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What's news: THR celebrates Hollywood's best stylists with four special covers. Sony Pictures Entertainment is laying of hundreds of staffers. Howard Stern's former executive assistant is threatening to publicize her experiences working for him. The 2027, 2028 dates for the Oscars, Actor Awards and PGAs have been set. And Noah Hawley will direct a remake of the Argentine supernatural horror film Terrified. — Abid Rahman
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THR's Top 25 Power Stylists 2026 ►Red carpet royalty. Behind every newly minted star — Heated Rivalry's Connor Storrie, One Battle After Another's Chase Infiniti and Sentimental Value's Renate Reinsve number among 2026’s biggest breakouts — there is always a stylist working overtime to ensure every Prada dress and Cartier diamond aligns with what’s now and what’s next. In today’s ecosystem of stars and sales (of both the movie ticket and fashion variety), stylists are key tastemakers in the dream factory that is Hollywood. THR celebrates the entertainment industry's leading image consultants with the latest edition of our list of the 25 best stylists in town. The list. |
Why J.J. Abrams Is Downsizing ►Crossroads. When J.J. Abrams’ shingle Bad Robot revealed April 2 that it was shuttering its L.A. office and moving to New York, the news hit the industry like a thunderbolt. But really, the company’s downsizing had been months in the making, foreshadowed by the $31m sale of its creative office space in Santa Monica in the fall. THR's Borys Kit looks at how Bad Robot, the banner behind seminal shows like Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest and Westworld, went from a $250m Warner Bros. deal to selling its much-loved HQ in just a few years. The story.
—Cuts. Sony Pictures Entertainment is laying off hundreds of employees across its film studio, TV studios and corporate, as CEO Ravi Ahuja refocuses the entertainment company on certain core growth areas while pulling back in other places. A source describes to THR's Alex Weprin that the move as being about strategy, not cost-cutting. SPE, of course, is unique among the major Hollywood studios in that it has focused on creating original film and TV projects and selling them to networks and streamers, rather than trying to own a major streaming platform itself. SPE is said to be doubling down on that strategy, while leaning into its strength in anime and its sister company PlayStation, with video game-based intellectual property still somewhat underutilized. The story.
—Finally. With an eye on improving how it serves sports fans, Disney on Tuesday unveiled the launch of ESPN on Disney+ in Europe and select Asia Pacific markets immediately, making the service available to subscribers in 53 countries and territories across the regions. The Asian territories that are getting the new offering include Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. With this expansion, ESPN now reaches fans through Disney+ in approximately 100 markets around the world. The story. |
Why We Published Harvey Weinstein ►"The job of journalism is not to portray life as it should be. It is to portray life as it is — however messy or distasteful." Last month, THR editor-in-chief Maer Roshan's interview with disgraced mogul and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein made headlines around the world. Not everyone was happy about that, however. Maer pens a letter about why THR published the interview. The letter from the editor. |
Stern's Former Executive Assistant Looks to Void NDA ►Hostile work environment claim. Howard Stern's former executive assistant is threatening to publicize her experiences working for the SiriusXM host and his wife. The assistant, Leslie Kuhn, filed a lawsuit looking to void her nondisclosure agreement. She accuses Stern of fostering a hostile work environment, which was allegedly created by an “irresponsible and untenable” animal rescue organization run by Stern’s wife. Kuhn was hired by SiriusXM in 2022 as an office manager for The Howard Stern Show . Earlier this year, she was terminated for cause shortly after she was given a raise to $265,000. In the lawsuit, Kuhn claims she was wrongly accused of misconduct detrimental to her reputation. She says her firing was actually a result of immense pressure caused by an animal foster group operated by Stern’s wife. The story.
—"Not intentional." The broadcast of a racial slur shouted by a Tourette’s campaigner during the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards breached the BBC‘s editorial standards, the corporation has ruled. Despite the findings from the BBC’s executive complaints unit on Wednesday, the organization’s chief content officer, Kate Phillips, has maintained that the breach “was not intentional.” The incident at the BAFTAs dominated headlines for weeks as John Davidson, executive producer on I Swear (and whose life growing up with Tourette’s inspired the film), involuntarily said the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for best visual effects. The story.
—Backing Grainge. Universal Music Group issued a brief statement addressing Bill Ackman‘s $63.5b proposal to acquire the record company, stating that the company’s board of directors and advisors “will review the proposal in accordance with its fiduciary duties and analyze its implications for shareholders, employees, artists, songwriters and other stakeholders.” UMG's board also backed the leadership of CEO Lucian Grainge. Ackman argued UMG’s stock is undervalued despite its status as the world’s largest music company, citing several factors including a delay to get UMG listed on the U.S. stock market. The story.
