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S1.E1 ∙ Working the Gimmick

S1.E2 ∙ On the Road Again

S1.E3 ∙ Forward, Together

S1.E4 ∙ Check Your Head

S1.E5 ∙ Don't Go Breaking My Heart

S1.E6 ∙ My Day with Andre

S1.E7 ∙ Johnson & Hopkins

S1.E8 ∙ My Baby Only Drinks the Good Stuff

S1.E9 ∙ A Lady Named Star Search

S1.E10 ∙ Good vs. Great

S1.E11 ∙ Election Day

S1.E12 ∙ A Christmas Peril

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Young Rock ‘s Uli Latukefu Unpacks How the NBC Comedy Thoughtfully Addresses Dwayne’s Depression

Mekeisha madden toby.

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Most of us have seen the picture. You know, the one where a college-aged Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sports a black turtleneck, herringbone chain, baggy jeans and a fanny pack in the most ’90s centric photo ever ?

Johnson had performed so well on the field that he caught the attention of NFL star/university alum Michael Irvin and rabid fans/donors such as Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell. (The latter was so impressed with Johnson that he invited him to one of his exclusive South Beach parties.) But then the unthinkable happened. The college athlete badly injured one of his shoulders in the final practice before the start of the season, sending him to the bench — and on a downward spiral of situational depression as he recovered.

“We all have our hearts set on things, and then if they don’t work out we can lose ourselves. That’s sort of what Dwayne goes through at that point in time when he gets injured in college,” Latukefu tells TVLine. “And then it’s him trying to navigate his way and find out what’s next, and working his way toward that.”

In recreating that moment in time, the Sydney, Australia native says he didn’t want to mime Johnson but epitomize the familiar parts of the action star and former wrestler in his own way.

“Obviously you’ve seen what happens with the fanny pack and turtleneck coming out…,” Latukefu says with a chuckle, because of the uncool way in which his Rock rocked that look. “So, I looked at the photo for inspiration.”

“But I think the most exciting thing for audiences is the context of the photo,” he adds. “For me, the prep was going through as much old football footage as I could. Dwayne and I also had a Zoom meeting where I asked him some personal questions relating to that period in his life. That was really the anchor for me throughout the whole show.”

Latukefu also wanted to get Johnson’s speech patterns right.

“I listened a lot and picked parts of what I wanted to incorporate at that stage of who Dwayne was,” he says. “Obviously, if you look back at some earlier footage, you can hear how his speech has developed and changed over the years. For me it was good to pin down a few of those things and not try and cram everything into one season. I picked out a few things that came naturally and easily that the audience might recognize, and that was it.”

More than anything, Latukefu wanted to tap into Johnson’s deep sadness in those moments, so that fans could better understand some of his lowest lows at that age.

“The immediate image that the audience has of who Dwayne is, is how we see him now ,” Latukefu says. “I really tried to peel back the layers and get to the heart and soul of Dwayne, and what it’s like to have your dreams shattered. And also the hardships and the pressure of his family. They moved to Tampa to be closer to him, so there’s that big sense of responsibility on his shoulders. That all came into play, all within in a half-hour comedy.”

“That was the hardest thing to do because that scene was the first that we started to shoot of my period of time as Dwayne,” Latukefu reveals. “I was like, ‘Are we shooting a comedy here?’ But I think my favorite part about that is most people have gone through some sort of dip in life by that age, especially now with the pandemic because we’re still in it.”

“That’s such a truthful experience for a lot of us, and that was something I really tried to stay truthful to throughout that period,” Latukefu says. “I’ve had my fair share of eating my way through some tough times as well — ice cream is my favorite — and while I wouldn’t let myself hang there too long, Dwayne was fresh out of high school and coming into a college team with the most storied reputation of that time. There was a lot of pressure. I’m glad he came through it, and I hope that I was able to capture that genuinely.”

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Did they? It was the simplistic explanation of depression, and then a nice pep talk sent him back on the road to being okay?

I mean…I found this funny but so far it’s just a big ego stroke for the Rock.

The article states it was situational, not clinical depression. There are times when someone who isn’t normally struggling with mental health issues can just pull themselves out of a low moment with the encouragement of others. It’s not the kind of persistent, clinical depression that a lot of people suffer from, but it’s still real.

Love this show! Not necessarily because it’s about Dwayne Johnson, but because it’s got heart, a positive family situation with parents who pull together instead of apart, and all the crazy wrestlers and footballers and other celebs that it lampoons. I hope it’s renewed.

Awesome episode and show, Young Rock. Real and important topics covered with laughs included. Great article, thanks!

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Jeri Ryan recalls fighting Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson on Star Trek: Voyager

Dwayne Johnson's appearance in Star Trek: Voyager was one of his earliest acting roles. He wasn't yet the biggest star in the world but the Seven of Nine actress could definitely smell what was cooking...

Transport back in time to the year 2000. WWE was still called WWF, and fast becoming its biggest star was Dwayne Johnson, or as he was better known, The Rock. It was inevitable that his charm, charisma and acting chops would be tested in dramatic roles, and so The Rock beamed into the 15th episode of the sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager .

The plot saw ex-Borg crew member Seven of Nine kidnapped and forced to fight in an arena for entertainment. Her first opponent is a Pendari champion who looks good in silver spandex. Here’s what goes down:

In the hundreds of people Dwayne Johnson has battled with in film and TV over the years, Seven of Nine was the very first (leaving aside his exploits in the wrestling ring).

Seven of Nine actress Jeri Ryan, who reprises the role in Star Trek: Picard , remembers making the episode. Did she know who The Rock was at the time?

“No, I had no idea,” Ryan admits. “It was his first or maybe second acting job ever [The Rock’s only previous TV role was playing his father as a cameo in That ’70s Sho w].

“I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t watch wrestling. I wasn’t aware of his character of ‘The Rock’.

“So the first time I met him was a fight rehearsal and he came in and he was just a super sweet, unassuming gentle guy named Dwayne. We’re talking about our kids and he’s just lovely. We had a nice time working together.”

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After filming had finished for the day, it turned out that Johnson had left a present for his co-star, one that she found very confusing.

“When I got to my trailer he had left a signed picture in character as The Rock – and it said ‘The Rock smells what you’re cooking’. Like, what?! It’s the weirdest thing I’d ever seen somebody write.”

Luckily others on set could explain his famous catchphrase.

“The makeup guys in the prosthetic trailer were like, ‘Dude, it’s The Rock, that’s his thing! He smells what you’re cooking!'” she laughs.

