| | | | | | What's news: It's magazine day! This week's cover star is the irascible but always hilarious Marc Maron. Sling TV is launching day/week/weekend passes. Spotify has inked a licensing deal with Kobalt. Angelina Jolie and Doug Liman are teaming up for spy movie The Initiative. Netflix and Kevin Hart are developing a standup competition series. — Abid Rahman
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Who the F*** Is Marc Maron Without Podcasting? ►On the cover. Sixteen years ago, Marc Maron launched his comedy podcast WTF With Marc Maron, and in so doing launched an entire industry and saved his career. In June, Maron and his day one producer, Brendan McDonald, announced that they were burned out. WTF ends in October after more than 1,680 episodes and inspiring countless other comics to grab a mic and capitalize on the booming genre Maron helped popularize. The curmudgeonly conversationalist talks to THR's Mikey O'Connell about his burgeoning acting career, the end of WTF , and feeling conflicted about what followed his podcast: "Things were better before everyone had a voice." The cover story.
—Essential episodes. Mikey selects 10 episodes from WTF With Marc Maron's extensive archive that defined the show. Sure, the podcast trailblazer interviewed Barack Obama — but there are plenty more highlights among the 1600+ episodes he’s logged over 16 years. The selection. |
The NFL's Next Big Play: Owning the Media ►"The future portends even more dealmaking." This month may go down as a landscape-altering month for the National Football League. On Aug. 5, the NFL and Disney announced a major deal, trading the NFL Network, rights to RedZone and other media assets to ESPN in exchange for a 10 percent equity stake in the sports media juggernaut. A few days later, David Ellison’s Skydance closed its $8b deal for Paramount Global, taking control of one of the league’s biggest TV partners … and instantly giving the league an equity stake as well, owing to Skydance Sports joint venture between the league and Skydance. THR's Alex Weprin writes that the deals show that the NFL isn’t content to be just a ratings juggernaut for partners. The analysis.
—For the cost conscious. Sling TV is launching a new lost-cost offering in the streaming ecosystem. The live TV streaming service is launching a $4.99 Day Pass, $9.99 Weekend Pass and $14.99 Week Pass. The passes activate live TV instantly, which the streaming service is positioning as an attractive option for fans of football, awards shows and more. The story.
—🤝 Licensing deal. 🤝 Spotify has entered into a direct licensing deal with Kobalt, the companies announced on Wednesday, the latest of several music publishing deals the streaming service has secured in 2025. Spotify and Kobalt were light on details in their brief announcement, only confirming the deal is a multi-year agreement and that it would “deliver greater flexibility, efficiency, value, and protections to songwriters in the U.S. The deal with Kobalt follows Spotify’s previously announced deals with Universal Music Group and its UMPG subsidiary back in January, and a subsequent deal with Warner Music Group and Warner Chappell back in February. The licensing deals are of note given that the music publishers and Spotify have been at odds since last year over a controversial audiobook bundling strategy from Spotify that’s lead to lower songwriter royalties. The story.
—🤝 Only for private eyes. 🤝 Daryl Hall and John Oates‘ legal dispute is over, as the matter has ended out of court, according to legal documents filed in Nashville on Monday. Hall’s suit against Oates has ended in arbitration, meaning there are no details on how the matter actually resolved, or what the terms of the voluntary dismissal were. Hall had first sued his longtime songwriting partner in November 2023 over Oates’ intent to sell his half of their joint venture Whole Oates Enterprises to the music company Primary Wave. As Rolling Stone reported at the time, Hall called Oates’ intent to sell his half the “ultimate partnership betrayal.” The story.
—"I used to cop a lot, but never copped no drop." The estate of legendary rapper MF Doom is suing Chinese e-commerce site Temu on allegations that the company is selling knockoff merchandise of the beloved late rapper. In the suit, filed in federal court on Monday, Gas Drawls, which owns the rights to MF Doom’s catalog and intellectual property, claimed that Temu “manufactured and sold a myriad of items that are counterfeit or blatant copies of Plaintiff’s artwork, products, trademarks, and intellectual property.” Gas Drawls shared screenshots featuring pages of unofficial MF Doom T-shirts, hats, posters and other types of merchandise on Temu that depict Doom and the famous mask that became synonymous with him. The estate accused Temu of trademark infringement as well as misappropriation of likeness among other claims. The story.
