| | | | | | What's news: AMC Theatres chairman and CEO Adam Aron suffered a minor stroke. Scarlett Johansson is in final talks to join the cast of The Batman Part II. Andrew Scott will be joining the S3 cast of HBO's The Comeback. Hulu has renewed Chad Powers. CBS has renewed Boston Blue and Sheriff Country. And Fox and CBS set ratings records for their NFL Thanksgiving games. — Abid Rahman
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Inside THR's Women In Entertainment 2025 Gala ►"Thank you to the women here and not here." Gwyneth Paltrow — this week’s THR cover star — grew emotional as she thanked the industry for welcoming her back to acting while accepting the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at THR's annual Women in Entertainment gala, presented by Lifetime, on Wednesday at The Beverly Hills Hotel. "To be among all of you women, and the men who love us, at this beautiful Hollywood Reporter event … to all the 100 women who are named today — to be here among you is really a gift. I really feel it. I have a real felt sense of this community this morning — a community that seems to be OK with all of my iterations and has welcomed me back," Paltrow said, choking up as the audience applauded. The story.
—"Forever confused by the basic tenets [of the MCU]." It was a humorous and heartfelt reunion between Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. at the WIE 2025 gala. Before Paltrow took the stage to accept the 20th annual Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, Downey Jr. had some words of endearment as well as some playful digs at his former co-star and onscreen love interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story.
—"I saw how stereotypes try to box me in before I even had the chance to show what I could really do. And then Selena came along." Jennifer Lopez teared up as she was honored with the Equity in Entertainment Award at WIE 2025 gala. The Kiss of the Spider Woman star choked up as she took the stage to accept the award, noting that she was “so humbled” and didn’t know how she would “follow that, what [Kerry Washington] just said” in her introductory speech. Kerry Washington presented Lopez with the honor, having received the Equity in Entertainment Award two years prior in 2023. The story.
—"She was lightning in a bottle." Goldie Hawn and Sarah Paulson remembered their late friend Diane Keaton with a deeply emotional tribute at WIE 2025 gala that brought tears to many in the audience. Hawn was sobbing as she took the stage after attendees viewed a video montage of Keaton’s life and career: "She can’t be gone. She just cannot be gone. No one like that should ever die. She just brought so much joy, so much life, so much exuberance." The story.
—"Diamonds in the rough." At the WIE 2025 gala, Dakota Johnson, Regina Hall and Chase Infiniti presented $1m in college scholarships to high school students from underserved communities across Los Angeles. Johnson kicked off the scholarship’s presentation, which saw more than $1m in scholarships handed out to participants in THR’s mentorship program, a joint venture with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and a fiscally sponsored fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. The story.
—Star-studded. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, Kerry Washington, Dakota Johnson, Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti, Goldie Hawn, Rachel Sennott and Sarah Paulson were among the Hollywood stars attending WIE 2025, and you can see them all (and more!) in this gallery we've put together. The gallery.
—ICYMI. THR's 100 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment 2025 list went viral yesterday, but in case you missed it, here it is again. The list. |
Hollywood's Publicist Meltdown ►"It's hard to be a publicist with nothing to publicize." Hollywood publicists are used to battling bad press — just not about themselves. But last fall, as billboards across Los Angeles implored stars to “Thank Your Publicist,” the people who usually craft the messages suddenly became the message. Crisis teams were hiring crisis teams. Defections were becoming a weekly storyline. Lawsuits began piling up. For THR, Deanna Kizis writes that the chaos comes as there are fewer projects, tighter budgets, more infighting — and the mega PR firms are breaking up. The story.
—📅 A new era begins. 📅 Versant is set to officially be its own independently traded company following the close of trading Jan. 2. The news comes after the board of directors at Comcast approved the previously announced spin off of most of Comcast’s cable TV assets, including USA, Syfy, E!, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen and Golf Channel, as well as digital businesses such as Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes. Cable channel Bravo, the NBC broadcast network and streaming service Peacock will remain part of Comcast’s entertainment arm NBCUniversal. The story.
