Last Updated on February 2, 2026 by Daily News Staff

CES 2026 (Jan. 6–9 in Las Vegas) didn’t feel like a “future tech” show as much as a “right now” show. The big shift: AI wasn’t treated like a standalone product category anymore. It was the invisible layer powering everything from streaming discovery to robots that can actually do work.

For STM Daily News readers who live in the overlap of Entertainment and Tech, here are the exhibitors and trends that stood out most—plus why they matter beyond the show floor.

1) Sony Honda Mobility (AFEELA): The car as a rolling entertainment platform

Sony Honda Mobility’s AFEELA presence reinforced a direction CES keeps leaning into: the next generation of vehicles is competing as much on software and in-cabin experience as it is on horsepower.

What made it stand out:

• AFEELA represents the “car as a connected device” idea taken seriously—where the cabin becomes a screen-first, service-driven environment.
• It’s a clean example of how mobility and entertainment are merging: navigation, safety, personalization, and media all living in one interface.

2) Netflix + Amazon Prime Video + Roku + Xumo: Streaming is evolving into ecosystems

CES 2026’s Content & Entertainment story wasn’t about “who has the most subscribers.” It was about streaming as an ecosystem: bundling, ad-supported growth, and smarter discovery.

What made it stand out:

• CES highlighted how streaming platforms are pushing beyond simple libraries into bundles, premium originals, and integrated experiences.
• FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) continues to gain traction, and device/platform players are positioning themselves as the front door.

3) Dolby: The quiet power behind the best-looking, best-sounding experiences

Dolby isn’t always the flashiest booth, but it consistently shows up as the tech that makes everything else feel “premium.”

What made it stand out:

• In a year where screens, XR, and immersive venues are everywhere, audio and imaging standards are the difference between “cool demo” and “wow.”
• Dolby’s relevance keeps growing as entertainment moves across phones, living rooms, cars, and wearables.

4) Meta + XREAL: Smart glasses keep inching toward mainstream

Wearables at CES 2026 weren’t just about steps and sleep. The momentum was in smart glasses and AR—especially as generative AI voice interfaces make hands-free use feel more natural.

What made it stand out:

• CES noted smart/AR glasses evolving with features like real-time translation, recording, and AI voice interfaces.
• For entertainment fans, this is where “watching” and “doing” start to blend—live overlays, creator tools, and new ways to capture experiences.

5) Samsung + LG + TCL: Screens are still the show’s main stage

Even in an AI-everywhere year, CES still belongs to display tech. Big brands kept proving that TVs aren’t just TVs—they’re hubs for gaming, streaming, smart home control, and ambient experiences.

What made it stand out:

• Display leaders continue to set the tone for how entertainment is consumed at home.
• The conversation is shifting from specs to experience: personalization, AI-powered recommendations, and multi-device continuity.

6) NVIDIA + AMD + Lenovo: The “AI PC” era is no longer theoretical

CES 2026 made it clear that the next wave of consumer computing is built around on-device AI. That matters for creators, editors, and anyone who lives in content.

What made it stand out:

• CES highlighted AI’s move from “digital transformation” to “intelligent transformation,” including edge/enterprise and physical AI in robotics.
• AMD’s CES keynote emphasized AI across devices from PCs to data centers, underscoring how quickly this is becoming standard.

7) Unitree + Richtech Robotics + Hyundai: Robots were the surprise crowd-pleaser

If CES 2026 had a “you had to see it” category, it was robotics. Not just novelty bots—machines built for real environments.

What made it stand out:

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• CES framed robotics as “physical AI,” where generative AI and simulation training help robots learn faster than traditional programming.
• Humanoid robots, in particular, are moving from single-task demos toward more collaborative assistant roles.

The big takeaway for STM Daily News readers

CES 2026 wasn’t about one killer gadget. It was about convergence:

• Entertainment is becoming more interactive, more personalized, and more portable.
• Cars are becoming screens.
• Wearables are becoming interfaces.
• Robots are becoming the next “device category” people actually want to watch.