“He was very sweet and lovely. And the few times over the years I’ve run into him since, he’s been just as lovely, just as sweet and just as down to earth. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

To read more from Jeri Ryan, and whether she thinks the Borg on Star Trek predicted the way the internet and social media would end up connecting all of our minds together, with less than positive results, click here !

Star Trek: Picard streams on Amazon Prime in the UK

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As Dwayne Johnson runs for president in 2032, he reflects on his life. From growing up in a family surrounded by wrestling icons, navigating rebellious teen years, to playing NCAA football.

Pennsylvania, 1987: Dwayne pretends he's rich to impress Karen, but a date to Rocky's wrestling match at the flea market risks the truth. Stressed about money, Ata takes on a wealthy new client.

Hawaii, 1982. When wrestlers start dropping out of Lia's Battle Royal, she blames a rival promoter. As Rocky's wrestling career skyrockets, Ata takes a leap of faith to pursue a musical dream.

Miami, 1990, Dwayne looks to crack the starting line up for the Miami Hurricanes attracting attention of players, coaches and celebrities. An unexpected incident sends his season and life into turmoil.

Pennsylvania, 1987. Ata's relationship with Dwayne gets tested after Ata makes a heartbreaking discovery about her son. With Rocky on the road, Ata must take matters into her own hands.

Hawaii, 1982. Dewey spends a day with Andre the Giant. Lia and Rocky prepare for the Island Battle Royale where more than the title is at stake. In 2032, Candidate Johnson reveals his running mate.

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Dwayne Johnson

Joseph Lee Anderson

Rocky Johnson

Stacey Leilua

Ata Johnson

Adrian Groulx

Dwayne Johnson (AKA Dewey), Age 10

Bradley Constant

Dwayne Johnson, Age 15

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Series / Young Rock

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Young Rock is an autobiographical Sitcom on NBC starring Dwayne Johnson .

The show follows four distinct period of Johnson's life:

• As a child growing up in a wrestling family and seeing the passion people have for the sport.
• As a teenager trying to fit in and be cool in high school despite everyone thinking he's a narc because he stands over six feet tall and has a full mustache despite only being 15.
• As a young man going off to college and trying to establish an independent identity.
• As a global superstar who's running for president.

This series provides examples of:

