The Universal film Wicked: For Good hit Premium Video on Demand on digital platforms on Dec. 30, Deadline noted. Moreover, the Jon M. Chu-directed sequel will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray & DVD on Jan. 20, 2026. Wicked: For Good broke Wicked‘s opening record for the biggest start ever for a Broadway musical feature adaptation, debuting to $147 million in the U.S. and $223 million globally.
At the 2025 TikTok Awards, Bob the Drag Queen shared with People how he is preparing for his Broadway debut in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Bob is getting ready to play Harold Zidler, the larger-than-life master of ceremonies and owner of the Moulin Rouge, during his eight-week run of the show that starts Jan. 27. “I’ve been taking vocal lessons,” Bob said. “And also, you know, I’ve seen the Broadway show a few times, but I’ve actually never seen the movie, so I’m waiting right before I go [on to see it]. Me and my friends are all gonna get together and finally watch the Moulin Rouge movie, like, together.”
ESPN announcer Pam Ward retired after three decades in the business, according to MSN. “Pam Ward recently retired from ESPN after nearly 30 years with the company. A salute & thank you to Ward – whose pioneering career started on ESPNEWS in 1996 & included play-by-play & host roles across #NCAAWBB, #NCAASoftball, @ESPNCFB , #WNBA & more,” ESPN posted. Soon after Ward joined ESPN, she became the first woman to do play-by-play duties for a nationally televised NCAA football game in the year 2000. In 2022, Ward and fellow announcer Stephanie White criticized Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill during the Central Florida/Florida NCAA women’s tournament basketball game, News 6 noted. The duo spoke out against the bill during the broadcast, saying it was “dangerous” for the LGBTQI+ community.
Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie are set to narrate Ember & Ice, Quinn’s three-episode immersive audio romance, per Variety. Per the official logline, Ember & Ice follows fae princes Dane and Finn from the rival Solari and Lunare kingdoms. While some Quinn original stories feature the main character speaking directly to the reader, this will be a same-sex romance, without a self-insert listener character.
LGBTQ+ streamer Dekkoo announced the third and final season of its hit original comedy series Danny Will Die Alone, which features Jack Tracy as its creator, director and star, per a press release. The six-episode final season will debut exclusively on Dekkoo on Feb. 12. “We’ve made some major changes for season 3,” said Tracy. “We still tackle new subjects within dating, this year we address speed dating and the rise of amateur porn platforms, as well as an insane sex workshop class I once attended. But this season we do something new by splitting our focus to give separate narratives for both Danny and Matty [played by Jordan Bell].”
Variety released its best documentaries of 2025—and Pee Wee as Himself, about the late queer entertainment personality Paul Reubens, made the list. The outlet stated, “At 200 minutes carved from over 40 hours of interviews, Pee-wee as Himself is the last word on a life and career that retained secrets and mysteries even after attaining an invasive degree of celebrity. The film does justice to its subject’s sui generis artistry—a blend of experimental performance, broad comedy and high queer camp that caught imaginations of all ages—while giving scrutiny to the offscreen legal troubles that unfairly threw his career off-course.” A few of the other films include The Perfect Neighbor (about how white citizens attempt to leverage the police against people of color), Riefenstahl (about controversial Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl), Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything and The Stringer (a mystery about who actually took the photo of a famous Vietnam War photo).
The Boyfriend—Netflix’s groundbreaking queer dating show in Japan—is back for another season starting Jan. 13 on Netflix, Out noted. Against the background of winter landscapes in Japan, this second season moves the location to Hokkaido. The show has an even more diverse cast than the inaugural season, with cast members now running between 20 to 40 years old. This new cycle also includes men from outside Japan, such as Thailand and Peru.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) announced the posthumous induction of singer-songwriter Donna Summer, who passed away in 2012 at age 63. Summer was honored during an intimate ceremony held on Dec. 15 in The Butterfly Room at Cecconi’s in West Hollywood, California. As the defining voice of the disco era, Summer wrote many of her globally popular hits including “Love to Love You Baby,” “I Feel Love,” “Bad Girls,” “Dim All the Lights,” “On the Radio,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” “Heaven Knows” and other songs.
