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What's news: John Ternus will be the new CEO of Apple. The Onion has finally acquired the rights to InfoWars. The Pitt S2 is averaging a whopping 15.4m viewers per episode. And YouTube's deepfake detection tech is now open to celebs and prominent people. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
Who Wants to Own a Piece of Wasserman?►The latest. It’s been over two months since Casey Wasserman made the surprise move under pressure to put his namesake company up for auction after facing an artist exodus when his decades-old emails with Ghislaine Maxwell surfaced in the Department of Justice’s Jeffrey Epstein documents. Since that time, potential suitors have been gaming out a few questions, namely: Is this a fire sale? Is Wasserman willing to break up his sprawling firm into pieces? Is there an appetite to buy the company whole — or just pick off clients in each division? And is Wasserman serious about a sale? THR's Erik Hayden reports that as of Monday's deadline, UTA and Patrick Whitesell's firm have submitted offers; WME and CAA are sitting it out. The story.
—Exeunt Tim Apple. Enter John Apple. Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping aside at the tech giant, shifting to a new role as executive chairman. John Ternus will succeed him as the company’s new CEO. Apple announced the change Monday, with the transition set to take effect Sep. 1. Ternus is svp of hardware engineering for Apple. Cook isn’t leaving, of course, Apple says that in his new role he “will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world.” Art Levinson, currently Apple’s non-executive chairman, will become its lead independent director in connection with the change, and Ternus will also join the board. The story.
—Gamechanger. Hollywood is an industry built on likeness and fame. But consumers are entering a world in which anyone’s likeness can be co-opted, as AI-generated deepfakes proliferate. YouTube, the world’s largest video platform, has developed a solution. And now it is opening it up to Hollywood. THR's Alex Weprin has the scoop that executives at YouTube now say that their proprietary deepfake detection tool, years in the making, is now open to anyone at high risk of having their likeness abused: Actors, athletes, creators and musicians, whether they have a YouTube channel or not, can sign up to identify and request removal of deepfakes on its platform. The story.
—The crazy bastards did it. Nearly a year and a half after its prior effort to acquire the right wing conspiracy-centric brand Infowars was nixed by a bankruptcy judge, The Onion is moving forward with a new effort to take over the company and secure justice for the families of Sandy Hook victims. On Monday, The Onion and its parent company Global Tetrahedron announced a licensing deal for the company’s brand names and IP, including its website. Infowars was founded by Alex Jones, the right wing media personality, who operated it for more than 25 years up until its bankruptcy. The story.
—🏆 Yay us! 🏆 Heated Rivalry, Bad Bunny, Timothée Chalamet, Sabrina Carpenter and THR are among the winners for the 30th annual Webby Awards. THR won the People’s Voice Award in the category of Entertainment, General Desktop & Mobile Sites (Websites & Mobile Sites). Other winners include Selena Gomez, Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon, Alex Warren, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Amy Poehler, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes & Will Arnett, Don Lemon, Jason & Travis Kelce, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Sinners, The White Lotus, SNL, Severance, WAYMO, Apple, Lady Gaga, KATSEYE, NPR, Stranger Things, Abbott Elementary, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sesame Street . The winners. |
MARI Moves Into Collectibles►🤝 Sold! 🤝 MARI, the holding company founded by Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro, is expanding into collectibles. The experiences-centric venture is acquiring Collect-A-Con, which holds events celebrating trading cards, anime, gaming and pop culture across the U.S. The company was founded in 2021, and this year is slated to hold 24 events, with more than 500,000 annual attendees. The events bring together merchandise and collectibles, celebrities and voice actors, and live performances, all focused on its core enthusiast categories. Terms of the deal were not disclosed though Collect-A-Con’s current leadership and brand will continue to operate the company. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Black Doves, Chernobyl and Gangs of London production company Sister Group has acquired a majority stake in digital-first creative production company After Party Studios, the company unveiled on Tuesday. Financial details weren’t disclosed. Founded in 2016 and focused on the intersection of digital and mainstream content, After Party was set up by YouTuber Callum McGinley, also known as Callux, film and commercial director Ben Doyle, CEO Joshua Barnett, who is a former ITV executive, and Base79 founder Richard Mansell. Sister is the indie global studio founded by Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone. The story.
