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  • ‘Everyone Is Lying to You for Money’ Review: Ben McKenzie’s Knife-Sharp Documentary Takedown of Cryptocurrency

    ‘Everyone Is Lying to You for Money’ Review: Ben McKenzie’s Knife-Sharp Documentary Takedown of Cryptocurrency

    I’ll read a news story about more or less anything, but I glaze over at the prospect of consuming any article about cryptocurrency. That’s because even when I do read one, I never totally get it — what cryptocurrency is, how it works, why it’s treated as the second coming by some while others roll their eyes. The future of many things, including money, will surely be digital. So is cryptocurrency just an early-adapter version of the digital monetary future? Yet if that’s so, why does it always feel like crypto is the sort of thing that used to be advertised on late-night TV along with K-Tel pop-hit collections? And why does the very concept of crypto leave me so confused?

    If, like me, you suffer from perpetual half-submerged crypto angst, the movie to see is “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,” a lively, knife-sharp, impeccably researched and reported documentary that answers every conceivable question you’ve ever had about crypto, and does so in a way that’s brisk and funny and illuminating rather than intimidating. Above all, it explains the hidden reason why crypto, after all the media bloviating we’ve been subjected to about it, remains such a weirdly obtuse and intimidating topic.

    The reason? Because it’s all designed to sell an illusion. The nature of cryptocurrency is that it’s meant to seem like a shiny new object, one that’s heady and elusive enough to feel just out of reach. That’s the secret appeal of crypto, and what makes its true believers into something of a cult. (Cults are built around magical thinking.) And it’s what lends crypto a mystique that has allowed its marketers to inflate a viral junk-cash phenomenon into irresistible digital snake oil.

    “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money” is the unlikely brainchild of a Hollywood actor: Ben McKenzie, who wrote, produced, and directed it. (It was made in conjunction with his 2023 book “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud,” written with Jacob Silverman.) McKenzie is someone who many remember as the heartthrob costar of “The O.C.,” where he played the glam rebel outcast Ryan Atwood. He had a few TV roles after that, costarring on “Southland” and “Gotham,” but in “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money” McKenzie, now 47, makes winning sport of the fact that he’ll never outrun his slightly schlocky youth-TV past — and that’s okay with him. He still works as an actor (occasionally), he’s married to the Brazilian-American actor Morena Baccarin (as we see in the movie, they have two sons and live in a beautifully renovated SoHo townhouse), and he’s a very serious dude with a degree in economics.

    In “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,” McKenzie cuts through reams of misinformation and conducts unshowy but confrontational interviews with finance players who are famous and powerful (he also talks to a lot of people who are not). He chases the story of cryptocurrency and gets to the bottom of it with such muckraking zeal that by the end of the film, I was convinced he should become a politician. (I’m not kidding: He’s as photogenic but combative as Gavin Newsom, though closer in spirit to Pete Buttegieg.)

    McKenzie starts off by plumbing the mysteries of bitcoin, which was the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Bitcoin marketed itself with a savvy hook: the declaration that there would only ever be 21 million bitcoins issued. The implication: Since the number of bitcoins wasn’t going to multiply, it was the value of an individual bitcoin that would go up. But here’s how bitcoin really become the prototype for all the crypto delusion that followed. The new currency would operate kind of like a stock (people would trade it; the value would fluctuate)…except it wasn’t tethered to a company that made actual goods. It presented itself as a kind of bank…except it wasn’t a bank.

    And here was the insidious part, the very 21st-century part: It made you feel like you were joining a rebel movement. The 2008 financial meltdown and its corrupt aftermath (i.e., the Obama administration’s spineless bailing out of the banks and no one else, with no heads rolling) had set the stage for a world in which ordinary citizens no longer trusted our financial institutions. At the same time, the launch of Napster had heralded an era when we were all going to be rebel disrupters. So while bitcoin offered none of the protections of a traditional bank, that very fact made it seem an insurrectionary currency. It was operating outside the laws of the financial world (which was now seen as the enemy). That made it cool. And that was the neo-1960s snake oil, all built around the idea of flattering the potential marks who wanted to think that they — like bitcoin itself — were going to be joining in some sort of transgressive undermining of The System.

    Ben McKenzie elucidates all this, and he tracks down some of the reigning hucksters who have led the crypto revolution. He goes to El Salvador, the first country to use bitcoin as legal tender, and where the president, Nayib Bukele (who has been in office since 2019), is like a grinning Marcello Hernández character. He has promised to build a place called Bitcoin City, which will be a utopian metropolis of gold. (When McKenzie gets to the location, it’s just a sleepy fishing village whose residents are being squeezed out.)

