Entertainment

'It's a little holiday gift': Inside the Weeknd's free Santa Monica show for his biggest fans

Published

1 year ago

December 19, 2024

'It's a little holiday gift': Inside the Weeknd's free Santa Monica show for his biggest fans

In the digital streaming era, one of the biggest flexes an artist can have is being a member of Spotify’s Billions Club, a playlist that highlights every song that has been streamed more than 1 billion times on the platform. Among the nearly 500 artists who have graced the glorified list are Mariah Carey (“All I Want for Christmas Is You”), Rihanna (“Needed Me”), Fleetwood Mac (“Dreams”), Kendrick Lamar (“All the Stars” featuring SZA), Billie Eilish (“Ocean Eyes”), but the distinction of having the most tracks — 24 to be exact — to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify belongs to the Weeknd.

To commemorate this milestone, the Toronto pop star teamed up with Spotify to host an intimate, invite-only concert with nearly 2,000 of his biggest fans — his top 10% listeners on the platform — on Tuesday night at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

“It’s a little holiday gift for the OG XO fans supporting me [since] Day 1,” the Weeknd said during his 70-minute set. “2024 is almost done, but 2025, we got some new s— coming out. New album. New tour. New movie. New everything. We’re shutting this s— down.” His upcoming album “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which is the third and final installment of his “After Hours” / “Dawn FM” trilogy,” will be supported by a psychological thriller starring the singer born Abel Tesfaye, alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan.

With the support of his longtime collaborator Mike Dean (on the keys) and guitarist Patrick Greenaway, the Weeknd performed 20 of the 24 songs that landed him on the Billions Club playlist including “Blinding Lights” (the most streamed song on Spotify), “The Hills,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “After Hours.” He also performed three additional songs for the energetic crowd, who knew every word, including “São Paulo,” “Timeless,” and “Wicked Games.”

“I know that song didn’t hit a billion, but I felt like I had to do it,” he said about “Wicked Games.” “It’s necessary, at least one ‘House of Balloons’ song.”

Fans started lining up overnight at 4 a.m. for the highly anticipated show and a few folks traveled from Newark, N.J., for the chance to get inside even though they didn’t have tickets to the event. (Unfortunately, the aforementioned Jersey fans didn’t make it inside because they didn’t have a ticket.) The special night featured food trucks including L.A.’s beloved Kogi Korean BBQ, an open bar (for attendees 21 and up) and the Weeknd merchandise — all of which was free to attendees.

Fans take photos at the Weeknd’s show with Spotify on Tuesday at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

For an international superstar like the Weeknd, who regularly sells out arenas and stadiums around the globe, the event was a chance for fans to experience his music in a personal setting. In fact, it was likely the first time since his early days that he’s performed for an audience of fewer than 2,000 people. “It feels like back in the ‘Kiss Land’ tour,” he said. “Maybe after the stadium tour, we’ll go back to smaller venues. I like this.”

Ashley Graver, who leads artist partnerships and is head of pop, dance and indie at Spotify, says the Weeknd and his team were involved throughout the entire process of putting together the show, including on the merch design, stage and sound design.

“This milestone really shows how massive the Weeknd’s impact is around the world,” she said. “His success is a testament to his artistry and his constant drive to push creative boundaries. Right now, ‘Blinding Lights’ is the most-streamed song on Spotify, even four years after it came out, which just goes to show how much staying power he has and how loyal his fans are.”

Before the show, we caught up with attendees to ask them about their fandom and what it means to be invited to such an exclusive event.

Elijah Shen Muralles, 21, and Cole Dizon, 20, poise in dark coats outdoors at night.

