| | | | | | What's news: Apple has apologized for its dystopian iPad Pro ad. Bravo has picked up new seasons of its seven Housewives series. John Malkovich has joined the cast of The Fantastic Four. Amazon has confirmed a sequel for Red, White & Royal Blue. Peacock has renewed Ted. Israel's Eurovision entrant was booed at rehearsals. — Abid Rahman
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Hollywood's Franchise Power Couple ►"We do tend to finish each other’s thoughts. Sometimes we don’t even have to finish the sentence." Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver – the married writer-producer duo who made their name with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Avatar and Jurassic World and whose films have topped $6 b at the global box office – talk to THR's second-nicest man Aaron Couch about being fired, rehired and inspired to make five more Apes movies. The interview.
—Yay us! THR has landed 44 nominations for the 66th annual SoCal Journalism Awards, including print journalist of the year for Rebecca Keegan and best website. Other nominations were bestowed upon THR’s Songwriter Roundtable, podcasts Awards Chatter and It Happened in Hollywood, and the Live Feed and Heat Vision blogs, in addition to THR’s original photography, videos, criticism and social media posts. The story.
—"We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry." Apple has apologized for an iPad Pro ad that was widely criticized when it debuted earlier this week. The dystopian spot, titled “Crush,” shows several instruments, including a guitar and piano, being crushed by a hydraulic press. Also among the items being smashed flat are balls that look like emojis and an Angry Birds statue. The story.
—Staying in jail. While the New York courts decide whether convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein should return to California while he awaits a retrial for his overturned 2020 conviction, the disgraced movie mogul will remain jailed in the Empire State, it was decided on Thursday. The courts must decide if Weinstein, who was previously convicted on rape charges in two separate trials in New York and California, should stay in a New York jail while he awaits the retrial in the former rape case, which has been planned to begin after Labor Day. The story. |
Why Wall Street Is Infatuated With Influencers ►"When you talk to all these teenagers and kids and people that watch the dudes, you know, they’re all being influenced." Last month, Highmount Capital made an eye-popping $100m-plus investment in YouTube trick shot stars Dude Perfect (60.1m subscribers on their main channel), which Dude Perfect plans to use to create live experiences, destinations and consumer products. THR's Alex Weprin looks at why venture firms are luring digital megastars with the mega deals to expand their brands outside YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. The story.
—YouTube’s secret weapon. As YouTube closes in on one year atop the Nielsen Gauge charts, Alex Weprin talks to some of its top creators who weigh in on why the platform has become bigger than Netflix on TV sets. The story.
—🏆 Congratulations! 🏆 The Peabody Awards has revealed its 2024 winners, with Bluey, The Bear, The Last of Us and Fellow Travelers among the high-profile projects set to receive awards. Other noteworthy winners among the 34 award recipients are Judy Blume Forever, 20 Days in Mariupol, All the Beauty and The Bloodshed, Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Dead Ringers, Jury Duty, Reality and Somebody Somewhere. Last Week Tonight was also honored with its third Peabody award, while Reservation Dogs won its second Peabody. The winners.
—"I felt a sense of uncertainty sometimes about whether I’m taking up someone’s space." The U.K.’s newest heartthrob, Nicholas Galitzine, has opened up on his sexuality and feeling conflicted over the roles that have shot him to stardom. In a new interview, the 29-year-old actor said that while he identifies as straight, taking on some roles within “queer stories” has left him with a sense of "perhaps guilt." In the last few years, Galitzine has starred as Prince Henry in Amazon's gay romance Red, White & Royal Blue, as well as George Villiers in Sky/Starz queer period drama Mary & George. The story. |
John Mayer Sets Record Straight on Andy Cohen Friendship ►"I’d like to think [the public is] sophisticated enough to see a relationship like ours without assuming it must include a sexual component." It’s no surprise that this week’s THR cover story on Andy Cohen would garner some attention, but the part of the interview that attracted a lot of press coverage was a reference to the longtime friendship between the openly gay Cohen and straight rock star John Mayer. In a letter to THR, Mayer takes exception to a "flawed" question in the interview. The letter.
—More good news for Andy. Bravo has renewed Cohen's late night talk show Watch What Happens Live through 2025 after completing an investigation into accusations from former stars of The Real Housewives, the franchise on which he is also an executive producer. "The outside investigation into the recent allegations made by Brandi Glanville and Leah McSweeney against Andy Cohen has now been completed, and the claims were found to be unsubstantiated," a Bravo spokesperson told THR. The story.
—All about those Housewives. NBCUniversal’s cable networks have set their plans for the 2024-25 season, and they involve a lot of Real Housewives. Bravo has picked up new seasons of seven series in its multi-headed reality hydra — Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Miami, New York City, Orange County, Potomac and Salt Lake City — and has also renewed Vanderpump Rules offshoot The Valley, Married to Medicine, Top Chef, Southern Charm, Southern Hospitality and Below Deck. The story. |
'Fantastic Four' Casts Ralph Ineson as Galactus ►🎭 Finchy! 🎭 THR's Borys Kit has the big scoop on Ralph Ineson landing the plum part of Galactus, the antagonist in Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four. The veteran British character actor joins a cast that includes Perdro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner and TIE newsletter fave Paul Walter Hauser. The high-profile, big-budget outing, the Fantastic Four’s first under the Marvel Cinematic Universe umbrella, has a planned mid-summer shoot in England. The story.
