| | | | | | What's news: Tom Llamas is the new anchor of NBC Nightly News. YouTube Premium now has 125m subscribers. Netflix has renewed Running Point and will live stream the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano fight. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein will pen Lionsgate's Monopoly movie. — Abid Rahman
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THR's Top 25 Power Stylists 2025 ►They don’t wake up looking that way! THR’s annual list of the 25 best stylists in Hollywood hits a milestone in 2025, with its 15th edition. The sartorial wizards who garbed this year’s chicest stars — including Sebastian Stan, Anna Sawai, Zoe Saldaña, Glen Powell, Charli XCX, Cynthia Erivo and Troye Sivan — emerge from behind the changing-room curtains and let us peek inside their bag of tricks. The list. |
DEI Is Disappearing In Hollywood. Was It Ever Really Here? ►"You have to be aware that this is a vindictive administration." As Trump cracks down on diversity and inclusion policies, Hollywood studios are at a crossroads, with some observers questioning how effective the benchmarks were to begin with. The story.
—"Our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center." Hamilton will no longer play the Kennedy Center next season in light of Donald Trump’s takeover of the institution. The hit musical was set to perform at the Kennedy Center in March 2026, at what would have been the show’s third engagement at the theater. However, lead producer Jeffrey Seller cited the firings of the Kennedy Center president and of the chairman of the board, as well as the cancellation of programming at the center, as reasons not to move forward. The story.
—Tough times. Sesame Workshop is cutting staff, as the fate of its flagship TV program Sesame Street remains in limbo. The nonprofit is still looking for a new TV or streaming home for Sesame Street, after Warner Bros. Discovery opted not to renew its output deal for new episodes last year. Without a distribution deal in place, the finances of the company are likely to be challenged, especially with production on the upcoming season 56 still set to begin next month. Season 56 of the show will be the first one post-HBO, and while it does not yet have a home, Sesame has previously said that it will feature an entirely new format, meant to appeal to the tastes of families today. The story. |
YouTube Launches Less Expensive Premium Tier ►Monster business. YouTube is launching a less expensive tier of its “Premium” subscription service in the U.S., as the Google-owned video platform says that it now has more than 125m subscribers to its YouTube Premium and YouTube Music services. The new tier is called Premium Lite and will cost $7.99 per month (compared to $13.99 per month for Premium). It will allow subscribers to watch “most videos” on YouTube ad-free, with a particular emphasis on genres like gaming, fashion, news and beauty creators. Music content and Shorts will be where users see the most ads. The story.
—🤝 Bag secured 🤝 Create Music Group acquired the catalogs of electronic music producer deadmau5 and record label mau5trap in a deal valued at more than $55m. The deal includes the sound recordings and copyrights of more than 4,000 songs and will see the formation of a joint venture to release future recordings by deadmau5 and from mau5trap. Create Music Group will also re-master and re-release certain catalog pieces, explore licensing opportunities, brand partnerships and work with emerging media such as gaming, VR and live streaming. The story.
—Show goes on. Glam metal band Faster Pussycat will still play its gig later this week aboard an ’80s nostalgia cruise after lead singer Taime Downe’s fiancée went overboard three days ago and is now presumed dead. According to a source close to the band, Downe will sit out the show, and Faster Pussycat will play cover songs instead of their usual set list. Kimberly Burch, 56, fell off the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer of the Seas on March 2 following an argument with Downe, 60. It’s unclear whether she accidentally fell or jumped, but Burch’s mother told TMZ that she believes her daughter would not have intentionally hurt herself. The story.
