Sydney Jo's viral TikTok group chat drama, and Superman hits cinemas: What's coming up this week

This week, there's more drama among friends, as Sydney Jo's viral TikTok series about a girls' group chat returns for season 3.

But that's not all the next seven days have in store.

Superman hits the big screen, Last Pundit Standing drops on BBC iPlayer, and it's the Esports World Cup.

Read on for what's coming up this week...

It's scary just how relatable Sydney Jo's TikTok series is.

The 27-year-old content creator from New York posted her first video, about friends communicating in a group chat, back in March. She told me me her social media account has blown up since then.

We see the girls bicker, talk in side chats, and send passive aggressive messages to each other, something Sydney said is "a universal experience".

"My friends, work colleagues and sisters all had similar stories about their texts and group chats," she said. "This is something that's only going to continue, as we start having bachelorettes and weddings."

Sydney says she filmed the first episode hungover on a Sunday morning.

But as her followers rocketed from 264,000 to 1.6 million in just a few months, she now has a huge fan base, with Today calling her series "the internet's favourite show".

With season three now out, Sydney said we can expect more camaraderie, more feel good moments, but also more shared common enemies.

She also hinted there could be a boys' group chat series next. "I didn't anticipate the male audience I would draw. I had a 50-year-old dad recognise me recently," she said.

James Gunn's hotly awaited reboot of Superman, a film that Hollywood is hoping can break the plague of "superhero fatigue", is out on Friday.

American actor David Corenswet, 31, plays the Man of Steel in the movie that's intended to kick-start a new era for DC Studios, which writer-director Gunn and producer Peter Safran took over in 2022.

Corenswet, who has previously appeared in TV series The Politician, Hollywood and We Own This City, is the fourth person to play the role in a major Superman movie, and the first for a decade.

It also stars Rachel Brosnahan as the latest Lois Lane and British actor Nicholas Hoult as a bald and menacing Lex Luthor.

DC has struggled to find major hits in recent years, with films like Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman 1984 and Joker: Folie à Deux - part of the wider DC stable - each earning less than $60m (£48m) at the North American box office.

So there's a lot of anticipation to see how this film does - and to drum up excitement, a life-like Superman figure was seen suspended at the top of The Shard in London earlier this week as part of a one-day-only installation.

Well you’re almost certainly not as good as the professional players heading to Saudi Arabia for the Esports World Cup, which starts on Tuesday.

Over seven weeks, the best in the world will compete for a record combined prize pot of $70m (£50m).

Now in its second year, the EWC brings together 25 different esports into one event. That means games fighting games like Tekken 8, first person shooters such as Call of Duty, and battle arena juggernauts Dota 2 and League of Legends, will all be there.

The format has encouraged some consolidation in the esports world, because the Club Competition encourages teams to field players in as many different games as possible. The team with the most points at the end gets a bonus $7m (£5m).

Some fans and players haven't been keen on the EWC though. It's been criticised for taking place in a country where women have fewer rights and being gay is illegal. Others say only with Saudi Arabia's cash can esports grow and compete with traditional multi-sport events like the Olympics.

On Monday, a new BBC competition series to find the next football pundit starts on iPlayer as well as on BBC YouTube and TikTok channels.

Fronted by footballing legend Troy Deeney and YouTuber and presenter James Allcott, Last Pundit Standing follows 12 football fanatics as they compete to become BBC Sport's next big football content creator.

Think the X-Factor meets the beautiful game, as they face a series of kick-off challenges in their bid to land their dream job.

There will also be star guests, including Alex Scott, Rebecca Welch and Max Fosh, on hand to set tasks and offer expert insight.

The seven-part competition series comes shortly after Gary Lineker left the broadcaster after apologising for sharing an antisemitic social media post.

In May, he was presented with a commemorative cap and golden boot by pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards as he signed off from his final edition of Match of the Day after 26 years in the hot seat.

• Building the Band season 1 is released on Netflix on Wednesday
• Too Much, Lena Dunham's new series, drops on Netflix on Thursday
• Bless Me Father: A life story, by musician Kevin Rowland, is out on Thursday
• Moisturiser, the new album by Wet Leg, drops on Friday
• Modi: Three Days on the Wings of Madness, directed by Johnny Depp, is released on Friday
• TRNSMT Festival begins in Glasgow on Friday