Nerd News

Chemistry Ventures, the VC firm launched by Bessemer, Index Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz alums, is raising $500M for its second fund.

⚡ Quick Take

• The next V/H/S installment will take on the Special Containment Procedures Foundation and come to theaters in 2027.

Since 2012, the V/H/S franchise has brought found footage scares in a host of anthology films, many of which have an overall theme. We are pretty into them, from V/H/S Halloween to V/H/S 85. After five years of consistent releases, there isn’t a new film in 2026. However, we will get V/H/S: SCP, a new installment from Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Studios, in 2027. And, for the first time in over a decade, a V/H/S film is coming to theaters!

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As the title suggests, it will center around the online collective fiction project, the SCP (Special Containment Procedures) Foundation. For those who are not familiar, this foundation started in 2008 as a collaborative digital project. Since then, SCP has become one of the largest horror and scientific-fiction universes online that’s for fans and by fans. 

Shudder

“The horror genre continues to be a remarkable launchpad for new talent to share original creations, and the vast SCP universe has provided a vital incubator for this creativity to thrive,” Spooky Pictures co-founder Steven Schneider said in a press release. “Along with INS, this next project reinforces our shared commitment to look in new and unexpected spaces for stories. We can’t wait to expand the V/H/S franchise with new fresh and terrifying stories that will keep viewers coming back for more.” 

According to Variety, the new V/H/S: SCP film will focus on “recovered field documentation” videos that were redacted and archived by the organization. It’s not clear how many segments there will be and we don’t know who will star in it yet. Right now, there’s no official release date but we are keeping our eyes open for more information as it comes.

The post The Next V/H/S Film Will Explore Special Containment Procedures appeared first on Nerdist.

AI law startup Norm has raised a $120 million Series C round led by Khosla Ventures, valuing the startup at $1.2 billion. 

Bidbus, which lets dealerships bid on used cars, has raised $15 million in a Series A round that was led by early-stage mobility fund Ibex Investors.

⚡ Quick Take

• A retrospective look at our favorite TV shows of 2026, from adult animation to R. R. Martin’s fantasy series.

A multitude of great TV series have dropped this year, and now that we’re halfway through 2026, we can start to look at them retrospectively. From comedy horror to superhero animation, we have stayed fed when it comes to content. At Nerdist, we have plenty of strong opinions to go around, so we think these are the best TV shows that have come out this year so far, in no particular order.

Table of contents

• Widow’s Bay
• Invincible (Season 4)
• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
• The Boys (Season 5 )
• One Piece (Season 22)
• One Piece (Season 2)
• Wonder Man
• Star Wars : Maul – Shadow Lord
• The Vampire Lestat
• The Pitt (Season 2)
• Fallout (Season 2)
• What TV Shows Will Arrive Next on Our Best of List?

Widow’s Bay Apple TV

This year’s biggest Apple TV success was definitely this small-town comedy horror set on an island off the East Coast. The series follows the mayor of (you guessed it) Widow’s Bay, as he tries to gain respect from the townspeople and increase tourism. The place has plenty of haunting mythology, which the mayor refuses to believe… until he sees it himself.

Comedy and horror are certainly hard to combine, but this show does so masterfully. With lovable, slightly odd characters and disgustingly horrifying monsters, it really does try to do it all, and succeeds.

Widow’s Bay debuted in April this year, and since then, critics and fans alike have praised it. In June, before the premiere of the first season’s finale, Apple TV greenlit the renewal of the show for season 2. There will be plenty more laughs and screams to come, but Apple has yet to reveal the release date. We can’t wait for more of this easy best of 2026 TV contender.

Invincible (Season 4) Prime Video

Based on a comic series containing 114 issues, Invincible has been Prime Video’s geekiest crown jewel since 2021, when season one dropped.

This adult animated series follows a young superhero as he struggles with morality, his complicated (to say the least) relationship with his father, and one potentially world-ending catastrophe after another. Mark Grayson (Invincible) always pulls through, and season 4 was yet another series of those events. It was packed full of the gory action and well-animated fight scenes the series is known for. That said, it also showcased the more emotional side of all of the characters involved.

Invincible has a season 5 on the way, and a season 6 renewal came to the show on June 24. Its popularity definitely gave Prime Video the confirmation it needed to proceed with two more seasons. That, and the comic series it is based on, is not even close to over.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms HBO

If we had to guess, George R. R. Martin is making crazy money this year. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was adapted from his novella, The Hedge Knight, published in 1999. The series follows Dunk, a knight, and his squire Egg. The two exist within the same world as Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, but the tone of their story is entirely different, focusing much less on royalty and more on the “little guy,” so to speak. According to our very own Michael Walsh, who reviewed the series, the vibe is much more “whimsical,” but it doesn’t take away from the high production value that fans know and love.

