Friday, February 20, 2026 |
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It is really, really hard to choose a favorite performance on The Pitt. With all due respect to the indomitable Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa's yinzer (look it up) affect, I'm partial to Patrick Ball's stellar turn as Dr. Langdon. In season 2 of the HBO Max series, the 36-year-old displays a portrait of early recovery that we rarely see on TV. It's a portrayal that Ball takes seriously. "I'm coming up on four years sober," he told me recently. "I got a lot of people that are very, very close to me that have struggled with addiction, some of which have gotten help, some of which haven't." If you're a fan of The Pitt, you don't want to miss what Ball teased about the rest of season 2—and beyond. – Brady Langmann, senior entertainment editor |
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Out of all those suffering on HBO Max's viscerally intense medical drama, perhaps the most complex case is actually one of the doctors. |
Patrick Ball's dad will tell you he doesn't remember this story, but here it is anyway. When Ball was growing up in North Carolina, he was busted for drugs in high school, so Dad pulled him aside. He didn't confiscate a phone or car keys or even ground the kid as retribution, but he did send a message that damn near branded itself on Ball's brain. "Here's the thing, man," Dad starts. "One of the most important freedoms that someone has is the freedom to fail. This is your life. If you want to fuck it up, go ahead, but you only get one of them." "That was a really pivotal moment for me," Ball, now 36, tells me from his home in Los Angeles. The God-given gift to fall flat on his face has fueled a remarkable acting career so far: more than a decade leveling up his talents in America's theaters, the starring role in Robert O'Hara's Hamlet, and a breakout turn in HBO Max's almost unbearably tense, award-sweeping medical drama The Pitt. Ball plays Dr. Frank Langdon, a charismatic young father who, in season 1's big twist, we learn has been stealing prescription drugs from patients to nurse a back issue. In season 2, Langdon is back in the hospital for the first time in ten months, trying to make amends but quickly realizing that not everyone is so willing to forgive him. "Telling the story of addiction, it's my responsibility to put it out there for all its pockmarks," Ball says. "I got a lot of people thanking me and telling me how this affects their lives and the lives of who they love. I got a bunch of health-care workers reaching out and saying that this really affects them and has affected people in every hospital that they've ever worked in." |
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I've spent several weeks testing Sony's new WF-1000XM6 earbuds—and I have thoughts. Some good, some bad. Sony has an Apple-shaped rival on its heels in AirPods Pro 3, so the competition in the earbuds world is fierce. This model is Sony's in-ear answer to one of my favorite over-ear headphones: the WH-1000XM6, which landed on our best wireless headphones list. I was curious if they'd deliver the same refined, sophisticated sound in this more portable package. (Spoiler alert: they do). I threw everything I had at the WF-1000XM6. I queued up tracks with busy instruments, punchy drums, and standout vocals—songs that instantly expose weak earbuds. I also made sure to keep an eye on the battery life because, of course, no one wants a piece of tech that requires constant rejuicing. I brought them on my morning commutes to put the upgraded active noise cancellation (ANC) to the test, then flipped on ambient mode to see if subway announcements could cut through while I was listening to music. |
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If you've been doing this work for a long enough time, there are interviews that stick with you—usually it's an image, something a person said, or just a passing bit of kindness—even if they seemed totally unremarkable at the time. For me, the actor Eric Dane, known for his standout roles in Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria, was one of those interviews. He died on Thursday afternoon, nearly a year after announcing that he had been diagnosed with ALS. He was 53.
I jumped on a Zoom with Dane in June 2022, a few months after the Euphoria season 2 finale. He played a tyrannical father on that show, but in real life, Dane was a total delight. Our whole chat was hilariously genial, so much so that the headline was literally, "A Friendly Conversation With Eric Dane." What I saw in Dane was a man who talked about his struggles—his fight with addiction, working far away from his family, losing his father—just as openly as his NBA Finals prediction. (He had the Warriors in six games, which proved true.) He taught me that wearing your heart on your sleeve doesn't have to take a Herculean effort, or some big, remarkable show. It's okay to bring your whole self to the table, and people can take it or leave it. Dane's idea of masculinity was quiet, confident, and kind. |
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