What's news: The WGA has filed its own suit agains the Paramount-WBD merger. The World Cup QFs continue to deliver massive TV audiences in the U.S. YouTube's Good Mythical Morning is coming to Netflix. And Cats: The Jellicle Ball is ending its run on Broadway and Andrew Lloyd Webber is sounding the alarm bell. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com.
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►The new face of Hollywood. With THR's Aesthetics Issue, step inside the definitive Hollywood guide to the A-List face, from the top doctors and latest high-tech treatments to the Great Filler Debate and a look at the evolving pursuit of perfection. The issue.
—"Slop face" is taking over. Hollywood’s old guard looks distinctive. Meryl. Al. Tom. Morgan. Matt. Denzel. Brad. Newer stars look more … familiar. THR's James Hibberd writes that some millennial and Gen Z stars still have work done, but there is a more generic quality to beauty nowadays. Call it Instagram face. Or, in a reference to AI’s rising influence on beauty standards, "slop face." The story.
—The great facial filler backlash. James Hibberd writes that the chipmunk-cheeked look is out, and ridiculed stars from Kristin Davis to Courteney Cox have reversed their procedures. So why are the injections more popular than ever? The story.
—Dull metal jacket. James Hibberd reports that Hollywood's elite are injecting copper to look younger. The popular peptide GHK-Cu has been hailed as a fountain of youth, but skeptics warn of a ghastly side effect dubbed the “copper uglies.” The story.
—A cut above. For THR, Beth Landman and Elycia Rubin list the 49 best cosmetic doctors and aesthetic gurus in America. From red carpet-ready transformations to subtle tweaking, these are the top plastic surgeons, dermatologists, dentists, nurse practitioners and aestheticians Hollywood’s elite trust with their faces. The list.
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Tennessee Is Courting Paramount — And the Studio Is Considering It |
►"Companies that choose Tennessee find more than a favorable business climate." THR's Winston Cho has the scoop that Tennessee is courting David Ellison’s Paramount. In a letter to Ellison on July 2, Tennessee Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter urged the Paramount CEO to relocate the studio’s corporate headquarters amid a rift with California over its $111b takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Leaving California isn’t optimal considering Paramount relocated out of New York last year, but a longtime adviser to Ellison tells THR that "everything is on the table." The story.
—More legal trouble. The day after 12 state attorneys general sued to block the Paramount-WBD merger, the Writers Guild of America has filed its own lawsuit to impede the mega-deal. The labor union representing film and television writers filed a suit in U.S. district court for the northern district of California on Tuesday alleging that the deal breaks antitrust law and would harm wages and working conditions for writers by creating a single mega-buyer of film and television programming with outsized power. The story.
—Why Paramount can’t afford to let go of CNN. If Paramount does complete the WBD deal, there'll be lots of questions over the future of CNN. THR's Alex Weprin writes that the cable news channel may not be the ratings juggernaut it once was, but it matters to President Trump, and David Ellison will badly need its cashflow to pay down its major debt load. The analysis.
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Daytime Emmy Nominations 2026 |
►🏆 Congrats to all! 🏆 The 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards nominations were revealed on Wednesday. The Young and the Restless leads this year’s nominees with 18 nods, including for best daytime drama series, followed by fellow daytime drama series nominees Beyond the Gates with 16 nods and General Hospital with 13 nods. The final daytime drama series nominee is Days of our Lives, which has a total of eight nominations this year. The 53rd Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony is set to take place on Oct. 30 at the Hollywood Palladium. The nominees.
—🏆 Yay us! 🏆 THR has landed another Daytime Emmy nomination for its roundtable series, Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter. Off Script was nominated in the arts and popular culture program category, marking the third consecutive nod for the awards-season showcase. In total, the series has garnered six Daytime Emmy nominations since 2017. The story.