Cole Dizon and Elijah Shen Muralles

Age:
Dizon: 20
Shen Muralles: 21

Neighborhood:
Dizon: Lancaster
Shen Muralles: South Gate

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Dizon: About two years ago, one of my friends showed me a few songs — some of the mainstream ones like “Die For You” and “Blinding Lights.” I knew he was a household name, but once I started getting into the groove of it, I was like “OK, he’s pretty good.” Eventually, I went to his Spotify profile and started listening to more of his songs. I was like, “Hold on. I can see why he’s so popular. The trend has motion to it.” So I started listening to him more and more.

Shen Muralles: I would hear him here and there and he was always one of the big celebrities, but I didn’t really get deep into it until maybe like a year or two ago. My friend was just blasting his music all the time and I was like, “You know what, I’m going to hear this artist out.” After a few songs, I realized, “Oh my gosh. He’s one of the best sounding artists I’ve ever heard. I should’ve hopped onto the bandwagon sooner.”

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Dizon: “I Feel It Coming.” Daft Punk is a classic. When the song dropped, I wasn’t on the bandwagon yet but listening to it recently I was like, first off, I remember this song. [Secondly], I’ve been sleeping on this because this is straight heat.

Shen Muralles: “House of Balloons.” I’m a big fan of the first half. The second half is still really good. However, I think the first half, it’s just the beat, the lyrics, it really just gets me in the mood. Also, “Stargirl Interlude.” I’m a bit of a Lana Del Rey fan. Her voice just hard carries that song.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Dizon: It’s super surreal. When I got the email [invite] from Spotify, I didn’t believe it was real… We got here and saw the line and I was like, “Holy smokes! This is actually legitimate.” We were stressing in line cause we thought we weren’t going to get in… I’m going to see him in like four weeks from now [at his tour], so to me this is not only a wonderful surprise, but it’s a great love letter to his fans.

Shen Muralles: I’m not one to drop a whole lot of money to go to concerts, so to get to come to something like this with Spotify is like, “Wow, this is crazy.” I’m just so grateful to be here because this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity for me… This is a Christmas gift right here.

America Maldonado, Maya Garcia and Kessai Suksanguan

Age:
Maldonado: 21
Garcia: 21
Suksanguan: 19

Neighborhood:
Maldonado: Downtown L.A.
Garcia: Bellflower
Suksanguan: Long Beach

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Maldonado: Since I was 13. I would listen to his mixtapes.

Garcia: Probably since middle school.

Suksanguan: Around middle school. I would hear him a lot on the radio.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Maldonado: “Adaptation.” It’s just a beautiful story. If you listen to [the album] “Kiss Land,” every song ends and it just continues on with the story.

Garcia: I know it’s basic, but I’m going to say “Earned It.” It’s super catchy and it highlights his voice, which I love.

Suksanguan: “After Hours.” I really like the style of that whole album and that time period for him.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Maldonado: It feels amazing. Unfortunately, I’ve only seen him perform live twice. I’ve been listening to him for so long, but to be a part of this free event where I feel comfortable, is great.

Garcia: I’m honestly so glad that he’s doing this show in L.A. I just love being here in L.A.

Suksanguan: I think it’s just really special that it was free and invite only, so it makes us feel really wanted and really special. And the fact that it’s close to us too, it’s really convenient.

Hamza Akmal, Adeeb Ali and Ameer Ali

Age:
Ameer: 25
Adeeb: 28
Akmal: 29

Neighborhood:
Ameer: Whittier
Adeeb: West Covina
Akmal: Culver City

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Ameer: The Drake collabs made me a fan. The songs were very unique. I’d never heard anything like that at the time.
Adeeb: I became a fan when I heard him on “Crew Love” with Drake. I was like, “This guy is good.”
Akmal: I became a fan around high school [around] like 2011. A couple of my friends liked to explore a lot of new music and they told me to check him out, so I’ve been listening since then.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Ameer: I’m a big Michael Jackson fan. I love how the Weeknd did “Dirty Diana” [with his song] “D.D.”
Adeeb: “Out of Time.” It’s just so pretty. He sampled some Japanese city pop and it sounded really nice.
Akmal: Probably “The Hills.” It’s just too catchy for me. I just love the beat of it and everything.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Ameer: It’s exciting.
Adeeb: It seemed a little too good to be true. I was like, “Are we being set up right now?” And like, no, it’s just super cool.
Akmal: Coming to this, I didn’t really know what to expect, but based on what I’m seeing, it’s really cool to be here.