—Legal escalation. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul, whose Bachelorette season was recently scrapped amid investigations into alleged domestic violence incidents, filed for a temporary restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, in Salt Lake City District Court on Tuesday. The filing came just an hour before the former couple was scheduled to appear in court over an existing order of protection Mortensen had filed against Paul. Both requests stem from a late-February altercation in which the two accused each other of domestic violence. The story. |
2027, 2028 Awards Seasons Mapped Out ►📅 Dated! 📅 The Oscars ceremony, which was held on March 15 this year, will be staying in mid-March in 2027 and will then move to early March in 2028, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Tuesday. The 2027 Oscars, which will be the 99th edition of the ceremony, will take place on Sunday, March 14. The 2028 Oscars, marking the ceremony’s centennial, will be held on Sunday, March 5. Both shows will begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. As was previously announced, these will be the final Oscars ceremonies held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and broadcast on ABC. In 2029, the show will move to downtown Los Angeles’ LA LIVE complex and will begin streaming on YouTube. The story.
—📅 More dates! 📅 Hot on the heels of The Film Academy announcing the dates of the 2027 and 2028 Oscars, SAG-AFTRA has planted a stake on dates in those same years for its Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards, which honor outstanding achievements in film and television. The Actor Awards, which took place this year on March 1, will be held in 2027 on Sunday, Feb. 28, and in 2028 on Sunday, Feb. 20. As was the case with this year’s ceremony, both of those ceremonies will kick off at 8 a.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and stream live on Netflix. The story.
—📅 Dates! Dates! Dates! 📅 The Producers Guild of America also announced the future dates of its PGA Awards ceremony on Tuesday. The PGAs will take place on Saturday, Feb. 27, in 2027 and on Saturday, Feb. 19, in 2028. Notably, the 2027 PGA Awards ceremony will take place during the final round of Oscars voting (which will run Feb. 25-March 4), increasing the possibility that the selection of the guild’s members could influence the selection of the Academy’s members. The story.
—🏆 Congratulations! 🏆 The Peabody Awards board of jurors announced its 2026 nominees in the documentary, news, public service and radio/podcast categories on Tuesday. Noteworthy documentary contenders are Mr. Nobody Against Putin, which won the Oscar for best documentary feature film at last month’s Academy Awards, as well as The Alabama Solution, Come See Me in the Good Light and The Perfect Neighbor, which all received Oscar nominations. Pee-Wee as Himself, the 2025 Emmy award winner for best documentary or nonfictional special, is also among the nominees. The nominees. |
The Studio Chief Betting Millions Michael Jackson Can Still Fill Seats ►"I’m encouraged that there is more story to tell and that we have a really good shot at being in a position to deliver." THR's David Canfield spoke to Lionsgate film chair Adam Fogelson. After scoring a huge box office win with The Housemaid, and with the next Hunger Games movie waiting in the wings, Fogelson dishes on his hopes of turning Michael, a music heavy biopic about the scandal plagued King of Pop, into a box office thriller with plenty of room for sequels. The interview.
—Shut up and take my money! THR's Borys "Scooopppzzz" Kit has the scoop that Noah Hawley — the Emmy-winning creative behind Fargo and Alien: Earth — has set his next film project with Warner Bros., a remake of the Argentine supernatural horror Terrified . Hawley is set to direct and produce the feature, which is being developed with Demián Rugna, the writer-director behind the original Spanish-language feature, Aterrados . The project will be a reimagining of the 2017 film, which centers on a police officer and a series of paranormal researchers and investigators who attempt to get to the bottom of supernatural occurrences that are centered in one neighborhood in Buenos Aires. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Busy Borys is back with another scoop, this time with the news that Netflix has picked up Court Date, an original feature pitch from Michael Montemayor. Berlanti/Schechter Films, the feature banner run by prolific TV mavens Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, will produce. While details are being kept secret, it is understood to be a romantic comedy centered on two young lawyers on opposite sides of a legal case who fall in love. The deal marks the first pitch sale for the rising Montemayor, who began his career as a writer’s assistant to Dana Fox, the veteran rom-com scribe who most recently penned the Wicked movies. The story.
—What's in a name? Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s movie The Shitheads is getting a new moniker ahead of its theatrical release. Independent Film Company announced Tuesday that filmmaker Macon Blair‘s road comedy feature will be released theatrically under the title Idiots on Aug. 28. Mason Thames, Peter Dinklage, Kiernan Shipka and Nicholas Braun round out the cast for the movie that premiered at Sundance. Idiots centers on Mark (Franco) and Davis (Jackson), a pair of ne’er-do-wells who are hired to escort a rich teen (Thames) to rehab. The story. |
'Summer House' Spinoff to Air After S10 Finale Amid Scandal ►Turbulent times. Lindsay Hubbard, Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula are ready to transition from life on Summer House to their day-to-day In The City more quickly than viewers may have anticipated. Bravo has officially announced that the Summer House spinoff will premiere on May 19 at 9 p.m., directly following the show’s season 10 finale, which begins at 8 p.m. While the new series has been in the works for quite some time, its debut arrives amid quite a turbulent time for the main cast, most notably including Batula and West Wilson, who recently confirmed their relationship. The story.
