| | | | What's news: Amazon spent $16.6b on content in 2022. AMC renews Mayfair Witches. Peacock renews The Traitors. NBC renews Night Court. THR's TV's Top 5 podcast reaches the 200th episode milestone 🥳 — Abid Rahman |
The CW Guts Development in Latest Shift Away From Scripted ►Big blow. THR's Lesley Goldberg has the scoop on The CW dismantling its current programming department. Sources tell Lesley that exec vp current programming Michael Roberts and exec vp development Gaye Hirsch — two of The CW’s remaining most important scripted executives — are among those who were let go Thursday. An exact headcount was not immediately available, though sources say others were impacted by the layoffs. The story.
—Unexpected exit. Andrew Gumpert is departing Paramount as Chief Operating Officer of Paramount Pictures & Nickelodeon Studios. The veteran business affairs executive first joined the studio in 2017 and was elevated last year by Brian Robbins with Nickelodeon added to his purview. Courtney Armstrong, president of business affairs and administration, will assume responsibility for strategic planning and labor relations and Randall Baumberger, president of the Studio Group, will oversee studio operations. The story.
—Significant changes. United Talent Agency is adding two new independent directors, expanding the board beyond its own executives and investors for the first time. The new directors are Paul Wachter, the founder and CEO of investment firm Main Street Advisors, and Ceci Kurzman, the founder of Nexus Management Group. Wachter will also become chairman of the board for UTA. The story.
—Target found. Activist investor Nelson Peltz, the Trian Fund Management founder who is leading a fight against Disney, is targeting board member Michael B.G. Froman in the battle. On Thursday, Peltz’s firm released a proxy form and began messaging Disney shareholders, urging them to withhold votes for Froman, and to vote for Peltz instead. The story. |
'1923' Lands S2 Renewal at Paramount+ ►No surprises here. Paramount+ has renewed Yellowstone prequel 1923 for a second season after the drama’s record-breaking and critically acclaimed first season. Taylor Sheridan’s series follows a previous generation of Duttons, led by Harrison Ford’s Jacob and Helen Mirren’s Cara. Season one of 1923 aired its mid-season finale Jan. 8 and returns to Paramount+ Feb. 5. The story.
—The Rice-verse continues. AMC Networks has picked up a second season of Mayfair Witches. The series is based on Anne Rice’s trio of novels about a doctor (Alexandra Daddario) who discovers she is the heir to a family of witches. The renewal comes midway through the show’s first season and follows that of Interview With the Vampire, which was picked up ahead of its series debut in October. Mayfair Witches has performed well for AMC, outdrawing Interview With the Vampire both on air and on streaming. The story.
—No brainer. Peacock has picked up a second season of the breakout competition series The Traitors, hosted by Alan Cumming. While per usual with streaming services, Peacock doesn’t share ratings data for its shows, The Traitors has scored positive critical reviews and strong word-of-mouth since its full season debuted Jan. 12. The streamer will also air a reunion special from the season, hosted by Andy Cohen, on Feb. 28. The story.
—Safe and solid. CBS has renewed its first-year drama So Help Me Todd for a second season. The CBS Studios series starring Skylar Astin and Marcia Gay Harden has been a consistent performer for the network on Thursday nights so far, averaging 6.3m viewers on-air over seven days and 7.4m over five weeks of cross-platform viewing. The story. |
Stallone Reality Show Confirmed, Teaser Released ►It's official. Sylvester Stallone is going full Kardashian with a Paramount+ reality series following the iconic action star and his family. The Family Stallone is a docuseries about the iconic action star, his wife Jennifer Flavin Stallone and daughters Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet. The streamer has released a teaser for Stallone's reality debut effort, that will also air during the Super Bowl. The story.
—Downsizing in name and number. Hulu and Marvel’s ambitious, four-show animated series slate is down to one show — which will no longer have “Marvel” in its title. The streamer has renewed Hit-Monkey for a second season. The pickup comes more than a year after it debuted on Hulu in November 2021, and more than eight months after the only other series of the four to make it to air — MODOK — was canceled after a single season. The story.
—Strong start. NBC has picked up a second season of the comedy Night Court, a sequel to the 1984-92 series that stars The Big Bang Theory alum Melissa Rauch and John Larroquette. The show’s premiere delivered NBC’s biggest comedy audience in more than five years, and subsequent episodes have continued to put up decent numbers. The story.
—G&G's got the juice. Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia debuted at the top of Nielsen's streaming rankings for the first week of 2023, and the streamer’s Kaleidoscope also had a strong showing. Ginny & Georgia, whose second season debuted on Jan. 5, amassed 2.52b minutes of viewing time for the week of Jan. 2-8. That’s more than double the total for its best week in 2021, when its first season ran; it only topped 1b minutes once. The story. |
Amid Earnings Gloom, Apple Sets Revenue Record for Services ►A rare miss. Apple missed Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations for Q1, reporting revenue of $117.15b. Still, Apple Services, which encompasses Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade and more, came in at $20.8b for the three months ending Dec. 31, setting a new revenue record, up from $19.5b a year earlier. Apple now has more than 935m paid subscriptions, up from more than 900m paid subscriptions reported in the previous quarter. The results.
—YouTube short. Alphabet's YouTube, a day after formally launching its revenue-sharing program for YouTube Shorts creators, reported $7.96b in advertising revenue to close out the holiday season, falling short of Wall Street expectations of ad revenue crossing the $8b mark. The video giant’s Q4 ad revenue is almost an 8 percent decline from the previous year. The results.
—Bucking the Big Tech trend. Amazon beat Wall Street expectations in its Q4 earnings report, delivering stronger results than anticipated amid what CEO Andy Jassy said remains an “uncertain economy.” The company had revenues of $149.2b in the quarter, compared to the $145.4b expected by analysts. The results.