Kenyah Moore and Shenita Moore pose outdoors at night.

Shenita and Kenyah Moore

Age:
Kenyah: 18
Shenita: 48

Neighborhood:
Kenyah: Santa Monica
Shenita: Santa Monica

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Kenyah: He’s just always been there. Growing up, he’s one of the most popular artists of my generation.
Shenita: I’m just here supporting her, but I am familiar with his music.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Kenyah: “In the Night.” I like the story that it tells.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Kenyah: I’m glad I saw the email. It’s a pretty cool thing that he achieved — to get that many songs over 1 billion [streams].

Grace Chandler, Jessie Sheridan and Isabella Elsesser

Age:
Chandler: 20
Sheridan: 20
Elsesser: 19

Neighborhood:
Chandler: Long Beach
Sheridan: San Luis Obispo
Elsesser: Long Beach

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Chandler: It had to have been when I was in the fifth grade when “The Hills” came out. Everyone was singing that song and I would play it 24/7 with my mom and my sister. Respectfully. It was just the beat. It just started from there.

Sheridan: Since the third grade. My sister put me on. I have no idea what album it was, but that was my life. I’ve been singing his music since the third grade. He will always and forever be my guy.

Elsesser: I heard about him from “The Hills” but it was the Echos Remix. There’s a woman who sings it in a house, dubstep kind of way and I was always into dubstep. I was like, “Yes. Yes. I love this.”

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Chandler: “Stargirl Interlude” and “Save Your Tears.”
Sheridan: “Stargirl Interlude.”
Elsesser: “The Morning” [starts singing song]. It’s empowering. I feel like I’m the girl. I’m like “Yeah, I’m the money. I’m the motive.” I also love “São Paulo” with Anitta. It’s so fire.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Chandler: Unreal!
Sheridan: So exciting.
Elsesser: I’m excited to dance.

Zachary Cutting

Age: 37

Neighborhood: Belmont, Calif.

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
I was doing security at the Fonda Theatre, but he wasn’t popular yet. I heard him performing. He did the “Dirty Diana” song and I liked that, so from then on, I followed his career and I’ve been a fan ever since.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
“Is There Someone Else?” Sometimes I be wondering… with the person I’m talking to, like, “Is there someone else?” [laughs]

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
I’ve only seen him perform that one time, so I’m excited.

Carmen Flores and Marco De La Cruz

Age:
Flores: 25
De La Cruz: 26

Neighborhood: Maywood

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Flores: I think I was in middle school. My sister asked if I ever heard of his music.

De La Cruz: Around 2015-2016, probably during the “Trilogy” era.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Flores: “Faith.” First of all, I think it’s a very fun song. Just meaning of faith and how it transitions into [the next song, “Blinding Lights”]. It’s very underrated.

De La Cruz: “After Hours.” Just the whole production on that song and his vocals.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Flores: It means everything. But I will be seeing him again next month and I also saw him with Mike Dean on March 1 at the Wiltern when he came out with Travis Scott and it was the best thing ever.

David Reyes

Age: 19

Neighborhood: Riverside

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd? My sister put me on when “Starboy” came out. She always played it.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
“Die For You” for sure. It’s just a classic. 10/10.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
It’s very unique how Spotify and Abel are doing this for his fans. It’s just cool how artists actually care for their fans.

Catherine Carrasco, 25, and Jonathan Serna, 26, pose outdoors at night.

