| | | | | | What's news: Gayle King is staying at CBS News. Sean "Diddy" Combs' prison sentence has been reduced. ABC renews Abbott Elementary. Pixar's Hoppers is tracking for a $88m global opening. And Lee Isaac Chung has exited the Ocean's Eleven prequel over "creative differences." — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
The Widow and the Firebrand ►Chaos on the right. With her new multi-part YouTube series Bride of Charlie, right wing media darling (and committed conspiracy theorist) Candance Owens has trained her sights on Turning Point USA CEO Erika. THR's Kevin Dolak writes that Owens', at times, unhinged crusade against Charlie Kirk's widow, which is garnering millions of views, has exposed a fault line running through the heart of the American right. The story.
—Surprise return. Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show on Thursday. Savannah Guthrie has been off the air since her mother Nancy was seemingly abducted in Tucson, Arizona on the weekend of Jan. 31, 2026. Nancy Guthrie, who is 84 and has a heart condition, has not been seen or heard from since. “Savannah Guthrie stopped by the studio this morning to be with and thank her Today colleagues,” an NBC News spokesperson said in a statement provided to THR. “While she plans to return to the show on air, she remains focused right now supporting her family and working to help bring Nancy home.” There is no date set for Savannah to return to the program. The story.
—"I am profoundly disgusted and ashamed by such an act of censorship." Canadian actor Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers says she is returning an award from the Toronto Film Critics Association, after the body's decision to cut a portion of her awards speech, in which she expressed support for Palestine. The Sweet Angel Baby star was being honored with the best supporting performance in a Canadian film prize. Unable to attend the March 2 ceremony in person, she sent a video message which – in addition to the standard acceptance speech fare – included the statement “my heart continues to be with the people of Palestine who are experiencing this ongoing genocide, and thank you to anyone in this industry who’s been brave enough to say anything.” TFCA president Johanna Schneller said that Tailfeathers’ speech had been edited for timing purposes and not for political reasons, but that she would resign from her role nonetheless. The story.
—She's staying! Tricia Tuttle will officially remain the director of the Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlinale confirmed, following a supervisory board meeting on Wednesday. In a statement, the festival said the board confirmed “the importance of the independence of our work,” refuting claims that had been circulating in the German media that a condition of Tuttle’s continued employment would require the Berlinale and its guests signing off on a new “code of conduct” that would include specific measures to counter “antisemitism.” The story. |
Trump Bought Netflix Debt Amid Paramount's Fight for WB ►Banana republic latest. Paramount may have won the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery, but Donald Trump continues to bet on the financial stability of Netflix. As Paramount sought to pry Warner Bros. away from the streaming giant, Trump was adding more Netflix bonds to his personal portfolio, financial disclosures released by the White House on Wednesday show. The disclosures show that Trump bought between $600,000 and $1.25m worth of Netflix debt in January, adding to the $500,000 to $1m in Netflix bonds that he purchased in December, shortly after Netflix’s megadeal for Warners was announced. The story.
—Sentence shaved. Disgraced rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will be released from the federal prison in New Jersey a month and a half earlier than expected, according to official prison records, as he entered a rehab program last year after becoming incarcerated. Combs was found guilty of violations of the Mann Act at his sensational federal trial in Manhattan this past summer, but dodged more serious counts of sex trafficking and racketeering. In a dramatic turnaround for the fallen Combs and his legal team, he was sentenced to 50 months in prison instead of the time served sentence they were seeking. His updated release date is April 25, 2028. The story.
—Retrial set. Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on a rape charge is scheduled to begin April 14. A 12-person jury in Manhattan found the former movie mogul and convicted rapist guilty in June of one count of a criminal sexual act in the first degree against Haley and acquitted him on another count against former model Kaja Sokola. The jury could not reach a verdict on the third count of rape, related to aspiring actress Jessica Mann. That charge ended in a mistrial as the jury foreperson refused to return to deliberate, saying he faced threats from other jurors. Jury selection in the retrial is set to begin April 14, with Weinstein’s new legal team helming the trial. The story.
