Brett Goldstein channeled his Ted Lasso lovable curmudgeon character Roy Kent at the beginning and end of a farewell Instagram message marking the hit comedy’s Season 3 (and presumed — but never confirmed — series) finale.

“And now the end is here… WHISTLE!!,” Goldstein opened with, the last part being one of Roy’s signature lines as his metal allergy has prevented him from using an actual whistle.

And, since Roy cannot formulate a thought without at least one F-word, Goldstein ended his note to fans with “It’s been fxxxing wonderful. Let’s go Greyhounds…”

In between, Goldstein, who has won two Emmys for playing Roy and also serves as a writer on the show, reflected on his “truly magical” experience and acknowledged the Ted Lasso writers, cast members and crew, including stars/co-creators/exec producers Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt and co-creators/exec producers Bill Lawrence and Joe Kelly.

“Ted Lasso changed my life in every conceivable way. I will always feel grateful for it,” he wrote. “A show about love, made with love, by the funniest, most beautiful and kindest people on the planet.”

The Season 3 finale of Ted Lasso wrapped the storyline of the title character, providing satisfying conclusion to all main characters’ arcs. For Roy, that involved becoming AFC Richmond’s new manager. Still, this was never billed as a series finale, and there have been efforts to extend the franchise in some way.

In April, the information was announced covertly.
The first-generation Google Chromecast is no longer supported or updated, signaling the end of an era for the device, according to 9to5Google. The initial Chromecast appeared in 2013 as a key-sized gadget that promised to deliver a Smart TV experience for $35, and it has succeeded in doing so. Google has made hardware upgrades to the original Chromecast over the years to keep up with streaming technologies, but is now officially abandoning it.

Google stated that “Support for Chromecast (1st gen) has ended, which means these devices no longer receive software or security updates, and Google does not provide technical support for them” in a statement on Chromecast’s informational hub. Users might observe a decline in performance. Since April, when Google last updated its support page for Chromecast, the announcement has gone unreported.

A total reversal of the 10-year-old Chromecast original has been long overdue from Google’s perspective. Since 2019, the firm has solely addressed the bug and security issues with the first-gen (as opposed to more extensive updates). The most recent update, which had been three years coming, was made in November 2022. Since the first generation, Google has also introduced updated models, including the $50 4K variant and the less expensive $30 Chromecast with Google TV (HD).

The only thing left to do if you are a devoted first-generation Chromecast user right now is to make sure it is properly updated and pray for the best.

Considering a trio of sexual assault charges against the actor, a jury found Masterson guilty on two counts of rape but couldn’t reach a decision on another charge.

Danny Masterson was found guilty on Wednesday of raping two women at his Los Angeles home in the early 2000s. But in a split verdict, the jury couldn’t reach a decision on another sexual assault charge.

The jurors, seven women and five men, convicted the That ’70s Show on forcible rape charges involving two women. They were split on a charge relating to ex-girlfriend Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, who has publicly identified herself as one of Masterson’s accusers, with most favoring guilty, eight to four.

Masterson, who was taken into custody, faces 30 years to life in prison.

The decision caps off a retrial in one of the most high-profile criminal cases of the #MeToo movement. The investigation into Masterson was initiated in 2017, when three women came forward with allegations around the same time Harvey Weinstein was publicly accused of sexually assaulting multiple women. In November, a mistrial was declared after the jury said they were deadlocked. Acquittal was favored on each of the charges: 10 to two, eight to four and seven to five.

The trial centered on accusations from three women who testified of violent rapes between 2001 and 2003. They detailed a pattern of Masterson inviting them to his Hollywood Hills home and giving them a drink that quickly made them feel overly intoxicated before the actor raped them. A fourth accuser, known as a “prior bad acts” witness whose allegations didn’t lead to charges, also testified that Masterson raped her in 2001 during a party when he was in the area filming Dracula 2000.

In one instance, Masterson allegedly dragged an accuser into a jacuzzi before she passed out. She said that she woke up on a bed to him penetrating her.

In a statement, Carnell-Bixler said she’s “encouraged that Danny Masterson will face some criminal punishment” but is “devastated that he has dodged criminal accountability for his heinous conduct against me.”

Jane Doe #2 similarly stressed in a statement that she’s “disappointed that he was not convicted on all counts.”

The Church of Scientology played a crucial role in the trial. Allegations against the church were allowed to be considered to explain why the accusers, all of whom are former Scientologists, didn’t contact law enforcement immediately after the alleged assaults. They testified that they feared being labeled a “suppressive person” within the church, which would lead to their expulsion and isolation from other members, and were told that the accusations would be internally handled.

The defense didn’t call any witnesses. Defense attorneys Phillip Cohen and Shawn Holley stressed discrepancies between police reports and testimony. They urged jurors to disregard evidence relating to Scientology. Masterson has maintained that he had consensual sex with his accusers.

