| | | | | | What's news: Disney+ and Hulu now have a combined 196m subscribers. NBCU is launching a new cable channel. FX's Shogun has set its S2 cast. FX has canceled English Teacher. And Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding is set for an anime spinoff series. — Abid Rahman
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Disney+ Subs Surge, Streaming Profits Grow ►Humming along. Streaming continues to become a more potent force on Disney's balance sheet, as the company’s fiscal Q4 earnings report demonstrates. The company released its latest quarterly earnings early Thursday morning, reporting revenues of $22.5b, essentially flat from last year, and segment operating income of $3.5b, down 5 percent from a year ago. While Disney is still feeling the pinch of linear TV’s troubles, its streaming business continues to grow. Most notable, the company beat Wall Street estimates with Disney+ subscribers rising by 3.8m compared to Q3 to 132m, and Disney+ and Hulu subscribers rising by 12.4m to 196m. The results.
—Spend, spend, spend. Disney plans to increase its spending on content next year by $1b to a total of $24b, underscoring how the competition for consumer attention remains fierce – and expensive. The company disclosed the increase in its latest quarterly earnings report. The 10-digit increase in content spending will bolster ESPN’s lineup of live sports (the company has cut back on some rights deals, as with UFC and Formula 1, even as it inked new expanded deals with the likes of the NBA and WNBA), as well as feature film franchises, and original content for Disney+, Hulu and ABC. The story.
—🤝 Extension. 🤝 Disney has given one of its top executives a contract extension. Hugh Johnston, the CFO of Disney, has inked a new deal that will keep him at the entertainment giant through Jan. 31, 2029. Johnston joined Disney from PepsiCo in Nov. 2023, succeeding the company’s longtime CFO Christine McCarthy. At Disney, Johnston has been a public face of the company, not only answering questions alongside CEO Bob Iger on earnings calls, but also representing the company on CNBC and at investor events. The story.
—"Ready to go as long as they want to." Speaking on CNBC Thursday morning, Hugh Johnson commented on Disney's ongoing carriage battle with YouTube TV. “We’re in the middle of negotiations right now,” Johnston said on the cable business network shortly after Disney reported in fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financials. “Things are live, they’re happening … and we’re ready to go as long as they want to.” The story. |
Lucas Museum Sets Opening for September 2026 ►📅 Dated, finally! 📅 After years of false starts and several postponements, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has an opening date. The new cultural institution designed to celebrate illustrated storytelling, founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, will open to the public on Sept. 22, 2026. Located in Los Angeles’s Exposition Park, the building will have 35 galleries occupying 100,000 square feet. The Lucas Museum will boast a permanent collection that holds more than 40,000 works representing one of the most significant collections of narrative art. The story.
—Final move. Right before it jettisons most of its cable channels, NBCUniversal will launch a new one. The entertainment giant says that it will launch NBC Sports Network next week on Nov. 17, seeking a linear home for the slate of live games that it will have on the Peacock streaming service. NBCSN will launch first on YouTube TV, and will be followed shortly after by Xfinity, the cable company also owned by Comcast. The existence of the channel was first confirmed by the company last month when it struck a new carriage deal with YouTube TV. The story.
