In a departure from its own corporate precedent and the usual circle-the-wagons approach of news divisions in crisis, top execs at CBS News parent Paramount Global have voiced conflicting views this week. At the center of the situation was an interview last week with author Ta-Nehisi Coates on CBS Mornings and Tony Dokoupil's pressing of Coates on the section of his book, The Message, that criticizes Israel's treatment of Palestinians. CBS News brass told employees Monday that Dokoupil's questioning did not meet the news division's "editorial standards," prompting a flurry of reactions within the news unit, as some flatly disagreed with the judgment of Dokoupil. The co-anchor's defenders, as it turned out, included Paramount Chair Shari Redstone. In an appearance Wednesday at Advertising Week in New York, called it a "mistake" for CBS News to publicly rebuke Dokoupil. She described the interview as a "model" of "civil discourse." George Cheeks, who oversees CBS as one of Paramount's three Co-CEOs, issued a statement later Wednesday defending McMahon and CBS News leadership and vowing to encourage "further substantive dialogue" about fairness.
Sources tell Deadline that Cheeks and Redstone speak regularly and had given each other a heads-up privately about what they planned to say publicly. The discord comes as Paramount is about to be sold to Skydance Media in a major changing of the guard at a legacy media company >>>Backdrop Of Corporate Unrest |
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'Terrifier' Set To Clown 'Joker' - In what’s expected to be a David-vs.-Goliath situation at the domestic weekend box office, Cineverse’s unrated slasher horror movie Terrifier 3 is looking to gross $11 million+, if not more, pushing Warner Bros’ bomb Joker: Folie à Deux out of the top spot. >>>Analysis
Sacha Baron Cohen's Next Pic - Netflix has set Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike to star in Ladies First, a comedy directed by Thea Sharrock. Baron Cohen will play an unrepentant womanizer who finds himself in a parallel world dominated by women. A fiery female counterpart (Pike) makes things even more complicated. >>>Adaptation Of French Film
Daniel Dae Kim Makes A Deal - 20th Television has closed a first-look deal with Daniel Dae Kim to develop and executive produce comedy, drama and limited series through his 3AD production company for linear networks and streamers. >>>Disney Ties
'Blitz' Movie Review - Coming out of the pandemic, and now devastating wars in the Middle East and in Europe (for the first time since World War II), Blitz takes on poignant relevance in ways director Steve McQueen probably couldn’t have imagined when he was first inspired by an archival photo he spotted in the early 2000s. >>>Pete Hammond's Take
The BBC & AI - In a saturated market hit by rising costs, BBC natural history boss Sreya Biswas told Deadline she is focused on telling dramatic narratives and commissioning binge-able fare that takes advantage of top-level advancements in technology, including AI. >>>3 Projects Greenlit
Ryan Murphy's 'OJ' Reteam - Anthony Hemingway has come aboard Ryan Murphy‘s upcoming Hulu legal drama All’s Fair as director and executive producer. This marks the duo’s first collaboration since the Emmy-winning 2016 limited series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. >>>Kim Kardashian Stars
In Brief - Ella Purnell signs with Range... The Young & The Restless brings back Edward J. Scott as Senior Producer... Aperture Entertainment adapting thriller novel William |
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“I did not expect to have career renaissance in my mid-50s,” says Spin City, Scrubs and Cougar Town creator/co-creator Bill Lawrence, who has four series: Apple TV+’s Shrinking and Bad Monkey, an upcoming HBO comedy starring Steve Carell, as well as Jason Sudeikis’ Apple TV+ phenom Ted Lasso which has been plotting a Season 4 return. Add to that the long-rumored reboot of his NBC/ABC medical comedy Scrubs.
In Deadline’s interviews with Lawrence, he speaks about the Season 1 finale of Bad Monkey and teases a likely second season. Lawrence also addresses the status of the Scrubs revival and the prospect of more Ted Lasso as well his new series with Carell and its connection to Bad Monkey. >>>Read The Interviews |
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Exclusive
Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan are in final negotiations to star in the Paramount+ series Guy Ritchie's The Associate (working title).
Emmy winner Kyle Chandler is set to star as Hal Jordan in Lanterns, HBO's high-profile series based on the Green Lantern DC comic. Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge) has been tapped to play John Stewart.
Exclusive
After breaking tackles for six seasons on the hit CW series All American, Daniel Ezra has found a new challenge to run away from as he is set to join Paramount’s reimagining of The Running Man starring Glen Powell.
Exclusive
What We Do in the Shadows is heading into the corporate workplace and has added Alyssa Limperis to help. The Flatbush Misdemeanors alum has joined the sixth and final season of the FX comedy, which premieres on October 21. |
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More News
✊ The Writers Guild of America West has an issue with the company behind The Expendables franchise and Has Fallen films. WGA West president Meredith Stiehm and other leaders Wednesday sent a “Do Not Work” order to members about writing for Rambo producer Avi Lerner’s Millennium Pictures.
⛈️ Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night in Siesta Key, FL, just south of Tampa Bay. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph when it slammed into the state’s west coast, making it a major Category 3 hurricane.
🍏 Amazon is launching Apple TV+ as a premium add-on within the Prime Video app later this month.
💡 After major backlash this week, the Broadway League’s Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of all Broadway theaters in honor of Gavin Creel as well as Maggie Smith and Adrian Bailey. |
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Trending
 Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween is brewing up a strong audience. The annual spooky tradition launched last Tuesday, boasting Freeform’s most-watched week of the year, according to Nielsen data.
🔻 Partly because of the dual strikes and partly due to larger industry shifts, film and TV production in Greater L.A. plunged almost 20% in 2023, a new report from FilmLA finds. |
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On the Radar
Thu - Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist premieres
Fri - Yom Kippur
Sat - Deadline's Contenders Film: London ; Ariana Grande hosts SNL
Mon - NCIS: Origins series premiere |
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Hazard Pay - Just minutes after Hurricane Milton made landfall with 120 mph winds at Siesta Key, Florida, Anderson Cooper suffered his own associated impact.
Cooper was doing a live standup for CNN in Bradenton, Florida, which is just a few miles north of Siesta Key, when a piece of flying debris hit him straight in the face. Cooper, consummate pro that he is, shouted out “Whoa! That wasn’t good. We’ll probably go inside shortly,” before carrying on with his report. |
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