LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the first time in almost 8,000 episodes, “Wheel of Fortune” did not open with a hello from longtime host Pat Sajak.

Ryan Seacrest stepped into Sajak’s shoes after his 41-year tenure as host of the famed game show, joining co-host and letter turner Vanna White. Seacrest, a familiar television and radio presence known for hosting “American Idol,” New Year’s Eve programming and a long-running radio show, debuted as the series’ new host Monday night.

“I still can’t believe my luck being here with you tonight to continue this legacy of this incredible show with all of you, and, of course, my good friend Vanna White,” Seacrest said as he opened the show. “Thank you for the very warm welcome.”

In a brief opening monologue before the gameplay began, Seacrest acknowledged Sajak’s impact as host and his retirement at the end of the 41st season. Sajak won his fourth Emmy Award for best game show host for his final season Saturday at the Creative Arts Emmys.

“Hosting ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is a dream job. I’ve been a fan of this show since I was a kid watching it in Atlanta with my family, and I know how special it is that ‘Wheel’ has been in your living rooms for the past 40 years,” he said. “I’m just so grateful to be invited in. I also know I’ve got some very big shoes to fill, so let’s play ‘Wheel of Fortune.’”

In his first episode, Seacrest brought an energetic spirit and his classic good-humored nature. In a departure from his predecessor, he did not use cue cards to speak with contestants Corina, Terry and Cindy about their backgrounds.

Beyond the obvious change of Seacrest taking over for Sajak, the premiere of the 42nd season also showcased some aesthetic adjustments.

The colorful wheel and the iconic puzzle board remain largely the same, although White did get upgraded to a motion sensor board in 2022 to celebrate the 40th season. The stage has been updated and now features golden wheels and spokes in a more modern, sleek design.

Seacrest asked White how she liked the new stage during the hallmark banter the host and letter turner share to close the show. White said there were “a lot of lights, a lot of action,” and Seacrest quipped that he hoped it would continue working through his first week.

Seacrest told The Associated Press in a recent interview “the scale of the set was pretty impressive” to him when he first stepped on set.

The shooting schedule is still as fast-paced as ever, with Seacrest saying that while it may be busy to shoot multiple episodes per day, it makes it convenient for his packed schedule of other hosting duties.

Many of the familiar elements of the show are just as they were when Sajak left the series. White still wears a formal gown, Seacrest sported a suit and tie like Sajak did, the recognizable sound effects and “devices” contestants use to play are the same. The culture behind the scenes also seems to have remained as genial as the 30-minute episodes.

“I’ve also have been impressed with how close the family is that works on ’Wheel of Fortune,’ the production team that puts it together. It’s a lot of people,” Seacrest said in an interview at an event with White promoting the new season. “They’re really a family and they have a lot of respect for every single person, what they do on the show, and that’s special.”

White added that one staff member who started on the show when she was 18 now has kids who are graduating from college. “We’ve been together a long time,” she said.

___

Producer Liam McEwan contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) — James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, “The Lion King” and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.

His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York’s Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.

The pioneering Jones, who in 1965 became one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama (“As the World Turns”) and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors. He was also given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor.

He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of “The Gin Game” having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.

“The need to storytell has always been with us,” he told The Associated Press then. “I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn’t get him.”

Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in “Field of Dreams,” the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit “The Great White Hope,” the writer Alex Haley in “Roots: The Next Generation” and a South African minister in “Cry, the Beloved Country.”

He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader (“No, I am your father,” commonly misremembered as “Luke, I am your father”), as well as the benign dignity of King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney’s “The Lion King” and announcing “This is CNN” during station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the “Great American Documents” audiobook.

“If you were an actor or aspired to be an actor, if you pounded the pavement in these streets looking for jobs, one of the standards we always had was to be a James Earl Jones,” Samuel L. Jackson once said.

