What's news: Amazon MGM Studios global TV chief Peter Friedlander has unveiled his second major reorganization this year. The BBC and Channel 4 are in talks about combining their streaming services. NBCU has greenlit Summer House Canada. Disney is bringing back the Cheetah Girls for a movie. And M3GAN spinoff Soulm8te is heading straight to home video. — Abid Rahman
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►🏆 Congrats to all! 🏆 The 2026 Emmy nominations were revealed on Wednesday morning. HBO's The Pitt leads all nominees with a total of 25, followed by Hacks with 24 (a record for a comedy series for noms in a single year) and Apple TV's Widow’s Bay with 19 (leading all new shows). Other shows earning double-digit noms were Pluribus (18 total noms), Beef (16), DTF St. Louis (13) and Saturday Night Live and Spider-Noir (11 apiece). The nominees.
—Snubs, surprises and shutouts. After years of Taylor Sheridan‘s series failing to be recognized with Emmy nominations in prominent categories, a number of awards experts thought this might be his year with Landman and The Madison. Alas, neither series landed any noms. Other well-received series that were shut out include I Love L.A., Industry, Matlock, Elsbeth, The Lowdown, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins and St. Denis Medical. In terms of surprises, Ryan Murphy’s critically panned All’s Fair landed two noms. On the unscripted side, Dancing With the Stars surprisingly scored its first reality competition program nomination since 2016 and 22-time nominee The Amazing Race missing out. The snubs.
—Can't be beat. Led by Hacks and The Pitt, HBO Max led all networks and platforms in Emmy noms. HBO Max earned 122 nominations, including those for shows that originate on the HBO cable channels and stream simultaneously on HBO Max. That total was down year on year; HBO Max received 142 nominations in 2025. Netflix came second with 111 nominations (also down from last year’s 120). Apple TV hit a high in nominations for a second consecutive year, earning 87 nods. ABC led the broadcast networks with 40 total nominations, followed by CBS (32), NBC (30), PBS (five) and Fox (three). The story.
—Feinberg's take. What to make of the Widow’s Bay surge? Taylor Sheridan's continued rejection? And what of The Amazing Race's disappearance? THR's executive editor of awards coverage Scott Feinberg dives deep into Wednesday morning's announcement. The analysis.
—"The nominations spread the love, but not far enough." THR's TV reviewers Daniel Fienberg and Angie Han discuss the thrills and frustrations of this year's Emmy nominations crop, from the love for Apple's Widow's Bay to the omissions of FX's The Lowdown and BBC/Netflix's Lord of the Flies. The critics' conversation.
—ICYMI. Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay will host the 2026 Emmy Awards, which are set to air Sept. 14 on NBC. She’ll be the first host who’s not primarily known for their comedic work in almost two decades. The story.
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Storrie, Infiniti, Bibb and Pidgeon Among First-Time Emmy Nominees |
►Bumper year for newbies. Connor Storrie, Chase Infiniti, Leslie Bibb, Sarah Pidgeon, Brittany Allen and Megan Stalter are among the first-time Emmy acting nominees. In all, 28 actors received their first nominations, with the vast majority coming from The Pitt, Widow's Bay and Pluribus. The story.
—Posthumous nod. The late filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner has earned a posthumous Emmy nomination for a guest role in a comedy for his work on The Bear. Reiner appeared as the character Albert Schnurr in a three-episode arc during season four of the hit FX series. The story.
—Glorious comeback. Michael J. Fox has received an Emmy nomination for his guest starring role in season three of Apple's Shrinking. The guest role on Shrinking marked Fox’s return to acting after stepping away in 2020 due to memory and speech issues from Parkinson’s disease. The story.
—Doubling up. There are a handful of stars who earned multiple acting Emmy nominations. Among those nominated for several projects are Jason Bateman, Colman Domingo, Laurie Metcalf, Nick Offerman and Cardiff's very onw Matthew Rhys. The story.
—Not fiction. Best-selling author Emily Henry is officially an Emmy nominee. The Netflix film adaptation of her novel People We Meet On Vacation scored a nomination in the outstanding television movie category. The story.
