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The Hunting Wives has been one of the most popular shows of the summer on Netflix! The hit thriller based on May Cobb's book of the same name premiered on Netflix on July 21, and it's been in the Netflix Top 10 ever since.

Now, there's a lot to talk about regarding The Hunting Wives season 1 ending. The central mystery of the series has been: Who killed Abby? There have been lots of suspects, including Sophie O'Neil, Pastor Pete, Jill, and even Brad, but the killer isn't revealed until the very end of the season.

So, let's get into it!

Margo actually killed Abby

Despite having a rock-solid alibi from the beginning of the investigation, Margo (Malin Akerman) is actually the person who killed Abby (Madison Wolfe), and Sophie (Brittany Snow) figured it out. You see, Margo told everyone she was dealing with a family emergency. Her brother, Kyle (Michael Aaron Milligan...

I like my fictional TV women like I like my coffee — coursing with enough high-caliber force to take down a feral hog, ruin marriages via sapphic adultery, and power boozy brunch after boozy brunch. If this particular brand of desperate housewife sounds appealing, have I got a show for you: Netflix’s newest Lowcountry drama slash murder-mystery slash erotic thriller, The Hunting Wives.

Based on the 2021 book of the same name, The Hunting Wives follows Texas transplant Sophie O’Neil (Brittany Snow) as she becomes entangled in a friend group composed entirely of rich,...

Likened by many to the HBO series, Big Little Lies, which starred Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, Netflix's new streaming chart-topper, The Hunting Wives, is attracting plenty of global attention, as well as heaps of praise. Based on May Cobb’s best-selling novelof the same name, the series is, at the time of writing, the most-watched show on Netflix in the US, outperforming the likes of Untamed, a new murder mystery series starring Eric Bana, the true-crime series Amy Bradley Is Missing, and more.

However, can such huge viewership translate to immaculate success? Well, when comparisons are so consistently made to a series like Big Little Lies, it's hard for that not to be the benchmark by which many will judge The Hunting Wives. At the time of writing, the newest steamy drama on Netflix simply can't live up to the heady heights of Big Little Lies, with its...

Netflix’s new erotic thriller, The Hunting Wives, is making waves on the platform’s global TV charts and currently sits at #3, just two weeks after release. The eight-episode series is adapted from May Cobb’s best-selling novelof the same name. The series follows the story of a young woman, Sophie (Brittany Snow), who finds herself drawn into the secretive, scandal-ridden world of an affluent Texas social circle. Things, however, spiral out of control when the body of a young girl, Abby (Madison Wolfe), is found, and Sophie becomes a prime suspect in her murder.

The show is appearing to be a big hit with the audience right after its release, likely due to its nice synergy of soap-opera vibes, murder mystery, and a sneak peek into the lives of suburban elites. Critics have pointed out the over-the-top tone of the show, but that's exactly why theaudience loves it. The...

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Chief of War is a historical drama series co-created by Thomas Paʻa Sibbett and Jason Momoa. Based on true events, the Apple TV+ series is set in the 18th century, and it follows a Hawaiian warrior chief as he unites the warring Hawaiian islands to fight against the colonialists. Chief of War stars Jason Momoa, Luciane Buchanan, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Brandon Finn, Siua Ikaleʻo, Mainei Kinimaka, and Roimata Fox. So, if you loved the historical setting, intense story, and compelling characters in Apple TV+’s Chief of War, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Barkskins (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Nat Geo

Barkskins is a historical drama series created by Elwood Reid. Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Annie Proulx, the National Geographic series is set in the 1600s,...

A Still Of The Hunting Wives(Photo Credit –Netflix)

Netflix viewers are pushing hard for a second season of The Hunting Wives, the latest binge-worthy drama that is turning heads. This eight-episode series, based on May Cobb’s bestselling novel, has caught fire fast and it is the kind of show you start in the afternoon and finish before midnight.

What Is The Hunting Wives About On Netflix?

The story centers on Sophie, who trades Boston city life for quiet Texas surroundings. Initially, her journey begins as a fresh start, but it quickly spirals when she gets drawn into the lavish world of a local socialite. From there, the story sinks into a world of obsession and eventually, murder.

The cast packs serious names, like Brittany Snow, Malin Åkerman, Dermot Mulroney, Chrissy Metz, Jaime Ray Newman, Evan Jonigkeit, and Katie Lowes. Besides, the show does not hold back with Rebecca Perry Cutter,...

Netflix has a new series that's making waves on the platform just a few days after its release — The Hunting Wives. The show premiered on the streaming platform on Jul. 21 and has become an instant hit.

