The State of FX

FX CEO John Landgraf joins TV's Top 5 podcast for an update on the cable network.

Lesley Goldberg writes: We cover a lot of ground in the interview, including the status of Ryan Murphy’s relationship with Disney and Netflix (including why Impeachment didn’t click); why Atlanta is coming to a close; what’s next for Pamela Adlon after Better Things wraps; as well as the status of the Carrie series. Listen.

*Also at FX's Television Critics Association winter press tour day: 

+ FX is now touting a growing slate that currently boasts 19 new titles and 11 returning shows — with the vast majority of them launching not on the linear network, but on Hulu.

+ It has picked up season five of creator Noah Hawley’s anthology series Fargo. The renewal comes almost 15 months after season four concluded; casting and a premiere date are still to come.

+ The cabler, and the BBC, set the cast for their adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations — with Olivia Colman at the top of the call sheet.

+ Matthew Weiner’s next TV project will need to find a new home. FX has opted to not proceed with a dramedy that was in development with the Mad Men creator. Story.

Elsewhere in TV...

► Roku's rocky Wall Street run. The firm reached 60.1 million active users in the last quarter of 2021 as total revenue for the company fell below expectations at $865.3 million. Stock keeps falling.

► Amazon renews Harlem. The streamer and Universal Television said the critically acclaimed comedy series, from creator Tracy Oliver, has been renewed for a second season.

► HBO Max orders The Girls on the Bus. Following years of development at Netflix and, later, The CW, the drama based on journalist Amy Chozick’s book Chasing Hillary has been greenlit to series.

► Apple finds leads for The Crowded Room. Amanda Seyfried has joined Tom Holland to star in the 10-episode drama that Akiva Goldsman is writing and executive producing. A "seasonal anthology."

► Amazon readies The Terminal List. The Navy SEAL-themed action show starring Chris Pratt, and hailing from MRC TV, will drop all eight episodes via the platform on July 1.

► Netflix reveals end for Stranger Things. The sci-fi drama will premiere the first half of a long-awaited and "bigger than ever" fourth season May 27, and the creators hint there might be a spinoff coming even if the show ends at season five.

► CNN+, N.Y. Times team for The Murdochs. The doc series, being readied for CNN's upcoming streaming platform, will explore the impact of Rupert Murdoch and the family dynasty he built.

► Nielsen: Netflix's Ozark returns big. The weekly top 10 for Jan. 17-23 was led by the drama, which neared the 3 billion minute mark for the week of its season four premiere. More.

From THR, Esq...

_Disney and 20th TV sued over vaccine refusal dismissal. Rockmond Dunbar, an original castmember on 911, is suing after being dismissed from the hit drama series for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. He accuses his former employers of racial discrimination. Story.

_Vin Di Bona Productions settles. The company, best known for America’s Funniest Home Videos, has settled a lawsuit from three former employees who alleged they were subject to sexual and racial harassment. Story.

Film Review: Dog 

Starring: Channing Tatum I MGM/UA I Feb. 18

"The film, resembling a sort of canine variation of Hal Ashby’s 1973 classic The Last Detail, skillfully walks a fine line by adopting a highly respectful view of the military while managing to be irreverent at the same time." — THR's Frank Scheck.

Elsewhere in film...

► This year's European Film Market, by the numbers: The online market saw growth, with 600 exhibitors from 62 countries presenting titles, up from 504 companies last year. There were more titles on offer — 827 films compared to 821 last year — and more than 600 market premieres. Full story.

► Warner Bros.' The Batman secures China bow. Unlike other recent WarnerMedia tentpoles, however, the film won’t be released simultaneously on streamer HBO Max, which will help prevent high-quality pirate copies from reaching China before the movie is in cinemas March 18.

► Sony's Uncharted nabs China release date. The film will open in the country on March 14, while mystery surrounds the lack of a China run for Spider-Man: No Way Home and other U.S. tentpoles. Story.

► A24 plans musical comedy feature. Nathan Lane and Megan Thee Stallion will share the screen in the studio's first film in the space, the R-rated F*cking Identical Twins, which will also star Bowen Yang and Megan Mullally. Story.

► Nielsen: Encanto enjoys post-holiday streaming surge on Disney+. The family film stayed atop the movie streaming chart for the Jan. 17-23 week with 1.51 billion minutes viewed.

*Oscars COVID-19 safety plan update: The Academy will require proof of vaccination for most of the people in the audience at the show — but not for its performers and presenters. Details.

Yes, I Did Say That

“We finished 12 years ago, and our final episode had something like 13,000 viewers, so it was not yet a cult classic at the time.” — Adam Scott, on The Late Show, talking about Starz' initial run of Party Down, which will return for a revival.

What else we're reading...

— "Why Hollywood can't quit guns." "To interrogate the use of guns in productions is to interrogate entire genres - and perhaps to even interrogate the art of moviemaking." [The Atlantic]

— "Francis Ford Coppola’s $100 million bet." "Fifty years after he gave us The Godfather, the iconic director is chasing his grandest project yet - and putting up over $100 million of his own money." [GQ]

— "Dean Baquet never wanted to be an editor." "Ahead of his expected retirement, the Times’ executive editor reflects on his newsroom’s unprecedented growth, Twitter’s influence on journalism, and the time he punched a hole in a wall." [New Yorker]

— "Spotify bet big on Joe Rogan. It got more than it counted on." "The deal that brought his podcast to Spotify is said to be worth over $200 million." [New York Times]

— "Some U.S. Apple Store employees are working to unionize, part of a growing worker backlash." "Apple Store employees say wages have not kept up with inflation, but ‘now is the time.'" [Washington Post]

— "Len Blavatnik has agreed a $4.3 billion recapitalization of DAZN, as the billionaire doubles down on his loss-making sports entertainment company and prepares to woo new investors." [Bloomberg]

Today's birthdays: Ike Barinholtz, 45, Molly Ringwald, 54, Dr. Dre, 57, Matt Dillon, 58, John Travolta, 68, Yoko Ono, 89.