| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover stars are Wednesday lead Jenna Ortega and director Tim Burton. Starz has ordered a fourth Power spinoff. Naomi Ackie is in talks to star in DC's Clayface. NBC has renewed The Voice and ordered comedy Stumble. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
Netflix Renews 'Wednesday' for S3, Eyes Spinoff ►On the cover. In their first joint interview, Wednesday director and EP Tim Burton and star Jenna Ortega spoke to THR's James Hibberd about the upcoming second season of Netflix's monster hit show. In a newsy discussion, James also has the scoop that Netflix is renewing Wednesday for a third season and is eyeing spinoffs. Burton and Ortega also discuss the prospects of Beetlejuice 3. The cover story. |
Ozzy Osbourne 1948 - 2025 ►Icon. Ozzy Osbourne, the pioneering heavy metal singer who rose to prominence in the early ‘70s with Black Sabbath before establishing a successful solo career and playing himself on reality TV, died Tuesday. He was 76. His death comes just 17 days after he played his final show at his beloved Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5, reuniting with Black Sabbath and joined by a star-studded roster including Metallica, Guns n’ Roses and Steven Tyler, among others. Osbourne is known as one of the most influential artists of his generation, an instrumental force in establishing metal music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006, then for a second time as a solo artist last year. He has sold more than 100m records worldwide in total and was inducted into the U.K. Music Hall of Fame as both a solo artist and for his work in the band. The obituary.
—"There won’t ever be another like him." Black Sabbath co-founders Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward have posted tributes to their bandmate Ozzy Osbourne Tuesday, hours after the Prince of Darkness died. "I just can’t believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park," Iommi wrote on X on Tuesday. "It’s just such heartbreaking news that I can’t really find the words, there won’t ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother. My thoughts go out to Sharon and all the Osbourne family. Rest in peace Oz." The story.
—"He opened musical doorways for people like me." Speaking to THR on Tuesday, Billy Idol offered his own personal memories of Ozzy. Idol discusses Ozzy's musical legacy and impact on punk rock, and the path he carved for the musicians who came after him. The story.
—"The whole world is mourning Ozzy tonight." Some of the biggest names in the music and entertainment industry paid tribute to Ozzy throughout Tuesday. Elton John, Alice Cooper, Jack White, Tom Morello, Jason Momoa, Zane Lowe, the members of Duran Duran and Judas Priest and more big names took to social media to remember the legendary Brummie rocker. The reaction.
—"The template for reality TV celebrity reinvention." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg offers his take on Ozzy's legacy as a TV star. Transformed by The Osbournes from bird-biting Prince of Darkness into one of TV's quintessential bumbling dads, Daniel writes that Ozzy helped usher in a wave of image makeovers with unexpectedly lasting ripples. The critic's notebook. |
Mickey vs. Shrek: Inside the Multibillion-Dollar Theme Park War ►"There has never been a better time to be in this business." The theme park business is booming. Market leader Disney reports that its experiences and consumer products division delivered $34.2b in revenues in fiscal 2024, with segment operating income of $9.3b. NBCUniversal’s theme parks business delivered revenue of $8.6b in 2024, with EBITDA of $2.9b. THR's Alex Weprin writes that from Orlando to Abu Dhabi, Disney and Comcast are pouring tens of billions of dollars — and their best IP — in a bid to own the future of experiential entertainment. The analysis.
—Expanding. K-content powerhouse CJ ENM has established a wholly owned subsidiary in Riyadh, becoming the first Korean entertainment company to set up operations in Saudi Arabia. The new entity, CJ ENM Middle East, marks a significant milestone in what the company has declared its “first official year of global expansion,” coinciding with the group’s 30th anniversary in 2025. Positioning the MENA region as a strategic growth engine, CJ ENM says the subsidiary will facilitate collaborations across music, television, film, and live entertainment — including both scripted and unscripted formats. Plans include localized audition programs built around the company’s established creative ecosystem, talent development projects with regional studios, and large-scale K-pop concerts using both CJ ENM’s and third-party IP. The story.