The Hunting Wives is an adaptation of May Cobb's book series of the same name, and marks the perfect replacement for shows like Big Little Lies, The Perfect Couple, or Desperate Housewives. The series follows a woman who moves with her husband from Boston to a small town in Texas and enters the social circle of her neighbor, realizing their lives are more scandalous than they seemed. Per FlixPatrol, The Hunting Wives has been moving up the charts since it premiered, settling on No. 2 in the Top 10 TV charts.

The Hunting Wives wasn't able to defeat Eric Bana and Sam Neill's new limited series Untamed, which has maintained its hold on the No.

There is something hauntingly addictive about Netflix’s The Hunting Wives. Based on May Cobb’s novel of the same name, the American drama starts as a glamorous tale of southern sisterhood that quickly devolves into a gripping web of seduction, betrayal, and murder.

Starring a brilliant ensemble cast who couldn’t have been more perfect for their roles, the series is headlined by Brittany Snow as Sophie O’Neil, a woman from Cambridge who is forced to move to the seemingly dull town of Maple Brook in Texas all because of her husband’s job, and Malin Akerman as Margo Banks, the seductive and smarter-than-a-fox leader of an elite group of wives in Maple Brook, famously known as the ‘Hunting Wives.’

Along with these two leads, Dermot Mulroney, Evan Jonigkeit, Chrissy Metz, Jaime Ray Newman, and Katie Lowes star in other main roles. While a second season of the show hasn’t been announced yet,...

Summer might be blockbuster movie season, but just because “The Fantastic Four” and “Superman” are duking it out at the box office doesn’t mean Netflix stops delivering binge-worthy new shows, and July is no different.

From “The Hunting Wives,” the addictive new murder mystery soaring up the TV Top 10, to the 2010s throwback hacker thriller “Mr. Robot,” here’s a hand-picked list of the best new shows streaming on Netflix.

Margo (Malin Akerman) and Sophie (Brittany Snow) in “The Hunting Wives” (Credit: Lionsgate) “The Hunting Wives”

In the mood for a twisty, sexy thriller? “The Hunting Wives” delivers. When progressive Bostonian Sophie O’Neill (Brittany Snow) lands in East Texas, she is taken aback by the rough-and-tough party crowd of the Maple Brook housewives. Her husband’s billionaire boss’ wife, Margo (Malin Akerman) shows her the ropes and pulls Sophie out of her comfort zone. But when a murder takes place in the town,...

Based on May Cobb’s thriller of the same name, “The Hunting Wives” catapults viewers into the messy, secret-filled world of East Texas.

Netflix‘s soapy new mystery stars Brittany Snow as Sophie O’Neill, a Bostonian housewife and former political PR rep. After moving to Maple Brook for her husband’s job, Sophie molds herself to fit in with the rich society women of the Texas town, ditching her sobriety, going to church and even hitting the shooting range to be included in the group.

When a murder takes place, a shocking twist makes some of the women primary suspects. Snow stars opposite Malin Akerman, who plays the wife of a billionaire businessman with several secrets of her own.

The series was originally set to premiere at Starz but was later picked up by Netflix. All eight episodes of the first season of the thriller series are available to stream now.

The Hunting Wives, as most erotic thrillers do, starts with a dead body. But by the end of the first season, several more dead bodies are heading to the morgue as the eponymous wives scramble for survival in their treacherous social circle. Before the bullets start flying, The Hunting Wives introduces Boston –– sorry, Cambridge –– transplant Sophie (Brittany Snow) to East Texas via an NRA fundraiser thrown by her husband Graham’s (Evan Jonigkeit) boss, Jed (Dermot Mulroney), and his stunning wife Margo (Malin Åkerman).

Sophie is a fish out of water in the conservative socialite scene. Still, Margo welcomes her into the circle with open (and seductive) arms. It’s not long before Sophie starts hunting and drinking with Margo, markswoman and sheriff’s wife Callie (Jaime Ray Newman), and basketball tiger mom Jill (Katie Lowes). Sophie is desperate to fit in and bury the demons of her past when...

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The Hunting Wives is an erotic mystery thriller drama series created by Rebecca Cutter. Based on the 2021 novel of the same name by May Cobb, the Netflix series follows Sophie O’Neil, a young married woman, as she moves with her family to Maple Brook, Texas, and soon meets and befriends the elite socialite Margo Banks and her group of housewives. Sophie soon finds herself embroiled in affairs, dark secrets, and even a murder investigation. The Hunting Wives stars Brittany Snow, Malin Akerman, Jaime Ray Newman, Evan Jonigkeit, George Ferrier, Katie Lowes, Chrissy Metz, and Dermot Mulroney. So, if you loved the thrilling murder mystery, entertaining drama, and compelling characters in The Hunting Wives, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – NBC

Grosse Pointe Garden Society is...