—Leader found. European media giant Bertelsmann has found the successor to Thomas Rabe, the long-serving chief executive at both Bertelsmann and its television operation RTL Group. As of January 1, 2027, Thomas Coesfeld will succeed Rabe as chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann and Clément Schwebig will take over as CEO of RTL Group. Coesfeld is being promoted from within the ranks. He joined Bertelsmann Printing Group in 2018, moving to music division BMG in 2020, becoming CEO in July 2023. He will continue as BMG boss, holding a dual position. The story. |
Adele to Make Acting Debut in Tom Ford's 'Cry to Heaven' ►🎭 Hello! 🎭 Fashion icon Tom Ford has a new film in the works, an adaptation of the Anne Rice novel Cry To Heaven that he will direct and produce. Ford penned the screenplay and has a star-studded cast that includes Adele, making her acting debut, as well as Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ciarán Hinds, George MacKay, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Paul Bettany and Owen Cooper. Also on board the drama set in 18th century Italy are Daniel Quinn-Toye, Hunter Schafer, Josephine Thiesen, Thandiwe Newton, Theodore Pellerin, Daryl McCormack, Cassian Bilton, Hauk Hannenmann and Lux Pascal. Rice’s 1982 novel centers on a Venetian noble and a maestro castrato, with both attempting to succeed in the opera world. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 André Is an Idiot is heading to theaters after making a splash on the festival circuit. Joint Venture has acquired North American rights for director Tony Benna’s documentary feature and will release the movie theatrically, starting with Film Forum in New York on March 6, 2026. André Is an Idiot premiered at Sundance, where it won the audience award and the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award in the U.S. documentary competition. André Is an Idiot centers on André Ricciardi, who considers himself an idiot for not getting a colonoscopy. Over the course of the movie, he remains determined to approach his terminal cancer diagnosis with levity. The story.
—🎭 Family affair. 🎭 The latest feature in the Scary Movie franchise is unmasking more of its cast. Damon Wayans Jr., Kim Wayans and Heidi Gardner are the latest additions to Michael Tiddes’ new film that Paramount will release in theaters globally on June 12, 2026. Among the newly confirmed franchise notables who are returning to the sixth Scary Movie film are Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Lochlyn Monroe, Dave Sheridan and Jon Abrahams. Franchise favorites Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Regina Hall and Anna Faris were previously announced as leading the cast. Production is currently underway on the project that has a script from Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Rick Alvarez, who all serve as producers. The story. |
Colin Farrell, Russo Bros. Team for 'Ordained' ►🎭 Thou shall not, not kill. 🎭 THR's second-nicest man Aaron Couch has the scoop that Colin Farrell has signed up for action-thriller Ordained, a hot package that hit the town in recent weeks. Farrell is teaming with the Russo Bros.’ banner AGBO on the film, which is based on an upcoming comic book from publisher Bad Idea. Multiple studios and streamers are said to be in the mix for the project. John Wick scribe Derek Kolstad was announced as writing the script last year and will produce, along with Bad Idea’s Dinesh Shamdasani and Benjamin Simpson. Farrell will star as Father Roy Craig, a priest who performs last rites on a mob boss who miraculously survives — but not before confessing his crimes to the father. Soon after, Father Roy finds himself targeted by hitmen, corrupt cops and gangsters — all sent by the mob boss who wants to silence him. But Father Roy secretly has a violent past that makes him a more dangerous target than anyone imagines. The story.
—🎭 Compelling casting combo. 🎭 Michael C. Hall has joined Noomi Rapace and Past Lives breakout Teo Yoo in the upcoming espionage action thriller Stratagem. The film will be directed by novelist turned filmmaker Michael Idov and scripted by Michael and Lily Idov, the writing duo behind the German spy series hit Deutschland 89 and the recent Cannes title Leto, also starring Yoo. It is being produced by Oscar-nominee David Lancaster and Matt Leipzig. Production on Strategem is set to begin at the start of 2026. The story.
—AFM special. Veteran film editor Ruben Navarro is making his feature directorial debut with Me, After You, a LGBTQ+ coming-of-age drama to star Alex Sorian Brown and Giacomo Rocchini. The bilingual English-Spanish language pic, exploring themes of immigration and sexuality, will be shot in Los Angeles. Me, After You will follow Daniel, played by Sorian Brown, a Spanish writer who has a complicated romance with Andrea (Rocchini), and is left heartbroken when Andrea returns to Italy. That’s until Daniel meets Maria, played by Sofia Kunz, an Argentine woman trapped by societal expectations, which leads both to confront their fears and rediscover the courage to embrace their true selves. The story. |
'Shogun' S2 Sets Cast ►🎭 Sugoi! 🎭 As Emmy juggernaut Shogun prepares to begin production on its second season in Vancouver at the beginning of the new year, FX is revealing new and returning castmembers. Asami Mizukawa (Aya), Masataka Kubota (Hyūga), Sho Kaneta (Hidenobu), Takaaki Enoki (Lord Ito) and Jun Kunimura (Gōda) will be joining the epic show set in feudal Japan. Returning castmembers include Hiroyuki Sanada (Toranaga) and Cosmo Jarvis (Blackthorne), Fumi Nikaidô (Ochiba), Shinnosuke Abe (Buntaro), Hiroto Kanai (Omi), Yoriko Dôguchi (Kiri), Tommy Bastow (Alvito), Yuko Miyamoto (Gin), Eita Okuno (Saeki) and Yuka Kouri (Kiku). The story.
