing the season

Tierney is returning as writer, director and executive producer for Season 2.

Mike Goldbach is serving as co-writer on the new season.

Tierney told *The PinkNews* that Goldbach had been “so amazingly helpful” during the writing process.

“We’re very happy with where we’re at with the scripts,” Tierney said, adding that the team was “really happy with this cast.”

The production is commissioned by Bell Media’s Crave with the participation of the Canada Media Fund.

Brendan Brady and Jayme Alter Wilson are executive producers, while Lori Fischburg and Liane Cunje are producers and Reid is consulting producer.

Why the confirmation matters

The latest information resolves several major questions about the follow-up to the series’ first season.

Production is no longer only planned; filming is underway, and the distributors have maintained a spring 2027 release window.

The creative team has also made clear that the season will not depend on withholding information from viewers who know the novels.

Instead, Tierney’s comments place the emphasis on how familiar events, relationships and conflicts will be presented on screen.

That approach is consistent with the series’ established focus on a romantic relationship between two men navigating professional sport, public expectations and personal identity.

For viewers who prefer to avoid spoilers, the production has not released a complete episode-by-episode plot summary.

What has been confirmed is a continuing story for Shane and Ilya, a larger ensemble, a new co-writer, active filming and a spring 2027 launch on Crave and HBO Max.