—Another one. BET president and CEO Scott Mills is exiting the company after 23 years. Louis Carr, BET’s longtime president of media sales, will take over the role. Carr has been in the company’s media sales division for 39 years. Mills’ departure follows the exodus of pretty much every other Paramount Global brand’s top brass following the company’s merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media. The story.
—🤝 First-look deal. 🤝 As well as the exits, Paramount keeps scooping up talent. Wicked filmmaker Jon M. Chu became the latest newcomer and on Wednesday signed a first-look three-year producing deal with Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television Studios. Under the deal, which takes effect Jan. 2, 2026, Chu and his production company will work to develop and produce feature film and television projects for the Melrose Avenue studio. He’ll work closely with Paramount Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, Motion Picture Group president Don Granger and Paramount Television Studios president Matt Thunell. The story.
—Sentenced. A doctor who illegally sold Matthew Perry the anesthetic drug ketamine, fueling an addiction that led to the Friends star’s fatal overdose, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison. A judge delivered the sentence on Wednesday after Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty to charges related to supplying Perry with 20 vials of ketamine over two weeks in the period directly leading up to Perry’s death, at times traveling to his house to inject him. The former doctor will also serve two years of supervised release and pay a fine of $5,600. Plasencia, who owned an urgent care clinic in Malibu, California, is one of five people to plead guilty in connection to Perry’s accidental death, which was found to be caused by the acute effects of ketamine, and the first to be sentenced. The story.
—Health emergency. AMC Theatres said Thursday that its chairman and CEO, Adam Aron, 71, recently suffered a minor stroke. “While on a recent London business trip related to the international movie theater activities of AMC, Mr. Aron suffered a minor stroke on November 17,” it said in a statement. “He immediately received state-of-the-art emergency medical care at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurological Sciences, a superb public hospital in London renowned for its stroke care and operated by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service,” the company explained. The story. |
Scorsese, 'Billions' Creators Team for Netflix Vegas Drama ►Keep them playing and keep them coming back. Netflix has ordered a series set in Las Vegas from three people who know the territory well: Casino director Martin Scorsese and Ocean’s Thirteen writers and Billions co-creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The streamer has given an eight-episode order to the drama, which will center on the president of a hot Las Vegas hotel/casino and the moves he makes to secure and expand his position in the city. Koppelman and Levien are writing the currently untitled show and will serve as showrunners. The Vegas drama will be the first series for Koppelman and Levien since Billions ended its seven-season run on Showtime in 2023. The story.
—Monster numbers. The NFL’s Thanksgiving games provided a ratings feast for Fox, CBS and NBC. Fox and CBS set ratings records for their games — not just for Thanksgiving, but for any regular-season NFL game they’ve ever aired — and NBC closed the day with its biggest Thanksgiving primetime game to date. Fox’s early afternoon broadcast of the Packers’ win over the Lions averaged 47.7m viewers, per Nielsen, making it the network’s biggest regular-season game ever. It’s also the most watched Thanksgiving game on record in the early broadcast window and was up about 27 percent from CBS’ early afternoon game last year. In the late afternoon window, CBS drew a massive 57.23m viewers for the Cowboys’ victory — the largest audience ever, on any network, for an NFL regular season game. The ratings.
—🎭 All the (guest) stars. 🎭 Ryan Murphy’s newest FX series The Beauty has set its 2026 premiere date and revealed an impressive list of guest stars. The Beauty is set to premiere on Jan. 21, 2026 on both the FX cable channel and on Hulu. The same date applies internationally, but beyond the U.S., the series will stream on Disney+. On the guest list are Amelia Gray Hamlin, Ari Graynor, Bella Hadid, Ben Platt, Billy Eichner, Isabella Rossellini, Jaquel Spivey, Jessica Alexander, Jon Jon Briones, John Carroll Lynch, Julie Halston, Lux Pascal, Meghan Trainor, Nicola Peltz Beckham, Peter Gallagher and Vincent D’Onofrio. The story.