And underneath it all: AI is becoming less of a headline and more of the operating system for modern life.

Here’s a list of what stood out to us at CES 2026:

• Sony Honda Mobility (AFEELA): The car as a rolling entertainment platform
• Netflix + Amazon Prime Video + Roku + Xumo: Streaming is evolving into ecosystems
• Dolby: The quiet power behind the best-looking, best-sounding experiences
• Meta + XREAL: Smart glasses keep inching toward mainstream
• Samsung + LG + TCL: Screens are still the show’s main stage
• NVIDIA + AMD + Lenovo: The “AI PC” era is no longer theoretical
• Unitree + Richtech Robotics + Hyundai: Robots were the surprise crowd-pleaser

Sources

• CES press release recap and exhibitor/topic highlights (Jan. 9, 2026): https://www.ces.tech/press-releases/ces-2026-the-future-is-here

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Last Updated on February 1, 2026 by Daily News Staff

HOLLYWOOD — Demond Wilson, best known for playing Lamont Sanford opposite Redd Foxx on the 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son,” has died, according to TMZ. He was 79.

Wilson died Friday morning at his Palm Springs home from complications related to cancer, TMZ reported, citing his son, Demond Wilson Jr. The family did not specify what type of cancer he had.

Wilson starred on “Sanford and Son” from 1972 to 1977, playing the grounded, often-exasperated son to Foxx’s junkyard owner Fred Sanford. The show became a defining sitcom of its era, known for Foxx’s catchphrases and Wilson’s straight-man timing.

After “Sanford and Son,” Wilson appeared in series including “Baby … I’m Back,”“The New Odd Couple,”and guest-starred on shows such as “All in the Family,”“The Love Boat,” and “Girlfriends.” His film credits included “The Organization” (1971) and “Me and the Kid” (1993).

Born Grady Demond Wilson in Valdosta, Georgia, on Oct. 13, 1946, he was raised in Harlem and began acting as a child, later studying at the American Community Theater and Hunter College. He also served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968, where he was wounded.

In later years, Wilson became an ordained minister and focused on faith-based outreach and reentry support work, founding Restoration House of America in 1994.

He is survived by his wife of more than 51 years, Cicely Loise Johnston, and their six children.

Sources:

• https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/demond-wilson-dead-lamont-sanford-and-son-1236647050/
• https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/demond-wilson-dead-sanford-son-153658639.html

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Ben McCann, Adelaide University

Funny, tender, goofy – Catherine O’Hara lit up the screen every time she showed up

Catherine O’Hara, the beloved actor and comedian who has died aged 71, occupied that rare position in contemporary screen culture: a comic actor, a cult figure and a mainstream star.

Her work spanned more than 50 years, from improv sketch comedy to Hollywood features and off-beat TV classics.

She was celebrated for her unmatched comic timing and chameleon-like character work. Her roles were often absurdist and quirky, but they hid a razor-sharp humour.

Born and raised in Toronto in a close-knit Irish Catholic family, O’Hara was one of seven siblings. She once remarked humour was part of her everyday life; storytelling, impressions and lively conversation helped hone her comedic instincts.

After high school, she worked at Toronto’s Second City Theatre, a famed breeding ground for comedy talent, and sharpened her deadpan improvisational skills.

Big break

O’Hara’s break came with Second City Television (SCTV), a sketch comedy series that rivalled Saturday Night Live in creativity and influence. Alongside contemporaries Eugene Levy, John Candy, Rick Moranis and Martin Short, she defined her distinctly smart, absurdist comedic voice.

O’Hara was not merely a performer on SCTV; she was also a writer, winning an Emmy Award for her contributions. This dual role shaped her career-long sensitivity to rhythm, language and character construction.

Unlike sketch performers who rely on repetition or catchphrases, O’Hara’s humour emerged with a different comedic logic. Audiences laughed not because the character was “funny”, but because the character took herself so seriously.

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Though briefly cast on Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s, O’Hara chose to stay with SCTV when it was renewed, a decision she later described as key in letting her creative career flourish where it belonged.