—Taylor's Emmys era. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — The Final Show received five Emmy nominations, including for best variety special (prerecorded), best directing for a variety special (Glenn Weiss), outstanding picture editing for variety programming, outstanding sound mixing for a variety series or special and outstanding technical direction and camerawork for a special. The story.
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'Hacks' Creators on Their Record-Breaking Haul
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►"Incredible way to end." THR's Rick Porter spoke to Hacks creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky about the show's record 24 Emmy nominations for its final season. The interview.
—"It’s nice to be surprised when shows we thought wouldn’t be there are." THR's Steven Zeitchik spoke to HBO chief Casey Bloys about another stellar Emmys haul for the company. Bloys discusses Heated Rivalry Emmys ineligibility, where HBO has been and where it’s going and his thoughts on I Love LA being shutout. The interview.
—"You reach a point where you go, you know what? I don’t want to get overlooked anymore." THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to The Pitt’s Brittany Allen on securing a nomination after self-submitting for Emmy consideration. Allen remarkably received a nomination for her guest role as Roxie Hamler on the show after self-submitting and doing some of her own campaigning. The interview.
—"Somebody will see that the door is open for them." Caitlin also spoke to The Pitt's Sepideh Moafi on her historic Emmy nom. Moafi became the first Iranian woman and woman from the Middle East to be recognized in the supporting actress in a drama series category. The interview.
—"I’m so grateful." THR's Nicole Fell spoke to Connor Storrie about his first Emmy nod. The Heated Rivalry star earns his first major award nomination — and it’s not for the show you’re thinking of. The interview.
—"Holy sh**." Nicole also spoke to Beef star Charles Melton on his first Emmy nom. Melton, who was an executive producer on the project and therefore earned a nomination for the show’s best limited series or anthology nomination, has no shortage of gratitude for the show’s creative team. The interview.
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Baldoni Breaks Silence on Lively Legal Battle |
►"So many painful things." Justin Baldoni broke his silence after the lengthy legal battle with his It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively, came to an end earlier this year. In a nearly five-minute-long video posted on his Instagram Wednesday evening, Justin, sitting next to his wife, Emily Baldoni, explained why he hadn't spoken out until now and how they’ve been coping as a family over the last few years since the case that captivated Hollywood first erupted in August 2024. "If you’ve ever been through something traumatic, you know that healing isn’t linear. It looks different every day. And we have had to rethink for ourselves what is real and what matters," said Baldoni. The story.
—It’s Sora all over again. Meta this week rolled out the first photo and video tools to come out of its Superintelligence Labs: Muse Photo and Muse Video. The company also said that all public Instagram profiles will be opt-out, not opt-in, and other users can pull in those other accounts that don’t opt out and create new content using their profiles. For celebrities that could be a major problem, even if most do end up opting out. On Wednesday evening, CAA called out Meta for the move, and asking the tech giant to make it opt-in, not opt-out. "We have raised our concerns with Meta on behalf of our clients," CAA said in a statement. The story.
—Ominous. Character.ai, the popular and controversial chatbot company founded by former Google engineers, is expanding its business in a surprising way: the launch of a microdrama division. The firm announced Thursday that it has created a number of AI-driven animated microdramas for its app, hiring Hollywood writers to pen the episodes, which are then generated with AI rather than traditional animated techniques. AI is also deployed after the series’ are produced to enable users to chat with characters and even engage in their own fan-fiction-style chatbot creations based on them. The story.
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The Get-Big-or-Die Era of European TV Has Arrived |
►Existential threat. European broadcasters have been trying to sell regulators for close to two decades that if they weren't allowed to merge, they will disappear. On July 6, Sky and ITV finally got the chance to test whether, this time, anyone believes them. THR's Scott Roxborough looks at what has become an urgent inflection point for Europe's TV companies and why after all this time, regulators are starting to say yes to a rising consolidation wave. The analysis.
—About that race for scale. In wake of Sky’s landmark acquisition of rival public broadcaster ITV, the new BBC boss has revealed that the company is in conversation with Channel 4 about potentially combining their streaming services. Matt Brittin, who took over from former BBC director-general Tim Davie in May this year, faced politicians at a U.K. parliament culture committee on Wednesday, where he detailed the necessity of a British “sovereign platform” that can rival U.S. tech giants like YouTube and Netflix. The story.