After a judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit filed against Mariah Carey, the singer was recently awarded more than $92,000 to go toward her legal fees in the case, per Scripps News. In 2023, Andy Stone and Troy Powers filed a $20 million lawsuit alleging that Carey’s 1994 song “All I Want for Christmas Is You”—which has since become a holiday standard—infringed the copyright of their country 1989 song with the same title; however, their case was dismissed. Released in 1993, Carey’s song didn’t reach No. 1 until 2019, thanks to the rise of music streaming; it has returned to the top spot every year since, and has logged 20 weeks at the top—spending more weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 than any song in history.
A class-action lawsuit was filed against Playwrights Horizons in New York Federal Court, claiming the off-Broadway venue engaged in unlawful racial discrimination by offering ticket discounts for BIPOC audience members for a Nov. 6, 2025 performance of Nazareth Hassan’s Practice, according to Playbill. Kevin Lynch—a known agitator against diversity and equity initiatives in U.S. theater—filed the lawsuit. Lynch, a cis white man, previously filed a federal complaint with the NEA against Maestra Music, an advocacy group that elevates and supports female and nonbinary musicians.
Queer musician Chappell Roan reversed her comments in praise of the late French actress, singer, and sex symbol Brigitte Bardot, Out noted. Roan praised the late French icon following Bardot’s passing at 91, saying Bardot inspired one of her popular songs. However, upon learning of Bardot’s right-wing political leanings, Roan apologized, stating, “Holy shit i did not know all that insane shit Ms. Bardot stood for obvs I do not condone this. very disappointing to learn.” Bardot had a long history of political speech that includes hatred toward marginalized people; in 2021, she was handed her sixth fine by French courts for “inciting racial hatred.”
Another actor has accused media mogul Tyler Perry of sexual assault, USA Today noted. A suit, filed Dec. 25 on behalf of Mario Rodriguez, alleges the filmmaker assaulted him and promised him roles; Rodriguez, a model who briefly appeared in Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, is asking for $77 million in damages. Rodriguez’s lawyer is Jonathan J. Delshad—who also represented The Oval’s Derek Dixon, another actor who accused Perry of sexual misconduct earlier in 2025. Perry’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, wrote to the outlet, “Having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand from more than a decade ago which will also be a failed money grab.”
Hugh Jackman’s new film Song Sung Blue, in which he plays a Neil Diamond tribute performer, is facing backlash from the real-life son of the character, per The Daily Beast. “My father’s rolling in his grave right now,“ Michael ”Mike” Sardina Jr. told The Daily Mail, expressing his dissatisfaction with the new film about his father and stepmother, Mike and Claire Sardina (with Kate Hudson portraying the latter). While Mike Jr.’s sister, Angelina, was portrayed in the film by singer King Princess, he said his “existence” was “purposely cut out of the film.” “I didn’t have any contact with King Princess,” Angelina added.
Netflix is officially saying goodbye to the Harry Potter film franchise, per Inside the Magic. The film franchise, adapting anti-trans writer J.K. Rowling’s seven best-selling novels into eight films released between 2001 and 2011 by Warner Bros. Pictures. Recent developments surrounding Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. have added a new layer of intrigue to the future of the Harry Potter reboot and the wider Wizarding World. Soul-music veteran Candi Staton, 85, has earned her first Grammy® Award nomination in 40 years for her 32nd album, Back to My Roots, SoulTracks noted. Staton—a cancer survivor who’s best known for the ‘70s hit “Young Hearts, Run Free”—said, “I know it’s a cliché but it’s always nice just to be nominated. I was nominated before and a couple of times I was up against Aretha Franklin, who I love, but I had no chance of winning against her.”