| | | | What's news: Toby Keith has died. The Grammys recorded their biggest TV audience in four years. David Leitch is in talks to direct the next Jurassic World film. Jacob Elordi is being investigated over an alleged assault in Australia. Spotify ended 2023 with 236m premium subscribers. — Abid Rahman
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Inside the Grammys: What You Didn't See on TV ►12 things the cameras missed. THR's nicest man Chris Gardner was on the scene inside Crypto.com Arena to catch noteworthy moments from Sunday's Grammys that didn't appear on the telecast. Chris has the goods on A-list attendees like Celine Dion, Coco Jones, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen and host Trevor Noah, and recaps breaking the news on Killer Mike's dramatic arrest at the ceremony. The story.
—The Taylor bump. The Grammys recorded their biggest TV audience in four years, posting big ratings improvements over the 2023 ceremony. CBS' telecast, which saw Taylor Swift take home album of the year honors, drew 16.9m viewers, based on fast national ratings from Nielsen. That’s the biggest tune-in for the Grammys since 2020, the last one held before the COVID-19 pandemic. The awards were up 34 percent year to year, rising from 12.55m viewers in 2023. The 16.9m viewers for the CBS broadcast does not include streaming. The story.
—Postie! Taylor Swift has revealed the tracklist for her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department. The new 16 songs boast features from Post Malone and Florence + the Machine, along with a 17th bonus track titled “The Manuscript.” Swift announced The Tortured Poets Department on Sunday evening after winning the Grammy for best pop vocal album for her 10th album, Midnights. The tracklist. |
Toby Keith 1961 - 2024 ►"He fought his fight with grace and courage." Toby Keith, the country music singer and songwriter known for his larger-than-life personality, has died. He was 62. Keith was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2022. The Nashville star’s hits include "Who’s Your Daddy?," "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," "Beer for My Horses" and "Made in America." The obituary.
—Assault allegation. Australian authorities are reportedly investigating allegations of an assault committed by Jacob Elordi after a local radio reporter accused the actor of choking him during a failed prank over the weekend. A reporter for the Kyle and Jackie O Breakfast Show says he approached Elordi, handing him a jar and asking the actor if he would fill it with his bathwater, in a reference to the movie Saltburn. Elordi is alleged to have asked the reporter to stop filming, and then it is claimed he attacked the reporter by slamming him against a wall. The story.
—"It's very important how this information from doctor to patient and loved one is relayed." Emma Heming Willis is set to release a book on her experience as a caregiver to husband Bruce Willis after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. The yet-to-be-titled book, to be published in 2025 through The Open Field book imprint helmed by Maria Shriver, will also include interviews and expert advice, "offering a thoughtful, inspiring guide for those seeking support while navigating a loved one’s dementia." The story. |
How Comfort Shows Conquered Streaming TV ►"No original scripted streaming show has ever crossed the 100-episode mark." In a year when a fractured, Netflix-led landscape trotted out hundreds of new original series, THR's Rick Porter writes that audiences turned to library series like Suits, Grey's Anatomy and Gilmore Girls, which claimed all the top 10 spots in Nielsen’s 2023 tally. The analysis.
—Apple's vision. Michael Douglas, Carol Burnett and Maya Rudolph braved the L.A. rain to make the trek to the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour as Apple TV+ touted its 2024 slate. The streamer showcased new shows Manhunt, Sugar, Presumed Innocent, The New Look, Palm Royale and Franklin as well as returning programs The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy, Acapulco and Loot. The lineup.
—K-content kings. Netflix revealed its annual slate of Korean films and series on Monday, and 2024 is shaping up to be another strong year of K-content, including returns for some of the streamer’s most popular global shows. As well as a second season of Squid Game, there will be second seasons for reality survival series Physical 100, the fantasy series Hellbound, the reality show Zombieverse and mystery drama Gyeongseong Creature. The streamer will also debut the epic period drama Uprising, co-written and co-produced by Korean auteur Park Chan-wook. The lineup.