Some of his other films include “Dr. Strangelove,” “The Greatest” (with Muhammad Ali), “Conan the Barbarian,” “Three Fugitives” and playing an admiral in three blockbuster Tom Clancy adaptations — “The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.” In a rare romantic comedy, “Claudine,” Jones had an onscreen love affair with Diahann Carroll.

LeVar Burton, who starred alongside Jones in the TV movie “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones,” paid tribute on X, writing, “There will never be another of his particular combination of graces.”

Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958’s “Sunrise At Campobello” and would win his two Tony Awards for “The Great White Hope” (1969) and “Fences” (1987). He also was nominated for “On Golden Pond” (2005) and “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” (2012). He was celebrated for his command of Shakespeare and Athol Fugard alike. More recent Broadway appearances include “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “The Iceman Cometh,” and “You Can’t Take It With You.”

As a rising stage and television actor, he performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival Theater in “Othello,” “Macbeth” and “King Lear” and in off-Broadway plays.

Jones was born by the light of an oil lamp in a shack in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on Jan. 17, 1931. His father, Robert Earl Jones, had deserted his wife before the baby’s arrival to pursue life as a boxer and, later, an actor.

When Jones was 6, his mother took him to her parents’ farm near Manistee, Michigan. His grandparents adopted the boy and raised him.

“A world ended for me, the safe world of childhood,” Jones wrote in his autobiography, “Voices and Silences.” “The move from Mississippi to Michigan was supposed to be a glorious event. For me it was a heartbreak, and not long after, I began to stutter.”

Too embarrassed to speak, he remained virtually mute for years, communicating with teachers and fellow students with handwritten notes. A sympathetic high school teacher, Donald Crouch, learned that the boy wrote poetry, and demanded that Jones read one of his poems aloud in class. He did so faultlessly.

Teacher and student worked together to restore the boy’s normal speech. “I could not get enough of speaking, debating, orating — acting,” he recalled in his book.

At the University of Michigan, he failed a pre-med exam and switched to drama, also playing four seasons of basketball. He served in the Army from 1953 to 1955.

In New York, he moved in with his father and enrolled with the American Theater Wing program for young actors. Father and son waxed floors to support themselves while looking for acting jobs.

True stardom came suddenly in 1970 with “The Great White Hope.” Howard Sackler’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play depicted the struggles of Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight boxing champion, amid the racism of early 20th-century America. In 1972, Jones repeated his role in the movie version and was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor.

Jones’ two wives were also actors. He married Julienne Marie Hendricks in 1967. After their divorce, he married Cecilia Hart, best known for her role as Stacey Erickson in the CBS police drama “Paris,” in 1982. (She died in 2016.) They had a son, Flynn Earl, born in 1983.

In 2022, the Cort Theatre on Broadway was renamed after Jones, with a ceremony that included Norm Lewis singing “Go the Distance,” Brian Stokes Mitchell singing “Make Them Hear You” and words from Mayor Eric Adams, Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson.

“You can’t think of an artist that has served America more,” director Kenny Leon told the AP. “It’s like it seems like a small act, but it’s a huge action. It’s something we can look up and see that’s tangible.”

Citing his stutter as one of the reasons he wasn’t a political activist, Jones nonetheless hoped his art could change minds.

“I realized early on, from people like Athol Fugard, that you cannot change anybody’s mind, no matter what you do,” he told the AP. “As a preacher, as a scholar, you cannot change their mind. But you can change the way they feel.”

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

The plan was to read a few pages, maybe the first chapter, and then put “The House Hunt” down and read an earlier book by its author, British crime and mystery writer C.M. Ewan (also know as Chris Ewan, creator of the “Good Thief” series).

Turns out Ewan’s latest thriller didn’t want to be put down.

If I’d been wearing something with lapels, the book would have grabbed me by them and not let go. It might even have shook me a little. It begged to be finished in one sitting, but I wasn’t able to oblige it. It took me a couple of days — which is even better. Is there anything quite like a lapel-grabbing book, waiting to be read?

