A 'Defining Moment For Hollywood'

►NBC has dropped the 2022 Golden Globes. The network released the following statement Monday: “We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”

--The decision follows months of criticism of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for a lack of diversity among its members, as well as ethical lapses. The move comes despite the HFPA announcing a slew of potential reforms last week which were slammed as “window dressing platitudes” by Time’s Up and then prompted three high-profile studios to distance themselves from the organization. The full story.

+In the aftermath of NBC’s decision, the HFPA issued a statement — which includes a detailed timeline for enacting reforms — on Monday afternoon. "Regardless of the next air date of the Golden Globes, implementing transformational changes as quickly – and as thoughtfully – as possible remains the top priority for our organization," the statement begins. The story.

+The response from Time's Up: "This is a defining moment for Hollywood,” Tina Tchen, Time’s Up president and CEO, said in a statement. “Today, we have the opportunity to recognize that, by speaking up against one powerful but deeply flawed awards system, we can begin to reimagine a more equitable industry.” More.

+And from the PR firms: "We applaud NBC’s decision to cancel the 2022 Golden Globes, allowing the HFPA the time it needs to thoughtfully reform its management, culture and practices. The depth and scope of change necessary requires time and sustained focus." More.

+Oh, also: Tom Cruise has returned his three Golden Globes statues amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the HFPA. Cruise won the best actor honor in 1990 for Born on the Fourth of July and 1997 for Jerry Maguire, as well as a best supporting actor award in 2000 for Magnolia. More.

Pre-Upfront Pickups And Cancellations

►Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 are not going anywhere. ABC has renewed its flagship drama for an 18th season after star and exec producer Ellen Pompeo, following prolonged negotiations, has inked a rich new deal to return to the Shondaland hit. Pompeo’s fellow original stars Chandra Wilson (Bailey) and James Pickens Jr. (Richard) have also closed new deals to return for season 18. Also returning to ABC’s 2021-22 schedule is Grey’s Anatomy‘s firefighter-focused spinoff, Station 19, which will be back for its fifth season.

--While financial terms of Pompeo’s new deal were not immediately available, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the actress behind the iconic role of Dr. Meredith Grey secured another salary increase as she remains broadcast television’s highest-earning actress in a primetime drama series. Wilson and Pickens, like Pompeo, are also said to have also received sizable pay bumps for season 18. The story.

In other TV news...

+The pandemic puzzle craze has inspired a Hulu series. Tessa Thompson is teaming with the Disney-owned streamer to develop an untitled puzzle show that is inspired by conversation-driven shows like Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and Iconoclasts.

--The project, which is currently in the early development stages, will bring together a pair of compelling public figures and thought leaders across various fields who may be acquainted — or who may be perfect strangers. Each episode will see the two figures meet and get a new sense of one another through conversation while working together to assemble a jigsaw puzzle. The story.

+Call Me Kat has received the season two call. Fox has handed out its first live-action scripted series renewal for the upcoming 2021-22 broadcast season, picking up its Mayim Bialik comedy for a sophomore run. Additionally, the comedy will bring in a new showrunner to replace Darlene Hunt (The Big C), who oversaw season one. More.

+Fox’s last pilot of the season is getting the green light. The network on Monday has handed out a straight-to-series order for comedy Pivoting, starring Eliza Coupe (Happy Endings), Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) and Maggie Q (Nikita). Sources say the order is for 10 episodes. The half-hour, single-camera series revolves around three women after the death of their childhood best friend. More.

+The network has canceled sophomore drama Prodigal Son. The series was a co-production between Warner Bros. Television and Fox Entertainment and hailed from super-producer Greg Berlanti. Sources tell THR that the network was a fan of the show’s creative but ultimately the drama starring Michael Sheen, Tom Payne and Bellamy Young never caught on with viewers. More.

+While Fox has already decided the fates of all of its pilots, NBC continues to make late-season pickups. The network on Monday handed out a pilot order to Dangerous Moms, a drama from writer Janine Sherman Barrois (ER, Criminal Minds) that is based on the Spanish format Señoras del (h)Ampa. More.

+Laverne Cox is the new host of E!’s signature red carpet coverage. The Orange Is the New Black Emmy winner will take over the role in January and also headline a series of celebrity interview specials to air throughout the next year. Cox replaces Giuliana Rancic in the role as host of the NBCUniversal cable brand’s Live From E! franchise. Rancic on Friday announced that she was stepping down from the role after a nearly two-decade run as she segues to a producing deal with the media conglomerate. More.

+Ahead of its publication — and following a highly competitive bidding war — Netflix has snapped up TV rights to Grace Li’s novel, Portrait of a Thief. Set to be published April 5, 2022, by Dutton’s Tiny Reparations banner, Thief is based on a true story of Chinese art vanishing from Western museums. It’s a story of friendships, the colonization of art and the complexity of the Chinese American identity. More.