—London calling. Oliver Jones is set to exit Apple TV after six years and join Amazon MGM Studios as senior commissioner for U.K. scripted. The studio’s vp and head of international originals, Nicole Clemens, told her team about Jones’ appointment in an email on Monday. He’ll be working closely with Clemens on the commissioning of new U.K. scripted shows starting in May, and will relocate from L.A. back to London for the role. Commissioners Gemma Brandler and Punit Mattoo will report to Jones. The story.
—Financial probe. Bang Si-hyuk, the founder and chairman of K-pop powerhouse Hybe — the agency home of BTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, NewJeans and ENHYPEN — is facing possible arrest after South Korean police moved Tuesday to secure a warrant for his detention in connection with an ongoing investigation into the company’s 2020 IPO. Seoul police's financial crimes investigation unit said it has booked Bang on charges of fraudulent and unfair trading and is moving to take him into custody. The agency alleges that he secured roughly $129m in illicit gains during Hybe’s IPO process. The story.
—🤝 Mickey making moves. 🤝 Disney+ is making moves to boost its output of live-action originals from Japan, a longstanding ambition for the company’s Asia-Pacific content team that has been given greater urgency as the House of Mouse works to grow its streaming business worldwide. The company unveiled a multi-year development deal on Tuesday with Tokyo-based production company The Seven, one of Netflix’s most frequent partners on Japanese-language films and series. Disney described the deal as a “long-term, ongoing content development collaboration.” The duration of the pact was not disclosed, nor were financial details. The story. |
D4vd Charged With First-Degree Murder►The latest. Singer D4vd could be facing the death penalty after being charged Monday with first-degree murder by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in connection with the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered body was discovered inside an abandoned Tesla in the Hollywood Hills last year. At a press conference on Monday, L.A. District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced that the 21-year-old singer, whose real name is David Burke, faces a first-degree murder charge with special circumstances, including lying in wait; committing the crime for financial gain; and murdering a witness. He was also charged with a second count involving lewd acts with a child, as well as dismemberment of the 15-year-old girl’s body. The story.
—"Thank you for the outpouring of love and well wishes." Christina Applegate has offered an update on her health on the heels of reports she was hospitalized in L.A. amid an ongoing battle with multiple sclerosis. "Health issues are a constant for me, but I’m a strong chick and I’m getting stronger and better every day. I’m taking a moment to focus on my health, but I’ll be back with more to say soon enough," the actress shared on Instagram Monday. The update comes after TMZ reported April 16 that the veteran star had been hospitalized since late March. The story.
—Real-life Reacher. Mick Betancourt, a veteran writer, producer and showrunner with a long list of credits on crime dramas and action series like the newest seasons of the Alan Ritchson-starrer Reacher, witnessed a violent crime happening in real time on New York’s Lower East Side as if it were ripped straight from one of his scripts. Rather than sit idly by, he sprang into action to chase down the suspect who — spoiler alert! — ended up in handcuffs by the time the harrowing incident was over. But not before Betancourt bolted approximately half a mile (or more) as he pursued the suspect over 15 minutes. The story. |
Life After Hollywood: Writer Nick Morton►"I used to be a Hollywood writer. Now I’m lugging lumber from Home Depot. It’s an upgrade." In the latest in THR's series about life after Hollywood, Nick Morton, a former TV and film scribe, undergoes a gut renovation as he settles into a second career as a construction worker. The column. |
Netflix Got More Hits Than Misses From the Obamas►Better than Harry and Meghan, though... The coming split of Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, and Netflix will mark the end of — or at least a sizable change to — what’s been a productive relationship. The Obamas founded Higher Ground in 2018 and signed a deal with Netflix to produce both feature films and series projects for the streamer. In its eight years at Netflix — the two companies extended their partnership with a first-look deal in 2024 — Higher Ground has produced more than 20 films and series, with a couple more on the way. THR's Rick Porter takes a look at all the projects. The story.
