| | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is the iconic Jane Fonda. Phoebe Waller-Bridge renews Amazon overall deal. Baz Luhrmann signs first-look deal at WB. Fox renews The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers. Netflix renews The Recruit. — Abid Rahman |
Jane Fonda on Cancer Battle and Coming Into Her Own at 85 ►On the cover. Last year, Jane Fonda was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood cancer. She’s now in remission, having finished her last chemotherapy treatment in mid-November. There is no sign of fatigue in her professional life, however. In fact, she’s busier than most actors half her age, starring in three movies out in the next four months. THR's Rebecca Keegan spoke to the unstoppable icon about conquering lifelong insecurities, quitting alpha males and why she’s not inclined to retire from acting or activism: "My platform matters." The cover story.
—🤝 Overall deal 🤝 THR's Lesley Goldberg has the scoop on Phoebe Waller-Bridge renewing her overall deal with Amazon Studios. Sources say Waller-Bridge’s new deal is for another three years — similar to her first pact she inked with the company in September 2019. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed, though sources note the pact is again worth in the mid-eight-figure range. As part of the deal, Waller-Bridge is teaming with author Claudia Lux to adapt her book Sign Here as an Amazon series. The story.
🤝 First-look deal 🤝 Baz Luhrmann has inked a first-look deal with Warner Bros. The Aussie filmmaker is riding high following his work with Warners on Elvis, which received eight Oscar nominations on Tuesday. Per the deal, Luhrmann will develop and direct for Warners, but will also be allowed to direct outside projects. The story. |
'Stranger Things' Is 2022's Most Streamed Show ►No surprises. Stranger Things is a runaway No. 1 in Nielsen’s year-end streaming rankings. Season four of the Netflix drama pulled in more than 52b minutes of viewing time over the year, the biggest figure since The Office (back when it was on Netflix) racked up 57.1b minutes of viewing in the pandemic-lockdown year of 2020. Stranger Things had a 36 percent margin over the second most-streamed title, NCIS (38.1b minutes). The No. 2 original series was Ozark at 31.3b minutes of watch time, followed by Wednesday (18.6b minutes). The full year streaming rankings.
—Do not praise the machine. BuzzFeed shares soared on Thursday after CEO Jonah Peretti said the company would embrace the application programming interface from OpenAI — the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT and DALL-E — to personalize content like quizzes for users. The story.
—Well, well, wellity, well. DirecTV is adding a new conservative network to its lineup, one day after it stopped carrying Newsmax and faced pushback from Republican lawmakers. The TV provider has signed a multi-year agreement with The First, which features shows by Dana Loesch and Bill O’Reilly, to carry the network for free across its three video services. DirecTV had said it was dropping Newsmax after the network asked for rate increases and pointed to other platforms that carried it for free. The story. |
In 'Poker Face,' Natasha Lyonne Can’t Help But to Crack the Case ►"I was ready to be Gene Hackman in Night Moves." THR's Jackie Strause spoke to Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne and co-showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman about the premiere episodes setting the course for Rian Johnson's Peacock murder mystery series. Warning: spoilers. The interview.
—🎭 Leads in place 🎭 Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will star opposite each other in Sony’s adaptation of It Ends With Us, based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel. Baldoni is set to direct and executive produce the film through his Wayfarer Studios banner, alongside his partner, Andrew Calof. Christy Hall penned the screenplay and will also produce. The story.
—🎭 Rising star 🎭 Ayo Edebiri, the breakout actor known for Hulu's The Bear and Netflix animated series Big Mouth, has landed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Edebiri is joining the cast of the villain-centric The Thunderbolts in a cast led by Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan. The story.
—🎭 Classy addition 🎭 Michael Kelly has been recruited as a recurring star for Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming espionage series Lioness. The Paramount+ drama, which does not yet have a premiere date, is based on a real-life CIA program and follows Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira) who joins the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Kelly will play CIA Deputy Director Byron Westfield. The story. |
Fox Renews Core Animated Comedies ►Sunday staples. Fox has handed out two season renewals to long-running comedies The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers. Each of the animated favorites are fresh off previous two season renewals that were up this current broadcast season. With the renewals, all three shows will remain on the network through the 2024-25 broadcast cycle and The Simpsons’ 36th season, Family Guy’s 23rd and Bob’s Burgers’ 15th. The story.
—Making the cut. Netflix has handed out a second-season renewal to The Recruit. From creator/showrunner/exec producer Alexi Hawley, the spy drama starring Noah Centineo spent five weeks on the streamer's global top 10 list, reaching the charts in 88 countries following its Dec. 16 debut. The story.
—The streak is over. Jay Leno’s 30-year run of having a TV show on one of NBCUniversal’s TV channels appears to be ending. A CNBC source tells THR's Alex Weprin that it has decided to cancel the reality show Jay Leno’s Garage, which has been a staple of its primetime lineup since 2015. The cancellation comes amid a larger schedule shift at the channel, with its primetime hours to focus on reality reruns of Shark Tank and Undercover Boss, as well as original business documentaries. The story.
