Headlines: Crop circles and village 'overtourism'
Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media.
Travellers who tried to set up camp on a playing field in Tewkesbury were moved on by police, according to Gloucestershire Live. Police say they have now left the county.
Meanwhile, Bristol 24/7 says there has been "a surge of pavement parking" since changes under the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood scheme, which is being looked at by police.
Thames Water being "the least trusted" water company in the country is getting traction on the Swindon Advertiser. This is from the annual Water Matters survey.
The Weston Mercury reports on low take-up of Covid-19 jabs as NHS Somerset urges people at highest risk of serious illness to sign up for its spring booster.
A crop circle has appeared in Sutton Veny in Wiltshire, according to Gloucestershire Live.
And serial charity runner Jason Vickers is holding a 12-hour walk and runathon on Burnham-on-Sea seafront this weekend, Burnham-on-sea.com reports.
Footballer admits plot to smuggle £600k of cannabis
New traffic rules as village faces 'overtourism'
School forced to reduce teachers and subject options
Bad times for Forest Green Rovers, who lost their semi-final play offs on penalties.
A "prehistoric party" next month in Gloucester with "life-size" dinosaurs has got people excited.
Conservationist Dominic Dyer has posted on X about the eight gorillas remaining at the old Bristol Zoo site – using a screenshot of a Daily Mirror article from Tuesday.
And, sadly, a young member of Weston-super-Mare Cricket Club – who played a "key role on and off the pitch" - has died.
Follow BBC West social channels in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
High rise fire and eerie shipwrecks
Headlines: Peregrine names and night buses
Headlines: Car park walls and maternity unit closure
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Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Family Goes Viral for Showcasing How They Fit 40 People in Their Beach House Every Summer (Exclusive)
Alexa Caradimitropoulo shared a video on TikTok of her family's beach house in New Jersey, and the content went viral Alexa recounts to PEOPLE how as many as 50 people at once have stayed at the shore house, making it the de facto gathering place for family and friends every summer Alexa's mom, Cathy, also shares how thankful she is to have a home as big as hers to shareSummers are for family for one woman who has gone viral for sharing scenes from her parents' beautiful shore home and the community around it. Alexa Caradimitropoulo, on TikTok @alexacaradi, started sharing glimpses of her life at the family's Jersey Shore home. "I really started sharing last August. I first did a video, and was like, 'How many beds does my parents' shore house sleep?' " The answer is well over 30, with as many as 50 guests some weekends. While Alexa has always been aware she's got a "big Italian and Greek family," she never imagined how many people would be intrigued by the setup. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "That video kind of went crazy. And then from there, I kind of just was replying to comments and posting more of the house. So in the last year, it happened, and this summer, I've been posting. People are engaging and really like the shore content." The family's experience with the shore house began in 2007, when they found the perfect spot in Mantoloking, N.J. "It kicks off Memorial Day weekend. Our immediate family goes down the Tuesday or Wednesday before to get the house set up," she explains. "It's a seasonal house, so we do have to bring the food, our clothes, everything. We move back in, and slowly, we could expect everyone — boyfriends, husbands, kids, cousins, friends of friends. Anyone you can imagine is welcome." "Weekends are when the influx of people come in, but a lot of people do stay and work remotely during the week," she continues. "On an average week, there's still probably about 10 or so of us living in the house and working from the house. Then on the weekends, it's upward of 30 to 40 people." Having that many people under one roof can be a lot for many families. Alexa is proud that the group keeps "really good energy" about their gatherings. "In the New York area, it gets so cold in the winter. Everyone's really looking forward to being at the shore — good weather, good vibes," she says. "We're always making a new meal for dinner or a new cocktail. My parents are super, super warm and welcoming, so it feels like home for everyone there." Everyone is so comfortable going about their business that "it doesn't feel like hosting 40 people. Rather, it's just like living among all those people." For Alexa, it's special getting to spend time with family members in that way, as "people, especially as adults, don't get this time together." "It really kicked off in 2020, the first COVID summer. This was just a weekend house, and then everything became remote, and that's the first summer we could all be together," she recalls. "Everyone stayed down there, and it's kept going every summer since. It's such a blessing to enjoy this time together, especially now that we have new babies in the family. It's time I wouldn't have gotten otherwise, so it's special." "People realize what this is all about. It's not about having a big summer home. It's really about family," she says of her viral videos. "I love how people are getting that from my content. We're a super-close family and genuinely love each other. The positivity about it has been so kind." Alexa's mom, Cathy Caradimitropoulo, tells PEOPLE, "God blessed us with this happy home and we are blessed to share it with others." Read the original article on People
Los Angeles Times
5 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
The Alibi was the desert's hottest music venue. Who killed it?