—Arbitration claim. Former Matlock actor David Del Rio has initiated legal proceedings against CBS Studios, which fired him after he was accused of sexual assault. In an arbitration claim, Del Rio says evidence that undermines the allegations wasn’t fully considered before he was terminated. He will “present real-time text communications” and other material that “directly contradicts prior public characterizations of the interaction at issue,” said Shawn Holley, his lawyer, in a statement issued on Wednesday. Del Rio, who played attorney Billy Martinez on the legal drama, was abruptly let go from the series following an incident involving him and an unnamed female member of the cast. CBS Studios, which produces Matlock , investigated, leading to the actor’s firing in October. He was escorted off the set and written off the show, though Del Rio had already filmed seven episodes of the second season. The story. |
City Council Greenlights Measures to Boost Production in L.A. ►Progress. The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted to greenlight proposals aimed at improving filming conditions in the city as a room packed with Hollywood workers and union representatives erupted in applause. All eligible councilmembers voted to approve colleague Adrin Nazarian’s seven initial motions to “keep Hollywood home.” Those include measures to speed up soundstage certification and to require city departments to report compliance with Mayor Karen Bass’ 2025 executive order on filming. They also comprise motions to launch an independent audit of L.A.’s permitting system and to usher in free “microshoots” (involving 10 or fewer people). The story.
—Wait, what? Charlie Puth has been named the chief music officer at AI music platform Moises. The Grammy-nominated artist set to consult Moises for the company’s "creative and product direction." Whereas some of the most notable AI music platforms like Suno and Udio have garnered significant buzz — and controversy — for allowing users to generate music recordings with a prompt and push of a button, Moises offers non-generative AI music production tools like vocal isolation and mastering to help speed up the recording process. The story.
—End of an era. Publisher and producer Mike Richardson is out as CEO of Dark Horse Comics, the media company he built up from a comic book store business. In his stead, Embracer, the video game holding company that bought Dark Horse in 2022, is installing gaming exec Jay Komas as interim CEO. Dark Horse became of the home of Frank Miller, putting out Sin City and 300, and Mike Mignola, who has created a whole Hellboy universe since first creating the character in the early 1990s. Licensed comics that were elevated were also a focus, with Dark Horse publishing Alien and Predator comics. The story. |
New Look A+E Kicks Off 2026 Upfronts ►"We do business in the way that clients want to do business." A year ago, A+E Networks rebranded itself to A+E Global Media, as part of a strategic shift that deemphasized its linear TV channels and leaned into its studio and content businesses. The company, which owns brands like History, A&E and Lifetime, as well as a production studio, a number of FAST streaming channels and stakes in companies like Range Media Partners, effectively kicked off the 2026 upfront conversation Wednesday with a virtual presentation to Madison Ave. THR's Alex Weprin goes inside the presentation from the new look A+E. The story.
—Slate reveal. A&E is out to prove Scott Peterson‘s innocence in the 2002 murder of his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn baby. Scott Peterson: The New Evidence was announced on Wednesday at A+E’s upfront presentation. The four-hour special (across two nights) set for a summer premiere will uncover “startling revelations,” A&E says. In addition, A&E announced a doc featuring interviews with John Gotti Jr. and his son John Gotti III. The Gotti Files from Propagate Content and Lady Moon Entertainment will premiere in early 2027. And Jim Belushi is getting an A&E series about the K9 partners of police officers. The story.
—Dadcore. A&E's The History Channel is adding four shows — all hosted by well-known actors — to its lineup of dad-coded series. Kevin Bacon, Ted Danson, Dolph Lundgren and Tom Selleck have all signed on to host shows for the cable network; all four will also serve as executive producers on their respective series. Along with thos four shows, History has also greenlit 102 Minutes Inside the Towers, a documentary timed to the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The story.
—Digging in. Lifetime is entering the microdrama game with a series tied to one of its upcoming original movies. The show is called Tides of Temptation, and it counts Taye Diggs among its executive producers. The microdrama will be a digital offshoot/world expansion for the cable network’s movie Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise With You, starring and exec produced by Diggs. The microdrama and the movie — one of three coming to Lifetime’s “Love of a Lifetime” film franchise — were part of Lifetime’s announcements at A+E's upfront presentation. The story. |
'The Bear' Set to End With S5 at FX and Hulu ►The end is nigh. The Bear is getting ready to serve its final meals. The FX-produced series, which streams on Hulu, is coming to an end with its upcoming fifth season. The Emmy-winning show is currently filming in and around Chicago and is slated to debut later this year; past seasons have all premiered as binge releases in late June. Signs have long pointed to a finite run for The Bear. Star Jeremy Allen White has said in previous interviews that series creator Christopher Storer originally had a four-season story arc in mind for the show. Season four’s finale was titled “Goodbye” and saw Carmy decide to leave both his restaurant and the culinary business altogether. FX ordered a fifth season of The Bear in July 2025, about a week after season four premiered. The story.