    McKenzie then stakes out Alex Mashinsky, the Israeli-American co-founder and CEO of Celsius, a now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform. Mashinsky is a vintage hustler, selling the idea that crypto can make you rich, but here’s where the old-fashioned underpinnings of the scam are revealed. Celsius turns out to be a Ponzi scheme. The price of Celsius crypto would go up, but it was being manipulated by those in charge, all as a way to get ordinary citizens to invest. And millions upon millions did, which kept the charade afloat (and funneled the “profits” to the top).

    Celsius ultimately declared bankruptcy, but that’s small potatoes compared to what happened to FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, who was famously convicted of seven counts of fraud and is now serving 25 years in prison. McKenzie got an interview with Bankman-Fried before he imploded, and this sequence alone is worth the price of admission, because of how nakedly it reveals the particular sort of weasel Sam Bankman-Fried is.

    Many have likened him to Bernie Madoff, because of the scale of his operation (the sheer amount of money lost by those who invested with him). But what’s very particular about Bankman-Fried is his youth and his generational vibe. Under his dark mop of saintly tech-geek curls, he’s got that teasingly awkward, fake-tentative passive aggression descended from the style of Steve Jobs in his seminars, which Bankman-Fried mixes with his own mode of “Look at what a sensitively evolved Zoomer bro I am!” When McKenzie asks him how much he’s contributed to the coffers of politicians, his dodging of the question is pure dissembling theater. He’s a truly shameless poster boy for how to rip people off in an “enlightened” way.

    And yet, the most astonishing comments in “Everyone is Lying to You for Money” occur in the interviews McKenzie conducted with a set of ordinary folks who lost their money in crypto. They were left shell-shocked and betrayed. But near the end of the film, McKenzie returns to them to ask if they still believe in crypto. And every one of them says yes. They may have gotten sucked into fraudulent dealings, but their faith in the crypto dream remains undiminished. “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money” captures a brave new world where the snake-oil salesmen believe their own hype, and where no one lies to the victims as much as they lie to themselves.

  • Ron Frierson Named President and CEO of Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

    Ron Frierson Named President and CEO of Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

    The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has installed new leadership with veteran business and policy executive Ron Frierson signing on as president and CEO.

    The chamber has also tapped Dan Halden to serve as chief operating officer and legislative director for the organization that advocates for the Hollywood area of Los Angeles and administers the world renowned Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    Dan Halden

    “Hollywood is a globally recognized brand synonymous with creativity, influence and cultural impact. It is also a community of families, small businesses, and neighborhoods,” Frierson said. “I’m honored to lead the Chamber and to work alongside Dan, our Board, staff and our incredible members to advance a bold agenda that expands opportunity, strengthens our economy, and delivers lasting value for businesses, the community and visitors alike.”

    Frierson succeeds Steven Nissen, who spent the past three years as CEO of the chamber. Frierson has spent the past few years working for Amazon as director of West Coast economic development. He also worked at Los Angeles City Hall as director of economic policy during Eric Garcetti’s tenure as mayor.

    Halden has spent the past 13 years in various roles working for the city of Los Angeles and for former L.A. City Council members Tom LaBonge and Mitch O’Farrell.

    “I’m thrilled to partner with Ron and the Chamber team to deliver impactful programs, provide exceptional value to our members, and enhance the Hollywood experience for all,” Halden said. “The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce plays a vital role in supporting local businesses, advocating for economic development and maintaining Hollywood’s status as a premier destination for entertainment, tourism, commerce and beyond.”

    Jerry Neuman, chair of the chamber’s board of directors, hailed the appointments of two seasoned civic veterans.

    “I could not be more excited to have Ron as the face of the Chamber and ambassador to the community and industry as he will bring the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to a level never before seen. Dan represents a powerful combination of vision and operational excellence,” Neuman said. “Together with Dan their leadership will not only build on the work we have accomplished so far but will drive innovation and growth for our members and broader Hollywood community.”

  • Google brings Gemini in Chrome to users in Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea

    After debuting in the US, Gemini in Chrome is making its way to more markets. Starting today, Google is rolling out Chrome’s built-in chatbot to users in countries in East Asia and the Pacific, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. The expansion comes after Google earlier this year made Gemini in Chrome available to people in Canada, India and New Zealand.

