Today In Entertainment OCTOBER 21, 2020
What's news: Shonda Rhimes on leaving ABC and what's next at Netflix, the streaming service had a slow summer as the pandemic bump faded, how the Charlotte Kirk legal saga could impact the #MeToo movement, Channing Dungey's hire marks a "180-degree" pivot at Warners, Universal sets two final Fast and Furious films. Plus: Willow coming to Disney+, California's theme park guidelines are trashed by the industry. --Alex Weprin Shonda Rhimes On Netflix, ABC, And What's Next On the cover: Shonda Rhimes is ready to own her s***": The game-changing showrunner on leaving ABC, "culture shock" at Netflix and overcoming her fears. Three years into her groundbreaking deal and with her first projects finally arriving, the uber writer-producer talks to Lacey Rose about meeting her own high expectations and a newfound passion for her work: "Now I just want to enjoy this." --"I felt like I was dying," she says now of the unforgiving pace and constraints of network TV. "Like I'd been pushing the same ball up the same hill in the exact same way for a really long time." --On her first meeting with Ted Sarandos: "The first thing I said was, 'You're not going to get another Grey's Anatomy — not Grey's Anatomy in a cornfield, Grey's Anatomy on a baseball field or Grey's Anatomy at an airport, that's just not happening,' and he said, 'I'd never expect it to,' " says Rhimes, who had every intention of keeping her flagship series running at ABC regardless of whether she herself stayed put. "And then I said, 'I just want to be in a place where I can make stuff and no one's going to bother me or make me feel like I'm beholden,' and he was like, 'That sounds great to me.' " --Sarandos reached out to Rhimes after the recent creative executive shakeups to check in: "The reason I came to Netflix is because I wanted to be able to make television without anybody bothering me," she says. "And as long as I get to keep making television without anybody bothering me, I'm happy." The cover story. +A peek inside Shondaland's development pipeline: What's next. Despite joking she's "not Superman," Shonda Rhimes has a superpowered path ahead with at least 12 projects in the works, including an adaptation of The Warmth of Other Suns. --Already, there are rumblings of another potential Grey's Anatomy spinoff, though Rhimes is coy, acknowledging only that there's often interest in doing more, but it requires her permission and she's rarely willing to grant it. "You have to be careful," she says. "If it's going to be done, it has to be done exactly right." More. And speaking of Netflix... ➤Summer was slow for the streaming giant, which added 2.2 million subscribers during the third quarter of the year as its earlier coronavirus-fueled growth tapered off. The company had been predicting that it would see a pullback in new subscribers after a strong first half of the year as people became accustomed to life amid a global pandemic. --All told, Netflix has added more subscribers during the first nine months of the year than it did in all of 2019. It is forecasting that it will add 6 million subscribers during the period that ends in December. The story. +On the earnings call, Netflix bosses Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos weighed in on the recent spate of executive exits at the streaming service. Hastings defended Netflix's management philosophy, which includes the now famous "keeper test" that he wrote about at length in his recent book. "It's a normal model," he said. "No one gets to keep the job for free. You got to earn it every year, which is intensely challenging and we all love that part of it." More. +Also: Netflix's Ratched brought in a sizable audience in its first four weeks, according to the streamer's viewer metrics — and the aqcuisition of Cobra Kai has also paid off. The self-reported viewership numbers. Charlotte Kirk Will Test The STAND Act ➤Charlotte Kirk legal saga may have major impact on #MeToo cases. A judge’s ruling on the actress’ petition will be "a pivotal moment as to whether or not the courts will uphold gag orders in cases of sexual violence," Tatiana Siegel and Eriq Gardner report. --"In 2017, with an eye on the ways that high-profile individuals including [Harvey] Weinstein and Roger Ailes had hushed up years of sexual misconduct, California lawmakers prohibited provisions in settlement agreements that prevented the disclosure of information about a felony sex offense. Additionally, the STAND Act (otherwise known as SB 820) amended civil procedure so that courts could not enter any order restricting such information. But to anyone who believed California’s response to the #MeToo movement would end secrecy deals surrounding sexual misconduct once and for all, guess again. As shown by Kirk’s recent battle, the STAND Act contains a pair of flaws that arguably