| | | | | | What's news: Happy Taylor Swift album release day to all who celebrate. NBCU and YouTube TV agree a new carriage deal. Disney+ is set to get a significant refresh. Netflix and the BBC have ordered a Peaky Blinders sequel series. The Production Workers Guild has negotiated its first union contract. And Dave Chappelle criticized free speech in the U.S. while on stage at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
Taylor Mania As New Album Drops ►ICYMI, somehow. Taylor Swift released her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, at midnight Eastern, ending a nearly two-month wait, after she first revealed the project on Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast. The album, which includes one guest feature from fellow pop star Sabrina Carpenter, marks Swift’s first new music since last year’s The Tortured Poets Department. The story.
—That song is about Charli, right? Right? For the boomers and casuals, THR's Nicole Fell did the Lord's work and has a track-by-track breakdown of The Life of a Showgirl that might help with some conversations over the next few days. The breakdown.
—"Hits all the marks" vs. "lacks sparkle." The first reviews are in for Life of a Showgirl and the reaction seems to range from glowing and effusive raves to somewhat disappointed takes (though even the more downer reviews concede the album is, at least, good). The consensus seems to be: The Life of a Showgirl is fun, as you would expect, containing a compelling and diverse array of tracks, and is clear step-up tonal relief from the dour Poets, yet it doesn’t fulfill the promise of a return to the bangers-stuffed heights of 1989 and Reputation. The reaction.
—Swifties assemble! Also, Taylor Swift returns to theaters this weekend with a special event pic promoting The Life of a Showgirl. The big screen album release party, which will also feature the world premiere of the music video for new single “The Fate of Ophelia,” music videos and behind-the-scenes footage, is expected to tower over the competition and win the relatively quiet Oct. 3-Oct. 5 box office race with anywhere from $25m to $35m, if not more. Tracking suggests $35m, while distributor AMC Theatres — which also partnered with Swift on her record-breaking concert pic Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — is being more conservative in suggesting $25m to $30m. Either way, that’s well ahead of opening weekend projections for its closest competitor, the Dwayne Johnson-led wrestling drama The Smashing Machine, which is tracking to open in the $12m to $14m range. The box office report. |
Media Trust Hits New Low, But One Detail Gets Overlooked ►Dropped the anchor. A new Gallup survey of 1,000 U.S. adults has found that the number of Americans who have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media appears to have hit a multi-decade low, dropping to 28 percent. Gallup’s latest poll also noted that only 8 percent of Republicans have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media now, as compared to 51 percent of Democrats. The news isn't all that surprising, writes THR's Erik Hayden, but ask Americans about an individual journalist, news anchor or reporter and you'll see a different story. The analysis.
—🤝 Carriage deal. 🤝 NBCUniversal and YouTube TV reached terms on a new carriage deal on Thursday. The deal means NBC, Bravo and the cable channels splitting off into Versant — USA, Syfy, E!, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen and Golf Channel — will remain available for YouTube TV customers. The agreement also includes NBC Sports Network, the new cable channel that NBCU will launch later this year. In addition, Peacock will become available on YouTube Primetime Channels and through Google TV devices. YouTube TV did not get the direct ingestion of Peacock content into its own ecosystem, which had been one of the deal’s sticking points. It also includes a deal for short and long-form content on the main YouTube platform, as well as continued ability to buy and rent films and TV shows through the platform. The story.
—🤝 First contract. 🤝 After years of organizing, production workers on commercials have negotiated their first union contract. The Production Workers Guild (IATSE Local 111), which emerged from a sprawling grassroots campaign that culminated in a national union two years ago, officially ratified its first contract with the Association of Independent Commercial Producers on Tuesday. Results of the ratification vote were not immediately available. The new contract brings workers working in an array of production roles up to par with their unionized colleagues in other departments on meal penalties, safety procedures, travel day compensation and call cancellation policies. The story. |
Golden Globes: Podcasts Eligible for New Best Podcast Award Revealed ►🏆 The Top 25. 🏆 The podcasts eligible for submission for the Golden Globes' newly announced best podcast award have been revealed. Among the notable podcasts on the list are Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Call Her Daddy, Candace, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Pod Save America, SmartLess, The Ben Shapiro Show, The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Daily, The Joe Rogan Experience, The Megyn Kelly Show, The Tucker Carlson Show and This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von . The Top 25 list for eligibility is determined by direct data from top podcast platforms, such as Apple, Spotify and YouTube, among others. The nominations, including for the best podcast category, for the 2026 Golden Globes will be announced at a later date. Winners will be revealed during the Globes ceremony, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, on Jan. 11, 2026. The show will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. The story.
