“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to be entrusted to run Grey’s Anatomy for the past six years and Station 19 for the last four,” Krista Vernoff said in a statement to Deadline. After working on the first seven seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, rising to head writer and EP, Vernoff returned to the medical drama as executive producer and showrunner at the start of Season 14 in 2017 and has led the show’s recent resurgence. Since adding Station 19 to her purview in 2019, she has strengthened the two series’ ties, building an integrated universe highlighted by frequent crossovers. The news is seismic. |
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QUOTABLE
“Sometimes you do things without thinking, then you are called out for it. Then you get it. It's why the Razzies were created in the first place" - John Wilson, head of the group behind the Golden Raspberries, apologizes for the Worst Actress nomination of 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Say ‘A Little Prayer’ For SPC - Sony Pictures Classics has landed worldwide rights to A Little Prayer, which premiered Tuesday in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category at the Sundance Film Festival. David Strathairn, Jane Levy, Will Pullen and Celia Watson star in the film written and directed by Angus MacLachlan, who scripted the 2005 SPC release Junebug. >>> Sundance-ing Days
Thespian Spouses ‘Presumed Innocent’ - Real-life married couple Bill Camp and Elizabeth Marvel will portray Raymond Horgan and Lorraine Horgan in Presumed Innocent, Apple TV+’s limited series from David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV. Inspired by Scott Turow’s courtroom thriller, the project is the story of a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorneys’ office when one of its own is suspected of the crime. >>> Greg Yaitanes Presiding
Having A Wales Of A Time - Wales is looking to lure the next Doctor Who or Sex Education as $2M film and TV studio Aria opens in the north of the country. The facility, located near the popular Welsh region of Eryri, has been established by indie production company Rondo Media and Welsh broadcaster S4C’s commercial arm S4C Digital Media Limited, with the support of the Welsh Government through Creative Wales. >>> Open Doors
EFM - The Berlinale European Film Market is nearly upon us and its vast atriums and halls are set to be packed with hundreds and thousands of professionals once again this year from February 16 to 22. Director Dennis Ruh told us he is optimistic that U.S. and Asian professionals will be out in force. >>>Ruh-d More
Reinventing Annapurna - Annapurna has hired Picturestart’s former EVP, Shayne Fiske Goldner as EVP of Physical Production. She replaces David Wolkis, who is leaving the studio as its Head of Physical Production for TV and film. Meanwhile, Skye Optican has also been promoted to Creative Director of International Development and Production. >>> Exec Shuffle
Here’s To You, Mr. Robinson - Chief Operations Officer Tim Robinson is exiting Fifth Season, which produces Apple TV+’s Emmy-nominated Severance. He joined the company formerly known as Endeavor Content in 2018 and was well respected and much liked. The departure is understood to be amicable and Robinson is believed to be exploring new opportunities. >>> Fifth Season Finale
New Line Gets Its ‘Undo’ - New Line has acquired Undo and set Secret Headquarters filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman to direct from Will Simmons’ 2022 Black List screenplay. The in-development action thriller follows a former getaway driver who comes into possession of a watch that allows its user to go back in time, but only by one minute. Beau Flynn is producing through his FlynnPictureCo banner. >>> Getaway Vehicle |
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BY THE NUMBERS
30 - The number of "potential transaction parties" to which Regal parent Cineworld has reached out as it pursues a sale of its assets, a number that includes competitors. The company is in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings. |
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The respected producer and star of the Sundance-debuting pic - described as a "love letter to mothers and daughters everywhere" - speak to Deadline about their being compelled to get involved with the story. >>>The Interview. |
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Pickups, Renewals & Cancellations |
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More News
🦚 Peacock closed 2022 with more than 20M paid subscribers, according to Comcast earnings that dropped this morning, which showed total revenue topped $30.55 billion - just above analyst estimates. 👑 The Aubrey Plaza-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live drew a season-high rating in the advertiser-friendly 18-49 demographic and 4.8 million total viewers. 🖊️ The Writers Guild revealed the film nominations for its 2023 WGA Awards, with six of the 10 films nominated for Screenplay Oscars making the cut. 💵 Regal parent Cineworld has opted to pursue a sale of assets and the process “is well under way” with non-binding bids due February 16. The company said in a bankruptcy filing that it has reached out to 30 “potential transaction parties” including many competitors. 🐶 Animal Planet’s annual Puppy Bowl will be simulcast next month on fellow Warner Bros. Discovery network TBS and will stream on HBO Max and Discovery+.