Netflix finally has a replacement for HBO's Big Little Lies with The Hunting Wives. Both series are based on bestselling novels and follow women with dark secrets.

The Hunting Wives premiered on Netflix on Jul. 21. Based on May Cobb's series of the same name, the new series follows a woman as she moves with her family from Boston to Texas and gets close to a group of women with unexpected hobbies. Following its release, The Hunting Wives debuted with an encouraging 70% approval score from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

The new drama series' score might not be the best, but it comes from only 10 reviews. Out of all of them, seven are positive, and most are based on three hours of footage out of the eight episodes. Since the series debuted on Netflix recently, there is no audience score available.

However, the early reaction from the critics is positive.

Netflix’s newest drama might not be the perfect watch for a family night in. Adapted from May Cobb’s bestselling novel, the series takes audiences into the intoxicating lives of the elite in Texas. The show follows a woman as she moves to Texas from Boston with her family and gets embroiled in seduction, obsession, and murder (via Netflix).

Boasting a cast of seasoned stars and high production value, the show is built for scandal, not Sunday-night family Netflix sessions. While you may have seen Brittany Snow in Law and Order: Svu, The Hunting Wives takes her performance up a notch. Let’s get you acquainted with the cast of the show before you dive in for a binge-watch marathon.

A Look at the Cast of The Hunting Wives

The Hunting Wives ensemble cast brings the Texas drama to life, carefully blending chemistry, menace, and intrigue. Here’s a...

The past few weeks have brought some of the most exciting new shows to Netflix and other streaming services, but our good entertainment luck hasn't run out yet! There are still lots of must-watch shows headed for our watch list this summer, and this week has a handful of titles that everyone will surely be talking about until the next week's new shows.

On top of this week's new releases, we still have more than a few new episodes to look forward to from a number of hit shows. The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 continues after its shocking two-episode premiere resulted in a near-death experience and a marriage proposal. Smoke further heats up on Apple TV+, The Gilded Age faces its next wedding, and Dexter's adventures continue.

While those shows and more fill out our watch lists, there's four new releases bringing some fun to the dog days of summer.

A seductive new drama that is sure to be juicy is coming our way soon! Starring Malin Åkerman and Brittany Snow, get ready to dive deep into the world of a small Texas town in The Hunting Wives. The upcoming series is based on the novel of the same name by author May Cobb. And now, you can get a look at it with the newly released trailer!

The Hunting Wives premieres Monday, July 21, 2025 with all 8 episodes on Netflix. As always with the streaming service, you can expect the episodes to drop on the streamer at 12 a.m. Pt / 3 a.m. Et. The Lionsgate TV production was initially supposed to premiere on Starz.

However, the two companies recently separated, with Lionsgate taking the show to Netflix instead. I'll be honest, the series is probably going to get more eyes on it on Netflix, so the move was probably for the best.

Lionsgate Television’s The Hunting Wives, based on May Cobb’s novel, has set a July 21, 2025 premiere date on Netflix. The trailer just dropped ahead of the series’ premiere and shows the two main characters bonding over recreational drugs, men, and murder.

Malin Akerman stars as Margo Banks and Brittany Snow plays Sophie O’Neil. The eight-episode season also stars Dermot Mulroney as Jed Banks, Chrissy Metz as Starr Jackson, Jaime Ray Newman as Callie Baskin, and Evan Jonigkeit as Graham O’Neil. George Ferrier plays Brad Thompson and Katie Lowes is Jill Thompson.

“The Hunting Wives is a sexy drama that follows newcomer Sophie O’Neil (Snow) as she becomes entranced with Margo Banks (Åkerman), a seductive socialite, and her exclusive circle of affluent girlfriends, known as the Hunting Wives, in a small East Texas town,” reads Lionsgate Television’s synopsis. “Underneath the Southern charm lies a world of temptation and dangerous liaisons.

Another one of TVLine’s “missing” shows has been found.

A TV adaptation of May Cobb’s 2021 novel The Hunting Wives, ordered to series by Starz back in October 2023, instead will be released by Netflix — on Monday, July 21. (The move stems from Starz’s split from Hunting Wives acquirer Lionsgate Television, which took effect last month.)