render it toothless." The story. ➤The Fast and Furious franchise is nearing its end. Justin Lin will direct the 10th and 11th films in the franchise, which will be the conclusion of the core movies. Lin has directed four Fast and Furious films beginning with 2006's The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He last helmed 2013's Fast & Furious 6. The Lin-directed F9 is currently in post-production, with the release having been pushed back by Universal to May 2021 from a 2020 release due to the pandemic theatrical closures. --Vin Diesel will lead the remaining franchise films, likely to be joined by recurring Fast castmembers Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster and Nathalie Emmanuel. The story. +The Power Rangers are morphing again. Jonathan Entwistle, the creator behind Netflix series It’s the End of the F---ing World, has been entrusted to engineer and shepherd the next series of screen adaptations of Power Rangers, the colorful Hasbro superhero property. --But as opposed to the recent efforts, which focused primarily on the big-screen, the new initiative will see Entwistle overseeing, and directing, both film and television adaptations. The details. In other film news... +Another film goes straight to streaming: Clea DuVall's holiday romantic-comedy Happiest Season has become the latest Hollywood studio film to bypass a theatrical release in the U.S. and premiere in the home amid the ongoing pandemic. Sony's TriStar, Entertaintment One and Hulu announced Tuesday that Hulu has acquired U.S. rights to the rom-com. Hulu has set a Nov. 25 release. That's the same date that Happiest Season was set to hit the screen. More. +After flexing his muscle for Netflix with Project Power, Jamie Foxx is now sharpening his stakes with Day Shift, a vampire thriller for the streaming giant. J.J. Perry, known for his work as a second-unit director and stunt coordinator for The Fate of the Furious, Bloodshot and the John Wick movies, will make his directorial debut with the project, the script for which was initially discovered at a screenplay competition. The story. +The movie musical adaptation of Wicked is looking to take flight but director Stephen Daldry won't be along for the ride. A source tells THR that Daldry, who has long been attached to the movie, had to exit the project after the production timeline was adjusted and he was unable to commit to the new schedule. The exit was amicable and a search is underway for a new director. +Oh, and: MGM is pushing the theatrical release for Legally Blonde 3 to May 2022. More. What Channing Dungey's Hire Means For Warners ➤Warner Bros. TV's Channing Dungey hire marks "180-degree" pivot to HBO Max. The move signals not simply a changing of executives but an overhaul of priorities, too, Lesley Goldberg writes. --“Warners was stuck in the ’90s — they were built for a world where an indie studio could sell to broadcast networks, and that was an incredibly profitable business for many decades,” says one top network exec who does plenty of business with the studio. “But anybody can see that the business has changed rapidly, and supplying broadcast networks isn’t viable anymore.” The story. In other TV news... +Disney is re-creating the fantasy world of Willow. Streaming platform Disney+ has greenlit a series based on Ron Howard's 1988 movie. Warwick Davis will reprise his role in the series, and Jon M. Chu is set to direct the first episode and executive produce. Jonathan Kasdan (Solo), who wrote the pilot, and Wendy Mericle (Arrow) will serve as showrunners. The story. +HBO has ordered a limited series called The Son, starring and executive produced by Jake Gyllenhaal. The drama, based on a novel by Jo Nesbø, also counts director Denis Villeneuve and Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan among its executive producers. Lenore Zion is writing and will serve as showrunner. More. +Kristen Bell is going from The Good Place to a streaming place. Bell will star in and executive produce a Netflix limited series called The Woman in the House. The eight-episode series, from Gloria Sanchez Productions, is a comedic take on thrillers like The Woman in the Window and The Girl on the Train. The story. +Fox's midseason schedule is starting to take shape, with the network plotting January debuts for four returning dramas. The broadcaster will double up on its 911 franchise on Monday nights, with the flagship series and spinoff 911: Lone Star airing back to back. Prodigal Son, which aired on Mondays in 2019-20, will move to Tuesdays and be paired with The Resident. More. +Ratings: A big audience for the deciding game of the National League Championship Series on Sunday saved the seven-game set from all-time ratings lows. NBC's Sunday Night Football drew relatively soft numbers, and the premiere of ABC's Supermarket Sweep pulled in a