Anybody who has put their house on the market will relate to “House Hunt,” especially the anxiety that accompanies the process, and more especially if you’re a Londoner named Lucy who has finished renovating a house your boyfriend Sam inherited. The two did most of the work themselves, skimping on nothing. Despite all the sweat equity, they are selling because they’ve decided to leave London for good: “A clean slate. Starting again.”

From the first sentence, you know something’s not right, that the anxiety surrounding this real estate transaction is in a class by itself: “Paranoia stalks me when I’m vacuuming the house and Sam is out.” Lucy is readying the house for a viewing but she is also readying herself. Her attack of nerves seems to be connected with her mysterious references to “what happened to me.”

Lucy doesn’t like being alone; she likes being with strangers even less. Her plan was to go to a nearby cafe while her estate agent, Bethany, showed the potential buyer around the house. Then Bethany calls. Leaves a voicemail. She’s running late. The viewing is in 15 minutes.

Lucy supposes she could cancel, but their “debts were spiraling” and she and Sam need this potential buyer to make an offer. She’ll just have to deal, although it won’t be easy. Lucy does what she has hoped never to have to do: She lets a stranger into her house.

Ewan is adept at building the trust necessary to prolong suspense, among characters and the reader. Lucy is suspicious and fearful right out of the gate, so Ewan must provide a path for her — and us — to move forward. (The sane thing to do, after all, is for her to reschedule the viewing.) He does this by alternating Lucy’s first-person chapters with third-person chapters involving Sam, a psychological and behavioral science lecturer at the London School of Economics.

As Lucy shows Donovan the house, Sam carefully leads a group of five people confronting their phobias. The juxtaposition grounds the action even while Ewan keeps the tension thrumming, the sense of unease never letting up.

Even though the plot occasionally strains credulity, the short chapters — I do love a short chapter — kept pushing me forward, egging me on to read just one more. And so I did, collecting a bit of real estate wisdom along the way: If you’re selling your house and the person looking at it never takes their gloves off, be very afraid.

The House Hunt

By: C.M. Ewan.

Publisher: Grand Central, 423 pages, $30.

©2024 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

All donations will go to the Hatteras Food Pantry. Suggested donations include canned foods like chili, soup, stews and vegetables, boxed foods, pasta, protein bars and healthy drinks.

The museum at 53536 N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island is full of Native American items from all over the country and offers a special exhibit room dedicated to the tribes of the Outer Banks.

See nativeamericanmuseum.org for more information.

An asterisk (*) indicates that a book’s sales were barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A (b) indicates that some bookstores reported receiving bulk orders. 

___

FICTION

1. BY ANY OTHER NAME, by Jodi Picoult. (Ballantine) A young woman’s play about her ancestor Emilia Bassano, who wrote Shakespeare’s works, is submitted to a festival under a male pseudonym.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

2. THE WOMEN, by Kristin Hannah. (St. Martin’s) In 1965, a nursing student follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War and returns to a divided America.

LAST WEEK: 1

WEEKS ON LIST: 29

3. SPIRIT CROSSING, by William Kent Krueger. (Atria) The 20th book in the Cork O’Connor mystery series. A local politician’s teenage daughter goes missing and the shallow grave of a young Ojibwe woman is discovered.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

4. FOURTH WING, by Rebecca Yarros. (Red Tower) Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.

LAST WEEK: 6

WEEKS ON LIST: 68

5. IRON FLAME, by Rebecca Yarros. (Red Tower) The second book in the Empyrean series. Violet Sorrengail’s next round of training might require her to betray the man she loves.

LAST WEEK: 7

WEEKS ON LIST: 42

6. THE GOD OF THE WOODS, by Liz Moore. (Riverhead) When a 13-year-old girl disappears from an Adirondack summer camp in 1975, secrets kept by the Van Laar family emerge.

LAST WEEK: 8

WEEKS ON LIST: 8

7. THE WEDDING PEOPLE, by Alison Espach. (Holt) A woman who is down on her luck forms an unexpected bond with the bride at a wedding in Rhode Island.