—Génial! TF1's team-up with Netflix is already paying off. The French commercial broadcaster says it has seen record streaming figures just three weeks into a new carriage deal with Netflix. The deal, which came into effect last month, sees Netflix in France carry live broadcasts and on-demand content from TF1 and its on-demand platform TF1+. TF1 said it posted a 8.3m unique daily streams for the finale of Koh-Lanta, a Survivor-style reality game show, on June 25, a new record, and saw significant audience boosts for its new reality show Secret Story and Good American Family, the Hulu limited series it licenses in France. The story.
—Shuffle, shuffle. Amazon MGM Studios global TV chief Peter Friedlander has unveiled his second major reorganization this year. In the latest move to build out genre-based teams for both development and current programming, Jen Chambers, Michael McDonald and Odetta Watkins will be departing Amazon. Kara Smith is being promoted to head of drama. The result is a new creative leadership structure for drama, comedy, and YA scripted TV. In a Jan. 2026 major TV reorganization, Smith, McDonald and Chambers were tapped to oversee comedy, drama and YA programming and report to Friedlander as the division sought a new head of drama. The story.
—Sale possible. Lenders are moving in on studio complexes owned by Hackman Capital Partners, the biggest independent owner of soundstages in Los Angeles, as production levels in the region hover around all-time lows. A lender consortium led by Deutsche Bank have kicked off the process of selling Television City, a storied lot in the central L.A. Fairfax Avenue corridor. They’re owed more than $357m, according to a notice of default filed last month. At the same time, Deutsche Bank is looking to offload Manhattan Beach Studios. An industrial company has submitted a preemptive offer, and plans involve clearing or retrofitting the 15 soundstages on the 22-acre studio campus. The story.
—New leadership. Fathom Entertainment, the specialty distributor jointly owned by major theater chains AMC, Cinemark and Regal, has named Jason Brenek its new CEO. Brenek succeeds Ray Nutt, who announced his retirement from Fathom earlier this year. Brenek was most recently the founder and CEO of the cloud-based cinema distribution platform MetaMedia, and before that served in senior roles at Imax and Disney. The story.
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'Soulm8te' Headed to Home Video After 'M3GAN 2.0' Bombed
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►Buried. After Universal pulled the M3GAN spinoff Soulm8te from its release calendar, Blumhouse Atomic Monster is sending the AI sci-fi thriller straight to home video. The title, from director and co-writer Kate Dolan, will launch exclusively on digital platforms starting Aug. 1. The deal with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment follows Blumhouse’s M3GAN 2.0 bombing at the box office last summer, grossing $39.1m globally, compared to $180m for the first installment, Gerard Johnstone’s 2023 hit M3GAN. The story.
—Their back! Disney is bringing back the Cheetah Girls. The company said Wednesday that a new movie, titled The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen, has been greenlit for Disney Channel and Disney+. Debra Martin Chase, who exec produced the original trilogy, and original star Raven-Symoné are on board to executive produce the new movie. Symoné will also reprise her role as Galleria, while Adrienne Bailon returns as Chanel. Also returning for a “special appearance” will be original star Sabrina Bryan as Dorinda. Lynn Whitfield and Lori Alter will reprise their roles as Dorothea and Juanita, respectively. The story.
—Heading north. THR's Etan Vlessing has the scoop that NBCUniversal has greenlit Summer House Canada, the first international adaptation of the hit Bravo reality series, with production underway in southern Ontario. The 10-part Canadian version of Summer House from Vancouver-based indie Lark Productions will launch exclusively on NBCU’s reality streaming platform Hayu in 2027. Mirroring the original format, Summer House Canada will bring together a group of friends escaping to a shared house on summer weekends, with no word yet on cast members for the local version. The story.