+Also: Jamie Bell is ready to shine. The Rocketman and Turn alum has joined Elisabeth Moss and Wagner Moura in Apple’s straight-to-series drama Shining Girls. More... Emily Blunt is set to saddle up and lead The English, a six-part “high-octane epic Western” for the BBC and Amazon Studios. More...

Broadway's Big Return

►The cast of Hamilton will tell their story on Broadway again. The Lin-Manuel Miranda-created hit production announced on Tuesday that it will return to Manhattan’s Richard Rodgers Theatre when Broadway reopens Sept. 14. Also, fellow Tony Award-winning musicals The Lion King and Wicked announced they will return to their respective stages, at the Minskoff Theatre and at the Gershwin Theatre, on the same day. The story.

►A pair of Rudy Giuliani documentaries are in the works. The first feature about Giuliani — the New York City mayor turned personal lawyer to Donald Trump — is in the works via MRC’s non-fiction unit and Rolling Stone. The doc is based on the Rolling Stone article “What Happened to America’s Mayor?” and will focus on Giuliani’s career, from his response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and being christened “America’s Mayor” to his fall from grace that’s since marred that reputation.

--The second is from Campfire Studios, Forbes Entertainment and director Jed Rothstein, the team behind Hulu’s WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn. Olive Hill Media will finance. The story.

In other film news...

+Dave Bautista is in talks to join Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel. Plot details are being kept under wraps but the follow-up will be another star-studded whodunit anchored by Craig’s enigmatic southern detective Benoit Blanc. Johnson will return to direct and is also producing with Ram Bergman under their T-Street banner. The movie is set to start shooting this summer in Greece. More.

+Also: Diego Boneta, the Mexican star who portrayed Latin icon Luis Miguel in Netflix’s biography series, has joined the cast of Warner Bros.’ remake of Father of the Bride. More.

►Podcasting news: CNN primetime anchors Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon are teaming up to host a new podcast. The duo will co-host The Handoff, a new weekly podcast being produced by the cable news channel. It will be available with a subscription to the CNN channel on Apple Podcasts when Apple Podcasts Subscriptions debuts later this month. The Handoff is based on the unscripted “handoff” conversations that Cuomo and Lemon have at the end of Cuomo’s 8 p.m. program, leading into Lemon’s 9 p.m. hour. The story.

+And: Amazon’s podcast studio Wondery and Apple will partner up as part of a new premium podcast push. Wondery, which produces podcasts like Dr. Death, Business Wars and The Shrink Next Door, will bring its Wondery+ subscription service to Apple Podcast Subscriptions, which is set to launch later this month. Wondery+ offers ad-free podcasts, with early access and exclusive episodes for subscribers. More.

Revolving door: Following a long tenure at Disney, where he most recently was tapped to co-run its newly launched Creative Acquisitions Department, Jordan Moblo has decamped for Netflix. In his new role at the streaming giant, Moblo will serve as director of literary scouting... Universal Content Productions has tapped Jennifer Gwartz to serve as exec vp. Additionally, Scott Nemes has been named exec vp creative acquisitions for both UCP and international development... Fremantle has bolstered its push into factual with the hiring of BBC Storyville commissioning editor Mandy Chang as its global head of documentaries...

►Film review: David Rooney reviews Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead. "At 2½ hours, this is a lot of furious flesh-eating for one meal," Rooney writes. "But the screenplay by Snyder, Shay Hatten and Joby Harold strikes a satisfying balance between accelerated action — fountains of blood, splatter, gore and punishing fight sequences — and quieter character-driven interludes that succeed in making us care about the motley crew tackling the zombie menace. This is also a B movie in which the ballsy women, queer-friendly elements and racially diverse casting are anchored in story and not just ticking off inclusivity boxes." The review.

In other news...

--Steve McQueen and the BBC are building on the success of Small Axe with a new three-part docuseries diving back into Black British history and examining some of the key historical moments that were referenced in the Golden Globe-winning and BAFTA-nominated anthology series.

--The Monte-Carlo Television Festival will return for a hybrid in-person and virtual event this summer after the cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic last year.

--A docuseries about the life and career of hall-of-fame NFL quarterback Joe Montana is in development at Peacock.

--Usher is set to host the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards, it was announced today. The R&B star, who will also perform during this year’s show, was originally set to host and perform on the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards before that ceremony was postponed and then canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

--Graeme Ferguson, the Canadian director, producer, writer and cinematographer who partnered with three high school friends and another filmmaker to launch the giant-screen movie company Imax, has died. He was 91.

--Thuso Mbedu hopes Underground Railroad will help “people who need to feel like their voices are being heard.”

What else we're reading...

--"'You May never see those numbers again': Can cable news pass the post-Tump test?" [Vanity Fair]

--"Nielsen confirms undercount of pandemic TV viewership" [AdWeek]

--"How to un-cast an actor" [Vulture]

--"ESPN legend Kenny Mayne out after 27 years" [NY Post]

Today's birthdays: Cam Newton, 32, Blac Chyna, 33, Robert Roode, 44, Jonathan Jackson, 39, Sabrina Carpenter, 22.