—More Gypsy. Lifetime will continue chronicling the life of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. On the heels of its January documentary The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the cable network has greenlit a new unscripted show that will follow her life post-prison. The untitled series comes from Prison Confessions producer Category 6 Media, which is part of A+E Factual Studios. Prison Confessions was a success for Lifetime, averaging 1.1m viewers with three days of delayed viewing. The story.
—🎭 Cheadle's about 🎭 Peacock's limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist continues to add to its A-list cast. Don Cheadle is the latest actor to sign on to the drama, which tracks an armed robbery (and its fallout) on the night of Muhammad Ali’s 1970 comeback fight in Atlanta. Cheadle joins a cast that also includes Kevin Hart (who’s also executive producing), Samuel L. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Howard, Dexter Darden (who’s playing Ali) and Myles Bullock. Fight Night is based on an iHeart podcast. The story. |
The Movies Lining Up Super Bowl Spots ►No Dune, though. Marvel will use this year’s Super Bowl to drop the first trailer for Deadpool 3, and there's likely to be spots for Paramount's Bob Marley: One Love, A Quiet Place: Day One and IF and Universal's Fall Guy, Twisters, Despicable Me 4 and Kung Fu Panda 4. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Hollywood studios still use TV's most-watched event of the year to advertise their upcoming films but have cut back notably in recent years because of the soaring cost. The story.
—In demand. The Fall Guy filmmaker David Leitch is in talks to direct the next installment in the Jurassic World franchise. Universal announced Monday that it plans to release the dinosaur-focused film on July 2, 2025. THR broke the news last month that David Koepp, who penned Steven Spielberg's original 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park and its 1997 sequel Jurassic Park: The Lost World, is writing the follow-up to 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion. The story.
—Moving streamers. Amazon MGM Studios' Orion Pictures is developing America Ferrera's feature directorial debut, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, after the project was previously set up at Netflix. Ferrera is set to direct from a script by Linda Yvette Chávez that adapts author Erika Sánchez’s best-selling 2017 young adult novel of the same name. The story centers on Chicago-based teen Julia Reyes, who aspires to become a successful writer but struggles to live up to her family’s expectations following the tragic death of her seemingly perfect sister Olga. The story.
—Stormy's rolling in. Peacock has released a first look teaser and announced a premiere date for its Stormy Daniels documentary, Stormy. The project will premiere on the streamer on March 18. The doc is directed and produced by Sarah Gibson (Orgasm inc: The Story of OneTaste) and executive produced by Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs Spears), along with Judd Apatow, Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kaulfers. The story. |
WBD Beats Suit Over Inflated Subs Figures ►Big W. Warner Bros. Discovery and its top brass will not have to face a lawsuit from investors accusing them of hiding adverse financial information about the company’s prospects leading up to the 2022 merger of Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia. U.S. District Judge Valierie Caproni on Monday found that WBD didn’t overstate subscriber figures and was not required to disclose information about broader changes to its business strategy as it related to third-party licensing and the likely shuttering of CNN+. The story.
—All change, again. CNN has told staff it is moving its much-hyped Chris Licht era morning show, This Morning, from New York to its Atlanta headquarters. The show’s 50-person team have been told they can reapply for jobs within the network, according to sources. Phil Mattingly and Poppy Harlow will also be moving to new roles. CNN will move up its News Central show to help fill the time slot. Early Start host Kasie Hunt will anchor from 5am-7am ET, News Central moves from 7 am to 10 am and Jim Acosta signs on at 10 am ET. The story.
—Cash machine. Sphere Entertainment Corp., the company behind Las Vegas attraction The Sphere, as well as the MSG Networks RSN business, reported its first full quarterly earnings report Monday, its fiscal 2024 Q2. The company reported earnings of $314.2m, with Sphere ($167.8m) overtaking MSG Networks ($146.4m) as the predominant breadwinner. That being said, MSG Networks provided the bulk of the company’s profits, comprising $37.3m of Sphere’s $51.4m in adjusted operating income. The results. |
Apple, NBA Chiefs Talk Vision Pro ►"This changes everything." THR's Alex Weprin tagged along on Vision Pro release day as Apple CEO Tim Cook met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and toured the league's headquarters in New York. The story.