LAST WEEK: 5

WEEKS ON LIST: 4

8. THIS IS WHY WE LIED, by Karin Slaughter. (Morrow) The 12th book in the Will Trent series. Will and Sarah’s honeymoon is interrupted by the murder of the manager of the lodge where they are staying.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

9. ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, by Chris Whitaker. (Crown) Questions arise when a boy saves the daughter of a wealthy family amid a string of disappearances in a Missouri town in 1975.

LAST WEEK: 11

WEEKS ON LIST: 9

10. TOM CLANCY: SHADOW STATE, by M.P. Woodward. (Putnam) The 12th book in the Jack Ryan Jr. series. Jack uncovers dangers in Vietnam.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

11. THE COVEN, by Harper L. Woods. (Bramble) At Hollow’s Grove University, a school for magic that suffered a bloody massacre decades ago, 13 gifted students confront ghosts from the school’s past.

LAST WEEK: 10

WEEKS ON LIST: 3

12. JAMES, by Percival Everett. (Doubleday) A reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” shines a different light on Mark Twain’s classic, revealing new facets of Jim.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 13

13. REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, by Shelby Van Pelt. (Ecco) A widow working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium is aided in solving a mystery by a giant Pacific octopus living there.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 55

14. THE SPELLSHOP, by Sarah Beth Durst. (Bramble) When the Great Library of Alyssium is set aflame, Kiela and Caz take the spellbooks and bring magic to Kiela’s childhood home.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 5

15. JOY, by Danielle Steel. (Delacorte) A book editor recognizes the trauma incurred by her partner during his military deployments and seeks to restore her sense of self.

LAST WEEK: 4

WEEKS ON LIST: 2

___

NONFICTION

1. IMMINENT, by Luis Elizondo. (Morrow) The former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program shares insights on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UFOs).

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

2. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION, by Jonathan Haidt. (Penguin Press) A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the effects of a phone-based life on children’s mental health.

LAST WEEK: 4

WEEKS ON LIST: 22

3. WHAT’S NEXT, by Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack. (Dutton) Two cast members of “The West Wing” share insights into the creation and legacy of the series.

LAST WEEK: 6

WEEKS ON LIST: 2

4. THE ART OF POWER, by Nancy Pelosi. (Simon & Schuster) The representative from California chronicles her journey in politics, including her time as the first woman to serve as speaker of the House.

LAST WEEK: 3

WEEKS ON LIST: 3

5. OUT OF THE DARKNESS, by Ian O’Connor. (Mariner) A portrait of the NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers detailing his life on and off the field.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

6. SHAMELESS, by Brian Tyler Cohen. (Harper) The YouTube host and podcaster gives his take on the current state of the Republican Party.

LAST WEEK: 1

WEEKS ON LIST: 2

7. ON THE EDGE, by Nate Silver. (Penguin Press) The founder of FiveThirtyEight and author of “The Signal and the Noise” profiles professional risk-takers.

LAST WEEK: 5

WEEKS ON LIST: 2

8. THE DEMON OF UNREST, by Erik Larson. (Crown) The author of “The Splendid and the Vile” portrays the months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the beginning of the Civil War.

LAST WEEK: 7

WEEKS ON LIST: 17

9. THE DEVIL AT HIS ELBOW, by Valerie Bauerlein. (Ballantine) An account of the downfall of the South Carolina personal injury attorney Alex Murdaugh, who was found guilty of murdering his wife and son.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

10. OUTLIVE, by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford. (Harmony) A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

LAST WEEK: 10

WEEKS ON LIST: 74

11. OBITCHUARY, by Spencer Henry and Madison Reyes with Allie Kingsley Baker. (Plume) An overview of the physical, cultural and potentially taboo aspects of death.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

12. OVER RULED, by Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze. (Harper) An associate justice of the United States Supreme Court questions the number and complexity of laws in America.

LAST WEEK: 8

WEEKS ON LIST: 3

13. MINISTRY OF TRUTH, by Steve Benen. (Mariner) A producer on “The Rachel Maddow Show” looks at how the Republican Party seeks to rewrite recent history.