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The season only had six episodes, each between 30 and 36 minutes long. Season 2 is expected to come out next year and will be based on Martin’s second novella, “The Sworn Sword.” The series’ director, Owen Harris, told Awards Buzz the next season will be more of a “road movie,” putting his own spin on the source material. We’re excited that this long-awaited Game of Thrones show made it onto our best TV of 2026 list.

The Boys (Season 5) Prime Video

The Boys was popular from the beginning; however, this final season got more attention than ever.

The series is political and social satire disguised as a superhero show. It follows a group of ragtag revolutionaries as they attempt to stand up to what seems to be unyielding, absolute power of Vought and its bad supes. The fifth and final season of the show brought absolutely everything to a head (har har). Without significant spoilers, let’s just say most of the loose ends left from the first four seasons were tied up.

One Piece (Season 22) Toei Animation

If you’ve asked yourself how a show can possibly continue after 1,155 episodes, the answer is having a massive number of manga volumes the show is based on. As of March, the One Piece manga series has over 1,100 individual chapters. And boy, does the anime use the source material.

One Piece seasons have always varied in length, but none have been as short as this one with 12 episodes. One Piece season 5 was the closest in 2002, with only 13.

Season 22 follows the “Elbaph” story arc from the manga. In this storyline, the Straw Hat crew and the giants arrive in Elbaph, the Land of Giants. It focuses, too, on the Holy Knights of God and their plan to take over Elbaph

Monkey D. Luffy sails with his crew of Straw Hat Pirates through the Grand Line to find the treasure One Piece and become the new king of the pirates.

Since the series premiered in 1999, episodes have come out year-round. Now, the schedule has been changed so that only 26 episodes maximum are released each year. Netflix is also making its own The One Piece anime, which will debut in 2027.

One Piece (Season 2) Netflix

One Piece is incredible any way you slice it. And the live-action One Piece continues to do the impossible by being a perfect anime live-action adaptation. It’s a rarity for a series to be adapted with such naunce and depth, but Netflix’s One Piece live-action keeps all the heart of the original, but deftly evolves it into a whole new medium. The found family, earnestness, and true joy of the anime comes to beautiful life. And in season two of One Piece, the series even managed to introduce live-action Chopper and make him a believable, adorable part of the journey. Truly, one Netflix’s One Piece is one of the best TV series of 2026.

Wonder Man Marvel Studios

Marvel’s TV series Wonder Man follows Simon Williams, a Hollywood star who gained his fame starring in a movie called Wonder Man. The series focuses on his relationship with fellow actor and comic relief character Trevor Slattery, who masqueraded as the Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

Wonder Man was a long-forgotten seventh Avenger who appeared in Marvel comics starting in the 1960s. Needless to say, this adaptation was long overdue. Even more niche Marvel heroes appeared in this show, such as Doorman, who appeared in the joke series Great Lakes Avengers.

Originally, his backstory included a deep hatred for Iron Man after Stark Industries beat out his family’s company, Williams Innovations. His involvement in the Avengers started merely as a way of getting back at Stark, but during his time there, his mind changed. Unfortunately, the show doesn’t delve into that story, but what is left is still a delightfully fresh take on the day-to-day life of a superhero.

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The series has been renewed for a second season, but Marvel has not yet announced a set release date.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Lucasfilm

Another mature/adult animated series to top our best of 2026 TV series list is Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord. Expectedly, the series follows the fan-favorite Sith lord, Darth Maul. Identifiable by his double-bladed red lightsaber, Maul spends the show’s first season gathering his bearings, rebuilding his criminal empire, and plotting his revenge against Emperor Palpatine.

The series takes place about a year after the Clone Wars, during the Galactic Empire’s reign. While it is very action-heavy, there are certainly still emotional stakes for Maul. In an interview with StarWars.com, Lucasfilm president and Maul creator Dave Filoni said that the character is “relatable.”

He makes mistakes. He’s not perfect. He desires power, and then he gets toppled. That’s relatable. You know, we all probably feel like that when we have a low moment. He just doesn’t deal with it well. He keeps trying to attack his problems the same way. He can’t ever really let go of his hatred and his anger.

Though definitely more detailed and updated, the animation style is reminiscent of older animated Star Wars content, like Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Even ahead of season one’s debut, Maul was renewed for a second season. Disney has not revealed an official release date.