He’s been excluded from the That ’70s Show sequel and was fired from Netflix comedy The Ranch in 2017 once the allegations surfaced.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo, who oversaw the trial, indicated she may further investigate the leaking of discovery material to the Church of Scientology. In May, a lawyer for the church emailed the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office challenging prosecutors’ portrayal of the group. The defense has denied that the leak came from them.

The accusers are also pursuing a civil case against the church, which has been paused until Masterson’s criminal proceedings are finished. They claim that they have been harassed by members after reporting their alleged rapes to law enforcement. Last year, the Supreme Court turned down a bid by the church to handle the case in arbitration.

Joshua Ritter, a former Los Angeles County prosecutor, called the conviction “remarkable” considering the district attorney’s office turned around a case that previously ended with a hung jury leaning toward an acquittal.

“The prosecutors were able to focus more heavily on the allegation that Masterson used drugs or intoxication to facilitate the rapes,” he said. “Jurors sometimes have a difficult time when an alleged rape involves a dating relationship, because they have trouble figuring out how sex can be consensual in one instance but rape in another instance. When prosecutors can say the victims were drugged, that allows the jurors to wrap their heads around what changed to make the sex suddenly not consensual.”

Ritter said Masterson will likely be sentenced to roughly 12 years in prison because the actor has no criminal record and the crimes occurred several years ago.

After his second trial on allegations that he sexually assaulted multiple women he met through the Church of Scientology in the early 2000s, actor Danny Masterson was found guilty of two counts of rape on Wednesday.

After a little more than a week of deliberation, the jury was deadlocked on the third count. Around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, they got in touch with Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo to let her know that they had decided on two of the three rape charges against Masterson but were completely at a loss for words on the third.

During a trial in late 2022, the jury previously deadlocked on all charges brought against Masterson.

A mixture of Masterson’s family, friends, and supporters, as well as other onlookers, filled the courtroom. Bijou Phillips, the actor’s wife, started crying shortly after the decision was announced and let forth a painful scream.

In the almost two-week trial, the majority of the accusations made against Masterson were first made public in 2017. The victims, Chrissy B., Jen B., and N. Trout, were all active Scientologists when they crossed paths with Masterson through the organization.

The jury found Masterson guilty of sexually assaulting Jen B. and N. Trout, but they were deadlocked on Chrissy B.

Two of the women claimed they delayed coming forward for more than ten years because church leaders advised against contacting law police, placing them in the unenviable position of having to decide between their faith and holding the man who allegedly sexually assaulted them accountable.

All of the women had Scientology-affiliated family members and were afraid that if they disagreed with Masterson and the church, they would be excommunicated and called “suppressive persons.”

Officials from the Scientology have always refuted claims that members are forbidden from helping the police. However, L.A. Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo said following a preliminary hearing in 2021 that the church has “an expressly written doctrine” that forbids members from informing law police about one another. Olmedo’s interpretation is wrong, according to the church.

All of the women claimed being taken advantage of by Masterson after he gave them drinks that left them queasy and disoriented. One of Masterson’s defense attorneys, Phillip Cohen, has consistently stated that there is no forensic evidence to support the prosecution’s claim that the victims were drugged.

Chrissy B. claimed that Masterson subjected her to a turbulent and abusive relationship during which he regularly spit on her, referred to her as “white trash,” and started having sex with her while she slept. She claimed that she woke up to Masterson imposing himself on her in November 2021. She testified that after she said no, he hit her, held her down, and sexually assaulted her.

She further claimed that after Masterson gave her a drink at La Poubelle in Franklin Village in 2001, she passed out and woke up the next morning in excruciating pain at the actor’s house in the Hollywood Hills. According to a letter she wrote to a Scientology official that was submitted at trial, Masterson told her they had intercourse, which horrified her.

After having a drink with Masterson, Jen B. claimed to feel weak and woozy. Masterson allegedly drove her to his house where he assaulted her forcefully while brandishing a gun and suffocated her with a pillow. N. Trout related a similar story, claiming that after she became frail, Masterson isolated her at his home. She claimed that before raping her with such ferocity that she puked, he grabbed her and digitally penetrated her in the shower.

All wrongdoing has been denied by Masterson. He did not offer testimony at either trial, and at the second trial, his attorneys did not present a defense. Cohen, however, questioned whether the victims were motivated by a bias towards the church rather than anything Masterson had done throughout his cross-examinations and arguments. Cohen also pointed out time and time again that the prosecution had no way to confirm any of the assaults and no evidence of drugging.

The presence of the church has dominated the proceedings. The news that a church attorney got discovery files in the case has spurred an LAPD inquiry and accusations of improper behavior from prosecutors, in addition to the women’s claims that Scientology leaders discouraged them from reporting the rapes to police.

According to Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Reinhold Mueller, the evidence obtained by attorney Vicki Podberesky included censored text conversations exchanged between Masterson’s accusers and LAPD investigators.

Olmedo postponed a hearing that was supposed to take place on Wednesday morning to determine how Podberesky obtained the files because of ongoing discussions. Podberesky said last month that she obtained the information legitimately and without breaking the law, but she refuses to say how.

This article first appeared in the Los Angeles Times.