—New anchor. Staying with CNBC, the business network is making substantial changes to its weekday lineup, including a new show at 7 p.m. to replace Shepard Smith’s program, which it canceled two months ago. The new 7 p.m. show will be called Last Call and will be anchored by Brian Sullivan, currently the anchor of Worldwide Exchange. The story. |
Sundance Review: 'Infinity Pool' ►"Unsettling in the moment, but quickly forgotten." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Brandon Cronenberg's Infinity Pool. Alexander Skarsgard and Mia Goth star in this ultraviolent satire of unchecked privilege at a luxury beach resort on a fictional island where crime yields unique punishment. The review.
—"Not always sure-footed but gets there in the end." David reviews Andrew Durham's Fairyland. Sexual freedom for gay men gives way to the community’s decimation by the AIDS crisis in photographer Durham’s heartfelt debut feature, starring Emilia Jones and Scoot McNairy and produced by Sofia Coppola. The review.
—"The television will be revolutionized." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Amanda Kim's Sundance competition entry Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV. This doc is a feature-length portrait of the late Korean American visionary and pioneering video artist. The review. |
TV Review: 'Shrinking' ►"Too eager to be liked to risk being honest." THR's Angie Han reviews Apple TV+'s Shrinking. Harrison Ford and Jason Segel lead a series, created by Segel and Ted Lasso alums Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, about a grieving therapist trying to get his life back on track. The review.
—"Powerful performances anchor a messy family drama." Angie reviews Justin Chon's Jamojaya. Indonesian rap star Brian Imanuel plays an up-and-coming musician trying to distance himself from his manager, who is also his dad (Yayu A.W. Unru). The review.
—"Pointedly less tawdry than some viewers will crave." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Netflix's Pamela, a love story. Ask Dr. Ruth director Ryan White chronicles Anderson's life from Playboy to Baywatch to that sex tape to her Broadway debut. The review.
—"The vets almost save it." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Michael Jacobs' Maybe I Do. Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Emma Roberts, Susan Sarandon and William H. Macy star in this formulaic film about marriage and relationships. The review. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—TV's Top 5. THR's Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. The duo begin by running through the week's headlines, including news on Phoebe Waller-Bridge, The Recruit, Cobra Kai, Doom Patrol and Titans, The Mosquito Coast, Vampire Academy and Succession . There's a segment dedicated to Adult Swim and Hulu dropping Justin Roiland and one on Krista Vernoff exiting as showrunner of Grey's Anatomy and Station 19. Shrinking creative trio Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein and Jason Segel drop by for a chat. And Dan reviews Peacock’s Poker Face, Hulu’s The 1619 Project, Paramount+’s Wolf Pack and Apple’s Shrinking. Listen here.
—Behind the Screen. THR's tech editor Carolyn Giardina's podcast focuses on the filmmaking crafts. In this episode Carolyn spoke to Chris Williams, the director of Netflix's animated hit The Sea Beast. Williams shares the challenges of working during the pandemic as well as the difficulty of animating water, rope, and sails in the film. Listen here.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to "The Three Amigos": Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu. With five best director and two best picture Oscars between them, the trio reflect on the origins of their friendship, coming to America and ushering in a new golden age of Mexican cinema. Listen here.
In other news...
—Succession sets S4 return date, family warfare continues in new trailer
—Zachary Levi takes flight in new Shazam! Fury of the Gods trailer
—Party Down trailer: Adam Scott makes his catering return in revived comedy
—Dotdash Meredith to cut 274 staffers amid “economic uncertainty”
—Wes Bentley, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Craig Robinson set for honors at 2023 SCAD TVfest
—Billy Packer, provocative college basketball broadcaster, dies at 82
—Wally Campo, actor in Little Shop of Horrors and other Roger Corman films, dies at 99
What else we're reading...
—Following a strong year of feminist concerns featuring in mainstream cinema, critic Manohla Dargis writes that for the first time ever she's optimistic about women in the movie world [NYT]
—Michael Shulman thinks the best actress race at the Oscars is crowded, unpredictable and weird [New Yorker]
—Laura Bradley is begging MILF Manor to stop confusing MILFs and cougars [Daily Beast]
—Miles Surrey writes that with prestige TV shows 1923 and Shrinking, Harrison Ford has discovered his next chapter [Ringer]
—Here's your Friday list: "Frances McDormand’s 10 best performances – ranked!" [Guardian]
Today...
Today's birthdays: Bridget Fonda (59), Patton Oswalt (54), Alan Cumming (58), Mimi Rogers (67), James Cromwell (83), Tamlyn Tomita (57), Susanna Thompson (65), Phil Rosenthal (63), Mikhail Baryshnikov (75), Frank Miller (66), David DeSantos (48), Tricky (55), Fann Wong (52), Stewart Raffill (81), Emily Carmichael (41), Mike Patton (55), Jeannie Epper (82), Cris Collinsworth (64), Daisy Lowe (34), Keith Olbermann (64) |
| Noah Cowan, a veteran film festival director and indie film specialty distributor, most recently with San Francisco International Film Festival, has died. He was 55. The obituary. |
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