From navigating complex family dynamics to discovering her voice through art, Ava from High Potential has stepped into her own this season — and according to Amirah J, that journey is only just beginning.
We sat down with Daniel Francis, who plays the beloved Lord Marcus Anderson in Netflix’s Bridgerton, to discuss season 4’s long-anticipated relationship between Lady Violet Bridgerton and Marcus – touching on the nature of their connection, why it resonated with audiences, and the human need for creativity.
Last Wednesday, I took the F train downtown to see the third iteration of DENNIS, written by Aidan La Poche. Currently circulating like gossip through every Paloma Wool–clad Lower East Side Gen Z’er, it not only takes on the topic of AI, but also explores therapy culture, brain rot, and the particular seduction of being understood by something that isn’t human.
Held in the Chelsea Mercantile, Recollect, hosted by Nolan Feng and Silver Chang, marked its inaugural Lunar New Year dinner salon. Conceived around the Fire Horse Year, the gathering positioned Lunar New Year as both cultural preservation and contemporary authorship, bringing together a cross-disciplinary community of artists, designers, technologists, and friends to experience what celebration looks like when heritage is carried into metropolitan life. The evening centered on intentional hosting, ritual participation, and collective alignment, brought to life through thoughtful partnerships with Rémy Martin, West Elm, Maison Detto, Hudson Wilder, and 25hours NYC.
The aesthetic was unmistakably Lunar New Year, with red paper cuttings, window flowers, and envelopes placed with intention, but the presentation felt deliberately contemporary. The hosting approach reflected a new generation’s relationship to embodied rituals that are thoughtful, design-forward, and collaborative. Sponsors like West Elm played a visible but integrated role in shaping the environment. The modern salon-style format leaned into intentional hosting, with many celebrating with chosen family while relatives were continents away. Traditional Chinese paper cutting and conversation became anchors for the evening, as guests sat down to participate while connecting with new and old friends.
Dinner was served family-style, encouraging guests to pass plates, reach across the table, and engage in conversation that felt more rooted in tradition. The environment, shaped by intentional furniture placement, layered textiles, and warm lighting, made the act of gathering feel elevated but not inaccessible. The hosting itself became part of the cultural expression and a subtle reframing of tradition. It created a container where friends could become stand-ins for relatives, where culture could be introduced to partners and collaborators who didn’t grow up inside it.
There was also a wish wall installed along one side of the space, where guests wrote intentions for the year ahead. Unlike the performative goal-setting often associated with the Gregorian New Year, these notes felt more collective, with themes of stability, health, momentum, and collaboration. The Year of the Horse, often associated with drive and force, hovered over the evening symbolically. In Chinese zodiac cycles, the Fire Horse in particular carries intensity, galloping with ambition, volatility, and synergy.
What made the gathering feel distinctly contemporary was its understanding of aesthetics as language. Design became narrative, expressed through the clean silhouettes of the furniture, the restrained palette punctuated by red, and the integration of sponsor partnerships without overt branding, reflecting a generation that understands cultural celebration as both visual and communal.
Holidays can carry a complicated emotional charge because they remind you of what’s distant. They expose the gap between childhood and adulthood, between homeland and adopted city. Yet they also create opportunity to gather across difference, teach friends about your customs, and celebrate not just where you’re from, but who you’ve become.
By the end of the evening, it was clear that this wasn’t a traditional Lunar New Year. It was a new ritual shaped by creative direction, collaborative hosting, and new connections and a celebration that honored heritage while acknowledging evolution. Red envelopes distributed at the end of the evening carried symbolic weight: gestures of blessing and continuity. In New York, tradition rarely remains static. It adapts and gathers in new rooms. It is styled, reframed, and reinterpreted by the people who carry it forward.
It is nearly impossible to open social media without seeing something about Heated Rivalry. From viral posts to nonstop commentary about the hottest moments, the hockey-driven HBO drama has taken over timelines everywhere. The series had quickly become one of television’s most talked-about breakout hits — and among its compelling ensemble is Ksenia Daniele Kharlamova, one of the show’s female protagonists whose performance has resonated strongly with fans.
Amazon Prime Video’s 56 Days, Based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel and developed by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, has a slick, pulpy hook and just enough twisted energy to keep you watching.