Back in the worst pandemic days of 2020, Elizabeth Garo and Melanie Tusquellas were terrified they would lose their nightclub. The co-owners of the Alibi — an independent music venue with space for up to 300 people in downtown Palm Springs — opened in late 2019, just before COVID-19 shut down the live music scene. Garo was a former booker for the Regent, Echo and Echoplex in L.A. (She also opened Stories Books in Echo Park.) Tusquellas was a hospitality veteran behind Los Feliz's El Chavo and Silver Lake's historic Edendale restaurant. The two said they had invested hundreds of thousands into renovating and opening the Alibi. 'It's difficult to run a small independent venue any time, and during COVID it was particularly hard,' Garo recalled in an interview. 'A lot of them didn't make it.' Garo heard that Marc Geiger, then a WME music executive she had known and worked with for decades, and former WME board member John Fogelman had founded Save Live, a company investing in independent venues to help them survive the pandemic. When Save Live offered to buy 51% of the Alibi and let the co-founders continue to run it, the deal 'felt like such a relief,' Garo said. 'It felt like a lifeline, like, 'Hey, we're gonna make it.'' Instead, Garo and Tusquellas claim in a 2023 lawsuit and an interview with The Times that the partnership ruined them. Their lawsuit, which seeks compensatory damages, alleges that Geiger and Fogelman negotiated the deal in bad faith, forcing them out of the company's operations soon after the purchase. After briefly reopening in 2022, the club permanently closed later that year. A trial is set for August. Attorneys for Save Live, which has since rebranded as Gate 52, declined to comment when reached by email. In a cross-complaint to the suit, Geiger and Fogelman say Save Live 'bent over backwards to try to resolve the parties' differences' and call Garo and Tusquellas' claims 'salacious — and utterly false — allegations of misogyny and bad faith.' The suit raises questions about the future of local indie music venues like the Alibi and about Save Live's intentions. Does the firm rescue troubled venues or capitalize on their financial vulnerability? Gate 52 now owns 13 music venues across the country, including Electric City in Buffalo, N.Y., the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee and the Criterion in Oklahoma City. In California, the firm owns the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo and the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, and collaborates with dozens more 'network venues' across the country. The firm is a far cry from giants like Live Nation or AEG. But as a well-capitalized operation that has acquired majority stakes in struggling small venues, it has become a significant player in secondary markets. The two-story, Spanish colonial-style building that would become the Alibi first opened as a switchboard hub for the GE Telephone Co. in the 1920s. Later, it became Georgie's Alibi Azul, a popular gay bar and restaurant. In 2018, Garo and Tusquellas, both wisecracking Gen X veterans of L.A. nightlife, were looking for 'a swan song' for their careers, as Tusquellas described it. Garo, one of the most influential talent bookers in L.A. for decades, had been laid off from Live Nation after the mega-promoter bought local promoter Spaceland Presents. After touring the Alibi, Garo and Tusquellas saw potential for a venue like the ones they'd built in L.A., a place to book local and global artists in a creatively adapted old building. 'We were surprised by how chic and international Palm Springs was becoming,' Tusquellas added. 'Growing up in L.A., when we went to Palm Springs as kids, it was like God's waiting room. But we were quite surprised by this scene with all these local musicians but no venues to play at.' Alibi soft-launched with packed Pride events in fall 2019 (to avoid the summer heat), and formally opened in October. With its glazed-tile outdoor bar and emerald-hued mood lighting, the venue was a chic standout in desert nightlife. 'We had everything from 'Dynasty' theme parties to Modernism Week events,' Tusquellas said. 'We had a goth night. There had never been a place to go for them in Palm Springs and they came out of the woodwork.' Local musicians hoped the venue would be transformative for their scene. 'Alibi was the first place where we got a taste of the real deal,' said Spencer Stange of the band Host Family, which booked a monthly night of experimental music at Alibi. 'It was the only venue I knew there that was legitimate and professional. Good bands played there and you could do a real sound check. They were so hospitable, it felt like a home base.' Louise Minnick, a local promoter with Lesbo Expo, said Alibi was an important venue for queer women in the desert. 