Mariska Hargitay opened the 2026 Emmy Awards with a high-energy musical number that quickly became one of the night’s most talked-about moments. The “Law & Order: SVU” star commanded the stage with a polished performance before pivoting to a comedic monologue that spared no one — not even her longtime producer, Dick Wolf.
Jalen Brunson Joins Hargitay Onstage
In a surprise crossover between primetime television and professional sports, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson joined Hargitay during the opening sequence. The NBA guard appeared game for the bit, playing off the actress’s theatrical energy as the audience reacted to the unlikely pairing.
Roasting Wolf, Short, and Her Own SVU Legacy
Hargitay’s monologue took aim at several familiar targets. She teased Wolf about the ever-expanding “Law & Order” universe, joked about Martin Short’s ubiquitous awards-season presence, and leaned into the meta humor of her own record-setting tenure as Captain Olivia Benson. “Watch the full video for Hargitay’s hilarious opening monologue and…” the network teased in its official clip description, cutting off before the punchline.
Nicole Kidman in the Crosshairs
The host also turned her wit toward Nicole Kidman, seated in the front row. Hargitay’s jab at the Oscar winner drew laughs and a visible reaction from the “Big Little Lies” star, adding to the night’s viral highlights.
The full opening sequence, including the musical number and complete monologue, is available on the Emmy Awards’ official streaming platforms and social channels.
Stars Shine on 2024 Emmys Red Carpet as E! Coverage Kicks Off
The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards red carpet is officially underway, with Hollywood’s biggest names arriving in showstopping fashion. Early arrivals include Zendaya, Selena Gomez, and Nicole Kidman, each delivering standout style moments that are already dominating social conversation.
Ciara Miller Leads E! Red Carpet Coverage
Summer House breakout star Ciara Miller has joined the E! hosting team for the network’s live red carpet pre-show. The reality television personality turned heads in her own right while anchoring coverage alongside veteran entertainment correspondents. Miller’s presence marks her continued crossover from Bravo’s hit franchise into mainstream awards season broadcasting.
Fashion Forecast: Bold Silhouettes and Vintage Revivals
Early trend reports from the carpet indicate a shift toward architectural tailoring, saturated color palettes, and archival designer pieces. Stylists are leaning into vintage Couture and sustainable fashion statements, with several nominees opting for reimagined classics from fashion house archives.
How to Watch the 2024 Emmys
The ceremony airs live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. E!’s “Live from E!: Emmys” red carpet special began at 6 p.m. ET, streaming simultaneously on Peacock. Viewers can also follow real-time updates across E! News digital platforms and social channels.
Check back throughout the evening for complete winners lists, best-dressed roundups, and behind-the-scenes moments from television’s biggest night.
Nicole Kidman and her rarely seen younger daughter, Faith Kidman Urban, shared a tender moment at the 2026 US Open. The Oscar-winning actress, 59, attended day thirteen of the tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, walking hand-in-hand with her 15-year-old daughter.
Kidman Opens Up About Divorce From Keith Urban
Kidman recently sat down with British Vogue for a candid interview addressing the high-profile separations that have marked her life. During the conversation, she reflected on her 19-year marriage to country star Keith Urban, which ended in September 2025. When asked if her previous divorce from Tom Cruise provided a blueprint for navigating the split from Urban, Kidman dismissed the idea of a playbook.
“It’s all new….Every time!” she told Vogue, throwing up her hands and laughing.
Despite the challenges, Kidman emphasized that her family remains her central focus.
“It’s an extraordinary purpose. Everything else is not important. These kids now, that’s what we drop everything for… It’s OK, we’re here. You’ve got people who love you, who are going to hold your hand and get through it.”
Reflections on Marriage to Tom Cruise
The actress also looked back on her marriage to Tom Cruise, which began when she was just 22. Kidman described the relationship as a whirlwind that felt entirely natural at the time.
“You have to remember literally, because of who I married at such a young age, I was thrust into it since I was 22. [My life has been] more time like that than not. My memory of it not being that is quite blurry, because I was really young,” she recalled. “Suddenly I was 22, 23 years old and I had this huge movie star husband. But it just seemed completely natural. We just fell madly in love and it was that simple.”
She revealed that outside voices warned her the union would derail her professional trajectory.
“I remember people saying to me, ‘OK, well this is really going to affect your career,’ ” she recalled. “I’m like, ‘I don’t care. I’m in love. I want to be married.’ And then I was his ‘wife’ and they were like, ‘See, we told you.’ I’m like, ‘So what? I wasn’t meant to marry the man I love? Of course I’ll throw my career away. I don’t care.’ “
Kidman shares two daughters with Urban: Sunday Rose, 18, who has launched a successful modeling career, and Faith Margaret, 15, who largely stays out of the public eye. Their appearance at the US Open offered a rare glimpse into their close mother-daughter bond.