• Actually Pretty Funny : Ata's storylines for the wrestlers. Example: Big John Studd stealing Andre the Giant's parking spot. The camera cuts to a lookalike truck flying off a cliff while Big John Studd voiceovers "I'll get you for this Andre the Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiant!"
• Affectionate Nickname : Growing up, Johnson was known as "Dewey" by his loved ones.
• Always Someone Better : How Dwayne Johnson's college football career plays out.
• Artistic License – History : The show is infamous among wrestling fans for playing fast and loose with who worked in which territory and when. Example: The episode "In The Dark" takes place in Nashville, featuring Jerry Lawler 's CWA organization circa 1987 (with Lawler as announcer/host), with Rocky Johnson facing Crusher Yurkov (a young Bam Bam Bigelow ) and Downtown Bruno (Harvey Whippleman). The CWA was based out of Memphis and Bigelow didn't use the Yurkov persona outside of his stint in the Dallas/World Class territory. And Lawler never announced or did the interviewing. (That would've been Lance Russell.)
• Dwayne Johnson stars as himself and provides the framing narration for the series.
• Randall Park appears as a future version of himself who moved on from acting to host a talk show.
• The real Ata Johnson appears at the end of one episode as Randall brings her into the interview. note  Rocky sadly couldn't do the same, as he passed away shortly before production started.
• Big Eater : Ata mentions that adolescent Dewey eats huge amounts of food, which is part of the reason why she buys more affordable supermarket brands.
• Borrowed Catchphrase : Ata is shown to inspire her son's "It doesn't matter" catchphrase with her furious confrontation over his disrespect to her.
• Brand X : Because money is tight, the Johnsons buy generic supermarket brands, to teenaged Dewey's displeasure.
• Butt-Monkey : Randall Park's role in the wraparound segments, basically.
• Career-Ending Injury : Subverted. While Dwayne suffers a nasty shoulder injury, it only forces him to sit out his first season.
• "Jabroni" is from The Iron Sheik
• "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU (X)!" is from his Mom when he's caught misbehaving.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory! : Of a sort. Once Dewey becomes a part of the CFL, he learns the hard way that Canadian football has slightly different rules than American football.
• Danger Takes A Back Seat : After buying an used car, Dwayne drives off with it before realizing there was a homeless man still sleeping in the back. Fortunately, he's friendly.
• A Day in the Limelight : Dwayne's stories in "Once Upon a Time In..." focus not on his younger self, but on three of the wrestlers who influenced him — Pat Patterson , André the Giant , and his grandfather Peter Maivia.
• Everyone Has Standards : As desperate as Rocky is for fame, he draws the line at using racist tropes, such as appearing in a promo eating fried chicken and watermelon.
• Huge Schoolgirl : Gender Flipped . By the time he's in high school, Dewey is so large that the school bus driver won't let him on thinking he's a creep and his principal speaks to him as if he were an undercover cop .
• "My Day with Andre" depicts Dewey's grandmother plotting gathering her wrestlers together to plot out a battle royale, dictating the order in which each wrestler will be eliminated and what moves will be used. She pulls a screwjob on Rocky at the last minute after mistakenly believing that he was planning to defect to a rival promotion.
• Mama's Boy : After a heart-to-heart with the homeless guy living in the backseat of the car he just bought , Johnson decides he'd rather be a good son and take care of his mother than try and impress girls.
• Mean Character, Nice Actor : Invoked . Dewey and his parents go to his grandmother's apartment, which is filled with heels ( and Randy Savage ) who cheerfully welcome the Johnsons and sit down over a friendly game of cards.
• Mock Millionaire : Rocky Johnson drives a nice car to maintain his public image, but he's struggling to make ends meet and lives with his family in a small motel room.
• Moose and Maple Syrup : After Dewey gets drafted into the CFL , he's seen trudging through a blizzard with zero visibility to be greeted by a local who punctuates his questions with "eh?".
• Mundane Made Awesome : After Johnson blows off a day of checking if the college phones are working with his supervisor Hopkins, it turns out the next day is actually a rare inspection, forcing them to race around campus and check all the phones before the inspector gets to them. Since their day off was spent watching '80s action movies, the whole scene is treated like one, soundtrack and all.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed : Chad Frost, who is said to be one of the biggest stars in the WWF when Dwayne is starting with the company, is very blatantly supposed to be a stand-in for Shawn Michaels due to the real life grudge between Rock and Michaels. Rock's narration even notes that Frost isn't real and is a replacement for someone he didn't like but was too important to leave out from his stories of the time.
• Old Dog : Dewey's grandmother owns an old, tumor-ridden dog that horrifies everyone but her. Lia Maivia: It's a belly tumor! But don't worry, it's benign!
• Older Than They Look : At 15, Dwayne is often mistaken for an adult. At first, he uses this to get his friends into R-rated movies and buying them beer, until he gets arrested for the latter. Officer: You're under arrests for giving beer to minors. Dwayne: But I'm a minor! Office: Yeah, right. And I'm Liza Minelli.
• Outgrowing the Childish Name : In "Chest to Chest", teenaged Johnson asks to no longer be referred to as Dewey and instead be called Dwayne. He gets laughed off.
• Parents as People : Rocky may be a loving father and husband, but his constant pursuit for fame and tendency to "work the gimmick" in real life has made things hard for Dewey and Ata.
• Pro Wrestling Is Real : After young Dewey blurts out that he thinks wrestling is fake André the Giant plucks the young boy up to demonstrate that what he and other wrestlers do is very real.
• Running Gag : In Season 2 scenes set in Dewey's childhood, Lia Maivia is repeatedly shown conducting business only to be interrupted by an exasperated FBI agent who reminds her she's supposed to be under house arrest.
• Samoan Dynasty : Depicts several members of the Anoa'i wrestling family. This includes Dwayne Johnson , his mother Ata Johnson, his father Rocky Johnson , his grandmother and wife to the High Chief, Lia Maivia, and Afa and Sika the Wild Samoans, and his young cousin Joe, who would later become Roman Reigns . (Joe's older brother Matt, aka Rosey, oddly does not seem to exist)
• Serious Business : After Johnson innocently orders a cheesesteak without the bread, the people of Philly are up in arms and he has to hastily offer an apology.
• Shout-Out : Season 3’s "Know Your Role" depicts Dwayne's early acting career and his guest roles on The Net 1998 , Star Trek: Voyager , and That '70s Show before culminating in his first Saturday Night Live .
• Start My Own : The third season ends with 2032 Dwayne deciding to start his own country.
• Sticky Fingers : Johnson confesses on camera (and to the horror of his campaign manager) that he used to steal clothes in high school as he and his parents couldn't pay for brand products.
• Stunned Silence : Dewey stuns an entire room into silence when he says that wrestling is fake. His father can only apologize for the child's indiscretion.
• Theatrics of Pain : When training to be a wrestler, Dwayne learns how to "sell" a hit to convince the audience that he is in pain.
• Time-Shifted Actor : Four different actors play Johnson at different points in his life.
• Truth-Telling Session : While Dwayne helps Rocky working the night shift at a Chi Chi's restaurant, they engage in a truth session, culminating with Dwayne Calling the Old Man Out for his reckless and irresponsible behavior.
• Typecasting : In-Universe , when Dwayne begins his acting career in "Know Your Role", his first few roles have him as a wrestler, including playing his own father on That '70s Show . When he's offered the chance to host Saturday Night Live , he does it under the condition that he not be cast as a wrestler in any of the skits.
• What Did I Do Last Night? : On the night before appearing in court to testify against Lia, Jimmy Yang is invited by Andre the Giant for a drink. Unable to handle Andre's usual order of 47 whisky shots, Jimmy has a wild night and is late to court the next morning. In trying to recall what he did, his memories take the form of a Binge Montage of him going from nightspot to nightspot, ending with him waking up in the middle of a pineapple field.
• White-Dwarf Starlet : Rocky Johnson is shown clinging to his glory days and continuing to plug away in the hope that he'll get another shot at the limelight.
• Wild Samoan : Depicts the actual Trope Namers , Afa and Sika, but is overall a deconstruction of the stereotype. All of the Samoans in the story are well-spoken and only use the gimmicks in the ring. Dwayne Johnson himself has always been a subversion of the trope.
• Wrong Genre Savvy : Subverted. Hopkins is introduced as a campus security volunteer who thinks he's in a hard-boiled cop drama. Then, it turns out he's very much aware how pointless his job is and shows Dewey that they can spend their shift watching movies and eating junk food.
• Episodes set during Johnson's college football days feature chyrons that pop on screen, identifying his teammates and the what they'll achieve in their professional careers.
• The same is done with other up-and-coming wrestlers, like Johnson’s cousin Joe, the future Roman Reigns .
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Everything We Know About Michelle Yeoh's Upcoming Star Trek Movie

Quick links, before star trek: section 31 was a movie, it was a tv series, when will star trek: section 31 begin filming, and who is in the cast, what can fans expect for section 31's story and when it's set, where and when can fans watch star trek: section 31.

When Michelle Yeoh appeared as Captain Philippa Georgiou in Star Trek: Discovery , rumblings about a solo project for her immediately followed. After the legendary actor was finally given awards recognition for Everything, Everywhere All At Once , Paramount's desire for her to headline a Star Trek movie only increased. After being stuck in development for years, Michelle Yeoh's Star Trek movie -- believed to be titled, Section 31 -- is moving ever-closer to release. What follows is all the confirmed information about the first feature film in this universe since 2016's Star Trek Beyond .

The Prime Universe iteration of Yeoh's character, Captain Georgiou, died in the second episode of Discovery Season 1, after her first officer, Michael Burnham, mutinied. Yet, the actor returned to the role via her Mirror Universe counterpart, where Philippa Georgiou was the Emperor of the Terran Empire. Over the next three seasons, she was a crucial member of the series, working as part of the morally gray Starfleet intelligence unit Section 31. She left the series in Season 3, sent back to the origin of the Mirror Universe by the Guardian of Forever, a "character" from Star Trek: The Original Series . While some fans assumed a solo adventure set in Star Trek 's distant past, newly released details and filming reports don't rule out a prequel story set between Discovery seasons.

Michelle Yeoh's Section 31 Movie Begins Phase 2 of Star Trek on Paramount+

Star Trek: Discovery was greenlit for a second season before the first even aired, echoing the previous return of Gene Roddenberry's universe with Star Trek: TNG . In 2018, along with returning to that series, Yeoh and Paramount began talks to create a spinoff series around the Philippa Georgiou character, first reported by Deadline . Yet, confusion around the project began at that same time. Discovery Season 2 revealed that Georgiou served Section 31, but she was with the crew who traveled 1000 years into the future at the end of that season.

