| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover stars are Nobody Wants This' Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. WBD shares popped on Wall Street as bid speculation mounts. Netflix signs KPop Demon Hunters merch deals with Hasbro and Mattel. And Fox will broadcast 69 matches from the 2026 World Cup. — Abid Rahman
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How 'Nobody Wants This' Went From Near Implosion to Cultural Obsession ►On the cover. There are the rare television shows that seem to sail through the various stages of production blissfully. They have writers rooms that are cohesive, producers who share a vision and distributors that are confident in what they’re readying for release. On these shows, episodes typically come in on time and without significant issue, and the stars involved are primed for success. Netflix's Jewish rom-com Nobody Wants This was not one of these shows.
But on Sept. 26, 2024, the 10-episode first season of Nobody Wants This dropped in its entirety and any lingering concerns seemed to swiftly vanish as the show was lavished with praise, inspired countless columns and hoovered up awards nominations. THR's Lacey Rose spoke to series stars Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Justine Lupe, Jackie Tohn and Timothy Simons as well as creator and showrunner Erin Foster who reveal the backstory of fall’s most anticipated return. The cover story. |
Netflix Revenues Keep Surging ►Woof! Netflix saw its profits continue to surge in Q3, though margins missed the company’s own guidance due to an unusual dispute with tax authorities in Brazil. The company said that were it not for the Brazil matter, it would have beat its forecast, and that it does not expect it to have a material impact on future results. The streaming giant reported total revenues of $11.5b, operating income of $3.2b and a margin of 28.2 percent, all up double digits from a year ago. Netflix is no longer releasing its subscriber figures, choosing instead to put its focus on revenue and income, as it experiments with different revenue models like advertising and with the price of subscriptions in different markets remaining somewhat variable. The results.
—That's not a 'no.' Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says the streaming giant has little interest, if at all, in bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery. “Nothing is a must for us to meet our goals that we have for this business,” he said during an after-market analyst call after Netflix unveiled its third quarter financial results, without mentioning WBD directly. Sarandos reiterated that organic growth at Netflix was preferred over big acquisitions. “When it comes to M&A opportunities, we look at them, and we look at all of them, and we apply the same framework and lens that we look at when we look to invest. Is it a big opportunity? Is there additional value in ownership,” he told analysts. The story.
—🤝 Merch deal. 🤝 The Netflix sensation KPop Demon Hunters will take over toy store shelves next year, with the streaming giant inking what it calls an “unprecedented” and “industry-first” deal with both Mattel and Hasbro for a slew of toys, collectibles, games and consumer products based on the franchise. The company says that Mattel and Hasbro will be named global co-master toy licensees, giving each company exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and distribute products based on the animated film, beginning in 2026. The story.
—🤝 Rights deal. 🤝 The Catan franchise may have taken the longest road to a Hollywood adaptation, but the hit board game has finally struck a deal to bring the iconic resource-management strategy game to the screen. Netflix has won the rights to the Asmodee board game and plans an array of projects — scripted and unscripted, live-action and animated. The streamer describes the TV and film projects as set in “a place where settlers must navigate bountiful and varied landscapes, shifting alliances and limited resources, while robbers roam the land.” The story. |
CA Tax Credits: 'Heat 2' Nabs $37M, 'Jumanji 4' Gets $44M ►Come back starts here. Michael Mann’s Heat 2 and the next installment to Sony Pictures’ Jumanji headline the first round of movie subsidies to Hollywood after California’s historic expansion of the entertainment tax credit program, a bid to revitalize production in the state. In total, 52 films will get $334m in incentives for shooting in California, the film commission announced on Tuesday. They’re projected to generate $1.4b in economic activity across businesses with ties to the entertainment industry and employ 8,900 cast and crew members. Most of the filming will take place in Los Angeles, where shooting levels are at an all-time low. This allotment of subsidies saw twice as many bids for tax credits compared to the same application window last year, according to the film commission. The story.
