This weekend, everyone only really cared about two things: the FIFA World Cup and The Odyssey. On Saturday, Chunnel rivals England and France faced off in one of the highest-scoring games of the tournament, battling for third place, with England winning 6-4. On Sunday, however, there wasn’t a single point scored in the World Cup final until overtime when Spain finally bested Argentina 1- 0. This marked Spain’s second World Cup win, after beating the Netherlands in 2010 (also 1-0 in overtime). After the match, Argentina’s star player Lionel Messi was visibly emotional, leaving many fans to speculate that this would be the 39-year-old’s final World Cup. He also posted a photo on Instagram with the caption “The Last Tango,” which seems to be another clue.

If you weren’t watching the World Cup this weekend, you were most likely watching The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s retelling of the Greek epic starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and approximately 45 other famous actors. The R-rated action drama stormed into theaters, raking in $124M in the U.S alone. That’s the third-highest opening gross of the year, behind only Toy Story 5 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, both of which were bolstered by large child audiences. While I wouldn’t recommend bringing a 10-year-old to The Odyssey, I will say that watching Circe turn a bunch of men into pigs would really reinforce the “don’t talk to strangers” rule. Globally, this is Christopher Nolan’s highest opening ever, which means The Odyssey, backed with a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, is well on its way to earning a billion dollars.

And if The Odyssey earns $1B and critics love it, the movie will be a lock for a slew of Oscar nominations. Will Matt Damon finally earn his acting Oscar? Will Robert Pattinson earn his first nomination? All signs point to yes. While there are obviously dozens of awards-thirsty flicks (Dune: Part Three, The Social Reckoning, Digger) waiting for fall premieres, it will be a steep uphill climb to unseat The Odyssey as the frontrunner. Perhaps most importantly, however, The Odyssey doing so well means we’re going to have another eight months of Anne Hathaway and Zendaya red carpets. Praise Zeus for that!

Update On My Close Personal Friends — Sporty Spice got married in a Posh Spice dress

After decades in tracksuits, Sporty Spice, aka Melanie Chisholm, aka Mel C, finally ditched her matching sets for a wedding dress. The former Spice Girls member got married to Australian model/actor Chris Dingwell on July 18 in the UK’s Lake District. Singing in a girl group with a lauded fashion designer, of course, has its perks, and so Mel C tapped Posh Spice, aka Victoria Beckham, for a wedding dress. Vogue published a photo diary of the gown’s journey from fittings through the big day, where Mel B, aka Scary Spice, Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice, and Emma Bunton, aka Baby Spice, were all in attendance. Oddly enough, Victoria skipped the nuptials because she was at the World Cup with her husband, and ex-soccer player, David Beckham. Something about that rubs me the wrong way. Like, Sporty Spice only has one first wedding; there’s a World Cup every four years.

Oh, and don’t worry, Mel C changed into a white matching set with a sports bra at the reception. #SportySpiceForever

Betches goes to Broadway!

Our very own Tess Tregellas is taking her solo show EPIC off-Broadway this July 22-25 in New York City! You’ve seen her in your favorite Betches videos, and now you can see her live!

EPIC is a solo comedy hour about a hopeless romantic looking for epic romance in a world of casual dating. It answers the question: Does running around NYC in a wedding dress lead to finding your “prince charming?”

Written and performed by internet sensation Tess Tregellas (@tesstreg), directed by Ryan Cunningham (Broad City), and produced by Amy Boland, the show is full of comedy, music, and, of course, romance.

SHOW INFO:

When: July 22nd- July 25th (with Special Taping July 25th)
Where: Asylum NYC
What time: 7 pm
How can I get tickets: https://asylumnyc.com/epic/

The Couch Report — The Real Housewives of London finally jumps the pond

If you’re sad that The Real Housewives of Rhode Island has wrapped, fear not, because we’ve got a brand new series, The Real Housewives of London, arriving on Bravo/Peacock July 21. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Didn’t we just see a Real Housewives series set in London?” The answer is: sort of. This whole situation is a bit complicated, but I’ve got your back. We can get through this together.

In 2014, Bravo premiered Ladies of London, a Real Housewives-esque show about women living in London, but which didn’t operate under the Real Housewives banner. This ran for three seasons, but was cancelled in 2017, before one of its stars, Caroline Stanbury, went on to star on The Real Housewives of Dubai, which ran for two seasons from 2022-2024. Ladies of London was then rebooted in 2026, again on Bravo, only with a completely new set of characters and the title Ladies of London: The New Reign. If you’re a Bravo fan, you’ve most likely seen ads for this or the cast on Watch What Happens Live.

In 2025, however, The Real Housewives of London, a completely separate show with a completely separate cast, premiered on Hayu, NBCUniversal’s international streaming service. (NBCUniversal is also the parent company of Bravo & Peacock). Up until now, The Real Housewives of London has been unavailable to watch in the U.S., but their first season is finally premiering stateside this week. And unlike Ladies of London: The New Reign, which was put on hiatus, The Real Housewives of London is returning for a second season.

Also, not to confuse you even more, but there is a separate British Real Housewives series, The Real Housewives of Cheshire, that’s been running for 19 seasons in the UK. That’s not available to watch in the U.S., though. Did any of this help you? Are you more confused than ever?

Be So For Real —The FIFA World Cup halftime show was random as hell

Almost as confusing as the world of British Real Housewives was the first ever FIFA World Cup halftime show, produced by Global Citizen and curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin. The whole event felt like some sort of Mad Libs fever dream. The 11-minute spectacular began with Madonna in the bowels of the stadium surrounded by roller skaters, presumably lip syncing to her song “Music.” Then she was in a dune buggy with two Brazilian soccer stars, before the trio stumbled out into the broad daylight of the stadium.

In the first of several jarring mood shifts, the production took a hard pivot to a section that combined a Venezuelan conductor, the New York Philharmonic, and the Muppets (yes, you read that right). This was followed up with a jaunty performance from BTS.

In another bizarre choice, we then got an interstitial scene in which Jason Sudeikis reprised his role as Ted Lasso to introduce Justin Bieber, performing an acoustic rendition of his very slow song, “Everything Hallelujah,” which ground the proceedings to a halt.

Then Shakira, the patron saint of the World Cup, returned to rev up the engines a bit, before a pitchy children’s choir (no offense to the kids, but there were some missed notes) and more Muppets returned for a grand finale with Coldplay and BTS chilling in the background.

I do fear this may also be the last ever World Cup halftime show.

Current Hyperfixation — Tom Cruise is on a one-of-a-kind press tour

It has been years since Tom Cruise has had to embark on a proper press tour. He hasn’t been in a real drama since 2007’s Lion for Lambs, mostly sticking with action flicks like Mission: Impossible and Jack Reacher. Now, at long last, he’s returning to the awards race in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger. The full trailer dropped on July 13, and since then, Cruise has been on the circuit promoting his film, and if he intends to get an Oscar nomination for his work, the publicity run won’t stop anytime soon.

What is so fascinating, however, is that unlike most actors who will just sit for hundreds of interviews, Tom Cruise, plagued with rumors involving his previous marriages and relationship to Scientology, can’t really be casually chatting with the press. This has led to some already fascinating PR choices, and if the past week is any indication, we’re in for a thrilling several months of stunts.

First, Tom Cruise posed on top of a giant shovel for a photo opp. Then he took a bunch of AMC workers to go see The Odyssey. And most recently, he hung out with BTS at the World Cup. Stay tuned to see just how many events Tom Cruise can attend that involve zero talking.