Within the 2025 Netflix release schedule, one of the clear big hits among U.S. audiences so far is The Hunting Wives starring Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow. The murder mystery that caught us off guard with all its soapy raunchy fun (and just fell off Netflix’s Top 10 after six weeks among the most trending shows) is officially returning for Season 2, and I love how its stars decided to announce and celebrate the news.

In an Instagram post posted on Friday morning, Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman made The Hunting Wives Season 2 news official. Check out how:

In a funny exchange between the two stars, Brittany Snow comes on with stained mascara all down her face to leave a message to Akerman, calling her a “magnetic, charismatic, perfectly symmetrical, beautiful” person in the most angry fashion before her freshly out-the-shower co-star picks up the phone.

An unhinged Snow shares that she would “give anything” to see Akerman again, including giving up her dignity before a calm Akerman assures Snow they’ll be seeing each other “real soon” thanks to the renewal. As Akerman exclaimed while suddenly wearing one of her wild wigs from the show again:

Deadline has reported that after Season 1 was an adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name by May Cobb, the second season will be an “original” continuation of the story that will use the finale as a jumping off point. Apparently, Season 2 will begin with Malin Akerman’s Margo and Brittany Snow’s Sophie being “on the outs” until “old secrets and new foes force them back together”.

The report also suggests they will be back to playing their “dangerous games” and the question that will arise is if they are “the hunters or the hunted.” Amidst the news, the show’s creator Rebecca Cutter said this of the renewal:

Oh, and the entire main cast will reportedly be back. The Hunting Wives became available to stream (in U.S. only) with a Netflix subscription at the end of July, and quickly became an obsession for many viewers after critics raved about it in their reviews. It’s been talked about for its nude scenes and outright queer storylines.

Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow certainly look to be very excited to return to Maple Brook, and picked the perfect way to let fans know. There’s no word yet on when to expect the followup season, but we’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

The Hunting Wives is one of those 2025 Netflix releases that’s been all the rage since it became available to stream in July. The title, which is only playing for those with a Netflix subscription in the U.S., has remained in the Top 10 for five weeks straight with critics applauding it, and audiences talking about its nudity and soapy pizazz. But another popular topic around the show is Malin Akerman’s wigs on the show.

Fans have been talking a lot about the leading star’s wig, with Twitter calling it everything from “diabolical” to “sexy” and just plain old “bad”. When Akerman was asked about it on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, she shared the real reason for Margo’s odd wig situation. As she started to tell in her words:

As the actress explained, she was fitted for her Hunting Wives wig in Los Angeles, before heading to North Carolina to shoot the show, but once she tried it on the series' creator Rebecca Cutter was not happy with how it turned out. As Akerman continued:

This was during a screen test for The Hunting Wives, but apparently there wasn’t enough time to order a new one, so Akerman recalls the “poor” hair lady on set going through a box of wigs she had on hand and having the actress try them on before one of them (which was not made for her specific head) ended up being the wig she wore on the shoot. Akerman also said this:

Once Akerman’s new wig did come in, it ended up being a lighter color than the first one she was wearing, so they decided to film a scene where Margo is getting her hair done in order to explain her different hair for the rest of the season. It’s wild how things like that happen on sets, right? For anyone who clocked this while watching the show, hopefully you can feel validated now!

When the host asked Akerman why she wore a wig in the first place, the actress shared that she had a bob at the time, and actually has had some thyroid problems which would have complicated Margo's hair being long and full like it is in the show. However, should there be another season, she thinks she would handle things differently. As she said:

Given the success of The Hunting Wives on the 2025 TV schedule, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a Season 2, but we’ll have to wait and see. For now, enjoy the first season’s funny array of wigs.

Some minor spoilers for The Hunting Wives can be found throughout this piece.

Listen, it’s a hard truth that nudity is falling out of favor on the TV schedule. Ten to fifteen years ago, we had programs like Spartacus and Game of Thrones dropping sex scenes onto pay cable on a weekly basis. Now, as actors have landed more say over roles and intimacy coordinators have become the norm, we’ve seen fewer and fewer sex scenes. Part of this also has to do with Gen Z, an entire coming-of-age demographic that doesn’t actually love to see intimacy onscreen. Still, a new show on Netflix is defying the norms.

Netflix has been known for sexually explicit movies and shows from time to time. Regardless, I was a little surprised at how much nudity cropped up in The Hunting Wives when it hit the Netflix schedule at the tail end of July. In fact, the first episode shows Sophie (Brittany Snow), a bit of a fish out of water, wandering into a bathroom at a party in her new home state of Texas. There, she meets Margot (Malin Akerman), who stunningly drops her dress and shows off her naked body in front of the newcomer. It’s just a quick moment, but it sets the tone for a show about power dynamics, and one that continues to be sexually alluring through its runtime.

Despite The Hunting Wives, Nudity Is Declining On TV

Despite the fact there are TV orgy supercuts out there, the amount of nudity on the small screen has declined drastically over the past few decades. A study released by The Economist revealed that sex has declined on TV nearly 40% since the year 2000. Another roundup of commentary researched by UCLA found that GenZ prefers to see platonic relationships play out onscreen. In fact, of the test group, 51.5% expressed a desire for less sex and more friendship shown onscreen. Some also expressed a preference for fewer heteronormative relationships and more variety.

In this way, The Hunting Wives is also a bit exceptional. It’s a show about using sex to manipulate and to escape reality. It’s also a show about obsession and fantasy, and one young woman going out of her way to explore beyond the confines of her own marriage… with another woman. Brittany Snow’s character is a bit out of her depth in small-town Texas, but her new friend Margot helps her to adjust fairly quickly, teaching her about both guns and sex, and encouraging her to engage in more hedonistic behaviors away from home.

It’s not the type of role we’ve seen from Snow in past gigs like Pitch Perfect, and it's kind of nice to see her spice things up. In addition, her character's addictive personality is manipulated by Margot in a way that makes for compelling TV, but also some pretty sexy stuff, filmed from with a feminine eye. (All episodes of The Hunting Wives were directed by women.)

Despite the ulterior motives from the gals, I think The Hunting Wives handles its sex both explicitly and tactfully for the most part, and it adds an intriguing subtext to the sin-in-small-town America plotline.

Given the show’s had a solid run on Netflix’s Top 10 list, I do feel there is still an appetite for sexually explicit content out there. (At least if I can use my coworker's reaction to The Hunting Wives as evidence.) Sure, a significant chunk of Gen Z may not be as interested, but there are a lot of streaming audiences out there that still have an appetite for this stuff. I think when it's done well, sex scenes still have a place on television, and I'm glad the new Netflix drama chose to not forgo some of its sexier stuff.

Obviously, if you aren’t a fan of boobs flashed on your home TV or if have young kids in the home, I am absolutely not recommending you throw on The Hunting Wives. But if you’re a consenting adult missing the days HBO got a little rowdy, Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow’s fun new Netflix show is a great substitute.

The Hunting Wives is a new murder mystery-drama that just hit the 2025 TV schedule. Following in the footsteps of other deliciously scandalous female-led soap operas, the new Netflix series stars Brittany Snow as Sophie, who feels out of place after relocating to Texas, until she meets Malin Akerman’s Margo. Strap in for an unexpected saga of sex, drugs and debauchery — all leading to murder — that critics seem to think is a trip down South worth taking.

I have to admit, The Hunting Wives wasn’t really on my radar; as a Texas transplant myself, I don’t need to fire up my Netflix subscription to experience red state social politics. I may have underestimated just how juicy the series gets, though, because after reading what critics have to say about the book-to-screen adaptation, it sounds like the binge I didn’t know I needed. Angie Han of THR calls it “pure over-the-top fun,” writing:

Saloni Gajjar of AV Club gives it a B, saying The Hunting Wives “screams guilty pleasure with its ludicrous characters and situations,” offering nothing but escapism. Gajjar continues:

Lacy Baugher Milas of Paste rates it a 7.0, writing that there’s something propulsive about a show that so unabashedly delights in the worst excesses of its characters. It exists solely to entertain, which it does with “utterly outlandish shock twists.” The critic says:

Nick Schager of the Daily Beast says everything’s bigger in Texas, including this series that’s “stuffed with sex, murder, betrayal, duplicity, and deep, dark secrets that threaten to destroy the lives of its well-off characters.” Schager enthusiastically recommends this story of secrets and scandals, writing:

Alison Herman of Variety calls The Hunting Wives a “very zany, very gay” red-state murder mystery, whose political culture clash remains its most interesting element, despite the hovering murder mystery. Herman says:

From what critics are saying about the series playing into our voyeuristic cravings, its outlandish plot twists and women behaving badly, The Hunting Wives seems primed to become one of the best shows to binge on Netflix. All eight episodes are available to stream now.

The next time you watch a comedy movie, see if you can picture the star engaging in fisticuffs with a criminal and taking down their henchpeople in a shootout. You never know: they could be Hollywood’s next great action hero.

It may seem unlikely until you realize that many of the best action movies and TV shows of all time have been led by or featured pivotal roles played by stand-up comedians or actors who broke through in funny flicks or even classic TV sitcoms. See for yourself by taking a look at some comedically talented actors who beat the odds by becoming action stars.

Will Smith

After initially coming to prominence as a rap artist, Academy Award winner Will Smith proved he had a charismatic onscreen presence as the star of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast in the early 1990s. In 1995, he was cast in director Michael Bay's buddy cop movie, Bad Boys, and, the following year, led Roland Emmerich's action-packed alien invasion flick, Independence Day. There would soon be so much more where those came from.