The transition to film

By the mid-1980s, O’Hara was establishing herself as a screen presence. She appeared in Martin Scorsese’s offbeat black comedy After Hours (1985), and showcased her comic range in Heartburn (1986).

In 1988, she landed what would become one of her most beloved film roles: Delia Deetz in Tim Burton’s left-field Beetlejuice (1988).

Delia – a pretentious, New York art-scene social climber – allowed O’Hara to combine physical comedy and imbecilic dialogue (“A little gasoline … blowtorch … no problem”).

Burton once noted

Catherine’s so good, maybe too good. She works on levels that people don’t even know. I think she scares people because she operates at such high levels.

She went on to play Kate McCallister, the beleaguered mother in the holiday blockbusters Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). Audiences loved the fact that this rather thinly written role became the films’ beating heart.

Working with Christopher Guest

Another distinctive phase of O’Hara’s career was her work with writer-director Christopher Guest on a series of largely improvised mockumentaries that have become cult classics.

Three standouts were Waiting for Guffman (1996), where she plays a desperate local performer in a small-town theatre troupe, and A Mighty Wind (2003), where she teamed up with old pal Levy as an ageing folk duo.

Her best turn came in Best in Show (2000), in which she and Levy played a couple competing in a national dog show. Her character Cookie Fleck remains one of the finest examples of improvised comedy on film. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ay1cJ1QMOms?wmode=transparent&start=0

Her relentless monologues about former lovers are objectively inappropriate, yet O’Hara delivers them with such earnest enthusiasm that they become strangely compelling.

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Her gift for improvisation glittered in these films: these eccentric characters were often laugh-out-loud funny – but O’Hara never mocked them.

Late success

She returned to TV in Six Feet Under (2001–05) and guest appearances on The Larry Sanders Show (1992–98) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999–2024). More recently, she appeared in prestige shows such as The Last of Us (2023–) and The Studio (2025–).

But it was the role of Moira Rose, the eccentric, ex-soap opera star in the Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek (2015–20), created by Eugene Levy and his son Dan, that would become O’Hara’s most significant late career move. And what a role it was!

Written for O’Hara’s unique talents, Moira was a larger-than-life character with a bizarre, unforgettable vocabulary, dramatic mood swings and a wardrobe that became nearly as famous as the character herself.

Feminist media scholars have noted the rarity of such complex roles for older women, particularly in comedy, making O’Hara’s performance culturally significant.

The show became a global streaming blockbuster during COVID lockdowns and O’Hara’s multi-award-winning performance became a social media phenomenon, spawning memes and viral clips.

There are so many standout moments – her drunken meltdown after losing her wigs, her audition for The Crows Have Eyes 3 and the show’s moving finale where she performs Danny Boy at Alexis’s graduation.

An enduring legacy

O’Hara had a remarkable ability to play flamboyant, self-absorbed characters who were often uproariously funny.

Many comedians and actors have cited O’Hara as an influence for her fearlessness, her ability to blend absurdity with emotional truth, and her steadfast commitment to character integrity. She influenced performers like Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

O’Hara also refused to chase conventional stardom. Rather than choosing projects designed to flatten her eccentricities, O’Hara favoured collaborative environments that valued creativity over control.

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For her, comedy was always an art of intelligence, empathy and generosity.

Ben McCann, Associate Professor of French Studies, Adelaide University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Looking for an entertainment experience that transcends the ordinary? Look no further than STM Daily News Blog’s vibrant Entertainment section. Immerse yourself in the captivating world of indie films, streaming and podcasts, movie reviews, music, expos, venues, and theme and amusement parks. Discover hidden cinematic gems, binge-worthy series and addictive podcasts, gain insights into the latest releases with our movie reviews, explore the latest trends in music, dive into the vibrant atmosphere of expos, and embark on thrilling adventures in breathtaking venues and theme parks. Join us at STM Entertainment and let your entertainment journey begin! https://stmdailynews.com/category/entertainment/

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