Georgiou was also a principal character in the series' third season, set in the 32nd Century. She made her exit midway through, disappearing into Star Trek 's distant past. How she left seemingly set up the story her spinoff series was going to tell, though Section 31 could be a prequel. During her final Discovery press tour, Yeoh deflected questions about the spinoff, not yet officially announced . "I have great hope that this is not the last you'll see of Philippa Georgiou," she said in and interview , adding, "my team, my executive producers, my writers have been so amazing. I think we got into a stage where we loved this character so much, and there's so much potential in stories and adventures that she can have."

It wasn't until three years later that Paramount officially confirmed the spinoff , but it was no longer a series. " All the way back in 2017, before the first season…even aired, Michelle had the idea to do a spin-off for her character, " Alex Kurtzman told Variety . However, with the then-recent Oscar winner's schedule and Paramount's own business troubles, the series was trimmed to a feature film. The press release suggested production would begin in late 2023, but the historic writers' and actors' strikes caused by the studios delayed it into the next year.

Michelle Yeoh's Section 31 Is a Chance To Save Star Trek Movies

After many years of development, filming got underway for Star Trek: Section 31 on January 30 , 2024, in Toronto where most of the new series are filmed. The film is being executive produced by Alex Kurtzman, who is the chief producer on all new Star Trek projects. Longtime Discovery producer and director Olatunde Osunsanmi took on directing duties for the movie from a script written by Craig Sweeny . These three are executive producers on the film, along with Aaron Baiers, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth and Michelle Yeoh. Section 31 is a joint project from CBS Studios, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment.

A number of cast members were announced when filming began, though their roles remain something of a mystery. Along with Yeoh, the cast includes:

• Omari Hardwick
• Sam Richardson
• Sven Ruygrok
• Robert Kazinsky
• Humberly Gonzalez
• Agusto Bitter
• James Hiroyuki Liao

Kacey Rohl also appears in the film, revealed to be playing future captain of the USS Enterprise-C Rachel Garrett . This puts the setting of the adventure into question, since Rachel Garrett assumed command of the ship in 2344 or some 80 years after the events of Discovery . According to cast members' social media posts, filming for Section 31 wrapped in early March 2024. Notably absent from the cast is Shazad Latif who played Ash Tyler in Discovery Seasons 1 and 2, becoming a leader in Section 31 at the end of that second season. Similarly, Alan van Sprang isn't in the cast, who played Leland, the operative who recruited Georgiou in the deleted scene from Discovery Season 1. While these absences may mean nothing for the story in Section 31 , it could also be a big clue.

The official film synopsis reads:

Returning to the role of Emperor Philippa Georgiou from "Star Trek: Discovery," Yeoh will lead a narrative where her character is enlisted into a covert division of Starfleet. As the press release details, Georgiou will strive to safeguard the United Federation of Planets, but shell be equally challenged to confront her own dark history.

Star Trek: Section 31 Director Praises Michelle Yeoh's 'Incredible' Performance

To understand what Star Trek: Section 31 might be, fans first must understand Phillippa Georgiou's journey so far. The Emperor of the Terran Empire was saved by Michael Burnham in Discovery Season 1 and brought to the Prime Universe. There, she was given her counterpart's rank and tasked with deploying a hydrobomb on the Klingon homeworld that would've destroyed it. When Burnham found a different solution, a deleted scene suggested she was recruited by Section 31 after "retiring" from Starfleet to open a bar. During Season 2, she worked with Section 31 and, once Leland was taken over by the evil AI Control , fought and killed him.

In the 32nd Century, she suffered an affliction because she wasn't where she was supposed to be. To solve this, Burnham and Georgiou went to a mysterious planet where the Guardian of Forever from Star Trek: The Original Series hid out during the Temporal Wars. After sending her back to the Terran Empire to prove she'd truly changed, he sent her to a time "when the Mirror Universe and the Prime Universe were still aligned ." Based on Star Trek canon, specifically Star Trek: Enterprise , this was before the past events of Star Trek: First Contact .

It's possible the events of Section 31 take place in 2257, before the events of Discovery Season 2, though this makes the presence of Rachel Garrett anomalous. She was in her mid-40s in 2344, after all. However, the Guardian of Forever is an almost all-powerful being and could send her to multiple places in time and space. Unless there is time travel in Georgiou's past fans don't already know about, it's likely her adventure will be a temporal one . Michelle Yeoh has likened this film to Paramount's other 60-year-old franchise, Mission: Impossible as well, suggesting subterfuge, spying and action.

Michelle Yeoh to Star in Blade Runner 2099

Unless Paramount executives change their mind and give the film a limited theatrical release, Star Trek: Section 31 will only be available on the Paramount+ streaming service . The movie was planned for a 2024 release, but this was before the studio delayed production by forcing writers and actors to strike. Still, if principal photography finished in early March 2024, it's still possible Section 31 could be released in late fall, possibly around the end of the year. Typically, for series like Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , post-production takes many months. They usually debut nearly a year after filming. However, Section 31 could release sooner.

The series has ten or more episodes to edit, score and enhance with visual effects. Section 31 is likely only two or two-and-half hours of story, meaning post-production could be completed more quickly. Similarly, if the film was close to filming before the strikes, visual effects artists could have gotten a head start on some of those sequences. With Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds not even finished filming yet, Section 31 will be the only new live-action Star Trek in the pipeline once Discovery 's final season ends.

Star Trek: Section 31 is currently in post-production, while Star Trek: Discovery's final season streams on Paramount+ .

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek: Nemesis

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Scott Bakula, Kate Mulgrew, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Avery Brooks, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

TV Show(s) Star Trek: Animated, Star trek, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks

Young Sheldon's Finale Reveals How Star Trek Helped His Most Tragic Heartbreak

Everyone knows that Sheldon Cooper is a certified genius, but he also often lacks emotional intelligence. In the two-part "Young Sheldon" finale, Iain Armitage's character faces one of the most emotional moments of his life — his father's funeral. It's clear Sheldon is struggling to cope with this tragic event, and as he deals with so much change in his life, he turns to Star Trek, which has always been a source of comfort to him.

As "Big Bang Theory" fans know, Star Trek is a huge part of Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) adult life. The prequel sitcom provides continuity for this fanship; during his formative years, Sheldon's love of Star Trek grows, and he even dresses up as Spock (Leonard Nimoy), his favorite character, during Season 5. Sheldon forms a strong affinity with the half-human, half-Vulcan science officer, so it makes sense that he looks to Spock again in his time of need.