—🤝 "There is only one Gayle King." 🤝 Longtime CBS Mornings anchor Gayle King has inked a new deal with the network to remain on the a.m. show, while also expanding her purview to new projects with the network. The host is one of the faces of CBS News, which is undergoing a restructuring process under the leadership of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski. King’s prior contract had been set to end in May, leading to speculation about her future with the network under the new leadership. In fact, King had to deny a report last year that she was going to leave the program. The story.
—🟢 Greenlight! 🟢 FX and Hulu have picked up drama Disinherited from Better Call Saul creator Peter Gould and Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman’s T-Street. Victoria Pedretti and Kiera Allen star in the show, which follows two sisters who receive a life-changing inheritance. In Disinherited, Pedretti and Allen play “scrappy sisters thrust by an unexpected inheritance into a world of generational wealth and long-buried crimes,” per the show’s logline. The pilot also starred Karl Glusman, Alan Ruck, Katja Herbers, Eddie Marsan and Jonathan Higginbotham. The story. |
'Abbott Elementary' Renewed for S6 at ABC ►No-brainer. ABC has renewed the Emmy-winning comedy Abbott Elementary for a sixth season in 2026-27, which should take the show past the 100-episode mark. As it has done every season for the show thus far, the network picked up Abbott Elementary well ahead of the end of its season. The show is the first scripted renewal for ABC so far this season. Abbott Elementary continues to perform solidly for ABC and Disney’s streaming services Hulu and Disney+. The show is the top comedy on TV this season among adults 18-49, based on seven days of multi-platform viewing with a 1.82 rating (equivalent to about 2.48m people in that age range) in the key ad sales demographic. Abbott averages more than 6m total viewers per episode after a week of cross-platform viewing. The story.
—🎭 Peter "The Great" Mullan! 🎭 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has added a trio of actors to its season two cast. HBO's Game of Thrones prequel has tapped Lucy Boynton as Lady Rohanne of Coldmoat, a.k.a. the Red Widow; Babou Ceesay as Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield; and Peter Mullan as Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast in the Reach. The actors join returning stars Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg in the second season, which is based on George R.R. Martin‘s novella The Sworn Sword. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Season two of The Four Seasons will premiere on Netflix on May 28. The streamer also revealed first-look images of returning cast members Tina Fey, Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Marco Calvani, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Erika Henningsen. Co-created by Fey, Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield, the series is adapted from Alan Alda’s 1981 comedy about boomers navigating midlife crises. The second season will consist of eight episodes and once again follow a group of friends across four vacations over the course of a year. The story. |
Lee Isaac Chung Exits 'Ocean's Eleven' Prequel ►Good ol' "creative differences." Director Lee Isaac Chung has exited Warner Bros.‘ planned feature prequel for its Ocean’s Eleven property. The Minari filmmaker had been developing the movie with the studio and Margot Robbie, who is attached to star with Bradley Cooper and produce through her LuckyChap banner. A representative for Warner Bros. confirms that Chung left amicably amid “creative differences.” A joint statement from Warner Bros. and LuckyChap read, "Lee Isaac is a singular filmmaking talent whose vision and partnership have been invaluable to Warner Bros. and LuckyChap throughout this journey. Our experience with him has only deepened our enthusiasm to collaborate on future projects together." The story.
—Mixed fortunes. In a much-needed win for Pixar, Hoppers is positioned to deliver the iconic animated studio its biggest opening in nearly a decade for a non-franchise title. Conversely, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new film, inspired by the 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein, is in danger of being jilted at the altar. Disney is forecasting a global debut of $88m for Hoppers. The last time a Pixar original did so well was Coco in 2017. In North America, tracking suggests it could open anywhere from $36m to $40m, with room for upside. It’s also expected to come in leaps and bounds ahead of Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! , which Warner Bros. believes will open in the $16m to $18m range domestically and roughly $38m-plus globally, although decidedly mixed reviews could ding the $80m film. The box office report.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 The Match Factory has closed multiple distribution deals for its Berlin festival award winners: Lance Hammer’s Queen at Sea and Rose by Markus Schleinzer. Sandra Hüller won the Berlinale Silver Bear for best leading performance for Rose, in which she plays a 17th-Century German woman trying to pass for a man. Queen at Sea, Hammer’s look at the impact of dementia on a family, won both the Silver Bear Jury Prize and the Silver Bear for best supporting performance for Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall, playing husband and wife. Juliette Binoche and Florence Hunt also star. The story.
