Vanessa Agabo-Davalos has spent hours watching the dystopian drama “Squid Game” on Netflix. But nothing could prepare the 21-year-old college student for seeing one of the show’s actors walk the red carpet a few feet in front of her.

She found herself starstruck in the presence of Kang Ae-sim, who portrays Geum-ja (Player 149) on the South Korean thriller. All the more so when they snapped a photo together.

“You forget everything. You forget how to talk — it’s just like ‘Wow, I saw you on TV,’” said Agabo-Davalos, who traveled an hour from the Inland Empire and can’t wait to see the final season this month. “I feel like it’s a dream come true for the ones that really enjoyed these shows.”

She was among the more than 9,500 Netflix fans who gathered Saturday at the Kia Forum in Inglewood for Netflix‘s Tudum live event, an hours-long extravaganza meant to hype up audiences for upcoming series, movies and returning franchises.

People traveled from all over the world to celebrate their love for shows including “Squid Game,” Addams Family series “Wednesday” and sci-fi show “Stranger Things.”

During Netflix’s variety-show like program onstage at the famed venue, the company showed off how its computer animated version of Tony Tony Chopper, a toddler-sized reindeer-boy character in the live action pirate series “One Piece,” would appear in the upcoming season.

Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro unveiled a new teaser trailer for his November Netflix movie, “Frankenstein,” starring Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth, who both appeared onstage with the filmmaker. Fans also saw the first six minutes of the first episode of Season 2 of “Wednesday,” which will be released in August.

The event, named after the sound that plays before a Netflix program begins (“tuh-dum”), was part of Netflix’s ongoing effort to harness the enthusiasm its viewers have for its most popular programs and inspire them to keep streaming.

“It is about celebrating fans and giving something back to them,” Netflix’s Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee told The Times after the event. “Of course it is also about promoting … we have a huge slate coming up.”

Netflix hosted the first Tudum event in 2020 in São Paulo, which came from the company’s Brazil team, which had an idea for an event that rewarded the streamer’s fans of young adult shows. That later led to Tudum evolving into different formats including festivals and livestreams, events that were more like a fan convention.

In 2023, Netflix held Tudum again in São Paulo, drawing more than 35,000 attendees and more than 78 million views through Netflix’s social channels.

But Saturday’s festivities in Inglewood took Netflix brand promotion to a new level.

It was the first time Tudum was livestreamed directly on Netflix, rather than on YouTube or social media outlets. The event played like a roughly two-hour live variety show, featuring “ask me anything” segments, as well as performances from music artists including Lady Gaga, who appears in the next season of “Wednesday.”

There was plenty of cross promotion of Netflix content during the show, as WWE wrestlers talked about why people should tune into their weekly live show on the platform, while also speaking about their love for “One Piece,” based on manga.

Tudum host Sofia Carson touted her upcoming Netflix movie, “My Oxford Year,” which also stars Corey Mylchreest, known for portraying King George III in Georgian era romance series “Queen Charlotte” from the “Bridgerton” universe. Sesame Street‘s Cookie Monster also made an appearance with actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who star in the new Netflix movie “The RIP.”

“I don’t think another studio can pull this off in the way that we did,” Lee said. “Fandoms can be unique and distinct. They’re putting all those fans in a room together, WWE fans next to [mystery movie] ‘Knives Out’ fans next to Lady Gaga fans for ‘Wednesday.’ That’s an incredible achievement. That is something only Netflix can do.”

To some people, Tudum is a page borrowed from Walt Disney Co., which hosts the biennial D23 fan convention in Anaheim, pulling together disparate fandoms (Disney princesses, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars) to converge in the same place. It raises the question: Does Netflix, a streaming service that produces shows from just about every genre for just about every kind of audience, have fans in the same way that Disney does?

Over the years, Netflix has expanded its live events and in-person experiences to keep viewers engaged. Those have included “Bridgerton” balls, Netflix-themed eateries and retail stores selling merch based on “Stranger Things” and other shows.

Lee declined to say how much Netflix spent on the event. Some fans bought tickets, ranging from $25 to $75, while others said they scored free tickets. Netflix said tickets sold out in about a week.