decent-sized audience. The numbers. +Also: Rainn Wilson (The Office, Amazon's Utopia) will executive produce and narrate We Are the Champions, a docuseries that profiles the competitors in events such as cheese rolling, fantasy hair styling and frog jumping. More. ➤Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood on Tuesday received stringent guidelines from the state for reopening after being shuttered most of the year due to the pandemic. The industry has been in a bitter battle with Gov. Gavin Newsom, which came to a boiling point weeks ago when the Walt Disney Co. demanded the state allow its California theme park to reopen, pointing to its counterpart in Florida, which began its successful phased reopening over the summer. --Under the issued guidelines Disneyland and Universal Studios (which were labeled higher risk settings than outdoor stadiums) can operate under Tier 4 "Yellow" (minimal) with a limited capacity of 25 percent. A reservation system will be required, no day of sales and masks will be required. Orange County is currently in the "Red" (substantial) tier. --Disneyland president Ken Potrock said in a statement that the state was mandating arbitrary guidelines that it knows are unworkable and that hold us to a standard vastly different from other reopened businesses and state-operated facilities,"The story. Earings roundup... --Snapchat’s parent company on Tuesday reported user growth rising 4 percent to 249 million daily active users during the third quarter of the year, up 9 million users from the most recent quarter and ahead of a Wall Street analyst forecast of 244.1 million DAUs. --Telecom giant Verizon on Wednesday reported that it lost 61,000 net pay TV subscribers for its FiOS consumer video service in the third quarter, compared with a loss of 67,000 in the year-ago period and a loss of 81,000 in the second quarter. --Vivendi said on Tuesday that it was planning an initial public offering for Universal Music for 2022. Previously, it had mostly spoken of IPO plans by 2023. ➤From Quibi to the Cabinet? Quibi CEO Meg Whitman is being vetted by Joe Biden's transition team for a potential role in the administration, Politico reports. The long-time Republican spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August. ➤Details on the DOJ's complaint against Google: Eriq Gardner has the complaint, and writes that "the action is the culmination of a years-long investigation into Big Tech and could become the biggest antitrust case since the U.S. government took on Microsoft at the turn of the century. That latter suit influenced both the structure and course of digital innovation, and if the pattern holds again, the newest case against Google could be as sweeping in its impact." More. Revolving door: It's official: Jeremy Kramer has been tapped as the president of Paramount Players. Joining him will be Ashley Brucks, who previously served as evp of production for Paramount proper. She will serve as senior evp of production at Players... With just two weeks to go before the 2020 presidential election, Fox News Channel has signed chief White House correspondent John Roberts to a multi-year contract extension... Picturestart, the production banner run by Erik Feig, has tapped Neha Gandhi as evp of digital and strategy... In other news... --Sony Pictures has acquired Studio 8’s upcoming family comedy Adulting, now in development. --Gaming and entertainment news network VENN unveiled on Tuesday $26 million in Series A funding co-led by investors including BITKRAFT, Josh Kroenke and Nexstar Media Group. --Paradigm and Film2Future have inked a two-year collaborative agreement that will see the talent agency become the exclusive partner of the non-profit that promotes pathways into the entertainment industry for low-income and underserved youth aged 14-18. --The team behind Seinfeld will reunite Friday in hopes of helping to turn Texas blue. Stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Alexander — who famously played Elaine Benes and George Costanza, respectively, on the iconic '90s NBC sitcom — are reuniting with Seinfeld creator Larry David for a "Fundraiser About Something" to benefit the Texas Democratic Party. What else we're reading... --"Katzenberg may shut down Quibi as options run short" [The Information] --"Creditors brace for a possible debt restructuring at Sinclair sports unit" [WSJ] --"A convention for YouTube stars plans for a post-pandemic future" [Bloomberg] --"Trump abruptly ends 60 Minutes interview before planned taping of joint appearance with Pence" [CNN] --"AOC, Ilhan Omar draw 400,000 to Twitch stream to get out the vote" [Axios] --"United States v. Google" [Stratechery] Today's birthdays: Judy Sheindlin aka Judge Judy, 78, Doja Cat, 25, Amber Rose, 37, Kim Kardashian West, 40, Will Estes, 42.
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