—Rookie moves. CBS has placed its first two renewal orders of the 2025-26 season, picking up its rookie dramas Boston Blue and Sheriff Country. The network has ordered second seasons of the two shows for 2026-27. Both hail from CBS Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television and are spinoffs of other CBS series (Blue Bloods and Fire Country). Boston Blue and Sheriff Country are also the two most watched new series of the fall, based on Nielsen’s seven-day multiplatform ratings. Boston Blue and Sheriff Country join veteran series FBI and Ghosts — both of which are in the midst of multi-season orders that take them through the 2026-27 season — on CBS’ roster for next season. The story.
—Sophomore year confirmed. Hulu has renewed the sports-comedy series Chad Powers for season two. The show stars Glen Powell as Russ Holliday, a disgraced football player who gets a second chance at his dream by going incognito as Chad Powers, a player for the South Georgia Catfish, with the help of prosthetics (and a very unique accent). The series is based on ESPN and Omaha Productions’ “Eli’s Places” segment, in which Eli Manning disguised himself with prosthetics to participate in Penn State’s walk-on tryouts. Manning also executive produces the series alongside his brother and NFL legend, Peyton Manning, Powell, and others. Michael Waldron and Powell serve as co-creators. The story. |
Casey Bloys Unveils HBO's Slate In London ►Bloys toys. HBO and HBO Max chief Casey Bloys unveiled the programmer’s latest slate in London on Wednesday night, and he brought stars with him. Euphoria news shared by Bloys and creator Sam Levinson at the event with an April launch for the show’s long-awaited season 3. Also joining Bloys in London were creatives behind Industry, The Comeback and A Night of the Seven Kingdoms. Bloys also showed trailers for the likes of Rooster, Lanterns and House of the Dragon season 3, and mentioned such in-the-works series as an untitled Sharon Horgan comedy. Asked about the bidding process for WBD, Bloys said he has not felt any impact. “It’s business as usual for us,” he said. The recap.
—🎭 Hot priest on board. 🎭 In case you haven’t heard, The Comeback is making a comeback. And when Lisa Kudrow‘s HBO comedy finally returns, Andrew Scott will be joining the cast. The third and final season will release March 2026, Casey Bloys announced at the content showcase in London. A specific date will be announced at a later time. The Comeback is returning two decades after it first premiered and nearly 11 years after its second season. The critically beloved comedy is created by Kudrow and And Just Like That's Michael Patrick King, and returns Kudrow to the role of Valerie Cherish. The story.
—📅 Finally! 📅 HBO Max will continue its international expansion with market launches in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein on Jan. 13. Incredibly, the streaming service will finally launch in the U.K. and Ireland in March 2026, completing its European rollout. Germany, Italy and the U.K. are big markets where HBO Max content is currently available under a long-running exclusive partnership with Comcast’s Sky. The story. |
Johansson in Final Talks to Join 'The Batman 2' ►🎭 Switching sides. 🎭 Four years after leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind, Scarlett Johansson is headed to DC’s Gotham City. Sources tell THR's Aaron Couch and Borys Kit that the actress is in final negotiations to join The Batman Part II, the long-gestating sequel to Matt Reeves’ 2021 hit. If the deal comes together, it’d be a jolt for the project, which aims to go before cameras next year. She will first film The Exorcist , to which she signed on last week, before moving on to Batman. Johansson is one of the more bankable stars in the world, with her work in Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff in the MCU just part of her hits, which also include July’s Jurassic World: Rebirth. The story.
—Paramount activity. THR's second-nicest man Aaron Couch has the scoop that horror maestro James Wan is among those bringing a new Parnormal Activity feature to the screen, with the move coming after the merging of his company Atomic Monster with that of Paranormal producer Jason Blum’s Blumhouse. The feature has Paramount on board as a partner to co-finance, co-produce and distribute the movie. Oren Peli, the filmmaker behind the 2007 film that grossed $194.2m on a shoe-string budget, will also produce via Solana Films. Blum is producing as well, with the theatrical feature said to be a priority for both Paramount and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 THR's Borys "Scoops" Kit has the scoop that Warner Bros. Pictures has optioned Under Story, the upcoming novel by Chloe Benjamin, the author of bestseller The Immortalists. David Heyman and Jeff Clifford are on board to produce what would be a feature adaptation via their of Heyday Films, the banner behind the Harry Potter movies and the awards season player Jay Kelly. The book, which doesn’t hit book stores until September 2026 from Putnam, is described as an ambitious exploration of the power of second chances and the hope that the impossible might also be true. The story.