—🎭 Doom? Maybe? No? 🎭 Also joining Fantastic Four is John Malkovich. Alas, there are no details on the character the veteran actor is playing in the Marvel film. Fantastic Four has a release date of July 25, 2025 and hails from WandaVision director Matt Shakman, helming from a script from by Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. WandaVision's Peter Cameron has also worked on the script. The story.
—📅 Named and dated 📅 The Jordan Peele-produced psychological horror film set in the world of football has revealed its official title — Him — and a Sept. 19, 2025 release date in theaters. Universal and Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions announced the news Thursday. Justin Tipping is directing the movie, which stars Marlon Wayans as a legendary quarterback tasked with training a rising young athlete, played by Tyriq Withers, who goes to train at the aging athlete’s isolated compound. The film’s working title was GOAT. The story.
—Huggy Wuggy goes to Hollywood. Legendary Entertainment has beat out several competitive offers to close an aggressive deal with Mob Entertainment to develop and produce a live-action feature adaptation of Poppy Playtime, a horror video game featuring the toy-turned-monster. With shades of Toy Story and Gremlins, the game sees the player acting as a former employee of a faded toy brand who is drawn back to an abandoned facility only to quickly discover it has become home to a host of toys who have come to life. The story.
—About those gay roles Nicholas... Amazon Prime Video is heading back to the White House for a Red, White & Royal Blue sequel, with stars Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez set to reprise their roles. The first film was based on Casey McQuiston young adult romance of the same name and follows Alex Claremont-Diaz (Perez), a first son of the United States, and his romantic relationship with Prince Henry (Galitzine), a British prince. Plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps. The story.
—🎭 Together again 🎭 Sebastian Stan and Lily James, stars of the Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy, are getting back together to topline the psychological horror thriller film Let The Evil Go West. Christian Tafdrup will direct for Star Thrower Entertainment and Gramercy Park, which is financing the film. The story centers on a railroad worker who discovers a fortune under deeply disturbing circumstances. As horrifying visions and manifestations drive him toward madness, his wife becomes convinced that an evil presence has attached itself to their family. The story. |
Ohtani-Mizuhara Gambling Scandal Getting TV Treatment ►That didn’t take long. Less than two months after ESPN broke news that Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s now former interpreter and confidant, Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly stole millions of dollars to pay off gambling debts, Lionsgate Television is developing a scripted series exploring the scandal. Scott Delman (Station Eleven) and Albert Chen (author of Billion Dollar Fantasy, a book about gambling companies DraftKings and FanDuel) are teaming to produce an untitled scripted drama for the studio. The story.
—No-brainer. Peacock has ordered a second season of the comedy Ted, the prequel to the two feature films that have the Seth MacFarlane-voiced living teddy bear at their center. The streamer originally billed the show as an “event series,” but it will now be an ongoing show. The renewal comes about four months after Ted premiered on Peacock to solid ratings in January. It was the top streaming comedy in the U.S. for about two months after its debut, and Peacock says the series is its most-watched original to date. The story.
—🎭 Emmy-winning addition 🎭 Kristen Johnston is headed to Netflix. The 3rd Rock From the Sun grad has been tapped to star opposite comedian Leanne Morgan in the untitled Netflix project from co-creator Chuck Lorre. The muticamera sitcom, which was picked up with a 16-episode straight-to-series order last month, revolves around Leanne, whose life “takes an unexpected turn when her husband of 33 years leaves her for another woman. The story.
—Fallout aftermath. Amazon Prime Video has touted the viewer response to Fallout as its second-biggest series ever worldwide over 16 days of release. In the U.S. (and over a shorter time period), it’s No. 1. Fallout recorded 2.9b minutes of viewing time in the U.S. over its first five days, according to Nielsen’s streaming ratings for April 8-14. That’s far and away the best opening for a series on Prime Video, beating Reacher’s series premiere week in early 2022 (1.84b minutes) by more than a billion minutes. The streaming rankings. |
'Doctor Who' Returns ►"There's always something new to say." Doctor Who is set to make its first-ever new-season release simultaneously worldwide when the beloved, long-running BBC series launches on Disney+ Friday. For THR, Cameron K McEwan spoke to showrunner, and Swansea lad, Russell T Davies about the return of the show and new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, who made his entrance into the Whovian franchise with last year’s Christmas Day special "The Church on Ruby Road," which also introduced his new companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson. The interview.
—Doctors without borders. The Guinness World Records once listed the BBC’s Doctor Who as the “most successful science fiction television series in the world,” and, in November 2023, the show turned an impressive 60 years old. Doctor Who originally ran from 1963 to 1989 and was relaunched in 2005. With Gatwa taking on the titular role, for the uninitiated, Cameron runs through all the previous actors who have played the British sci-fi icon. The list.