Trying to process the last time he saw his dad before "Young Sheldon" Season 7, Episode 12's tragic moment fans were dreading , Sheldon runs through a variety of scenarios in his head. Each time George (Lance Barber) is about to leave, Sheldon imagines himself stopping him to say "Bye" or "I love you." On one occasion, he quotes "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." He comforts himself by playing out Spock's death scene, envisioning himself saying goodbye to his dad by using Spock's last words to Kirk. "I have been — and always shall be — your friend," he says with a Vulcan salute, a gesture he imagines his dad returning before he walks out the door for the last time.

Sheldon becomes an even bigger fan of Star Trek in The Big Bang Theory

Star Trek is a big part of Sheldon's life on "The Big Bang Theory," and now, thanks to the "Young Sheldon" finale, viewers know the tragic reason the franchise is so important to him. In the original sitcom, Jim Parsons' character makes his love for Leonard Nimoy and Spock known. Fans won't forget the scene in Season 2, Episode 11 — "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis," where Sheldon becomes overwhelmed with excitement when Penny gifts him a napkin used and signed by Nimoy . "I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy!" he exclaims before sharing his hopes to one day "grow" his own version of the actor. Sheldon also frequently plays the game "Rock Paper Lizard Spock," invented by Sam Kass with Karen Bryla, as a tribute to the franchise.

On "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon often likens himself to Dr. Spock, as he feels they share the same predisposition for rational thinking over emotion. But it is heartwarming to know that Nimoy's character helped him process his grief. Sheldon may have even passed this Star Trek connection down to his son, Leonard, as there's a popular theory the kid is named after the famed Star Trek actor and not Sheldon's best friend and former roommate, Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki).

To read more about the connection between "Big Bang Theory" and Star Trek, check out our explainer on Leonard Nimoy's secret "Big Bang Theory" cameo .

Screen Rant

Yes, that character death in star trek: discovery season 5 episode 7 really happened.

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Star trek: discovery's rhys is starfleet's next great captain, star trek: discovery revealed season 5’s true villain (& it's not the breen).

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 7 - "Erigah"

• L'ak tragically dies in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7, "Erigah."
• Moll makes a desperate move by teaming up with the Breen to find the Progenitors' treasure.
• Major consequences are in play as Moll seeks to resurrect L'ak with the Progenitors' technology.

Yes, that major character death in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7, "Erigah," really happened. Written by M. Raven Metzner and directed by Jon Dudkowski, Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7 sees Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) apprehended by Starfleet, but the Breen arrive at the United Federation of Planets' doorstep to collect the nephew of Primarch Ruhn (Tony Nappo). Refusing to get caught between the Federation and the Breen, Moll and L'ak enact a desperate plan to escape that tragically backfires.

Moll and L'ak were introduced as Star Trek: Discovery season 5's villains racing the USS Discovery in the hunt for the ancient treasure of the Progenitors. But Moll and L'ak's backstory, revealed in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors," shows them as troubled lovers on the run from the Breen, who placed an Erigah (blood bounty) on their heads. L'ak is a Breen and the nephew of Primarch Ruhn, one of the warlords competing to become the new emperor of the Breen Imperium. Star Trek: Discover y season 5, episode 7, "Erigah" clarified L'ak's true importance to Primarch Ruhn: L'ak is the Scion, a direct blood descendant of the late Breen Emperor. Controlling L'ak would bring validity to whoever becomes the next Emperor of the Breen.

L'ak was seriously injured in a fight with Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) aboard the ISS Enterprise in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5.

As Burnham seeks the universe's greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she'll need help from a host of new and returning characters.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 7 Really Killed Off L’ak

The scion of the breen imperium is dead.

L'ak dies in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 7, "Erigah." Moll and L'ak were beamed into the USS Discovery's medical bay so that the grievously injured Breen could receive treatment from Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) . But Moll and L'ak, who only want freedom to be together, decide to escape instead of letting the Federation and the Breen decide their fates. The Breen Scion created a distraction so that Moll break out of sickbay and steal one of Discovery's shuttles, but L'ak accidentally gave himself a fatal overdose of tricordrizine.

L'ak's death is a tragedy, not just for Moll but for the Federation.

Moll didn't make it to the USS Discovery's sickbay, and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) was able to convince her to lay down her phaser and return to the medical bay to see the dying L'ak. Captain Burnham persuaded Primarch Ruhn to allow a Breen physican to treat L'ak but there was no way to save the Scion. L'ak's death is a tragedy, not just for Moll but for the Federation. Because Moll doesn't trust the Federation, she told Primarch Ruhn about the Progenitors' treasure, which means the Breen has now entered the race for the greatest and possibly most destructive power in the galaxy.

The Breen capture the Progenitors' technology and destroy the Federation in a possible future Captain Burnham saw in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange."

What Happens To Moll In Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Moll has one desperate gamble to resurrect l'ak.

Moll had a surprise for Primarch Ruhn and the Breen: she and L'ak are married. Because she is the Scion's wife, Moll was allowed to leave with the Breen, promising to find the Progenitors' technology for Primarch Ruhn. Moll throwing her lot in with the Breen, who despise her, is her desperate gamble to save L'ak. The Progenitors' life-giving technology is said to have the power to bring back the dead, and Moll hopes she can resurrect L'ak and the Breen will allow them to leave together in exchange for the Progenitors' power to conquer the galaxy.

The Federation council led by President T'Rina (Tara Rosling) agreed to turn Moll over to the Breen rather than instigate an immediate war.

Moll is between a rock and a hard place since she has to lead the Breen to the Progenitors' treasure without the clues . The Breen's only gambit is to follow the USS Discovery to the treasure and then overpower them and take it. Then, Moll has to persuade Primarch Ruhn to both let her resurrect L'ak, which would give Primarch Ruhn legitimacy to become Emperor, and hope Ruhn allows them their freedom. However, if Moll stayed on the USS Discovery, the Breen would have attacked the Federation, and she has no way of persuading Starfleet to let her use the Progenitors' technology to bring back L'ak. The death of L'ak launches Star Trek: Discovery season 5 toward its endgame and the conclusion of the series.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 stream Thursdays on Paramount+

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Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand

The porn star testified for eight hours at donald trump’s hush-money trial. this is how it went..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

It’s 6:41 AM. I’m feeling a little stressed because I’m running late. It’s the fourth week of Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial. It’s a white collar trial. Most of the witnesses we’ve heard from have been, I think, typical white collar witnesses in terms of their professions.

We’ve got a former publisher, a lawyer, accountants. The witness today, a little less typical, Stormy Daniels, porn star in a New York criminal courtroom in front of a jury more accustomed to the types of witnesses they’ve already seen. There’s a lot that could go wrong.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

Today, what happened when Stormy Daniels took the stand for eight hours in the first criminal trial of Donald J. Trump. As before, my colleague Jonah Bromwich was inside the courtroom.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It’s Friday, May 10th.