—Contracting. Paramount Global's Africa offices may close, local channels may be shuttered, and staffers’ roles could be impacted, company executives told employees in the region on Tuesday, sources familiar with the situation tell THR's Georg Szalai. The company has been prioritizing investments in its growing streaming business and core global content as it navigates shifts in audience behavior and the macroeconomic environment. As part of that, it is reviewing its international pay TV strategy and considering adjustments to its linear channel portfolio in international markets, with a focus on cable brands. The story. |
Trump's End Game With the WSJ Defamation Lawsuit ►"This is a classic plaintiff’s maneuver of trying to assert that the defendant said something that they did not." At the top of a long list of questions surrounding Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal: Does he expect to win the legal battle, or did he initiate it solely as a political stunt? And what does winning exactly mean to him? THR's Winston Cho writes that there's a case to be made that the president wants the lawsuit to get dismissed, or at least doesn’t plan to take it all the way to the finish line before a jury. The analysis.
—Dear Lord. Donald Trump has said that he anticipates receiving at least $20m in advertising, public service announcements or similar programming from incoming Paramount Global owner Skydance as part of a settlement to resolve a lawsuit that 60 Minutes conducted with Kamala Harris. In a Tuesday Truth Social post, Trump confirmed chatter of a side deal with the incoming Skydance regime that more than doubles the $16m agreement that Paramount initially attached to the resolution of the case. Paramount has denied any knowledge of an agreement between Trump and the incoming Skydance regime. The story.
—Shameless. House Republicans have made passage of the fiscal 2026 Interior-Environment spending bill contingent, at least for now, on renaming the opera house at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after Melania Trump. The procedural markup of the spending bill voted on by House appropriators on Tuesday contained a short amendment from Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson: “Makes technical changes, designates the First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.” The amendment was adopted by a vote of 33 to 25, though the proposed legislation with the renaming amendment has yet to receive a vote by the full Congress, nor is such polling assured. The story.
—Damaging claims. David Geffen's divorce drama has made its way into the public eye after his estranged husband, Donovan Michaels, sued the entertainment mogul for breach of contract. The suit accuses Geffen, 82, of exploiting a “vulnerable, marginalized young gay Black man” as a “wealthy, powerful white gay billionaire who believed himself untouchable.” THR reported in May that Geffen filed for divorce from Michaels, 32, after less than two years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. The mogul tied the knot with Michaels, a former go-go dancer whose real name is David Armstrong, in 2023 in a private Beverly Hills ceremony. While the pair kept their relationship private, details surrounding their relationship have now been revealed in Michaels’ suit. The story.
—Settlement. Shia LaBeouf has settled a lawsuit from FKA twigs, who accused him of “relentless abuse” and knowingly giving her a sexually transmitted disease. A lawyer for FKA twigs, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, on Monday notified the court of a deal. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. A trial was scheduled to start in September. The singer-songwriter filed a lawsuit in 2020 bringing claims of sexual battery, assault, emotional distress and negligence. She alleged that the actor has a long history of abusing women. The story. |
Jessica Chastain's Apple Series 'The Savant' Gets Date ►📅 Finally! 📅 The long-gestating thriller The Savant, starring Jessica Chastain, will make its way onto Apple TV+ in the fall. The limited series, inspired by a 2019 Cosmopolitan story, is set to premiere Sept. 26. Apple TV+ also offered up a first look at Chastain in character as an undercover investigator who “infiltrates online hate groups in an effort to stop domestic extremists before they act,” per the show’s logline. The Savant has been in the works for some time. Apple TV+ ordered the series from Fifth Season more than two years ago, in March 2023. The story.
—Making the cut. NBC has given a series order to Stumble, a show centered on the coach (Jenn Lyon) of a community college cheerleading team. The series comes from creators (and siblings) Jeff and Liz Astrof and Universal Television. Stumble joins fellow first-year comedy The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, starring Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe, on NBC’s slate for 2025-26. The network’s schedule for fall currently has two open spots for half-hours on Mondays and Fridays, and it seems likely (though NBC hasn’t formally said so yet) that the two newcomers will fill those slots. Second-year shows St. Denis Medical (Monday) and Happy’s Place (Friday) are slated to be the other halves of hourlong comedy blocks on those nights. The story.