Jonathan Serna and Catherine Carrasco

Age:
Carrasco: 25
Serna: 26

Neighborhood:
Carrasco: Santa Ana
Serna: Santa Ana

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Carrasco: In 2015. I was a sophomore in high school. I think the first song that I listened to by him was “The Morning” and I got introduced to his music by an ex-boyfriend. [laughs] I got this hoodie a while ago and then his first concert I went to was the “Starboy” [tour].
Serna: When “Starboy” released, I kept listening to it on repeat like crazy. After that, I listened to everything he’s made and I became a fan. I wasn’t a big fan until “After Hours” [though].

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Carrasco: That’s such a hard question. I think “The Birds Pt. 1” and Pt. 2. I love every song by him, but I have those on repeat. He’s No. 1 on my Spotify Wrapped every year.
Serna: “After Hours.” He was No. 1 on my Wrapped.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Carrasco: I’m like shaking. I’m excited. I’ve seen him a couple of times, but this is a free event.
Serna: It’s amazing. I didn’t think I was going to get it. When I got the [email], I just went on break at my job. They gave you like 20 minutes to respond and I know she would’ve killed me if I didn’t.

Jorge Martinez

Age: 20

Neighborhood: We live in Newark, N.J. I saw a couple of TikToks like two days ago about the Spotify event. Unfortunately, we’re on Apple Music so we didn’t get the invite, but I was like maybe Abel might stop and sign our vinyl. She has on her “After Hours” hoodie. We came here for the SoFi show in November for the three-year anniversary. [Then we came back for this], so we traveled a long way.

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd? I’ve been a big fan since “After Hours” came out. It was really good. It was a dream seeing him in concert [at his recent show]. The next dream is hopefully meeting him.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
“After Hours.” The way it slowly transitions to the beat drop — I like the 808s.

You flew out to L.A. just for the chance to see the show even though you don’t have tickets. Why was it important to you?
It would mean a lot for us to make it inside of the show or even to meet him, that would be amazing too. We’re planning to maybe fly out to the Rose Bowl show. But we got to try it out.

[Unfortunately, Jorge, his girlfriend and sister didn’t make it inside of the show because they didn’t have tickets.]

Entertainment

‘The Night Manager’ Season 2 returns with explosive reveals: ‘Every character’s heart is on fire’

Published

1 hour ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

‘The Night Manager’ Season 2 returns with explosive reveals: ‘Every character’s heart is on fire’

This article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of “The Night Manager” Season 2.

It wasn’t inevitable that “The Night Manager,” an adaptation of John le Carré’s 1993 spy novel, would have a sequel. Le Carré didn’t write one and the six-episode series, which aired in 2016, had a definitive ending.

But after the show’s debut, fans clambered for more. They loved Tom Hiddleston’s brooding, charismatic Jonathan Pine, a hotel manager wrangled into the spy game by British intelligence officer Angela Burr (Olivia Colman). And at the heart of the series was the parasitic dynamic between Pine and his delightfully malicious foe, an arms dealer named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).

The show was so good that even the story’s author wanted it to continue. After the premiere of Season 1 at the Berlin International Film Festival, Le Carré sat across from Hiddleston, a twinkle in his eye, and said, “Perhaps there should be some more.”

“That was the first I’d heard of it or thought about it,” Hiddleston says, speaking over Zoom alongside the show’s director, Georgi Banks-Davies, from New York a few days before the U.S. premiere of “The Night Manager” Season 2 on Prime Video, which arrived Sunday with three episodes, 10 years after the first season. “But it was so extraordinary and inspiring to come from the man himself. That’s when I knew there might be an opportunity.”

Time passed because no one wanted a sequel of less quality. Le Carré died in 2020, leaving his creative works in the care of his sons, who helm the production company the Ink Factory. That same year, screenwriter David Farr, who had penned the first series, had a vision.

“We didn’t want to rush into doing something that was all style and no substance that didn’t honor the truth of it,” Farr says, speaking separately over Zoom from London. “There was this big gap of time. But I had this very clear idea. I saw a black car crossing the Colombian hills in the past towards a boy. I knew who was in the car and I knew who the boy was.”

