Welcome to The Weekend Read: Deadline’s curated collection of our long-form stories.
We’re mourning one of the greats of stage and screen, Sir Patrick Stewart, who passed away on Wednesday. Read our look back on his beloved work and a collection of remembrances from those who knew him and worked with him.
It’s been a tough week for sad losses, as last Sunday we also said goodbye to much-loved star, Walter Koenig, who originated the role of Ensign Pavel Chekov in the 1960s Star Trek TV series.
We also have some insights from a special AFI Fest screening where audiences were given a brief first-look at The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, with Quentin Tarantino on hand to discuss.
Take a look at our deep dive into Netflix’s new docuseries The One About Matthew Perry, plus the story of a former Netflix staffer who launched CineYama, a buzzy indie cinema venue in Japan.
And lastly, if you’re wondering what to add to your TV watchlist, we’ve got the rundown on 53 of the hottest new and returning shows of 2026.
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Honoring Patrick Stewart — His Obituary & Remembrances From Co-Stars & Friends
Image Credit: Tommy Garcia Patrick Stewart, the star of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard, the X-Men film franchise and many other movies, TV shows and stage plays, died October 28 at his home in Los Angeles following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He was 86.
A statement from his rep confirmed the news.
Stewart, the distinguished stage and screen actor and New York Times best-selling author whose career spanned nearly six decades, was a three-time Olivier Award winner and a Tony Award nominee for his stage work. He won a Grammy in 1995 and received multiple Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for his work across television and film.
In the 2001 New Year Honours list, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Stewart an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and in 2010, she knighted for his services to drama. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.
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Patrick Stewart’s Career In Pictures
Sir Patrick Stewart, whose distinctive voice helped him embody everything from USS Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard to the X-Men’s Professor X to Ebenezer Scrooge to an emoji, has died.
His decades-long career spans the stage, the big screen, TV and commercials. He worked across genres from sci-fi to Shakespeare, to historical dramas to superhero films to comedy and animation.
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Remembering Walter Koenig — His Obituary And Tributes From ‘Star Trek’s William Shatner & George Takei
Image Credit: NBC Walter Koenig, who originated the role of Ensign Pavel Chekov in the 1960s Star Trek TV series and several subsequent movies about the adventures of the USS Enterprise, died Sunday, according to his rep. He was 90.
Zachery McGinnis of Galactic Productions posted Monday on Facebook that Koenig died of natural causes in North Hollywood but did not provide other details.
“Walter’s legacy extends far beyond the screen,” McGinnis wrote in part. “Through countless convention appearances and interactions with fans, he shared his kindness, wit, and appreciation with everyone fortunate enough to meet him. He understood what Star Trek meant to people and embraced the community that grew around it.”
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A Brief Look At ‘The Further Mis-Adventures Of Cliff Booth’
Image Credit: Everett Collection
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The One About The Matthew Perry Docuseries – Five Key Takeaways
Image Credit: Netflix Let’s be honest, Netflix’s just debuted The One About Matthew Perry is mainly for the hardcore Friends fans. Having said that even the devotees of Rachel, Ross, Monica, Joey, Phoebe and Chandler might be disappointed as there’s not much in this Mary Robertson directed three-part docuseries you haven’t heard before.
Over the approximately three-hour running time, The One About draws on tales of drunken nights, funny faces, and the rise, demands, and bends of fame. There’s interviews with old friends, family members (especially Perry’s younger half-sister and licensed therapist Mia Perry Bowick), NBC Entertainment boss Warren Littlefield, The Whole Nine Yards director and one now ex-U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
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Japan’s Buzziest New Indie Cinema Venue
Image Credit: Matt Kelson. Director Lee Chang-dong’s beautiful genre mash-up, Possible Love; Dario Argento’s Giallo classic, Suspiria; and Sophy Romvari’s accomplished debut, Blue Heron, are some of the titles Japanese cinephiles can catch this week at Cineyama, one of the country’s buzziest new indie cinema venues.
Located in Yamanashi Prefecture, just outside Tokyo, CineYama is a unique proposition in Japan’s indie film scene: The venue sits at the site of a former kindergarten, and its founder, Matt Kelson, is American. He is also a former senior Netflix staffer.
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53 Of The Hottest New & Returning Shows In 2026
Image Credit: Apple TV 2026 is a big year for TV, and that’s saying something as two of the most popular recent shows — Netflix’s Stranger Things and Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty — concluded their stories in 2025 (unless the upcoming The Summer I Turned Pretty movie is taken into account, but that is a film and not part of the show).
January alone boasted the return of such HBO/HBO Max dramas as The Pitt and Industry and the premiere of Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. And how could we forget the fourth season of Netflix’s Bridgerton — split into two parts again this round — or Season 3 of Apple’s comedy Shrinking?