—It's official. NBC has formally announced a 29th season of The Voice, as well as the three coaches occupying the red chairs: Adam Levine, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson. The music competition’s spring 2026 edition will also feature a somewhat different format, organized under the theme “Battle of Champions.” Levine, Legend and Clarkson make up the only panel in The Voice’s history composed entirely of past winning coaches, the network says. S29 is set to premiere in February 2026. Clarkson will film The Voice, which is based in Los Angeles, and her New York-based daytime talk show concurrently, thanks to coordination between the two shows’ production teams. The story. |
'Power' Prequel Focused on Ghost and Tommy Greenlit at Starz ►The saga continues. Starz has greenlit production on the fourth Power spinoff — so, the fifth Power series in all — Power: Origins. The new series, which has an 18-episode season one order, will tell the origin stories of the fan-favorite characters Ghost and Tommy. MeKai Curtis of Power Book III: Raising Kanan will reprise his role as the young Kanan Stark. In relation to franchise timeline, Origins serves as the direct sequel series to Raising Kanan. Omari Hardwick played Ghost on Power and Joseph Sikora played Tommy. Those guys won’t fit the age required for the prequel and casting for the newbies has yet to happen. Sascha Penn, who is creator/showrunner of Raising Kanan, will showrun Origins. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Disney+ has unveiled a Sept. 10 global premiere date for its tentpole K-drama series Tempest, a nine-part international espionage thriller headlined by Korean A-listers Gianna Jun (Jun Ji-hyun) and Gang Dongwon, alongside U.S. actors John Cho and Michael Gaston. The series will debut with a three-episode launch on Disney+ internationally and Hulu in the U.S., followed by weekly drops culminating in a two-part finale on Oct. 1. Directed by Queen of Tears showrunner Kim Heewon and penned by regular Park Chan-wook collaborator Chung Seokyung, Tempest unfolds in the shadow of an attempted assassination on a South Korean presidential candidate. The story.
—You beauty! Aussie rules football is set to get the Drive to Survive treatment. Amazon Prime Video has ordered a docuseries that will go behind the scenes of the Australian Football League from the U.K. sports documentary specialists at Box to Box, the production company behind Netflix’s cycling docuseries Tour de France: Unchained, golf docuseries Full Swing, tennis docuseries Break Point and the worldwide phenomenon that is Formula 1: Drive to Survive. The untitled docuseries will cover the goings-on during the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership season, and filming will begin this week, and will launch on Prime Video worldwide sometime in 2026. The story. |
Venice Chief on the Powerhouse 2025 Lineup ►"We are lucky in that we’re maybe in a better position, coming at the beginning of the new season." After losing Oscar ground to Cannes, Venice roars back with a star-packed, politically-charged selection led by Netflix, Julia Roberts and Dwayne Johnson. THR's Scott Roxborough spoke to Venice chief Alberto Barbera about the stellar 2025 lineup. The interview.
—🎭 Circling. 🎭 Mickey 17 star Naomi Ackie could be joining the DCU in Clayface. Ackie is in early talks to join the up-and-coming Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries, who is playing the titular supervillain in the movie from Speak No Evil director James Watkins. Reading sessions took place in England last week, with Ackie emerging as the choice. Formal negotiations are due to begin this week, according to several sources. Mike Flanagan wrote the script for Clayface , a body-horror thriller centered on a Batman villain known for his ability to alter his appearance. The film will have a budget in the mid-$40m range, and centers on an ascending actor whose face is disfigured by a gangster. As a last resort, the actor turns to a fringe Elizabeth Holmes-style scientist for help. At first, the experiment is a successful, but then things go pear-shaped. The story.
—🎭 "This film is my love letter to K-pop." 🎭 Paramount and Hybe America’s untitled K-pop film has found its stars and landed a release date. KPop Demon Hunters' Ji-young Yoo and The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender's Eric Nam are set to star in the Benson Lee-directed film. Eileen Shim wrote the script’s latest draft. In North America, the movie will open in theaters Feb. 12, 2027. Lee’s untitled film, set in the world of K-pop music survival shows, is expected to be the first major American studio film shot entirely in South Korea. The story.