—🏆 One win after another. 🏆 The National Board of Review has revealed its 2025 award winners, with One Battle After Another named best film and receiving four other honors. Paul Thomas Anderson was named best director for the thriller, with stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro and Chase Infiniti winning best actor, supporting actor and breakthrough performance, respectively. Rose Byrne was named best actress for her role in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, another repeat from the NY film critics. The winners.
—🏆 Congrats! 🏆 The 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been revealed. Peter Hujar’s Day topped the film nominees with five nods, followed by a number of films that each scored four nominations: Blue Sun Palace; Lurker; One of Them Days; Sorry, Baby; and Train Dreams. Lucky Lu, The Plague and Twinless each received three nods. In the TV categories, Adolescence, Forever and Mr Loverman lead with four nominations apiece. Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, meanwhile, will receive the Robert Altman Award, given to a film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The story. |
TV Review: 'The Abandons' ►"'Abandons' its potential." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's The Abandons. Two matriarchs butt heads over the fate of their Washington Territory frontier town in this seven-part Western drama set in 1854. Starring Lena Headey, Gillian Anderson, Nick Robinson, Diana Silvers, Lamar Johnson, Natalia del Riego, Lucas Till and Aisling Franciosi. Created by Kurt Sutter. The review.
—"What the jokes lack in quality, they make up for in volume." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Jim O’Hanlon's Fackham Hall. This broad comedy spoofs British period dramas, particularly Downton Abbey. Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Radcliffe, Damian Lewis, Katherine Waterston, Tom Felton, Emma Laird and Adam Woodward. Written by Steve Dawson, Andrew Dawson, Tim Inman, Jimmy Carr and Patrick Carr. The review.
In other news...
—Emily in Paris S5 trailer pits Rome against Paris
—My Father’s Shadow trailer: Sopé Dìrísù is a father struggling to connect
—Gilmore Girls BTS book coming from Lauren Graham, Amy Sherman-Palladino
—NYT hires Helen Shaw as chief theater critic
—Steve Cropper, guitarist for Stax Records, Booker T. & the M.G.’s and The Blues Brothers, dies at 84
—Tammie Rosen, veteran comms head for the Sundance Institute, dies at 49
What else we're reading...
—Legendary filmmaker John Waters shares his best movies of 2025, and it's a fun list! [Vulture]
—Reflecting on the current crop of prestige detective shows, Sopan Deb writes that shows like HBO's Task highlight the protagonist's incompetence in the domestic sphere alongside their professional brilliance [NYT]
—Olga Khazan looks at the science behind Taylor Swift's changing accent [Atlantic]
—Emily Gould consults recent research that shows aging is hitting elder millennials (44 year-olds to be precise) hard [The Cut]
—Looking to explain The Ringer’s updated list of the 100 best TV episodes of the century, Ben Phillips writes that plot isn’t as important to great TV as one might think [Ringer]
Today...
...in 1997, Steven Spielberg unveiled historical drama Amistad at its premiere in Washington, D.C. The film went on to gross $44m and nab four Oscar nominations at the 70th Academy Awards, including for cinematography, score, costume design and supporting actor for Anthony Hopkins’ role. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Jeff Bridges (76), Marisa Tomei (61), Fred Armisen (59), Tyra Banks (52), Jelly Roll (41), Scarlett Estevez (18), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (40), Gaia Wise (26), Kevin Sussman (55), Monika Panwar (32), Pamela Stephenson (76), Lola Dewaere (46), Thomas Craig (63), Norma Kuhling (35), Dylan Meyer (38), Patricia Wettig (74), Álex de la Iglesia (60), Robin Dearden (72), Nafessa Williams (36), Jacob Tomuri (46), Dree Hemingway (38), Alec Secareanu (41), Ellen Dorrit Petersen (50), Christopher B. Duncan (61), Jaaved Jaaferi (63), Anthony DeSando (60), Mick Garris (74) |
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