Netflix doesn’t have iconic animated characters like Mickey Mouse or storied franchises like “Star Wars” or Marvel. But Netflix’s strategy is to have something for everyone, and because of that, people are reluctant to quit it, industry observers say, even as economic anxieties run rampant.

“That is the competitive advantage of Netflix,” said Larry Vincent, a marketing professor at USC Marshall School of Business. “It really has become the big tent of streaming. They’ve invested pretty significantly to develop a stockpile of content.”

The streamer said last year it had more than 301 million subscribers globally. On Saturday, the attendees reflected that expansive audience.

Netflix Tudum 2025: The Live Event at the Kia Forum on Saturday in Inglewood.

(Adam Rose/Netflix)

Fans dressed up as their favorite characters from Netflix shows. People wore black dresses similar to Wednesday’s attire, straw hats in support of “One Piece” and green tracksuits like the ones players wear in the deadly “Squid Game.”

When Cookie Monster appeared behind a DJ booth on the “N” shaped red carpet to sing “‘C’ is for Cookie,” adults in “Squid Game” tracksuits joined in the chorus.

“It’s all-encompassing and global and passionate,” Tudum host Carson, known for starring in Netflix movies including “Carry-On” and “Purple Hearts,” said in an interview after the event ended. “It is truly extraordinary to feel the love from every single part of the world — it crosses languages, it crosses cultures.”

Shaheidi Jimenez, 21, came to the Netflix event as a fan of “Wednesday” and “Squid Game.” She hadn’t watched “Stranger Things,” but seeing the screaming fans for the show’s actors on the red carpet made her more curious about the sci-fi series.

“When I see the cast, it makes me want to watch it now,” Jimenez said. “I’m familiar with them more. It makes me want to watch the show and probably get into it.”

A new survey of victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires shows most would like to return to their old neighborhoods, but they’re worried that government officials can’t make it happen soon enough.

The vast majority of burned-out homeowners surveyed said they intend to rebuild the homes destroyed in the devastating January fires — yet half say they are unwilling to wait more than three years to return.

Urgency on all fronts is paramount to a successful revival of the lost neighborhoods, Los Angeles real estate developer Clare De Briere said.

She helped oversee the survey conducted by Project Recovery, a group of public and private real estate experts who compiled a report in March on what steps can be taken to speed revival as displaced residents weigh their options to return to Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu and other affected neighborhoods.

The report was compiled by professors in the real estate graduate schools at USC and UCLA, along with the Los Angeles chapter of the Urban Land Institute, a real estate nonprofit education and research institute.

For the follow-up survey, Project Recovery tracked down nearly 350 homeowners who experienced total loss or significant damage to their properties to determine their preferences for the future. Most would like to return, but are skeptical about their chances to get back in the near future and will only wait so long before settling in elsewhere.

“For every year it takes to at least start the rebuilding, 20% of the population will find another another place to go,” De Briere said. “If that statistic is right, then after five years, you’re going to have a whole new community there, so it won’t be the same.

“You won’t have the same people remembering the same parades and the same soccer teams, or the librarian who used to have story hour in the local library. All that sort of cultural memory gets, gets wiped out,” she said.

The Project Recovery report outlines a plan to get homes rebuilt within three years after the land is cleared for redevelopment, but it requires close, constant cooperation between builders and public officials overseeing construction approval and restoration of infrastructure such as water and power.

In the recent survey, the top concern of displaced homeowners “was about the lack of leadership, both on the city and the county side to get it done,” she said.

That response came as a surprise to De Briere, who expected affordability to be the chief concern, since many homeowners are indeed worried that they won’t have enough money to rebuild the way they want.

But it typically takes up to 18 months to get a building permit in Los Angeles, a process that needs to be reduced to one to two months, Project Recovery said.

That would require using an expedited process being explored by Los Angeles officials that would allow licensed architects, engineers and design professionals to “self-certify” building plans and specifications as compliant with objective building code requirements. Artificial intelligence could crosscheck their assertions far faster than human staff would be able to do it.

Other major concerns among homeowners surveyed was that rebuilding would take too long and that their communities may never be the same.

Homeowners also worry about being in a fire zone or a landslide zone, she said.

The report authors hope that the rebuilding process will bring better knowledge about managing the ways homes interact with the potentially combustible environment around them.

