NOC Week in Review #19: 11/7-13/2026

This week’s biggest story didn’t come from anything we published — it came from inside DC Studios itself. I wrote about James Gunn and Peter Safran stepping down as co-CEOs of DC Studios, with former Marvel Studios exec Jeremy Latcham set to take over in December. The timing stings a little: it’s almost four years to the day since the two of them were brought in to rebuild the DCU from scratch. Plus, Gunn was wrapping up post on next year’s Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow. Can’t wait for how that press junket is going to turn out! I’ll have more thoughts on this soon, so tune in to the NOC next week for more.

Beyond that shakeup, if you only glanced at our front page this week, you’d think the NOC does exactly two things: talk to people, and review stuff. You wouldn’t be wrong.

On the interview side, Victoria sat down with Victoria Monai Richards, who wrote, directed, and starred in Search Party: Where’s Paw Paw? at just 22 — talking about making the film alongside her own mother, working with Tichina Arnold and Tommy Davidson, and building her own lane as a Black female creative. Sophia, meanwhile, caught up with Terry Matalas and the cast of VisionQuest — Paul Bettany, Ruaridh Mollica, and James Spader — to break down how the WandaVision trilogy brought itself full circle.

Nikita spoke with Rings of Power actor Tyroe Muhafidin about Theo’s darkest season yet and what comes next after Middle-earth, while Michael talked teacups and Disney magic with Yvette Nicole Brown about her role in Hexed — including her ongoing, very serious campaign to bring Phyllis Jenkins back for another round in the MCU.

On the review side, the Roundtable crew stayed busy. Swara led a discussion on The Cat in the Hat’s theatrical run, then teamed up with Nikita for a spoiler-heavy recap of this week’s The Gilded Age over at Nerds of Newport. Victoria and Maryam also joined Lauren and Swara for a full rundown of Avatar: Seven Havens Book 1 — Survival, now that the season’s wrapped.

Valerie pulled a hat trick of reviews this week: she found Ava DuVernay’s 14th ambitious but oddly quiet when it came time to answer its own central question, found plenty to admire in the queer historical epic La Bola Negra, and decided the governess at the center of Victorian Psycho is… not doing great. Meanwhile, Edward headed to the Pasadena Playhouse for a Passing Strange review, and Nikita closed out her week with a look at Ebenezer, the horror-tinged spin on A Christmas Carol starring Johnny Depp and directed by Ti West.

That’s the week: a boardroom shakeup at DC, five interviews’ worth of insight, and enough reviews to fill a watchlist through the holidays.

— Keith

Not a subscriber yet? Sign up here. Want to support the NOC directly? Buy our merch.