More from TVLineWhat to Watch in July: Your Guide to 170+ Premieres Across Broadcast, Cable and StreamingEvery New Scripted Show Confirmed to Premiere in 2025 — Save the Dates!Upload Gets Final Season Release Date at Prime Video

Watch a first trailer above, in which Brittany Snow...

Unpacking ‘Henry Johnson’: Mamet Returns With a high-profile Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross currently underway, we’re once again reminded of David Mamet’s singular ear for dialogue- the same talent that earned him a Pulitzer Prize for this very play. While his sharp, staccato writing has long been celebrated on stage and screen, Mamet’s work behind the camera has drawn more divided opinions. His latest film, 'Henry Johnson', is an intimate ensemble piece starring Shia Labeouf, Evan Jonigkeit, Chris Bauer, and Dominic Hoffman. After premiering at the Aero Theatre in Los Angeles last May, the film is now available to rent through its official website. As the old T-shirt gag goes, “But what I really want to do is direct.” Mamet’s career has followed that familiar arc: from acclaimed playwright to Hollywood screenwriter- penning Oscar-recognized scripts like 'The Verdict'- to director,...

Summer's in full swing and it's just going to get even better as it goes thanks to all the amazing new shows coming soon. The season has already kicked off on a high note on Netflix with the debut of the hot crime drama The Waterfront and continues with the final season of Squid Game. But there's a whole roster of can't-miss Netflix shows on the docket throughout July 2025.

Between the two-part final season of a fan-favorite comic-inspired series and two hilarious new comedies that will steal our hearts, Netflix won't let us down in July when it comes to exciting, binge-worthy shows. But are they all must-watches or can some of them be skipped for certain viewers? Let's take a closer look at five the best new Netflix shows coming this summer!

The Sandman. (L to R) Tom Sturridge as Dream, Umulisa Gahiga as Nada in episode 201 of The Sandman | Cr.

Unpacking ‘Henry Johnson’: Mamet Returns With a high-profile Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross currently underway, we’re once again reminded of David Mamet’s singular ear for dialogue- the same talent that earned him a Pulitzer Prize for this very play. While his sharp, staccato writing has long been celebrated on stage and screen, Mamet’s work behind the camera has drawn more divided opinions. His latest film, 'Henry Johnson', is an intimate ensemble piece starring Shia Labeouf, Evan Jonigkeit, Chris Bauer, and Dominic Hoffman. After premiering at the Aero Theatre in Los Angeles last May, the film is now available to rent through its official website. As the old T-shirt gag goes, “But what I really want to do is direct.” Mamet’s career has followed that familiar arc: from acclaimed playwright to Hollywood screenwriter- penning Oscar-recognized scripts like 'The Verdict'- to director,...

Exclusive: Here’s your first trailer for mystery-thriller and dark comedy Atrabilious, which is directed, written, and produced by William Atticus Parker (Forty Winks).

In addition to writing the script, Parker co-produced the film alongside Sabina Friedman-Seitz.

The neo-noir stars Leon Addison Brown (The Knick), Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act), Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross), Jeffrey Wright (The Batman), Mark Boone Junior (Sons of Anarchy) and Evan Jonigkeit (The Night House).

Set against a gritty Brooklyn backdrop, Atrabilious follows Steven Joyner (Brown) as he embarks on a harrowing quest to uncover the truth behind his son’s sudden and suspicious death. His search leads him to the enigmatic bar, Atrabilious, where buried secrets and a dark, tangled past slowly come to light.

Buffalo 8 is handling distribution. Parker, son of Billy Crudup and Mary-Louise Parker, made his feature directing debut with Forty Winks.

The John Wick spinoff Ballerina will open the 71st Taormina Film Festival, which kicks off in Sicily next week and announced its lineup Thursday.

Star Ana de Armas will not be in attendance, with the film represented instead by director Len Wiseman and actor Norman Reedus.

It is among eight features that will play as special events in Taormina’s Ancient Theatre.

Another 10 titles will play in the International Feature Film Competition including Iraq War U.S. Navy Seal drama Warfare; The Rule of Jenny Pen with John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush; and David Mamet’s Henry Johnson with Shia Labeouf, Evan Jonigkeit and Chris Bauer. (Scroll down for the full lineup.)

Ballerina is among 13 Out of Competition titles which also include Billy Zane’s Int. Hallway / Night and Tyler Perry’s The Six Triple Eight.

A number of high-profile stars will attend to receive honorary awards including Martin Scorsese,...