🚪 Following Banijay's $30M acquisition of Beyond Rights, CEO David Smyth is leaving the UK distributor. |
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Casting About
 Newcomer Anders Keith will play the son of Niles and Daphne in Paramount+’s sequel series Frasier. Jess Salgueiro also has been cast as a lead opposite Kelsey Grammer and Jack Cutmore-Scott. Exclusive
Chase Stokes and Sydney Taylor are set to topline the YA romance pic Marked Men from The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes. Exclusive
The Paramount-Nickelodeon sequel PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie has padded its voice cast with Kristen Bell, Christian Convery, McKenna Grace, Lil Rel Howery, James Marsden, Finn Lee-Epp and tennis legend Serena Williams. Exclusive
Scottie Thompson and Connor Paolo have been tapped to star alongside Jilon VanOver and Vivian Kerr in the period psychological thriller Séance, which Kerr is directing from her own script. Paddy Considine and Mena Massoud are signed on to star in the boxing drama Giant, written and directed by Rowan Athale. Sylvester Stallone is an executive producer of the film. |
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Trending  Former President and The Apprentice host Donald Trump has been reinstated on Facebook and Instagram after being banned from the social media platforms for two years for praising those who took part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
🔻 Hulu has followed Adult Swim’s lead and severed ties with Justin Roiland, the producer/voice actor on its toon series Solar Opposites who is accused of domestic violence. He also voiced a character on Koala Man. Both of his roles will be recast. |
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Obituaries
🕯 Lance Kerwin, the former child actor who shot to fame in the late 1970s as the star of the sometimes-controversial NBC teen drama series James at 15, died Tuesday of undetermined causes in San Clemente, CA. He was 62. A busy child actor throughout the ’70s, Kerwin also starred in the 1979 TV miniseries Salem’s Lot, based on the novel by Stephen King. His breakthrough role came in 1977 with James. The coming-of-age drama was an attempt by creator-writer Dan Wakefield to present a more realistic depiction of teenagers than was common at the time. 🕯 Sal Piro, who played a pivotal role in creating the audience participation routines that turned The Rocky Horror Picture Show into a worldwide phenomenon, died January 21 at his New York City home. He was 71. Piro founded The Rocky Horror Picture Show Fan Club in 1977 and served as its president until his death. The film initially flopped but soon became a staple of the midnight-movie screenings, where young fans, including Piro, shouted humorous responses to the dialogue. Piro later helped shape a floor show of audience members playing out the movie beneath the screen. |
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On the Radar Thu – Poker Face series premiere; Netflix & Comcast earnings; Gossip Girl series finale Fri – Shrinking series premiere; Sundance Film Festival awards Sun – NFL’s conference championship games |
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Ribbit-Ribbit - Apple TV+ announced a Frog and Toad animated series based on the four-book Caldecott- and Newbery Award-winning series by Arnold Lobel. Set to premiere April 28 on the streamer, it follows the best pals who know that the true secret to friendship is not only enjoying the things you have in common but embracing the things that make you different. Nat Faxon and Kevin Michael Richardson star in the lead voice roles, and the cast also includes Ron Funches, Fortune Feimster, Cole Escola, Aparna Nancherla, John Hodgman, Yvette Nicole Brown, Stephen Tobolowsky, Tom Kenny, Selene Luna, Margaret Cho and Betsy Sodaro. |
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