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World Cup QFs Smash Previous U.S. Ratings Highs
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►Woof! The quarterfinals of the World Cup delivered their four largest audiences ever in the U.S. — in both English and Spanish — continuing to fuel a run of big ratings for Fox Sports and Telemundo. While they didn’t reach the record-setting heights of matches involving co-hosts Mexico and the USMNT in the previous round, any fears of viewers abandoning the World Cup after the hosts (including Canada, also out in the round of 16) were eliminated were unfounded. On Fox, England v. Norway led the quarterfinals with 21.8m viewers; Argentina’s victory over Switzerland brought in 18.15m; France’s win over Morocco delivered 10.25m viewers; and Spain’s win over Belgium drew 9.87m. The ratings.
—Game's gone. Tom Cruise is heading to the New York New Jersey Stadium! The actor has been booked for a “special appearance” at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final July 19, part of another wave of entertainment for the global mega-event. Jennifer Hudson will also perform the U.S. national anthem. FIFA has already lined up a megawatt halftime show that includes Justin Bieber, BTS, Shakira and Madonna. The story.
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'Good Mythical Morning' Coming to Netflix
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►🤝 Doubling up. 🤝 THR's Alex Weprin has the scoop that YouTube variety show Good Mythical Morning is coming to Netflix. GMM is hosted by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal and launched in 2012, releasing new episodes every week since. The show sees Neal and McLaughlin face off in challenges and games, test out wacky products, and occasionally do surprising taste tests. The program will debut episodes on the streamer day-and-date with their primary channel on YouTube, in a wide-ranging deal between Mythical Entertainment and Netflix. The story.
—🎭 Touch of class. 🎭 Steve Buscemi is joining the cast of FX and Hulu‘s Far Cry. The former Boardwalk Empire star and Emmy winner is joining It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob Mac (who also executive produces) and Lizzy Caplan in the series, an adaptation of the long-running video game franchise. As has been the case since FX picked up the series in November 2025, details about Buscemi’s role — and the show’s story — are hard to come by. The story.
—Old school. Fox will have a very traditional rollout of its fall schedule this year. The network has set its premiere dates for the start of the 2026-27 TV season, and aside from its two nights of live sports, all of them will come in the week of Sept. 21 — the first week of the Nielsen-measured season. As has been the case for the past few seasons, Fox’s fall slate is heavy on unscripted and sports programming. The exceptions are on Tuesday nights, where Best Medicine and Doc will premiere Sept. 22, and Sundays, where season 38(!) of The Simpsons leads off a comedy block beginning Sept. 27. The story.
—Está sucediendo. SkyShowtime, the European streaming joint venture of Paramount and Comcast, has unveiled a new Spanish original: Death in Llanes (Muerte en Llanes). Starring two-time Goya Award winner Javier Gutiérrez, María Vázquez and Isak Férriz, the limited drama series follows the murder investigation following the death of a politician in Llanes, west of Bilbao. Produced by K 2000 in collaboration with 100 Balas for SkyShowtime, the six-part show is currently in production. The story.
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'Backrooms' Producer Signs First Look Deal With WB |
►🤝 In demand. 🤝 Backrooms producer Chris Ferguson and his Oddfellows banner have signed a first look deal with Warner Bros. Picture Group. The partnership also follows Ferguson collaborating with Osgood Perkins on earlier box office hits like Longlegs and The Monkey. Ferguson and his studio work with emerging talent from their filmmaking base in Vancouver. WB and Ferguson will team to produce films, whether with projects Ferguson brings to the studio, or WB projects that go north to Oddfellows from labels like Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. The story.
—🎭 Summoning the young. 🎭 The Conjuring: First Communion has found two actors to fill the shoes of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Garrett Wareing will star as Ed Warren, while Amanda Fix will play Lorraine Warren. New Line has set a release date of Sept. 10, 2027. The Conjuring prequel is set years before the 2013’s Conjuring, which took place in 1971. James Wan helmed the original film, and Wilson and Farmiga retired from the roles with last year’s Conjuring: Last Rites, which grossed nearly $500m globally. The story.