Nicole Kidman and her 15-year-old daughter, Faith Margaret Kidman-Urban, turned heads with a coordinated fashion moment that quickly captured attention across social media and entertainment outlets. The Academy Award-winning actress and her daughter—whom she shares with country music star Keith Urban—stepped out in complementary ensembles that highlighted their shared sense of style.
Mother-Daughter Style Statement
The pair appeared together at a recent public event, drawing immediate commentary for their polished, age-appropriate looks. Kidman, long regarded as a red-carpet staple, opted for a tailored silhouette in a neutral tone, while Faith Margaret wore a youthful yet sophisticated dress that echoed her mother’s elegance without mimicking it. Fashion observers noted the balance of individuality and cohesion in their outfits, a rarity in high-profile parent-child appearances.
Family Dynamics in the Spotlight
Kidman and Urban, married since 2006, have generally kept their two daughters—Sunday Rose, 16, and Faith Margaret, 15—out of the public eye. Faith’s increased visibility in recent months marks a subtle shift, though the family continues to prioritize privacy. The actress has spoken in past interviews about raising her children away from Hollywood’s intensity, emphasizing normalcy and grounded values.
Social Media Reaction
Photos of the duo circulated widely on platforms like Instagram and X, with users praising the understated glamour and the evident bond between mother and daughter. Style accounts dissected the details—fabric choices, shoe pairings, outerwear layers—while parenting commentators highlighted the rare glimpse into Kidman’s family life.
As Kidman continues a prolific acting phase with upcoming film and streaming projects, moments like these offer a brief, curated window into her off-screen world—one where fashion becomes a quiet language of connection.
Practical Magic 2 Review: A Long-Awaited Sequel Conjures Heartbreak, Romance, and Witchy Sisterhood
Twenty-eight years after the original Practical Magic debuted to modest box office returns, the cult classic has finally manifested a sequel. Fueled by decades of fan devotion—expressed through fan art, social media tributes, and countless streaming rewatches—Warner Bros. Pictures brings back the beloved Owens sisters for Practical Magic 2, opening in theaters on September 11.
Returning Cast and New Faces
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprise their roles as Sally and Gillian Owens, sliding comfortably back into the dynamic of the bristling straight woman and the free-spirited wild child. Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing return as the iconic Aunt Jet and Aunt Franny, delivering the warmth and mischief that anchored the first film.
The next generation of Owens women has been recast: Joey King and Maisie Williams step into the roles of Kylie and Antonia, previously played by Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip. New additions to the ensemble include Lee Pace as Professor Ian Wright, Xolo Maridueña as Gideon, and Solly McLeod, rounding out the men who cross the Owens women’s paths—for better or worse.
Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest in “Practical Magic 2.” Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Plot: A Shattered Happy Ending
Based on Alice Hoffman’s The Book of Magic, the sequel immediately unravels the hard-won happy ending of the 1998 film. After defeating the vengeful spirit of Gillian’s ex-lover (Goran Visnjic), the sisters believed they had broken the family curse that dooms any man who loves an Owens woman. But in the intervening years, Sally’s second husband, Tucson investigator Gary Hallet (Aidan Quinn), has died. The loss plunges Sally back into grief and reignites her hatred for her own magic.
At the sequel’s start, Sally casts a spell on her young daughters to erase their memories of magic and their witch heritage, swearing Gillian to secrecy. Yet the girls still live in the same Massachusetts community that knows their family’s history, and they remain close to their openly witchy aunts. The narrative asks the audience to accept this contradiction—magic is everywhere, yet the daughters are unaware—and move forward.
Nicole Kidman and Joey King in “Practical Magic 2.” Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
A Darker, More Emotional Tone
Director Susanne Bier (Bird Box) establishes a vibrant, salty New England atmosphere in the first act, with a color palette that highlights the Owens women’s signature silks, velvets, and feathers against rough-hewn architecture. But the tone shifts quickly. Less than 15 minutes in, Aunt Jet (Wiest) dies—a devastating loss that hit this reviewer harder than expected, given the first film’s lighter touch. Wiest’s portrayal of Jet’s joy, mischief, love of margaritas, and fierce family devotion makes the loss resonate deeply.
The story then jumps forward: Antonia (Williams) is in a medical residency, while Kylie (King) studies art at university and falls for classmate Gideon (Maridueña), who is utterly besotted. Their romance reignites fears of the curse. Before Gideon’s life is threatened, the family suffers another shattering blow, propelling Kylie into a crash course in magic and her family’s hidden history.