So it’s now day 14 of this trial. And I think it’s worth having you briefly, and in broad strokes, catch listeners up on the biggest developments that have occurred since you were last on, which was the day that opening arguments were made by both the defense and the prosecution. So just give us that brief recap.

Sure. It’s all been the prosecution’s case so far. And prosecutors have a saying, which is that the evidence is coming in great. And I think for this prosecution, which is trying to show that Trump falsified business records to cover up a sex scandal, to ease his way into the White House in 2016, the evidence has been coming in pretty well. It’s come in well through David Pecker, former publisher of The National Enquirer, who testified that he entered into a secret plot with Trump and Michael Cohen, his fixer at the time, to suppress negative stories about Trump, the candidate.

It came in pretty well through Keith Davidson, who was a lawyer to Stormy Daniels in 2016 and negotiated the hush money payment. And we’ve seen all these little bits and pieces of evidence that tell the story that prosecutors want to tell. And the case makes sense so far. We can’t tell what the jury is thinking, as we always say.

But we can tell that there’s a narrative that’s coherent and that matches up with the prosecution’s opening statement. Then we come to Tuesday. And that day really marks the first time that the prosecution’s strategy seems a little bit risky because that’s the day that Stormy Daniels gets called to the witness stand.

OK, well, just explain why the prosecution putting Stormy Daniels on the stand would be so risky. And I guess it makes sense to answer that in the context of why the prosecution is calling her as a witness at all.

Well, you can see why it makes sense to have her. The hush money payment was to her. The cover-up of the hush money payment, in some ways, concerns her. And so she’s this character who’s very much at the center of this story. But according to prosecutors, she’s not at the center of the crime. The prosecution is telling a story, and they hope a compelling one. And arguably, that story starts with Stormy Daniels. It starts in 2006, when Stormy Daniels says that she and Trump had sex, which is something that Trump has always denied.

So if prosecutors were to not call Stormy Daniels to the stand, you would have this big hole in the case. It would be like, effect, effect, effect. But where is the cause? Where is the person who set off this chain reaction? But Stormy Daniels is a porn star. She’s there to testify about sex. Sex and pornography are things that the jurors were not asked about during jury selection. And those are subjects that bring up all kinds of different complex reactions in people.

And so, when the prosecutors bring Stormy Daniels to the courtroom, it’s very difficult to know how the jurors will take it, particularly given that she’s about to describe a sexual episode that she says she had with the former president. Will the jurors think that makes sense, as they sit here and try to decide a falsifying business records case, or will they ask themselves, why are we hearing this?

So the reason why this is the first time that the prosecution’s strategy is, for journalists like you, a little bit confusing, is because it’s the first time that the prosecution seems to be taking a genuine risk in what they’re putting before these jurors. Everything else has been kind of cut and dry and a little bit more mechanical. This is just a wild card.

This is like live ammunition, to some extent. Everything else is settled and controlled. And they know what’s going to happen. With Stormy Daniels, that’s not the case.

OK, so walk us through the testimony. When the prosecution brings her to the stand, what actually happens?

It starts, as every witness does, with what’s called direct examination, which is a fancy word for saying prosecutors question Stormy Daniels. And they have her tell her story. First, they have her tell the jury about her education and where she grew up and her professional experience. And because of Stormy Daniels’s biography, that quickly goes into stripping, and then goes into making adult films.

And I thought the prosecutor who questioned her, Susan Hoffinger, had this nice touch in talking about that, because not only did she ask Daniels about acting in adult films. But she asked her about writing and directing them, too, emphasizing the more professional aspects of that work and giving a little more credit to the witness, as if to say, well, you may think this or you may think that. But this is a person with dignity who took what she did seriously. Got it.

What’s your first impression of Daniels as a witness?

It’s very clear that she’s nervous. She’s speaking fast. She’s laughing to herself and making small jokes. But the tension in the room is so serious from the beginning, from the moment she enters, that those jokes aren’t landing. So it just feels, like, really heavy and still and almost oppressive in there. So Daniels talking quickly, seeming nervous, giving more answers than are being asked of her by the prosecution, even before we get to the sexual encounter that she’s about to describe, all of that presents a really discomfiting impression, I would say.

And how does this move towards the encounter that Daniels ultimately has?

It starts at a golf tournament in 2006, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Daniels meets Trump there. There are other celebrities there, too. They chatted very briefly. And then she received a dinner invitation from him. She thought it over, she says. And she goes to have dinner with Trump, not at a restaurant, by the way. But she’s invited to join him in the hotel suite.

So she gets to the hotel suite. And his bodyguard is there. And the hotel door is cracked open. And the bodyguard greets her and says she looks nice, this and that. And she goes in. And there’s Donald Trump, just as expected. But what’s not expected, she says, is that he’s not wearing what you would wear to a dinner with a stranger, but instead, she says, silk or satin pajamas. She asked him to change, she says. And he obliges.

He goes, and he puts on a dress shirt and dress pants. And they sit down at the hotel suite’s dining room table. And they have a kind of bizarre dinner. Trump is asking her very personal questions about pornography and safe sex. And she testifies that she teased him about vain and pompous he is. And then at some point, she goes to the bathroom. And she sees that he has got his toiletries in there, his Old Spice, his gold tweezers.

Very specific details.

Yeah, we’re getting a ton of detail in this scene. And the reason we’re getting those is because prosecutors are trying to elicit those details to establish that this is a credible person, that this thing did happen, despite what Donald Trump and his lawyers say. And the reason you can know it happened, prosecutors seem to be saying, is because, look at all these details she can still summon up.

She comes out of the bathroom. And she says that Donald Trump is on the hotel bed. And what stands out to me there is what she describes as a very intense physical reaction. She says that she blacked out. And she quickly clarifies, she doesn’t mean from drugs or alcohol. She means that, she says, that the intensity of this experience was such that, suddenly, she can’t remember every detail. The prosecution asks a question that cuts directly to the sex. Essentially, did you start having sex with him? And Daniels says that she did. And she continues to provide more details than even, I think, the prosecution wanted.

And I think we don’t want to go chapter and verse through this claimed sexual encounter. But I wonder what details stand out and which details feel important, given the prosecution’s strategy here.

All the details stand out because it’s a story about having had sex with a former president. And the more salacious and more private the details feel, the more you’re going to remember them. So we’ll remember that Stormy Daniels said what position they had sex in. We’ll remember that she said he didn’t use a condom. Whether that’s important to the prosecution’s case, now, that’s a much harder question to answer, as we’ve been saying.

