Netflix Suspends Trans Employee Who Spoke Out Against Chappelle

►Escalating controversy. Netflix has suspended three employees, including a trans staffer who publicly spoke out against Dave Chappelle’s controversial comedy special, The Closer, which has come under sharp criticism from groups such as GLAAD and the National Black Justice Coalition over jokes those organizations and others have said were hurtful and cruel to or dismissive of the LGBTQ community.

A source told THR's Alex Weprin that the employees, including engineer Terra Field, whose Twitter thread about the special went viral, were suspended for attempting to join a quarterly meeting meant only for directors or vice presidents, and not because of Field’s tweets. The story. 

—From father to son. Anthony Hopkins has joined the cast of Florian Zeller’s The Son, the director’s follow-up to The Father, which won the Welsh acting legend the best actor Oscar earlier this year. Hopkins joins Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern and Vanessa Kirby in the all-star cast. The story. 

—Him. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has found its Adam Warlock. Brit actor Will Poulter will play the classic Marvel character in the upcoming Marvel Studios sequel. James Gunn is writing and directing the project, which has a release date of May 3, 2023. The story. 

—Not going anywhere. The newest members of CBS’ NCIS and FBI franchises will stick around for a while with the network giving full-season orders to NCIS: Hawai’i and FBI: International after the two shows put up solid early ratings. The story. 

—Hashing things out. One week after IATSE members voted overwhelmingly to authorize its union to call a potential strike, the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were back at the bargaining table Monday, as Hollywood anxiously awaited further word on the talks. The story. 

'NCIS' Says Goodbye to Mark Harmon 

►What a run. Leroy Jethro Gibbs has worked his last case. Monday’s episode of NCIS was Mark Harmon’s final one as the lead of the long-running CBS procedural. He exits the show after 18 years of playing Gibbs, dating back to the character’s introduction on JAG in 2003. The story.

—Speaking of runs. Hollywood studio veteran Alan Horn will retire from Disney as of Dec. 31 after leading the company’s film empire to record-breaking success. His exit — coinciding with the end of the Bob Iger era — caps a 50-year-plus career that has seen him become one of the industry's most revered executives. The story.

—"We are looking at other acquisitions." StudioCanal’s buying spree isn’t over yet so says Françoise Guyonnet, executive managing director TV series. The French production giant, a subsidiary of Canal+, has been on an acquisitions binge this year, recently taking full control of U.K. production company Urban Myths and German outfit Lailaps Films. The story. 

—Big commitment. Hipgnosis and Blackstone unveiled a music investment partnership on Tuesday, with the investment giant committing $1 billion in funds and taking a stake of undisclosed size in the London-based song rights powerhouse. The story. 

—Casting news. Eugenio Derbez and Eva Longoria will star in a film adaptation of the YA story Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, which has Lin-Manuel Miranda as a producer. Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales will play the titular heroes, with Veronica Falcón, Isabella Gomez, Luna Blaise and Kevin Alejandro also joining the cast. The story. 

Netflix's Top Exec in Asia Explains the Huge Success of 'Squid Game'   

►"The perfect evidence that our international strategy has been right." The global smash success of Squid Game has become an especially sweet moment of vindication for Netflix executive Minyoung Kim. The streamer's vp of content for Asia Pacific, who built the company's Korean operation from scratch, speaks to THR's Patrick Brzeski about the creative factors that have made Squid Game so explosively popular and what’s coming next for the show and its seemingly franchisable IP. The interview.  

—Omar's coming. Omar Sy, the charismatic French actor behind Netflix’s global hit series Lupin, has signed a multi-year feature film deal with the streaming giant. The pact will see the actor’s Paris and L.A.-based production company develop original films for Netflix, with Sy starring in and executive producing the projects. The story. 

—Next up. The Crown’s Emma Corrin has lined up her next TV role. The Emmy nominee will star in FX’s limited series Retreat, from The OA creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. Corrin will play the lead role of Darby Hart, an amateur detective who attempts to solve a murder at a secluded retreat. The story. 

—Extra curricular listening. Famed tech journalist Kara Swisher will host the season three companion podcast for Succession, diving into the real-world events that inspired this upcoming season’s drama with the Roy family. The first episode will drop this Sunday right after the new season premieres on HBO and HBO Max. The story. 

Superman Comes Out as Bisexual 

►Groundbreaking. DC Comics’ current Superman — Jon Kent, son of Clark Kent — comes out as bisexual in the latest issue of Superman: Son of Kal-El. In the Nov. 9 issue, the son of Clark and Lois takes his life in a new direction. “I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes, and I’m very grateful DC and Warner Bros. share this idea,” said writer Tom Taylor. The story.  

—Asian entertainment heavyweights. South Korea's CJ ENM and Japan's Toei Animation are teaming up to co-create film and TV series for the increasingly competitive global media marketplace at a time of soaring demand for high-end Asian content. The story. 

—Coming back. Amazon will say goodbye to 2021 with a second Yearly Departed comedy special, bringing together a roster of female comics to roast the year. Insecure star Yvonne Orji will host the special. The story. 

—Brotherly love. THR's books ed Lexy Perez speaks to Hollywood siblings Ron and Clint Howard about their new memoir The Boys, in which the brothers reflect on their early successes, how their parents helped shape them into the men they are today and answer the question: "What was it like to grow up on TV?" The interview.

In other news... 

—TV review: Syfy and USA's Chucky.

—Film review: Leslie Odom Jr., Cynthia Erivo and Orlando Bloom in Needle in a Timestack. 

—Vancouver Film Festival film review: Arthur Jones' The Six. 

—Michelle and Robert King on Evil, The Good Fight and leaning into the absurd.

—Billy Magnussen on key No Time to Die scenes and The Many Saints of Newark.

—Dopesick showrunner Danny Strong on the thrills of going solo.

—Narcos: Mexico makes way for the next generation in final season trailer.

—Array, Google award $500k feature film grant to Alika Maikau.

—Ben Stiller signs with UTA.

—Music publicist Beverly Noga dies at 87.

—Daily Show host Trevor Noah seeks $30m for snazzy Bel Air mansion flip.

—Matt Amodio’s Jeopardy! streak ends at 38 games.

—Mipcom: ViacomCBS launches social impact division.

—IMG taps Sky Sports veteran Barney Francis to lead global production.

—Busan: Disney Asia head Luke Kang touts streaming strategy, Disney+ Korea launch.

—Adam Devine weds Chloe Bridges in Mexico.

What else we're reading...

—"Mayim Bialik Wants the Jeopardy! Job. Is She ‘Neutral’ Enough?" [New York Times]

—"1 Billion TikTok Users Understand What Congress Doesn’t" [The Atlantic]

—"Daniel Craig Salvaged a Character Not Built for the 21st Century" [The Ringer]

—"New York Times Tests New App as a Home for Audio Journalism" [Bloomberg]

—"Dave Chappelle’s Betrayal" [GQ]

Today... 

Today's birthdays: Hugh Jackman (53), Josh Hutcherson (29), Hiroyuki Sanada (61), Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (22), Kirk Cameron (51), Aina Dumlao (33), Sönke Möhring (49), Seo Kang-Joon (28), Susan Anton (71), David Threlfall (68), Tyler Blackburn (35), Kirk Cameron (51), Tom Guiry (40)