October 13, 2021

What's news: IATSE is not happy with the lack of urgency in its talks with the studios. Sony won the race for a buzzy Jennifer Lawrence dramedy. Netflix has a reinstated three employees, including one trans engineer, who were suspended for disrupting a meeting amid the Chappelle controversy. Plus: France has selected Titane as its 2022 Oscars international feature category hopeful — Abid Rahman

Will 'Ted Lasso' Stick to Three-Season Plan?

►Roy Kent spinoff, surely. To say Ted Lasso has become a breakout hit for Apple, is a bit of an understatement. Now the pop culture phenom is creating a problem for the tech giant and producers Warner Bros. TV and Universal TV: will the Emmy-winning comedy end its run as planned with season three?

THR's Lesley Goldberg considers the future of Ted Lasso and notes that in the streaming era, due to rising costs and the structure of talent deals, only the “biggest” scripted shows — think Stranger Things and The Handmaid’s Tale — tend to survive to beyond season two. Few Netflix scripted originals make it to season three and it’s increasingly harder for those to make it to season four or beyond. The story.

—"I feel vindicated." Netflix has reinstated a trans engineer and two other employees who had been suspended after attending a meeting that was meant only for senior executives at the company. Terra Field, who is trans, joined the meeting after speaking out on Twitter about Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix special. Field and the others joined the meeting and were suspended afterward. The story.

—Can't die, won't die. The Walking Dead is getting a fourth spinoff after AMC handed out a series order to Tales of the Walking Dead. The individual episodic anthology series is set to debut in summer 2022. Each hourlong episode of Tales will be focused on new and established characters that are based in the larger world of TWD. The story.

—Hefty payday. Sony has picked up the buzzy Jennifer Lawrence movie package, No Hard Feelings. The coming-of-age dramedy is set to directed by Gene Stupnitsky, who wrote and co-exec produced The Office, with Lawrence's fee fo the feature believed to be around $25 million. The story.

—"Pace of negotiations does not reflect the urgency of the situation." After about a week of renewed negotiations with the AMPTP, IATSE Local 700's national executive director told members that the studios "repeatedly refuse to do what it will take to achieve a fair deal." The story.

'Squid Game' Creator Talks Season 2, Show's Deeper Meaning

►"I actually did target a global audience." Squid Game, officially Netflix's biggest show ever, is the brainchild of South Korean writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk. In a fascinating interview with THR's Asia bureau chief Patrick Brezski, Hwang says he's "dumbfounded" by the global success of his show and talks about the painful personal origins of the concept, he also shares his thoughts on the story’s deeper meanings and where he’d like to take his blockbuster series next. Warning spoilers. The interview.

—Particulièrement exceptionnel. France has selected Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winner Titane for the best international feature category at the 2022 Oscars. From the French shortlist, the revenge drama beat out Audrey Diwan’s Golden Lion winner Happening, a period abortion drama, and Cédric Jiminez’s The Stronghold, a crime thriller set in the streets of Marseille. The story.

—Lip's going back to Chicago. FX has picked up a half-hour comedy called The Bear, starring Shameless alum Jeremy Allen White, to series. The show centers on a young chef (White) who returns to Chicago to run his family’s restaurant. The story.

—"As confused and messy as its heroine." THR critic Angie Han reviews Paramount+'s Guilty Party. Kate Beckinsale leads the dark dramedy series as a disgraced journalist trying to restore her reputation by reporting on a young mother who claims she's been falsely convicted of her husband's murder. The review.

—End of an era. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is leaving ESPN after 27 years. But fret not, starting in 2022, the Bee will move to a new TV home, namely Scripps-owned broadcast networks ION and Bounce. The story.

TV Ads in Flux Amid Changing Viewer Habits and Nielsen Upheaval

►A business in transition. The $60 billion market for TV ads faces the triple threat of viewers ditching broadcast entertainment for streaming, Nielsen's data being challenged as the default for metrics and the tech giants siphoning off ad dollars once spent on linear television. THR's Alex Weprin writes that, despite the challenges, there is a lucrative future for TV ads. The story.