Cheech Marin

Along with his partner, Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin essentially became the face of stoner comedy, especially after co-leading the classic '70s movie, Up in Smoke. His career would take a turn when he appeared in 1995's Desperado, leading him to become a staple of Robert Rodriguez's movies, and, eventually, began portraying a type of character his roles from the Cheech & Chong movies would try to avoid alongside Don Johnson in the hit cop show, Nash Bridges.

Chris Pratt

By channeling much of the same comedic energy from his scene-stealing breakout role in the Parks and Recreation cast as Andy Dwyer, Chris Pratt helped make 2014's sci-fi odyssey, Guardians of the Galaxy, a light breath of fresh air into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His fun, heartfelt performance as Peter "Star-Lord" Quill also convinced Hollywood he was leading man material, opening the door for him to star in the Jurassic World movies and Amazon Prime's The Terminal List, to name a few.

Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd made his major motion picture debut in the hilarious high school movie classic Clueless before later hit comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Knocked Up made him one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors in the genre. He found the perfect role to become inducted into the MCU in the form of Ant-Man, playing the shrinking superhero with the same everyman quality that made him an A-lister.

Michael Keaton

Because Michael Keaton got his start in stand-up comedy and had been best known for movies like Night Shift and Mr. Mom at the time, comic book fans were up in arms over Tim Burton's decision to cast him in his live-action Batman movies, Batman and Batman Returns. The Oscar nominee has since been regarded as one of the best actors to play the Dark Knight (if not the best) and would even return to superhero movies as one of the best Spider-Man movie villains, Vulture, in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Nicolas Cage

It is easy to forget that Nicolas Cage started out in comedies like Valley Girl and Peggy Sue Got Married before blowing us away in high-octane thrillers like Con Air, Face/Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. Then again, it is also easy to tell that the Oscar winner has a comedy background from some of his action movie credits, including the three listed above and his even Cagier roles, like from Mandy and Willy's Wonderland.

Damon Wayans

You may have forgotten he was on Saturday Night Live, but you should surely remember Damon Wayans from his days on the In Living Color cast and from sitcoms like My Wife and Kids. Hopefully, you did not also forget about his roles in '90s crime thrillers The Last Boy Scout (opposite Bruce Willis) and Bulletproof (opposite Adam Sandler) or when he took over as Roger Murtaugh for Fox's series adaptation of Lethal Weapon.

Robert Downey Jr.

After lasting one season on Saturday Night Live, appearing in several '80s teen comedies like Weird Science, and earning his first Oscar nod for playing Charlie Chaplin, Robert Downey Jr.'s career would hit a snag in the early 2000s. Luckily, he would make an inspiring comeback after leading the 2005 noir thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang before kicking off the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the title role of Iron Man and playing Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes.

Eddie Murphy

Many credit Eddie Murphy with single-handedly saving Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s, right before making his feature debut alongside Nick Nolte in Walter Hill's 1982 buddy crime thriller, 48 Hrs. Just two years later, the comedian led his own acclaimed action-comedy movie called Beverly Hills Cop, which made him Hollywood's biggest star.

Bruce Willis

In the mid-to-late 1980s, Bruce Willis was best known for playing David Addison on Moonlighting, starring opposite Kim Basinger in Blind Date, and appearing in commercials for Seagram, which is why audiences initially laughed when they saw him as John McClane in the trailer for Die Hard. However, the 1988 action classic would immediately skyrocket the actor to stardom and turn him into a top Hollywood action star, later known for leading thrillers like The Fifth Element, Armageddon, and Sin City.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx's stand-up career led him to join the In Living Color cast and lead his own self-titled sitcom before his Oscar-winning performance in the 2004 music biopic, Ray, and Oscar-nominated performance in Collateral the same year opened wider doors for him. He went on to star in more thrillers like Jarhead, The Kingdom, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Electro, and White House Down.

Alan Ritchson

One of Alan Ritchson's first major acting credits was playing doltish college football player Thad Castle on the uproarious sitcom Blue Mountain State before landing a small role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, doing performance capture for the 2014 and 2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, and playing Hank "Hawk" Hall on Titans. The 6'3" actor's defining, star-making turn came when he was cast in the title role of the hit Amazon Prime TV show, Reacher, leading to his casting in Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu landed her breakthrough role on the hit workplace dramedy Ally McBeal as Ling Woo. Soon after, she achieved cinematic stardom in 2000's Charlie's Angels, teamed up with Antonio Banderas in the 2002 spy thriller Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, and was cast as ruthless assassin O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk wrote for Saturday Night Live for years in the 1980s before co-leading his own acclaimed sketch comedy series with David Cross called Mr. Show, which was his main claim to fame for years. However, he stumbled onto a new career path when he joined the Breaking Bad cast as Saul Goodman, who earned his own prequel spin-off called Better Call Saul, before leading his own action flick called Nobody.

Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence led a successful stand-up career that turned into a successful TV career with his hit sitcom, Martin, in between starring in movies like Do the Right Thing and Boomerang. In 1995, he played Det. Marcus Burnett, for the first of multiple times in Bad Boys and even went on to play a cop in a few more overt comedies, namely Blue Streak and Big Momma's House.

Ryan Reynolds

For years, even after starring in more earnest thrillers like Smokin' Aces and Safe House, it seemed like Ryan Reynolds' defining performance would forever be the title role of National Lampoon's Van Wilder, which paved the way for him to star in more raunchy comedies like Waiting... or Just Friends. However, that would change in 2016 when he led Deadpool, which is still very much on the side of silly but is also as action-packed as any other comic book movie.

Sam Richardson

Sam Richardson quickly became a favorite in the comedy landscape for his hilarious performances in shows like I Think You Should Leave, Veep, and Ted Lasso. He would later go on to impress audiences in Amazon Prime's action-packed time travel movie The Tomorrow War opposite Chris Pratt, as the lead of the 2021 horror-comedy movie Werewolves Within, and in Paramount+'s Star Trek: Section 31.

Keanu Reeves

As the star of franchises like the John Wick movies and the Matrix films, in addition to favorites like Speed and Point Break, Keanu Reeves is one of the most prolific action stars in cinema history. Thus, it is sometimes hard to believe that he is the same actor who, excellently, played one-half of the titular duo from the Bill & Ted movies.

John Goodman

John Goodman began rising to prominence on the groundbreaking sitcom Roseanne as Dan Conner (whom he would reprise in the revival series The Conners). However, he has managed to cover just about every genre you can think of throughout his career, including action films like Kong: Skull Island and Atomic Blonde.

Emily Blunt

It might seem like a stretch to call Emily Blunt a comedy star, but she did find her breakthrough film role with a hilarious scene-stealing performance in 2006's The Devil Wears Prada. She would later prove she could play someone with a rougher exterior when she starred opposite Tom Cruise in the thrilling time loop movie, Edge of Tomorrow, and in Denis Villeneuve's stunning Sicario.

Rick Moranis

Rick Moranis is one of the most treasured comedic actors of his time, from his days at SCTV starring alongside Dave Thomas as the McKenzie Brothers (who led their own 1983 movie, Strange Brew), to appearing in films like Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. In the middle of those comedy classics was a role in Walter Hill's dystopian "Rock 'n Roll fable," Streets of Fire.

Bill Burr

Bill Burr used to mock the Star Wars movies in some of his stand-up bits, which gave The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau a funny idea to bring him into the galaxy far, far away. He cast the Massachusetts-born comedian on the series as a mercenary named Migs Mayfield, which Burr has since recognized as one of the highlights of his career.

John Leguizamo

Despite getting his start as a stand-up comedian, many of John Leguizamo's earliest acting roles have actually been in action movies, including Die Hard 2 and Executive Decision. In addition to more humorous credits, like To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar and the Ice Age movies, more thrillers would come his way, such as the John Wick movies and Violent Night.

Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson may be closely associated with comedies like Bottle Rocket, Meet the Parents, and Zoolander, but the actor has diversified his talents over various styles. He has even tried his hand at the action genre a few times, most notably in Behind Enemy Lines, No Escape, and Disney+'s MCU-canon series, Loki

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks' first major show business breakthrough was a sitcom called Bosom Buddies, which led to roles in comedy films like Bachelor Party and Turner & Hooch. It was his Oscar-winning roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump that opened the door for him to star in intense dramas like the acclaimed war movie Saving Private Ryan and the sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas.

Val Kilmer

Some of Val Kilmer's most iconic roles include Iceman in Top Gun, Doc Holliday in the Western movie classic Tombstone, and the title role of Batman Forever. However, his breakthrough films were the ridiculous spy parody, Top Secret!, and the college comedy, Real Genius, in the early-to-mid 1980s.

Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis rose to fame as Jackie Burkhart in the That '70s Show cast and as the voice of Meg on Family Guy before acquiring A-list fame. Her action movie credits, namely the video game movie adaptation Max Payne and the Wachowski's ambitious sci-fi adventure, Jupiter Ascending, have not been her most esteemed efforts, but we will still count them.

Randall Park

Randall Park is best known for leading the sitcom Fresh off the Boat, his hilarious cameo on The Office as "Asian Jim Halpert," and for hit comedy movies like The Interview and Neighbors. He has also become a staple of the comic book movie genre with his role in the MCU as Agent Jimmy Woo and as Dr. Shin in the Aquaman movies.

Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf started making a name for himself when he was a teen as Louis on the Disney Channel original comedy series, Even Stevens. He went on to make a Hollywood breakthrough in the Transformers movies, which led to his roles in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and, eventually, David Ayer's 2014 war drama, Fury.

Malin Akerman

Before she became the first actor to play Silk Spectre II in live-action in 2009's Watchmen, Malin Akerman rose to fame in comedy movies like 2007's The Heartbreak Kid and shows like Children's Hospital.

Jim Belushi

Just like his late older brother, John, Jim Belushi broke out on Saturday Night Live. Unlike John, Jim achieved a brief career in action movies, such as Red Heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Principal, and Oliver Stone's Salvador.

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine was already an Oscar-winning movie star when he was cast as the lead of the hit sitcom, McHale's Navy. Eventually, he would appear in more earnest action-oriented titles, such as a made-for-TV adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, John Carpenter's Escape from New York, and 2010's RED.

For many audiences, How I Met Your Mother was how they met Hunters actor Josh Radnor, MCU heroine Cobie Smulders, and Cristin Milioti of Palms Springs. It is also likely how they became reacquainted with Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast alum Alyson Hannigan, former Freaks and Geeks cast member Jason Segel, and Neil Patrick Harris – formerly known as Doogie Howser. Yet, some fans may not realize that the hit CBS comedy may also be how they met many of today’s biggest celebrities.

As it often happens with long-running TV shows (nine seasons, in this case), the sitcom from creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas turned out to be a big break (or the home of a brief, but fun, appearance) for many you would easily recognize today. In fact, to mention every big name we found in supporting roles alongside the How I Met Your Mother cast list would take longer than the story of Ted Mosby’s life-changing romance (as well as the misadventures of his friends in New York). So, we narrowed the list down to 31 celebrities, starting with one incredibly talented performer who appeared on the series right before he became legen– wait for it… DARY!

Lin-Manuel Miranda (Gus)

Before his hip-hop history lesson, Hamilton, made him the biggest name on Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda appeared in an episode of How I Met Your Mother’s final season that is also told entirely in rhyme. He even gets to drop a few sick verses as a bus patron initially annoyed by Marshall’s incessant use of homonyms to put his infant son to sleep while en route to Barney and Robin’s wedding.

Rizwan Manji (Dr. Vikash)

In Season 5’s “Double Date,” we see a glimpse into one of Marshall’s sexual fantasies, which requires him to envision an elaborate scenario in which Lily is diagnosed with a “rare and fatal hiccup disorder.” The doctor in that imagined scenario is played by Rizwan Manji, who would go on to steal scenes from the Schitt’s Creek cast as Ray Butani and star in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street or, more recently, Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Jay Ellis (Sound Guy)

Marshall visits his father’s grave to tell him all about the gang’s New Year’s adventures, such as when Robin steps in to produce, and ultimately, cover the celebration in Times Square in “Tailgate.” The Season 7 holiday episode also features an early sighting of Top Gun: Maverick’s Payback actor, Jay Ellis, as Robin’s audio technician.

Raymond Lee (College Dude)

Ellis is not the only Top Gun: Maverick cast member who had a role in a 2012 HIMYM episode. The following season, Raymond Lee – who also went on to lead the rebooted Quantum Leap cast – appeared as a “sandwich-eating” Wesleyan student whom Ted discovers from an old video gave him the idea for his alter ego, Doctor X.

Matt Walsh (Captain Dearduff)

Fans of Matt Walsh’s work in 2009’s The Hangover and the Veep cast, to name a few, would be forgiven for not noticing his subtle HIMYM cameo in Season 9’s “Sunrise.” In Marshall and LIly’s room at Farhampton hangs a photo of the sailor who supposedly haunts the room, Captain Dearduff, which is really a photo of the actor, who, coincidentally, later appeared on CBS’ supernatural comedy, Ghosts, as the spirit of Elias Woodstone.

Kate Micucci (Registrar)

When the gang heads to Atlantic City to see Marshall and Lily Elope in Season 2, they try to obtain a marriage license from a clerk who continuously gives them false hope by saying “what she would say” if it were true or possible. This frustratingly misleading registrar is played by Kate Micucci in only her second acting gig before she and Riki Lindhome hit it big as musical comedy duo, Garfunkel and Oates, and she starred in one of the best episodes of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, “The Outside.” 

Matthew Moy (Louis)

A HIMYM guest actor who went to become a regular on another hit CBS comedy is Matthew Moy, who appeared in Season 5’s “The Window” as Ted’s student, Louis. Two years later, he was on 2 Broke Girls – which was cancelled in 2017 – as Williamsburg Diner owner, Han Lee.

Jayma Mays (Coat Check Girl)

Before working with Neil Patrick Harris as part of the Glee cast (when he guest-starred in 2010) and playing his wife in the Smurfs movies, Jayma Mays appeared opposite him in one of the best episodes of How I Met Your Mother: Season 1’s “Okay Awesome.” One of Mays’ earliest TV roles was a woman working the coat check counter at a nightclub who impresses Ted by sharing a low opinion of such places.

Anna Camp (Cassie Lowell)

Glee also gave Anna Camp a chance to exhibit her singing skills before doing so in the Pitch Perfect cast in 2012. The following year, the actor appeared in two episodes of HIMYM’s ninth season as an attractive and outgoing guest at Robin and Barney’s wedding whom Ted takes interest in, but with increasingly disastrous results.

Amber Stevens West (Janet McIntyre)

Already well-versed in disastrous romances by How I Met Your Mother’s seventh season, Ted and a beautiful woman he recently met named Janet McIntyre both agree to avoid each other’s social media presence to prevent disappointment on their first date, which becomes a greater challenge than either expected. The woman is Amber Stevens West – best known at the time for Greek, before appearing in 22 Jump Street and landing a starring role opposite comedian Jerrod Carmichael on the short-lived comedy, The Carmichael Show, on NBC.

Morena Baccarin (Chloe)

How I Met Your Mother even put a then-single Marshall in a disastrous romance (which, thankfully, resulted in he and Lily rekindling their relationship in Season 2) with a seemingly well-natured barista (despite Barney’s warning of her “crazy eyes”) played by Morena Baccarin. Baccarin was previously best known from the Firefly cast as Inara Serra and would go on to have a somewhat more successful relationship with Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson in Deadpool.

Ryan Michelle Bathe (Michelle)

Baccarin’s co-star on NBC’s The Endgame cast, Ryan Michelle Bathe, appeared in the Season 3 episode, “Sandcastles in the Sand,” which explores the idea that a certain friend or loved one can bring out a dramatically different personality in someone. Case in point, when Lily suddenly adopts a boisterous, “party girl” attitude during a visit by her friend, Michelle, who is played by Bathe -- best known at the time for a recurring role on Boston Legal and later for the Amazon original romance, Sylvie’s Love.

Robbie Amell (Nate Scooberman)

Baccarin has also appeared in several DC adaptations, such as The Flash – on which Robbie Amell (Stephen’s cousin) played the incendiary Ronnie Raymond. The Canadian star of Upload – which has a third season in the works – also had a pair of HIMYM guest spots in Season 6 as Robin’s new boyfriend, who unwittingly earns the nickname “Scooby” and not just for his last name, but for his canine-esque characteristics, especially after he “eats a sandwich.”

Doug Benson (Cool Customs Guy)

“Eating sandwiches” is a claim to fame for Doug Benson and likely earned him the part of an airport customs agent who allows Marshall through without checking what he brought back from Amsterdam. This “miraculous” flashback moment from HIMYM’s third season is one of the comic’s many appearances as a stoner (or, in other words, himself), such as on Bob’s Burgers and You’re the Worst.

Scoot McNairy (Fast Food Worker)

Also one to appear on How I Met Your Mother in a nameless role is Scoot McNairy, who is now one of the most acclaimed actors of his day for movies like 12 Years a Slave, and TV shows like True Detective. Despite the briefness of the Batman v Superman star’s Season 2 appearance as a cashier from a restaurant visited by a starving Marshall and Lily at their wedding, he is remembered as the first stranger to refer to Lily as Marshall’s wife.

Malin Akerman (Movie Stella)

Speaking of DC movies, Malin Akerman appeared in Zack Snyder’s 2009 Watchmen movie a year before she, supposedly, poked fun at blockbuster stardom on Season 5 of How I Met Your Mother. She plays the female lead of a hit romance flick called The Wedding Bride, which happens to be a highly fictionalized retelling of when Stella (future Rick and Morty star, Sarah Chalke) left Ted at the altar for her ex-husband, Tony (Jason Jones), who also wrote the screenplay.

Jon Heder (Narshall)

In Season 9, we learned there was actually a sequel called The Wedding Bride Too, which the gang watches at Farhampton (the site of Barney and Robin’s nuptials) despite Ted’s forbiddance. One character of the fictional film, who appears to be based off of Marshall, is played by Jon Heder, whose defining role is Napoleon Dynamite in the iconically bizarre 2004 indie comedy of the same name.

Judy Greer (Royce)

Ted actually first sees the original Wedding Bride while on a date with a woman named Royce, played by Judy Greer. As a, sort of, reversal of Malin Akerman’s career trajectory, the Archer actress would find blockbuster stardom years after her HIMYM role as as Bryce Dallas Howard’s sister in Jurassic World, Laurie Strode’s daughter in the more recent Halloween movies, and in the MCU as Ant-Man’s ex-wife, Maggie.