We kick off the 2025 summer season of Crew Call with a very candid wide-ranging conversation with Pulitzer-prize winning playwright and 2x Oscar nominated scribe, David Mamet.

He’s directed a new movie, Henry Johnson, his first in 12 years, based on his 2023 play which premiered in Venice, CA. The pic, which is self-distributed and available to rent digitally, follows the title character (played by Mamet’s son-in-law Evan Jonigkeit), who after helping a friend out, becomes collateral damage and complicit in his sex crime affairs. This leads Henry Johnson to jail. He looks to authority figures he encounters along the way including his eventual cellmate, Gene (Shia Labeouf). Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty.

We talk with Mamet about the origins of Henry Johnson, Labeouf’s sublime performance (and how Mamet doesn’t believe in method actors), the state of the motion picture industry...

Plot: Henry Johnson follows the title character as he navigates his search for a moral center after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene — Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty. The film is an exploration of power, justice, and the consequences of letting others choose your path for you.

Review: David Mamet is a name that has become synonymous with masterful writing. A playwright and filmmaker for over fifty years, Mamet’s works have become required reading in performing arts programs nationwide. Having written films including Glengarry Glen Ross, Ronin, and Hannibal, Mamet’s directorial projects have been no less influential. While my favorite is 1997’s The Spanish Prisoner starring Steve Martin, Mamet has helmed many movies based on his plays and original scriptwork. It has been twelve years...

Henry Johnson unfolds as David Mamet’s screen adaptation of his 2023 play, marking his return to feature filmmaking after an eighteen‑year absence. Mamet wears both writer’s and director’s hats, coaxing from the stage-bound material a pulse that feels almost cinematic. At the center stands Evan Jonigkeit, whose measured stillness anchors each confrontation, joined by Chris Bauer’s razor‑sharp lawyer‑interrogator, Shia Labeouf’s magnetic prison philosopher, and Dominic Hoffman’s weary guard.

The film’s architecture is spare: four two‑character scenes set in an office, a cell and a library, stitched together by silent ellipses that swallow days or weeks. Conversation becomes currency, each line a probe deeper into Henry’s moral core. What begins as a simple workplace favor unravels into an interrogation that propels him behind bars, then into the tangled politics of confinement, and finally into a hostage‑standoff that tests the limits of trust.

My introduction to David Mamet was 1997’s The Edge. I was ten-years-old at the time and the sharp writing and compelling performances coupled with a terrifying, blood-thirsty grizzly bear made for a unique combination that not only kept me entertained, but made me feel like I was watching an intellectual film meant for adults. Mamet — best known for his dialogue — uses the art of conversation in ways that few other writers can. In Henry Johnson — Mamet’s first directing effort since 2008’s Redbelt — conversation takes centerstage. Mamet proves once again that he’s a master of the written word, but perhaps some stories, Henry Johnson included, are best suited for the stage.

The plot

Henry Johnson is a successful business executive who finds himself behind bars after being sentenced to prison. Through various interactions and discussions with different people, Henry’s understanding of right and wrong are tested.

The review...

In September 2023, months into both the actors’ and writers’ strikes, something of a “happening” took shape at Venice Beach’s Electric Lodge, a multidisciplinary arts and community center that hosts everything from taekwondo classes to live performances. For a few weeks, the venue also played home to something increasingly rare: a new play from David Mamet.

Over the years, the controversial Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright has drawn ire for both his political leanings and the content of his work, both on stage and screen. The play, titled “Henry Johnson,” was viewed by some as a reaction to those reactions, by others as a timeless parable. Set across four scenes, the film (and play) follows Jonigkeit’s Henry, whose life is upended after he participates in a heinous crime, is sent to jail for his misdeeds, and struggles to find meaning in all of it.

No matter the takeaway, the play was a hit,...

On May 9, David Mamet’s first directorial film effort in nearly 20 years, Henry Johnson, will be available for streaming on HenryJohnsonMovie.com. The film is a straightforward adaptation of Mamet’s own play, mounted at a black box theater in Venice in 2023 — garnering plenty of acclaim for both the writer and star Shia Labeouf.

The timing could not be better for Labeouf, 38, a highly gifted, scandal-prone actor who currently finds his nose pressed against the Hollywood glass amid fallout from a number of controversies. Not the least of them is a pending lawsuit from former girlfriend FKA Twigs accusing him of sexual assault and emotional distress. Labeouf has conceded to harmful behavior but denies the specific allegations and the matter is set to proceed to trial in September of this year.

