| CBS FOCUSED ON BUILDING FRANCHISES |
CBS dropped a bombshell at its fall 2026 schedule reveal last week by announcing new series NCIS: New York starring LL Cool J and Scott Caan from Emmy-winning The Pitt creator R. Scott Gemmill.
This is a very rare scenario where the lead/co-lead of one spinoff in a franchise, NCIS: Los Angeles' LL Cool J, serves as the lead/co-lead of another spinoff in the same franchise playing the same character, NCIS Agent Sam Hanna. The only other case that comes to mind is Law & Order: SVU's Christopher Meloni starring as Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: Organized Crime.
NCIS: New York came together very quickly, taking about five months from the first conversations with LL Cool J about it to a series greenlight with a completed script that had gone through revisions, a co-lead cast, a showrunner hired — and everyone involved locked in with closed deals. >>>Part Of Multi-Year Effort |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Obamas Going Independent - Higher Ground will be breaking new ground in its evolution. The production company of President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama will transition to becoming independent when its current first-look deal with Netflix is up later this year. >>>Launched In 2018
Mario A B.O. Hero - The Super Mario Galaxy Movie came in higher with a No. 1 third weekend of $35M, -49%, after a better than expected Saturday near $17M. Running cume by end of today is $355.2M. >>>Analysis
Away With The Fairies - Amazon MGM Studios has set FernGully as a live-action film based on the beloved 1992 animated FernGully: The Last Rainforest. Marielle Heller is set to direct her own script. Set in an Australian rainforest populated by fairies, the original FernGully featured the voices of Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Christian Slater, and Samantha Mathis. >>> Stacey Sher Will Produce |
Season 2 of HBO Max’s The Pitt wasn’t an easy road for newcomer Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, which didn’t get much better by the season’s finale, which aired on Thursday night.
One of the reasons for her discomfort was her strained relationship with Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch (Noah Wyle), due to her being upfront in voicing her opposing points of view. Secondly, she was dealing with a worsening medical condition that she opened up to Dr. Robby about in a very vulnerable moment for her this season. Unfortunately, she was not met with kindness or empathy.
Sepideh Moabi, who brings Dr. Al-Hashimi to life on the critically acclaimed series, opened up about the frustrating relationship between her character and Dr. Robby with Deadline. >>>Read The Interview
Related:
Katherine LaNasa Reflects On Dana’s Journey Across Season 2: “They Don’t Wrap Everything Up In A Bow”
Noah Wyle & R. Scott Gemmill Address Fans Asking For A ‘The Pitt’ Night Shift Spinoff Series |
ExclusiveAfter playing Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, Charles Dance has found a new family patriarch to portray, as sources tell Deadline that the Game of Thrones actor is in talks to join DC Studios’ The Batman Part II.
Kathryn Newton is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Doomsday after starring in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The actress will reprise her role of Cassie Lang.
David Harbour is the latest actor reporting for duty on Lionsgate's upcoming Rambo prequel movie. The Golden Globe nominee has joined the cast of John Rambo, starring as Major Trautman, played by Richard Crenna in the original.
ExclusiveEthan Embry (Scream 7) has joined the series regular cast of Prime Video's thriller series Cross, from Ben Watkins.
Li Jun Li, known best most recently for her breakout starring role in Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-winning Sinners, has joined the Season 3 cast of HBO's The Last Of Us. |
BY THE NUMBERS
$2B - Worldwide B.O. total for the two 'Super Mario' movies thusfar
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MORE NEWS
⚖️ FBI Director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation suit against The Atlantic and writer Sarah Fitzpatrick on Monday, claiming a piece chronicling his tenure at the agency was a “sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece.”
✊ The Writers Guild of America West's staff is staying on strike for now. After two months on the picket lines, the 115-member bargaining unit held a vote Friday about whether to stay on strike or approach guild management about essentially accepting their March 11 proposal.
👩⚖️ Rebel Wilson was branded a “bully” over the way she treated the lead actress in The Deb, her directorial debut at the center of a sprawling legal battle. The Pitch Perfect star appeared at a Sydney court on Monday to defend a defamation lawsuit from Charlotte MacInnes, who was also present at the hearing.
⚖️ Nexstar Media Group, which was thwarted on Friday in what seemed to be a Donald Trump-approved $6.2 billion local station mega-deal to merge with Tegna, is vowing to march forward in a higher court after a major setback in federal court. A judge issued an injunction blocking the deal from proceeding. Nexstar will take the matter up with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the last stop before the U.S. Supreme Court.
🏅 Anke Greifeneder will receive Deadline’s 2026 German TV Disruptor award. One of Europe’s leading programming executives, she will accept the honor at Seriencamp, the biggest gathering of the German industry, which takes place in Cologne. |
| OBITUARIES
🕯️ Sylvia Gold, a longtime TV talent agent at ICM who repped Mayim Bialik, Tony Danza, Susan Lucci, John Ritter and many other TV stars, has died. A friend and former colleague told Deadline that Gold died January 3 of heart failure in Los Angeles but did not provide her age or a cause of death. 🕯️Patrick Muldoon, known for his roles in the daytime drama Days of Our Lives, primetime soap Melrose Place and movie Starship Troopers, died suddenly on April 19, following a heart attack. He was 57. 🕯️ Nathalie Baye, the renowned French actress who appeared in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can (2002), has died. She was 77. 🕯️ Moroccan French actress Nadia Farès, who last week was found unconscious in a swimming pool and has been in a coma ever since, died yesterday at the age of 57. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery
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| ON THE RADAR
Mon - Devil Wears Prada 2 world premiere
Tue - Jon Stewart on Colbert
Wed - CA gubernatorial debate
Thu - Comcast earnings; NFL draft begins; WBD special shareholder vote on Paramount merger
Sat - White House Correspondents' Dinner
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Shrek-tacular - Mike Myers went all out to pay tribute to his Shrek co-star during the AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute To Eddie Murphy. |
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