Jon Bernthal (Carlos)

Also connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is The Punisher star Jon Bernthal, who first played a morally questionable comic book character on The Walking Dead for two seasons. Years earlier, the actor – who is also set to reprise Frank Castle on Disney+’s upcoming series, Daredevil: Born Again – appeared in the second-ever episode of How I Met Your Mother as Carlos: a mysterious guest of Ted’s three-night party who almost ruins his increasingly problematic attempts to woo Robin.

Lindsey Morgan (Lauren)

When Barney and Ted board what they refer to as the “Drunk Train” to meet women, they only end up getting drinks thrown in their faces by passengers who very quickly assume they “think they’re better” than them. One of the women is played by Lindsey Morgan, who – just two years later – starred in CW’s The 100 cast as Raven Reyes before playing Micki Ramirez on Walker for the first season of the network’s crime drama reboot.

Rachel Bloom (Wanda)

Another up-and-comer who threw a drink in Ted’s face after feistily asking, “Ya think ya betta than me?!” on the Drunk Train was Rachel Bloom. One of the first high-profile TV appearances by Bloom was on that Season 7 How I Met Your Mother episode, before she went on to win a Golden Globe for playing a lawyer making increasingly problematic attempts to woo a man from her past on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which she also co-created.

Floriana Lima (Haley)

Another HIMYM character who had a drink thrown in his face in Season 3’s “Rebound Bro,” is Barney’s potential replacement for Ted, Randy (Will Forte), after his disastrous attempt to hit on a bar patron named Haley. This role was the second ever for Floriana Lima, who has since starred on two TV series comic book adaptations (Supergirl as Maggie Sawyer and The Punisher Season 2 as the villainous Krista Dumont) and ABC’s hit drama, A Million Little Things.

Kristen Schaal (Laura Girard)

A comedic actress known for her feisty characters is Kristen Schaal, star of movies and TV shows like Bill and Ted Face the Music as the time-traveling Kelly or Bob’s Burgers, for which she lends her unmistakable voice to play Louise Belcher on Bob’s Burgers. In HIMYM’s third season, she played one-half of the Girards – a couple living across from Marshall and Lily, who first seem like the perfect neighbors until the friendship becomes a little invasive.

Larry Wilmore (Dr. Greer)

Kristen Schaal was also a Daily Show commentator for years, much like the news satire’s former “Senior Black Correspondent” Larry Wilmore, who would eventually get his own short-lived Comedy Central show called The Nightly Show. The actor, writer, and talk show host also popped up on Season 3 of HIMYM as a veterinarian who buys Lily’s artwork after discovering its calming effect on dogs.

Matt Jones (Pizza Guy/Arthur)

How I Met Your Mother is also famous for several appearances by Breaking Bad cast members, including Bryan Cranston as Ted's former boss Hammond Druthers, Bob Odenkirk as Marshall's former boss Arthur Hobbs, and Matt Jones as a pizza deliverer in Season 5. Jones, who played Jesse Pinkman's buddy Badger on the phenomenal AMC crime drama, made a second appearance later that season as the same character, whom we then learned was a frequent visitor the gang even knows by name.

Hong Chau (Cook Pu)

Speaking of names, on another Season 5 HIMYM episode, Ted once assumed his architecture class was playing a trick when he found "Cook Pu" written on the attendance sheet and proceeded to mock the name several times. He came to the late, awkward realization that it belonged to a real student of his played by Hong Chau, who would go on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for Downsizing, an Oscar nomination for The Whale as Liz, and also steal the show from the Menu cast as Elsa.

Jimmi Simpson (Pete Durkenson)

In HIMYM's seventh season, we learn that Marshall once went by a funny name (of his own invention), "Beercules," from an embarrassing video uploaded by an old college buddy named Pete Durkenson, who ends up reviving his drunken alter ego after a game of "Edward Fortyhands." This serial drinker (who, apparently, is a surgeon professionally) is one of many notable TV appearances by Jimmi Simspson – best known today for one of the best Black Mirror episodes, "U.S.S. Callister," and as William on Westworld, more recently.

Martin Starr (Kevin)

Jason Segel is just one of a few Freak and Geeks vets who have been on HIMYM. For instance, future Silicon Valley cast member Martin Starr made a guest appearance in the Season 1 episode “The Duel” as a guy who is not quite Robin’s type, but she tries going out with him in protest of Barney’s introduction of a Lemon Law for dating.

Busy Philipps (Rachel)

Martin Starr is not the only Freaks and Geeks alum who, sort of, reunited with Jason Segel on HIMYM as Busy Phillips – who played Kim Kelly on the prematurely cancelled dramedy – appeared in a Season 3 episode. She plays Rachel – a friend of Ted's former one-night stand, Trudy (Danica McKeller), who seems interested in trying again with the newly single architect when Rachel shows signs of wanting to share.

Conan O’Brien (Bar Patron)

After Conan O'Brien won the chance to appear on How I Met Your Mother's seventh season, instead of more formally sharing the screen with the cast, he opted to just blend into the scenery in an uncredited role, according to ScreenRant. Thus, you may not have spotted the living late night legend’s cameo as a guy just hanging out at MacLaren's unless you were paying close attention.

Harvey Fierstein (Lily’s Smoking Voice)

Even more difficult to notice is Harvey Fierstein's purely unseen HIMYM cameo as what Lily's voice becomes after the gang's smoking habits go off the rails in Season 5. However, in retrospect, who else but the Tony-winning Broadway actor, Mrs. Doubtfire star, and BROS cast member could have produced that distinct, gravelly drawl?

I don't know about you, but I have always found these lesser-known or basically hidden cameos on How I Met Your Mother more interesting than their A-list guest stars, such as Britney Spears, John Lithgow, or Maury Povich. I wonder if we will ever see any of these HIMYM characters appear on How I Met Your Father – Hulu’s in-universe spin-off – like Barney, Robin, and others already have. If they do, hopefully this list helps fans recognize them. 

Zack Snyder is a filmmaker with a very specific visual language, who is known for bringing over the top properties to the big screen. While his name nowadays is largely synonymous with his work on the DC Extended Universe and the mythical Snyder Cut, he previously worked on another comic book adaptation: 2009's Watchmen. The movie has been praised for being accurate to its comic book source material, although it turns out that actress Malin Akerman struggled quite a bit while playing the role of Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II.

Laurie is one of the main characters of Watchmen, and the soul female member of the titular team. Malin Akerman played the role in the comic book flick, wearing Silk Spectre's iconic skin tight outfit and taking part in plenty of exciting action sequences. Her character was also at the heart of Doctor Manhattan's story, although it turns out that Akerman had a hard time while working on the blockbuster. Namely because she felt so out of her league in such a big project, and working with such talented co-stars. As she recently put it,

Well, that was honest. Because while Watchmen was likely a dream job for Malin Akerman at the time, it also came with a ton of pressure. This is the case for most superhero actors, as the fandom can be a bit intense. But Akerman was also working with some great talent in Zack Snyder's OG comic book movie, which seemed to have exacerbated those issues at the time.

Malin Akerman stepped into her role on Watchmen with a smaller profile than some of her co-stars. Zack Snyder assembled a strong cast to bring his vision to life, including the likes of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Carla Gugino, and Patrick Wilson. The latter was her most frequent co-star, and he'd had a long career in stage and film prior to landing the role of Nite Owl.

Throughout filming in Watchmen, Malin Akerman learned to take more ownership over her role. But it definitely took some time, and it seemed that her feelings changed depending on the day. As she went on to explain in her interview with Collider:

Well, it looks like Malin Akerman learned quite a lot while filming Watchmen. While she sometime struggled with her role in such a massive blockbuster, the experience was definitely one that informed her future endeavors as an actress. Akerman does extra work at home before showing up to film, so she can feel more comfortable in the skin of her character.

Malin Akerman has kept busy throughout the years, with roles in movies like Rock of Ages and Rampage as well as TV shows The Comeback and Billions. Although she does seem open to playing another superhero role. Meanwhile, HBO's Watchmen series caught us up on Laurie Jupiter aka Laurie Blake decades after the events of the movie, played by Jean Smart.

Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Modern blockbuster filmmaking can be a strange experience for an actor. After all, the advances in CGI means that more and more sequences can be put together using simple green screen, and that means performers using their imaginations to see how a scene might come together. Brad Peyton's Rampage is a perfect example of one of these projects, and I recently learned from the cast that they often felt quite ridiculous while they were on the set:

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Naomi Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Malin Akerman this past week during the Los Angeles press day for Rampage, and the first question I asked them was in regard to the movie's CGI. Curious about the experience, I asked them if there is a certain oddness to the filmmaking style, acting against absolutely nothing, and they enthusiastically responded noting that it is exactly as strange as it sounds.

The good news is that they did have some support on set for their visions of what the movie would become. I specifically asked the actors how Brad Peyton went about showing them what Rampage would become, and Malin Akerman explained a bit how it was behind the scenes:

You can watch Naomi Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Malin Akerman discuss the ridiculousness of green screen filmmaking during the production of Rampage by clicking play on the video below!

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Joe Manganiello, Jake Lacy and P.J. Byrne in addition to Naomi Harris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Malin Akerman, Rampage is a blockbuster based on the classic arcade game of the same name, and arrives in theaters everywhere this Friday, April 13th.

