The Gentlemen recruits Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom, Call of Duty returns to Nintendo, SmackDown gets new tag champions, PEAK reaches Xbox,… Read more
Saturday, October 24, 2026 · morning edition
The Gentlemen has expanded its criminal résumé, Nintendo has company in the war zone, and SmackDown’s tag belts changed hands. Also: a mountain your friends can fall off together and the people keeping the internet upright.
the casting department has left the shire
Robert Carlyle, Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom are joining The Gentlemen for Season 3, with Theo James and Kaya Scodelario returning. Netflix says filming is underway in the UK and Morocco; Dexter Fletcher and Bruna Marquezine are also among the new arrivals. There is no premiere date in the announcement, so this is a casting update, not a request to clear tonight’s schedule. The criminal enterprise has apparently acquired an extremely good recruitment department.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is out on Nintendo Switch 2, with Nintendo’s October 23 announcement marking the series’ return to its hardware. The release includes the campaign, multiplayer and DMZ extraction mode; multiplayer and DMZ require Nintendo Switch Online. That “2” is doing important work: this is not an announcement for the original Switch. Below is the official campaign trailer released in September, now attached to a game people can actually play.
The title defence in yesterday’s afternoon briefing ended with new champions: Michin and B-Fab beat Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley on Friday’s SmackDown. WWE’s official results describe Jade Cargill striking Paxley while the referee was out of position, followed by Michin’s Styles Clash for the win. The championship history now lists Michin and B-Fab, so this is a completed title change rather than another preview. Ringside assistance remains an alarmingly effective professional service.
PEAK reached Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on October 22, with crossplay and Xbox Play Anywhere support. Aggro Crab’s launch post says this version includes all content updates, and one Xbox purchase covers console and PC. Mixed-platform groups can therefore make the climb together without first negotiating matching hardware. The mountain has removed one excuse; your friends’ judgement remains outside its warranty.
the internet’s maintenance department would like a budget
After this week’s critical PHP security fixes, EFF is arguing that companies should contribute more money and people to open-source maintenance. The PHP Foundation’s October 21 advisory identifies fixed releases 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35 for two vulnerabilities that can allow remote code execution under the relevant conditions. For site operators, that means checking the underlying PHP version with the host, not assuming an application update is the same fix. Free software has never meant that the people maintaining it can subsist on gratitude.
Saros explains its bosses, Maria Bamford gets a documentary, Tantara books December, SmackDown puts tag gold on the line, and the iPhone… Read more
Friday, October 23, 2026 · afternoon briefing
Five things worth a tab: a boss fight with a fairness policy, Maria Bamford’s new documentary, a December music-business drama, tonight’s tag-title defense, and a phone that has finally folded.
the boss has a fairness policy
In today’s Saros development feature, Housemarque and Nixxes explain how they divided the work of building its set-piece bosses. Each encounter has three distinct phases, and the teams’ test after a defeat was whether the player understood what went wrong and wanted another attempt. A boss can be enormous without making the instructions microscopic. The linked feature contains boss spoilers; the useful design lesson travels without needing the full tour.
Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Storyarrives on Netflix today, co-directed by Judd Apatow and Neil Berkeley. Netflix’s documentary announcement describes interviews and stand-up tracing the mental-health experiences behind Bamford’s comedy. That is room for the craft and its context, rather than asking one circulating punchline to explain an entire career. The official trailer is below; this is a documentary release, not a new stand-up special.
Netflix has dated Tantara for December 11, with Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo leading a story set in Korea’s entertainment industry from the 1960s through the 1980s. Writer Noh Hee-gyoung and director Lee Yoon-jung follow people working their way from very little toward musical success. This is a calendar note, not something already in the queue tonight; the record on the announcement poster has more reliable scheduling information than most group chats.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, reached stores today, with the company’s launch-day gallery showing demonstrations in Austin and New York among other locations. Apple is offering hands-on sessions, including “Say Hello to iPhone Duo,” alongside setup support. That is a useful chance to find out whether a pocket-sized hinge improves your actual day before converting enthusiasm into a receipt. Store launch is confirmed; the photographs do not establish stock at your nearest shop.