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TV Review: 'Little House on the Prairie'
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►"Heart-filled and honorable." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's Little House on the Prairie. Ma, Pa, Laura and Mary return to TV in this new take on the material, which brings the Ingalls family from the Big Woods of Wisconsin to Independence, Kansas. Starring Alice Halsey, Luke Bracey, Crosby Fitzgerald, Skywalker Hughes, Jocko Sims, Warren Christie, Wren Zhawenim Gotts and Barrett Doss. Created by Rebecca Sonnenshine, based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The review.
—"When wetting the baby's head goes too far." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Mads Mengel's The Guest. Mengel's debut feature, premiering at Karlovy Vary, is about a woman who crashes her grandson's naming ceremony. Starring Simon Bennebjerg, Trine Dyrholm, Josephine Park, Peter Gantzler, Petrine Agger, Mette Klakstein Wiberg, Kristine Kujath Thorp and Buster Lund Luscher. Written by Christian Bengtson and Mads Mengel. The review.
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►"A buoyant surprise." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Thomas Kail's Moana. This live-action reimagining of the hit 2016 Disney animated feature is about a plucky Polynesian teenager’s coming of age, with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Starring Catherine Laga’aia, Dwayne Johnson, Rena Owen, John Tui, Frankie Adams and Jemaine Clement. Written by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller. The review.
—"An orgy of unmodulated mayhem." David reviews Sébastien Vanicek's Evil Dead Burn. Souheila Yacoub plays a newly widowed Parisienne sheltering with her American in-laws in this sixth installment of Sam Raimi’s demonic possession franchise. Also starring Tandi Wright, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand, Maude Davey and George Pullar. Written by Sébastien Vanicek and Florent Bernard. The review.
In other news...
—Justin Bieber joins World Cup Halftime Show alongside Madonna, Shakira and BTS
—Locarno: Hong Sang-soo, Albert Serra, Vincent Grashaw films in lineup
—Why Upper Deck is reminiscing about a viral Michael Jordan marketing stunt from 1992
—Why Keith Olbermann is auctioning a “Holy Grail” baseball card
—Joey Graceffa signs with HeartRock Partners
—Trixie Mattel signs with CAA
—Katie Couric thought she suffered a stroke.
Then she was diagnosed with temporary amnesia
What else we're reading...
—Alex Sherman reveals that Netflix, Disney and YouTube are interested in the future U.S. rights to the World Cup and the price could hit $2b [CNBC]
—Chris Weatherspoon unpacks FIFA's finances, and reveals where the money comes from and where it goes [The Athletic]
—Billy Stockwell dives in the absurd reality that Nigel Farage, a potential future U.K. prime minister, is set to face off in a special election with a comedy candidate named Count Binface [CNN]
—Thomas Barrabi reports on Meta's claims that it is facing $1.4t in penalties in the teen mental health case [New York Post]
—More bad news for Mark Zuckerberg, with Stacy Liberatore reporting that deadly bacteria has been found in the wastewater system in Cheyenne, Wyoming tied to Meta's $800m data center [Daily Mail]
Today...
...in 1999, Universal released the R-rated teen comedy American Pie in theaters, where it would go on to gross $235m worldwide and kickstart a franchise. The original review.
Today's birthdays...
Tom Hanks (70), Chris Cooper (75), Kelly McGillis (69), Pamela Adlon (60), Jimmy Smits (71), Toby Kebbell (44), Kevin Nash (67), Courtney Love (62), Douglas Booth (34), Ruairi O'Connor (35), Scott Grimes (55), Georgie Henley (31), David O'Hara (61), Elnaaz Norouzi (30), Mitchel Musso (35), Mary Vernieu (63), Linda Park (48), Enrique Murciano (53), Drew Hancock (47), Robert Capron (28), Hanna Hall (42), Elliot Cowan (50), Ray Porter (61), Meg DeLacy (30), Courtney Grosbeck (26), Angélica Celaya (44), Ray Baker (78), Kyle Davis (48), Myra Lucretia Taylor (66), Wil Traval (46), K. Todd Freeman (61), Dare Taylor (32), Damián Szifron (51), Philip Martin Brown (70), Megan Parlen (46)
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Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose iconic raspy voice turned tracks like “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero” into some of the biggest songs of the ‘80s, has died. She was 75. The obituary.
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