“If we don’t do it differently, we’re going to have the same thing happen in Beverly Hills, and Bel Air, in Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Echo Park,” De Briere said. “This is what happens when we’re living this close to nature and we’re not managing it right.”

Other findings of the survey included:

• Two-thirds of those affected by the Palisades fire say they are uncertain they will have sufficient resources to fully cover rebuilding expenses and additional living costs that are not covered by insurance. In the Eaton fire area, 82% either do not have or are uncertain they will have sufficient resources.
• In the Palisades area, 70% of homeowners may not return if it takes more than three years to rebuild. In the Eaton fire area, 63% may not return after three years.
• A “look-alike” rebuild within 110% of their prior home size is planned by 77% of people who want to return to the Palisades fire area, while 84% plan a similar rebuild in the Eaton fire area.
• On average, homeowners in both areas expect about 70% of their rebuilding costs to be covered by insurance. On the low end of anticipated insurance support, 13% from the Palisades fire area and 19% from the Eaton fire area expect that between zero and 50% of their rebuilding costs will be covered by insurance.
• Owners estimate it will cost about $800 per square foot to rebuild in the Palisades fire area and $570 per square foot in the Eaton fire area.
• Cost is the top concern for owners in the Palisades fire area with a net worth of less than $5 million, and quality is the No. 1 concern for those with a net worth of less than $1 million in the Eaton fire area.
• More than 60% of homeowners in both areas are willing to forgo customization of their new homes if financial compromises are necessary.

Dear Liz: When my husband was approaching 65, he was employed and covered by a high-deductible healthcare plan with a health savings account by his employer. Neither his employer nor our local Social Security office had concrete advice on how to proceed about enrolling in Medicare, but after tremendous research, he eventually delayed enrollment. Now I am approaching 65. My husband is still working, and I am still covered by his health insurance, although both are in his name. Do I enroll in Medicare at the appropriate time or do I delay enrollment like he did?

Answer: Delaying Medicare enrollment can result in penalties that can increase your premiums for life. If you or a spouse is still working for an employer with 20 or more employees, however, generally you can opt to keep the employer-provided health insurance and delay applying for Medicare without being penalized. If you lose the coverage or employment ends, you’ll have eight months to sign up before being penalized.

Delaying your Medicare enrollment also allows your husband to continue making contributions on your behalf to his health savings account. In 2025, the HSA contribution limit is $4,300 for self-only coverage and $8,550 for family coverage, plus a $1,000 catch-up contribution for account holders 55 and older. Once you enroll in Medicare, HSA contributions are no longer allowed.

Medicare itself suggests reaching out to the employer’s benefits department to confirm you are appropriately covered and can delay your application. Let’s hope that by now your employer’s human resources department has gotten up to speed on this important topic.

Dear Liz: We read your recent column about capital gains and home sales. Our understanding is that if you sell and then buy a property of equal or greater value within the 180-day window, the basis for tax purposes is the purchase price, plus the $500,000 exemption, plus the improvements to the property, minus the depreciation, whatever that number comes to, and then the profit above that has to be reinvested or it is subject to capital gains. We talked to our CPA about this and he referred us to a site that specializes in 1031 exchanges.

Answer: You’ve mashed together two different sets of tax laws.

Only the sale of your primary residence will qualify for the home sale exemption, which for a married couple can exempt as much as $500,000 of home sale profits from taxation. You must have owned and lived in the home at least two of the previous five years.

Meanwhile, 1031 exchanges allow you to defer capital gains on investment property, such as commercial or rental real estate, as long as you purchase a similar property within 180 days (and follow a bunch of other rules). The replacement property doesn’t have to be more expensive, but if it’s less expensive or has a smaller mortgage than the property you sell, you could owe capital gains taxes on the difference.

It is possible to use both tax laws on the same property, but not simultaneously.

In the past, you could do a 1031 exchange and then convert the rental property into a primary residence to claim the home sale exemption after two years. Current tax law requires waiting at least five years after a 1031 exchange before a home sale exemption can be taken.

You can turn your primary residence into a rental and after two years do a 1031 exchange, but you would be deferring capital gains, while the home sale exemption allows you to avoid them on up to $500,000 of home sale profits.

Liz Weston, Certified Financial Planner, is a personal finance columnist. Questions may be sent to her at 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the “Contact” form at asklizweston.com.