The Vampire Lestat AMC

Five decades after its publication, Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles receives a fresh life on AMC, and we’re so glad. Interview With the Vampire deftly told its tale for two dense, delicious seasons, and now The Vampire Lestat continues the story with a whole new rock and roll energy.

This season, Lestat, played by the exceptional Sam Reid, shatters all your expectations about what you think you know about The Vampire Lestat. The series turns into a whole new kind of art piece, one that, like the diva himself, demands a lot from you. Reid delivers a performance that defies mortal ability, allowing Lestat to possess him, as he’s by turns tragic, hilarious, petty, cutting, devastated, and devastating. It’s a performance we feel lucky to witness. Did we mention The Vampire Lestat also has incredible original songs to set the scene? Fans absolutely adore the way the music underscores of all Lestat’s emotional states and muses. And in a fit of brilliance, Lestat even performed in concert in New York City this June.

Additionally, fans love that the queer elements baked into the original story are made overtly clear—not swept under the rug or written off. All hail, Lestat. Truly, if this were the only series on our best of 2026 TV list, we would not feel sad.

The Pitt (Season 2) HBO Max

There is nothing people love more than a good medical drama. Grey’s Anatomy has run for 22 (soon to be 23) seasons, after all. But The Pitt is something unequivocally fresh and new. This HBO Max series is like Grey’s Anatomy—if it were much darker. It takes place at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, and it shows in great detail the emotional and physical struggle of healthcare workers and their patients. Noah Wyle stars as Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, the center’s Chief of Emergency Medicine.

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The show stays very current and realistic, dealing with real-life issues like ICE detainments and the inaccessibility of healthcare. It also portrayed violence against healthcare staff in a terrifyingly raw way.

The Pitt season one came out last year, becoming an instant hit, and even before the second season premiered, it had been renewed for a third, which can be expected to drop in early 2027. It’s no surprise this one makes it onto the best of 2026 TV series list.

Fallout (Season 2) Prime Video

This apocalyptic sci-fi favorite show is based on a video game series by the same name. After a nuclear apocalypse rocked the world, humans retreated to underground bunkers, where they have lived for decades. Generations later, one “vault dweller” named Lucy, played by Ella Purnell, ventures onto the destroyed surface after her father was kidnapped.

The second season continued to develop Lucy’s story, as she encountered people and creatures on the surface and got closer to uncovering the inner workings of big bad corporations, Vault-Tec and The Enclave. Making its mark as a true best of 2026 TV series, Fallout continued to expertly combine heart, humor, tragedy, camp, and horror. It also confidently added to the video game canon while remaining true to everything that has come before it. Several difficult needles to thread, but Fallout season two threaded them.

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The Prime Video series came out in 2024, with its second season dropping this year and a third coming soon. If you love the Fallout story and want to see more, Prime Video is coming out with a reality series based on the vault society aspect of the show, dropping contestants into a bunker environment where they will complete challenges and compete for a cash prize. Fallout Shelter has no set release date.

What TV Shows Will Arrive Next on Our Best of List?

We are only halfway through the year, and we already have such an extensive list of fantastic TV series. That said, there is much more to come. Elle, a prequel to the 2001 movie Legally Blonde, and Lanterns, focusing on notable Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan, are just two that we are already excited about. Hopefully, this list will continue to grow as the year goes on!

Originally published on June 26, 2026.

The post The Best TV Shows of 2026 (So Far) appeared first on Nerdist.

The U.S. Army has fixed two of its websites that were hacked to display messages calling President Trump a "pedophile" and a "thief."

The company just raised $7 million in seed funding, and is launching its app for iPhone and Android on Tuesday.

Forterra has deployed more than 100

A new report suggests Netflix viewers aren’t sticking around for Season 2. The bigger issue may be that binge-watching itself is no longer the advantage it once was.

An AI agent carried out the technical execution of a real-world ransomware attack for the first known time, but new details show a human still chose the victim, set up the infrastructure, and supplied stolen credentials — meaning it wasn't quite the fully autonomous cybercrime debut that last week's headlines suggested.

SK Hynix is experiencing a boom credited to AI. It will ride that to a multi-billion dollar US IPO, expected to take place on Friday.

⚡ Quick Take

• The 2026 World Cup has increased interest in soccer.
• The Pokémon Company is collaborating with J. League, one of Japan’s top soccer associations, to give each team a signature Pokémon mascot.
• Pikachu appears in the J. League’s new collaboration logo.
• One million free tote bags will be given out at J. League games.