—"You can’t ignore my chocolate-ness, so we’re not going to ignore it." Gatwa, who is now the Fifteenth Doctor, also makes history as the first Black Doctor in the long-running franchise. The Scottish actor opened up about dealing with some racist backlash to his casting at the show’s Los Angeles premiere on Wednesday. Gatwa revealed that Jodie Whittaker — who played the Thirteenth Doctor, marking the first female star — offered him advice when the criticism came. The story. |
Eurovision Promises Pop and Protest ►Get excited. Eurovision, the world’s largest live music contest, will return to screens on Saturday and serve up another buffet of committed and very eccentric Euro acts competing for the ultimate prize. THR's Lily Ford previews the contest that has been a springboard to fame for some of the biggest acts in the world, including legendary Swedish band ABBA, and more recently, Italian glam rock band Måneskin. The preview.
—Protests. Eden Golan, Israel’s entrant for Eurovision, was booed during rehearsals on Thursday, with the crowd in Malmö, Sweden chanting “Free Palestine” during the singer’s performance. Ahead of the Eurovision semi-final, Golan was performing her song “Hurricane” when sections of the crowd turned on her and the jeering began. In video clips posted to social media, audible boos can be heard during Golan’s rehearsal, with local media reporting that there were also political chants. More protests are planned for Saturday's final. The story. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—TV's Top 5. THR's Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. This week's episode begins with the headlines, including news on Reba McEntire, George Lopez, Taylor Sheridan, Tracy Morgan, Michelle Yeoh, F1 and Shohei Ohtani. There's a segment on the huge news on the coming Max, Hulu and Disney+ streaming bundle and another section on Peacock's new version of The Office. There's a convo about Netflix's recent live TV events and Dan reviews Apple's Dark Matter and Hollywood Con Queen, Hulu's Black Twitter, Disney+ Doctor Who and Netflix's Bodkin. Listen here.
—Awards Chatter. THR's executive awards editor Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this live episode, Scott spoke to Anna Sawai. The Japanese actress, whose performance on FX’s smash-hit limited series Shōgun has catapulted her to stardom, reflects on her days in a J-pop girl group, reaching an international audience for the first time through F9 and the unique challenges and rewards of playing Lady Mariko. Listen here.
In other news...
—The Bear S3 releases teaser, premiere date
—Baristas, bungalows and the D’Amelios: UTA unveils upscale office for creators
—Alberto Barbera extends contract as Venice Film Festival director through 2026
—Tanja Meissner named head of Berlin’s European Film Market
—Tonys: Directors Jack O’Brien and George C. Wolfe to receive lifetime achievement awards
—Justin and Hailey Bieber expecting first child
—RHOBH stars Dorit and PK Kemsley announce separation
—Nick Jonas to perform at amfAR Cannes gala
—The best last-minute digital gifts for moms who "don’t want anything"
—Harry J. Pappas, TV and radio mogul, dies at 78
What else we're reading...
—Meta and Alphabet’s new dividends policy will reward shareholders, writes Allan Sloan, but especially billionaire founders Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin [Fast]
—After many failed attempts, Josef Adalian writes that with John Mulaney's possibly one-off show Everybody’s in L.A., Netflix finally cracked the talk-show code [Vulture]
—Moira Donegan writes that Stormy Daniels’s testimony paints a dark picture of Donald Trump’s view of sex and power [Guardian]
—With the real life stalker behind Netflix's Baby Reindeer outing herself and doing primetime interviews, Aja Romano feels that the paradox of true crime as entertainment has struck again [Vox]
—Here's your Friday list: "The greatest diss tracks of all time, ranked" [Ringer]
Today...
...in 1996, Warner Bros. unveiled the Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton disaster thriller Twister in theaters. The film went on to nab two Oscar nominations, for sound and visual effects. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Kenan Thompson (46), Bono (64), Jim Abrahams (80), Odette Annable (39), Halston Sage (31), David Mackenzie (58), Rich Moore (61), Andrea Anders (49), Anna Maxwell Martin (47), Dallas Roberts (54), Michael Gandolfini (25), Sally Phillips (54), Linda Evangelista (59), Nicky Whelan (43), Gina Philips (54), Erik Palladino (56), Alex Jennings (67), Adrian Scarborough (56), Lindsey Shaw (35), Victoria Rowell (65), Todd Lowe (47), Judson Mills (55), Rebecca Root (55), Craig Hall (50), Madeleine Sami (44), Jason Brooks (58), Bea Santos (34), Jake Zyrus (32), Sam Pancake (60), Emma Ridley (52), Adriano Giannini (53), Alejandra Guilmant (31) |
| Wayne Kramer, the co-founder of the protopunk Detroit band the MC5 that thrashed out such hardcore anthems as “Kick Out the Jams” and influenced everyone from the Clash to Rage Against the Machine, has died at age 75. The obituary. |
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