| | | | | | What's news: The irrepressible Paris Hilton is THR's digital cover star this week. YouTube made more than $60b in revenue in 2025. Trump says that he plans to stay out of the fight for WBD. Film and TV production in the U.K. topped $9.2b in 2025. Lil Jon's son has gone missing in Georgia. The full inaugural cast of SNL U.K. has been revealed. And Michelle Obama's 2020 doc Becoming has seen a massive surge in viewership. — Abid Rahman
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Inside Paris Hilton's World: Fame, Family, and Activism ►On the digital cover. Once known primarily as a hotel heiress turned tabloid fixture, Paris Hilton has over the past couple of decades cycled through reality television, DJ gigs, a sprawling fragrance and lifestyle empire, several successful sorties into publishing (with the Fanning sisters currently circling an adaptation of her 2023 best-selling memoir, Paris) and, lately, political activism, speaking out on the excesses of the troubled-youth industry and the scourge of deepfake pornography, finding unlikely new allies in power players like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hilton explains to THR's Benjamin Svetkey how she went from dancing on nightclub tabletops to all but inventing the modern attention economy. The cover story. |
Savannah Guthrie Addresses Suspected Kidnappers ►"We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please. Reach out to us." Savannah Guthrie has a message for those who are suspected of abducting her mother, Nancy Guthrie: “We’re ready to talk.” The Today show co-host took to her Instagram on Wednesday evening, alongside her brother, Camron Guthrie, and sister, Annie Guthrie, to address the suspected kidnappers directly. Authorities have said Nancy was likely taken against her will in a “possible kidnapping or abduction,” and that her home was being treated as a crime scene. The story.
—The latest. As the search for Nancy Guthrie entered its fourth day on Wednesday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos remained hopeful that the 84-year-old is still alive. "We have nothing else to go on but the belief that she is here," Nanos said in an interview with NBC News’ Liz Kreutz that aired on Today on Wednesday. "She’s present. She’s alive, and we want to save her." He added, as the FBI said Tuesday that it was investigating "hundreds of leads," that those leads "are critical to us." The story.
—Stepping in. NBC Olympics says that Mary Carillo will step in to co-host the opening ceremonies of the Milan-Cortina Olympics this weekend, with Savannah Guthrie remaining home to be with her family. NBC also says that Guthrie’s Today co-host Craig Melvin will remain stateside. Melvin had been set to host NBC’s late night coverage of the coverage of the Olympics, in addition to his Today duties. Ahmed Fareed, who was set to host dayside coverage for NBC Olympics, will step in to replace Melvin. The story. |
How a Theme Park Veteran Became CEO of Disney ►Who is Josh D'Amaro? THR's Alex Weprin spoke to Disney insiders, partners and friends of incoming CEO Josh D'Amaro. Alex writes that D'Amaro, a nearly 30-year veteran at the company, is said to have strong relationships with Disney's creative team, an appetite for risk-taking and a desire to understand what the entertainment giant's loyal fans want. The story.
—"I got a little choked up when they let me know, because it’s a big responsibility." On Wednesday, one day after announcing that Josh D’Amaro would become the next CEO of Disney, with Dana Walden being elevated to president and chief creative officer, the company gathered its ranks for an employee town hall, moderated by ABC World News anchor David Muir. Outgoing CEO Bob Iger was there, as was D’Amaro and Walden, to talk about the process, the people, and the future of the company. The recap.
—MONSTER. YouTube reported more than $60b in revenue for 2025. The new disclosure covers revenue across advertising as well as subscriptions for services such as YouTube Premium TV, and gives somewhat of a window into how massive the userbase for the service is. In total, the company reported 325m paid subscriptions in its fourth quarter across consumer services, which includes YouTube Premium, as well as the paid cloud storage service Google One, up from 300m in the prior quarter. YouTube’s advertising business hit $11.4b for Q4 2025, up from $10.5b the prior year. Last quarter, YouTube reported $10.3b for its advertising business. The results.
—No Tom Hardy, no party. Sony Pictures Entertainment’s operating income for its fiscal third quarter (ending December 31, 2025) was down 11 percent to $197m from the comparable period a year before, with Q3 sales down 12 percent to $2.295b. The motion pictures unit saw Q3 revenue fall 7 percent to $792m. SPE released five theatrical movies globally in the period, including Soul On Fire, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, Nuremberg, SISU: Road to Revenge and Anaconda. The results. |
Trump Says He "Shouldn't Be Involved" in Battle for WBD ►"The Justice Department will handle it." Donald Trump is changing his tune, saying that he now plans to stay out of Netflix and Paramount's fight over Warner Bros. Discovery. While the president previously said that he might weigh in on the massive deal that would reshape the media landscape, he shared his new perspective on the matter during a wide-ranging sit-down interview with NBC News' Tom Llamas, ahead of the 2026 Super Bowl. “I haven’t been involved,” Trump said. “I must say, I guess I’m considered to be a very strong president. I’ve been called by both sides. It’s the two sides, but I’ve decided I shouldn’t be involved." The story.
