| | | | | | What's news: Netflix is hiking its prices. The Madison gave Taylor Sheridan his highest ever TV ratings debut. Ryan Gosling will star in the Daniels' next film. Himesh Patel will co-lead Ryan Coogler's X-Files reboot. Peter Debruge will be the next director of SXSW. And Bob Iger is one of 11 inductees into this year’s class of Disney Legends. — Abid Rahman
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Savannah Guthrie Sets 'Today' Return ►"I’m not going to be the same." Savannah Guthrie will return to Today on Monday, April 6, amid her mother’s suspected abduction. The update was confirmed on Friday as the third part of Guthrie’s interview with her colleague Hoda Kotb aired, in which the co-anchor spoke about why she is coming back as the search for her elderly mother, Nancy, continues. It will mark her first in-studio appearance on the show since Jan. 30, two days before her mother was reported missing from her Arizona home. "When times are hard, you want to be with your family. And I want to be with my family," said Guthrie about her colleagues. "And so I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I’ll belong anymore, but I would like to try. I would like to try… I’m not going to be the same," she added. The story.
—Uncle Bob's time to shine. Bob Iger may be a legend at Disney, but this summer he will officially become a Disney Legend. Iger is one of 11 inductees into this year’s class of Disney Legends, a sort of Hall of Fame for The Walt Disney Co., which it has awarded to some 329 honorees over the past 39 years. Nowadays the Disney Legends ceremony is held at the company’s biennial D23 event, where it closes out the weekend festivities with a star-studded ceremony. Other Disney Legend honorees this year will include actors Dwayne Johnson, Anne Hathaway, Alan Tudyk, Lin-Manuel Miranda, The Jonas Brothers, Chris Berman, Sudan Egan, Jerry Bruckheimer and Eric Goldberg. The story.
—The Trump economy! Netflix is hiking subscription prices across all its plans in its first major price increase in more than a year. The plans were disclosed on Netflix’s help page Thursday. The ad-supported tier will rise by $1 per month to $8.99, with the standard plan rising by $2 per month to $19.99 and the premium plan also rising by $2 per month to $26.99 per month. The company also raised the cost of its “extra member” fee by $1, to $6.99 for ad-supported plans and $9.99 for ad-free plans. The story. |
Oscars Relocating to L.A. Live in 2029 ►🤝 On the move. 🤝 The Oscars ceremony will be relocated from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, where it has been held since 2002, to the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles, the home of the Primetime Emmy Awards since 2008. The relocation will take place in 2029 and is part of a new 10-year deal struck between the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and AEG, the two organizations announced Thursday. That 2029 Oscars — the Academy’s 101st — will also be the first broadcast via YouTube, as part of another deal struck late last year. The story.
—🏆 Domination. 🏆 Taylor Swift was the top winner at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which took place live from the still current Oscars venue Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday night. “The Fate of Ophelia” singer went into the Ludacris-hosted ceremony, which aired on Fox and could be heard on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio app, with the most nominations, nine, leading the field for the fourth year in a row. And she left the night with the most wins, with seven total. She earned the coveted title of artist of the year, and won additional honors including best music video, pop song of the year and lyrics, among others. The winners.
—Shuttering. Sony Pictures’ planned “wind down” of its visual effects and virtual production firm Pixomondo to focus on Sony Pictures Imageworks, headquartered in Vancouver, is the latest signal of a production shift to incentive-friendly Canada. Sony a week ago told staff at Los Angeles-based Pixomondo that their VFX operations would shut down after outstanding projects or contracts were completed, and that the major studio would streamline VFX work internally to Imageworks. Pixomondo has VFX studios in Culver City, California, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, London and Frankfurt and Stuttgart. The story.