It has been almost a full decade since Zack Snyder's Watchmen debuted in theaters, and the film continues to stand out as one of the most singularly unique comic book adaptations ever committed to celluloid. The movie has earned a cult-like following that very much mirrors he cult-like following enjoyed by Alan Moore's original graphic novel, and it sounds like some of the actors from the film are very interested in returning to that universe, albeit with one major condition. In fact, Malin Ackerman and Jeffrey Dean Morgan spoke to CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg at the recent junket for Rampage in Los Angeles, and they both admitted they're game for more Watchmen as long as they don't have to wear those costumes again. Akerman and Morgan said:

Unlike characters like Rorschach and Doctor Manhattan, The Comedian and Silk Spectre are two Watchmen characters who wear very intricate outfits with numerous moving parts. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Comedian suit consists of bulky armor, while Malin Akerman's Silk Spectre outfit is incredibly formfitting and tight. Both actors seem incredibly proud of their work on Watchmen and willing to return to the universe in some capacity, but they don't want to wear those old costumes again if the opportunity comes up.

We especially don't blame Malin Akerman for not wanting to don the Silk Spectre outfit again. She may move well in the latex during Watchmen's showstopper prison fight, but it definitely doesn't look comfortable. Check it out, below.

Of course, the discussion of Watchmen naturally leads to the discussion of the film's legacy, as it has become one of the most divisive comic book movies of the last decade. On that note, Jeffrey Dean Morgan continued in his conversation with CinemaBlend and explained that he still looks back fondly on the film and that he even thinks that a portion of the world wasn't ready for it when it debuted in 2009. The actor told us:

With that point in mind, it's worth remembering that more Watchmen stories are on the way. HBO is currently in the process of developing a Watchmen series, with Lost's Damon Lindelof tapped to help bring the pilot to life. Now that Watchmen has existed in the mainstream cultural zeitgeist for almost a decade, we will have to watch to see if the times have finally caught up with the property. In the meantime, you can take a look at the original Watchmen actors talking about the film project, below.

Only time will tell if Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Malin Akerman will ever get another chance to dive back into the Watchmen well. That said, you can catch both of them in Rampage, which will debut on the big screen next weekend on April 13. Now that the film has screened, here's what audiences have to say about it.

Try as we might, fellow Internet users, we can't always be true entertainment detectives, as we wait for HBO to confirm all of the rumors that we spend our days pondering. The network finally came clean yesterday about Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell officially joining True Detective’s Season 2, but they were mum on who might be filling the female lead role. That’s because they’re still trying to find someone, and it turns out they might just be talking to many more actresses than we previously thought. I think my Mom even got called in for it.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Rachel McAdams and Elizabeth Moss were ”in the running” for the part, but Deadline is reporting that as many as ten actresses have been invited to read for show creator Nic Pizzolatto. Oddly enough, Moss’ name isn’t even mentioned. The mystery here isn’t even just “who will take the lead role?” but also “are all of these women reading for the same part?” It’s entirely possible that any number of them are vying for the role of Farrell’s wife or a fellow detective not specifically tied to that case. Let's take a closer look at each of the women getting namechecked.

Kiera Knightley

Kiera Knightley, for one, is said to be “also entering the mix.” She’s been on an acclaim-mongering run in the past few years, with performances in films such as John Carney’s musically inclined drama Begin Again, Marten Tyldum’s Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game and Lynn Shelton’s romantic comedy Laggies. It would be Knightley’s first regular TV gig, should it happen, and I like to think she’d be a formidable co-star for Farrell’s character to butt heads with. If only it took place in England in the 1700s, she'd be set for sure.

Jessica Biel

First getting her big break with the family drama 7th Heaven, Jessica Biel left the show to concentrate more on her feature career, which includes fairly dark and sinister films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Blade: Trinity and The Tall Man. She was most recently seen in Francesca Gregorini’s oddball thriller The Truth about Emanuel and on the Season 4 premiere of Fox’s The New Girl. So she’s good with small screen work and dark mysteries. Could this be her next big TV break?

Rosario Dawson

Rosario Dawson is the woman who somehow fell for Dante in Clerks II. (Yeah, it was just a movie. So what?) First popping onto the scene with Larry Clark’s Kids, Dawson has done a fine job of balancing indie and mainstream. This year alone, she’s been in Robert Rodriguez’s comic adaptation Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Brian Horiuchi’s sci-fi drama Parts Per Billion, Josh C. Waller’s girlfight thriller Raze and Diego Luna’s biopic Cesar Chavez. I’m pretty sure she can handle her own on HBO, though one has to wonder if this would conflict with her current series, Netflix’s Daredevil.

Malin Akerman

Malin Akerman is one of those actresses that brightens up a screen, and it’s usually in comedies like Wanderlust, Trophy Wife or Childrens Hospital. She’s done dramas and action movies like Watchmen and last year’s The Numbers Station, and has the horror comedy The Final Girls and Ido Fluk’s drama The Ticket coming up in the future. But I still can’t see her filling a major role in a thriller as dark and murky as True Detective, especially after seeing her upcoming return to HBO for the the long-awaited second season of Lisa Kudrow's comedy The Comeback. But then I’ve been wrong about things before.

Brit Marling

Indie darling Brit Marling reminded people how interesting low-budget sci-fi can be with 2011’s double dose of Zal Batmanglij’s cult mystery Sound of My Voice and Mike Cahill’s sorta-romantic drama Another Earth. She’s keeping busy this year by reteaming with Cahill for the strange sci-fi drama I Origins and Daniel Barber’s upcoming Civil War drama The Keeping Room, which premiered this month at TIFF. Beyond a cameo on Community, she also made her way to TV for the British police drama Babylon. Maybe I’m being biased here, but my vote goes to Marling for the True Detective role.

Abigail Spencer

Abigail Spencer knows a thing or two about being on TV, getting her break with a stint on All My Children. She’s then gone on to recurring roles on Lifetime’s Angela’s Eyes, AMC’s Mad Men, TNT’s Hawthorne, USA’s Suits and Sundance Channel’s Rectify. She must not like staying on one network, that one. (She was also an absolute treat in the Bachelor web series spoof Burning Love.) You may have seen on her in theaters this past weekend in Shawn Levy’s family drama This is Where I Leave You, and she’ll soon star opposite John Travolta in Philip Martin’s crime drama The Forger.

Jaimie Alexander

Marvel fans will know Jaimie Alexander for her role of Lady Sif in both Thor movies, as well as one episode of ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Arnold Schwarzenegger fans will recognize her from 2013’s bonkers action flick The Last Stand. And Kyle XY fans will know her from…well, Kyle XY. Her other TV credits include MyNetworkTV’s Watch Over Me and a few episodes of Showtime’s Nurse Jackie. She’s already set up for a possible future at HBO with the pilot for the geopolitical comedy The Brink, but it’s unclear whether or not the network will be moving forward with it. Can she handle two HBO shows?

Oona Chaplin

The Spanish Oona Chaplin was in a handful of films, including a bit role in Quantum of Solace, before finding her way to television with the BBC’s Cold War drama The Hour, following that up with roles on HBO’s Game of Thrones and the British series Dates and The Crimson Field. Currently filming George Tillman Jr.’s drama The Longest Ride with Jack Huston, Chaplin would offer a nice reprieve from the White Dude World of True Detective, and the California setting could fit her Spanish heritage.

Kelly Reilly

British actress Kelly Reilly is a TV vet in her homeland, particularly in the Above Suspicion miniseries, where she played a Detective Inspector. (There’s our link.) It’s been a busy year for her on screens of all sizes, as she’s starred opposite Brendan Gleeson in the darkly comedic Calvary, and opposite Greg Kinnear in Randal Wallace’s preachy Heaven is for Real. She was also the lead in the one-season-and-done ABC drama Black Box. According to Deadline, Reilly is the only actress who didn’t make the reading, but that doesn’t mean she’s out of the competition or anything.

Rachel McAdams

The name on this list that has been around the longest, Rachel McAdams first broke out with the one-two comedic punch of Mark Waters’ Mean Girls and the brilliant Canadian comedy series Slings and Arrows, the latter of which is her only regular TV work. With Anton Corbijn’s thriller A Most Wanted Man behind her, she’s got a huge slate of films coming out in the next year or so, including Antoine Fuqua’s boxing drama Southpaw and Cameron Crowe’s untitled romantic comedy. The problem with McAdams is, she’s got Thomas McCarthy’s thriller Spotlight in pre-production, and there is reportedly a scheduling conflict keeping her out of the top spot.

Filming is scheduled to begin this fall on True Detective, so expect all a bunch of roles to be filled in the coming months, as well as that of the other male detective.

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Kellan Lutz and Malin Akerman are officially on board for The Comeback's return. The two actors were rumored to be returning for the HBO comedy's comeback, likely for limited appearances, meaning we shouldn't expect to see either of them in all six episodes. Today comes confirmation of Akerman and Lutz's involvement in The Comeback, which returns as a limited series this fall.

The Comeback was a 2006 comedy that centered on Lisa Kudrow's character Valerie Cherish, a former TV star who was trying to achieve a comeback by having her personal and professional life taped for a reality show. The series was presented as the raw footage of the reality show, and it included Valerie's work on a new sitcom called Room and Bored. Kellan Lutz and Malin Akerman were two of the hot young stars of the sitcom, and they appeared regularly in The Comeback.

