Today In Entertainment

DECEMBER 01, 2020

What's news: Netflix and Disney+ shows vie for the top spot on Nielsen's streaming list ... BBC Studios adds inclusion rider to its projects ... Amblin Partners inks a new distribution deal with Universal ... Felicity Huffman is returning to TV. — Erik Hayden

Today's TV updates ... 

► Lucasfilm's Mandalorian arrives on Nielsen's streaming list. The debut of the Star Wars show's second season on Disney+ pushed the series into the streaming top 10 for the week of Oct. 26. Netflix's The Queen's Gambit, meanwhile, jumped up to the No. 1 spot.

► Apple back in business with Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The former co-star of The Morning Show is reuniting with the tech giant and Reese Witherspoon and will topline psychological thriller Surface, which has been picked up straight to series.

► BBC Studios adds inclusion rider for all new commissions. Twenty percent of all on-screen talent and production teams must come from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background; have a lived experience of a disability; or be from a low-income background. Details. 

► ABC teams with Felicity Huffman for comedy. The former Desperate Housewives star has landed her first role since serving a short prison sentence for her involvement in the college admissions scandal. The show is set in the world of minor league baseball. More. 

► AMC Networks hires its first inclusion officer. Aisha Thomas-Petit, formerly of ADP, will be charged with growing diversity on screen and off at the company's portfolio of networks.

► History reteams with Vikings creator. Michael Hirst is planning a miniseries about the bubonic plague in 17th century London. The project is one of two short-run shows in development.

► ESPN to offer NFL playoff game on Freeform. As part of a "megacast" of a wild-card playoff game in January, the sports brand will produce a version of the telecast for Freeform, Disney's cable network targeted at young women.

► Netflix plans new version of Money Heist. Fans of the Spanish crime drama will have more to look forward to after the show concludes its final season in 2021. Netflix greenlit a 12-episode first season of an all-new Korean version of the series. 

- Developing: After a COVID-19 testing site located at Los Angeles' busy Union Station rail hub was set to close on Dec. 1 for filming on the She's All That remake, Mayor Eric Garcetti stepped in late on Monday night to make sure the virus testing kiosk will remain open.

- Meanwhile: Mariah Carey's 1994 carol "All I Want for Christmas Is You" tops Billboard's holiday chart ... Bad Bunny was named Spotify's most streamed artist of the year, with 8.3 billion listens ... The Crown star Helena Bonham Carter says the show has a "moral responsibility" to tell viewers that it is a drama ... Aaron Eckhart reflects on the highs and lows of indie filmmaking ... Stephen Colbert covers the holiday issue of Vanity Fair ... The New York Times' TV critics pick the best shows of the year. 

Film deals ...

► Amblin inks new pact with Universal. The production company has signed a new deal with Universal that will see, each year, multiple films distributed theatrically. At the same time, Participant, which has been an equity holder in the company since 2015, is leaving its position.

► Legendary reboots The Toxic Avenger. Peter Dinklage is joining the new version of the 1980s cult property. Macon Blair will write and direct the project. Details. 

► Roadside Attractions to debut Pinocchio in U.S. theaters. Monatteo Garrone's imagining of the classic will arrive Christmas Day in what the distributor hopes will be around 2,000 theaters.

► Heart band biopic in the works. Portlandia star Carrie Brownstein is writing and is set to direct a music biopic based on the 1980s Seattle rock band led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. Details. 

+ New movie reviews: Firouzeh Khosrovani's IDFA prize-winning doc Radiograph of a Family ... Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple's latest doc Five Years North, which won the Metropolis Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC.

In Memoriam: Dorothea G. Petrie, the two-time Emmy winner and founding member of the Producers Guild of America, died Nov. 24 of natural causes. She was 95. ... Abby Dalton, the actress who starred on 1960s sitcoms before joining primetime soap Falcon Crest, has died. She was 88.

What else we're reading ...

— "All the social media giants are becoming the same." Arielle Pardes notes: "Which major platform has a news feed, disappearing posts, private messaging, and a live broadcasting feature? That would be … all of them." [Wired]

— "As gaming becomes a culture touchstone, advertisers toggle in." Seb Joseph writes: "As the infrastructure around in-game ads has matured, they’re getting more experimental - and more frequent." [Digiday]

— "My year of making lists." Hua Hsu writes: "Maybe it would someday be useful to have a spreadsheet detailing how I spent my pandemic - every nineties movie I rewatched, everything I bought online." [New Yorker]

Today in 1989: Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation hits theaters — "looks like a Norman Rockwell painting as done by one of those what's-wrong-with-this-picture cartoonists." Original review. 

Today's birthdays: Zoe Kravitz, 32, Janelle Monae, 35, Riz Ahmed, 38, Akiva Schaffer, 43, Emily Mortimer, 49, Sarah Silverman, 50, Nestor Carbonell, 53, Bette Midler, 75.

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DECEMBER 01, 2020

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