—New look. Disney+ is set to get a significant refresh next week, as the company further integrates Hulu into its streaming platform. But far from the Hulu brand going away, the general entertainment brand will actually be getting more prominent placement. In the U.S., that means a new navigation bar at the top of the app featuring a “For You” tab, a Disney+ tab, a Hulu tab and an ESPN tab, depending on the user’s subscription. In international markets, Hulu will replace the Star brand tile as the brand for general entertainment programming. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Indie studio and broadcaster Blue Ant Media has acquired MagellanTV, a U.S.-based digital streaming company offering premium factual content to online platforms internationally, for $12m. Launched in 2018 by Greg Diefenbach and Thomas Lucas, MagellanTV mainly operates a subscription video-on-demand service that will complement Toronto-based Blue Ant Media’s own portfolio of SVOD, advertising video-on-demand and free, ad-supported streaming TV channels. MagellanTV has a streaming content offering that ranges across the history, nature, science, space and true crime genres, and a library of premium factual documentaries offered to consumers turning to streaming TV options. The story. |
Chappelle Criticizes Free Speech in U.S. at Riyadh Fest ►"It’s easier to talk here than it is in America." Dave Chappelle criticized the status of free speech in the U.S. while on stage at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia. The comedian was one of more than 50 performers participating in the event, which has come under fire for being held in a country which has been accused of human rights violations and an oppressive regime. “Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get canceled,” Chappelle told an audience of 6,000. “I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out.” The story.
—Not great. A new report on book bans in U.S. schools finds Stephen King as the author most likely to be censored and the country divided between states actively restricting works and those attempting to limit or eliminate bans. PEN America’s "Banned in the USA" tracks more than 6,800 instances of books being temporarily or permanently pulled for the 2024-2025 school year. The new number is down from more than 10,000 in 2023-24, but still far above the levels of a few years ago, when PEN didn’t even see the need to compile a report. Some 80 percent of those bans originated in just three states that have enacted or attempted to enact laws calling for removal of books deemed objectionable — Florida, Texas and Tennessee. King’s books were censored 206 times, according to PEN, with Carrie and The Stand among the 87 of his works affected. The story.
—"Performers are concerned about their craft, their place in the world of entertainment and their livelihoods." ACTRA, the Canadian union representing actors, is the latest entertainment industry organization to slam the controversial AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood, describing it as a creation of “synthetic competition.” “’Tilly’s’ existence is nothing but lines of code, wrongfully based and programmed from actual human performance. There is no place in our industry, and no use in the humanity of art, for replacing performers with synthetics. ACTRA rejects any attempt to do so,” Marie Kelly, ACTRA national executive director and chief negotiator, told THR. The story.
—Plot bot. Gavin Purcell, a former late night TV producer for NBC’s Late Night and The Tonight Show, Kevin Pereira, the former host of the G4 series Attack of the Show, and Rex Sorgatz, a former editor for Wired and MSNBC, have launched a new company called And Then, which seeks to leverage human creativity and AI tools to create an entirely new form of interactive entertainment. And Then is launching with a handful of interactive experiences, including a take on Password or The $100,000 Pyramid , with users having to feed clues to an AI-powered “celebrity” partner “La La Stardust;” and an experience where users need to persuade an alien manning a docking bay to allow their cargo ship to land. Each experience has an author or byline, allowing users to seek out creators that resonate with them. The story. |
Netflix, BBC Order 'Peaky Blinders' Sequel Series ►Betting on Brum. By order of the Peaky Blinders, Netflix and BBC have given a two-season order to a sequel series from prolific creator Steven Knight. "I’m thrilled to be announcing this new chapter in the Peaky Blinders story. Once again it will be rooted in Birmingham and will tell the story of a city rising from the ashes of the Birmingham blitz. The new generation of Shelbys have taken the wheel, and it will be a hell of a ride," Knight said in a statement on Thursday. The new Shelby characters will come to Peaky Blinders fans through two new seasons of six episodes each. The series first premiered on BBC Two in 2013, though Netflix later acquired the rights to release the show in the U.S. The original Peaky Blinders series culminated with season six in 2022, shortly before star Cillian Murphy went on to win an Oscar for Oppenheimer. Murphy will serve as an EP on the sequel series. The story.
—🎭 Filling out. 🎭 Netflix has filled out the cast of its limited series The Age of Innocence, adding 14 actors to the adaptation of Edith Wharton’s classic novel. Three of new additions — Fiona Glascott, Belinda Bromilow and Emma Shipp — will be series regulars, joining the previously cast Camila Morrone, Kristine Froseth, Ben Radcliffe and Margo Martindale. Hayley Mills, Ryan Morgan, Will Tudor, John Light, Steven Pacey, Kel Matsena, Lucia Balordi, Elly Roberts, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Anna Madeley and Michael Cochrane are all billed as supporting players. Netflix placed a series order for The Age of Innocence in April, with Emma Frost serving as showrunner and adapting Wharton’s novel about a love triangle between the wealthy Newland Archer, his fiancée May Welland and her cousin, Ellen Olenska. The story.
—Reunited. Former One Direction stars Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik have reunited for a U.S. road trip documentary series for Netflix. The 3-part series will be directed by Nicola Marsh, who also helmed the Demi Lovato documentary Child Star, as well as Song Exploder and Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story. Tomlinson and Malik, who has a home in Pennsylvania, on their American travels are expected to reconnect and share an adventure. They are also expected to discuss the tragic death of fellow One Direction band member Liam Payne. The story.