In Henry Johnson, he plays Gene, a fast-talking and hyper-intelligent prisoner under whose spell the title character — a white-collar dupe played by Evan Jonigkeit,...

While David Mamet is celebrated for the potent lucidity of his dialogue and his clear-eyed portrayals of deceit and manipulation, successful film adaptations of his writing also tend to benefit from some kind of conventional genre glaze. Homicide, his most assured work as a director, staged its complex exploration of identity and racial resentment as a tight, propulsive crime thriller, while James Foley helped make an entertaining hustle-culture drama from Glengarry Glen Ross’s precise dissection of capitalism and masculinity.

With Henry Johnson, no such formal leavening is present. This is the first film that Mamet has directed based on one of his own plays since 1994’s Oleanna, and it’s similarly straightforward in terms of translating the material’s elaborate plot machinations to the screen. The eponymous character (Evan Jonigkeit) is an employee at an unspecified corporate business whose job is threatened when he decides to carry out a...

Shia Labeouf has signed on to star in a movie loosely based around violence at the infamous Angola Prison. God of the Rodeocomes from producer Ridley Scott. The casting follows Labeouf last appearing on the big screen in 2024's Megalopolis, the Francis Ford Coppola-directed flop.

The Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skullactor will lead God of the Rodeo as prison inmate Buckkey, who is serving a life sentence in the real-life Angola Prison (also known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary). Angola earned the reputation as the"Alcatraz of the South" due to numerous violent clashes between inmates and guards since its founding in the 1840s as a slave plantation.

Shia Labeouf Stars in New Prison Drama

In the film, Buckkey sees a chance to redeem himself by pursuing the prison's rodeo training for inmates. However, Buckkey and his fellow inmates discover that they are being trained...

Exclusive: Shia Labeouf is set to star in God of the Rodeo, with Giannina Scott producing through her Cara Films banner and Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss producing through Scott Free Films. The crime thriller was written and directed by Rosalind Ross and is based on the reporting of Daniel Bergner inside the deadliest prison in the American South.

Set against the brutal backdrop of Louisiana’s Angola Prison in 1967, God of the Rodeo tells the story of Buckkey, a hardened inmate serving a life sentence who finds a glimmer of redemption in an unlikely opportunity: the prison’s first-ever inmate rodeo. As Buckkey and his fellow inmates prepare for a last grasp at glory, they’re confronted with the reality that the rodeo is nothing more than a gladiatorial showcase — a grueling fight for survival designed to satiate the public’s bloodlust and fulfill the warden’s delusion of godliness.

David Mamet has been a celebrated playwright for half a century, and there are so many themes and obsessions and modes and rhythms and tics running through his work that it’s easy to survey it all and simply categorize it as “Mametesque.” The continuity is there.

Yet when I look at the chronology of Mamet’s career, I’m struck by a huge and overwhelming schism — one that’s tonal, philosophical, stylistic and defining of his identity. In the plays that put him on the map, like “American Buffalo” and “Sexual Perversity in Chicago,” he was trying to approximate the ways ordinary people talk, which is why the words came out in a jagged profane half-articulate sputter, the characters stepping on each other’s percussive thoughts. It all culminated in Mamet’s 1983 masterpiece, “Glengarry Glen Ross,” a timeless celebration/indictment of small-time con-artist salesmen that turned the deceptive language of hustlers into crookback poetry.

Filmed theater has its merits, the primary one being accessibility, but it seldom comes even close to matching the proximal experience of being there. Which makes David Mamet’s compelling screen version of his latest play, Henry Johnson, a curious anomaly. Rather than attempting to open out this characteristically talky, structurally stagey drama — four two-character scenes threaded together by narrative ellipses — the writer-director fully embraces the theatricality of the work. Reassembling the excellent cast from the low-profile 2023 premiere in Los Angeles, Mamet reels us in with some of his most trenchant writing in years.

To be clear, this is an actual movie, not to be confused with a live-capture quickie, in which cameras record a performance on stage. Real sets — a law firm office, a prison cell, the library at the same incarceration facility — replace a stripped-down, intimate staging in a black-box space. Beyond that, few concessions appear to have...

From con men to real estate closers, David Mamet has made a career out of writing characters who know how to spot a sucker. And with “Henry Johnson,” his first film in 10 years, he invites his devotees to look under the hood and examine the psyche of one of the weak, easily manipulated individuals that his most memorable characters spend their lives exploiting.