—✊ Unionizing. ✊ Hollywood has more union staffer organizing on its hands. Amid an ongoing Writers Guild of America West staff strike, communications and marketing workers at the performers’ union SAG-AFTRA announced on Thursday their intention to unionize with the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, United Auto Workers Local 2320. According to the the national union, which already represents organizers at SAG-AFTRA, the majority of staffers have signed union authorization cards. The story. |
'The Drama' Director's 2012 Essay on His Age-Gap Romance Resurfaces ►Troubling. A resurfaced Norwegian magazine essay by Kristoffer Borgli — now drawing attention on Reddit — is raising fresh questions about the filmmaker just as his profile in Hollywood continues to rise. Borgli, the director behind the upcoming feature The Drama starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, has been the subject of a viral thread on social media, where users have shared scans of a 2012 print article from D2, the weekend magazine of Dagens Naeringsliv — Norway’s leading financial daily. The piece, written by Borgli himself, then 27, reflects on a recent relationship he had with a teenage girl. The scans, which are not widely available online, have begun to circulate and have been translated by users. The story.
—Grim. For decades, The Price Is Right was America’s favorite sick-day companion: smiling contestants, bright lights and, at its center, Bob Barker, the avuncular host who closed every episode urging viewers to “help control the pet population.” Off-camera, former models now say, the reality was far less wholesome. A new installment of the E! docuseries Dirty Rotten Scandals revisits long-standing allegations of racism, discrimination and retaliation during Barker’s 35-year tenure, consolidating claims that once surfaced in lawsuits and tabloid headlines into a more unified narrative. Kathleen Bradley, the show’s first full-time Black model, recalls what she describes as a hostile environment both on set and beyond it. The story.
—Big hire. Peter Debruge, the longtime chief film critic at Variety, has been named the director of the SXSW Film and TV festival. Claudette Godfrey, the VP of film and TV at SXSW and a 20-year veteran of the organization, is stepping down from her role leading the Austin-based festival. Debruge, who will assume his new role on April 6, spent two decades as Variety’s chief film critic, writing over 2,000 film reviews. A University of Texas at Austin alumnus, Debruge has been attending the festival since the 1990s. The story.
—Banana republic latest. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) is seeking a court order to halt the closure of the Kennedy Center and reverse its name change, her legal team claims that both moves were done illegally and without any of the review Donald Trump claims took place. Beatty, an ex-officio board member of the Kennedy Center, previously sued Trump, who named himself chair of the center, after she said she was blocked from attending board meetings and voting when the Trump-appointed board members voted to rename the center the Trump-Kennedy Center in December. She was able to attend the center’s March 16 meeting, but was not able to vote. At that meeting, the board moved to vote for the two-year closure of the center starting July 7, due to what Trump has described as necessary renovations determined after a one-year review. The story. |
Why Has 'Project Hail Mary' Ignited So Much Online Debate? ►"There's debate around a number of themes that seem to be political." The popularity for Project Hail Mary continues to soar since its massive opening weekend at the box office, which has given oxygen to plenty of social media discourse. THR newshound Ryan Gajewski writes that with the movie’s release came a flurry of social media posts, as audiences debated everything one could possibly imagine to be a potential topic for debate. This included messages about the film’s quality, the book’s quality, the frequency and success of the jokes, its perceived political perspective, its positioning of the U.S. amid the global ecosystem, Gosling’s project choices and the directors’ track records, to name a smattering. The story.
—🎭 Literally Ryan (again). 🎭 The Daniels have found a star for their next sci-fi action comedy: Ryan Gosling. The Oscar-winning filmmaking duo behind Everything Everywhere All at Once has cast Gosling to lead the untitled event film for Universal, which is gearing up for a summer start. The film already has a release date of Nov. 19, 2027, and falls under an overall deal with the studio for their Playgrounds banner with their longtime producing partner Jonathan Wang. It’s the first piece of news for the project in some time. The film marks the duo’s follow-up to the pop culture phenomenon that was EEAAO , which won seven Academy Awards including best picture, best director and best original screenplay for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Mubi has snatched up Nicolas Winding Refn’s upcoming feature Her Private Hell, taking all rights for the film in the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Spain and Latin America. Mubi said it will announce its release plans for the film in the near future. The Tokyo-set thriller, stars Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Diego Calva, Shioli Kutsuna, Aoi Yamada and Hidetoshi Nishijima. Plot details are being kept under wraps. Neon has pre-bought North American rights ahead of the film’s premiere, widely rumored to be in Cannes this year. The hotly-anticipated film is Refn’s first feature since The Neon Demon in 2016. The story.