LAST WEEK: 9

WEEKS ON LIST: 2

14. LOVE TRIANGLE, by Matt Parker. (Riverhead) The YouTube host explains the importance of trigonometry and how triangles might impact various situations.

LAST WEEK: —

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

15. NUCLEAR WAR, by Annie Jacobsen. (Dutton) The author of “Operation Paperclip” portrays possible outcomes in the minutes following a nuclear missile launch.

LAST WEEK: 15

WEEKS ON LIST: 13

___

The New York Times bestsellers are compiled and archived by the bestseller lists desk of the New York Times news department and are separate from the culture, advertising and business sides of The New York Times Co. More information on rankings and methodology: nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/methodology.

An asterisk (*) indicates that a book’s sales were barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A (b) indicates that some bookstores reported receiving bulk orders.

___

PICTURE

1. DRAGONS LOVE TACOS, by Adam Rubin. Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri. (Dial) What to serve your dragon-guests. (Ages 3 to 5)

WEEKS ON LIST: 456

2. THE CRAYONS GO BACK TO SCHOOL, by Drew Daywalt. Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. (Philomel) The crayons go back to school and can’t wait for art class. (Ages 4 to 8)

WEEKS ON LIST: 18

3. TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK, by Alice Schertle. Illustrated by Jill McElmurry. (Clarion) Blue gives a friend a ride to school. (Ages 4 to 7)

WEEKS ON LIST: 41

4. THE PIGEON HAS TO GO TO SCHOOL!, by Mo Willems. (Hyperion) Pigeon deals with the anxieties of going to school for the first time. (Ages 3 to 5)

WEEKS ON LIST: 61

5. THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT, by Drew Daywalt. Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. (Philomel) Problems arise when Duncan’s crayons revolt. (Ages 3 to 7)

WEEKS ON LIST: 396

6. BLUEY: SLEEPYTIME, by Joe Brumm. (Penguin) Bingo wants to do a big girl sleep and wake up in her own bed. (Ages 4 to 8)

WEEKS ON LIST: 31

7. WE DON’T EAT OUR CLASSMATES!, by Ryan T. Higgins. (Disney-Hyperion) Penelope Rex must control her urge to eat the children in her class. (Ages 3 to 5)

WEEKS ON LIST: 52

8. THE MAGICAL YET, by Angela DiTerlizzi. Illustrated by Lorena Alvarez Gómez. (Little, Brown) A being known as the Magical Yet helps children to realize their potential. (Ages 4 to 8)

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

9. THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU WILL BE, by Emily Winfield Martin. (Random House) A celebration of possibilities. (Ages 3 to 7)

WEEKS ON LIST: 407

10. BE YOU!, by Peter H. Reynolds. (Orchard) A celebration of individuality. (Ages 4 to 8)

WEEKS ON LIST: 12

___

MIDDLE GRADE HARDCOVER

1. WONDER, by R.J. Palacio. (Knopf) A boy with a facial deformity starts school. (Ages 8 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 457

2. REFUGEE, by Alan Gratz. (Scholastic) Three children in three conflicts look for safe haven. (Ages 9 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 271

3. THE SWIFTS: A GALLERY OF ROGUES, by Beth Lincoln. Illustrated by Claire Powell. (Dutton) Shenanigan Swift heads to Paris in pursuit of art thieves. (Ages 8 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

4. ODDER, by Katherine Applegate. Illustrated by Charles Santoso. (Feiwel & Friends) After a shark attack, Odder recuperates at the aquarium with the scientists who raised her. (Ages 8 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 88

5. HEROES, by Alan Gratz. (Scholastic) The friends Frank and Stanley give a vivid account of the Pearl Harbor attack. (Ages 8 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 29

6. THE SUN AND THE STAR, by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro. (Disney Hyperion) The demigods Will and Nico embark on a dangerous journey to the Underworld to rescue an old friend. (Ages 10 to 14)