—Pumped. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery popped on Tuesday, hitting a 52-week and three-year high after the entertainment conglomerate said that its board of directors has launched “a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.” The news came after weeks of deal chatter surrounding the Hollywood giant, led by CEO David Zaslav, and just ahead of Netflix’s third-quarter earnings report. The story.
—Robbery. A new study from the National Independent Talent Organization focused on ticket prices in New York gives credence to what many music fans have been moaning about for years: Ticket fees have gotten too damn high. Per NITO, in New York, fees now make up an average of nearly 29 percent of the cost of tickets on the primary market, while fees on secondary sites like StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek average out at 39 percent. Fees went up 36 percent since an oft-cited study from the New York Attorney General’s office study on fees published back in 2016, NITO said. The story. |
'Morning Show' Star Confirms Show Exit ►"Time for her to move on." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to The Morning Show star who is making her exit from the Apple TV show in the latest episode. "They didn’t lean away from the pitfalls of what can happen, on its worst day, if this kind of tech is left unchecked," says the star about her character's epic AI downfall. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—Futbol!!!! Fox is doubling down on the FIFA World Cup. More than doubling down, actually. The company says that it will broadcast 69 live matches from next year’s tournament live on the Fox broadcast network, more than double the 34 matches it aired in 2022. The remaining 35 matches will run on FS1, and every match will also stream on the Fox One streaming service. In addition, Fox says that it will air more than 340 hours of programming around the tournament, including pre- and post-game shows. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to be a big one for Fox next June, with the event taking place across the United States, Mexico and Canada, not only allowing for convenient time zones, but ample opportunity for local fans to engage. The story.
—Coming back. Disney is staying “in” on Project Runway. The company has renewed Project Runway for a 22nd season overall and the second on Disney outlets Freeform, Hulu and Disney+. The new season is set to premiere in 2026, though an exact date hasn’t been set. Disney picked up Project Runway in October 2024 in a deal with producer Spyglass Media Group. The series made its debut on Freeform in July, with next-day streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Longtime host Heidi Klum returned to the show for the first time since 2017, joined by judges Nina Garcia (who has been with the show for every season) and Law Roach and mentor (and season four winner) Christian Siriano. All four are set to return for season 22. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Shrinking has booked its appointment time for season three. The hit Apple TV series starring Jason Segel returns with a one-hour episode on Jan. 28, 2026 on Apple TV. The 11-episode season will then release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays, until the April 8 finale. The streamer released a handful of first-look photos with the date announcement on Tuesday. Harrison Ford, Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell and Ted McGinley round out the star-studded cast. The comedy is created by Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein alongside Segel. The story. |
Charli XCX, Jessica Alba to Star in Dakota Johnson’s Directorial Debut ►🎭 Brat power. 🎭 Dakota Johnson's feature directorial debut is taking root. Charli xcx and Jessica Alba are in talks to star in A Tree Is Blue, which Johnson is set to helm. The film has a script from Vanessa Burghardt, who is also in talks to star. Plot details have not yet been disclosed for the project that is planning to launch production next month in Los Angeles. CAA Media Finance is handling sales. Johnson previously directed the short film Loser Baby, which premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Burghardt is a first-time screenwriter who co-starred with Johnson in Cha Cha Real Smooth. The story.
—The last dance. The Sundance Film Festival is preparing for a final bow in Park City, Utah. Festival officials unveiled Tuesday the first wave of programming details for next year’s edition — scheduled for Jan. 22 – Feb. 1, 2026 — the final Sundance at its longtime home before moving to Boulder, Colorado, for 2027 and beyond. Pieces of intel revealed include the Park City Legacy program with archival screenings of high-profile festival selections, artist talks with boldfaced name alumni and more special events. The story. |
Broadway Box Office: 'Chess' Gets Strong $1.2M Start ►Revved up revival. Chess brought in a strong $1.2m across its first four preview performances. The revival of the 1980s Cold War musical, starring Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher, began previews Oct. 15 and played to 100 percent capacity at the Imperial Theatre. The average ticket price for the musical was $208, the fourth highest in the industry last week. The show is scheduled to open Nov. 16. Hamilton’s gross fell close to $300,000 from the prior week (when the show hit its highest gross ever of more than $4m) but the musical still brought in a massive $3.8m with Leslie Odom Jr. in the cast, ranking as the highest grossing show on Broadway last week. The musical had the highest average ticket price at $350. The box office report.