—Mamma mia! Staying with Amazon, the company disclosed in its annual report that it spent a massive $16.6b on content in 2022, up 28 percent from $13b a year prior. Last year was a pivotal one for Amazon Prime Video, with arguably its two most significant content investments hitting the service within weeks of each other in September: NFL Thursday Night Football and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The story. |
Lil Rel Howery on Playing the Bad Guy in 'Poker Face' ►"Is it weekly episodes? I don’t even know what they’re doing!" THR's Jackie Strause spoke to comedian Lil Rel Howery about playing the baddie in episode three of Rian Johnson's Peacock series Poker Face. Howery talks about his darker turn, reuniting with Bird Box star Danielle Macdonald and what he thinks about all those Oscar snubs. Warning: spoilers. The interview.
—"The first day Judith and Epatha met, they acted like they had been friends forever." Jackie also spoke to Poker Face's Judith Light, who appears in the fifth episode of the case-of-the-week murder mystery series, "Time of the Monkey." Light and director Lucky McKee discuss the standout episode, including the extreme physicality and the connection between Light and co-star S. Epatha Merkerson. Warning: spoilers. The interview.
—🏆 Congrats to all! 🏆 Eight scientific and technical achievements represented by 19 individual award recipients will be honored at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Scientific and Technical Awards presentation on Feb. 24 at the Academy Museum. Veteran lens designer Iain Neil will receive the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, an Oscar statuette, during the ceremony and Ryan Laney will receive an award of commendation for his inventive use of AI-driven facial technology. The recipients. |
Film Review: 'Landscape With Invisible Hand' ►"Tiptoes around the tough questions." THR's Jourdain Searles reviews Cory Finley's Landscape With Invisible Hand. Asante Blackk and Tiffany Haddish star in this sci-fi comedy from the Thoroughbreds and Bad Education director. The review.
—"Thank God for the #MeToo movement because things have changed and people are much more careful and respectful." Following the release of her doc and memoir, Pamela Anderson has spoken about her previous controversial #MeToo comments. In a new interview, the actress defended and clarified her comments from a 2017 Today interview, where she indicated that women need to protect themselves more, saying, "You know what you’re getting into when you go to a hotel room alone." The story.
—"Unwanted appearances." Keanu Reeves has been granted a temporary restraining order against an alleged stalker. The petition was filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday by Reeves’ lawyer Mathew Rosengart against a 38-year-old man. The defendant has allegedly stalked, harassed and trespassed on the actor’s property, making repeated uninvited appearances at Reeves’ home, according to documents obtained by THR. The story.
—"It's you, thingy, it always has been." Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi renewed their vows in a surprise ceremony at their new home, surrounded by friends and loved ones. Brandi Carlile serenaded the couple, who have been married for 14 years, while Kris Jenner officiated the ceremony. The story. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—🎉 TV's Top 5 🥳 It's the 200th episode! THR's Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg celebrate the podcast milestone with a supersized episode featuring Susan Rovner, the chairman of entertainment content at NBCUniversal TV and streaming. Rovner talks Night Court, The Traitors, the Golden Globes, unloading Girls5eva and of course Peacock’s Poker Face. Plus there are segments on DC’s new chapter and the future of Showtime as well as the usual run through of the headlines and Critic’s Corner. Listen here.
—Behind the Screen. THR's tech editor Carolyn Giardina's podcast focuses on the filmmaking crafts. In this episode Carolyn spoke to Autumn Durald Arkapaw. The director of photography for Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever discusses her experience filming the sequel. 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 RRR filmmaker S. S. Rajamouli. The James Cameron of Tollywood reflects on his family of filmmakers, helping to forge a pan-Indian cinema and bringing together two of India's biggest stars for what has proven to be one of the country's biggest — and most acclaimed — blockbusters. Listen here.
In other news...
—The Covenant trailer: Jake Gyllenhaal goes on risky rescue mission in Guy Ritchie thriller
—Sarah Shahi is done sleepwalking through life in steamy trailer for Sex/Life S2
—Spotify executive compensation: Dawn Ostroff exit package revealed
—What to read right now: Timely books with Hollywood appeal
—Heather Rae and Tarek El Moussa welcome first child together
—Ryan Coogler and Tracy Oliver join the USC School of Cinematic Arts board
—Sony Pictures animation to move office to Miracle Mile in 2024
—Where to go out in Los Angeles right now
What else we're reading...
—Alissa Wilkinson weighs in on what Andrea Riseborough’s controversial nomination reveals about the Oscars [Vox]
—Laura Bradley wonders why the criminally underrated Dave Bautista hasn't yet been the lead in a romantic comedy [Daily Beast]
—Alison Herman writes that 80 for Brady is really an iconic press tour that happens to include a movie [Ringer]
—Kim Bhasin profiles billionaire scion Tony Khan’s attempts to unseat Vince McMahon and WWE through his fast-growing All Elite Wrestling [Bloomberg]
—Here's your Friday list: "Every DC Extended Universe movie ranked from worst to best" [Collider]
Today...
Today's birthdays: Warwick Davis (53), Maura Tierney (58), Isla Fisher (47), Amal Clooney (45), Nathan Lane (67), Brandon Micheal Hall (30), Aimee Lou Wood (29), Morgan Fairchild (73), Anthony Russo (53), Elisa Donovan (52), Tim Heidecker (47), Kadiff Kirwan (34), Kelly Sullivan (45), Matt Winston (53), Frank Coraci (57), Bridget Regan (41), Tao Tsuchiya (28), Keith Gordon (62), Blythe Danner (80), Fredric Lehne (64), Kathleen Kinmont (58), Kellen Goff (28), Tallulah Willis (29) |
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