—Woof! The conclusion of The Pitt‘s second season brought in the show’s biggest audience so far. The April 16 finale of the medical drama drew 9.7m viewers on HBO Max through the weekend, more than any of the show’s 29 previous episodes over two seasons. The finale was way up from The Pitt’s season two premiere in January, which hit 5.4m viewers in three days and 7.2m after a week of viewing. Measured since the premiere, season two is averaging 15.4m viewers per episode, HBO says. That’s an improvement of more than 50 percent on 2025’s season one. The ratings. |
How Amazon Became the Surprise Studio Star of CinemaCon►The Rocky road to victory. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that theater owners were dubious a year ago as to Amazon MGM Studios’ commitment to theatrical. Fast forward 12 months and the mood was very different amid the jaw-dropping box office success of Project Hail Mary following a marketing feat of galactic proportion that star Ryan Gosling played a lead role in shaping. The analysis.
—Marty's team Pope. The Vatican will host a private screening of the Martin Scorsese-produced documentary Aldeas, The Final Dream of Pope Francis, in Rome on April 21, to mark the one-year anniversary of Francis’ death. Aldeas is the community cinema project run by Pope Francis’ global educational movement Scholas Occurrentes which holds workshops around the world to help local communities create scripted short films celebrating “their unique identities, histories, and values.” The doc follows the cinema initiative across Italy, Indonesia, and The Gambia, and includes a visit by Scorsese to his grandfather’s village in Sicily. It includes Pope Francis’s last in-depth on-camera interview shortly before his death and several behind-the-scenes conversations between the Pope and Scorsese. The story. |
Film Review: 'Michael'
►"Boilerplate on the surface, thoughtful and intimate underneath." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Antoine Fuqua's Michael. The fan-friendly, family-sanctioned Michael Jackson biopic stars the legendary singer's nephew Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop. Also starring Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Juliano Valdi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Miles Teller, Larenz Tate and Kendrick Sampson. Written by John Logan. The review.
—"A deeply felt but monotonous exercise in trauma." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews HBO's Half Man. Richard Gadd, the creator of the multi-Emmy-winning series Baby Reindeer, returns with another bleak trauma drama, a tale of stepbrothers who spend decades on a destructive, and self-destructive, journey. Starring Richard Gadd, Jamie Bell, Stuart Campbell, Mitchell Robertson, Neve McIntosh, Marianne McIvor, Charlie De Melo and Bilal Hasna. Created by Richard Gadd. The review.
In other news...
—Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as sister witches in Practical Magic 2 trailer
—Wednesday S3 first look sees Jenna Ortega arrive in Paris
—Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day to open SXSW London
—K-pop icons BigBang announce world tour
—Rif Hutton, actor on Doogie Howser, M.D. and JAG, dies at 73
What else we're reading...
—Lane Brown reports that scientists may have stumbled upon a new wonder cure for male pattern baldness [Intelligencer]
—Jon Greenaway is not loving the "banal" comedy of Jimmy Fallon, who "laughs endlessly at the same pseudo-jokes, rubs elbows with Trump and Sam Altman, and ushers in the death of culture" [Current Affairs]
—Amanda Silberling reflects on the rise of AI writing and how the hard to miss construction “it’s not just this — it’s that” has exploded in corporate comms (and even her copy) [TechCrunch]
—Not sure how they keep finding writers willing to reveal themselves like this, but The Cut has another WTAF story that is predictably eating up the discourse [The Cut]
—Edward Luce looks at why America is falling out of love with Israel [FT]
Today...
...in 1989, Universal unveiled Kevin Costner’s baseball drama Field of Dreams in theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays: James McAvoy (47), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (43), Claire Denis (80), Patti LuPone (77), Andie MacDowell (68), Toby Stephens (57), Robbie Amell (38), Tony Danza (75), Rob Riggle (56), Bridget Everett (54), John Cameron Mitchell (63), Jean-Pierre Dardenne (75), Iggy Pop (79), Sarah Catherine Hook (31), Nicole Sullivan (56), Sophie Rundle (38), Frank Dillane (35), Thomas Doherty (31), Eva De Dominici (31), Christoph Sanders (38), Kate Vernon (65), Lea Myren (25), Brian White (51), Maimie McCoy (47), Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (52), Hadley Fraser (46), Roy Dupuis (63), Dylan Bruce (46), Lisa Darr (63), Joel de la Fuente (57), Emma Tremblay (22), Jeff Anderson (56), Taegen Burns (19), Valerie Tian (37), Brianne Davis (44), Claudia Doumit (34)
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