—Silly Billy! Fyre Festival 2 is already starting off on a rough note… again. Days after tickets went on sale for the festival, which is allegedly taking place on Isla Mujeres, an island off the coast of Mexico, the local tourism board claimed they “have no knowledge of this event.” Edgar Gasca, with the tourism directorate of Isla Mujeres, told The Guardian last week they have had no “contact with any person or company about” the festival, adding, “For us, this is an event that does not exist.” Permits have also reportedly not been requested for the event. The story. |
Inside MSNBC's 'The Weekend' Reboot ►"My hope for the entire show is that it’s a space for newsmakers, regular people, powerful people." MSNBC is in the process of shaking up a big portion of its lineup. As part of sweeping changes from president Rebecca Kutler, shows in dayside and primetime will be impacted, with notable names moving to new time periods. MSNBC this week revealed that current weekend host and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart, and newly-minted MSNBC correspondents Eugene Daniels and Jackie Alemany will co-host The Weekend, beginning in late April. Ayman Mohyeldin will also co-host a new evening version as well. THR's Alex Weprin spoke to Capehart, Daniels and Alemany about their plans for the new iteration of The Weekend. The interview.
—This just in. NBC News has found the next anchor of its flagship evening newscast, NBC Nightly News. The network says that Tom Llamas will step into the role later this summer. Llamas succeeds Lester Holt, who announced his plan to step down from the show last month. Holt is moving to a full-time role at the primetime newsmagazine Dateline. NBC News executive VP Janelle Rodriguez announced Llamas promotion to staff Wednesday. Notably, in addition to anchoring the evening newscast, Llamas will also continue host his NBC News Now streaming show Top Story. The story.
—Mixing it up. CBS News is looking to carve out a piece of the burgeoning video podcast market, launching a video extension of its podcast 48 Hours: Post Mortem. Hosted by Anne-Marie Green, Post Mortem functions as a complement to the crime-focused newsmagazine. Amazon listed it as one of the top podcasts of 2024, and it also cracked Podtrac’s top 10 list. Now the audio podcast will also have a video option, which will be available on YouTube and on the upcoming 48 Hours FAST channel. The story. |
Netflix Cancels 'The Recruit' After 2 Seasons ►Sent home. The Recruit, the Noah Centineo-led spy drama, won’t be returning to Netflix for a third season. The show was among Netflix’s top 10 TV titles following its season two debut. While the reason for the cancellation wasn’t immediately clear, renewals are typically based on a combination of factors, including creative vision, how well the show satisfies the intended audience and economics. The Recruit followed Owen Hendricks (Centineo), a CIA lawyer, who becomes involved in massive international conflicts with dangerous parties after an asset tries to expose their relationship to the agency. The story.
—Running it back. Netflix has renewed its basketball comedy series Running Point for a second season. The pickup comes just a week after the show’s Feb. 27 premiere, but on the heels of a solid showing for its opening. Running Point’s first four days of release accrued 9.3m views worldwide, according to Netflix’s internal data, ranking third on the streamer’s top 10 English-language series charts for last week. Running Point stars Hudson as Isla Gordon, who’s appointed president of a pro basketball team after a scandal forces her brother to resign. The series is inspired by the life of L.A. Lakers president and controlling owner Jeanie Buss. The story.
—First up from Courtney. Netflix has greenlit a crime drama from someone who knows the genre well: Power creator Courtney A. Kemp. The streamer has picked up a series from creators Kemp and Tani Marole titled Nemesis, which will tell the story of "two men on either side of the law, the tale of what happens when an unstoppable force (an expert criminal) meets an immovable object (a brilliant police detective)." Matthew Law and Y’Ian Noel will head the cast, which also includes Cleopatra Coleman, Tre Hale, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jonnie Park and Ariana Guerra. The series, which will film in Los Angeles, is the first product of Kemp’s overall deal with Netflix, where she moved after six years at Power franchise producer Lionsgate TV. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Netflix is sharing a first look at its upcoming series based on Judy Blume's 1975 novel, Forever. The series will follow the love story of two Black teens Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.), young athletes who become each other’s first love, which ultimately impacts them for the rest of their lives. Forever will be set in 2018 Los Angeles and launches on May 8. Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was previously adapted for a 2023 feature film. The story.