—🎭 Head-spinning cast. 🎭 John Leguizamo has joined Mike Flanagan’s untitled The Exorcist feature, that is Blumhouse-Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek Entertainment’s new take on the horror classic. Flanagan wrote the script and is directing and producing the new feature, promising a “fresh and bold” take on the demonic possession story. And the feature, which begins production next week, is easily the most brightly starred Exorcist project in years. Scarlett Johansson, Jacobi Jupe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane are already loading up on the holy water. The story. |
Olivier Awards Nominations 2026 ►🏆 Fingers crossed for the boy from Peru! 🏆 Rachel Zegler, Bryan Cranston, Rosamund Pike, Tom Hiddleston and Cate Blanchett are among the Hollywood stars to have scored Olivier Award nominations. London’s favorite bear — or rather, the actors behind him — Paddington, is also nominated for the newly-launched Paddington The Musical. The U.K. equivalent of the Tonys will crown its winners at a ceremony on April 12, and will be broadcast by the BBC and hosted by Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed. The nominations.
—Slush funds. The lingering impacts from the snowstorm appeared in last week’s grosses, as six productions were forced to cancel performances Feb. 23. In turn, Broadway grosses tumbled 17.5 percent and attendance fell 8.4 percent, as Chicago, Every Brilliant Thing, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Six and The Great Gatsby lost a performance last week. This came after the Feb. 22 evening performances were canceled for 10 productions, leading to a 14 percent slump in the previous week’s grosses. Even down a performance, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was still the week’s top-grossing show, bringing in $2.16m, followed by Hamilton with $1.8m, Just in Time with $1.5m, The Lion King with $1.33m and Wicked with $1.3m. The Broadway box office report. |
Film Review: 'The Bride!' ►"Best left at the altar." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride! Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale star in Gyllenhaal’s bludgeoning feminist spin on the character only briefly introduced in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein . Also starring Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz, John Magaro, Matthew Maher, Jeannie Berlin, Zlatko Burić, Louis Cancelmi and Julianne Hough. Written by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The review.
—"Brainy and lusty." THR's Angie Han reviews Netflix's Vladimir. Julia May Jonas adapts her own acclaimed novel about a married English professor, played by Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz, who develops an all-consuming crush on a younger colleague. Also starring Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Jessica Henwick, Ellen Robertson, Matt Walsh, Kayli Carter, Tattiawna Jones and Mallori Johnson. Created by Julia May Jonas. The review.
In other news...
—DC's Lanterns first teaser shines light on Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre’s relationship
—Netflix drops trailer for BTS comeback concert live stream
—The Testaments trailer: Handmaid’s Tale sequel series reveals coming-of-age thriller
—Beef S2 trailer: It’s Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan vs. Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton
—Your Friends & Neighbors S2 trailer: James Marsden moves in on Jon Hamm’s turf
—NBCU exec Ben Crompton named Fremantle’s global head of entertainment
What else we're reading...
—Catherine Shoard wonders why today’s children’s books and films often so much better than adult ones [Guardian]
—Ben Brantley looks at how Jonathan Groff became Broadway’s leading man [NYT]
—Tara Copp, Elizabeth Dwoskin and Ian Duncan report that Anthropic’s AI tool Claude is still central to the U.S. war in Iran, amid a bitter feud between the company and the Pentagon [Washington Post]
—Claire Heddles exposes the shocking racist chat group among Miami campus Republicans, once again highlighting the GOP's Nazi problem [Miami Herald]
—Prem Thakker reports that a group of Hollywood insiders is campaigning to stop The Voice of Hind Rajab from winning an Oscar [Zeteo]
Today...
...in 1999, Warner Bros. brought Harold Ramis’ Analyze This to theaters nationwide, where it would go on to gross $176m globally in its theatrical run. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Eva Mendes (52), Penn Jillette (71), Madison Beer (27), Riki Lindhome (47), Sonya Cassidy (39), Kevin Connolly (52), Aasif Mandvi (60), Lucian Msamati (50), Fred Williamson (88), Paul Blackthorne (57), Matt Rogers (36), Kiell Smith-Bynoe (37), Karolina Wydra (45), Yuri Lowenthal (55), Lauren Weedman (57), Roman Griffin Davis (19), Talia Balsam (67), Jake Lloyd (37), Elsie Hewitt (30), Neil Jackson (50), Hanna Alström (45), Matt Lucas (52), Sterling Knight (37), Amber Anderson (34), Jessica Boehrs (46), Marsha Warfield (72), Simon Abkarian (64), Hanna Mangan Lawrence (35), Nicholas Burns (49) |
| | | |