The 2026 World Cup has taken, well, the world by a storm. This includes the nerd world, from the Spider-Man: Brand New Day teaser featuring Lionel Messi to the new Pokémon-J. League collaboration. The J. League is Japan’s highest professional soccer league, and the new collab will give each team in the association its own Pokémon.

J. League/Pokémon

Here is a list of the Pokémon team associations. The associations represent anything from team colors to the team’s preexisting animal mascot. The J-League’s new catchphrase, “Evolution! The J. League is evolving,” is a spin on the “evolution” of Pokémon. The J-League’s new logo features Pikachu, the iconic yellow electric-type Pokémon.

The 2026 World Cup has brought a massive amount of attention to not only the tournament itself but the sport of soccer (or football, if you’re not from the U.S.). This year marks the beginning of a new format, and it is the biggest World Cup ever, with 48 countries. This is 16 more teams than the 2022 tournament. Several games have set landmark records in viewership, with 18 million people tuning into the U.S. v. Paraguay game.

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While Japan is no longer in the World Cup after their loss to Brazil, some fans are still riding the wave of soccer hype. Pokémon is looking to get in on it. The J. League season kicks off in August. Until then, the collaboration has already begun to produce merchandise, primarily tote bags with each team’s Pokémon and signature color. One million of these limited-edition tote bags will be handed out at stadiums throughout Japan during the season. Designs for the bags are available online.

The J. League collab website boasts a “Goods Event Coming Soon” message, which could mean anything from an online release of purchasable merch to an exhibition or pop-up event. Once the season kicks off, we can expect more information to come from this collaboration.

The post POKÉMON Reveals Collaboration With Japanese Soccer League appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Captain America’s Marvel Rivals summer skin is causing QUITE a stir as it shows off all of his enhanced assets.

Listen. Forget the Fourth of July. Forget summer. We’re celebrating a much more important season. And that’s “Captain America shows off his assets in a swimsuit” season. Yes. We’re looking (and not respectfully) at Captain America’s new summer skin from Marvel Rivals. It’s real. It’s real big. And it’s real jiggly. And honestly, god bless Steve Rogers. Because we deserve this level of equal opportunity mayhem from all our superheroes. Please be taking notes, MCU.

The First Avenger is the first to the fun! 🏖️

"The beach crew voted Captain America should man the grill, just like the red, white, and blue-blooded specimen of American masculinity people believe he is. Unfortunately, his skills on the grill were not nearly as calculated as his… pic.twitter.com/B3tRSt9QjM

— Marvel Rivals (@MarvelRivals) July 1, 2026

We’re told that Marvel Rivals may have already shrunk the size of the sausage they’re putting on the grill this summer. But we hope not, because what a shame that would be. I’m not sure you can, excuse my French, half-ass this Captain America swimsuit skin. You really kind of have to go all in or all out. So, if Marvel Rivals has redacted the gloriousness that is Summer Cap, we’re very disappointed in them.

Marvel Rivals Marvel Rivals

It’s extra hilarious that this Marvel Rivals swimsuit skin was released on July 4th, especially in this economy. Marvel Rivals says of the lewd Captain America skin, “The beach crew voted Captain America should man the grill, just like the red, white, and blue-blooded specimen of American masculinity people believe he is. Unfortunately, his skills on the grill were not nearly as calculated as his shield throws. First Appears in Marvel Swimsuit Special (1992) #1. Available: July 2 at 9 AM – July 31 at 2 AM UTC! Captain the grill and take charge with the Seaside Sentinel!”

THIS CAP SKIN IS NOT REAL LMFAOOOO pic.twitter.com/jHWRr6oOzv

— Andrew (@whyAndr3w) July 3, 2026

Like we said, grill that sausage, Cap! The Marvel Swimsuit Special has been a long-time favorite among fans, and it’s extra fun to see it come to life so spectacularly here. For more swimsuit fun, you can even check out 2026’s edition right today. And it turns out, in addition to Captain America, there are a few other Marvel heroes that have summer swimsuit versions in Marvel Rivals, including Thor, Loki, Spider-Man, and Daredevil! Like we said, god bless!

なんか今はマベライが熱いらしいのでキャップ以外のキャラの水着です。みんな基本的に極力布面積が少ないのがいいですね🤤#マーベルライバルズ
左上ソー
右上ロキ
左下スパイダーマン
右下デアデビル pic.twitter.com/nXd7PhWvPZ

— バキバキの炭酸水 (@6YFDVdCsw45JPO5) July 6, 2026

Well, what are you still doing here? Go download these Marvel Rivals skins while you can, and enjoy them… while they last.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

The post Captain America’s Summer Assets Are What We Deserve, Thanks MARVEL RIVALS appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• After STAR WARS: VISIONS came out in 2021, Lah Kara’s story will be the first Lucasfilm explores in their new anime series.