    With the exception of Japan, where Google isn’t making the new suite available on iOS just yet, everyone else in the countries mentioned above can access Gemini in Chrome through Chrome’s desktop browser, and the app on their iPhone or iPad. To get started, just tap the “Ask Gemini” icon at the top right of the screen. It will open a new sidebar Google introduced at the start of the year where you can chat with Gemini across every open tab. From there, you can also access Google’s in-house image generator, Nano Banana 2. As you would expect, the suite offers integrations with Google’s other apps, allowing you, for instance, to add events to Calendar without leaving the interface.

    If you don’t want to use Gemini, you can right click on the shortcut to unpin it from the top of the interface.  

  • Last Week Tonight‘s John Oliver says he won‘t placate prediction markets users

    John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, targeted prediction market platforms on his show’s latest weekly deep dive.

    In Sunday’s airing of the HBO show, Oliver discussed some of the trivial event contracts on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, including betting whether members of the Trump administration would use certain words in public addresses, to the companies’ controversial partnering with news organizations.

    Specifically, the host questioned Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with both platforms — an adviser to Kalshi and Polymarket — and how the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “doesn’t even seem to be trying” to block event contracts on terrorism, assassination and war under Chair Michael Selig.

    For much of the show, Oliver discussed how it is “incredibly easy for individuals to manipulate the outcomes,” citing Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong rattling off a list of crypto-related words in his third-quarter 2025 earnings call to cause many Kalshi and Polymarket users to win their bets.

    “I’m going to make you a promise tonight,” said Oliver, echoing Armstrong’s statement. “I will never do anything because someone online placed a bet on it. So you can be confident that if I ever say Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain, staking and Web3, it won’t be because I’m trying to move markets — it will be because I’m having a stroke.”

    Source: HBO Last Week Tonight

    While user activity and trading volume on prediction markets have increased exponentially in recent months — expected to reach $1 trillion by 2030 — the platforms’ controversial bets and legal status in US states have raised eyebrows for some experts. Gaming authorities in several states are suing companies like Kalshi over alleged illegal sports betting, with Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal and others expecting the legal fight to end up before the US Supreme Court.

    Related: Senate bill to target sports betting ban on prediction markets: WSJ

    Financial giants looking to expand into prediction markets?

    In addition to previously announced partnerships with media giants like CNN, CNBC, Fox News and Dow Jones, traditional financial companies including Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities recently signaled plans to consider prediction markets.

    Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster said on a Thursday investors call that the company would “take a hard look at” prediction markets. In a separate event the same day, Citadel Securities President Jim Esposito said that the company was “absolutely keeping an eye on developments” as part of a potential move into the market.

    Magazine: Adam Back says current demand is ‘almost’ enough to send Bitcoin to $1M

  • Bitcoin Rebounds Strongly — Can Bulls Drive Price Toward $79,000

    Bitcoin Rebounds Strongly — Can Bulls Drive Price Toward $79,000

    Bitcoin is showing renewed strength after a sharp rebound, signaling that buyers are stepping back in at key levels. With momentum building and price pushing higher, attention is now shifting toward the $79,000 resistance zone, where a breakout could confirm continued upside and open the door for a stronger rally.

    Selling Pressure After Initial Reaction

    Bitcoin saw an immediate response to yesterday’s developments, facing notable selling pressure as the market processed the news. Analyst Kamile Uray highlights that while the initial reaction was bearish, the possibility for a continued rally remains on the table, provided the immediate low of $73,371 is successfully defended.

    However, a 4-hour candle close below this mark would likely trigger a deeper correction toward the $68,720 level, which represents the critical 0.618 Fibonacci retracement of the most recent upward wave. Holding this support provides the foundation for a fresh leg up.

    Source: Chart from Kamile Uray on X

    On the bullish side, a decisive close above $79,000 would signal a continuation of the broader uptrend toward much higher targets. Uray identifies a major resistance cluster between $98,000 and $107,000–$109,000. Should the price face a rejection at these elevated levels, traders should expect a return to the previous support zones, ranging from $73,371 to the $66,000 region.

    Examining the daily timeframe, the $65,666 level serves as a pivot point. As long as Bitcoin maintains its position above this threshold, the overall structure remains skewed toward a potential rise.

    A failure to hold the $65,666 level would shift the focus to lower support levels at $63,823, $62,433, and $60,000. The most critical warning comes at the $60,000 mark; a daily close below this psychological and technical barrier would likely extend the corrective phase significantly.

    Bitcoin Bounces Strongly As Week Kicks Off

    In his most recent update, analyst Michaël van de Poppe noted a relatively strong upward bounce for Bitcoin on Monday. This movement is particularly significant as it occurs during a period where markets typically trend toward a risk-off stance ahead of the weekly opening. The ability of Bitcoin to push higher against this cautious backdrop suggests underlying strength in current demand.