Adapted from his play of the same name, which premiered in Los Angeles in 2023 before mounting a Chicago production this spring, “Henry Johnson” unfolds over the course of four two-handed scenes. Like any Mamet endeavor, the real star is the language. Major plot events happen almost entirely offscreen, with its ensemble of characters using them as jumping off points to soliloquize about everything from the value of therapy to Snow White’s vagina. Everyone has preconceived opinions about his writing style, but Mamet puts it to use,...

"All the cards are in the deck, it just depends on how you cut 'em." An official trailer has arrived online for the new feature film written and directed by acclaimed writer David Mamet, arriving to watch starting in May this summer. Henry Johnson is a feature film version of the 2023 play of the same name also written by David Mamet, featuring the same cast playing their roles again. This hasn't popped up at any festivals, it's going out to a small number of theaters - you can ask to show it in your area on the official site. Henry Johnson is a drama set in prison that follows the title character as he navigates his search for a moral center, after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way, Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty.

Glengarry Glen Ross writer-director David Mamet’s new film is a prison drama. Get your first look at Henry Johnson here:

There are few better at writing single room screenplays than David Mamet. If you don’t believe us, go back and rewatch the introduction of Alec Baldwin’s sales shark, Blake, in 1992’s Glengarry Glen Ross. Mamet can weave magic from placing a couple of human beings in a single space and writing dialogue for them.

Henry Johnson, the director’s new film, follows the title character (Evan Jonigkeit) and his experiences in the US prison system, where he eventually shares a cell with Gene.

Mamet writes and directs. The story is based on his own 2023 play of the same name, the same process that led him to direct Glengarry Glen Ross for the screen. Mamet’s other script work includes films like The Verdict, Hannibal and Wag The Dog.

Gold Derby's top news stories for April 16, 2025.

Lindsay Lohan to star in Hulu drama from This Is Us showrunners

Lindsay Lohan, the once-embattled Mean Girls star, is continuing her comeback with her first starring TV role. She'll star in and executive-produce Count My Lies, a Hulu drama series from former This Is Us showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger based on a novel by Sophie Stava. Lohan will play Violet, a woman with a seemingly perfect life and a lot of secrets. Here's the logline: “When compulsive liar Sloane Caraway fibs her way into a nanny position for the gorgeous and charismatic Violet and Jay Lockhart, it seems she’s finally landed her dream job. But little does Sloane know, she’s just entered a household brimming with secrets that are about to explode — with potentially catastrophic consequences for all.”

Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch go to war in...

What’s up with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, filmmaker and author David Mamet, known for writing “Glengarry Glen Ross”? Well, the artist has not directed a film since 2008’s martial arts film “Redbelt,” though there has been no shortage of plays written and screenplays penned based on those stageplays.

The latest stage-to-screen pipeline is “Henry Johnson,” a play he wrote in 2023 that Mamet has adapted into a movie.

Continue reading ‘Henry Johnson’ Trailer: Shia Labeouf, Evan Jonigkeit & More In David Mamet’s New Prison Drama at The Playlist.

Pulitzer Prize-winning filmmaker David Mamet comes out of a 10-year hibernation today with a trailer for his upcoming thriller Henry Johnson. The prison drama finds Shia Labeouf and Evan Jonigkeit turning up the heat inside a hostage situation.

Here’s the official synopsis for Henry Johnson courtesy of the project’s production company 1993:

Written and Directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, Henry Johnson follows the title character (Jonigkeit) as he navigates his search for a moral center, after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene (Labeouf) — Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty. The film is an exploration of power, justice and the consequences of letting others choose your path for you.

In David Mamet’s Henry Johnson trailer, Henry (Evan Jonigkeit) forms a unique friendship with Gene...

Despite going off the Maga deep end, David Mamet is very much still in the cultural consciousness. As a revival of Glengarry Glen Ross lights up Broadway, his script for a JFK assassination movie is in the works with Barry Levinson directing (though it recently hit a snag), and now he’s releasing his first theatrical directorial effort since 2008’s Redbelt.

Henry Johnson, starring Evan Jonigkeit, Shia Labeouf, Chris Bauer, and Dominic Hoffman, is Mamet’s adaptation of his acclaimed 2023 play of the same name, with the full cast reprising their stage roles on-screen. Ahead of a self-released theatrical run beginning on May 9 at LA’s Aero Theatre, simultaneous with rental directly through the film’s website, the first trailer and poster have arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “Written and Directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, Henry Johnson follows the title character (Jonigkeit) as he navigates his search for a moral center,...