—"We believe the creative community and audiences are best served by greater choice – not less." Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison took his battle to win control of WBD across the Atlantic on Thursday, releasing an open letter addressed to the U.K. creative community. In the letter, Ellison said that should his company beat Netflix to WBD, then Paramount would make a number of commitments, including theatrical, home video, preserving HBO as well as promising "increased creative output." Ellison also warned of the "monopolistic" nature of Netflix. The story.
—"Editors are driving Uber instead of cutting reels. Sound designers are selling gear just to eat." State Assemblymember Nick Schultz has committed to carrying a bill aimed at creating a standalone postproduction tax incentive in California, a field representative for his office announced at a town hall for Hollywood professionals on Wednesday night. Amanda Faissal said that the state representative will soon introduce legislation in a bid to return more editing, sound mixing, VFX and other post work to the state. Though postproduction expenses can qualify for tax credits in California if physical production is also done in the state, it is not currently eligible for incentives on its own — even as other states and countries offer this perk to cost-conscious companies. The story.
—Woof! The British Film Institute released some delicious numbers for the U.K.’s mammoth film and TV industry on Thursday. Film and high-end TV production in the U.K. topped $9.2b in 2025, a 22 percent increase from 2024 and the third-highest annual spend on record, according to the BFI, with the sector continuing to generate billions for the country’s economy. The majority of the total production spend was contributed by high-end TV, which accounted for 59 percent of the total spend and is up 17 percent on 2024 figures. Feature film production is up 31 percent up on last year’s stats, and hit the highest annual spend on record. The story.
—"Self-dealing." Showtime Networks has been sued by Floyd Mayweather Jr., who says he’s owed hundreds of millions of dollars in fight earnings fraudulently diverted by the company to his former manager. Mayweather, in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in California state court, accuses Showtime of participating in a years long scheme of “financial manipulation and self-dealing” by his ex-manager, Al Haymon, intended to steal vast sums of money from him by funneling fight revenues into secret accounts he didn’t control. He seeks at least $340m under claims related to breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. The story. |
Behind Spotify's Decision to Partner With Netflix ►"To just assume you’re going to get people just to come to you, is, I think, naive." As Spotify makes its big push into video podcasting, the company is moving further away from its exclusivity era and partnering up. Starting in January, Spotify Studios and The Ringer struck a deal with Netflix to bring select podcasts to the streaming platform. THR's Caitlin Huston spoke to Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer and Spotify's head of talk strategy, about the audio streamer's aggressive pivot to video. The interview.
—Wait, what? About two years after the launch of audiobooks on Spotify, the company is bringing physical books into the equation. The tech platform is launching Page Match, a tool that will allow readers to scan a page of a printed or e-book using their phone and continue listening to the audiobook version where they left off. It also works in reverse, and will allow users to scan a page of the physical book post-audiobook listening, with the app showing the page and passage to resume reading. Additionally, Spotify is partnering with Bookshop dot org, which works with a network of independent bookstores, to promote the purchase of physical books on its app. Spotify has an affiliate fee on the sales. The story. |
Michelle Obama Doc Surges in Viewership ►Watch blue, no matter who. When Amazon MGM’s documentary Melania hit theaters over the Jan. 30-Feb. 1 weekend, it ultimately earned $7.1m in its opening bow against its $40m price tag and $35m in additional marketing spend. More than 70 percent of its audience was female and 72 percent of all ticket buyers were septuagenarians as conservative grassroots groups hoped to send fans of the president to movie theaters to back the film. While that effort had some success with the Fox News crowd, the MS NOW crew appears to have had other plans. Namely, they were watching Michelle Obama‘s 2020 doc Becoming on Netflix. Viewership for the Obama doc rose more than 13,000 percent to 47.5m minutes viewed of Becoming over the Jan. 30-Feb. 1 weekend, up from just 354,000 minutes viewed the weekend before. The story.