But what I can tell you is, as she’s describing having had sex with Donald Trump, and Donald Trump is sitting right there, and Eric Trump, his son, is sitting behind him, seeming to turn a different color as he hears this embarrassment of his father being described to a courtroom full of reporters at this trial, it’s hard to even describe the energy in that room. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. And it was just Daniels’s testimony and, seemingly, the former President’s emotions. And you almost felt like you were trapped in there with both of them as this description was happening.

Well, I think it’s important to try to understand why the prosecution is getting these details, these salacious, carnal, pick your word, graphic details about sex with Donald Trump. What is the value, if other details are clearly making the point that she’s recollecting something?

Well, I think, at this point, we can only speculate. But one thing we can say is, this was uncomfortable. This felt bad. And remember, prosecutor’s story is not about the sex. It’s about trying to hide the sex. So if you’re trying to show a jury why it might be worthwhile to hide a story, it might be worth —

Providing lots of salacious details that a person would want to hide.

— exposing them to how bad that story feels and reminding them that if they had been voters and they had heard that story, and, in fact, they asked Daniels this very question, if you hadn’t accepted hush money, if you hadn’t signed that NDA, is this the story you would have told? And she said, yes. And so where I think they’re going with this, but we can’t really be sure yet, is that they’re going to tell the jurors, hey, that story, you can see why he wanted to cover that up, can’t you?

You mentioned the hush money payments. What testimony does Daniels offer about that? And how does it advance the prosecution’s case of business fraud related to the hush money payments?

So little evidence that it’s almost laughable. She says that she received the hush money. But we actually already heard another witness, her lawyer at the time, Keith Davidson, testify that he had received the hush money payment on her behalf. And she testified about feeling as if she had to sell this story because the election was fast approaching, almost as if her leverage was slipping away because she knew this would be bad for Trump.

That feels important. But just help me understand why it’s important.

Well, what the prosecution has been arguing is that Trump covered up this hush money payment in order to conceal a different crime. And that crime, they say, was to promote his election to the presidency by illegal means.

Right, we’ve talked about this in the past.

So when Daniels ties her side of the payment into the election, it just reminds the jurors maybe, oh, right, this is what they’re arguing.

So how does the prosecution end this very dramatic, and from everything you’re saying, very tense questioning of Stormy Daniels about this encounter?

Well, before they can even end, the defense lawyers go and they consult among themselves. And then, with the jury out of the room, one of them stands up. And he says that the defense is moving for a mistrial.

On what terms?

He says that the testimony offered by Daniels that morning is so prejudicial, so damning to Trump in the eyes of the jury, that the trial can no longer be fair. Like, how could these jurors have heard these details and still be fair when they render their verdict? And he says a memorable expression. He says, you can’t un-ring that bell, meaning they heard it. They can’t un-hear it. It’s over. Throw out this trial. It should be done.

Wow. And what is the response from the judge?

So the judge, Juan Merchan, he hears them out. And he really hears them out. But at the end of their arguments, he says, I do think she went a little too far. He says that. He said, there were things that were better left unsaid.

By Stormy Daniels?

By Stormy Daniels. And he acknowledges that she is a difficult witness. But, he says, the remedy for that is not a mistrial, is not stopping the whole thing right now. The remedy for that is cross-examination. If the defense feels that there are issues with her story, issues with her credibility, they can ask her whatever they want. They can try to win the jury back over. If they think this jury has been poisoned by this witness, well, this is their time to provide the antidote. The antidote is cross-examination. And soon enough, cross-examination starts. And it is exactly as intense and combative as we expected.

We’ll be right back.

So, Jonah, how would you characterize the defense’s overall strategy in this intense cross-examination of Stormy Daniels?

People know the word impeach from presidential impeachments. But it has a meaning in law, too. You impeach a witness, and, specifically, their credibility. And that’s what the defense is going for here. They are going to try to make Stormy Daniels look like a liar, a fraud, an extortionist, a money-grubbing opportunist who wanted to take advantage of Trump and sought to do so by any means necessary.

And what did that impeachment strategy look like in the courtroom?

The defense lawyer who questions Stormy Daniels is a woman named Susan Necheles. She’s defended Trump before. And she’s a bit of a cross-examination specialist. We even saw her during jury selection bring up these past details to confront jurors who had said nasty things about Trump on social media with. And she wants to do the same thing with Daniels. She wants to bring up old interviews and old tweets and things that Daniels has said in the past that don’t match what Daniels is saying from the stand.

What’s a specific example? And do they land?

Some of them land. And some of them don’t. One specific example is that Necheles confronts Daniels with this old tweet, where Daniels says that she’s going to dance down the street if Trump goes to jail. And what she’s trying to show there is that Daniels is out for revenge, that she hates Trump, and that she wants to see him go to jail. And that’s why she’s testifying against him.

And Daniels is very interesting during the cross-examination. It’s almost as if she’s a different person. She kind of squares her shoulders. And she sits up a little straighter. And she leans forward. Daniels is ready to fight. But it doesn’t quite land. The tweet actually says, I’ll dance down the street when he’s selected to go to jail.

And Daniels goes off on this digression about how she knows that people don’t get selected to go to jail. That’s not how it works. But she can’t really unseat this argument, that she’s a political enemy of Donald Trump. So that one kind of sticks, I would say. But there are other moves that Necheles tries to pull that don’t stick.

So unlike the prosecution, which typically used words like adult, adult film, Necheles seems to be taking every chance she can get to say porn, or pornography, or porn star, to make it sound base or dirty. And so when she starts to ask Daniels about actually being in pornography, writing, acting, and directing sex films, she tries to land a punch line, Necheles does. She says, so you have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex appear to be real, right?

As if to say, perhaps this story you have told about entering Trump’s suite in Lake Tahoe and having sex with him was made up.

Just another one of your fictional stories about sex. But Daniels comes back and says, the sex in the films, it’s very much real, just like what happened to me in that room. And so, when you have this kind of combat of a lawyer cross-examining very aggressively and the witness fighting back, you can feel the energy in the room shift as one lands a blow or the other does. But here, Daniels lands one back. And the other issue that I think Susan Necheles runs into is, she tries to draw out disparities from interviews that Daniels gave, particularly to N-TOUCH, very early on once the story was out.

It’s kind of like a tabloid magazine?

But some of the disparities don’t seem to be landing quite like Necheles would want. So she tries to do this complicated thing about where the bodyguard was in the room when Daniels walked into the room, as described in an interview in a magazine. But in that magazine interview, as it turns out, Daniels mentioned that Trump was wearing pajamas. And so, if I’m a juror, I don’t care where the bodyguard is. I’m thinking about, oh, yeah, I remember that Stormy Daniels said now in 2024 that Trump was wearing pajamas.