Lucasfilm announced that a new Star Wars anime coming to Disney+ and Hulu this August. The Ninth Jedi will be an eight-episode miniseries following Lah Kara, a young Jedi introduced in Star Wars: Visions (2021). The trailer for the series dropped last week. Take a look down below.

This is a spinoff of the Star Wars: Visions anime from 2021, which introduced the characters. The Visions series was a collection of animated shorts set within the Star Wars universe. Now, Lucasfilm has announced that The Ninth Jedi will be the first of many longer-form adaptations of the shorts in a series called Visions Presents.

Soon after the events of The Ninth Jedi (season one) and The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope (season three), Lah Kara finds herself in the midst of an intergalactic war, fighting a Darth Vader-esque villain. The trailer shows that the series will deal with questions of morality and what it truly means to be a Jedi.

Lah Kara continues to train in the ways of the Jedi under Margrave Juro. Kara goes on an epic journey of self-discovery as she and Juro’s small fellowship of Jedi-in-training embark on a quest to save her father.

Disney+

The original Visions series spanned three seasons, each containing nine short episodes. The styles of animation varied greatly from episode to episode, with many, but not all, adopting a more anime-adjacent style. Others were all in black and white or looked almost like claymation or puppetry. Every episode brought something different.

Visions had a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, but a 60% score on the audience-controlled Popcornmeter. The day season three was released, ScreenRant reported a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Lucasfilm/Disney

Fans in the trailer’s comments on YouTube seemed enthused about the animation.

“Animated Star Wars never ceases to leave me in awe.” @benwasserman8223

“Of all the Visions Projects this one deserved the most to get a pilot” @dedrinzypool1209

“Finally… a whole new corner of the Star Wars galaxy to explore.” @RamayaBEatsSTudio

Hopefully, the show is as good as fans think it will be. If you have not watched Visions, at least see Kara’s episodes in season one, which are three and five, before this drops. The series will premiere on August 5 on Disney+ and Hulu.

The post THE NINTH JEDI Anime Is Coming to Disney+ in August appeared first on Nerdist.

"The reality is, when you're optimizing for production, you start looking at a price/performance," Guillermo Rauch tells TechCrunch.

The new controls let you control how quickly Siri speaks and expressive its voice is.

A running look — in reverse chronological order — at the bigger tech companies that have announced significant layoffs this year with AI as a stated factor.

Bookship.org seemed to delay this anticipated partnership again, but tells TechCrunch that it has settled business terms and is working on integration.

⚡ Quick Take

• Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Monday morning that the company would go through massive restructuring and thousands of layoffs.

Xbox, once a true pretender to the video game console throne, has fallen into uncertainty and corporate shakeups. After longtime CEO Phil Spencer stepped down in the spring, his successor, Asha Sharma, once Microsoft’s AI wonk, promised a bright future for the company. Fresh off the Fourth of July long weekend, Sharma instead announced a massive round of layoffs and Xbox divesting from five of its subsidiary studios. Sharma called it in an email to employees (and a post on X), “the most significant restructure in Xbox history.” (h/t TheVerge.)

Microsoft

The layoffs will amount to around 20% of the company’s workforce. These cuts will happen in two goes. First, 1,600 people will lose their jobs today, then another 1,600 by end of June 2027.

“I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale,” says Sharma. “I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building Xbox. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved Xbox. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.”

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As for studios, Double Fine and Compulsion Games will revert to their founders, with both planning to go independent. Two others, Ninja Theory, the makers of Hellblade, and Undead Labs, the developers behind State of Decay, will go up for sale. Microsoft is reportedly also deciding whether to sell or close Arkane Studios, creators of the beloved Dishonored series as well as Prey and Deathloop. The French studio is, however, coming off of the cataclysmic release of Redfall, a multiplayer first-person shooter. They’ve also spent years working on a Blade game with Marvel which keeps pushing back and has gone way over budget.

“In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options,” says Sharma.

And evidently Bethesda, by far Microsoft’s largest subsidiary studio, will feel the layoffs more than others. Minecraft maker Mojang and Candy Crush developer King will both now report directly to Sharma. “These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and Xbox Game Studios,” says Sharma. “None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.”

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

The post Xbox Laying Off 20% of Workforce, Divesting of 5 Studios appeared first on Nerdist.

PSA: A change to Google's privacy settings let it train its AI on more of your data. Here's how to opt out.