Get ready for the parade | Pop Recap #21

Happy Sunday and Happy November!!! Fall is in full swing and it's officially my favorite time of the year - although I hate the time changes. Welcome to another edition of the Pop Recap newsletter, filled with all the trending things you need to know in the entertainment world. Today, we’re covering everything from this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade performers to the announcement of the word of the year.

🗞️ MAKING HEADLINES 🗞️

🎃 Happy Halloween! I hope you got tons of candy and if you wore a cool costume, share pics with me on social media - I’d love to see it! I dressed up as Princess Tiana and attended Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. I wrote all about it and what you need to know if you wish to attend the Walt Disney World special event on the official Fan Fave Substack. You can check it out here.

🦃 With Halloween over, the next major holiday coming up is Thanksgiving. Preparations are well underway for this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City! It has now been revealed that Bishop Briggs, Kylie Cantrall, Chlöe, Dan + Shay, Dasha, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Coco Jones, Walker Hayes, Ariana Madix, Joey McIntyre, Idina Menzel, Natti Natasha, T-Pain, Rachel Platten, Lea Salonga, The Temptations, The War and Treaty, Alex Warren and Sebastián Yatra will be performing. Plus! Death Becomes Her, Hell’s Kitchen, and The Outsiders are among the Broadway shows that will perform in front of Macy’s Herald Square on the big day.

🌃 Last night, John Mulaney hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest Chappell Roan. Vice President Kamala Harris made a cameo in the cold open ahead of the election, while former cast member Pete Davidson appeared in a new edition of Mulaney’s NYC musical sketch. Roan performed “Pink Pony Club” before debuting a brand new country single “The Giver.” For a full recap of the episode, read here. Next up, Bill Burr hosts with musical guest Mk.gee on November 9, while Charli XCX pulls double duty on November 16.

🏆The Grammys have inked a new deal to broadcast on ABC, Hulu and Disney+ from 2027 through 2036. The award show currently airs on CBS. Don’t forget — nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards will be announced THIS FRIDAY.

🍏Brat isn’t just for the summer, it’s for the whole year. Collins Dictionary has named “brat” its word of the year. “Inspired by the Charli XCX album, ‘brat’ has become one of the most talked about words of 2024. More than a hugely successful album, ‘brat’ is a cultural phenomenon that has resonated with people globally, and ‘brat summer’ established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life,” the organization says of its choice.

In this edition...

• Film News

• Theater News

• Music News

• Television News

• Pick of the Week

🎥 FILM NEWS 🎥

• Jumanji 3, starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan, is set to release on December 11, 2026.

• Eddie Murphy is set to star as Parliament-Funkadelic’s George Clinton in a new biopic.

• John Krasinski is set to star in a movie based on his Amazon series Jack Ryan.

🎭 THEATER NEWS 🎭

• The Phantom of the Opera is headed back to the United States! A brand new North American tour of the iconic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is set to kick off in Baltimore, MD in 2025.

• Original Six cast member Adrianna Hicks is set to return to her role of Catherine of Aragon on Broadway from November 25 through February 17.

• Good Night, and Good Luck, led by George Clooney, is set to begin performances at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre on March 12, 2025.

• Jeremy Jordan has set his final performance in The Great Gatsby on Broadway for January 19, 2025.

• The 13 Going on 30 musical adaptation is set to premiere in the United Kingdom at Manchester Opera House next September.

🎵 MUSIC NEWS 🎵

• The lineup for the 2025 When We Were Young music festival has been unveiled. Panic! at the Disco, blink-182, Weezer and Avril Lavigne are among those headed to Las Vegas next October.

• Laufey has released her rendition of “Santa Baby,” with a music video that features Bill Murray.

  Check out the official Fan Fave New “poppin’ music” playlist on Spotify here for a look into what’s trending and new releases I’m into.

📺 TELEVISION NEWS 📺

• Jon Stewart has extended his contract to host The Daily Show on Mondays through December 2025.

• Marvel Studios has unveiled a new sizzle reel confirming the television projects that will release in 2025. This includes What If, Daredevil: Born Again, Wonder Man,Marvel Zombies, Eyes of Wakanda and Ironheart.

👍🏽 PICK OF THE WEEK 👍🏽

This week’s pick is the brand-new Wizards Beyond Waverly Place series.

I’m going to admit some real bias upfront and say that there was no way I wouldn’t enjoy this show. It’s a revival of the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place, which ran during the network’s peak era between 2007 and 2012. For those that don’t know, this was one of my favorite television shows growing up, and it's still one of my favorites today. I even find myself regularly rewatching it today because it holds up so well - truly one of Disney’s best.

A veryyy long time ago on the podcast (September 2022), I discussed how the number one show I’d like to see get rebooted is Wizards of Waverly Place, so obviously I am so excited to see its back with so many original cast members in play. There honestly wasn't anything cooler than seeing Selena Gomez and David Henrie team up on my television screen again as Alex and Justin Russo.

However, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place wasn’t exactly made for me. A friend and I discussed how, while it’s nostalgic and fun to see our favorite characters back in action with new twists, the show’s target audience is clearly the next generation. It feels in tune with a trend I’ve noticed with Disney Channel series, where the content skews even younger than before. It somehow manages to be more childish than the original show, and the main characters are now in middle school instead of high school.

This isn’t the first show from my childhood to be rebooted and almost always when it happens, it’s reimagined for a younger audience, so this isn’t a shock. But I do find myself selfishly wishing for more shows to be rebooted with their original audience in mind, rather than for kids who won’t get the references or the cultural significance of the show. In other words, I want to see more iCarly style reboots, rather than ones like Raven’s Home. Considering what happened with the proposed adult Lizzie McGuire reboot though, I assume this is still not a move Disney is interested in. Besides that, this show is a fun watch and I recommend it to fans who grew up on the original Wizards series.

The first four episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place are now streaming Disney Plus.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of the Pop Recap newsletter! If you enjoyed it, make sure to share with a friend. Stay connected with the Pop Recap and Fan Fave community on social media.

xx Katrina