—Moving on. Netflix executive Josh Simon has been named CEO of Funko. Simon joins the company, which manufactures pop culture bobbleheads and other collectibles, after five years at Netflix, where he served as vice president, consumer products, where he oversaw the company’s global merchandise business, live experiences and the Roald Dahl Story Company. Simon succeeds interim CEO Mike Lunsford, effective Sept. 1, and has also been appointed to the Funko board of directors. At Netflix, Simon created products for Netflix’s biggest titles, including Stranger Things, Bridgerton and Squid Game , launched its first e-commerce platform for consumer products and oversaw the growth of Netflix’s Experiences business, which included launching 40 unique experiences across 300 cities around the world. The story. |
Daniel Day-Lewis is Back! ►🎭 The good side of nepotism. 🎭 Daniel Day-Lewis has emerged from his retirement in a first-look photo of his new film, Anemone. The project from Focus Features is set to have its world premiere at the The New York Film Festival, and marks the return of the three-time Oscar winner after an eight-year “retirement.” The film is the directorial debut of Lewis’ son, Ronan Day-Lewis, and was co-written by both men. The official description of Anemone calls the film “an absorbing family drama … about lives undone by seemingly irreconcilable legacies of political and personal violence.” Set in Northern England, the film follows a middle-aged man (Sean Bean) who “sets out from his suburban home on a journey into the woods, where he reconnects with his estranged hermit brother (Day-Lewis). Hopefully Sean Bean survives. The story.
—📅 Exorcise the beat. 📅 KPop Demon Hunters, the hit Netflix animated feature and soundtrack, is headed back to select theaters with a sing-along event set for screenings across North America on Aug. 23 and 24. The KPop Demon Hunters A Sing-Along Event will see fans of Huntrix and Saja Boys join along to sing chart-topping songs like “Golden” and “Your Idol.” Netflix is also looking to fill theaters later this month for extra revenue after the movie became a surprise hit for the streamer since debuting in June. The project centers on the adventures of Huntrix, a girl group composed of three members who just happen to also fight monsters from the underworld. The movie’s soundtrack also made the top 10 list for the Billboard 200 chart, with “Golden” becoming a number one hit. The story.
—🎭 One more. 🎭 Chris O’Dowd has joined the sprawling cast of Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial, Amazon MGM’s drama centered on the true-life story of artificial intelligence company OpenAI. Artificial has Andrew Garfield, Yura Borisov, and Monica Barbaro leading a cast that also includes Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Hoffman, Ike Barinholtz, Cooper Koch, Billie Lourd and Zosia Mamet. The movie is being described as a comedic drama, although it is a dramatized recounting of the tumultuous period at OpenAI in 2023 that saw CEO Sam Altman fired and rehired in a matter of days. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 A comedy feature starring Paris Berelc and Luke Benward is aiming to warm viewers’ hearts this fall. Xumo Play has acquired director Blayne Weaver’s film Miss Valentine, with the movie set for limited theatrical release Oct. 1 while also debuting on the free ad-supported streaming service. Hailing from Capital Arts Entertainment and the Film Studio at Shenandoah, Miss Valentine will stream on Xumo Play’s “Her” channel that can be viewed on the streaming devices Xumo Stream Box and Xumo TV and via an app on other major streaming platforms. The story. |
'Weapons' Prequel on the Table as Zach Cregger Mulls Future ►Gladys tidings. THR's Borys Kit and Pamela McClintock have the huge scoop that Warner Bros. and New Line are talking with Weapons writer-director Zach Cregger about making a prequel exploring the origin story of Aunt Gladys. The strange aunt, played by Amy Madigan, is among the many memorable characters in the film who has broken through into pop culture. One of Weapons ’ conceits is its chapter structure centering on particular characters, and sources say that Cregger actually had a chapter focused on Gladys and some of her backstory. He ultimately pulled that section from the script for length purposes. The story.