Lee Pace and Sandra Bullock in “Practical Magic 2.” Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Lee Pace Commands the Screen
Lee Pace defines Practical Magic 2. As Professor Ian Wright, a dark-magic academic covered in tattoos, Pace is introduced in a nude scene that—while PG-13 discreet—ushers in a female gaze the original film lacked. Bier understands that a close-up of Sally’s hand on Ian’s exposed chest, paired with his low whisper that they are both “molecules,” is as seductive as any explicit moment.
Ian is unapologetically earnest in his attraction to Sally, devoid of coyness or reservation. His every gaze carries temptation tinged with danger, a hallmark of Pace’s ability to straddle hero and villain territory. His crisp English accent welcomes audiences into the eccentric flats, cramped taverns, and stony ruins of England, where the film’s second half unfolds. The palette darkens there, mirroring Kylie’s peril and the sigils inked across Ian’s body—constant visual reminders of the stakes every time he reaches for Sally.
Romance, Fashion, and Female Power
The sequel delivers on multiple genre expectations: a heart-warming witch fantasy, a sexy but PG-13 romance, aspirational yet deceptively simple fashion, and a narrative of women harnessing their power against a system designed to suppress them. Bullock, also an executive producer, curates a female-led soundtrack featuring Olivia Rodrigo’s “The Cure” and Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide.”
Sandra Bullock in “Practical Magic 2.” Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Third-Act Stumbles
Where the film falters is its climax. Screenwriters Akiva Goldsman (who co-wrote the original with Robin Swicord and Adam Brooks), Georgia Pritchett, and Kelly Marcel craft dialogue that captures the intimacy and intensity of Sally and Gillian’s bond. However, Hoffman’s book series includes two intervening novels, and the sequel hastily introduces a new character and extensive backstory in the third act, creating a convoluted tangle. Character depictions grow frustratingly thin, and the action-heavy finale feels unearned.
Yet the tone eventually settles into a joyful, unapologetically “girly” conclusion that echoes the original’s spirit. The wild ride across genre influences—romance, horror, fantasy, family drama—remains thoroughly entertaining.
Final Verdict: A Source of Inspiration in Dark Times
Ultimately, Practical Magic 2 is more than a nostalgic victory lap. Seeing Kidman, Bullock, Wiest, and Channing reunite as women who boldly seek love, self-contentment, and sisterhood—no longer ingenues but fully realized forces—offers a path for witchy women everywhere, magical or not. In dark times, the film stands as a source of inspiration and hope.
Practical Magic 2 opens in theaters on September 11.
Nicole Kidman’s infamous urine scene with Zac Efron in the 2012 thriller The Paperboy was not a special effect. According to Deadline, Kidman actually urinated on Efron during the beach sequence after his character, Jack Jansen, is stung by a jellyfish.
In the scene, two girls suggest that urine could help relieve the pain. Charlotte Bless, played by Kidman, then volunteers to help.
“If anyone is gonna pee on him, it’s gonna be me!”
Kidman later confirmed that the scene was filmed as written and that no stunt urine was used.
“Yes, I did the scene. That was what Lee [Daniels, the director] wanted. It was in the script,”
Kidman explained.
“And it’s pretty out there. I mean, I love Zac. He’s such a great guy, and let me just say, I am glad it was him. I feel safe with Zac, and hopefully he feels safe with me,”
Despite the scene’s shocking nature, Kidman said she was surprised that it became the main topic of discussion on social media after the film premiered.
“Of course it would be all over Twitter,”
she said with a laugh.
Why Nicole Kidman Fought to Keep the Zac Efron Scene
Later that year, director Lee Daniels told Vulture that Kidman was the person who fought to keep the controversial moment in the finished film. Daniels said no one was particularly nervous about filming the sequence, but he became more hesitant when he reviewed it during the editing process.
“We just went for it and never thought twice about it, because it made sense for the film,”
the director recalled.
“I think that I became more nervous about it in the edit room.”
After watching the footage, Daniels questioned whether he could include it in the movie.
“I’m not actually going to show this, right? Is it vulgar?”
Kidman reportedly objected when she learned that Daniels was considering cutting the scene. She told him:
“You made me pee on Zac Efron. If you don’t put it in the movie…you need to man up.”
Daniels ultimately assured Kidman that he would not “p—sy out,” and the scene remained in The Paperboy at her request.
Randy Quaid is criticizing Anne Hathaway’s reported involvement in Days of Thunder 2, calling her a “horrible choice” to join Tom Cruise in the sequel.
Quaid, who starred alongside Cruise in the original film, said Cruise should reunite with Nicole Kidman instead.