Two years after staging his newest play, David Mamet is returning to the big screen with a brand-new cinematic adaptation of the work. “Henry Johnson,” Mamet’s first film since his 2013 Al Pacino-starring Phil Spector TV movie, reunites the full original cast from the stage version, including Shia Labeouf, Evan Jonigkeit, Chris Bauer, and Dominic Hoffman. The film’s first trailer, an IndieWire exclusive available below, hints at the acidic drama to come.

Per the film’s official synopsis, “Henry Johnson” is “a drama that follows the title character (Jonigkeit) as he navigates his search for a moral center, after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene (Labeouf) —Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty.”

When the play was first mounted at Venice, California’s Electric Lodge in October...

Shia Labeouf Watching Films(Photo Credit –YouTube)

Actor Shia Labeouf watched every film he’s ever acted in—back-to-back for three days—in a public event held at Angelika Film Center in New York City. The project, titled #AllMyMovies, began in 2015, running non-stop for 72 consecutive hours. It was open to the public for free, with no tickets, just a line and a quick security check at the entrance.

The event was both a movie marathon and a live art piece. While one screen showed Labeouf’s films in order, another displayed a live feed of him reacting as he watched them in real time. There was no commentary, no breaks, and the movies played without sound, likely due to copyright reasons.

Viewers inside the theater and online saw Labeouf laugh, cry, snack, nap, and sit in silence as his face aged across decades of work. His expressions became the main focus.

David Mamet will release “Henry Johnson,” a prison drama that marks his first film in over a decade, this spring. Production wrapped recently on the film, which stars Shia Labeouf and is an adaptation of Mamet’s 2023 play of the same name.

In addition to Labeouf, who starred in the show when it was mounted at the Electric Lodge venue in Venice, Calif., the rest of the play’s cast will reprise their stage roles on-screen. They include Evan Jonigkeit (“The Night House”), Chris Bauer (“True Blood”), and Dominic Hoffman (“Suits: LA”).

“Henry Johnson” will be released independently in partnership with production company 1993. Starting on May 9, the movie will be available to rent directly through the film’s website. It will also get a simultaneous theatrical run at the Aero Theatre in Los Angeles. Mamet said in a statement, “If you only see one film this year… you should get out more.

The star-studded revival of the play Glengarry Glen Ross just had its Broadway opening night and an equally star-studded crowd stepped out to watch the performance.

Kieran Culkin and co-stars Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr took their opening night bows on Monday evening (March 31) at the Palace Theatre in New York City.

Among the attendees were Kieran‘s Broadway co-stars Sarah Snook, J. Smith-Cameron (with husband Kenneth Lonergan), Dagmara Dominczyk (with husband Patrick Wilson and son Kalin), and Sydney Lemmon.

More stars in attendance included Katie Holmes, Liev Schreiber, Ansel Elgort, and more.

Glengarry Glen Ross is “set in a cutthroat Chicago real estate office where four salespeople compete to sell mostly worthless properties to unwitting customers. Whoever sells the most wins a car; whoever sells the least is out of a job – a ruthless environment where each character will do anything to come out on top.”

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Yellowstone (Peacock & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Paramount Network

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Billy Magnussen and his girlfriend Erica Firestone went on the ultimate double date last month with their friends Zosia Mamet and Evan Jonigkeit.

The group of four went on a week-long getaway to Sandals Dunn’s River in Ocho Rios, Jamaica back in January 2025.

Billy, Erica, Zosia, and Evan spent their week playing golf at Sandals Upton Estate Golf & Country Club and trying out snuba, which is a combination of snorkeling and scuba diving.

A source said they also spent time at “the resort’s spa and enjoying a cocktail at the resort’s Dunn’s Rum Club, they also explored the neighboring Dunn’s River Falls, went swimming at the Blue Hole, and visited Mystic Mountain, a rainforest adventure park.”

Billy shared a video from the golf course on Instagram.

Netflix's new Western series American Primeval has quickly become one of the platform's biggest hits of the moment, holding the number one spot on the streamer for several days before being dethroned by another bloodbath, WWE Monday Night Raw. Written by The Revenant screenwriter Mark L. Smith and directed by Deepwater Horizon's Peter Berg, the series unflinchingly plunges viewers into the brutally violent world of the American West circa 1857, a time frequently mythologized and often toned down by Hollywood.

While many westerns offer a more sanitized view of 19th Century frontier life, others have been willing to go there before American Primeval hit the scene. One of the best examples from recent years can even be found on the same platform, just a click away after the final episode: 2015's Bone Tomahawk. Written and directed by S. Craig Zahler in his directorial debut, the film is more sparing...

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