—Nepodaddy. Jeff Barker, a screenwriter who is also the father of Obsession director Curry Barker, is set to write and direct his own psychological horror short film, Medium Rare, starring Dane Cook and Lesley Ann Warren. The film follows a man trapped inside a bar, where reality begins to unravel in increasingly disturbing ways. Production is expected to begin in L.A. later this summer. Barker served as a script consultant on Obsession and also hosts The Screenplay Lab podcast, where he analyzes the craft of screenwriting. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Boutique distributor 1-2 Special has acquired Emmanuel Marre’s French period drama A Man of His Time for North America. A rare look at the Vichy regime and French collaboration with the Nazis, Marre’s movie is inspired by the story of his own great-grandfather. Set in 1940, it follows Henri Marre (Swann Arlaud) as he tries to ingratiate himself with the new regime. A Man of His Time was well-received at its world premiere in Cannes, where it won the prize for best screenplay. The story.
—Tyler the director. Paramount Primal, the label J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules formed last year, is getting in business with Tyler Falbo for the R-rated comedy Boys for Life. The logline is being kept under wraps, but it is an R-rated comedy that Falbo will write with Max Barrett. He will direct and produce as well. The film is in production, with Paramount slating it for April 9, 2027. Galen Cor will also produce the film along with Falbo, who rose to online fame with his Almost Friday sketch videos. The story.
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'Jellicle Ball' to End Run; Lloyd Webber Sounds Broadway Alarm |
►Feline the pinch. Cats: The Jellicle Ball will play its final performance on Aug. 8, after about five months on Broadway. The musical revival opened at the Broadhurst Theatre April 7, after a sold-out Off-Broadway run in 2024. While the revival was also critically acclaimed on Broadway and attendance has been relatively high, its $1m or so weekly box office tally has not been able to compete with the high running costs for a large musical. The musical took home Tonys for best direction of a musical, choreography and costume design. The story.
—"Broadway risks rivalling Hollywood’s empty soundstages." Producer Andrew Lloyd Webber is speaking out against the untenable costs of Broadway after the early closure of Cats: The Jellicle Ball. "The painful truth is that, with things as they are, bringing almost any new show to Broadway makes little financial sense," Lloyd Webber wrote on X Tuesday. "The costs are immense. Creators, writers and directors are often forced to accept minimal royalties simply to get work staged." The story.
—Illusion shattered. In more Lloyd Webber news, the theatrical impresario's forthcoming musical The Illusionist has been shelved following creative differences with director Jamie Lloyd, according to sources close to the production, with the composer instead turning his attention to a new musical about the 1911 theft of Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. Lloyd Webber announced The Illusionist in October 2024, with Lloyd — the hot director behind recent radical re-stagings of Webber classics like Evita and Sunset Boulevard — attached to direct. The story.
—Bounce back. Broadway recovered from its July 4 slump with industrywide grosses up 12 percent last week from the prior week and attendance up 5.4 percent. Hamilton led the pack with $2.1m, followed by Death of a Salesman with $2.09m (its highest gross yet, and brought in over seven performances), The Lion King with $1.9m, MJ with $1.7m and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with $1.6m. Cats: The Jellicle Ball also posted a gain at the box office over the prior week, with grosses up $75,000 to $766,808, but capacity down to 82 percent from 87 percent. The Broadway box office report.
—🎭 London bound. 🎭 Michael Urie is set to join Cole Escola in the London run of Oh, Mary! — and some performances will be filmed. For a limited run from July 20 to Aug. 1, the Ugly Betty star, hot off his Emmy nomination for Shrinking, will reprise his Broadway role as Mary’s teacher. Playwright Escola steps into the titular role for the first time on the West End. The story.
—🎭 Oscar-winning lead. 🎭 Sam Rockwell is bringing a new revival of A View from the Bridge to New York. Rockwell will star as Eddie, alongside Marin Ireland as Beatrice and Alfred Molina as Alfieri in Arthur Miller’s tragic family drama, directed by Neil Pepe. Rockwell is also producing the play, alongside partner Mark Berger, at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre. The 13-week run begins Nov. 27, with an opening night Dec. 13. The story.