    A key factor in this analysis is the recent decoupling from traditional safe-haven assets. While Bitcoin has shown resilience and upward momentum, gold has trended downward. Looking at the weekly outlook, the presence of a price gap at the $77,300 level remains a primary focal point for traders. Given the strength of the recent bounce and the existing technical vacuum toward that higher level, Bitcoin is expected to fill this gap and achieve new highs before the current week concludes.

    $BTC trading at $75,130 on the 1D chart | Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com

  • PYUSD Burned: Staggering 301 Million Stablecoin Erased in Major Supply Shock

    In a significant move for the digital asset ecosystem, blockchain tracking service Whale Alert reported on April 2, 2025, that a colossal 301 million $PYUSD—PayPal’s dollar-pegged stablecoin—was permanently burned from circulation. This event, originating from an unidentified wallet, represents one of the largest single stablecoin burn transactions recorded on the Ethereum blockchain to date, immediately drawing intense scrutiny from market analysts and institutional observers worldwide.

    $PYUSD Burned: Unpacking the Transaction Mechanics

    Blockchain data confirms the burn transaction occurred at 14:37 UTC. Consequently, the action permanently removed the tokens from the available supply. The burn mechanism is a fundamental cryptographic process. Specifically, it involves sending tokens to a verifiably unspendable address, often called a ‘burn address’ or ‘eater address.’ This address has no known private key. Therefore, any assets sent there become irretrievable. The Ethereum network publicly records and immutably verifies this action.

    For context, the total circulating supply of $PYUSD stood at approximately 1.8 billion tokens before this event. As a result, this single burn reduced the total supply by nearly 17%. This percentage is substantial for any major stablecoin. Typically, stablecoin issuers like Paxos, which mints $PYUSD for PayPal, manage supply through minting (creation) and burning (destruction) processes. These processes respond directly to user demand and redemption activity. However, a burn of this magnitude, executed in one transaction, is highly unusual.

    Stablecoin Supply Dynamics and Market Impact

    The immediate market implication revolves around basic supply and demand economics. A reduced supply of a stablecoin, all else being equal, can theoretically increase its scarcity value. However, $PYUSD maintains a strict 1:1 peg to the US Dollar. Therefore, its market price should remain stable at one dollar. The true impact lies in the on-chain liquidity available for trading, lending, and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. Major liquidity pools on platforms like Uniswap and Curve Finance may experience temporary imbalances.

    Historically, large stablecoin burns often correlate with decreased trading activity or institutional redemptions. For instance, when Tether (USDT) or USD Coin ($USDC) undergo significant burns, analysts typically interpret it as capital moving off-chain back into traditional banking systems. In this case, the burn could signal several scenarios:

    • Institutional Redemption: A large holder, or ‘whale,’ may have cashed out a significant position, prompting Paxos to burn the corresponding $PYUSD tokens.
    • Supply Management: PayPal and Paxos might be proactively managing the supply to align with lower demand or to maintain optimal reserve ratios.
    • Treasury Operations: The action could be part of internal treasury restructuring or the movement of assets between controlled wallets, with a public burn as the recorded outcome.

    Market data following the burn showed no immediate deviation in $PYUSD’s market peg across major exchanges. This stability demonstrates the robustness of the reserve-backed model.

    Expert Analysis on Reserve Transparency and Trust

    Financial technology experts emphasize that such events test the transparency promises of stablecoin issuers. Paxos, as the issuer, publishes monthly attestation reports from independent accounting firms. These reports verify that the outstanding $PYUSD tokens are fully backed by US dollar deposits, US Treasury bills, and similar cash equivalents. Following a burn of this size, the next monthly attestation will be scrutinized to confirm a corresponding reduction in claimed reserve assets.

    Dr. Anya Sharma, a blockchain economist at the Digital Asset Research Institute, notes, ‘A transparent and verifiable burn reinforces the core value proposition of a regulated stablecoin. It demonstrates that the supply contract is functioning as intended—tokens are destroyed when dollars are returned. This action, while large, is a stress test that passed smoothly. The market’s calm response is a positive signal for the maturity of the asset class.’

    This event occurs within a broader regulatory context. Furthermore, global standards for stablecoins are evolving rapidly. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and pending US legislation place strict requirements on reserve management and redemption policies. Proactive supply management through burns may become a standard compliance practice.