—Kojima heads rejoice! Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima's groundbreaking video game franchise, is set to expand with an all-new animated series that’s heading to Disney+. At Disney’s APAC originals content showcase in Hong Kong, Kojima made a surprise appearance to announce the new show, Death Stranding Isolations (working title), that is scheduled to hit the streamer in 2027. Kojima will serve as an EP of the animated series that will be directed Takayuki Sano and animated by production house E&H. In December 2023, it was revealed a Death Stranding feature film is in the works from A24. The story.
—Daebak! Also in Hong Kong, Disney+ revealed its slate of Korean original dramas for the coming year. Among the highlights, the streamer has picked up the worldwide rights to buzzy fantasy romance drama Perfect Crown, starring in-demand actors IU and Byeon Woo-seok. Disney+ also revealed a second season order for the upcoming period political drama Made in Korea. Starring Korean A-listers Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung, Made in Korea will launch on the streamer on Dec. 24 with a two-episode premiere. The story. |
FX Cancels 'English Teacher' After 2 Seasons ►School's out. FX's English Teacher will be ending after two seasons. The network has decided not to renew the sitcom, created by Brian Jordan Alvarez, who also stars in the show. The show, set in Austin, follows gay high school English teacher Evan Marquez (Alvarez) as he tries to balance his professional and personal life, as well as the demands of the students and their parents, alongside his co-workers. Other castmembers included Stephanie Koenig, Enrico Colantoni, Sean Patton and Carmen Christopher. In addition to Alvarez, Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel, Dave King, Kathryn Dean, Jake Bender and Zach Dunn also executive produced the show. The story.
—Fix up, look sharp. Saturday Night Live UK has unveiled its top creative team. Two-time Emmy winner James Longman will serve as lead producer on Sky‘s British installment of NBC’s venerable hit sketch show. His credits include The Late Late Show with James Corden as well as popular U.K. comedy projects Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Alan Carr: Chatty Man. Elsewhere, Liz Clare joins SNL UK as director and Daran Johnson as head writer. Clare has directed some of the country’s most-watched live broadcasts of recent years, including An Audience with Adele, the BRIT Awards, the BAFTA Film Awards and Glastonbury music festival. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Netflix has picked up a drama series about a high school hockey team in Minnesota, with Michelle Monaghan set to star. The untitled series, which has an eight-episode order, comes from creator Nick Naveda and Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment. Bridget Bedard will be the showrunner, and Trey Edward Shults is set to direct the first two episodes. The show is set in the town of South Dorothy, Minnesota, and tells the story of a hockey team recovering after the tragic death of several players and their coach. The story.
—Stavvy crosses the Atlantic. A London-set adult animated comedy Living the Dream is coming to Netflix. From the BAFTA-nominated George Gendi and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, the eight-part workplace comedy follows best friends Des and Ray, “a couple of really cool guys from London who should have made it big by now but haven’t but still could.” The show’s voice cast includes Gendi, Javone Prince, Tom Stourton, Ellie White, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Stavros Halkias, as well as Gavin and Stacey‘s Julia Davis and One Day star Ambika Mod. The story.
