Entertainment
Raunchy Henry Cavill Drama Leaves You Cheering For One Of History's Most Notorious Figures
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Before Netflix introduced viewers to the royal court of King George and Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton, Showtime brought the world of King Henry VIII to life. The Tudors debuted in 2007, and at the time, there had never been a period drama that put so much emphasis on sex, from the politics surrounding it to the English nobles’ never-ending pursuit of more.
Henry the VIII went so far in his pursuit of a male heir and the right to marry whomever he wanted that he created his own religion and forever altered the course of the Catholic Church in the process, which could make for a very dry and boring history lesson, but this is a Showtime production, which makes it the perfect binge for those who want to explore an era so scandalous, it hasn’t been topped in nearly 500 years.
The Affair That Created The Church Of England
The Tudors starts off with a young King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) following his mandated marriage to Katherine of Aragorn (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and her inability to produce a male heir. Henry spends his days running around with his friends, Charles the Duke of Suffolk (Henry Cavill in his last pre-Superman role) and Sir Knivert (an underutilized Dead Like Me’s Callum Blue), or spending time with his mistress. It’s not long before a faction of his own court seeks to undermine his authority by deploying Mary Boleyn to win Henry’s attention and pull him into scandal. Mary’s unable to hold his interest, so her father sends in Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), and the result is the most catastrophic affair in history.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Natalie Dormer’s chemistry absolutely sizzles on screen throughout Season 1. If you’ve only ever seen Dormer as Margery Tyrell in Game of Thrones, you saw a small glimpse of what she can do when she sinks her teeth into a meaty role. Anne Boleyn may be doomed from the very start of her relationship with Henry, but that doesn’t stop Dormer from playing her as the one in control up until the very last tragic moment, where she realizes how far Henry will go to get what he wants.
Real history forms the basis for The Tudors but the show plays fast and loose with timelines, personalities, and even mashes together real people, in the case of Burn Notice’s Gabrielle Anwar as Henry’s sister, when in reality he had two sisters. The historical conflict between Henry and the Catholic Church drives the political drama, bolstered in Season 1 by Sam Neill as Cardinal Wolsey, and then Thomas Cromwell, played to absolute slimy perfection by James Frain. If you can’t tell, this telling of English history is brought to life by a never-ending stream of famous faces you’ll recognize, including Henry’s later wives, played by singer Joss Stone and Nip/Tuck’s Joely Richardson.
The Tudors Launched Careers But Not The One You’d Expect
Throughout all four seasons, The Tudors consistently cuts the big historical picture down to Henry’s immediate perspective. You’ll hear about major conflicts taking place with the French, but it’s mainly offscreen and takes a backseat to Henry’s pursuit of his next romantic conquest. The result is a show that starts out fun and breezy, but as his mental health falls apart, it becomes darker, more grim, and what was fun when he was in his 20s becomes more pathetic later in life.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers does an amazing job in capturing the rise and fall of Henry VIII, which is why the show has remarkably consistent critics’ ratings across different websites. Staying within 60 percent on both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, though audience ratings tend to be higher, approaching the 90s, because everyone loves courtly romance wether it’s from the female perspectives of Bridgerton or the male perspective of The Tudors.
Tragically, it’s also the height of Jonathan Rhys Meyers acting career. The talented star has been battling alcohol addiction for years amid personal family tragedies, leaving the breakout stars of The Tudors to become Natalie Dormer and Henry Cavill. When you watch the show, you’ll see why each was tapped for major franchises the moment production wrapped.
The Tudors helped set the tone for later historical dramas by tossing aside real-world historical details when they interfered with the story, giving the first seasons the feel of medieval Entourage. Available to stream on Paramount+ and anywhere else that includes a Showtime add-on, it’s a fairly quick binge with under 40 episodes, and it moves fast enough that, unlike Henry, you won’t get bored.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for February 6, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re good at reading facial expressions.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Let’s face it
The words are related to the dace.
Mashable Top Stories
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe unique characteristics.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Features
NYT Strands word list for February 6
-
Brows
-
Cheeks
-
Eyes
-
Mouth
-
Features
-
Hairline
-
Forehead
-
Nose
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for February 6, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you have a caffeine addiction.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
Mashable Top Stories
Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
-
Yellow: Items at a coffee station
-
Green: Things with stripes
-
Blue: Words before “Fly” in insect names
-
Purple: Homophones of greetings
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #971 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
-
Items at a coffee station: CUP, LID, STIRRER, STRAW
-
Things with stripes: CANDY CANE, CROSSWALK, REFEREE, TIGER
-
Words before “Fly” in insect names: BUTTER, DRAGON, FIRE, HORSE
-
Homophones of greetings: CHOW, HAY, HIGH, YEOH
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
How to watch the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 live online for free
TL;DR: Live stream the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free on ICC.TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
There are so many incredible sporting events taking place in 2026. Fans can look forward to the Winter Olympics, World Cup, and much more this year. And cricket fans don’t need to wait long for arguably the biggest showpiece event on the calendar: the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The best international T20 teams are heading to India and Sri Lanks to compete for the top prize. You can expect the likes of India, Australia, South Africa, and England to be fighting it out in the knockout rounds. Those teams are the pre-tournament favorites, but this electric form of the game is unpredictable. Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Pakistan possess the talent to beat anyone on their best day.
If you want to watch the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
What is the T20 World Cup?
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is a Twenty20 International cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. The event is generally held every two years. India are the defending champions.
In 2026, 20 teams will compete in 55 matches across five venues. The 20 qualifying teams are divided into four groups of five. In the group stage, each team will play four matches in a round-robin format, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Super 8 stage. At this point, teams will be placed into two groups of four, and will play three matches. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage.
Mashable Top Stories
When is the 2026 T20 World Cup?
The 2026 T20 World Cup is the 10th edition of the competition. This year’s event takes place from Feb. 7 to March 8 in India and Sri Lanka.
How to watch the 2026 T20 World Cup for free
The 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup is available to live stream for free on ICC.TV.
This free live stream on ICC.TV is only available in select regions (see full list of territories here), but anyone can live stream the T20 Cricket World Cup for free with a VPN. These helpful tools can hide your IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in a location with free access. This simple process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can live stream on ICC.TV from anywhere in the world.
Access free T20 Cricket World Cup live streams by following these simple steps:
-
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
-
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
-
Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with access
-
Visit ICC.TV
-
Watch the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free from anywhere in the world
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every game from the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for ICC.TV?
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ICC.TV, for a number of reasons:
-
Servers in 105 countries
-
Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
-
Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
-
Fast connection speeds
-
Up to 10 simultaneous connections
-
30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Watch the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 for free with ExpressVPN.
Seahawks slide to bigger favorites ahead of Super Bowl LV
Report: Celtics' Xavier Tillman traded to Hornets in buzzer-beater
