| | | | | | What's news: The Golden Globes averaged 8.66m viewers. Trevor Noah will host the Grammys for the sixth, and final, time. Kiefer Sutherland was arrested in L.A. SXSW Sydney will not return in 2026. And BTS have confirmed a 79-date world tour. — Abid Rahman
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Timothy Busfield: How a Career Built on Trust Unraveled in 5 Shocking Days ►Previous allegations. Actor and director Timothy Busfield is accused of two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one count of child abuse, tied to allegations involving 11-year-old twin boys he met through work on the crime series, The Cleaning Lady. THR's Seth Abramovitch looks into Busfield's past and writes that his persona was synonymous with American decency and morality; behind the scenes, however, were whispers of the unthinkable. The story.
—The latest. Timothy Busfield has turned himself in to authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Friday on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and child abuse. Shortly before surrendering, Busfield released a video to TMZ in which he said he would be surrendering and that he "did not do anything wrong." Busfield said he traveled to Albuquerque after he "got the call Friday night." "I had to get a lawyer," he added. "Saturday I got in the car, drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I’m gonna confront these lies. They’re horrible." The story.
—Arrested. Kiefer Sutherland was arrested in Los Angeles after a physical altercation with a ride-share driver, according to the LAPD. Authorities told THR that they responded to a call about an assault involving a ride-share driver near Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue at around 12:15 a.m. on Monday. LAPD officers said the suspect entered a ride-share vehicle, assaulted the driver and made criminal threats toward them. Neither person involved sustained injuries, according to police. The story. |
"Streamflation" Is Real ►Booooooooooo!!!! Inflation might be cooling down, but “Streamflation” is real, per new data from the U.S. government. The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday released its December Consumer Price Index, showing modest inflation of 0.3 percent on a monthly basis and 2.7 percent for the year. But a deeper dive into the data tables also shows an outlier that is relevant to Hollywood: Subscription video services. According to the BLS data, “Subscription and rental of video and video games” saw inflation of 19.5 percent in December. That is a category that includes subscription streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Lionsgate has unveiled a deal to sell Lionsgate Play, its South Asia streaming service, to founder Rohit Jain. Terms of the sales agreement, including a price tag, were not disclosed by Lionsgate. But Jain will take full ownership and manage Lionsgate Play and exit Lionsgate itself. And Lionsgate will license the Lionsgate Play brand name for the streaming platform to Jain, as well supply studio films and TV series to the expanding Asian platform as part of a multiyear agreement. The story.
—Calamity. Organizers of Australia’s largest free literary festival, Adelaide Writers Week, canceled the event Tuesday after more than 180 writers and speakers withdrew over the scrapping of an appearance by an Australian-Palestinian writer and academic. The uproar began when the board of the Adelaide Festival, which runs AWW, announced on Jan. 8 that they had disinvited Randa Abdel-Fattah from the event “given her previous statements” and citing cultural sensitivities after the antisemitic mass shooting at Bondi Beach. The removal of Abdel-Fattah prompted writers and speakers, including Zadie Smith and Jacinda Ardern, to withdraw. The story.
—Tough week for Australia's cultural scene. After a three-year run, SXSW Sydney, the Australian offshoot of the music, film, tech and media conference, will not be returning in 2026. In a message posted on its website, SXSW Sydney confirmed that the event has been canceled. The Australian Financial Review reports that SXSW Sydney collapsed after the New South Wales governement pulled its funding for the event after reviewing the 2025 edition. Despite the closure of the Sydney event, SXSW still has an international presence with the launch of SXSW London in June 2025. The story. |
BTS Announces Long-Awaited World Tour ►ARMY at the ready. BTS is finally heading back out on tour. The seven-member K-pop supergroup are embarking on their first full-scale, all-group tour in years, their label announced Tuesday morning. The tour, spanning 2026 and 2027, will hit Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America and Australia, making it one of the most expansive tours of the group’s career and their first since returning from their mandatory military service. The tour will kick off with three nights in Goyang, South Korea, before heading to Tokyo for two nights. BTS is set to then head to the U.S. for a stop in Tampa. The group then zigzags around the world with U.S. stops sprinkled throughout. The group is anticipated to make 79 stops. The story.