    Comparative Analysis with Historical Stablecoin Burns

    To understand the scale, comparing this event to other major stablecoin adjustments is instructive. The table below highlights significant recorded burns.

    As shown, the $PYUSD burn is notable for its high percentage of the total supply. The Binance USD ($BUSD) burns in early 2024 were larger in absolute value but occurred over multiple transactions due to Paxos winding down the token under regulatory guidance. The concentrated nature of this single $PYUSD transaction makes it a unique case study.

    Conclusion

    The burning of 301 million $PYUSD represents a pivotal moment for PayPal’s stablecoin project. It highlights the active, on-chain management of digital dollar supplies. Moreover, it underscores the responsive mechanisms embedded within regulated stablecoin architectures. For investors and the crypto market, the event passed without disrupting the asset’s peg. This stability reinforces confidence in the underlying technology and reserve models. Ultimately, as stablecoins like $PYUSD mature, transparent supply adjustments through burns will likely become normal operational events. They signal a dynamic market responding to real-world demand and sophisticated treasury management. The focus now shifts to subsequent attestation reports and any potential statements from Paxos or PayPal regarding the rationale behind this substantial supply reduction.

    FAQs

    Q1: What does it mean to ‘burn’ a stablecoin like $PYUSD?
    Burning a stablecoin means permanently removing it from circulation by sending it to a cryptographic address from which funds cannot ever be retrieved. This reduces the total supply of the token and is typically done when the issuer redeems the token for its underlying collateral, like US dollars.

    Q2: Why would someone burn 301 million $PYUSD?
    The most likely reason is that a large holder redeemed the tokens for US dollars with the issuer, Paxos. Following the redemption, Paxos would execute the burn to accurately reflect the reduced liability on its balance sheet and maintain the 1:1 reserve backing.

    Q3: Does burning $PYUSD affect its price or dollar peg?
    In a properly functioning system, a burn should not directly affect the market price, which is maintained by arbitrage and redemption mechanisms. The price should remain at $1.00. The burn primarily affects the available on-chain supply for trading and DeFi use.

    Q4: Who is responsible for the $PYUSD burn transaction?
    The transaction was sent from an unidentified wallet. However, the action is almost certainly authorized and executed by Paxos, the regulated issuer of $PYUSD, as part of its treasury and supply management operations following a large redemption.

    Q5: How can the public verify that the burned $PYUSD is truly gone?
    Anyone can verify the transaction on a public Ethereum blockchain explorer like Etherscan. The tokens are sent to a ‘burn address’ (e.g., 0x000…dead). This address is publicly known to have no accessible private key, providing cryptographic proof the assets are permanently locked.

  • ‘Wednesday’ Season 3 First Look Sees Jenna Ortega Arrive in Paris

    It looks like Wednesday Addams is taking a little international vacation from Nevermore Academy.

    On Monday, Netflix released a first look (below) at Wednesday season three. In the photo, Ortega’s Wednesday is spotted in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, standing next to Thing (Victor Dorobantu), who is on top of a motorcycle.

    “From Paris, with dread,” Netflix captioned the post.

    Filming for the hit show’s third season is currently underway near Dublin. Season 3 follows “smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside, Wednesday Addams,” as she “investigates twisted mysteries while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy,” the official logline reads.

    Season three will likely pick up where the season installment left off: Wednesday jumps into her Uncle Fester’s (Fred Armisen) motorcycle sidecar, setting out to track down Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers), who has gone full alpha werewolf.

    Earlier this month, the streamer announced that Lena Headey, Andrew McCarthy and James Lance joined the upcoming season as new guest stars, in addition to season three castmembers Eva Green, Winona Ryder, Chris Sarandon, Noah Taylor, Oscar Morgan and Kennedy Moyer.

    In addition to Ortega, other fan-favorite Addams family members returning are Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams.

    Other series mainstays include Myers (Enid Sinclair), Hunter Doohan (Tyler Galpin), Joy Sunday (Bianca Barclay), Moosa Mostafa (Eugene Ottinger), Georgie Farmer (Ajax Petropolus), Isaac Ordonez (Pugsley Addams), Billie Piper (Isadora Capri), Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (Sheriff Ritchie Santiago), Victor Dorobantu (Thing), Evie Templeton (Agnes DeMille), Joanna Lumley (Grandmama Hester Frump) and Armisen (Uncle Fester).

    A release date for the third season of Netflix’s Wednesday has yet to be announced.

  • Netflix Got More Hits Than Misses From the Obamas Before the Deal Wound Down

    Netflix Got More Hits Than Misses From the Obamas Before the Deal Wound Down

    The coming split of Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, and Netflix will mark the end of — or at least a sizable change to — what’s been a productive relationship.