—✊ Ultimatum. ✊ Broadway musicians say they are prepared to strike immediately if they do not reach an agreement with the Broadway League on Wednesday. “The Broadway musicians represented by Local 802 AFM are going into mediation on Wednesday, Oct. 22. If we do not have a new contract by Thursday morning, we are prepared to strike immediately. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement,” Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a statement. Broadway musicians have been working without a contract since Aug. 31, 2025, and have been lobbying for “stable” healthcare coverage, as well as wage gains and job security. The story. |
Film Review: 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' ►"Innocuous but inessential." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Michelle Garza Cervera's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Cervera helms a modern spin for Hulu on the hit 1992 Curtis Hanson thriller about a vengeful nanny. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Maika Monroe, Raúl Castillo, Martin Starr, Mileiah Vega, Riki Lindhome, Shannon Cochran and Yvette Lu. Written by Micah Bloomberg, based on the screenplay by Amanda Silver. The review.
—"More horror-movie fancam than something worth stanning." For THR, Richard Lawson reviews Chris Stuckmann's Shelby Oaks. YouTuber Stuckmann’s Neon-distributed part found-footage horror, part mockumentary feature revolves around a woman searching for her missing sister. Starring Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III, Keith David, Sarah Durn, Robin Bartlett and Michael Beach. Written by Chris Stuckmann. The review.
In other news...
—Tokyo Fest to honor Yōji Yamada with lifetime achievement award
—CAA bolsters creators division, hires veteran Jacob Selzer
—YouTuber Sam Eckholm signs with CAA
What else we're reading...
—Hayden Field reports on OpenAI's AI-powered browser ChatGPT Atlas [Verge]
—Adrian Horton writes that Luca Guadagnino's #MeToo campus thriller After the Hunt is provocation for provocation’s sake [Guardian]
—Joe Flint writes that David Zaslav’s future hangs in the balance as WBD goes up for sale [WSJ]
—Eric Lutz looks at how the Trump administration's press strategy of childish and unbecoming trolling of journalists could backfire [Vanity Fair]
—Hurubie Meko, Katie J.M. Baker, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Hisako Ueno go inside Luigi Mangione’s missing months globe-trotting before he was charged with killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO [NYT]
Today...
...in 2004, Fox Searchlight unveiled Sideways in theaters, where it would go on to gross $109m globally. The film earned five nominations at the 77th Academy Awards, winning in the adapted screenplay category. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Bob Odenkirk (63), Jennifer Lee (54), Jeff Goldblum (73), Corey Hawkins (37), Catherine Deneuve (82), Derek Jacobi (87), Spike Jonze (56), Bill Condon (70), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (50), Jan de Bont (82), Jo Yu-ri (24), Christopher Lloyd (87), Saffron Burrows (53), Kyle Gallner (39), Cameron Porras (27), Valeria Golino (60), Lisa Gilroy (36), Bill Camp (64), Luca Marinelli (41), Scott Beck (41), Jonathan Lipnicki (35), Carmen Ejogo (52), John Boyd (44), Esther McGregor (24), Mariana Di Girólamo (35), Suzanne Snyder (63), Sofia Vassilieva (33), James Cartwright (41), Virginia Ann Lee (79), Stevie Lynn Jones (30), Sharon Rooney (37), Manon Mathews (37), Robert Torti (64), Michael Fishman (44), Richard McGonagle (79), Robert Lesser (83), Plan B (42), Sophia Del Pizzo (37), Amy Redford (55), Elias Harger (18), Sophia Heikkilä (43), Zuzanna Szadkowski (47) |
| Jeff Cheen, the longtime music executive who worked with John Lennon, Deep Purple, Rick James and Pink Floyd, promoted concerts around the world and helped bring reggae, American pop and jazz to China, has died. He was 80. The obituary. |
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