What's news: Hillary Clinton and Kara Swisher are launching a politics podcast. Disney is closing in on a deal for assets belonging to Character.ai. Rakuten TV is taking its FAST service to the U.S. Sean “Diddy” Combs was hospitalized. And Selma Blair was taken into custody after allegedly assaulting Delta flight attendants and attempting to open a plane door during a flight. — Abid Rahman
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►Tragedy. R.J. Mitte, the actor and disability rights advocate who portrayed Walter White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston’s character, on Breaking Bad, has died. He was 34. Mitte died Monday in Brownsville, Texas, his reps announced. “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist and passionate disability rights advocate R.J. Mitte,” they said in a statement. No cause of death was revealed, but TMZ reported that he died by suicide, according to a county official. The obituary.
—"He was a sweetheart of a young man." R.J. Mitte‘s Breaking Bad co-stars paid tribute to the actor after news of his death became public. Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Dean Norris took to social media to share their sorrow and memories of Mitte. “I’m in deep despair as I write this tonight,” Cranston wrote. "My sweet son on Breaking Bad has died. I met him when he was only 14 years old when he was cast as Walter White Jr., a part he played with such joy and enthusiasm. Born with Cerebral Palsy, he never – ever – allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything. He met the demanding shooting schedule head on with great determination." The reaction.
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Blair Arrested for Assault on Flight Attendants |
►"Medical emergency." Selma Blair was taken into custody at New York’s JFK Airport on Sunday after allegedly assaulting Delta Airlines flight attendants on board flight 938 from L.A. The New York Port Authority Police Department responded to a call regarding a physically abusive passenger identified as Blair, 54, after she had allegedly assaulted Delta staffers. Blair allegedly punched a flight attendant and bit another. She also reportedly attempted to open the aircraft door at some point during the flight. A rep for Blair said the incident was caused by a "medical emergency." The story.
—Team up. Hillary Clinton and Kara Swisher are launching their own political-themed podcast in time for the U.S. midterm elections. The former U.S. secretary of state and the veteran digital journalist unveiled plans for High Stakes, in partnership with Vox Media, to kick off Oct. 14 as the third episode of On With Kara Swisher, a podcast for New York Magazine. The duo will discuss hot button political issues like the cost of living, healthcare and technology in the lead-up to the midterms. The story.
—$4,200 shoes. Another seat in fashion’s seemingly endless game of designer musical chairs has just opened up. After nearly a year of industry whispers, on Oct. 9 Saint Laurent finally made it official: Anthony Vaccarello is leaving after a (mostly) successful decade as creative director. THR's Merle Ginsberg looks into the reasons why Vaccarello time at the French maison has come to an end. The story.
—"Sean’s health and well-being are our immediate concern." Sean “Diddy” Combs was taken from a federal prison to a local hospital after suffering a head injury. The disgraced mogul is currently serving a 50-month sentence at New Jersey's Fort Dix. Combs has been in the headlines again lately this time for reported behavior behind bars, including possessing a contraband cellphone and tablet. The story.
—"We don’t know what the future holds." Beach Boys frontman Mike Love is “facing serious health challenges,” longtime friend John Stamos revealed Sunday in a lengthy post on social media as he prepared to join the band for a Sunday concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. “We hope he’ll be doing what he loves for years to come, but we don’t know what the future holds,” Stamos said of Love, who he called in part his “father figure, musical hero and mentor” and admitted he was “struggling to put [his] feelings into words.” The story.
—"I’m uncomfortable with it." Amanda Seyfried is opening up about passing on a role in a television series due to its sex scenes. Speaking on a panel at the Hamptons Film Festival, the actress discussed the reason for her discomfort with an offered role. She did not share which television series the role was for. “I passed on a show where I would have to have sex all the time because of the sex,” she said. “Doesn’t matter [who it’s with] … I don’t wanna do it. I’m uncomfortable with it. I’m not into it right now.” The story.
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►Skydance's hatchet man? During his tenure as CEO of Mattel, Ynon Kreiz was credited with taking a chance on the Barbie movie and navigating Trump's tariffs. Now at 61, the new Skydance co-CEO takes on the biggest challenge of his career, with $6b in cost cutting on the horizon and a mandate to "make investors feel better." THR's Alex Weprin, Borys Kit and Mia Galuppo profile Kreiz who is described as a "bundle of energy" who seemed to thrive most when his (and the company’s) back was against the wall. The story.