I’m curious if, as somebody in the room, you felt that the defense was effective in undermining Stormy Daniels’s credibility? Because what I took from the earlier part of our conversation was that Stormy Daniels is in this courtroom on behalf of the prosecution to tell a story that’s uncomfortable and has the kind of details that Donald Trump would be motivated to try to hide. And therefore, this defense strategy is to say, those details about what Trump might want to hide, you can’t trust them. So does this back and forth effectively hurt Stormy Daniels’s credibility, in your estimation?

I don’t think that Stormy Daniels came off as perfectly credible about everything she testified about. There are incidents that were unclear or confusing. There were things she talked about that I found hard to believe, when she, for instance, denied that she had attacked Trump in a tweet or talked about her motivations. But about what prosecutors need, that central story, the story of having had sex with him, we can’t know whether it happened.

But there weren’t that many disparities in these accounts over the years. In terms of things that would make me doubt the story that Daniels was telling, details that don’t add up, those weren’t present. And you don’t have to take my word for that, nor should you. But the judge is in the room. And he says something very, very similar.

What does he say? And why does he say it?

Well, he does it when the defense, again, at the end of the day on Thursday, calls for a mistrial.

With a similar argument as before?

Not only with a similar argument as before, but, like, almost the exact same argument. And I would say that I was astonished to see them do this. But I wasn’t because I’ve covered other trials where Trump is the client. And in those trials, the lawyers, again and again, called for a mistrial.

And what does Judge Marchan say in response to this second effort to seek a mistrial?

Let me say, to this one, he seems a little less patient. He says that after the first mistrial ruling, two days before, he went into his chambers. And he read every decision he had made about the case. He took this moment to reflect on the first decision. And he found that he had, in his own estimation, which is all he has, been fair and not allowed evidence that was prejudicial to Trump into this trial. It could continue. And so he said that again. And then he really almost turned on the defense. And he said that the things that the defense was objecting to were things that the defense had made happen.

He says that in their opening statement, the defense could have taken issue with many elements of the case, about whether there were falsified business records, about any of the other things that prosecutors are saying happened. But instead, he says, they focused their energy on denying that Trump ever had sex with Daniels.

And so that was essentially an invitation to the prosecution to call Stormy Daniels as a witness and have her say from the stand, yes, I had this sexual encounter. The upshot of it is that the judge not only takes the defense to task. But he also just says that he finds Stormy Daniels’s narrative credible. He doesn’t see it as having changed so much from year to year.

Interesting. So in thinking back to our original question here, Jonah, about the idea that putting Stormy Daniels on the stand was risky, I wonder if, by the end of this entire journey, you’re reevaluating that idea because it doesn’t sound like it ended up being super risky. It sounded like it ended up working reasonably well for the prosecution.

Well, let me just assert that it doesn’t really matter what I think. The jury is going to decide this. There’s 12 people. And we can’t know what they’re thinking. But my impression was that, while she was being questioned by the prosecution for the prosecution’s case, Stormy Daniels was a real liability. She was a difficult witness for them.

And the judge said as much. But when the defense cross-examined her, Stormy Daniels became a better witness, in part because their struggles to discredit her may have actually ended up making her story look more credible and stronger. And the reason that matters is because, remember, we said that prosecutors are trying to fill this hole in their case. Well, now, they have. The jury has met Stormy Daniels. They’ve heard her account. They’ve made of it what they will. And now, the sequence of events that prosecutors are trying to line up as they seek prison time for the former President really makes a lot of sense.

It starts with what Stormy Daniels says with sex in a hotel suite in 2006. It picks up years later, as Donald Trump is trying to win an election and, prosecutors say, suppressing negative stories, including Stormy Daniels’s very negative story. And the story that prosecutors are telling ends with Donald Trump orchestrating the falsification of business records to keep that story concealed.

Well, Jonah, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Of course, thanks for having me.

The prosecution’s next major witness will be Michael Cohen, the former Trump fixer who arranged for the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. Cohen is expected to take the stand on Monday.

Here’s what else you need to know today. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a defiant response to warnings from the United States that it would stop supplying weapons to Israel if Israel invades the Southern Gaza City of Rafah. So far, Israel has carried out a limited incursion into the city where a million civilians are sheltering, but has threatened a full invasion. In a statement, Netanyahu said, quote, “if we need to stand alone, we will stand alone.”

Meanwhile, high level ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been put on hold in part because of anger over Israel’s incursion into Rafah.

A reminder, tomorrow, we’ll be sharing the latest episode of our colleague’s new show, “The Interview” This week on “The Interview,” Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with radio host Charlamagne Tha God about his frustrations with how Americans talk about politics.

If me as a Black man, if I criticize Democrats, then I’m supporting MAGA. But if I criticize, you know, Donald Trump and Republicans, then I’m a Democratic shill. Why can’t I just be a person who deals in nuance?

Today’s episode was produced by Olivia Natt and Michael Simon Johnson. It was edited by Lexie Diao, with help from Paige Cowett, contains original music by Will Reid and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you on Monday.

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• May 14, 2024   •   35:20 Voters Want Change. In Our Poll, They See It in Trump.
• May 13, 2024   •   27:46 How Biden Adopted Trump’s Trade War With China
• May 10, 2024   •   27:42 Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand
• May 9, 2024   •   34:42 One Strongman, One Billion Voters, and the Future of India
• May 8, 2024   •   28:28 A Plan to Remake the Middle East
• May 7, 2024   •   27:43 How Changing Ocean Temperatures Could Upend Life on Earth
• May 6, 2024   •   29:23 R.F.K. Jr.’s Battle to Get on the Ballot
• May 3, 2024   •   25:33 The Protesters and the President
• May 2, 2024   •   29:13 Biden Loosens Up on Weed

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Jonah E. Bromwich

Produced by Olivia Natt and Michael Simon Johnson

Edited by Lexie Diao

With Paige Cowett

Original music by Will Reid and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

This episode contains descriptions of an alleged sexual liaison.

What happened when Stormy Daniels took the stand for eight hours in the first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump?

Jonah Bromwich, one of the lead reporters covering the trial for The Times, was in the room.

On today’s episode

Jonah E. Bromwich , who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.

Background reading

In a second day of cross-examination, Stormy Daniels resisted the implication she had tried to shake down Donald J. Trump by selling her story of a sexual liaison.

Here are six takeaways from Ms. Daniels’s earlier testimony.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

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