—Punching back. Netflix is back in business with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, setting its second ever live boxing special for July 11 at Madison Square Garden. The event will be headlined by a rematch of Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, who were featured in last year’s Netflix boxing debut, when their fight lead in to Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson. This time, Taylor vs. Serrano 3 will be the main event, and the entire card will be headlined by women boxers, in a first for MSG. The story. |
A+E Reveals Expansive Slate ►The truth is out there, for realsies. Actor, filmmaker and podcaster David Duchovny is now moving into documentary series — hosting and producing new History Channel series Secrets Declassified. The 10-part project, one of a dizzying number of programming announcements at Wednesday’s A+E Global Media upfront, isn’t specifically described as a real-life X-Files, but the show promises to reveal the latest evidence behind “the government’s most secretive, strange and mind-blowing activities that have been declassified throughout history.” Other news from the event include a Judd family documentary at Lifetime and, and new longer episodes of Storage Wars . Also, Tyler Perry Studios is teaming up with Steve Michaels’ Pantheon Media Group to develop a slate of unscripted projects spanning multiple genres and platforms across Lifetime and sister network A&E. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sunday, Sept. 14, on CBS, while also streaming on Paramount+. The Television Academy said the telecast will air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles for over three hours starting at 8 p.m. ET. This marks the Emmys returning to its regular September scheduling for the second year. The 2023 ceremony was pushed back due to the dual strikes by Hollywood writers and actors. That show aired in January 2024. The story.
—📅 Never in doubt 📅 Paramount+ has set a premiere date for the next season of Criminal Minds: Evolution — and assured that the show will continue beyond that. The streamer has renewed the show for another season, which will be the fourth since Evolution was added to its title upon its revival at Paramount+ and the 19th for the series as a whole, including its long run on CBS. (Paramount+ is referring to the renewal as season 19.) The third/18th season of the show is set to premiere May 8, with episodes rolling out weekly. The story.
—🎭 Where's Wallace? 🎭 Eamonn Walker is returning to his Chicago Fire post. First Deputy Commissioner Wallace Boden is back for one night only in the upcoming season 13 episode titled “Post-Mortem,” airing April 16 at 9 p.m. on NBC. Walker starred on the Dick Wolf procedural from seasons one through 12, exiting the series last season when his character accepted a promotion to Chicago Fire Department’s Deputy Commissioner. The story.
—🎭 Louis, Louis! 🎭 Rick Hoffman, who played Louis Litt in the original Suits series, is set to reprise his role for one episode of the NBC spinoff Suits LA. He could also appear in more episodes if Suits LA is renewed for a second season. Hoffman isn’t the first original castmember to return for the spinoff as it was previously announced that Gabriel Macht‘s Harvey Specter would also be making an appearance. Suits LA follows Ted Black (Stephen Amell), a former federal prosecutor from New York who has reinvented himself by representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles. The spinoff, which has currently aired two episodes, also stars Lex Scott Davis, Josh McDermitt and Bryan Greenberg. The story.
—🤝 Foxx in Fox 🤝 Fox Entertainment Studios, Fox’s studio and production arm, has signed a first-look deal with Jamie Foxx and his Foxxhole Productions. Under the multi-year deal, Foxx will develop and executive produce both scripted an unscripted series projects; Fox Entertainment Studios will get the first look at any scripted series and will have exclusive rights to Foxx’s projects and producing services on unscripted shows. Foxx and the network already have a relationship: He hosts (alongside is daughter Corinne) and executive produces Fox’s music game show Beat Shazam and is an executive producer of the drama Alert: Missing Persons Unit, which begins its third season on March 25. The story. |
John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein to Write Monopoly Movie ►Shut up and take my money! John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, filmmakers behind the excellent Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, have closed a deal to write a movie based on the board game Monopoly. Lionsgate is behind the project that is being produced by Barbie outfit LuckyChap and Hasbro Entertainment. Lionsgate has long tried to figure out a movie based on Monopoly, with another version of the project having Kevin Hart attached to star and Tim Story on board to direct. The studio extended its rights to Monopoly when it completed its purchase of Hasbro’s film and TV arm eOne. The story.