When we learned that The Comeback was most likely coming back, both Akerman and Lutz were said to be expected to return. However, neither actor's names was listed among the confirmed cast when HBO made the official announcement of the show's return. It sounds like some "juggling" had to be done to ensure both actors, now much more well known than they were when The Comeback first aired, were able to do the show.

Today, Deadline says neither Kellan Lutz nor Malin Akerman are expected to appear in all six episodes of the returning series. But they will be reprising their roles as Chris and Juna, whom Deadline says are "romantically linked." I'm not sure if that's a reveal about the characters' updated status or a reference to their Room & Bored characters, as I don't recall Chris and Juna being romantically involved in the original series. Their R&B characters were seen getting cozy on a couch in the first episode though, so maybe that's what they're referring to. Or Chris and Juna are together in the decade-later scenario that we're going to see in The Comeback's new season. We'll have to wait and see.

Regardless of where Chris and Juna are when The Comeback picks up, it's exciting that the series was able to get Kellan Lutz and Malin Akerman back, even if it's for a limited number of appearances. As mentioned, The Comeback aired before both actors' careers took off. 2006 was two years before Lutz's run on 90210 and supporting role as Emmet Cullen in Twilight. Akerman rose to fame with roles in 27 Dresses, Rock of Ages and Couples Retreat. Most recently, she starred in ABC's Trophy Wife, while Lutz starred in The Legend of Hercules. He's expected to appear in the upcoming Expendables 3, while Akerman has a number of projects in the works, including the upcoming comedy The Final Girls. So both actors have plenty going on, but it sounds like they were able to make this work. And it's a good thing too, as it's hard to imagine The Comeback without Valerie's "baby girl" and the occasionally emotionally unstable Chris.

After Suburgatory spent months glossing over who Tessa's mother is and why she's not around, the ABC comedy has finally landed an actress to actually show up as Tessa’s mom, a woman who has not seen her daughter since her birth. Malin Akerman will appear in the upcoming cycle of the network show as the wayfaring parent Tessa has tried to play off as unimportant in her life.

As Season 1 wore on, it became clear Tessa does have conflicting feelings about her mother and does think of her from time to time. Towards the end of last season, fans even met Tessa’s grandmother on her mother’s side. After that ball was rolled, it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before Tessa’s mother showed up, too. It will still be a while before we meet Akerman’s Alex, however. TV Line is reporting the actress won’t appear in the show’s sophomore season until the Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes.

Alex is being described as a songwriter who is "free-spirited," which is vaguely reminiscent of the role the actress nabbed in last year's Wanderlust. Instead of getting into a hippie commune, however, Akerman’s character will be busy trying to figure out how to become part of her daughter's life, well, at least during the holidays.

The role sounds pretty interesting for Akerman, an actress who has also appeared in TV shows like Children’s Hospital and Entourage, but who largely favors roles in films. Appearing on Suburgatory should help Akerman get a more firm foothold in TV, while still allowing her to pursue projects elsewhere. Since Akerman was signed on for The Smart One pilot this fall that never made it to series, continuing to add TV work to her resume can only help her during pilot season in the future. Sounds like a win/win situation.

ABC’s Suburgatory premieres on October 17 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

With Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's Lovelace all the way through production with Amanda Seyfried playing the titular porn starlet, it's looking less and less likely that Malin Akerman will get to play the same part in Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story, which is still stuck in pre-production (albeit with a fantastic cast that includes Matt Dolon, Harold Perrineau, Adam Goldberg, Paz de la Huerta and Sasha Grey). While we may never get to see Akerman play Lovelace, however, that doesn't mean we will never get to see her play a bombshell from a bygone era.

Variety is reporting that the actress has been cast to play Debbie Harry in the film CBGB, a biopic, if you will, about the famous New York venue during the 1970s. The project recently hired Alan Rickman to star as Hilly Kristal, the owner of CBGB and Rupert Grint is set to play Cheetah Chrome, the guitarist for the punk outfit known as Dead Boys. Harry, of course, was the lead singer of Blondie, who became a major figure in the music world when Blondie's debut album came out in 1976.

Randall Miller is directing the independent film based on a script that he wrote with Jody Savin. Akerman will next be seen in the musical Rock of Ages, which is directed by Adam Shankman and co-stars Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Diego Boneta, Catherine Zeta Jones and Julianne Hough. Production on CBGB will start rolling next month in New York.

There's been a lot of talk about Linda Lovelace of late. The tragic and tangled life story of the Deep Throat star, who died in 2002, has been mined by not one but two upcoming biopics: Lovelace and Inferno. However, while the former has been gaining tons of attention by scoring cast members like Amanda Seyfried in the title role, Sarah Jessica Parker as Gloria Steinem and James Franco as Hugh Hefner, the latter has predominantly drawn notice because it was poised to be Lindsay Lohan's big comeback. Of course, Lohan was eventually canned when mounting personal turmoil repeatedly delayed production. Then, in the fall of 2010, Malin Akerman was brought in to replace her. It seemed a major upgrade in the talent department, and Inferno, which was based on Lovelace's autobiography Ordeal, seemed back on track.

But Inferno couldn't seem to catch on. In the spring of 2011, Akerman was still attached and eager, but still there were no announcements on when cameras would role for the biopic. And now, a year later, Akerman seems resigned to the film's demise, telling THR:

She went on to confess financing has been an issue, due in large part to the Seyfried-fronted Lovelace pulling focus, expounding, "I would hope and love for [Inferno] to go, but now this other movie is coming on that Amanda Seyfried did, and I kind of feel like, 'Shit, we should have been on that, we should have done it.'"

It's hard to know what to make of this news, not just in what it means for Inferno but also whether it's good or bad news for Akerman. To begin with, casting news was still breaking in January, when indie star Adam Goldberg was said to be in talks to jump into Inferno. However, it's pretty damning that the proposed production start date has come and gone and the film's star has heard nothing from Inferno's producers. At this point, even if they did manage to get Inferno going again, there's no guarantee Akerman would recommit after so many delays and so much ahead of her.

Personally, I'm a fan of Akerman and feel her good looks have often undercut her ability to get roles beyond eye-candy girlfriend parts. Yet here she was offered something gritty and intense that could prove her abilities as a dramatic actress and leading lady, and so I was rooting for her involvement. But plagued as it is by problems, this project does seem doomed to die or be botched. And with a full slate of films hitting this year, from the quirky rom-com The Giant Mechanical Man to the 1980s musical Rock of Ages to her comedy vehicle Hemlock Drive, Akerman may no longer need Inferno.

Two more actresses have been brought on board ABC’s pilot for The Smart One opposite Portia de Rossi. One has even got her name in the title, while the other is coming off a role in the Jennifer Aniston feature Wanderlust. These two ladies complete the leading female roles for the pilot.

Deadline reports the Jean Smart has been tapped for the pilot as well as Malin Akerman. They’ll play Portia de Rossi’s mother and sister, respectively. Smart, who must have appreciated the name of the series, has been pursued for a number of pilots this season, while Akerman has been absent from television for a while working on roles in feature films.

The Smart One is about two sisters, one of whom is popular and perfect (Akerman) and has been a weather girl and beauty queen and is now the mayor of a big city, the other who is the show’s namesake – the “smart one”. Portia de Rossi will play this role, and find herself going to work for her not so bright (but somehow mayor anyway) sister. I’m not sure if we are supposed to believe the usual tale that the intelligent sister is also the less attractive, but if so that was not a great casting move. Portia de Rossi can’t really be considered unattractive by most standards. But hey, there’s always Hollywood ugly.

Jean Smart, who is no stranger to television and recently appeared on Samantha Who, will play the mother of the two girls. What type of mother she’s expected to be is unclear, but from the premise I suspect she plays favorites. The Smart One is one of two projects being developed by Ellen DeGeneres, with Don Todd (Ugly Betty) writing.

What happens when you cross a bunch of big-name stars, some illicit activity and some weapons? As movies have taught us for decades, nothing good, that's for sure. In Catch .44, the new thriller opening theatrically in New York and Charlotte on December 9 and on DVD and Blu-Ray December 20, it's Bruce WIllis, Forest Whitaker, Malin Akerman and more who are getting caught up in the dirty business, and as you can see in the clip we're premiering here exclusively, it starts with a traffic stop that quickly turns a little sinister thanks to a cop who's asking questions that are just a little too pointed. Find out if Akerman, Deborah Ann Woll and Nikki Reed can fib their way out of this one by watching the clip below.

To find out what happens next, you'll have to seek out Catch .44 for yourself either in theaters December 9 or on Blu-ray and DVD December 20-- you know, just the kind of dark crime thriller you want to sit down and watch with the whole family during the holidays. For more information you can read the film's official synopsis below.

Reports of Alec Baldwin’s departure from Adam Shankman’s Rock of Ages adaptation were premature … even though they sort of started from Baldwin’s camp in the first place.

Earlier in the week, we reported that Baldwin was bowing out of Shankman’s big-screen musical, though no reason was given at the time. Baldwin was set to play club owner Dennis Dupree opposite Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Malin Akerman and the rest of the Rock Of Ages cast.

But don’t count Baldwin out just yet. According to Deadline, Baldwin actually is going to do the movie, and is in Miami with the cast for the director’s full run-through. The report says Baldwin warned the production that an unspecified health issue might have kept him out of the production, and if they had an opportunity to replace them, they should consider it. But they didn’t, and so he’s still on board as Dupree.