WEEKS ON LIST: 69

7. WINGS OF FIRE: A GUIDE TO THE DRAGON WORLD, by Tui T. Sutherland. Illustrated by Joy Ang. (Scholastic) A deeper dive into the legends of the 10 dragon tribes. (Ages 8 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 45

8. THE MISFITS: A ROYAL CONUNDRUM, by Lisa Yee. Illustrated by Dan Santat. (Random House) Olive is sent to Reforming Arts School and teams up with a group of crime-fighting outcasts. (Ages 8 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 20

9. THEY CALL ME NO SAM!, by Drew Daywalt. Illustrated by Mike Lowery. (Clarion) A pug named Sam protects his family. (Ages 8 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 12

10. THE COMPLETE COOKBOOK FOR YOUNG CHEFS, by America’s Test Kitchen Kids. (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky) More than 100 kid-tested recipes from America’s Test Kitchen. (Ages 8 and up)

WEEKS ON LIST: 213

___

YOUNG ADULT HARDCOVER

1. THE GRANDEST GAME, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. (Little, Brown) A prize worth millions is up for grabs for seven players sequestered on a private island. (Ages 12 to 18)

WEEKS ON LIST: 4

2. THE REAPPEARANCE OF RACHEL PRICE, by Holly Jackson. (Delacorte) Annabel Price’s mother is presumed dead, until she reappears during the filming of a documentary about her disappearance. (Ages 14 to 17)

WEEKS ON LIST: 21

3. DIVINE RIVALS, by Rebecca Ross. (Wednesday) Two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection. (Ages 13 to 18)

WEEKS ON LIST: 62

4. NIGHTBANE, by Alex Aster. (Amulet) In this sequel to “Lightlark,” Isla must choose between her two powerful lovers. (Ages 13 and up)

WEEKS ON LIST: 42

5. THE DARKNESS WITHIN US, by Tricia Levenseller. (Feiwel & Friends) When Chrysantha’s husband, the Duke of Pholios, dies, she believes she’s the sole heir to his fortune. Until Eryx Demos arrives and claims to be the duke’s estranged grandson. (Ages 13 to 18)

WEEKS ON LIST: 7

6. THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US, by Tricia Levenseller. (Feiwel & Friends) Alessandra plots to kill the Shadow King and take his kingdom for herself. (Ages 13 to 18)

WEEKS ON LIST: 11

7. SUCH CHARMING LIARS, by Karen M. McManus. (Delacorte) Two former stepsiblings unwillingly reunite and must solve a murder at a billionaire’s birthday party. (Ages 14 to 17)

WEEKS ON LIST: 4

8. RUTHLESS VOWS, by Rebecca Ross. (Wednesday) In the sequel to “Divine Rivals,” Roman and Iris will risk their hearts and futures to change the tides of the war. (Ages 13 to 18)

WEEKS ON LIST: 34

9. MURTAGH, by Christopher Paolini. (Knopf) Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn, must find and outwit a mysterious witch. (Ages 12 to 15)

WEEKS ON LIST: 41

10. HEARTLESS HUNTER, by Kristen Ciccarelli. (Wednesday) Rune, a witch, and Gideon, a witch-hunter, fall in love. (Ages 13 to 18)

WEEKS ON LIST: 17

___

SERIES

 1. BELLADONNA, by Adalyn Grace. (Little, Brown) Signa forms an alliance with Death himself in order to solve a murder mystery. (Ages 14 to 18)

WEEKS ON LIST: 1

2. THE POWERLESS TRILOGY, by Lauren Roberts. (Simon and Schuster) A story of forbidden love between Paedyn, an Ordinary, and Kai, an Elite, in the kingdom of Ilya. (Ages 14 and up)

WEEKS ON LIST: 8

3. A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, by Holly Jackson. (Delacorte) Pippa Fitz-Amobi solves murderous crimes. (Ages 14 and up)

WEEKS ON LIST: 152

4. THE WILD ROBOT, by Peter Brown. (Little, Brown) Roz the robot adapts to her surroundings on a remote, wild island. (Ages 7 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 31

5. PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion) A boy battles mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 739

6. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Amulet) The travails and challenges of adolescence. (Ages 9 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 806

7. HARRY POTTER, by J.K. Rowling. (Scholastic) A wizard hones his conjuring skills in the service of fighting evil. (Ages 10 and up)

WEEKS ON LIST: 805

8. GRAVITY FALLS, by Alex Hirsch and various illustrators. (Disney) The adventures of twins Dipper and Mabel Pines. (Ages 8 to 12)

WEEKS ON LIST: 6

9. WHO WAS/IS . . . ?, by Jim Gigliotti and others; various illustrators. (Penguin Workshop) Biographies unlock legendary lives. (Ages 8 to 11)

WEEKS ON LIST: 168

10. THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic) In a dystopia, a girl fights on live TV to survive. (Ages 12 and up)

WEEKS ON LIST: 339

___

The New York Times bestsellers are compiled and archived by the bestseller lists desk of the New York Times news department and are separate from the culture, advertising and business sides of The New York Times Co. More information on rankings and methodology: nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/methodology.

Monday, the Hampton History Museum will have a talk and tour of the exhibit “Chris Kraft: Hampton’s Unlikely Space Hero.” Allen Hoilman, the museum’s deputy director and curator, will discuss Kraft’s accomplishments and Hampton’s integral role in the Space Race of the 1950s and ’60s.

Kraft was born in Phoebus and attended Hampton High School and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech) before working at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (now NASA Langley Research Center) in 1945. In 1958, he was assigned to a group to develop manned space flight – putting a man in space and bringing him home safely. Kraft was a central figure in projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo.

He led the development of the operations control system, Mission Control. He became the flight director, responsible for the flight components of the missions near Earth and in space. He was named director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1972 and retired in 1982. After Kraft died in 2019, his family donated to the museum a collection of personal memorabilia that he’d saved from growing up in Hampton and his career at NASA.

The exhibit will be open through March 2.

___

If you go

When: 7 to 8 p.m. Monday
Where: Hampton History Museum, 120 Old Hampton Lane
Tickets: Free for museum members; others, $5
Details: hamptonhistorymuseum.org

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar will pop out on the NFL’s biggest stage next year: The Grammy winner will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans.

The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Lamar would lead the halftime festivities from the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9. The rap megastar, who has won 17 Grammys, said he’s looking forward to bringing hip-hop to the NFL’s championship game, where he performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022.

“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date,” Lamar said in a statement. “And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”

Lamar, 37, has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album “DAMN.”

The rapper’s latest album “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” was released in 2022. He was featured on the song “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin on a track that spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year. He also scored another hit with “Not Like Us.”

In 2016, Lamar gave a stunning seven-minute performance of tracks such as “The Blacker the Berry” and “Alright” at the 58th Grammy Awards. Lamar dazzled as an opener two years later at the Grammys with a performance of “XXX.”

In June, Lamar turned his Juneteenth “Pop Out” concert into a celebration of Los Angeles unity. It came on the heels of his rap battle with Drake during the three-hour concert featuring a mix of p-and-coming LA rappers and stars including Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy and YG.

Roc Nation founder Jay-Z called Lamar a “once-in-a-generation” artist and performer.

“His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision,” Jay-Z said. “He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”

Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show. The creative direction of Lamar’s performance will be provided by pgLang, a creative company founded by Lamar and Dave Free — who has previously directed the rapper’s music videos.

“Time and time again, Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine, and ultimately shake the very foundation of hip-hop,” said Seth Dudowsky, the head of music at the NFL.

Last year, Usher shined with a star-studded show with guests including H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, Ludacris and Alicia Keys.

“The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show is a celebration of the music we love and the incredible artists who make it, all on the world’s biggest stage,” said Oliver Schusser, the vice president of Apple Music and Beats.

Films are presented on a large outdoor screen in the recessed area of the Town Center Fountain Plaza.

