What items did shoppers happily line up for in 2025?
How long would you stand in line for a canvas tote bag or a Labubu? USA TODAY Trending reporter Greta Cross talks on items shoppers loved in 2025.
2025 has been a hot year for viral trends, celebrity sightings and just plain odd news.
In the same year when generative AI has led every hack to fill social media with computer-generated cartoon nightmares, a local artist made national news for working with good old-fashioned paint and canvas. Kids and celebrities alike fell in love with outrageously expensive cuddly Chinese monster dolls, while others claimed they were the devil’s work. And the world’s most famous spinster-slash-accused murderer got her own TV show.
These are the top 10 celebrity and viral-culture stories that captivated people across the SouthCoast this past year. Check them out:
Bravo announces ‘Real Housewives of Rhode Island’
Bravo TV announced in May that it was extending its globe-spanning “Real Housewives” reality TV franchise to the Ocean State, following the personal and professional lives of eight affluent local women. While it was rumored that there might be some Fall River connections to the ‘RHORI’ cast, none of the possibilities ended up on a cast list released in November at BravoCon. The show has wrapped filming and will premiere in 2026. And this past summer, “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Danielle Cabral found herself in Fall River, where she hosted a “Shop Like a Housewife” event and met with reality TV superfans.
Lizzie Borden gets a ‘Monster’ TV deal
Fall River will have to share its hometown legend with the world next year when Season 4 of Netflix’s “Monster” premieres. In July, show creator Ryan Murphy announced his true-crime biography series would focus on the life of Lizzie Borden, the Fall River woman accused of killing her father and stepmother with a hatchet in 1892. Hollywood royalty Ella Beatty, daughter of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, will star as the infamous spinster.
Meanwhile, a series of rare original photographic prints of the Borden crime scene went on sale at the world’s most prestigious rare book show in New York, where the lot of 12 photos ended up fetching $12,500.
Somerset home to one of America’s ‘Ugliest’ houses
A house on Lourdes Road in Somerset captured the imagination of HGTV viewers when it was featured on the show “Ugliest House in America.” Every episode of the reality show pits three hideous houses against each other, with the tackiest winning $150,000 in renovations. Host Retta said the Brutalism-inspired Lourdes Road house looks like “a building on a school campus or a bank,” but it wasn’t quite gaudy enough to win the prize.
Comedian Matt Rife surprises SouthCoast fans
Comedian Matt Rife made multiple stops in the area, bringing his brand of outrageous standup to the SouthCoast. He did a surprise gig at Fall River’s Belmont Club in January, and dropped in at Society Coffee Bar for Whale City Comedy’s pop-up show in Somerset later that month. Rife, who owns a house in Rhode Island, closed out that Somerset show with an hour and 15 minute set that crushed.
Breakdown at chow mein factory causes noodle panic
Fans of Fall River’s famous chow mein sandwiches went hungry when a machine that produces noodles at Oriental Chow Mein Co. broke unexpectedly. Restaurants across the region that rely on the famous noodles ran out of supply, and even the boxed version of Hoo-Mee Chow Mein Mix became scarce, sparking a chow mein panic. The Wong family’s recipe has been a SouthCoast staple for nearly 80 years, with few to no good alternatives. Luckily, the machine was fixed within weeks, getting the noodles flowing once more from its Eighth Street factory.
New Bedford artist’s Belichick painting goes viral
New Bedford artist Ryan McFee finds inspiration everywhere — and when he saw an Instagram post of former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson doing yoga on the beach, he knew he had to paint it. His painting of the two wound up on the front page of The New York Times, where it caught the eye of Hudson herself, who sent him a private message and bought it.
SouthCoast shops join Labubu craze
Beijing-based toy-maker Pop Mart has been selling collectible Labubu figures for years, but they exploded in popularity this past year. The plastic and furry monster figurines sold in blind boxes were spotted everywhere, driven by posts on social media like TikTok — and stores in New Bedford, Dartmouth and Fall River were selling them at often hefty prices. TikTok also fueled an online conspiracy that the dolls were possessed by demons, but luckily no Labubu-burnings were spotted locally.
Fall River flooded with Mrs. Ropers
The Fall River waterfront was taken over by tacky polyester caftans and curly ginger wings in September, when the city held its first-ever Mrs. Roper Romp, organized by the owners of Stumpy’s Hatchet House. About 50 people turned out to have fun along the waterfront, inspired by the outlandish “Three’s Company” sitcom character Helen Roper. The organizers hope to make it an annual event, too.
Who was Rochester’s mysterious ‘sign fairy’?
Police in Rochester investigated a “sign fairy” posting mysterious notices at Snipatuit Pond. The signs cite rules of usage that police and others say don’t exist, and appear to suggest the notices came from state and local authorities. The signs claim boating restrictions that aren’t true and threaten citations that aren’t in force. Some in town speculated a disgruntled property owner on Snipatuit Pond may have made and posted the signs. The state of the investigation is currently unknown, only deepening the mystery.
‘Love on the Spectrum’ visits New Bedford by rail
New Bedford’s new connection to Boston by commuter rail has increased tourism — including a visit from one of the MBTA’s biggest fans, Pari Kim of the Netflix series “Love on the Spectrum.” Cast members filming the fourth season rode South Coast Rail to New Bedford, where they stopped in to Tia Maria’s European Café for a surprise visit. The show filmed Kim and Tina Zhu Xi Caruso having lunch after a visit to the Whaling Museum. The series’ fourth season will be released in 2026.