'Liz and Melanie went out of their way to make our events special,' Minnick said. 'They offered their patio for women to have first access to watch Pride, which meant a lot to me.' Five months later, the pandemic annihilated those plans. Garo and Tusquellas said their company, 369 Palm Inc., was too new to access the federal patchwork of Paycheck Protection Program loans. They eventually got a grant from the National Independent Venue Assn., but it was for only $20,000. According to a slide deck cited in Save Live's cross-complaint, the venue had $250,000 in outstanding bills from the shutdown. 'We used all our savings to pay the rent,' Tusquellas added. 'We're entrepreneurs who are not funded by big people, so we had to pay the $15,000 a month rent ourselves for a year and a half. It was really hard.' Meanwhile, Save Live launched in 2020 with $135 million raised from venture capital firms and a clear mission: to buy majority stakes in small clubs. 'Save Live's business model was to invest in local, independent, 'mom and pop' live music venues, providing critically needed financial relief and funds to renovate dated facilities to bring them back stronger than ever before,' the company says in its cross-complaint. Save Live's founders were well-known in L.A. entertainment. Geiger co-founded the Lollapalooza festival and led WME's music division from 2003 until 2020. Fogelman was the former head of motion pictures at William Morris Agency and a founding board member when it merged with Endeavor to become WME. The Alibi was one of Save Live's first venue deals. 'Being able to partner with Save Live is a dream come true,' Garo said in a 2021 announcement. The deal let the two owners 'stay true to our roots knowing we have their full support. … It doesn't hurt that we've known some of the people at Save Live for years — we all came up through the business together.' 'I didn't know Marc at all, but he was very charming,' Tusquellas said. 'He and Fogelman were titans of the industry. We felt that we were in very good hands. We knew what we were doing, and they knew that.' According to the suit and cross-complaint, Garo and Tusquellas' company, 369 Palm Inc. (with partner David Gold), agreed to sell 51% of their ownership of the Alibi's business to Save Live for $400,000. The Alibi's business would be co-owned under a new company, Alibi Venue Operations LLC. Garo and Tusquellas say in their suit that, under this agreement, the pair and Geiger 'would have decision-making authority over the day-to-day operations.' Garo and Tusquellas claim in their suit that 369 Palm 'retained 100% ownership of [the Alibi's] ABC liquor license' and would continue to manage the venue's bar. Save Live agreed to provide $565,000 for renovations and expenses, according to Save Live's cross-complaint. Garo and Tusquellas' suit claims that Save Live had 'hatched a plan to exploit the weakness in the independent live music industry to try, by means of deception and then intimidation, to acquire The Alibi and its business without paying a fair price.' Scott Timberlake, the Alibi building's landlord, said he had a friendly relationship with Garo and Tusquellas. But once Save Live got involved, he said, 'I was really surprised by Save Live's ego and entitlement. When I asked to see their financial statements before taking over the lease, they lectured me about 'Don't you know who we are?'' Garo and Tusquellas say in their suit that, when the venue reopened on April 1, 2022, 'SL Alibi acted as if it were the sole owner.' They claim in their suit that Geiger and Fogelman contracted with an outside ticketing company, Tixr, without Garo's consent, and that Save Live didn't sufficiently fund day-to-day operations. Garo and Tusquellas claim in their suit that Save Live switched to its own accountant for bookkeeping and backed out of a plan to hire a general manager. In its cross-complaint, Save Live says that 'contrary to the claims in their lawsuit, Save Live did not try to take over the Venue.' Save Live says 'Tusquellas and Garo had gone significantly over the pre-opening budget, resulting in … an operating budget shortfall.' According to Save Live's cross-complaint, private investigators discovered 'a separate, undisclosed cash register used only for cash transactions … there was no record, whatsoever, of any such sales.' The cross-complaint alleges that Tusquellas 'embezzled most of (if not all) of the cash sale proceeds.' Tusquellas denied the embezzlement claims, saying all sales, including cash, were accounted for and reported as income. Save Live says in its cross-complaint that both parties 'always understood and intended for 369 to transfer' the venue's valuable liquor license, and called Garo and Tusquellas' refusal to do so 'a ruse to get Save Live's money.' Garo and Tusquellas said they never sold, or intended to sell, the venue's liquor license. 