Bring your own chairs and blankets. There will also be free popcorn and hot cocoa once cold weather arrives.

See cbda.net for a full list of films this fall.

Adapted from the 2018 novel by Elin Hilderbrand, the plot kicks off at a Nantucket wedding hosted by the groom’s wealthy parents, played by Kidman and Liev Schreiber. Everything is elegant and photo-ready at the Winbury family’s waterfront estate. Then a dead body turns up in the water. The nuptials are postponed and the police bring in each person, one by one — guests, employees, members of the family — for questioning. How inconvenient for the Winburys, who are all about their gleaming facade, no matter how fake. This is a family that occasionally asks their nearest and dearest to sign NDAs, so their obsession with appearances and obfuscation complicates the investigation.

Kidman is at the top of her game here as a regal, glorious snob who is unflappable, but wound so tight she just might snap. She’s a famous writer of murder mysteries (ironic!) and she’s the one who makes this lifestyle possible. Her husband comes from family money that has since evaporated, so it’s her sizable income that’s paying the bills. (It’s unclear if anyone else in the family actually works.) The pressure to keep up appearances isn’t just about social class, but about maintaining their carefully crafted personas — the perfect couple of the title — that has been so lucrative for her as an author. Schreiber, with his perpetual stubble and sun-kissed complexion, embodies a guy who is both sexy and unbothered. Perpetually on vacation, he’s content to smoke pot all day and be everyone’s object of desire.

They have three sons — too dull to name or describe — and the dysfunctions of the family become the central drama. Dakota Fanning plays a mean girl who is deeply unhappy beneath it all — of course she is, she’s married to a dud waiting to cash in on his Winbury trust fund. Meghann Fahy is the maid of honor, and her performance is not unlike her turn on “The White Lotus” — sunny but hiding many secrets. That’s no insult to Fahy, she’s extremely good, but here’s hoping she doesn’t get typecast, she seems too talented for that. Eve Hewson plays the bride, who isn’t embraced by the family so much as tolerated and she brings a reluctant energy to the proceedings. Is this really all it’s cracked up to be? She’s down-to-earth and has modest origins that are a world away from this “stratospherically high rent district,” as the enclave of second (or third or fourth) homes is described in the novel.

The show has streamlined and tweaked the book, which means many of Hilderbrand’s droll observations about wealth have been excised (one of the Winbury’s cars, as seen through the eyes of the bride’s mother, “looks exactly like what people drive in across savannas of Africa on the Travel Channel”).

Changes are part and parcel of adaptation, and expected. But Netflix is treating the identity of the drowned person as a spoiler initially — first we must meet all the players at the rehearsal dinner on the beach before we find out which one turns up dead — whereas the book lays out this information from the start. The mystery of who has been killed, which we learn soon enough anyway, is so much less interesting than the how and why and whodunit of it all. I say all this to suggest that perhaps we (and by we, I mean producers and media executives) have put too much stock in the power of spoilers when, really, good storytelling is enough.

“The Perfect Couple” needn’t have worried. Entertainingly absorbing and beautiful to look at, the show (created by Jenna Lamia and directed by Susanne Bier) has “general audience” written all over it and is a great example of what the genre can be when it’s handled with skill and wit. It’s more or less an Agatha Christie manor house mystery given an American sensibility, and the resolution, which is just one of the many ways the Netflix series diverges from the book, is a massive improvement from the source material.

There is no primarily point-of-view character but Hewson’s bride might be the most vital; she’s underwritten (that’s an issue with most of the lineup here), but her growing suspicion of the family she plans to marry into prevents the show from becoming yet another exercise in wealthaganda. Her distrust is the necessary splash of cold water on the show’s aspirational trappings — she’s an outsider who sees how empty this all is, and has no problem voicing her concerns. She’s not just another hanger-on hoping to benefit from their largess and it’s the essential perspective usually missing in these kinds of shows.

“The Perfect Couple” — 3.5 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: Netflix

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.