That image transformed into a scene in the second episode of Season 2 where a young Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) is waiting for his father, who turns out to be none other than Roper. From there, Farr fleshed out the rest of the season, as well as the already-announced third season. He was interested in the relationship between fathers and sons, an obsession of Le Carré’s, and in how Jonathan and Roper would be entangled all these years later.

Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) is revealed to be Roper’s son.

(Des Willie / Prime Video)

“Teddy crystallized very quickly in my head,” Farr says. “All of the plot came later — arms smuggling and covert plans for coups in South America. But the emotional architecture, as I tend to call it, came to me quite quickly. That narrative of fathers and sons, betrayal and love is what marks Le Carré from more conventional espionage.”

“There was enormous depth in his idea,” Hiddleston adds. “It was a happy accident of 10 years having passed. They were 10 immeasurably complex years in the world, which can only have been more complex for Jonathan Pine with all his experience, all his curiosity, all his pain, all his trauma and all his courage.”

Farr sent scripts to Hiddleston in 2023 and planning for Season 2 began in earnest. The team brought Banks-Davies on in early 2024, impressed with her vision for the episodes. Hiddleston was especially attracted to her desire to highlight the vulnerability of the characters, all of whom present an exterior that is vastly different than their interior life.

“Every character’s heart is on fire in some way, and they all have different masks to conceal that,” Hiddleston says. “But Georgi kept wanting to get underneath it, to excavate it. Explore the fire, explore the trauma. She came in and said, ‘This show is about identity.’ ”

“I’m fascinated with how the line of identity and where you sit in the world is very fragile,” Banks-Davies says. “I’m fascinated by the strain on that line. In the heart of the show, that was so clearly there. I’m also always searching for what brings us together in a time, particularly in the last 10 years, that’s ever more divisive. These characters are all at war with each other. They’re all lying to each other. They’re deceiving each other for what they want. But what brings them together … instead of pushes them apart?”

The new season opens four years after the events of Season 1 as Jonathan and Angela meet in Syria. There, she identifies the dead body of Roper — a reveal that suggests his character won’t really be part of Season 2. After his death, Pine settles into a requisite life in London as Alex Goodwin, a member of an unexciting intelligence unit called the Night Owls.

A woman in a blue shirt and light colored hoodie looks intently at a man in a white shirt sitting across from her.

“He’s half asleep and he lacks clarity and definition,” Hiddleston says. “His meaning and purpose have been blunted and dulled. He is only alive at his greatest peril, and the closer his feet are to the fire, the more he feels like himself. He’s addicted to risk, but also courageous in chasing down the truth.”

That first episode is a clever fake-out. Soon, Jonathan is on the trail of a conspiracy in Colombia, where the British government appears to be involved in an arms deal with Teddy. It quickly becomes the globe-trotting, thrill-seeking show that captivated fans in Season 1. There are new characters, including Sally (Hayley Squires), Jonathan’s Night Owls’ partner, and Roxana Bolaños (Camila Morrone), a young shipping magnate in league with Teddy, and vibrant locations. Jonathan infiltrates Teddy’s organization, posing as a cavalier, rich businessman named Matthew Ellis. He believes Teddy is the real threat. But in the final moments of Episode 3 there’s another gut-punching fake-out: Roper lives.

“The idea was: We must do the classic thing that stories do, which is to lose the father in order that he must appear again,” Farr says. He confirms there was never an intention to make “The Night Manager” Season 2 without Laurie. “What makes it work is this feeling that you are off on something completely new,” Farr says. “But that’s not what I want this show to be.”

Hiddleston compares it to the tale of St. George and the dragon. “They define each other,” he says. “At the end of the first series, Jonathan Pine delivers the dragon of Richard Roper to his captors. But after that, he is lost. The dragon slayer is lost without the presence of the dragon to define him. And, similarly, Roper is obsessed with Pine.”