Baldwin’s presence tends to make just about everything better (yes, I’m looking at you, It’s Complicated), so the news that he’s staying on board Rock, which expects to begin shooting on May 23, is welcome, indeed. We also hope that the unspecified health problem is minor and that Baldwin makes a swift recovery.

Anne Hathaway considered taking the part before becoming Catwoman for The Dark Knight Rises, and Amy Adams was courted for the role before being cast as Superman's Lois Lane, but finally Rock of Ages has found someone to fill the reporter role who's already got her superhero days behind her. THR reports that Malin Akerman has taken the part of a reporter who interviews the famous rock star Stacee Jaxx, to be played by Tom Cruise.

The reporter also winds up being seduced by Jaxx, which means you need to prepare for a reeeeally awkward sex scene. Rock of Ages starts shooting May 19 in Miami, even though the Broadway show and the movie it's based on are set in Los Angeles, and the cast is full of a lot of famous names you probably already know about: Alec Baldwin, Mary J. Blige, Paul Giamatti, Julianne Hough and Cruise, plus newcomer Diego Boneta in the lead role. Adam Shankman, who recently handled the delightfully poppy musical Hairspray, is directing.

Behind every great man, there’s a great woman, right? Well, that’s certainly the case with the Bang Bang Club. While the real life photographer foursome risked their lives snapping images in the violent townships of South Africa at the end of Apartheid in the early 90s, photo editor Robin Comley held things together at the office, ensuring their work was seen and also just keeping them as level-headed as possible while working in the midst of such a devastating environment.

In the film version of the Bang Bang Club’s story, Malin Akerman assumes the role of Robin Comley. The film kicks off as Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe) is inducted into the group and hits the dirt alongside Kevin Carter, Joao Silva and Ken Oosterbroek (Taylor Kitsch, Neels Van Jaarsveld, Frank Rautenbach). Together they were seemingly unstoppable, dashing into the line of fire with no-fear attitudes and catching a slew of visually stimulating, some award winning, images. However, ultimately the danger and horror of the situation seeps in and the group is rattled emotionally and physically.

Akerman has revisited an old role in The Heartbreak Kid and brought a graphic novel character to life in Watchmen, but there’s really nothing like portraying a real person on the big screen. Akerman was fortunate enough not only to meet Robin Comley, but to shoot the film in the same exact location in which the real events took place. Just before the film's Tribeca Film Festival debut, Akerman sat down to tell us all about her experience in South Africa, from working with Comley to diving into the local culture, shooting a particularly emotional scene in the film and much more. Hear it all for yourself in the video interview below.

It’s quite obvious why a group of photographers preferred the name The Bang Bang Club to The Bang Bang Paparazzi. Then again, what do you call a team who makes a living snapping combat photos never lifting a finger to help the innocent? Smartly, writer-director Steven Silver let’s you decide that for yourself, not turning his first feature narrative, based on a true story, into a message film, rather an experience making it all the more profound.

The Bang Bang Club opens with Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch) in the midst of a radio interview focusing on his line of work. After being stumped by a question probing for what he thinks makes a good photo, we cut to four years earlier, April 1994, post Apartheid South Africa. When photographer Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe) boldly treks into a notoriously violent workers hostel and not only survives, but emerges with a selection of fantastic pictures, he’s initiated into a group of photographers who work together to capture the violence regardless of the risk.

Kevin, Greg, Ken Oosterbroek (Frank Rautenbach) and Joao Silva (Neels Van Jaarsveld) go from township to township on the lookout for anything and everything dangerous. Seemingly indestructible, the team dodges bullets and soaks in some of the most horrific visuals without letting their composure crack in the slightest. However, there’s just so long their good fortune lasts and ultimately not only do they pay the price mentally, but physically, too.

The Bang Bang Club starts off rather slow. While Kevin’s radio interview turns out to be a rather nice bookend, it makes for an uninteresting opening. However, once we’re in the battlefield alongside the photographers, the pace really starts to pick up. On the other hand, what doesn’t increase is the amount of character development. It takes a long time to get to know these guys. While we learn a lot about what they do and the rules of the game, watching them jump from street fight to street fight, it isn’t until about halfway through that we really get to know who they are as people and not just as photographers.

Luckily, Silver has the backdrop of the final days of apartheid to hold you over until we can get into the characters’ heads. The daily events during this time are disturbing, but intriguing. Silver shows just enough gruesome imagery to make you understand the devastation, but never goes overboard, always keeping you itching for more. It’s this interest in the state of the region that keeps you engaged until the characters are developed to the point that they can take you the rest of the way.

Both Rautenbach and Van Jaarsveld assume supporting positions, but make waves with them. Their characters’ idiosyncrasies are so well conveyed that even with less screen time than Kitsch and Phillippe, you really feel like you know them and, in turn, honestly care for them. However, this is certainly more Kitsch and Phillippe’s show. Both Kevin and Greg have incredible arcs, starting off as determined and upbeat, but then being consumed by the horrors their career packs.

While Kitsch does an excellent job taking Kevin from happy-go-lucky to deeply disturbed, it’s Phillippe’s transformation that’s the easier to identify with and Silver knows it. We do see quite a bit of the other three men, but the camera appropriately always comes back to Phillippe and he makes good use of the additional screen time. Greg is likeable right from the start. He’s a little naïve, but proves he does know what he’s doing and has good intentions. As the dreadful events seep through his skin, they infiltrate the audience’s as well and when Greg starts to break down you feel it, too.

Further rounding out his character is his love interest. Robin Comley (Malin Akerman). She’s the photo editor so doesn’t hit the ground running with the guys, but after a long day’s work, the action always shifts back to the safety of the town in which their headquarters is located and, in turn, lands Greg back into her arms. The relationship kicks off a little abruptly, but ultimately the chemistry is strong enough that there’s no denying the romance is real. You’d think hanging back as an editor would leave Akerman out of the action, but a surprisingly significant amount of tension arises from the seemingly simple editorial decisions. However, at one point she does accompany Greg on one of his exploits and while there’s little danger in this particular moment, the sequence is quite intense.

In addition to the situation in South Africa and the lives of these photographers, Silver artfully slips in the morality of their job. At first, you catch yourself wondering how they can just watch people die, but soon you’re swept up in the high of the gig, much like The Bang Bang Club. When the glory dulls for them, it does for you, too and that conflict of integrity begins to creep in. Silver never rubs it in your face, rather lets the concept simmer until it’s opportune to boil over so as to be impactful without being imposing.

Silver really almost nails it with The Bang Bang Club. The handheld shooting style is wildly appropriate, the action captured in an all-encompassing yet perspective manner and the performances are of the best quality resulting in piece with the power to stick with you long after the credits roll. There are a number of minor issues including some extremely short and expendable scenes and a confusing time lapse, but these are mere minimal bumps in the road of what’s an incredibly exciting yet troubling film.

This news story is for anyone who thought these two recent flops were enough to destroy Nic Cage’s bankability. Not only is the movie star still getting work, he’s attracting prime talent to roll alongside him. Malin Akerman, of Watchmen fame, has just entered talks for Medallion. Directed by Simon West, it’ll start shooting in a few weeks down in New Orleans with or without her. Solid money bets on with her.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Medallion follows Cage as he hastily and recklessly searches for his missing daughter. She’s been abducted and left in the back of a cab. Lucky for her, her dad’s a former thief that knows his way around the underworld. Soon, Akerman’s character, another bankrobber, is on board for the frenzied search.

This sounds like a Nic Cage movie. With any luck, it’ll be his first effort in a long time that’s worthy of all that entails. We’ll see. New writer David Guggenheim penned the script. That would normally make me nervous, except another one of his efforts, Safe House, has been purchased as well. Let’s hope there’s some talent here. Cage may be able to survive a few more disasters, but eventually, he’s going to need to turn around a hit that’s not National Treasure.

With the flurry of casting information about major superhero franchise in the last few weeks-- Anne Hathaway for The Dark Knight Rises, Henry Cavill as Superman-- the rumor mills will soon be getting a little quieter, or at least focusing on smaller projects. But in the meantime there's still the rest of the Superman cast to fill out, and today What's Playing is sharing some information about what they're hearing from the Lois Lane casting sessions. As always, this is a report about who may or may not be stepping into the studio for a read-through, and it's entirely possible they'll go in a different direction (Cavill was on few of the Superman shortlists that were bandied about). So with all that in mind…

Just as they were reporting back in November, What's Playing says Anne Hathaway was a top contender for the part, but she chose to go with The Dark Knight Rises instead. Now filling in the gap are the likes of Jessica Biel and Rachel McAdams-- both pegged as likely choices-- as well as Glee's Dianna Agron, Watchmen's Malin Akerman, and Kristen Stewart. They're also hearing about Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Kristen Bell being in the mix, but from third or fourth-hand sources-- though of course, you could probably count in virtually any actress in the age range, since they don't seem to be that close to making a decision.

I think Hathaway would have been even more perfect as Lois Lane than she will be as Catwoman, but they're going to replace her with anyone I vote for McAdams, who showed both comic timing and sex appeal as the love interest in Sherlock Holmes, and could easily carry the zingy rapport that Lois Lane has with Clark Kent in addition to melting when Superman lifts her off the ground. Everyone else seems somewhat off to me--Agron too young, Stewart too sulky, Akerman and Biel both lacking personality. But again, you can probably start rooting for anyone who isn't even on these shortlists and they might have a chance. Any particular actress you guys are dying to see with the part?