    The Obamas founded Higher Ground in 2018 and signed a deal with Netflix to produce both feature films and series projects for the streamer. Their first project made an immediate splash: The company joined Participant Media as a producer of American Factory, a documentary that would win the Oscar for best feature doc in 2020.

    In its eight years at Netflix — the two companies extended their partnership with a first-look deal in 2024 — Higher Ground has produced more than 20 films and series, with a couple more on the way. That’s a good-sized output for most any production company over that span of time. It yielded considerably more finished results than Netflix’s deal with Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, which the Higher Ground pact is often compared to since the principals were not previously known as creatives (though the former Meghan Markle was an actress prior to marrying into Britain’s royal family).

    In the past couple of years, though, Higher Ground has also set up projects at HBO (Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness with Larry David) and Laika (Audition) as the first-look deal allowed it to seek buyers other than Netflix. The company is branching into live theater with the Broadway revival of Proof and has produced a slate of podcasts as well.

    Not every Higher Ground project has hit, of course: Several titles in the list below came and went with little fanfare, and the company has also had some high-profile executive turnover, most recently with the December 2025 departure of company president Vinnie Malhotra. Motion pictures head Tonia Davis left her role in 2024 (though she’s continued to work with the company as a producer), and Priya Swaminathan left as co-head of film and TV in 2021.

    Separating from Netflix doesn’t necessarily mean Higher Ground won’t continue to do business with the streamer — just that it won’t be the first stop for new projects. Here’s a look at what the Netflix-Higher Ground partnership has produced.

    Feature Films

    Leave the World Behind

    Courtesy of Netflix

    The biggest of the four narrative features Higher Ground was involved with — by a long shot — was Leave the World Behind. Starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke, the Sam Esmail-directed thriller released in late 2023 is one of Netflix’s biggest movies ever, based on the streamer’s internal data.

    Higher Ground was also behind Rustin, a biopic about civil rights leader Bayard Rustin that earned Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for star Colman Domingo; and Fatherhood, a dramedy starring Kevin Hart. Higher Ground aqcuired distribution rights to Worth, which starred Michael Keaton as Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of a 9/11 victims compensation fund, after its Sundance premiere in 2020.

    Feature Documentaries

    American Factory

    Courtesy of Netflix

    Along with American Factory, Higher Ground was involved with the Oscar-nominated Crip Camp; Becoming, based partly on Michelle Obama’s memoir of the same name; and 2025’s Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds. Higher Ground also acquired 2022’s Descendant and 2023’s American Symphony after their festival premieres.

    Unscripted Series and Specials

    Our Great National Parks

    Netflix

    The former president is a three-time Emmy winner for outstanding narrator for the Higher Ground docuseries Our Great National Parks, Working: What We Do All Day and Our Oceans. Michelle Obama was nominated for an Emmy in 2023 for the special The Light We Carry, a conversation about her 2022 book between the former first lady and Oprah Winfrey.

    Higher Ground also produced The G Word With Adam Conover, which highlights how government agencies intersect with people’s lives; basketball docuseries Starting 5 and Court of Gold; and the reality show The Later Daters, following six people over age 55 re-entering the dating world.

    Scripted Series

    From left: Robyn Cara, Siobhán Cullen and Will Forte in Bodkin.

    Enda Bowe/Netflix

    Higher Ground produced the darkly comic crime show Bodkin, starring Will Forte, which premiered in 2024. That’s the only scripted series the company has backed so far, but two others are on the horizon. All the Sinners Bleed, from showrunner Joe Robert Cole and co-studio Amblin Television, is based on an S.A. Cosby novel about the first Black sheriff (Sope Dirisu) in a small Bible Belt county who is tracking a serial killer. The Altruists is a limited series about the rise and fall of crypto exchange FTX, starring Anthony Boyle and Julia Garner as the key figures in the saga — Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison.

    Kids Series

    Waffles + Mochi

    Netflix

    Three kids series produced by Higher Ground premiered in 2021. First up was the food-centric puppet series Waffles + Mochi (followed by a 2022 spinoff, Waffles + Mochi’s Restaurant). Then came We the People, a series of animated shorts about civics; and Ada Twist, Scientist, based on the popular children’s book. The latter two were created by Chris Nee of Doc McStuffins. Ada Twist had the longest run of the three with 41 episodes over four seasons.

  • 3 things to watch in Rockets-Lakers Game 2

    3 things to watch in Rockets-Lakers Game 2

    Luke Kennard hopes to have another big performance to help L.A. take a 2-0 series lead over Houston.