—🎭 Together again. 🎭 Borys is back with another scoop, this time with the news that Angelina Jolie and Doug Liman, who famously worked together on Mr. and Mrs. Smith, are reteaming for another thriller set in the world of spies. Coming on top of multi-studio competition, Universal is wrapping up the final deal points to land The Initiative, a hot spy package that sees Jolie attached to star, Liman on board to direct and F. Scott Frazier writing the script. Described as a “Training Day set in the world spycraft,” the story would see Jolie playing a rogue master spy named Bright who works outside the lines. When a new agent named Charlie joins Bright’s team, he soon finds himself in situations where he isn’t sure whether his new boss is trying to kill him or simply is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect the free world. The studio and filmmakers are hoping to move fast on this, eying a possible start of production in Q1 2026. The story.
—🎭 F.A.S.T. company. 🎭 Calm down Borys! He's back with a scoop on LaKeith Stanfield, Jason Clarke, Sam Claflin and Trevante Rhodes signing up for duty in F.A.S.T., the Taylor Sheridan-written action movie set up at Warner Bros. Pictures. Ben Richardson, the main director of Sheridan’s 1923 show and known as a renowned movie cinematographer, is helming the feature that is being toplined by Brandon Sklenar. F.A.S.T. concerns a former special forces commando, down on his luck after he returns to U.S., who is tapped by the DEA to lead a black op strike team against CIA-protected drug dealers in his town. Sklenar is playing the commando. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Harris Dickinson‘s feature directorial debut, Urchin, has found a home on this year’s release calendar following its success at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie is set to hit theaters Oct. 10 from 1-2 Special, the indie distributor that launched earlier this year. Dickinson’s film stars Frank Dillane, Megan Northam, Amr Waked, Shonagh Marie and Karyna Khymchuk. Urchin centers on Dillane as Mike, an unhoused London-based addict who attempts to turn his life around after a stint in prison. The story. |
Emmys: 'Beyoncé Bowl,' 'Arcane' Among Juried Winners ►🏆 Congratulations! 🏆 On Tuesday, early Emmys were handed out for juried awards judged by a panel of creative peers in categories for animation, costume design, emerging media programming and motion and title design. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and her costume design team including Shiona Turini picked up the juried Emmy for best costumes in variety or reality programming for Beyoncé Bowl, the pop superstar’s Netflix Christmas Day halftime show. Netflix also cleaned up with the Love, Death + Robots animated anthology series, which earned trophies for best character animation (Daryl Graham), production design (Gigi Cavenago), character design (Robert Valley) and storyboard (Edgar Martins). Netflix also saw its Arcane animated action series earn best background design for Bruno Couchinho and best color for Faustine Dumontier. The winners.
—📅 Great news for kids, terrible news for parents. 📅 CoComelon, the smash-hit preschool brand, will premiere the live-action show The Melon Patch on Sept. 23 on YouTube. The Melon Patch will feature Ms. Appleberry (Allie Rivera Quiñonez) who, with some help, teaches kids with a mixture of songs and play. CoComelon is a giant content creator, averaging nearly 4b monthly views on YouTube. It’s also been a regular presence on Netflix’s top 10. CoComelon will also launch the soundtrack, CoComelon Nursery Rhymes (Songs From ‘The Melon Patch’), on Sept. 19. The story.
—Behind the laughter. Netflix made its streaming bones in part on the back of stand-up comedy specials. Now the company is looking for a new wave of comedians. The streamer and Kevin Hart are teaming up for a competition series that will aim to find the next big names in stand-up. The show will feature Hart and a to-be-announced group of fellow comics guiding and judging contestants on, as Netflix describes it, the “rigorous tests that mirror the real-life journey of a comedian — from brutal open mics to bombed sets, rewrites and the pressure of big-stage performances." Hart will executive produce the untitled Netflix series, which has an eight-episode order, via his Hartbeat banner. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 HBO will lead off its fall slate with Task, a series starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey from Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby. Task is set to premiere Sept. 7 on HBO and HBO Max. Ruffalo stars in the seven-episode season as an FBI agent who, at the behest of his boss (Martha Plimpton), leads a cross-agency task force to investigate a spate of home invasion robberies in the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia. Pelphrey plays the man orchestrating the robberies. HBO also released a new trailer for Task that strongly suggests Pelphrey’s character has personal motivation for the robberies. The story.
