Hollywood's 50 Most Powerful Showrunners 

►La crème de la crème. The powerhouse creators on THR's annual rundown of TV showrunners — including Tina Fey, Courtney Kemp and Jesse Armstrong — reveal what gets them through the workday, the pitches they can't sell and the peers with whom they're currently obsessed. The list. 

—"We are surfing the wave of change right now." Universal chair Donna Langley says that the film industry is continuing to dodge and weave what the COVID-19 pandemic throws at it, but that the “new normal,” whatever it ends up being, would have happened even without a virus shutting down movie theaters across the globe. The story.

—Shocker. Bobby Flay and Food Network won’t be cooking together much longer. The TV chef, who first appeared on the culinary cable channel back in 1996 with Grillin’ & Chillin', seems as though he won’t be staying on at the Discovery-owned network once his current three-year pact expires at the end of 2021. The story. 

—Settlement. Former studio executive Ron Meyer and NBCUniversal have reached a confidential settlement following his 2020 exit amid a sex scandal. Meyer was ousted from his post as NBCUniversal vice-chairman after he disclosed a 2012 affair with actress Charlotte Kirk to CEO Jeff Shell. The story. 

—Ugly truth. Claire Foy is set to play Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in a drama from Anonymous Content and Wiip titled Doomsday Machine. The project, which doesn’t have an outlet attached yet, is based on NYT reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang’s book An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination, as well as their reporting for the Times and that of The New Yorker‘s Andrew Marantz. The story. 

Dave Chappelle Gets Standing Ovation Amid Netflix Special Controversy 

►"If this is what being canceled is like, I love it." After being called out for transphobic jokes in his latest Netflix special, The Closer, Dave Chappelle took center stage Thursday night at a star-studded and sold-out show at L.A.’s iconic Hollywood Bowl. Performing in front of the likes of Brad Pitt, Tiffany Haddish and Stevie Wonder, the comedian dismissed the outcry: "F*** Twitter. This is real life." The story. 

—Wait, Studio 8? Jake Gyllenhaal and Extraction filmmaker Sam Hargrave are teaming up for Studio 8’s Prophet, a period comic book adaptation. Gyllenhaal will star as John Prophet, a man conscripted by Germans near the end of World War II and subjected to scientific experiments that gave him superhuman strength. The story. 

—New Pinhead dropped. In a casting that gender-reverses an iconic horror movie character, The L Word: Generation Q star Jamie Clayton is playing Pinhead in Spyglass’ reboot of 1980s classic Hellraiser. The project is described as a “loyal, yet evolved reimagining” of the movie based on Clive Barker’s novella The Hellbound Heart. The story. 

—More Agatha, more wink memes. Marvel may not be done with the world of WandaVision yet. A spinoff of the Disney+ series that would focus on Kathryn Hahn’s character, Agatha Harkness, is in the early stages of development at the streamer with WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer penning the script. The story. 

—"Then white people will care about it." Issa Rae says that she initially included white characters in Awkward Black Girl and Insecure because a colleague advised her that it would help make “white people care” about her shows. The story. 

Apple Renews 'Foundation'

►"Long game." Apple TV+ has renewed its lavish sci-fi series Foundation for a second season. Sources note that the drama from showrunner David S. Goyer and Skydance Television, based on author Isaac Asimov’s trilogy of novels, was actually quietly renewed in November 2019, in order to keep the expansive production on track. Goyer has previously said he wants Foundation to run eight seasons. The story.

—"No rush." MSNBC execs aren’t sweating Rachel Maddow’s future at the channel, despite her new long-term deal meaning she will, at some point, step down from her primetime show in favor of a less intense schedule. Interviewed at the WTF conference, MSNBC president Rashida Jones said that while "it is something we are working through, there is no immediate rush here." The story. 

—Gold mine. THR's Alex Weprin surveys the local TV market and writes that Nexstar, Scripps and Sinclair, which have extensive reach across the U.S., are readying efforts to peel off enough viewers and take ad dollars from cable news giants CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. The story. 

—First look deal. Univision is already looking to beef up its forthcoming global streaming service, well ahead of its 2022 launch. The Spanish-language media giant has inked a first-look deal with actor-director Eugenio Derbez and his 3Pas Studios, with streaming being a key component of the deal. The story. 

—"Thematically and musically confused, but entertaining." THR critic John DeFore reviews Ricardo Gomes and SKNX's Madonna doc Madame X. The material girl gets political in the Paramount+ concert film. The review. 

Thank Pod It's Friday

In other news...

—TV review: CBS' Ghosts.

—TV review: Disney+’s Muppets Haunted Mansion. 

—Film review: Matthew Heineman's The First Wave.

—Vancouver Festival film review: Alex Kronemer's Lamya’s Poem. 

—TV ratings: CSI return falls to Chicago PD. 

—Sandra Bernhard opens up about Pose, Madonna and Jerry Lewis’ sexism.

—HBO orders sports-centric late-night series hosted by Bomani Jones.

—Steve Carell to star in FX comedy from The Americans duo.

—Frank Miller’s Sin City NFT sells for a record $840k. 

—Tom Holland had to talk down Jake Gyllenhaal in Spider-Man over anxiety ruining takes.

—ARRAY marks 10th anniversary with six recent exec hires.

—Netflix’s Reed Hastings to receive lifetime achievement award at engineering Emmys. 

—Sean Hannity: “Plenty of people at Fox” don’t agree with my political opinions.

—Warner Music, SK Global partner to co-produce music doc, scripted content.

—No Time to Die: Daniel Craig makes surprise visit to movie theater.

—Princess Diana interview whistleblower to receive compensation from BBC.

—Supernatural star Misha Collins selling Hollywood Hills Spanish home for $3.99m. 

—Sue Grafton’s Alphabet novels to be adapted for television.

What else we're reading...

—"Facebook Will Not Fix Itself" [Time]

—"The Harsh, Central Truth of the Viral ‘Bad Art Friend’ Story" [The Atlantic]

—"Google, YouTube to Prohibit Ads And Monetization On Climate Denial Content" [Axios]

—"How Auto-Tune Revolutionized the Sound of Popular Music" [Pitchfork]

—"Behind Chippendales' Glam Was A Founder Who Orchestrated Murder-for-Hire Plots" [ABC News]


Today... 

Today's birthdays: Martin Henderson (47!), Sigourney Weaver (72), Matt Damon (51), Bella Thorne (24), Chevy Chase (78), Jeremy Davies (52), Kristanna Loken (42), Paul Hogan (82), Nick Cannon (41), Karyn Parsons (55), Peter Greene (56), David Yates (58), Edward Zwick (69), R.L. Stine (78), Anne-Marie Duff (51), Angus T. Jones (28)