—🎭 More humans! 🎭 Matthew Modine is the latest actor to join the Monsterverse. The actor, who had a resurgence thanks to his work on Netflix’s Stranger Things, has closed a deal to join the cast of Legendary’s latest installment of its Godzilla-King Kong movie franchise. Grant Sputore is directing the untitled creature feature, which one again showcases gigantic monsters and the tiny humans caught in between. The call sheet already includes new-to-the-franchise actors Kaitlyn Dever, Jack O’Connell and Delroy Lindo. Dan Stevens is reprising his role of laid-back monster veterinarian and dentist Trapper, whom he played in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The story. |
TV Review: 'Adolescence' ►"Impressive and intriguing." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's Adolescence. Philip Barantini directs the four-part series about a teenage boy accused of murder, with each episode playing out in a single, continuous take. Starring Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty and Owen Cooper. The review.
—"The early 2000s called, they want their movie back." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Paul W. S. Anderson's In the Lost Lands. A witch (Milla Jovovich) and a gunslinger (Dave Bautista) team up in this violent fantasy film based on the short story by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. The review.
—"Touching story transcends formulaic telling." Frank reviews Bil Guttentag's Rule Breakers. Distributed by Angel Studios, the true-life film tells the story of an all-girls Afghan robotics team. The review.
In other news...
—Jaws exhibit to take a bite out of Academy Museum
—Lily Collins’ fashionable new role for Calvin Klein
—Adidas sells its final Kanye West Yeezy sneaker
—Mercury Records taps Tyler Arnold as chairman and CEO, Ben Adelson as president and COO
—Netflix alums strike out to form firm focused on film, TV business affairs
—L.A. home of late producer Lynda Obst hits market
—Felicia Minei Behr, All My Children, Ryan’s Hope and As the World Turns producer, dies at 82
What else we're reading...
—Wild Robert Faturechi story about the ethical concerns that surround Sen. Joni Ernst’s relationships with top military officials who lobbied her committee [ProPublica]
—Rana Foroohar writes that Tesla's plummeting image is a problem for America Inc. too [FT]
—Jason Leopold, Allyson Versprille, and Kelcee Griffis report on how Elon Musk muscled his way into the FAA [Bloomberg]
—With Netflix set to debut a lavish series adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's classic novel The Leopard, Miriam Balanescu looks at how the book is still relevant today [BBC]
—Matt Stevens talks to Saagar Shaikh and Asif Ali about their new Hulu comedy Deli Boys that centers on South Asians, drugs, violence and the minimart [NYT]
Today...
...in 2015, Fox Searchlight Pictures released The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in theaters. John Madden's sequel to his 2011 film starred Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, David Strathairn, and Richard Gere and was another hit at the box office. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Edward Berger (55), Rob Reiner (78), Connie Britton (58), Martin Kove (79), Anna Maria Horsford (77), Millicent Simmonds (22), Tom Arnold (66), Shaquille O'Neal (53), Tyler the Creator (34), Stephen Schwartz (77), Milo Manheim (24), Amy Pietz (56), Jacob Bertrand (25), Moira Kelly (57), Eric Graise (35), Odessa Young (27), Shaun Evans (45), Ellen Muth (44), Alisha Boe (28), Eddie Deezen (68), Andrea Elson (56), Yael Stone (40), Rosie Day (30), Alan Davies (59), Amy Okuda (36), Paloma Bloyd (37), Edwina Wren (44), Paris Jefferson (55), Joel Palmer (39), Elise Eberle (32), Dylan Schmid (26), Joanna Miles (85), James Saito (70) |
| Roy Ayers, the jazz-funk vibraphonist best known for the album Everybody Loves the Sunshine, which has been sampled countless times since it was released, has died. He was 84. The obituary. |
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