'That may have been part of Save Live's secret plan,' said 369 Palm's lawyer, David Sergenian. 'But that was never agreed to.' On July 13, 2022, Garo and Tusquellas' lawsuit says 'Geiger and Fogelman called a meeting of the Board … as a pretense to ambush Tusquellas and Garo with false accusations. Geiger and Fogelman…falsely accus[ed] Tusquellas of embezzling funds from the company to enrich herself.' 'Fogelman aggressively threw a chair to the ground, as he raged,' the suit says. 'Tusquellas and Garo were appalled by Fogelman's shocking behavior and scared for their future, as he was threatening to ruin the business by shutting down The Alibi.' Garo and Tusquellas' suit claims Geiger and Fogelman ordered the venue shut down and that Garo and Tusquellas be removed from operations with their salaries cut off. The bar staff would be fired and 369 Palm's concessionaire agreement canceled, according to the suit. The Alibi closed on July 25, 2022. It never reopened. The situation at the Alibi echoes the tumult surrounding the ownership of the beloved Pioneertown venue Pappy & Harriet's. Starting in 2021, Knitting Factory Chief Executive Morgan Margolis and partners Stephen Hendel and John Chapman battled the venue's co-partners, Joseph Moresco and Lisa Elin, about who controlled the operations at the rustic venue, where acts as big as Paul McCartney and Robert Plant have played in addition to hardscrabble desert locals. Margolis prevailed in late 2024. Meanwhile, the new Acrisure Arena, built by mega-manager Irving Azoff and former AEG President Tim Leiweke, attracts A-list pop, rock and Latin acts to Palm Springs. The nearby Yaamava' resort has spent millions on top talent. 'It's great to have an influx of money and big artists at venues like Acrisure Arena that helps the Valley feel bigger. But losing small venues is detrimental and cuts away at the uniqueness of the experiences people have here,' said Kristen Dolan, executive director of the California Desert Arts Council, a nonprofit group advocating for cultural development in the Coachella Valley. 'Places like Alibi have a bigger impact than people think. The workforce here is largely in hospitality, and clubs like the Alibi are important places to start out,' Dolan said. 'People were really upset when the Alibi closed, and it was heartbreaking for artists cultivating their community. The economy here is unstable right now and I hope we don't lose more small venues like it.' The post-pandemic future for such independent live venues is unsettled. Nonprofits like NIVA were effective advocates for legislation (like the $16.25 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, a federal program that gave money to struggling venues) and fundraising, and concert attendance boomed once venues reopened. But inflation, reduced tourism and a volatile economy threaten to keep fans home. 'What word describes our situation right now? I would offer that one word is 'unknown,' NIVA's executive director Stephen Parker said at the group's 2024 conference. 'Forty years ago, independent stages were the norm, now multinational, publicly traded conglomerates are. Everyone in this room knows that competition is a misnomer and the increasing lack of it is, perhaps, our greatest threat.' Meanwhile, Garo and Tusquellas have returned to L.A., picking up the pieces at an unexpectedly late phase of their careers. Garo will book shows at a new independent Yucca Valley venue, Mojave Gold. Building owner Timberlake said that after months of fighting with Save Live over the venue's debts, he accepted a settlement, and a new restaurant tenant has moved into the Alibi. 'I didn't have the financial capability of fighting someone like Save Live,' he said. 'It was just so unnecessarily negative.' No matter how the August trial ends, Garo and Tusquellas are facing the same headwinds as the rest of the live industry. Only now, they are truly on their own. 'I have lots of ideas,' Garo said. 'But that's all kind of locked up until we get this resolved. I don't want this to be my final chapter.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Dying For Sex' Co-Creator Kim Rosenstock On Bringing People 'A Sense Of Fulfillment, Joy & Happiness' Through Kinks And Body Positivity