—In the works. Ken Daurio, the writer behind such animation franchises as Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets, is set to pen the script for a new feature adaptation. Sycamore Studios has tapped Daurio to write its animated movie Zita the Spacegirl, based on Ben Hatke’s best-selling graphic novel series. Production is expected to begin in early 2026 on the project that counts Marvel Studios alum Jeremy Latcham as executive producer. Zita the Spacegirl centers on a girl who finds a strange device that sends her to an alien world, where she must save her friend and possibly the entire galaxy. The story. |
Cristin Milioti Starring in Unique Horror Movie 'Buddy' ►🎭 Next up. 🎭 Hot off her Emmy nomination for her work in HBO’s The Penguin, Cristin Milioti is jumping into her next screen project, an independent horror thriller feature titled Buddy. Casper Kelly, who co-created Adult Swim shows such as Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell and the horror comedy viral sensation Too Many Cooks, is directing the film, which began production this week in Ohio. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the project is being described as a “new experience in horror.” Kelly co-wrote the script with Jamie King, who previously worked on the Disney+ family movie World’s Best. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Warner Bros. is set to start a new chapter with the adaptation of a best-selling book series from Glee alum Chris Colfer. The studio has acquired Colfer’s book series The Land of Stories and has attached filmmaker Phil Johnston to write the script. Emma Watts brought the property to WB, Colfer and Watts serve as producers, while Rob Weisbach will executive produce. Land of Stories centers on twins Alex and Conner Bailey, who are grieving the loss of their father when they are transported into a magic book where classic fairy tales are brought to life. The story.
—Monster. The wildly anticipated anime sequel Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle is already making box-office history in Japan. The anime epic opened with $11.1m from 1.16m admissions on Friday — a new single-day record for Japan. From Friday to Sunday, the film totalled $37.3m, but including Monday — a national holiday in Japan — it soared to $49.4m. Either way, the performance represents a new opening-weekend record in the country. The story. |
Film Review: 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' ►"Clobberin’ time with a welcome light touch." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Matt Shakman's The Fantastic 4: First Steps. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn play Marvel's First Family as the team try to save Earth from “Devourer of Worlds" Galactus. The review. Also starring Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Nyles and Mark Gatiss. The review.
In other news...
—Squid Game stars Byung Hun Lee and Yim Siwan to appear at KCON L.A.
—NY Film Festival sets After the Hunt as opening night movie
—BBC Studios names Amanda Jones chief financial officer
—ADA president Cat Kreidich leaving Warner Music
—Rose Leiman Goldemberg, The Burning Bed writer, dies at 97
What else we're reading...
—Joel Anderson remembers Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and writes that the actor's legacy was more than just his seminal role on The Cosby Show [Ringer]
—Nicole Nguyen looks at why Amazon has acquired Bee, a company that makes AI bracelets that record everything you say [WSJ]
—With dating apps getting hate from everyone, John Herrman wonders if they can survive their own success [Intelligencer]
—Amid big budget cuts, Josef Adalian writes that Trump can hurt PBS and NPR, but he can’t kill them [Vulture]
—Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck have found new photos and video of Trump socializing with Epstein, reinforcing the notion that the two men were close once [CNN]
Today...
...in 1937, MGM unveiled Saratoga in theaters, a star vehicle for Jean Harlow, who had died suddenly weeks earlier. Additional shooting was needed to complete the film, which featured the actress alongside Clark Gable. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Daniel Radcliffe (36), Kathryn Hahn (52), Marlon Wayans (53), Shawn Levy (57), Woody Harrelson (64), Charisma Carpenter (55), Ronny Cox (87), Paul Wesley (43), Lili Simmons (32), Shane McRae (48), Eriq La Salle (63), Samantha Beckinsale (59), Gratiela Brancusi (36), Tom Mison (43), Pippa Bennett-Warner (37), Britne Oldford (33), Edie McClurg (80), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (31), Belinda Montgomery (75), Stephanie March (51), Larry Manetti (78), Kathryn Gallagher (32), Claudia Salas (31), Lydia Cornell (72), Silvia Colloca (48), Evelyn McGee-Colbert (62), Rob Stewart (64), Rick Glassman (41), Natasha Yarovenko (46), David Kaufman (64), Tosin Cole (33), Helena Howard (27), Abigail Donnelly (23) |
| Vince Calandra, the charismatic Ed Sullivan Show talent booker who graduated from gofer and cue-card guy to bringing such talent as The Beatles, Julie Andrews, Alan King and Jackie Mason to the legendary CBS variety hour, has died. He was 91. The obituary. |
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