—Comfort viewing. A pair of original series that build on long-time network (and streaming) staples made the streaming charts in their premiere weeks. NCIS: Tony and Ziva (371m viewing minutes on Paramount+) and The Paper (342m minutes on Peacock), an indirect spinoff of The Office, ranked eighth and 10th among original streaming series for Sept. 1-7; both shows debuted Sept. 4. Their respective parent shows have been frequent residents of Nielsen’s acquired streaming shows top 10 (NCIS is 10th on the current chart), though less so for The Office since it moved from Netflix to Peacock exclusivity. Wednesday zoomed back into the top overall spot with the release of its last four episodes of season two on Sept. 3. The show drew 3.34b minutes of watch time, the third best weekly total of 2025 — just behind its own season premiere in early August. (Squid Game’s 4.6b minutes in early January is No. 1.) The streaming rankings. |
L.A.'s Food Scene Is in Crisis. Here's Why. ►"Even in the best of times, these businesses operate on tight margins — any disruption can shake the foundation, and L.A. has had a wave of them." Curtis Stone’s neo-steak house Gwen, Ricardo Zarate’s Peruvian spot Rosaline, Michael Mina’s global flavors concept Mother Tongue: These are just some of L.A.’s high-profile restaurant closures in recent months. Historic landmark Cole’s — the purported inventor of the French dip sandwich — which first opened in 1908 in downtown L.A., likewise announced its own end. THR's Gary Baum writes that one after the other, the city’s top restaurants are closing. Blame Trump. Hell, blame Hollywood. Mainly, blame rising costs on everything from labor and ingredients to insurance. The story. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this live episode, Scott spoke to Quentin Tarantino. In front of an audience at the Burbank International Film Festival, the legendary writer/director reflects on his path from a video store to Sundance to the Oscars, the backstories of each of his nine features and what he's proudest of and thinking about ahead of his 10th and — allegedly — final filmmaking venture. The podcast.
—It Happened in Hollywood. THR senior writer Seth Abramovitch goes behind the scenes of the pop culture moments that shaped Hollywood history. In this episode, Seth spoke to Patty McCormack. The star of Mervyn LeRoy's 1956 thriller The Bad Seed, that introduced the “evil child” genre, joins Seth to retell the making of a horror classic. The podcast.
In other news...
—Bad Bunny is right at home hosting SNL in new promos for S51 premiere
—Maxton Hall S2 trailer teases more obstacles in Ruby and James’ love story
—Rob Liefeld lands 27 variant covers for Youngblood No. 1
—Tribeca Lisboa sets Bugonia, Nuremberg screenings
—Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli split after nearly 28 years of marriage
—TikToker Danae Hays signs with CAA
What else we're reading...
—Fun piece from WaPo, where 10 writers offer their take on what P. T. Anderson’s One Battle After Another is really about [WaPo]
—With all the recent interest in Vineland, Thomas Pynchon fans might be interested to read Dwight Garner's review of his new book, Shadow Ticket [NYT]
—Must-read story from Josh Saul, Leonardo Nicoletti, Demetrios Pogkas, Dina Bass and Naureen Malik about how AI data centers are sending energy bills soaring in the U.S. [Bloomberg]
—Annie Karni reports that Democrats are pulling away from AIPAC, reflecting a broader shift in America [NYT]
—Here's your Friday list: 38 kid-friendly scary films for Halloween [THR]
Today...
...in 1941, Warner Bros. premiered thriller The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. The film, nominated for three Academy Awards, has since become a noir classic. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Denis Villeneuve (58), Ayo Edebiri (30), Clive Owen (61), Tessa Thompson (42), Alicia Vikander (37), Greig Fraser (50), Lena Headey (52), Neve Campbell (52), A$AP Rocky (37), Alanna Ubach (50), Aramis Knight (26), Shannyn Sossamon (47), Seann William Scott (49), Leanne Morgan (60), Tommy Wiseau (70), Tommy Lee (63), Michele Morrone (35), Joonas Suotamo (39), Amir Malaklou (36), Keiko Agena (52), Jessica Parker Kennedy (41), Seth Gabel (44), Erik von Detten (43), Christopher Rodriguez Marquette (41), Janel Moloney (56), Natalie Dew (38), Amanda Walsh (44), Hart Bochner (69), Christian Coulson (47), Kirsten Nelson (55), Pamela Hensley (75), Jack Wagner (66), Ashlee Simpson (41), Lyna Khoudri (33), Christin Hinojosa (50), Adam Randall (43), Meghan Heffern (42), Hedy Burress (52), Peter Frechette (69), Greg Proops (66), Jennifer Campbell (58) |
| Joshua Allen, a professional dancer and actor who won season four of So You Think You Can Dance, died on Tuesday. He was 36. The obituary. |
|
|
|
| | | |