Jonathan realizes the truth as he sneaks up to a hilltop restaurant to listen in on a meeting. Banks-Davies opted to shoot the entire series on location, and she kept a taut, quick pace during filming because she wanted the cast to feel the tension all the way through. She and Hiddleston had a shared motto on set: “There’s no time for unreal.” Thanks to her careful scene-setting, Roper’s arrival and Jonathan’s reaction were shot in only 10 minutes.

“I felt everything we talked about for months and everything we’d shot up until that point and everything we’d been through was in that moment,” Banks-Davies says. “There are so many emotions going on, so much being expressed, and it’s just delivered like that. But it was hard to get us there.”

Farr adds, “It is the most important moment in the show in terms of everything that then follows on from that.” He wrote into the script that Roper’s voice would be heard before Laurie was seen on camera. “It’s more frightening when something is not instantly fully understood and seen,” he says. “You hear it and you think, ‘Oh, God, I know that [voice].’ ”

Hiddleston wanted to play a range of emotions in seconds. He describes it as a “moment of total vitality.” Right before the cameras rolled, Banks-Davies told Hiddleston, “The dragon is alive.”

“After all the work, that’s all I needed to hear,” he says. “This moment will be memorable to him and he’ll be able to recall it in his mind for the rest of his life. He is wide awake, and reality is re-forming around him. His sense of the last 10 years, his sense of what he can trust and who he can trust, the way he’s tried to evolve his own identity — the sky is falling. There is a mixture of shock, grief, disenchantment, disillusionment, surprise and perhaps even relief.”

As soon as Jonathan arrives in Colombia and meets Teddy, a calculating live-wire dealing with his own sense of isolation, he becomes more himself. Hiddleston expresses him as a character desperate to feel the edge. Despite his layered duplicity, Jonathan understands and defines himself by courting risk.

A man in a tan suit, a man in a blue suit and a woman in a white suit stand near a waterway, with towers and a car behind.

A woman in a blue dress presses against the back of a man in white, who is being held at the hips by a man in a mesh shirt.

Teddy (Diego Calva), Jonathan (Tom Hiddleston) and Roxana (Camila Marrone) get close. “This is a character who pushes his body to the limit and sacrifices enormous parts of himself at great personal cost to his body and soul,” Hiddleston says of Jonathan. (Des Willie/Prime Video)

“This is a character who pushes his body to the limit and sacrifices enormous parts of himself at great personal cost to his body and soul,” Hiddleston says. “He goes through a lot of pain, but also there’s great courage and resilience and enormous vulnerability. That’s what I relish the most, these are heightened scenarios that don’t arise as readily and in my ordinary life.”

“I could feel that shooting moments like this,” Banks-Davies adds. “Like, ‘It’s right there. Are we going to get it?’ Our whole show exists in that space between safety and death.”

Roper’s presence sends a ripple effect across the remaining three episodes. As much as Jonathan and Teddy are in opposition, they are parallel spirits, both with complicated relationships to Roper. Hiddleston describes them as “a mirror to each other,” although they can’t quite figure out what to be to each other. And neither knows who the other person really is.

“It is interesting, isn’t it, that my first image of him was 7 years old and that stays in him all the way through,” Farr says. “This sense of this boy who is seeking something — an affirmation, a place in the world. And he’s done terrible things, as he says to Pine in Episode 3. All of that was present in that first image I had.”

Hiddleston adds, “There is a competition, too, because Roper is the father figure, and they both need him in very different ways. Teddy is a new kind of adversary because he’s a contemporary. He’s got this resourcefulness and this ruthlessness, but also this very open vulnerability, which he uses as a weapon. They recognize each other and see each other.”