—Comedy is illegal. If Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos are known for anything, it’s their ability to take a joke. Which is why it’s so surprising that Amazon would pull Melania from a movie theater after some gentle mocking about the film appeared on its marquee. An Oregon theater long known for finding creatively witty ways to advertise its movies was asked by Amazon to stop screening Melania. The Lake Theater and Cafe in Lake Oswego had touted last week’s release of the controversial doc with declarations such as “Does Melania wear Prada? Find out Friday” and — quoting Sun Tzu’s The Art of War — “To defeat your enemy, you must know them. Melania starts Friday.” The story.
—Charisma blackhole strikes again. Ted Cruz took time during the Senate antitrust hearing about Netflix‘s proposed acquisition of Warner Brothers and its potential impact on monopolies and competition to grill Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros Discovery chief revenue officer Bruce Campbell about Billie Eilish’s speech during the Sunday’s Grammy Awards, pushing the executives about how her speech reflects Hollywood’s left-wing political leanings. "Did either of you watch the Grammys this week? One simple question, are we right now on stolen land," Cruz asked, as Sarandos responded with a discomforted chuckle, responding that he has "no idea of the history of the this land where we’re sitting today." The story. |
Lil Jon's Son Missing in Georgia ►The latest. Nathan Smith, the son of rapper and record producer Lil Jon and estranged wife Nicole Smith, has gone missing in Georgia. The Milton Police Department released a missing person report on Facebook that indicated that the 27 year-old, known professionally as DJ Young Slade, was last seen locally on Feb. 3 at around 6 a.m. and has family and friends concerned for his safety. The story.
—"I’D DO IT AGAIN." Jennifer Esposito has revealed she has to move out of her home that she mortgaged to make her directorial debut, Fresh Kills. The Blue Bloods actress shared a video on Instagram Friday explaining the situation, noting, "Yeah, I’m looking like ass right now because I’ve been crying because I’m moving out of my home that I mortgaged to make my film." Fresh Kills debuted in 2023, in which she served as director, writer, producer, and star. The mafia film featured a cast including Emily Bader, Odessa A’zion, Domenick Lombardozzi and Annabella Sciorra. The story.
—"What a journey this has been." Former Full House star Dave Coulier has revealed that he is in remission after undergoing surgery for tongue cancer, following additional treatment he received for his stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. "It’s been a roller coaster ride for sure,” Coulier said on Good Morning America Wednesday. “I’m in remission with both cancers." The story.
—"Ran toward it with everything I had." Kristen Stewart has swooped in to save Highland Park’s historic movie theater. The Oscar nominated actress and filmmaker has purchased the Highland Theatre, located at 5604 N. Figueroa St, a 100-year-old venue that closed in spring 2024. She confirmed the news to Architectural Digest for a feature story and photo shoot that captured her posing above the marquee. "I’m fascinated by broken-down old theaters. I always want to see what mysteries they hold," she told AD. The story.
—"I will address all of the news that has come out." Sherri Shepherd is sharing an update on how she’s doing following the news that her daytime talk show, Sherri, was canceled earlier this week. The talk show host took to Instagram to respond to the outpouring of support she’s received since it was revealed that Sherri would be ending after four seasons. “Wow! I am completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for me and The @sherrishowtv,” she wrote in a joint post with the show’s official Instagram account, alongside screenshots of encouraging fan messages. The story. |
Macfadyen Joins Weisz in 'Seance on a Wet Afternoon' ►🎭 Award-winning addition. 🎭 Succession star Matthew Macfadyen has joined Rachel Weisz in Tomas Alfredson’s Seance on a Wet Afternoon. Alfredson directs based on a script from the Emmy-winning Jack Thorne, writer on the hit series Adolescence and the BBC’s upcoming Lord of the Flies. Filming is now underway in the U.K. The movie follows Myra (Weisz), a self-proclaimed medium who convinces her husband, Billy (Macfadyen), to kidnap the son of a wealthy family so she can lead the police to the “missing” child and legitimize her psychic abilities. When Myra’s true intentions come to light, however, Billy realizes her plan threatens to consume them both. The story.
—🎭 Touch of class. 🎭 Chiwetel Ejiofor is the latest actor to keep the faith, joining the growing cast of The Exorcist, Blumhouse-Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek Entertainment’s new take on the horror classic. The move reunites Ejiofor with Mike Flanagan, who has promised a “fresh and bold” take on the material, and who directed the actor in The Life of Chuck. Flanagan wrote the script and is directing and producing the new feature that is not a remake nor a sequel but set in the Exorcist “universe.” Ejiofor joins Scarlett Johansson, Jacobi Jupe, and Diane Lane in the roll call. The story. |
'Saturday Night Live U.K.' Unveils Cast ►🎭 Live from London, innit. 🎭 Comcast's Sky has revealed the cast of 11 comedy players who will lead the inaugural ensemble of Saturday Night Live U.K., the first British incarnation of NBC’s legendary late-night sketch show. The six-episode Sky original, executive produced by SNL royalty Lorne Michaels, will kick off next month, March 21, broadcasting live every week with a new guest host at the helm each time. The cast members are Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi, and Paddy Young. The story.