—🎭 Rising star. 🎭 Fresh off her breakout work in Wuthering Heights, Alison Oliver is reteaming with Margot Robbie's LuckyChap to star in the period revenge thriller Bad Bridgets. Oliver is replacing Daisy Edgar Jones in the feature that is written and will be directed by Rich Peppiatt, the filmmaker behind the BAFTA-lauded Kneecap. Jones is said to have stepped aside due to scheduling conflicts. Emilia Jones remains on board to star in the project. The script was inspired by the book Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem, and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick and has been developed with the support of Belfast’s Queens University. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 A crime caper starring Kelly Marie Tran that is set in the art world is ready to make its mark. Utopia‘s Circle Collective has acquired North American rights to writer-director Jing Ai Ng’s feature Forge and will launch it theatrically in May. The film that premiered at SXSW in 2025. Tran, who is known for her work in the Star Wars franchise, leads a cast that includes Andie Ju, Brandon Soo Hoo, Edmund Donovan, Eva De Dominici, T.R. Knight, Jack Falahee and Sonya Walger. The story. |
Himesh Patel to Star in Ryan Coogler's 'X-Files' Reboot ►🎭 New characters. 🎭 Hulu's The X-Files reboot has found its second co-lead. Yesterday actor Himesh Patel has been cast in writer-director Ryan Coogler‘s revival of the classic Fox series. Patel will join the previously announced Danielle Deadwyler as one of two FBI agents tasked with investigating paranormal activity. Coogler will both write and direct the pilot, which has been officially greenlit. Both Patel and Deadwyler are playing new characters — so this is not Fox Mulder and Dana Scully being recast. Original series star Gillian Anderson hinted she might appear in the project. The story.
—Woof! Taylor Sheridan scored another ratings milestone with the premiere of his latest series, The Madison. According to Paramount+, using numbers from Luminate, the family melodrama debuted to 8m viewers globally during its first 10 days, making The Madison the biggest original series launch yet for a Sheridan show on the streamer. The series, which premiered March 14, also marked the biggest freshman season launch for the prolific creator among women 35 and up. The grief drama from the Yellowstone hitmaker introduced viewers to the Clyburn family, who are plucked out of their New York City comfort zone and plopped into an uncomfortable yet transformative six-episode stay in Montana. The ratings.
—YouTube capture, Part I. PBS and ITVS have launched a YouTube channel focused on documentaries in a bid to “meet new audiences where they already are.” The channel, called PBS Documentaries, launched with the YouTube premiere of the Independent Lens title The Inquisitor, about the legacy of former Texas state senator and U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan. On March 30, the channel will debut Keep Quiet and Forgive, about an Amish child sexual assault survivor’s efforts to change the paradigm in Amish and Mennonite communities around sexual abuse. The story.
—YouTube capture, Part II. Sony Pictures Television's crown jewel game show Jeopardy! plans to significantly ramp up its content on its YouTube channel, starting with an entirely new spinoff: Jeopardy! YouTube Edition. The new edition of the show will hosted by Ken Jennings, and feature three YouTube creators playing for their charity of choice. While the format will be similar to the main show that is available on TV screens across the country (as well as on Hulu and Peacock) it will also feature clues and categories related to internet culture and YouTube itself, with many video clues from other creators. The story.