The characters’ dynamic is at the root of what drew Banks-Davies to the series. “It’s not about where they were born, it’s not about their economic status or their religion or their cultural identity,” she says. “It’s about two men who are lost and alone and solitary, and see a kinship in that. They are pulled together on this journey.”

Season 2, which will release episodes weekly after the first drop, will lead directly into Season 3, although no one involved will spill on when it can be expected. Hopefully they will arrive in less than a decade.

“It won’t be as long, I promise,” Farr says. “I can’t tell you exactly when, because I don’t know. But definitely nowhere as long.”

“That was the thrill for us, of knowing that when we began to tell this story, we knew we had 12 episodes to tell it inside, rather than just six,” Hiddleston says. “So we can be slightly braver and more rebellious and more complex in the architecture of that narrative. And not everything has to be tied up neatly in a bow. There’s still miles to go before we sleep, to borrow from Robert Frost, and that’s exciting. It’s exciting for how this season ends, and it’s exciting for where we go next.”

Movie Reviews

Primate

Published

12 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Every horror fan deserves the occasional (decent) fix, andin the midst of one of the bleakest movie months of the year, Primatedelivers. There’s nothing terribly original about Johannes Roberts’ rabidchimpanzee tale, but that’s kind of the …

Entertainment

Tom Cherones, director and producer of ‘Seinfeld,’ dies at 86

Published

13 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Tom Cherones, director and producer of ‘Seinfeld,’ dies at 86

Television director and producer Tom Cherones, best known for his work on the first five seasons of the Emmy-winning series “Seinfeld,” has died. He was 86.

He died Jan. 5 at his home in Florence, Ore., according to a statement from his family.

He directed some of the most iconic episodes of “Seinfeld,” including “The Chinese Restaurant,” “The Parking Garage” and “The Contest.” The first episode he directed was the show’s second-ever episode, “The Stake Out.” The director ultimately helmed over 80 episodes of the show.

“I think they liked the way I ran the set,” Cherones said of why he was chosen to direct so many “Seinfeld” episodes in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation. “I shot the show a little different … I just shot it in a way that I thought made it look better than the average show.”

Cherones left the show at the behest of its star Jerry Seinfeld.

“Jerry asked me to [leave], he was tired of the same thing I guess,” he told the Television Academy Foundation. “We changed writers almost every season and finally he just wanted somebody else, another presence to try to keep it fresh. He always said from the beginning that when this thing isn’t working anymore we’re going to stop.”

Cherones received six Emmy nominations for his work on “Seinfeld,” winning his sole Emmy for his production work in 1993.

“Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander mourned Cherones death in an Instagram post on Friday.

“Tom directed nearly half the ‘Seinfeld’ episodes. He created the visual style and tone and how to capture the magical interplay of our cast,” Alexander wrote.

“His generosity also enabled me to become a member of the Directors Guild and he was a wonderful mentor. He was a good guy and a wonderful director and teacher. Generations of our fans have and will continue to enjoy his work. Thanks for everything, Tom. Rest well. My love to your family and friends.”

After leaving “Seinfeld,” Cherones would go on to direct 23 episodes of the second season of the Ellen DeGeneres sitcom “Ellen.” He also directed several episodes of the ‘90s NBC sitcoms “Caroline in the City” and “NewsRadio” and stand-alone episodes of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Boston Common” and “Desperate Housewives.”

Cherones was born Sept. 11, 1939, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of New Mexico in 1961. After a four-year stint in the U.S. Navy, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1967.

He worked at a PBS affiliate station in Pittsburgh, including aiding in the production of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Cherones moved to L.A. in 1975 and found production work on such series as “General Hospital” and “Welcome Back, Kotter,” and with several of the major Hollywood production studios.

Later in life, Cherones returned to the University of Alabama to teach production classes from 2002 to 2014.

Cherones is survived by his wife Carol E. Richards, his daughter Susan Cherones Lee, son Scott Cherones and two grandchildren, Jessa and Thomas Cherones.