—New banner just dropped. Bron and Constantin Film are getting behind Upgrade Productions, the new production outfit from industry veterans Matt Brodlie and Jonathan Kier. With their new L.A.-based label, Brodlie and Kier aim to develop and produce high-end local-language films and series for a global audience. The story.

—Trailblazing TV. First Day, a groundbreaking Australian miniseries about a trans girl adjusting to high school, has won best live-action series at the International Kids Emmy Awards. The tween drama, starring trans actor Evie Macdonald in the lead role as 12-year-old Hannah, has been hailed as a watershed program for the representation of trans characters on television. The story.

—Broadway bound. Erich Bergen has booked a return to Broadway. The actor will star in Waitress opposite Jennifer Nettles when the Sugarland star takes over the lead role as Jenna from creator Sara Bareilles on Oct. 19. Bergen reprises his role as love interest Dr. Jim Pomatter, a part he previously played in 2018 and again in 2019. The story.

—Prizeworthy podcasts. Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett’s breakout podcast, SmartLess, is continuing its recent string of successes with a total of four nominations in the 2022 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards. The nominees.

Dean Cain Slams Superman Coming Out as Bisexual

►"I don’t think it’s bold or brave." Former Superman actor Dean Cain has criticized DC Comics’ decision to have the current Man of Steel come out as bisexual. "They said it’s a bold new direction, I say they’re bandwagoning,” the 55-year-old actor told Fox & Friends on Tuesday. "Robin just came out as bi — who’s really shocked about that one? The new Captain America is gay. My daughter in Supergirl, where I played the father, was gay," Cain said, adding, "If they had done this 20 years ago, perhaps that would be bold or brave." The story.

—Tulip mania. Want to buy a NFT of Spongebob Squarepants, Star Trek‘s Spock, or Mission Impossible‘s Ethan Hunt? You might soon get your chance as ViacomCBS is partnering with NFT company Recur to develop and sell digital collectibles based on its vast library of films and TV shows. The story.

—It's official. BBC Studios, the production and sales arm of the BBC, has a new — official — boss. Tom Fussell, who has been interim CEO since September 2020 when Tim Davies was appointed director general, has now been formally appointed BBC Studios boss. The story.

In other news...

—Film review: Axelle Carolyn's The Manor.

—Film review: Keri Russell and Jesse Plemons in Antlers.

—Disney+ releases first trailer of Home Alone reboot Home Sweet Home Alone.

—Discovery+ to launch in Canada next week.

—Uzo Aduba to host Netflix Book Club series.

—TV ratings: SNL rises with Kim Kardashian West as host.

—TV ratings: NCIS dips for Mark Harmon’s farewell.

—Range taps Netflix alum Oliver Riddle to head international content.

—MRC Television ups Mary Claire Manley to senior vp development.

—Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast hosts sign with WME.

—John Ashton Thomas, conductor and orchestrator on Black Panther, dies at 60.

—Florida A&M names amphitheater after Will Packer.

What else we're reading...

—"Only Murders In The Building Plays Like A Nora Ephron Murder Mystery" [Vox]

—"Column: Ted Sarandos’ Netflix Memo On Dave Chappelle Is A Masterwork Of Gaslighting" [Los Angeles Times]

—"True Crime Is Rotting Our Brains" [Gawker]

—"MLB Is Testing Ways to Fix Baseball’s Boredom Problem" [Bloomberg]

—"John Mulaney and the Great Celebrity-Sympathy Overcorrection" [Slate]

Today...

Today's birthdays: Kate Walsh (54), Sacha Baron Cohen (50), Christopher Judge (57), Himesh Patel (31), Caleb McLaughlin (20), John Lone (69), Matt Walsh (57), Ashanti (41), Luis Tosar (50), Marie Osmond (62), Chris Carter (64), Paul Simon (80), Beverly Johnson (69), Kiele Sanchez (44), Katia Winter (38)

Brian Goldner, the CEO of Hasbro who transformed the toymaker into an entertainment powerhouse, culminating with the purchase of Peppa Pig studio Entertainment One in 2019, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 58. The obituary.

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