—The house of mouse is ready to pounce! Disney is closing in on a new AI deal. Character.ai, the AI-powered chatbot company, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and it says that Disney is the stalking horse bidder for some of its assets. Founded by former Google engineers, the tech company used AI to let users create and engage with chatbots. More recently it began using AI to create microdramas. Disney Worldwide Services, a subsidiary of the entertainment giant, is committing $20m to be the stalking horse bidder. The story.
—Global plans. Japanese-owned, Barcelona-based Rakuten TV is taking its free ad-supported streaming business outside Europe, launching in the U.S., the Middle East and Japan. Rakuten TV CEO Cédric Dufour outlined the plan at international TV confab MIPCOM in Cannes on Monday, noting that the international roll-outs will not be straight copy-and-paste versions of its European model. The story.
—Reset. After abandoning a $3.7b merger with rival Shutterstock in late June over a regulatory roadblock, Getty Images now plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and go private in partnership with Charles Koch’s investment firm. As the company plots an overhaul, it says that there will be no impact on operations, employees, partners and vendors. It plans to undergo a prepackaged Chapter 11 process shortly and emerge from restructuring by the end of the year. The story.
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Gillis' 'SNL' Monologue Was Wrong Place, Wrong Time (Again) |
►"His third time definitely was not the charm, but keep in mind that Gillis did (basically) the exact same monologue hours earlier at dress rehearsal." On Saturday, comedian Shane Gillis rubbed a whole lot of people the wrong way with several jokes in his Saturday Night Live monologue — kind of like he did the first two times he hosted. (And also like when he hosted the ESPYs.) The main culprit this past weekend was an observational quip Gillis made about how women dress in the gym. THR's Tony Maglio unpacks the controversy. The story.
—"Speechless that can exist." Shane Gillis‘ SNL monologue drew fire from Schitt’s Creek co-creator and star Dan Levy. Levy posted the following on Instagram on Sunday: “Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them whores. It makes the men calling them whores misogynists. There’s a difference there. By the way, I’ve seen more men’s nipples at the gym than I’ve ever seen women showing their bodies off.” Levy continued: "But I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television." The story.
—Clapping back. Former SNL regular Ego Nwodim had a sassy reaction to Shane Gillis' controversial monologue. Nwodim took to her Instagram Story on Monday to share a photo of herself at the gym with the caption, “Whore reporting for duty.” In another post, she shared a photo of her post-workout meal, adding, “Getting my 30 grams of protein in after heauxing.” The story.
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Hargitay on 'SVU' Premiere That Echoes Cornell Case
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►"All too often these assaults are perpetrated on people who are intoxicated." THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to Law & Order: SVU icon Mariska Hargitay on the season 28 premiere episode that seemed eerily prescient given the recent grim headlines coming out of Cornell University. Hargitay notes that the story was written far ahead of the current events, but speaks to the prevalence of rape victims struggling to find justice. The interview.
—🤝 ¡Vamos! 🤝 Netflix has made a major play in the live sports business in Europe, acquiring all rights in Spain and Andorra to the 2030 FIFA Mens World Cup. The deal, unveiled Tuesday, will give Netflix exclusive rights in the territories to all 104 matches of the tournament. The streamer is planing to go all in, with full live coverage of the matches and pre-game, halftime and post-game shows, as well as daily round-up show on match days. Defending champions Spain will co-host the 2030 tournament, which is also the 100th anniversary of the event. The story.
—Retro move. NBC has taken a step toward extending its first-year drama Line of Fire. The network has asked for five additional scripts for the series, which revolves around a family of federal law enforcement agents. The order comes as Line of Fire has posted solid ratings numbers over its first three episodes. The script order doesn’t necessarily mean NBC will ask for more produced episodes, but if that does end up happening, Line of Fire will have up to 18 episodes in its first season after an initial order of 13. The story.
—🟢 Back from the dead. 🟢 The Asylum are digging up Z Nation. The producers behind Sharknado and everyone’s favorite schlock meisters are reviving their cult horror/comedy zombie series with a reboot sequel. Z Nation: Resurrection will be set in the same zombie-infested world as Z Nation, several years after the events of the original series. The story.