FX's Dying For Sex, created for TV and showrun by Elizabeth Meriwether and Kim Rosenstock, is inspired by the story of Molly Kochan. The eight-episode series follows Molly just as she receives the news about her stage IV metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. Soon after, Molly decides to leave her husband of nearly two decades to explore her insatiable sex drive and unspoken desires. Kochan originally chronicled her dating journey via a Wondery podcast of the same name alongside her best friend, Nikki Boyer (played by Jenny Slate in the show). It was eventually released publicly in 2020, a year after Kochan died at the age of 45. Here, Rosenstock explains the enjoyment and challenges of breathing life and taboo fun into someone on the edge of death. More from Deadline Shawn Hatosy On 'The Pitt's Resonance, Crafting Dr. Abbot & The 'Meaningful Response' He's Gotten From The Medical Community How 'Pachinko' Star Minha Kim Approached Season 2's Cliffhanger: "That's When Sunja Finally Realized That She's Tired" 'Love Death + Robots' Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson On 'Metal Gear Solid' & Divers Serving As Inspiration For "Spider Rose" DEADLINE: How did you come across Molly's story? Did you listen to the podcast first, or did you meet Nikki Boyer? KIM ROSENSTOCK: No, I did not know Nikki out in the wild. The podcast had come to me through Liz Meriwether, who had a meeting with Nikki right before everything shut down for Covid. And the podcast had come to Liz through a producer friend. So, she met with Nikki, and there were a ton of people interested in turning the podcast into a television show because it's amazing. Then Nikki really responded to Liz, and she won and got the podcast. Liz called me a few months later when things were getting started to ask if I wanted to make this with her. When she called me, it was about June 2020, and it was a rough time. I was alone in my house with a 4-year-old, trying to do my job while taking care of her. There were earthquakes, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg had died later that year. There were so many things going on, and Liz asked me if I would like to listen to the podcast, she had optioned to turn into a TV show, but it was about a woman dying of cancer. I paused initially because I thought, 'I don't know if I should really be listening to that right now.' I'm really emotionally fragile in general. And she was like, 'No, but it's actually really uplifting and inspiring, and also it's all about sex.' And I was like, OK, well, now you said sex. Send me that link; I'm interested.' I didn't see how dying and sex could go together necessarily, so that was interesting to me. So, she sent the podcast, and I listened and fell in love with it just like she had. Then we started working on it together for TV. DEADLINE: There are so many philosophical questions presented in the show about sexuality and the process of death. Was there anything that surprised you while working on that show that you learned in the process of doing research? ROSENSTOCK: There were so many things that were surprising throughout the process of building the show. Both sex and death are still, in many ways, considered very taboo to talk about or to depict, especially in ways that we aren't used to seeing. So, in my research on the show, I assumed that the things that would surprise me the most would be all the things I would be learning about the world of kink and BDSM. But the truth is what surprised me the most was all the stuff I learned about death and dying. It was learning things I really had no idea about. I feel that most of us in the room didn't really understand exactly how the body is designed to be born and designed to die. And that if you, obviously barring any disastrous circumstances where there's obviously lots of ways that you die, where it's not a natural dying process, but if you do have a process where it is about the body shutting down and slowly dying, there is an actual order of events to it. And it is a very knowable thing that it doesn't happen exactly the same way for everybody, but there are common and across the board. Another thing that moved me is this beautiful book called Final Gifts [by hospice nurses Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley], that features all these case studies. And people will probably say to themselves, 'Oh my God, why would I ever pick that book? It sounds like the saddest thing in the world.' However, reading it wasn't as sad as one might think. It was super interesting and really enlightening, and it changed my life. It changed the way I think about the human body. It changed the way I think about my own mortality, my own death, and the death of the people in my life. It changed my perspective on death because I think for a lot of people, we don't talk about that, and we don't really want to think about it. It's