It wants to be dangerous. Sometimes it even flirts with that danger. But more often than not, it feels like it’s playing dress-up in the erotic thriller genre rather than fully committing to it. However, there are things that I liked about the series.
The premise is undeniably strong. What begins as a chance encounter between two strangers, Oliver Kennedy (Avan Jogia) and Ciara Wyse (Dove Cameron), spirals into a relationship defined by secrecy, manipulation, and escalating risk. From the start, Oliver radiates unease. He laughs during a space documentary when a man dies in an explosion. He stares too long. A random woman warns Ciara to stay away from him. These are not subtle red flags. The intrigue lies in why Ciara ignores them so completely.
When the show finally reveals the reasoning behind her selective blindness, it delivers one of its more satisfying twists. There’s a sly cleverness in how the series reframes what we’ve been watching. For a moment, 56 Days sharpens into something deliciously perverse. It suggests a story about two people who may be more evenly matched in deception than we initially assumed.
That push and pull between Oliver and Ciara is the show’s strongest asset. Their relationship becomes increasingly chaotic, veering into territory that’s sometimes implausible but rarely boring. The series relocates the story from COVID-era Dublin in the novel to present-day Boston, stripping away the lockdown claustrophobia that might have intensified the tension. In its place, we get a glossy, contemporary backdrop that looks polished but feels emotionally muted.
Structurally, the show unfolds across two timelines. The “past” charts the days leading up to the titular 56th day. The “Today” timeline follows homicide detectives Karl Connolly (Dorian Missick) and Lee Reardon (Karla Souza) as they investigate a murder. The device is straightforward. An object discovered in the present prompts a flashback explaining how it got there. A needle in the past reappears in an evidence bag in the present. The structure keeps the narrative clear, but clarity is not the same as suspense.
Instead of escalating tension, the back-and-forth often feels procedural. It fills in blanks rather than tightening the noose. You’re rarely ahead of the characters, but you’re also rarely breathless. The inevitable conclusion feels less like a devastating reveal and more like a box being methodically checked.
As an erotic thriller, 56 Days struggles even more. Yes, there is sex. Quite a bit of it. But hot sex scenes alone are not enough to tell a story. Eroticism in this genre should deepen character, expose vulnerability, and shift power dynamics. It should feel charged with danger. Here, the encounters are filmed plainly, almost clinically. They exist, but they rarely generate the kind of psychosexual tension that lingers.
There’s a difference between nudity and sensuality, between bodies moving and desire driving the plot. I do not mind the sex scenes in 56 Days as it signals that the relationship is intense, but it doesn’t make us feel that intensity. Without emotional stakes or a palpable sense of risk, even the steamiest scene becomes decorative.
The series is also surprisingly incurious about the logistics of its own twists. Characters possess specialized skills without much explanation. Financial realities are brushed aside. These gaps may not derail the story entirely, but they contribute to a sense that the world exists only when the plot needs it to. For a thriller built on deception and manipulation, a little more grounding would have gone a long way.
Performance-wise, the cast does solid work within the material they’re given. Avan Jogia leans into Oliver’s ambiguity, oscillating between charming and unsettling. Dove Cameron, though, is the more compelling presence. She has a cool, feline watchfulness that hints at a sharper, more dangerous version of this character than the script always allows. There are moments when she seems ready to pounce, and in those flashes, the show almost becomes the erotic thriller it wants to be.
That’s the lingering frustration with 56 Days. The ingredients are there. A twisty premise. Two attractive leads with chemistry. A structure designed to tease out a murder mystery. At times, the series gestures toward something audacious and darkly funny. It hints at lovers circling each other like predators, equal parts seduction and threat.
But it rarely pushes far enough. The aesthetics are bland where they could be bold. The sex is explicit but not electric. The suspense is competent but not suffocating. Instead of leaning into its own madness, the show smooths out its roughest edges.
Still, there’s a certain glossy watchability to 56 Days. The twists, even when predictable, are entertaining. The central dynamic remains compelling enough to carry you through slower stretches. It may not redefine the erotic thriller or leave you rattled, but it offers a sleek, bingeable mystery with just enough bite to satisfy viewers in search of escapist intrigue.