    Whether Houston Rockets All-Star Kevin Durant is available for Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers doesn’t alter Houston’s mission.

    The Rockets need improved play offensively and defensively if they want to avoid a 2-0 deficit against the Lakers, who took a 1-0 series lead with a 107-98 victory on Saturday.

    And of course, it will help the Rockets if Durant can play.

    Here are three things to watch for in Game 2 of this first-round Western Conference series between the Rockets and Lakers on Tuesday night (10:30 ET, NBC/Peacock).

    1. Will Durant play in Game 2?

    Remove 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game and nearly 50/40/90 shooting splits from a lineup, and it will have an impact. The Rockets were unable to compensate for Durant’s absence in Game 1.

    Durant injured his right knee during Wednesday’s practice when he bumped knees with a teammate.

    “It’s soreness. It’s very tender,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “It’s tough to bend in certain ways. Not a lot of swelling. He hit it in a very awkward spot … It could’ve been a regular bumped knee, and he would’ve played through that. But it was right above the knee, the patellar tendon area.”

    Will Durant play?

    “Pain tolerance is one thing, but actually limited movement is more the cause,” Udoka said.

    If he plays, some of Houston’s offensive woes will evaporate. If he’s unavailable, Alperen Sengun (6-for-19 shooting in Game 1), Jabari Smith Jr. (5-for-14) and Reed Sheppard (6-for-20, 5-for-14 on 3-pointers) will need much better games.

    The injury also altered Houston’s bench minutes: just one reserve played more than 11 minutes, and starters Amen Thompson and Smith each logged more than 43 minutes. Sheppard had to play 10 more minutes (36) than his season average.

    Houston took 27 more shots, made more 3s than the Lakers and committed seven fewer turnovers – and didn’t reach 100. That’s what happens when a team shoots 37.6% from the field.

    “It’s hard to win with those numbers,” Udoka said.

    2. How much of the load can James carry at 41 years old?

    LeBron James is so old – “how old is he?” – that he played in a playoff game alongside his son, Bronny, making them the first father-son duo to appear in a postseason game. They shared just under four minutes of court time as James directed the Lakers to a victory with 19 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and one block.

    The Lakers were also without Luka Dončić (left hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique strain). Before Dončić and Reaves sustained injuries in the 77th game, the Lakers had settled into a nice flow offensively with James as the third option – albeit not your average No. 3.

    Now, he has to manage more of the offense, and he produced in Game 1, dominating with his passing in nearly 40 minutes – outlet passes, lobs, drive-and-kicks, underhand deliveries, lasers. It was the type of effort that has become refined art.

    The Lakers will keep counting on him to produce like that.

    3. Who else steps up for Lakers?

    Los Angeles’ Luke Kennard, a February trade deadline acquisition, scored 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-5 on 3s, in Game 1. The Rockets will try to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

    However, Deandre Ayton also had a solid game (19 points, 11 rebounds), Rui Hachimura added 14 points and savvy veteran Marcus Smart contributed 15 points and eight rebounds. It was a superior performance from the Lakers’ starters as their shortened rotation scored 13 points. Of the four reserves who played, none made more than one field goal.

    “I’m already thinking about ways that I could have been better, putting us in a position to be more successful, both offensively and defensively,” James said. “We’ve got a lot of room for improvement going into Tuesday.”

    * * *

    Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.

  • Ties broken for order of selection in NBA Draft 2026

    Watch the official 2026 NBA Draft lottery tie breaker.

    NEW YORK – Six ties among teams with identical regular-season records were broken today through random drawings to determine the order of selection for NBA Draft 2026. 

    The drawings were conducted by NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell at the NBA office in Secaucus, New Jersey. The tiebreaker process was overseen by Megan DeCesaris, a partner from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.

    The results of the drawings:

    • The Utah Jazz (22-60) won a tiebreaker with the Sacramento Kings.
    • The New Orleans Pelicans (26-56) won a tiebreaker with the Dallas Mavericks.
    • The Phoenix Suns (45-37) won a tiebreaker with the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers. Second and third place in the tiebreaker drawings went to Philadelphia and Orlando, respectively.
    • The Toronto Raptors (46-36) won a tiebreaker with the Atlanta Hawks.
    • The Houston Rockets (52-30) won a tiebreaker with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
    • The New York Knicks (53-29) won a tiebreaker with the Los Angeles Lakers.