too scary, it's too sad. But what was really cool in this book was that it shows you that across cultures, ages and countries there are patterns of the same things happening again and again. For example, there's a language that starts happening; it's a sign that you're getting closer to the end when you start talking in metaphors. It's almost like a code, it's a way of talking that often family members don't understand why their loved one who's dying is saying, 'I want to go on a trip.' That's a common phrasing that happens. If they start talking about travel, it's because they're talking about going on this trip to the other side. If we all learned about this and understood more, we might actually know how to understand our loved ones when they are in this stage, and we could take care of them better and show up for them better. And we would gain a deeper understanding of what's happening. I think so much of this show is about caretakers as well and how to really show up and take care of somebody. I think part of it's knowing what's happening and not being afraid to learn about it and engage with the truth. Because when you learn about it, it makes it less scary or takes away some of the mystery, which is often where the fear resides in the unknown. Liz and I, alongside all our writers in the room, were thrilled to bring this story to life on screen and share it with the world, sparking conversations and allowing people to grieve. Because, again, often, you don't get this information unless you are literally in a situation where you're in hospice. There's so much beautiful literature out there about this topic. I think a lot of this show is about Molly getting to know herself and her body finally at the 11th hour. And that's what she chooses to do with the end of her time. She's not going to climb a mountain; she's not going to write a novel. She is going to try to get to know herself, finally, on a deep level, and understand her body. So much of this show is really just about actually looking at these things that we don't normally do in our daily lives. DEADLINE: Molly does experience a lot of kinks because she's now living this uninhibited form of life. Can you talk about how you parsed out her sexual experiences on the screen in a way that never feels shameful? ROSENSTOCK: Our hope was to take away shame in a lot of these topics that are just covered in shame, often in the way that we talk about or the way that we look at it. It really was a cue from the real Molly, who had this real acceptance and curiosity about sex, life and death that was true to her nature. It felt natural to put that on screen. We discussed putting things on screen that are usually a joke that we're used to seeing as a punchline but brings a lot of people a sense of fulfillment, joy, and happiness in a way that it's not that strange. We wanted these things to feel less strange and less shameful. Another thing we were very interested in and excited about exploring on the show was this idea that a sick person can also be a sexual person. That's something that the real Molly said. She had a lot of trouble finding, even in these cancer community groups that she was a part of, people weren't talking about sex. And she felt weird. She felt like she was this anomaly or a freak. So, we were excited to show a sick person in the hospital still having sexual urges. It's very funny because it's such an unexpected place to see it, but that's all based on the real person. She really would DM guys on apps and be like, 'Come to the hospital. Here's where I am. I'm in bed.' And then she'd put lipstick on as she was hooked up to an IV and just totally make out with or have a sexual encounter with somebody. And the nurses all loved her, so they would help make it happen – even though no one was supposed to be doing that. DEADLINE: Let's talk about Michelle Williams as Molly. When did she join the project? ROSENSTOCK: Michelle was our dream actor for the role. We never imagined that she would actually say yes and do it. And then, to our great surprise, we sent her the script, we offered her the part, and we wrote her this love letter. We shot our shot, thinking that there was no way she was going to do this. Mainly because it's a really demanding role that requires a lot of somebody. You could be an amazing actor but not necessarily want to do all of those things on screen, or it just might not be your cup of tea. To our amazing surprise, Michelle responded so quickly and, listened to the whole podcast, and fell in love with the real person. She got on Zoom with Liz and me and immediately began trying to get into the mind of this character, thinking about how she would play the role and what her voice