—Coming out strong. A pair of highly anticipated series returns — Wednesday and King of the Hill — pulled in big opening viewing numbers for their respective streamers. The first half of Wednesday season two delivered 50m views worldwide (201.6m hours of viewing divided by a four-hour, two-minute running time) for its premiere week, according to Netflix’s internal stats. That’s the most views for an English-language show’s opening week on the streamer since … season one of Wednesday in November 2022, which logged 50.1m views (albeit for the full season rather than half of it). On Hulu and Disney+, King of the Hill ’s first season in 15 years drew 4.4m views over its first seven days. That makes it the most viewed adult animation season premiere on the two outlets in five years. The ratings. |
Film Review: 'Red Sonja' ►"Plenty of sword and sorcery, but little of interest." THR's Frank Scheck reviews MJ Bassett's Red Sonja. Matilda Lutz plays the titular heroine in Bassett's long-aborning take on the 1985 film starring Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also starring Robert Sheehan, Wallis Day, Martyn Ford, Michael Bisping, Phillip Winchester and Trevor Eve. The review.
—"Needed more time in the chrysalis." THR's Angie Han reviews Amazon Prime Video's Butterfly. Nine years after faking his own death, a former operative comes out of hiding to save his daughter, now a gifted assassin, in this South Korea-set series. Starring Daniel Dae Kim, Reina Hardesty, Piper Perabo, and Louis Landau. The review.
In other news...
—Marty Supreme trailer: Timothée Chalamet introduces Gwyneth Paltrow to high-stakes ping-pong
—Only Murders in the Building returns to the scene of the crime(s) in S5 trailer
—Amazon's Upload promises one final fight to shutdown evil in trailer for finale event
—Netflix’s With Love, Meghan S2 trailer shows a humbler Meghan Markle
—Oscars: Switzerland picks health-care drama Late Shift
—Creator Topper Guild signs with WME
What else we're reading...
—Hannah Miller and Lucas Shaw talk to ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro on why the sports giant reversed course on streaming [Bloomberg]
—Sean Rameswaram and Laura Meckler discuss the prospect of hard right wing group Prager U filling the void left by the kneecapping of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting [Vox]
—Meridith McGraw and Jasmine Li report that the White House is set to vet Smithsonian Museums to fit Trump’s historical vision [WSJ]
—Alicia Wallace and David Goldman report that Trump’s pick for Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner floated the idea of suspending the monthly jobs report [CNN]
—Maggie Harrison Dupré talks to a research psychiatrist who is sounding the alarm on a wave of AI-created psychosis [Futurism]
—In light of the Sydney Sweeney-American Eagle broo-ha-ha, Deborah Nicholls-Lee looks at how the blonde bombshell has symbolised desire and danger [BBC]
Today...
...in 1997, Comedy Central introduced South Park to America. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Sebastian Stan (43), John Slattery (63), Paul Greengrass (70), Debi Mazar (61), Erika Henningsen (33), Kevin Tighe (81), Corey Fogelmanis (26), Gretchen Corbett (80), Freya Mavor (32), Kasia Smutniak (46), James Carpinello (50), Alyssa Jirrels (25), Dawnn Lewis (64), Danny Bonaduce (66), Jane Carr (75), Deborah Ayorinde (38), Elçin Sangu (40), Madison Thompson (25), Eric Appel (45), Moritz Bleibtreu (54), Julie Rudd (57), Álex González (45), Dior Goodjohn (19), Grégory Fitoussi (49), Anthony Keyvan (25), David Monahan (54), Quinn Cummings (58), Álvaro Rico (29), Lennon Stella (26), Crystal Allen (53), Yeo Jin-goo (28), Damian O'Hare (48), Kathleen Gati (68), Nóra Trokán (39), Wesley Taylor (39), Eme Ikwuakor (41) |
| Danielle Spencer, who played the precocious youngster Dee Thomas on the 1970s ABC sitcom What’s Happening!!, has died. She was 60. The obituary. |
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