AP Entertainment SummaryBrief at 1:04 p.m. EDT

Max Thieriot is on fire. Meet the man behind TV hits 'Fire Country' and 'Sheriff Country'

NEW YORK (AP) — Max Thieriot has turned “Fire Country” and its spinoff “Sheriff Country” into the top two shows on Friday nights. This Friday, the two series run their first crossover episode, in which sheriffs and firefighters team up to search for nine missing teens. Thieriot co-creates and executive produces both dramas, and he also stars on “Fire Country.” He sets both shows in the same small California town. He says the action draws viewers in and thinks the human stories keep them watching. He says he's most proud of the fact that the shows support hundreds of crew jobs.

Lawsuit says Taylor Swift's 'Showgirl' pose comes too close to the work of a real one

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A real-life Las Vegas showgirl is suing Taylor Swift, saying the branding surrounding her album “The Life of a Showgirl.” Maren Wade filed the lawsuit against Swift in federal court on Monday. Wade began writing a newspaper column called “Confessions of a Showgirl” in 2014 and turned it into a live touring show. Her lawsuit says Swift's team knowingly stepped on her trademark and the huge wave of her popularity has effectively erased it. The suit seeks an injunction stopping Swift from using the brand, and financial damages to be determined later. A representative for Swift declined comment.

Movie Review: Jittery, edgy and magnetic, Riz Ahmed takes 'Hamlet' for a spin

Riz Ahmed puts his own spin on the world's most famous troubled prince in Aneil Karia's “Hamlet,” a pared-down version that clocks in under two hours. Ahmed portrays a prince in a rush and recalls a recent Hamlet-like figure from the small screen. That's Kendall Roy of “Succession.” The setting is in the South Asian community in contemporary London and centered on a family real estate company called Elsinore. In her review, Associated Press critic Jocelyn Noveck writes that Ahmed gives an absorbing and magnetic performance, surrounded by an excellent supporting cast including Sheeba Chaddha and Art Malik. “Hamlet” opens in theaters April 10.

Movie Review: Wahoo! ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ levels up the magic

Chris Pratt and Charlie Day return to voice Mario and Luigi in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which opens theaters globally on Wednesday. The sequel to the 2023 smash takes the Brooklyn plumbers, Princess Peach and Toad into space to help save Rosalina from a vengeful Bowser Jr. In her review for The Associated Press, film writer Lindsey Bahr writes that while the movie adds some family drama and backstories, and some unsavory merchandising, it's largely committed to keeping things light and playful and in the spirit of the games. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is a Universal Pictures release rated PG.

From TMZ to Trump, pressure grows to bring Congress back during partial shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — TMZ is turning its celebrity lens on Congress, tracking lawmakers on recess as a nearly six-week Department of Homeland Security shutdown drags on. Viral videos of senators in airports, Las Vegas and Disney World have fueled backlash and intensified pressure for lawmakers to return. That pressure now extends beyond social media, with unions and President Donald Trump all urging Congress back to Washington. But even if they return, there is no clear path to a deal. A bipartisan Senate agreement collapsed after House Republicans rejected it, leaving lawmakers at a deeper impasse and raising fresh questions about how — or whether — the standoff can end.

Movie Review: 'The Drama' squanders Robert Pattinson and Zendaya on a grim, poorly thought set-up

Kristoffer Borgli’s film “The Drama” follows a soon-to-marry couple whose relationship falls apart after a drinking game reveals a shocking secret. The Associated Press' Mark Kennedy says in his review that the movie wastes the star power of Robert Pattinson and Zendaya. After Zendaya's character admits she once planned a school attack as a bullied teen, her would-be husband spirals and grows paranoid. He doubts their future marriage and even struggles with intimacy. Kennedy says the film sells itself as a sexy rom-com, but it turns grim and chaotic and adding a school shooting plot is tone deaf. The R-rated movie opens in theater Friday.

John Green is writing his first novel for adults

John Green is writing his first novel for adults. It's also his first novel in nearly a decade. “Hollywood, Ending” will be published Sept. 22. Penguin Random House imprint Dutton Books says the novel centers on two young actors and how their lives change through their roles in the biopic “Andy Warhol Never Gets Old.” The book is about celebrity and the attention economy, as well as love and loss, as Green says. In 2024, the author of young adult favorites “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Looking for Alaska” said he expected to be moving away from writing for that age group.

Iris Rainer Dart returns to tell her epic story of female friendship with 'Beaches' on Broadway

NEW YORK (AP) — Iris Rainer Dart brings her tearjerker story “Beaches” to Broadway, and she says it still proves how deep women’s friendships can run. The new musical opens after more than a decade of development. Dart co-writes the book and adds lyrics to music by Mike Stoller. The show follows Cee Cee and Bertie from childhood through love trouble, breakups, parenting and illness. “Beaches” draws on the real-life close friendship Dart developed with her cousin, Sandy. Dart keeps the movie hit “The Wind Beneath My Wings” in the Broadway score but surrounds it with new music. “Beaches” opens April 22 on Broadway.

JD Vance has a new book about his religious faith, 'Communion,' coming out later this spring

Vice President JD Vance has a new book about his religious faith and adult conversion to Catholicism. HarperCollins Publishers tells The Associated Press the book is called “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” and comes out June 16. Vance says the book explains how he lost his faith and regained it. Vance has said he evolved from Christianity to atheism to Catholicism, linking the change to finding purpose. The publisher says Vance wrote the book himself starting in 2019 and included material on his time in politics. The “Hillbilly Elegy” author was elected to the Senate as a Republican from Ohio in 2022 and became Donald Trump's running mate two years later.