—High on High. ABC will give its most popular show, High Potential, the biggest possible platform during its third season. The network has scheduled an episode of the comedy to run after Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027; it will also stream on Disney+. ABC made the announcement via a short promo spot with star Kaitlin Olson during its Monday Night Football telecast. High Potential is scheduled to start its third season early next year as part of ABC’s midseason lineup. The story.
—🟢 Coming back. 🟢 PBS has renewed Civics Made Easy for a second season. Once again hosted by author Ben Sheehan season two’s eight episodes will run through January 2027. The Webby Award-winning series explores the fundamentals of our government. The story.
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Details Revealed Sony's Four Beatles Films
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►"Four-film cinematic event." More intel on Sony's distribution plan for Sam Mendes' hotly anticipated Beatles films has arrived. Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan will play Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, respectively, with the four features currently slated to release in the same month in 2028. Yes, the same month. The story.
—"The story lost its edge." The Social Reckoning had a tough time making noise at the box office in its opening weekend, spurring debate about the prospects for a spate of 2026 titles examining the tech sphere. Social Reckoning grossed a disappointing $5.5m domestically, below even the soft initial projections that distributor Sony had set for the wide release of the $30m-budgeted film. THR's "numbers guy" Ryan Gajewski digs into why the followup to universally praised and commercially successful The Social Network tanked at the box office. The analysis.
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►"Has too much 'splaining to do." THR's Angie Han reviews Disney+'s VisionQuest. The WandaVision follow-up series from Marvel finds the heroic synthezoid laying low until a bounty hunter comes after him, forcing him to go on the run with a reincarnation of his speedster son. Starring Paul Bettany, James Spader, Ruaridh Mollica, T'Nia Miller, Todd Stashwick, James D'Arcy, Emily Hampshire, Orla Bradley, Lauren Morais, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Diane Morgan. Created by Terry Matalas. The review.
—"Familiar and visually uninspired, yet still sporadically captivating." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's Tyson. The Floyd Russ-directed four-part docuseries follows boxer Mike Tyson from rough childhood to athletic stardom to decades of self-inflicted adversity. The review.
In other news...
—Netflix's The Body trailer: Catholic school dance team wreaks havoc
—Miami Vice ’85 first look: Austin Butler and Michael B. Jordan suit up as Crockett and Tubbs
—Linda Duncombe, banking executive and film producer, dies at 55
What else we're reading...
—J.D. Capelouto and Max Tani report that Fox News' coverage continues to stay positive on data centers even as public backlash grows [Semafor]
—Alan Siegel goes inside the fake TV world of 30 Rock, including classics like MILF Island and The Rural Juror [Ringer]
—Jason Schreier reports that Fortnite maker Epic Games is going to institute an "AI first” production model for developers [Bloomberg]
—Arjun Kharpal reports that Anthropic is warning that its AI models could soon copy themselves across home connected devices like smart ovens and Android TV boxes [CNBC]
—Chloe W. Shakin visits the small (and very lovely!) Welsh town of Porthcawl that each year plays host to one of the world's biggest Elvis Presley festivals [NYT]
Today...
...in 2017, Open Road Films released Reginald Hudlin's Marshall in theaters. The legal biopic, starring Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall, was praised by critics and saw an Oscar nom for the Common and Diane Warren-penned song "Stand Up for Something." The original review.
Today's birthdays...
Caleb McLaughlin (25), Sacha Baron Cohen (55), Ashanti (46), Kate Walsh (59), Matt Walsh (62), Himesh Patel (36), Alex Ferns (58), Marie Osmond (67), Hiro Kanagawa (63), Chris Carter (70), Beverly Johnson (74), Paul Simon (85), Katia Winter (43), Tisha Campbell (58), Ashley Newbrough (39), John Lone (74), Luis Tosar (55), Nell Tiger Free (27), Danny Lloyd (54), Christopher Judge (62), Kiele Sanchez (49), Susan Blommaert (79), Katie Walder (44), Richard Sammel (66), Florian Munteanu (36), Bailey Noble (36), Rutanya Alda (84), Branden Williams (52)
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