During a recent press junket for 56 Days, host Terzel Ron interviewed the leas actors Dove Cameron, Avan Jojia, and the lead detectives Karla Souza and Dorian Missick, to discuss the emotional intensity behind the series, which explores what happens when two strangers fast-track intimacy just as the world shuts down.
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In 56 Days, a chance meeting turns into something far more unsettling. The psychological thriller stars Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia, whose on-screen chemistry anchors a story that begins with romance and slowly spirals into suspicion.
Terzel Ron from the Knockturnal recently sat down with the cast of 56 Days, Dove Cameron, Avan Jojia, and the lead detectives Karla Souza and Dorian Missick, to discuss the emotional intensity behind the series, which explores what happens when two strangers fast-track intimacy without knowing about the secrets that each other holds.
The series follows a couple who have a chance encounter and choose to move in together, accelerating their relationship under extraordinary circumstances. As days pass, small inconsistencies emerge, trust begins to erode, and the narrative unfolds across dual timelines — one charting the hopeful beginnings of the romance, the other circling a grim aftermath that hints something has gone terribly wrong. The structure builds tension steadily, inviting viewers to question what is real, what is hidden, and who may not be telling the truth.
Cameron described her role as one of her most emotionally layered to date — a character navigating vulnerability, instinct, and growing unease in close quarters. Jogia echoed that sentiment, noting how the confined setting intensifies every glance and every silence. Both actors spoke about the challenge of sustaining suspense in a character-driven thriller where emotional shifts carry more weight than spectacle. The series explores how quickly intimacy can blur into suspicion — and how love, when tested, can reveal truths no one is prepared for, amplifying paranoia and forcing each person to confront everything that they believe — including themselves.
Ultimately, 56 Days feels both timely and timeless. While its lockdown premise grounds it in a specific moment, the story taps into universal fears: the risk of trusting too quickly, the masks people wear in new relationships, and the unsettling realization that intimacy can expose more than we’re ready to see. After speaking with the cast, it’s clear this isn’t just a thriller about confinement — it’s a cautionary tale about how well we truly know the people we let inside.
Watch the entire interview here.
As the final shows of New York Fashion Week wrapped in Manhattan, the energy carried across the Hudson to W Hoboken, where Modern Day Wife brought back it’s annual What She Said speaker series for a standout closing-week celebration.
The program brought together influential voices across entertainment, entrepreneurship, and digital media. Featured panelists included Love Island winner Hannah Wright, influencer Davide De Pierro (Davi D), Eleonora Srugo of Netflix’s Selling the City, and actress and content creator Catherine Bradley. Their discussions focused on brand building, career longevity, visibility, and navigating evolving industries with intention.
Beyond the panels, the event unfolded as a fully curated experience. Lauren Goldenberg of The Knockturnal was present on-site, conducting interviews with panelists and attendees, further amplifying the event’s cultural and media reach. Guests attended a fashion show, live entertainment programming, and an on-stage tutorial featuring Equinox Co-Founder Lavinia Errico and CRWD Founder and CEO Ryan Chen. Immersive brand activations, wellness installations, and elevated beauty partnerships reinforced the evening’s emphasis on innovation and self-expression.
Beyond the discussion stage, the evening unfolded as a fully curated experience. The panel rooms were filled to capacity, with standing attendees lining the back walls and crowding the entrances, underscoring the level of anticipation surrounding the conversation. The energy inside the space felt concentrated and engaged, with audience members leaning in, taking notes, and applause punctuating key moments throughout the discussion.
The evening was hosted by Modern Day Wife founders Meghan Fialkoff and Meagan Elieff, marking the official launch of their 2026 national tour, with upcoming stops in Chicago, Miami, Beverly Hills, Dallas, and Scottsdale.
At W Hoboken, What She Said delivered more than a conversation. It created a polished, experiential platform that reflected the ambition, influence, and evolving power of modern women.
Lunar New Year arrived in style at The Eighth as New York’s fashion and creative crowd gathered at Chelsea’s newest elevated cocktail and dining destination to celebrate the Year of the Horse.
The 18th Annual Harlem Fine Arts Show transformed The Glasshouse into a convening space centered on innovation, ownership, and cultural authorship.
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