—One last ride. Trevor Noah will host the upcoming Grammy Awards for the sixth year in a row, CBS confirmed Tuesday morning, though executive producer Ben Winston confirmed this would be the comedian’s last time hosting the ceremony. “I am beyond thrilled to welcome Trevor Noah back to host the Grammys for his sixth, and sadly, final time,” Winston said in a statement Tuesday. “He’s been the most phenomenal host of the show. He’s so smart, so funny, and such a true fan of the artists and music. His impact on the show has been truly spectacular, and we can’t wait to do it together one last time." The 68th Grammy Awards will take place at Crypto.com Arena on on Feb. 1. The story. |
Golden Globes: Exclusive Backstage Photos ►"Globes’n." For THR, photographer Guy Aroch hustled around The Beverly Hilton at Sunday's Golden Globes to capture the stars (Snoop Dogg! Emma Stone! Renate Reinsve!), the presenters (Adam Scott! Colman Domingo!) and, of course the winners (Teyana Taylor! Rose Byrne! Hamnet! KPop Demon Hunters!). The photos.
—"It’s hard to strike the right tone." Fresh off her second consecutive year hosting the Golden Globes, comic Nikki Glaser headed to The Howard Stern Show to discuss the apolitical ceremony on Sunday night, babysitting for Judd Apatow and the jokes that were ultimately nixed from the show — including one sent over by Steve Martin. Notably, Glaser shared why gags about the current political climate were absent from the show. The story.
—Trending down. The audience for the 2026 Golden Globes fell off a bit year-on-year. The awards averaged 8.66m viewers for CBS Sunday, based on final same-day Nielsen figures (including the ratings service’s big data component). That’s off by about 7 percent from the 9.27m viewers for the 2025 Globes (CBS, which was in a contract dispute with Nielsen a year ago, cited 10.1m viewers for last year’s telecast from VideoAmp). Sunday’s show also marked the second straight small decline for the Globes. The awards’ first year on CBS in 2024 drew 9.47m viewers, which dipped to 9.27m last year. The ratings. |
Berlin 2026 Unveils New Titles ►Vampires, sci-fi creatures, and Charli xcx. The Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday unveiled more titles for its Berlinale lineup, including its high-profile, out-of-competition section of red carpet premieres that will screen at the 76th Berlinale, which runs Feb. 12-22. Among additions are the international premiere of Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York with John Turturro and Steve Buscemi, such European premieres as Padraic McKinley’s The Weight, starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, and Gore Verbinski’s sci-fi comedy Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die with Sam Rockwell, Juno Temple and Zazie Beetz. The lineup.
—🏆 Lucky Jim dominates. 🏆 The Visual Effects Society revealed the nominees for the 2026 VES Awards on Tuesday, recognizing excellence in the craft across 25 categories, including film, television, special venue projects, technological innovation, student projects and more. Avatar: Fire and Ash leads nominations with 10 overall, including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal feature. Other nominees in the society’s top award category are F1: The Movie, Jurassic World Rebirth, The Lost Bus and How To Train Your Dragon. The nominees.
—Juries confirmed. Janicza Bravo, Nisha Ganatra and Azazel Jacobs will be the U.S. dramatic competition jury at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Elsewhere in the lineup, Natalia Almada, Justin Chang and Jennie Livingston will judge the U.S. documentary competition, while Ana Katz, So Yong Kim and Tatiana Maslany will be the jurors for the world cinema dramatic competition. Toni Kamau, Bao Nguyen and Kirsten Schaffer will judge the world cinema documentary competition, with Liv Constable-Maxwell, A.V. Rockwell and Martin Starr handling the short film program competition. John Cooper and Trevor Groth wil judge the festival’s NEXT section. The story. |
The Full 'Survivor 50' Cast ►Milestone season. As Survivor‘s 50th season creeps closer, CBS has released a brand-new slate of images of the sprawling cast, full of returnees including Mike White and Cirie Fields. Adding to the anticipation of Survivor 50, which kicks off on Feb. 25, the new photos follow the release of its trailer, which gave viewers a first look at what’s to come from the landmark installment that tasked fans to vote on elements of the game. The story.