—"Unpacks the allegations behind the headlines." TLC has set a new investigative series around The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Cosby. The three-part docuseries, titled The Cult of the Real Housewife , looks into Faith Temple Pentecostal Church, the church Cosby shares with her husband, Robert Cosby Sr. Per the logline, the series “unpacks the allegations behind the headlines, revealing the darker and more unsettling truth about the church.” Ex-congregants speak out for the first time in the series, including long-standing pillars of Faith Temple, the Enoch family, to provide “deeply person and disturbing accounts from family members,” including Mary’s sister, Denise Jefferson Okinada, and Mary’s cousin, Dan Cosby, along with his wife, Kim. The story. |
TV Review: 'Last Samurai Standing' ►"More action than character, but viewers won't complain." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's Last Samurai Standing. Junichi Okada stars, produces and did the action choreography on this six-part series about a nefarious game pitting samurai against each other in 19th-century Japan. Also starring Yumia Fujisaki, Kaya Kiyohara, Masahiro Higashide, Shota Sometani, Taichi Saotome, Yuya Endo, Yasushi Fuchikami, Jyo Kairi, Takayuki Yamada, Wataru Ichinose, Riho Yoshioka, Kazunari Ninomiya, Hiroshi Tamaki and Hideaki Ito. Directed by Michihito Fujii, Kento Yamaguchi and Toru Yamamoto. The review.
—"More banal criminality among the Long Island elite? Yawn." Daniel reviews Netflix's The Beast in Me. A profile writer and a possible killer dance around the truth in this over-extended eight-episode series set in a wealthy enclave of Long Island. Starring Claire Danes, Matthew Rhys, Brittany Snow and Natalie Morales. Created by Gabe Rotter. The review.
—"Decline the invitation." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Luke Greenfield's Playdate. A playdate between two stay-at-home dads and their young sons goes violently awry in this Amazon Prime Video feature. Starring Alan Ritchson, Kevin James, Sarah Chalke, Alan Tudyk, Benjamin Pajak, Banks Pierce, Hiro Kanagawa, Stephen Root and Isla Fisher. Written by Neil Goldman. The review.
In other news...
—Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer introduces Brie Larson’s Rosalina and Benny Safdie’s Bowser Jr.
—Devil Wears Prada 2 teaser trailer: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway return
—Golden Globes: Sarah Jessica Parker to receive Carol Burnett Award
—Sean Baker to head jury at Red Sea International Film Festival
—Twin Peaks cast tour unveils L.A. stop in 2026
—2AM co-founder Kevin Rowe joins Entertainment 360
—Nielsen hires Peter Naylor in c-suite role
—VFX giant Digital Domain taps Sudhir Reddy as president
What else we're reading...
—Michael Gold writes that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein alleged in emails that Trump knew of his conduct and spent hours at his house with one of Epstein's victims [NYT]
—James Politi reports that Trump is fighting for control of the MAGA movement as Epstein emails widen schism [FT]
—Dareh Gregorian, Megan Lebowitz and Fiona Glisson consider what the latest jaw-dropping Epstein emails say about Trump, Clinton and the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten [NBC News]
—John Herrman writes that gambling ate sports media, and he worries if politics is next [Intelligencer]
—Victoria Bekiempis breaks down the ongoing Lily Allen–David Harbour divorce drama [Vulture]
Today...
...in 2015, Lionsgate and CBS Films released Jessie Nelson's Love the Coopers in theaters. The Christmas dramedy featured an ensemble that included Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Ed Helms, Diane Keaton, Jake Lacy, Anthony Mackie, Amanda Seyfried, June Squibb, Marisa Tomei, Timothée Chalamet and Olivia Wilde, and was a box office success. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Jimmy Kimmel (58), Whoopi Goldberg (70), Gerard Butler (56), Steve Zahn (58), Neil Flynn (65), Rex Linn (69), Danny and Michael Philippou (33), Joe Mantegna (78), Art Malik (73), Rahul Kohli (40), Devon Bostick (34), Aisha Hinds (50), Sydney Agudong (25), Riccardo Scamarcio (46), Caroline Goodall (66), John DeSantis (52), Tom Atkins (89), Jordan Bridges (52), Noah Hathaway (54), Kim Director (51), Emma Hamilton (41), Tracy Scoggins (72), Nathaniel Arcand (54), Matt Bennett (34), Tommie Earl Jenkins (60), Takuya Kimura (53), Steve Lemme (57), Lara Amersey (41), Brent Kinsman (28), Gattlin Griffith (27), Michael Copon (43) |
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