Arc’s shutdown deadline, Xbox’s weekend trials, The Gilded Age’s weekly return, and Possible Love’s theatrical detour before Netflix. Read more
Friday, October 23, 2026 · morning briefing
A browser with a closing date, a weekend of borrowed games, November’s expensive drawing rooms, and a theatrical release that is not a streaming drop.
arc has put a date on the exit
The Browser Company says Arc for Mac and Windows will stop working on December 22, not merely stop getting new features. New accounts closed yesterday, and its official farewell page now explains how to export tabs or import a setup into Dia before the shutdown. Whatever browser comes next, save the useful bits before the deadline; a beautifully arranged sidebar is still a moving box when the building closes.
free play days has several different definitions of free
Xbox’s weekend trials are live, but the small print changes by game: Dying Light 2, Let’s Build a Zoo and Tropico 6 require Game Pass Essential, Premium or Ultimate through October 25. Riders Republic runs through October 26 without a subscription, while the two Monster Hunter Stories games offer three-hour trials without one. These are try-it windows, not permanent library additions; choose the game before donating the entire evening to downloads.
november has reserved the good drawing room
HBO Max’s newly announced November lineup starts The Gilded Age’s fourth season on November 1, with eight episodes arriving weekly on Sundays. The useful calendar detail is the weekly rollout: the entire Russell household is not being deposited into the app at once.
possible love is taking the scenic route to netflix
Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Loveopens in select U.S. theaters today, with its Netflix debut still two weeks away on November 6. His first film in eight years brings two married couples together through a documentary project, which sounds like an efficient way to make everyone’s boundaries worse. The trailer is below; the Netflix logo does not mean the film is already in the streaming queue.
Content note: The linked interview contains frank adult discussion. Rachel Handler takes Wicker’s fantasy-romance premise to a gynecologist. Sometimes the correct follow-up… Read more
Content note: The linked interview contains frank adult discussion.
Content note: the linked article discusses family abuse.Dan Mangan reports for CNBC on the disputed Ramaswamy campaign ad and political response. Read more
Deaf Republic brings sign language, puppetry and live cinema to NYU Skirball, with the hearing audience cast as guests. Read more
Ashley Lee on Deaf Republic at Playbill. Dead Centre’s production brings Deaf and hearing performers, puppetry and live cinema to NYU Skirball November 12–15. Communication, and who gets accommodated, is the main event.
From my media collectionThe GentlemenNetwork: Netflix • Genre: Comedy, Action, Crime • Year: 2024View on Trove
From my media collectionCall of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4Developer: Infinity Ward, Beenox, Digital Legends, Activision Shanghai, Raven Software, Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios • Publisher: Activision • Platform: windows • Year: 2026View on Trove
From my media collectionWWE Friday Night SmackDown (1999)Network: USA • Genre: Reality • Year: 1999View on Trove
From my media collectionPEAKDeveloper: Team PEAK • Publisher: Aggro Crab, Evil Landfall? • Platform: windows • Year: 2025View on Trove
From my media collectionSarosDeveloper: Housemarque • Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment • Platform: PlayStation 5 • Year: 2026View on Trove
From my media collectionParalyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford StoryDirector: Judd Apatow, Neil Berkeley • Genre: Documentary • Year: 2026View on Trove
From my media collectionTantaraNetwork: Netflix • Director: Lee Yoon-jung • Genre: Drama, War & Politics • Year: 2026View on Trove
From my media collectionThe Gilded Age (2022)Network: HBO • Director: Manuel Billeter, Vanja Černjul, Murphy Occhino, Amy Lauritsen, Catherine Feeny • Genre: Drama, History • Year: 2022View on Trove