—Next up. Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has revealed his first move following the conclusion of the smash-hit death game series. Netflix confirmed Wednesday in South Korea that production is underway on The Dealer, a new original series produced by Hwang and starring a high-profile cast led by Jung So-min, Ryoo Seung-bum and Lee Soo-hyuk. Described as a “high-stakes casino crime drama,” the show marks the series directorial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Choi Young-hwan. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Apple TV has acquired a documentary series about tennis legend Andre Agassi. The untitled docuseries will tell “the thrilling, complex, inspiring story of an American legend,” per Apple. It will be directed by Tiger King’s Chris Smith, produced by his Library Films and executive produced by Stacy Smith and Justin Gimelstob. Agassi won 8 Grand Slams during his stellar career and he was a tabloid regular for his flashy play and outfits as well as his celebrity marriages to the likes of Brooke Shields and Steffi Graf. The story.
—Pilot orders. Jim Rockford may be going back onto the streets of Los Angeles. NBC has ordered a pilot for an update on The Rockford Files, the beloved private eye series that starred James Garner. The project comes from Universal Television, which produced the original 1974-80 series, and writer Mike Daniels. Also Tuesday, NBC ordered a pilot for Protection, a drama centered on a law enforcement family targeted by an assassin. Also from Universal TV, the pilot is written by Josh Safran and counts Today fourth hour co-host Jenna Bush Hager among its executive producers. The story.
—"Anna is a phenomenal storyteller." Season two of Mr. & Mrs. Smith is getting back on track at Amazon Prime Video. The streamer has tapped Anna Ouyang Moench as showrunner, writer and executive producer for the series, which hit pause on season two in September 2025. Moench counts Apple TV’s Severance and Netflix’s anthology series Beef among her credits. Moench will take over a showrunner from Francesca Sloane, who in September signed an overall deal at HBO and is working on a possible third season of Big Little Lies. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal. 🤝 Disney+ has struck a two-year first-look deal out of the U.K. with Matriarch Productions, founded by actors and producers Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters. Matriarch Productions, along with The Story Collective and Water & Power Productions, are behind the Hulu original series A Thousand Blows, whose second season is now available to stream on Disney+. The story.
—Woof! The opening round of the NFL playoffs featured several down-to-the-wire games — which brought in big audiences, including a couple of record-setting ones. Prime Video’s telecast of the Chicago Bears’ comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers averaged 31.61m viewers, the largest audience to date for a streaming-exclusive NFL game. The previous record — which stood for all of 16 days — was 27.52m for Netflix’s Christmas telecast of a game between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. The Bears-Packers game was (obviously) also an all-time high for the NFL on Prime Video. It was up by 43 percent from the 22.07m viewers for the Amazon-owned streamer’s wild card game last year. The ratings. |
Broadway: 'Cursed Child' Tops Grosses As Holiday Buzz Wears Off ►Slump. Broadway grosses fell back down to the earth last week as the holiday buzz wore off. Overall, the industry was down 34 percent from the lucrative highs of the prior week, with attendance dropping close to 13 percent and the average ticket price dropping $40. Two productions, Waiting For Godot and Beetlejuice, had played their final performances Jan. 4 and Jan. 3, which meant the industry was also down to 31 productions last week, compared to 33 the week prior. Bug, starring Carrie Coon, opened Jan. 8 to largely positive reviews, but saw a close to $130,000 drop in grosses due to the comped opening night, as well as the cancellation of two shows leading up to opening. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , starring Tom Felton from the films, retained its spot as the top-grossing show in the industry, bringing in $2.6m and playing to close to 100 percent capacity at the Lyric Theatre. The Broadway box office report.