—About that whole "Scamanda" thing. For THR, culture critic Shamira Ibrahim digs into the controversy engulfing Summer House and Bravo's handling of it. Shamira writes that the network's reaction to the betrayal of Ciara Miller by two white castmates will reveal how much, or little, it has learned about the impact of race on reality stardom. The critic's notebook.
—🎭 Familiar face. 🎭 Uma Thurman will reprise her role as Charley in Paramount+'s Dexter: Resurrection. In the show’s first season, Charley, a former special operations officer, was billionaire serial killer enthusiast Leon Prater’s (Peter Dinklage) right hand woman; she left New York after discovering Prater had betrayed her trust. Thurman will join Resurrection stars Michael C. Hall and Jack Alcott in season two, along with Emmy winner Brian Cox as Don Framt, aka the New York Ripper — a retired serial killer who still taunts the survivors of his past deeds. The story.
—Boss talk. CNN is launching a new business interview series, with a twist: The subjects will interview each other. The cable news channel is launching what it is calling The 1 on 1 with CNN, in which business leaders sit down with each other for what it hopes will be illuminating conversations. The 1 on 1 will launch on CNN’s subscription streaming platform, and will also be available on YouTube. The first episode will feature world-famous chefs and entrepreneurs Eric Ripert and José Andrés in conversation; with the second episode featuring Pinterest CEO Bill Ready and Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail. The story. |
'Shrinking' Boss Confirms Who Will Return for S4►"Still a bunch of stories to tell." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to Shrinking co-creator Bill Lawrence about the season three finale of the critically-acclaimed Apple TV dramedy. Lawrence explains why the season three finale felt like the end — even though it's not — and where the show will jump when it returns. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"You want those scenes to feel epic." Jackie also spoke to Bruce Miller, the creator of Hulu's The Testaments, about the three episode premier of The Handmaid's Tale sequel series. "There's an aspect of superhero to [SPOILER] that we wanted to have in this show, because [SPOILER] is looming over the whole thing," Miller tells THR about that major reveal. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
TV Review: 'Hacks' S5
►"Perhaps too fond a farewell." THR's Angie Han reviews season five of HBO's Hacks. The final outing of the showbiz comedy sees Deborah planning to secure her legacy with a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, with help from Ava. Starring Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs, Megan Stalter, Rose Abdoo, Mark Indelicato and Carl Clemons-Hopkins. Created by Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs. The review.
In other news...
—HBO’s Half Man trailer sees Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell in a violent, codependent relationship
—Sundance Institute sets Native Lab participants
—Netflix opens Buenos Aires office
—How to get last-minute Coachella passes for sold-out 2026 festival
—Kevin Shivers named co-president of music at The Team
—Meow Wolf finds new CEO after year-long search
—Carl W. Crudup, actor in The First Breeze of Summer and J.D.’s Revenge, dies at 79
What else we're reading...
—Jaw-dropping story from Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman on how Trump took the U.S. into a disastrous war with Iran [NYT]
—Charlie Warzel tries to make sense of the weird time we're living in a week when we've both seen the best (Artemis II) and worst (Trump) of humanity [Atlantic]
—Rachyl Jones reports that OpenAI is going after Ari Emanuel's WME in its ongoing legal battle with Elon Musk [Semafor]
—Pamela Hutchinson talks to Sean Hepburn Ferrer about his mother Audrey Hepburn's movies, charity work, marriages and fascist parents [Guardian]
—Long, but fascinating read from John Carreyrou, who believes he has discovered the real identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto [NYT]
Today...
...in 1964, Paramount unveiled Audrey Hepburn and William Holden starrer Paris When It Sizzles in theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Patricia Arquette (58), Robin Wright (60), Taylor Kitsch (45), Katee Sackhoff (46), Ana de la Reguera (49), Paola Núñez (48), Sung Kang (54), Craig Mazin (55), Dean Norris (63), Arienne Mandi (32), Gerardo Celasco (44), Emma Caulfield Ford (53), John Schneider (66), Anna Osceola (38), Taran Noah Smith (42), Sadie Calvano (29), Shelby Young (34), Gabriella Wilde (37), JR Bourne (56), Levy Tran (43), Joe Bird (19), Kirsten Storms (42), Stuart Pankin (80), Kane Hodder (71), Skai Jackson (24), Ty Panitz (27), Rachel Roberts (48), Sophie Grace (20), Evan Mock (29), John Madden (77), Dorian Brown Pham (47), Jim Piddock (70), Bailey Gavulic (28), Leif Gantvoort (54), Jacqueline Pinol (47), Michael Spound (69), Stephanie Cayo (38)
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