—Losses narrow. Spotify posted better-than-expected subscriber gains as part of its Q4 and full-year 2023 earnings report on Tuesday. It also reported a narrowed Q4 operating loss despite charges for layoffs related to its efforts to push toward sustainable profitability, with its bottom line helped by price increases, cost reductions and growth in its ad business. Spotify ended 2023 with 236m paying premium subscribers. The results.
—"Over $70b to creators, artists, and media companies over the last three years." YouTube CEO Neal Mohan published his annual letter to the video streamer's community Tuesday morning, providing an update on the platform’s business, and unveiling “4 Big Bets for 2024.” Among those bets is the living room, where Mohan said viewers watch 1b hours on their TV sets every day, and where YouTube TV –the company’s streaming multichannel video service — now has more than 8m subscribers. The story.
—More layoffs. Snapchat owner Snap on Monday said that it would be slashing its global workforce by 10 percent. The company says it expects to incur charges in the range of $55m to $75m in connection with the cuts. The cuts at Snap come amid a larger wave of layoffs at tech companies, with business lines that connect with the world of media and entertainment particularly impacted. The story.
—"The risk of serious injury and death." Meta is officially warning investors: CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s love of mixed martial arts poses a risk to its business. Zuckerberg has become a big MMA fan, posting photos training ith UFC fighters, and even participating in some local matches. He also underwent knee surgery last year after injuring his ACL while training for a fight. Now, his company has decided that Zuckerberg’s love for MMA needs to be disclosed to shareholders. The story. |
Why 'Curb' Is Ending and the Story Behind S12's Premiere Kicker ►"The funniest version of the end of this season was the end of the series." THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to Curb Your Enthusiasm executive producer Jeff Schaffer about why he and Larry David are wrapping the beloved HBO comedy. Schaffer also unpacks all the setups in the premiere (including Larry’s mugshot being plotted well ahead of Donald Trump’s arrest) and gives non-answer answers about whether this is really the end of Curb's version of Larry David. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. In other news...
—Ben Affleck's Dunkin' ad riffs off sad Grammys meme
—Martin Scorsese and daughter Francesca take TikTok to the Super Bowl in new ad
—Bud Light brings in Post Malone, Dana White and a genie for Super Bowl reboot
—Northern England film, TV hub lands producer as JV partner
—Dorian Film Awards: All of Us Strangers tops nominations
—Green Border wins Rotterdam Fest audience award
—Chucky producer Eat the Cat taps Gemma Levinson to head development
What else we're reading...
—Max Tani has a must-read piece on how Condé Nast bought and then destroyed Pitchfork [Semafor]
—Amanda Christovich reports that the National Labor Relations Board has declared that Dartmouth basketball players can hold an election to unionize, which could shatter the NCAA’s amateurism model [Front Office Sports]
—Keith Stuart looks back at the golden era of fighting video games, when Street Fighter and Tekken ruled [Guardian]
—Ankush Khardori wonders what will happen if Donald Trump is sentenced to prison [Intelligencer]
—Cherylann Mollan has a wild story on Indian actress Poonam Pandey faking her death to raise awareness about cervical cancer and the furious debate it has ignited in the country [BBC]
Today...
...in 2015, Warner Bros. released The Wachowskis' Jupiter Ascending in theaters. The ambitious space opera, starring Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean and a memorable Eddie Redmayne, was a big critical and commercial failure. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Rick Astley (58), Tom Brokaw (84), Alice Eve (42), Dane DeHaan (38), Ciro Guerra (43), Kathy Najimy (67), David Hayter (55), Jim Sheridan (75), Debra Granik (61), Josh Stewart (47), Charlie Heaton (30), Robert Townsend (67), Anna Diop (36), Moses Ingram (30), Alice Greczyn (38), Crystal Reed (39), Simone Lahbib (59), Nabil Elouahabi (49), Dominic Sherwood (34), Ben Lawson (44), Naomi Grossman (49), Natalia Reyes (37), Amir Wilson (20), David Emmerichs (57), Suraya Rose Santos (32) |
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