—🎭 Double debut. 🎭 Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson will make their Broadway debuts this spring in the play The Fear of 13. Written by Oliver-Award winner Lindsay Ferrentino, the play tells the true story of Nick Yarris, who spends more than two decades on death row for a murder he claims he did not commit. He recounts his life story and how he got there to a prison volunteer. Brody reprises the role of Yarris after starring in the play’s debut in London in the fall of 2024. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal. The play is scheduled to run at the James Earl Jones Theatre for 16 weeks starting March 19, with an April 15 opening. The story. |
Film Review: '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' ►"Whiplash-inducing but never dull." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Nia DaCosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Alfie Williams returns as the self-exiled Spike, last seen leaving behind the relative safety of his childhood community and remaining family to find his own path to manhood. Also starring Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Erin Kellyman and Chi Lewis-Parry. Written by Alex Garland. The review.
—"No dragons, no problem." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), meet and prepare for a tournament in TV's latest George R.R. Martin adaptation. Also starring Bertie Carvel, Danny Webb, Sam Spruell, Shaun Thomas, Finn Bennett, Edward Ashley, Tanzyn Crawford, Henry Ashton, Youssef Kerkour, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Daniel Monks. Created by Ira Parker and George R.R. Martin. The review.
In other news...
—Black Panther teams with the Fantastic Four in latest Avengers: Doomsday teaser
—Ciarán Hinds to receive Irish Academy lifetime achievement honor
—Jon M. Chu to receive Art Directors Guild honor
—Santa Barbara: Kate Hudson tapped for Arlington Artist of the Year Award
—Film Academy elevates Amy Homma to oversee collection in addition to museum
—Barbara Lawrence, longtime manager in Hollywood, dies at 82
—Thomas Causey, sound mixer on Dick Tracy, Broadcast News, dies at 76
What else we're reading...
—With some recent high profile criticisms from the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Mikey Madison, Olivia Petter looks at why intimacy coordinator might be most misunderstood job in film-making [Guardian]
—Michael M. Grynbaum and Benjamin Mullin have an eye-opening report on Bari Weiss' spluttering attempts at revamping CBS News [NYT]
—Ben Smith goes inside the Trump administration's scramble to keep a divided America’s 250th birthday on track [Semafor]
—Dexter Filkins profiles "Little" Marco Rubio who has morphed from a Trump foe to one of the president's most loyal and dangerous servants [New Yorker]
—Jessie Yeung writes that "Are You Dead?" has become the most talked about app in China. The app aimed at lonely people, allows them to check in each day with users to confirm they haven't died [CNN]
Today...
...in 2011, Universal released Ron Howard's The Dilemma in theaters. The dramedy starring Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah was panned by critics and flopped at the box office. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Jason Bateman (57), Steven Soderbergh (63), Faye Dunaway (85), LL Cool J (58), Lawrence Kasdan (77), Dave Grohl (57), Emily Watson (59), Kevin Durand (52), Holland Taylor (83), Kerri Green (59), Mark Addy (62), Grant Gustin (36), Blake Ritson (48), Adjoa Andoh (63), Kathleen Chalfant (81), Zach Gilford (44), Trieste Kelly Dunn (45), Jemma Redgrave (61), Jeanine Mason (35), Emma Greenwell (37), Jordan Ladd (51), Aomi Muyock (37), Tom Rosenthal (38), Emayatzy Corinealdi (46), Juan Pablo Raba (49), Michael Bunin (56), Ward Horton (50), Christina Brucato (45) |
| Scott Adams, who kept cubicle denizens laughing for more than three decades with Dilbert, the bitingly funny comic strip that poked fun at the absurdity of corporate life, before racist remarks got him pink-slipped, died Tuesday. He was 68. The obituary. |
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