When first reporting the existence of the forthcoming romantic comedy Giant Mechanical Man, Mack claimed that the news was everything you could possibly hope to know about the project, given that we already knew the director (Lee Kirk), the stars (Jenna Fischer, Chris Messina, Topher Grace, Malin Akerman), and the concept (a zookeeper is stuck in a romantic triangle between a street performer and a motivational speaker). That was pretty much all there was to talk about, right?

Wrong! There's always room for more side characters, of course, and THR reports that Lucy Punch, Bob Odenkirk and Rich Sommer have all signed on for small roles in the film. They're not explaining any of the roles but Punch's, who will play Messina's character's girlfriend, but with Odenkirk recognizable from a current stint on Breaking Bad and Sommer still a regular on Mad Men as Harry Crane, you'll immediately recognize both of them when they pop up on the screen.

As for Punch, she's the least well-known of the three newcomers, even after roles in two high-profile films this summer, the comedy Dinner for Schmucks and Woody Allen's You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. Both films underperformed, though, which helps explain why her name still isn't quite out there. Who knows, Giant Mechanical Man may turn out to be the big break; the project is already shooting in Detroit, so will likely show up at some point in the next year.

With Lindsay Lohan now officially booted from the Linda Lovelace biopic Inferno, director Matthew Wilder has wasted no time casting a new female lead. Watchmen’s Malin Akerman will take up the title role, a far cry from her recent turn as Vincent Vaughn’s wife in Couples Retreat. The actress is eight years Lohan’s senior, but since she looks a little young and the once curvaceous redhead looks a little old, the age gap probably won’t matter. Plus, Inferno, like most biopics, will probably span a healthy chunk of time; so, extensive use of make-up will likely be in order.

According to Deadline, Wilder’s take on Lovelace will follow the porn actress’ autobiography, likely meaning the film may sympathize more than condemn. I haven’t read Ordeal: An Autobiography, but it reportedly makes numerous claims of being forced to have sex at gun point, claims that were later refuted by numerous third party sources. The material may not be Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind-level outrageous, but her credibility is certainly a little suspect.

We're still a early in the game here to talk about what Inferno may or may not show, but it seems reasonable to assume nudity will be involved. Questions lingered on how Lindsay Lohan would handle baring it all considering a body double was used in her skinny dipping scene in Machete, but with Akerman's casting, many of those concerns will likely be put to rest. The actress appeared naked on film a lot, most recently in Watchmen, and since that was only a few years ago, it's unlikely her moral stance has changed, especially when dealing with a project so overtly sexual.

Those involved had hoped to begin filming with Lohan sometime in January, but with Akerman now on board, no officially timetable has been released.

Malin Akerman has been on the up and up the past few years doing some nice supporting work in the surprisingly funny The Proposal and kicking healthy amounts of ass in 2009’s Watchmen. It’s safe to say that Akerman is an actor to watch out for in the coming years, as she’s proven that she not only has range but also has talent.

That said, she’ll be joining Ethan Hawke in The Numbers Station, a CIA thriller about the pair, Hawke an agent, Akerman under his protection, living in the middle of the desert when they’re attacked. By whom? We don’t know yet. The film is fronted by Danish director Kasper Barfoed, whose most recent film is The Candidate, which you didn’t see unless you were at the Cleveland International Film Festival last year (that’s a thing?).

This news comes via Variety. As both of the mentioned actors are currently busy, the film is not set to hit production until early next year.

PS. As a film blogger, I solemnly swear you’ll never see me use words like “skedded” or “thesp” unlike that “professional” publication this story came from.

The first trailer for The Romantics has popped online courtesy of Apple. Starring Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Malin Akerman, Candice Bergen and Elijah Wood, the film centers on a wedding which reunites a group of seven friends, but conflict emerges due to the fact that both the bride and the maid of honor are in love with the groom. The trailer, however, seems to ask more questions than it answers.

The trailer does a fine job explaining the narrative, but is this supposed to be a comedy or a drama? The IMDb page suggests both, but where are the laughs? Also, if you know that there's an emotional connection between the man you are marrying and an old friend, why on Earth do you put her in the wedding party, let alone invite her to the wedding to begin with? Elijah Wood's character calls Anna Paquin the bane of Katie Holmes' existence. And if that's true, why does Holmes even show up? Hopefully the movie will do a better job explaining this.

Check out the trailer below or in HD over at Apple.

The Romantics arrives in theaters on September 10th. Check below for the official synopsis.

Gary Oldman, Malin Akerman and Milo Ventimiglia. Not really actors you’d expect to cross paths, but perhaps that’s only because I’m picturing Carnegie from The Book of Eli, Lila from The Heartbreak Kid and Peter Petrelli from Heroes making a movie together. Anyway, the trio has signed on to join Michael Clarke Duncan in Cliff Dorfman’s feature directorial debut Criminal Empire for Dummies, which is set to begin filming this month in New Orleans.

According to Variety, the plot focuses on “a charismatic young man (Ventimiglia) who relates the rules of running a criminal empire through flashbacks to his own rise from a tragic childhood and the ghetto to multinational kingpin.” Ventimiglia doesn’t really strike me as the kingpin type, but can get pretty rough and tough on Heroes. Clarke Duncan, on the other hand, is a more believable crime kingpin, but perhaps that’s only because he literally played Kingpin in Daredevil. Other than Ventimiglia’s, the article doesn’t delve into the other roles. Regardless, I’m convinced there’s nothing Oldman can’t do and Akerman has some serious talent we’ll be seeing more of in the coming years.

Now for that title. The Variety article uses the proper spelling of the word ‘Dummies,’ but a number of other sites are going with ‘Dummys.’ If the latter is the film’s actual title, I guess they’re going for an Inglourious Basterds effect. Or maybe the For Dummies book series has an issue with the film borrowing the denomination. It does sound a bit like what a book-to-film adaptation of Crime Ring Managing for Dummies would be like.

It's been a long 10 days here at Sundance, and as I start packing my things once again I find myself homesick for New York, a city that's apparently even colder than Park City right now but features decent bagels and my friends. So it's almost cruel that yesterday I finally caught happythankyoumoreplease, the crowdpleaser that already captivated many of my festival friends, even though most of them seemed a little ashamed of it.

Go ahead and count me in too. happythankyoumoreplease goes down easy and charming without a bit of weight or meaning, and I'm betting moviegoers outside of the Sundance bubble will be just as happy to be coddled and delighted for an hour and a half. Written and directed by, and starring, How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor, the movie directly mimics much of that show's charm, with the added benefit of a few f-bombs and characters with a bit-- and just a bit-- more nuance.

The list of preposterous things that happen in this movie is endless, starting with the palatial apartment each character lives in and including lead character Sam's (Radnor) accidental kidnapping of a young black boy (Michael Algieri). There's also a girl with alopecia played by Malin Akerman, another girl who somehow makes a living stocking colored pencils at an art store (Zoe Kazan) and an aspiring singer and barmaid (Kate Mara) who agrees to a cutesy experiment spending three days living with Sam.

Characters played by Tony Hale and Pablo Schreiber surround all of these leads as romantic foils, and the stories all circle around each other with no relationship other than that they're all about the same vaguely neurotic crowd of upwardly mobile New Yorkers. With Radnor at the center it's easy to tell how each of the characters speak in moderated versions of his own voice, and despite a vague and self-referential reference to Woody Allen, it doesn't get off the hook of feeling derivative of, uh, every New York set dramedy of the last 30 years.

But dammit, I was charmed. Radnor has clearly learned a lot about comic timing and story pacing from his years on How I Met Your Mother, and moves the stories swiftly along on one-liners and romantic beats without appearing to rush. Even the most ridiculous script conventions often lead way to genuine insights, and even Malin Akerman-- Malin Akerman who almost single-handedly torpedoed Watchmen-- is likable as a girl with no eyebrows and a few silly philosophies about life. The movie wraps up in exactly the warm, optimistic way you expect, with the overload of indie music montages that no first-time director seems capable of avoiding. Everything feels familiar, but just tweaked enough to be entirely pleasurable. happythankyoumoreplease has yet to find distribution, but it will, and will be presented as an indie alternative to more traditional rom-coms. There's nothing non-traditional about it, but it works all the same. Go ahead, succumb.

For more of our Sundance 2010 coverage, click here.

We’re a legitimate movie blog so we don’t write about celebrity nudity (much), we just secretly enjoy it. For all your celebrity nudity needs your best bet is probably the infamous Mr. Skin who has spent all of his life in a basement fast forwarding through DVDs looking for nipples. But it’s the end of the year and with everyone announcing awards Skin has to take his turn. He’s announced the top ten nude scenes in entertainment for 2009, and surprisingly, not all of them are in film.

With edgy, pay-cable like HBO and Showtime pushing the envelope, they’ve taken the crown as the best place to see famous and semi-famous women naked. The top nude scene of 2009 happened on the David Duchovny show Californication and starred someone named Eva Amuri. If you watch it, then maybe you know who the hell Skin’s talking about. But runner up was the Jessica Biel, who played a stripper and actually took her clothes off in Powder Blue. Unfortunately nudity doesn’t equal box office and no one saw it.

But since we know you’re interested, here’s Mr. Skin’s full list of the best nude scenes in movies and TV for 2009.