—🤝 Multi-year deal. 🤝 Leeza Gibbons is expanding her relationship with Nexstar Media. Gibbons has signed a new multiyear deal with Nexstar to continue serving as co-host of KTLA Los Angeles’ live broadcast of the Rose Parade as well as serve as host of Remarkable Women for The CW Network, NewsNation and all Nexstar-owned TV stations across the country. Gibbons also will serve as executive producer on Remarkable Women, Nexstar’s signature initiative honoring women who are making a meaningful impact in their communities. The story. |
Film Review: 'They Will Kill You' ►"Not a lot of brains, but plenty of splattered guts." THR's Angie Han reviews Kirill Sokolov's They Will Kill You. This eat-the-rich actioner is set in an upscale New York City apartment building that houses a Satanic cult. Starring Zazie Beetz, Myha'la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham and Patricia Arquette. Written by Kirill Sokolov and Alex Litvak. The review. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—It Happened in Hollywood. THR senior writer Seth Abramovitch goes behind the scenes of the pop culture moments that shaped Hollywood history. In this episode, Seth spoke to Henry Thomas. The star of Steven Spielberg's beloved sci-fi film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial looks back on how a tearful, instinctive audition won him screen immortality and childhood superstardom. The podcast.
—I’m Having an Episode. THR’s Mikey O’Connell attempts to stay on top of the latest TV and entertainment news with a little help from his friends, colleagues and a revolving door of actors, writers, showrunners and filmmakers. In this episode, Mikey interviews Julio Torres, the filmmaker, stand-up comic and former SNL writer, who talks about sharing his Color Theories in a new HBO special, getting heckled in the Hamptons and his potential amusement park with Tilda Swinton. That's after THR critic Dan Fienberg and Mikey debate TV reboots — or are they revivals? — with an analysis of Buffy's demise and a game of FMK. The podcast.
In other news...
—SNL: Jack Black, Colman Domingo to host in April
—Kate Hudson and co. return in first trailer for Running Point S2
—Andrea Martin to receive THR’s Women in Entertainment Canada honor
—Tom Quinn, Sophia Bush, Markiplier among SXSW London speakers
—C-3PO head from Empire nets whopping $1m at auction
—Dash Crofts, Seals & Crofts singer behind "Summer Breeze," dies at 87
What else we're reading...
—James Poniewozik pays tribute to Apple TV's excellent For All Mankind, a show he describes as the "anti-Black Mirror" [NYT]
—A wild Anna Moore story about an Amsterdam-based IT consultant whose life and marriage was wrecked by delusions created by his relationship to ChatGPT [Guardian]
—Cristina Criddle and Stephen Morris report that struggling OpenAI has put its plans for an erotic chatbot on hold "indefinitely" [FT]
—Alexandra S. Levine and Annie Bang report that the online game Five Nights at Epstein’s has gone viral at U.S. schools [Bloomberg]
—Here's your Friday list: 100 travel hotspots made famous by film and TV [THR]
Today...
...in 2005, ABC debuted a new hospital drama from executive producer Shonda Rhimes. Multiple accolades later, Grey’s Anatomy is still going strong at the network, and Rhimes is one of the industry’s most influential showrunners. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Mariah Carey (57), Quentin Tarantino (63), Brenda Song (38), Nathan Fillion (55), Halle Bailey (26), Fergie (51), Jonathan Entwistle (42), Pauley Perrette (57), Kevin Corrigan (57), Lisa (29), Sophie Nélisse (26), Holliday Grainger (38), Elizabeth Mitchell (56), Stephen Dillane (69), Kenny Doughty (51), Michael York (84), Julian Glover (91), Talisa Soto (59), Sandra Hess (58), Austin Pendleton (86), Louise Brealey (47), Rosabell Laurenti Sellers (30), Caroline Williams (69), Benjamin Koldyke (58), Ram Charan (41), Ty Tennant (24), Natasha Calis (27), Francie Swift (57), Taylor Atelian (31), Aoi Yûki (34), Michael Vlamis (36), Jason Narvy (52), Bevin Bru (35), Bernard Curry (52), Romesh Ranganathan (48) |
| | Alexander Kluge, the German filmmaker, whose career spanned more than six decades and helped define the New German Cinema movement, has died. He was 94. The obituary. |
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