    2026 First Round

    NBA Draft Lottery 2026 will be held on Sunday, May 10 and air live on ABC at 3 p.m. ET. The first round of NBA Draft 2026 will take place on Tuesday, June 23, and the second round will take place on Wednesday, June 24.

    Below is the order of selection for NBA Draft 2026 and the probability of being awarded the first overall draft pick for teams in NBA Draft Lottery 2026.

    TEAM RECORD WIN% LOTTERY ODDS
    Washington 17-65 .207 14.0%
    Indiana* 19-63 .232 14.0%
    Brooklyn 20-62 .244 14.0%
    Utah 22-60 .268 11.5%
    Sacramento 22-60 .268 11.5%
    Memphis 25-57 .305 9.0%
    New Orleans (to Atlanta or Milwaukee) 26-56 .317 6.8%
    Dallas 26-56 .317 6.7%
    Chicago 31-51 .378 4.5%
    Milwaukee^ 32-50 .390 3.0%
    Golden State 37-45 .451 2.0%
    LA Clippers (to Oklahoma City) 42-40 .512 1.5%
    Miami 43-39 .524 1.0%
    Charlotte 44-38 .537 0.5%

    The order for the remainder of the first round picks is as follows:

            TEAM RECORD WIN%
    15. Portland (to Chicago) 42-40 .512
    16. Phoenix (to Memphis via Orlando) 45-37 .549
    17. Philadelphia (to Oklahoma City) 45-37 .549
    18. Orlando (to Charlotte via Phoenix) 45-37 .549
    19. Toronto 46-36 .561
    20. Atlanta (to San Antonio) 46-36 .561
    21. Minnesota (to Detroit) 49-33 .598
    22. Houston (to Philadelphia via Oklahoma City) 52-30 .634
    23. Cleveland (to Atlanta) 52-30 .634
    24. New York 53-29 .646
    25. Los Angeles Lakers 53-29 .646
    26. Denver 54-28 .659
    27. Boston 56-26 .683
    28. Detroit (to Minnesota) 60-22 .732
    29. San Antonio (to Cleveland via Atlanta) 62-20 .756
    30. Oklahoma City (to Dallas via Washington and Philadelphia) 64-18 .780

    Note: The draft order above assumes that a team with the right to swap one pick for another exercises such right only if it is favorable to do so.

    * = This pick may be conveyed to the LA Clippers
    ^ = This pick may be conveyed to Atlanta (via New Orleans)

    2026 Second Round Draft Choice Order

    31. Washington (to New York via Oklahoma City and Houston)
    32. Indiana (to Memphis via Milwaukee)
    33. Brooklyn
    34/35. Sacramento
    34/35. Utah (to San Antonio via Minnesota)
    36. Memphis (to the LA Clippers via Atlanta and Utah)
    37/38. Dallas (to Oklahoma City)
    37/38. New Orleans (to Chicago via Boston, Detroit, and Portland)
    39. Chicago (to Houston via Washington)
    40. Milwaukee (to Boston via Orlando)
    41. Golden State (to Miami via Charlotte, New York, Oklahoma City, and Atlanta)
    42. Portland (to San Antonio via New Orleans)
    43. LA Clippers (to Brooklyn via Houston)
    44. Miami (to San Antonio via Indiana)
    45. Charlotte (to Sacramento via San Antonio, Atlanta, and New York)
    46. Orlando
    47. Philadelphia (to Phoenix via Houston and Oklahoma City)
    48. Phoenix (to Dallas via Washington)
    49. Atlanta (to Denver via Brooklyn and Golden State)
    50. Toronto
    51. Minnesota (to Washington via Detroit and New York)
    52. Cleveland (to the LA Clippers)
    53. Houston
    54. Los Angeles Lakers (to Golden State via Toronto, Miami, and Cleveland)
    55. New York
    56. Denver (to Chicago via Minnesota, Phoenix, Charlotte, and Phoenix)
    57. Boston (to Atlanta)
    58. Detroit (to New Orleans via New York, Brooklyn, Phoenix, Orlando, and the LA Clippers)
    59. San Antonio (to Minnesota via Indiana)
    60. Oklahoma City (to Washington via San Antonio and Miami)

     

    Note: Teams that finished the regular season with identical records will select in the second round in inverse order of the order in which they select in the first round. With respect to ties between Lottery teams, since the order of selection in the first round for these sets of teams may change based on the results of the Lottery, the order of selection in the second round cannot be determined until after the Lottery is conducted (on May 10, 2026). Also note, the draft order above assumes that a team with the right to swap one pick for another exercises such right only if it is favorable to do so.