—🎭 Tru news. 🎭 Jesse Tyler Ferguson is reprising his stage role as Truman Capote in a London run of Jay Presson Allen’s Tru. The Modern Family star will perform at the city’s Menier Chocolate Factory from Sept. 27 to Nov. 14 following the show’s acclaimed New York stint earlier this year. Rob Ashford is set to direct. Drawn entirely from Capote’s own words, Tru was originally staged in 1989. The story.
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TV Review: Apple's 'Lucky' |
►"Never clicks, despite a strong cast." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Apple TV's Lucky. Reese Witherspoon executive produced this seven-episode series, featuring Anya Taylor-Joy Stars as an identity-swapping con woman. Also starring Timothy Olyphant, Annette Bening and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Created by Jonathan Tropper. The review.
—"Funny and heartfelt." THR's Angie Han reviews Amazon Prime Video's Ride or Die. Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer lead this action comedy series that follows best friends, one an elite assassin and the other a clueless civilian, forced to go on the run together across Europe. Also starring Ed Skrein, Calam Lynch, Savannah Steyn, Jamie Parker, Sylvia Hoeks, Bill Nighy and Cathy Tyson. Created by Tessa Coates. The review.
—"Savage but very funny." THR's Leslie Felperin reviews Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov's Black Money for White Nights. Ivan Savov and Tanya Shahova play a couple who get fleeced out of gains they accrued by soliciting bribes in this Karlovy Vary entry. Also starring Margita Gosheva, Ivan Barnev and Sibila Petrova. Written by Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov and Decho Taralezhkov. The review.
In other news...
—The Shards trailer: Igby Rigney, Kaia Gerber star in FX’s Bret Easton Ellis adaptation
—Lily Allen downsizes tour dates from arenas to theaters for U.S. leg
—Locarno Film Festival unveils juries, including Paulina García, Lolita Chammah
—Kevin Feige to receive Pioneer of the Year Award from Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation
—Manny Jacinto, Randall Park to be honored at CAPE’s 35th anniversary gala
—Love Island USA contestant Jen Terry signs with motive
What else we're reading...
—Lucas Shaw has a piece on Netflix being dogged by questions over slowing growth and what the company could do next [Bloomberg]
—Daniel Wiessner reports on a lawsuit that claims Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs [Reuters]
—As the backlash against AI grows, Grace Ashford reports that New York will enacts the U.S.'s first statewide moratorium on data centers [NYT]
—Matt Stieb writes that betting market Kalshi’s core business may already be in serious trouble [Intelligencer]
—On the subject of prediction markets, Joy Press writes that the voting on reality TV hits like Love Island faces challenges created by Kalshi and Polymarket [Vanity Fair]
Today...
...in 2016, Sony released Paul Feig's Ghostbusters in theaters. The female-led comedy reboot, starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, stalled at the box office after becoming embroiled in the culture wars. The original review.
Today's birthdays...
Forest Whitaker (65), Ari Aster (40), Jim Rash (55), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (40), Diane Kruger (50), Liza Colón-Zayas (54), Gabriel Iglesias (50), Travis Fimmel (47), Scott Foley (54), Aimee Carrero (38), Laura Benanti (47), Iain Armitage (18), Lana Parrilla (49), Terry O'Quinn (74), Sarah Desjardins (32), Brigitte Nielsen (63), Celia Imrie (74), Taylor Kinney (45), Tyriq Withers (28), Brian Austin Green (53), Jeffrey Kramer (81), Alexander Calvert (36), Melissa Collazo (26), Jesse Ventura (75), Lolita Davidovich (65), Hiro Murai (43), Willie Aames (66), Irène Jacob (60), Eddie Griffin (58), Mason Dye (32), Jill Halfpenny (51), Tristan Mack Wilds (37), Medalion Rahimi (34), Rachel Pickup (53), Martin Roach (64), Gaia Scodellaro (41), Briana Buckmaster (44)
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