would sound like. She was so invested. DEADLINE: What did collaborations look like with her on depicting some of the more outlandish scenes? She's incredibly empathetic, naturally curious, and accepting. She's so fearless as a performer. For the kink stuff, what was amazing is that, again, she didn't approach this from a place of fear. We wrote some pretty wild things in the script, a lot of it based on the real person who did it, but we did end up leaving out some of the craziest stuff – we were so sad we didn't even get to show. But no, there was never anything, I think that Michelle said no to. She was so excited about the dog peeing scene because it was so wild and crazy. I think she found it all to be really exciting and a joyful opportunity for her. I also think she was deeply moved by Molly's genuine acceptance of others. And what that does to somebody else when you are accepting of them is that it makes them feel seen, less alone, and less ashamed. And I think she wanted to portray that radical acceptance on screen. And to do that, she has to have that acceptance. You can't have an actor that's scared of these situations or is judging them. DEADLINE: What has the reception of the series looked like so far? Especially for Nikki Boyer, who worked closely with you all to tell this story about her friend. ROSENSTOCK: Working with Nikki Boyer on this show, she was an EP, and she made herself very available to talk about her real-life experience with Molly was a huge gift to us because we had her blessing the whole time. She understood that we weren't making a full biopic of Molly and herself. These were versions of them that we were creating for a television show, and that we were taking a lot of license and liberties with the story, and that we were using it as a source of inspiration and wanting to really honor the spirit of it and the humor of it but also wanting to make our own thing. And so, I think Nikki was so on board with that from the first moment. It was to have someone like that just give you that trust and be so open and generous with their time. And she would get on the phone with me at 11:00 p.m. when we were working on the final episode. And I was asking her very serious, hard questions about these final moments when she was with Molly in the hospital. And I was like, can you tell me again what was in the room? Where was the cot that her mom was sleeping on? What else was it? And she would just send me photos of the hospital room. And so that level of generosity and thought and care, it embodies who Nikki is and wanting to be as supportive as possible. When she would get a cut of the show, she would get edits as we were working on them. She was always the first person to text me and Liz, sending us these voice memos to say things like, 'It feels like me and Molly' or 'It feels like Molly.' That meant more to us than, I think, almost anything. And it made us realize, 'OK, we're on the right path.' Because, again, we wanted to honor the real lived experience of the real people that went through it. And we did not go through it, so the fact that we had word from Nikki that we were on the right path meant the world. Molly's mom came to the premiere, but unfortunately, I didn't get to meet her as it was such a crazy night. But apparently, she was moved by it, which also means the world to us. This experience has meant so much to me and Liz. I think everyone who worked on the show has seen a multitude of responses from different communities. We were trying to portray as much realism, empathy and humor as possible. One of those communities that we heard from was the stage four metastatic breast cancer community. The fact that we've heard from them that it feels real to them, that the doctors feel real, and that the situations feel relatable was insightful. Someone sent a message from a support group for women with breast cancer that said, 'It feels like it was written for us.' It said, 'I don't know how anyone who doesn't have stage four breast cancer even wrote this show. It feels like it's written in our language, and it's written for us.' And that meant more than words can describe. Another friend of ours got a message from one of our writers who sent links to some Substacks related to the kink community who felt seen by the show. And I mean, that's amazing too. Now I have to join all those Substacks. But again, it was so great to see people feel seen and feel that they were portrayed honestly and truthfully; that was our goal. So, if we accomplished that here, which I think we did, then that's all that matters. [This interview has been edited for length and clarity.] Best of Deadline 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