—Heading to the small screen. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre could be roaring back to life — this time in the form of a TV series. After a competitive bidding situation that unfolded over the past few months, A24 has landed rights to the next take on the horror franchise that dates back to 1974’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which introduced the world to Leatherface and his murderous family. The indie studio will first tackle a series based on the franchise with Glen Powell among the executive producers and The Long Walk writer JT Mollner attached to direct. Powell, it’s noted, will only have a producing role in the project and isn’t slated to appear on screen. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Hulu is revisiting the 2012 murder case of Skylar Neese through a new three-part docuseries. Friends Like These, which will premiere March 6 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+, will examine the case of the West Virginia 16-year-old who vanished from her home in July 2012, prompting a months-long search. An investigation by the federal and state law enforcement eventually implicated a couple of Neese’s closest friends in her death in a shocking case that received national media attention. The series is directed by Clair Titley, the filmmaker behind Hulu’s 2023 doc The Contestant. The story.
—Playing favorites. NBC will give viewers more of The Voice in its upcoming spring season — but also less of the medical drama Brilliant Minds. The network announced Wednesday that The Voice will expand to two-hour episodes at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Monday nights when its 29th season begins on Feb. 23. The change will give the show an hour where it’s not airing directly opposite another singing competition, American Idol, which runs from 8-10 p.m. Mondays on ABC. The longer Voice episodes will also mean that Brilliant Minds, starring Zachary Quinto, will be absent from NBC’s schedule for an extended time. The story.
—Football bump. With some on-air help from the NFL, three Fox shows scored big cross-platform premiere audiences in January. Best Medicine, Fear Factor: House of Fear and Memory of a Killer all delivered at least 11.6m cross-platform viewers in January. All three shows had post-NFL premieres, with Best Medicine following Fox’s final regular season game and Fear Factor and Memory of a Killer debuting after playoff contests. The three shows also helped Fox Entertainment post a sizable year-to-year gain in total viewing time for the month. The ratings. |
Film Review: 'Moonglow' ►"A slow-burn crime romance with more ambience than suspense." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Isabel Sandoval's Moonglow. The latest feature by Lingua Franca director also stars in this vintage Filippino crime romance set during the height of Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship. Starring Arjo Atayde, Dennis Marasigan, Paolo O’Hara, Bombi Plata and Agot Isidro. Written by Isabel Sandoval. The review.
In other news...
—How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics live online
—Alan Ritchson faces otherworldly threat in Netflix’s War Machine trailer
—Ringo’s drumkit, Castaway volleyball and more treasures hit Christie’s $30m auction
—J-pop trio Number_i signs with WME
—LaMonte McLemore, founding member of The 5th Dimension, dies at 90
—Scott Printz, producer on Private Practice and How to Get Away With Murder, dies at 69
What else we're reading...
—Ahead of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime performance, non-Spanish speaking fans are rushing to learn the Puerto Rican dialect and slang [Guardian]
—David Ingram and Bruna Horvath report that Jeffrey Epstein's deep links with Big Tech leaders is rocking Silicon Valley [NBC News]
—Michael D. Shear looks at all the European royals who maintained close relationships with Epstein [NYT]
—Max Tani reports that the brutal cuts at the Washington Post are rippling through the journalism industry in the U.S. [Semafor]
—Bryan Curtis writes that the Washington Post's sports department was dismantled before its leaders gave it a chance to change [Ringer]
Today...
...in 1953, Walt Disney unveiled its animated adaptation of Peter Pan in theaters. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Michael Mann (83), Charlotte Rampling (80), Christopher Guest (78), Laura Linney (62), Michael Sheen (🏴57), Barbara Hershey (78), Henry Golding (39), Tim Meadows (65), Tony Jaa (50), Darren Criss (39), Jane Schoenbrun (39), Abhishek Bachchan (50), Errol Morris (78), Jennifer Jason Leigh (64), Luke Newton (33), Nora Zehetner (45), Chris Parnell (59), Esmé Creed-Miles (26), Jeremy Sumpter (37), Brittany Allen (40), Raymond Lee (39), Alex Brightman (39), Andrea Deck (32), David Meunier (53), David Selby (85), Aparna Brielle (32), Sara Foster (45), Jordan Nagai (26), Özge Gürel (39), Luke Greenfield (54), Crystle Lightning (45) |
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