Layoffs are underway at Disney Entertainment Television. Roughly 140 people are affected, representing about 2% of the total DET workforce.
National Geographic is the hardest-hit brand with about 60 layoffs, or some 13% of its staff. Other significantly-impacted divisions include the ABC Owned Television Stations, Freeform, the operational side of the Disney linear entertainment networks, Unscripted, Marketing and Publicity. No teams are being eliminated.
The company is combining the unscripted teams at ABC Entertainment and Hulu. As a result, two of the unscripted team’s senior vice presidents are exiting as part of the layoffs.
Deadline has heard that Tiffany Faigus, who is SVP Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, ABC Entertainment and Walt Disney Television Alternative, and Belisa Balaban, SVP Original Documentaries and Unscripted Series, Hulu Originals, are out. >>>Latest In String Of Cuts |
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Hathaway Looking Forward To 'Yesteryear' - Amazon MGM Studios has won an auction and is in final talks to turn the upcoming Caro Claire Burke novel Yesteryear into a film. Anne Hathaway is attached to star and produce. Sources in the publishing community said the film deal landed in the area of $450,000 against $2 million. >>>'Stepford Wives' Meets Margaret Atwood
Battling A.I. - SAG-AFTRA been pushing for protections against AI, but studios have been reluctant to support legislation. Now, it appears that the parties are on the same page as they’ve both thrown their support behind the No Fakes Act, a newly introduced bipartisan Senate bill. >>>Read It
Well Done - Done+Dusted, which has produced a slew of live events including the Emmys and the Oscars, has new backers. Deadline understands that the company has received investment from Asylum Entertainment Group, the Endeavor-backed company run by Steve Michaels. >>>Live Events Powerhouse |
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Carrie Underwood has replaced Katy Perry on American Idol's judging panel. Underwood, of course, rose to fame for winning the fourth season of the show, which then aired on Fox before moving to ABC.
Exclusive
Maya Rudolph will reprise her Emmy-winning role as Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live this fall as the NBC late-night comedy program covers the final stretch of the 2024 Presidential campaign.
Exclusive
Fresh off his Emmy nomination for Hacks, Christopher Lloyd has been set to return for Universal Pictures and 87North’s action sequel Nobody 2.
Eiza González is in negotiations to co-star opposite Vince Vaughn and James Marsden in the 20th Century pic Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice.
NBC's Chicago P.D. will welcome Toya Turner (New Amsterdam, Warrior Nun) in a series regular role for Season 12. She will portray police officer Yara Page.
Colin Jost will host Pop Culture Jeopardy! for Prime Video. The series has been in the works for some time, having been announced in May at Amazon’s upfront.
In Brief - Jake Weber joins series A Motel... Freaky Friday sequel adds Jordan E. Cooper... Michael Cerveris joins Broadway’s Tammy Faye... Spider-Noir adds Abraham Popoola... Amazon MGM's After The Hunt rounds out cast |
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BY THE NUMBERS
$250 million - New funding raised by Cosm, an emerging operator of immersive entertainment venues |
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More News ⛓️💥 Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, who were both serving long sentences in Russian penal colonies on contested espionage charges, will be freed as part of large prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S. alongside Germany.
⚽ Venu Sports, the streaming joint venture of Disney-ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery, will cost $42.99 a month when it launches in the fall. The price is at the top end of the streaming market, but it is consistent with Venu’s proposition to bring 14 linear network feeds to consumers without a full pay-TV subscription.
📽️ Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, The Room Next Door, with Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, will be the Centerpiece selection at the 62nd New York Film Festival. The drama will make its U.S. premiere at Alice Tully Hall on Oct. 4.
📺 CBS Evening News will be revamped after the election, with John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois anchoring from New York and Margaret Brennan regularly leading coverage from Washington, D.C. Norah O’Donnell, who has anchored the newscast for the past five years, announced earlier this week that she is stepping down after the election to serve as a senior correspondent.
👀 The U.S. women’s gymnastics team led a big day for Team USA at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, which translated to a huge audience for NBCUniversal. Tuesday saw a total audience delivery of 34.7 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and the company's other digital platforms. 💬 Kamala Harris said that Donald Trump’s remarks before the National Association of Black Journalists in which he questioned her racial identity were the “same old show."
🔥 Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp parent Meta said daily active users across its family of apps rose 7% last quarter to 3.27 billion as ad impressions jumped 10% for total revenue of about $39.1 billion, up 22%. 🎬 New Line is co-financing and releasing the Zazie Beetz horror movie They Will Kill You from Skydance and Andy and Barbara Muschietti’s genre label Nocturna Pictures. |
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Obituaries
🕯️ Eric Gardner, Chairman and CEO of Panacea Entertainment who began his career coordinating tours for Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead before pivoting to talent management for such clients as Paul Shaffer, Donny Osmond and The Sex Pistols, as well as members of The Rolling Stones, The E Street Band and The Who, died at his home on July 19. He was 74. 🕯️ Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2024: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Thu - Apple, Amazon earnings; SAG video game strike pickets begin
Fri - Cinemark earnings
Sun - House of the Dragon S2 finale
Tue - Fox earnings; Deauville FF begins
Wed - Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery earnings |
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Bat-tastic - Everyone’s favorite tabloid anomaly, Bat Boy, is poised to be the star of his own live-action TV series. Netflix is developing Bat Boy, a YA horror-comedy from Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars: Summer School) and Joe Tracz (One Piece, Dash & Lily) |
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