Jon Snow Returns! HBO Plans 'GOT' Sequel Series

►We know something, Jon Snow. THR's James Hibberd has a Westeros shattering exclusive, HBO has entered into early development on its first sequel to its blockbuster fantasy drama Game of Thrones: A live-action spin-off series centered on the fan-favorite character Jon Snow. Kit Harington will likely have to grow his hair again as he's attached to reprise the role should a series move forward. 

James writes that the development signals an intriguing new direction in HBO’s handling of author George R.R. Martin’s fantasy universe, a move not unlike Disney+’s management of its Star Wars and Marvel brands where the streamer has found success launching character-focused sequel series such as WandaVision and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The story. 

—Yes they can. THR's Lesley Goldberg has the scoop on the Obamas setting their first scripted drama series at Netflix, with Will Forte tapped to star in the darkly comedic thriller Bodkin. Jez Scharf created the seven-episode series about a group of podcasters who investigate a missing persons case. Barack and Michelle Obama will also exec produce through their Higher Ground production company, which is based at Netflix with an overall deal. The story.

—No surprises. HBO Max has renewed the Emmy-winning comedy series Hacks for a third season. The series starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder recently wrapped its critically praised sophomore run and is currently working the Emmy FYC campaign beat. Smart has already earned an Emmy win for her role as an aging Vegas comedian who teams with an unlikely 30-something writer as they both look to reinvent themselves. The story.

—Top of the class. ABC’s Abbott Elementary leads all series nominations at the annual Television Critics Association’s awards. The comedy scored five nominations, topping AMC’s Better Call Saul, Apple’s Severance and Showtime’s Yellowjackets — each of which earned four mentions. HBO Max’s Hacks, Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, Netflix’s Squid Game and HBO’s Succession scored three each. The nominations.

—More like TikTok. On Thursday, Elon Musk appeared at an all-hands meeting of Twitter employees, his first since announcing his bid to buy the company. Musk elaborated on his plans for the company, should his acquisition go through. Specifically, he suggested that Twitter’s future is tied to the larger “creator economy,” with transactions taking place on the platform and users being fed content that is interesting. The story. 

—Not kayfabe. WWE founder and CEO Vince McMahon has “voluntarily stepped back” from his roles as CEO and chairman of the sports entertainment powerhouse amid an “investigation into alleged misconduct” by him and John Laurinaitis, head of talent relations. The WSJ had reported of multi-million dollar hush money payments paid to women who allegedly had sexual relationships with McMahon. The story.

THR's Reality Roundtable 

►"Knowing that my TV show can’t help everyone, it hurts and it sucks." THR's Emmy roundtable series moves on to the stars and creators of reality TV. Mikey O'Connell chats to Will Arnett (Fox’s Lego Masters), Nicole Byer (Netflix’s Nailed It! and ABC’s Wipeout), Padma Lakshmi (Hulu’s Taste the Nation and Bravo’s Top Chef), Jonathan Van Ness (Netflix’s Getting Curious and Queer Eye) and  Lizzo (Amazon's Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls ) about guilty pleasures, crying on camera, underboob sweat and getting real about canceling politicians: "Put them on reality TV, we’re not judging them enough." The roundtable. 

—"I don’t want to be beholden to anyone’s schedule other than my own." THR's Pamela McClintock spoke to Sandra Bullock about the box office success of The Lost City, with the Oscar-winning actress revealing she turned down the role at first. Bullock also opens up about her decision to step back from acting for a little while: "I’m so burnt out. I’m so tired, and I’m so not capable of making healthy, smart decisions and I know it." The interview.

—"Your legacy is a bunch of opinions on trans shit? It’s an odd hill to die on." Jerrod Carmichael is offering his thoughts on comedians amid perceived “cancel culture,” in particular Dave Chappelle. In a GQ profile, Carmichael, who revealed he was gay in his recent HBO special Rothaniel, questioned whether other comedians were actually cancelled when they continued to sell out tours and put out specials. The story. 

—Next off the conveyor belt. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Wonder Man becoming the next Marvel superhero to get the screen treatment. Shang-Chi filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton has teamed up with Andrew Guest , a writer-producer on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, to tackle a live-action series on the character. Guest will serve as head writer of the series, while Cretton will exec produce and possibly direct an episode or more. The story.

—Huzzah! The 2022 Tribeca Festival presented awards in its competition categories on Thursday, with Good Girl Jane and The Cave of Adullam among this year’s top winners. Good Girl Jane won the Founders’ Award for best U.S. narrative feature, with a $20,000 prize, with star Rain Spencer winning best performance in the U.S. narrative competition. The winners. 

—Dulcet tones. Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac will voice star in the English adaptation of the Spotify original podcast Caso 63. Renamed Case 63, the adaptation features Moore as the psychiatrist Eliza Knight and Isaac as her patient, registered as Case 63, who claims to be a time traveler. Shortly after its debut, Caso 63 — created and written by Julio Rojas — became a quick success for Spotify in Latin America. The story. 

Watergate at 50: 'Dick' Director on the Challenges of Making Nixon Comedy  

►"We kept trying to find the essence of what the ’70s was." Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Watergate burglary. For a bit of Friday fun, THR libertine Ryan Gajewski spoke to filmmaker Andrew Fleming who captured the Watergate scandal in the silliest way imaginable in his 1999 politics and history adjacent comedy Dick, that starred Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams and Will Ferrell. The interview.

—No more D, for anyone. Staying with D, TBS will no longer air dating series The Big D, with the decision coming just weeks prior to the scheduled premiere on July 7. The decision to cut the series, hosted by The Bachelorette alums JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers, as Warner Bros. Discovery continues to make decisions on company personnel and network slates following the April merger. The story.

—London calling. The BBC has been lined up as the likely host broadcaster for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, as it will be impossible for the show to be held in Ukraine amid the ongoing war. Ukraine’s band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision 2022 on May 14. Traditionally, the winner of the previous Eurovision event hosts the following year’s event. The U.K.'s Sam Ryder was this year’s Eurovision runner-up. The story. 

—Restructuring continues. Two more executives are departing Warner Bros. Discovery with Todd Weiser and Corie Henson leaving their respective roles. Weiser has been svp, programming and development at Food Network and Cooking Channel since 2019, while Henson served as evp, head of unscripted programming for TBS, TNT and truTV. The story.  

—"ABC's actions constitute religious discrimination." Two former General Hospital crewmembers are suing ABC after getting fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination in a lawsuit that portrays efforts to curb the spread of the virus as “unprecedented restrictions on liberty.” They’re being represented by the same attorneys who filed an identical suit on behalf of actor Ingo Rademacher, who was also dismissed over his refusal to get vaccinated. The story.

—Chilling glimpse of the future. On Thursday, shares in Roku jumped after the company unveiled an e-commerce partnership with Walmart. Going beyond QR codes, TV viewers will be able to use their Roku remote device during a shoppable TV commercial to select a product and go directly to check out using Roku Pay. The story. 

TV Review: 'The Bear'  

►"Nails the chaos of the kitchen, for better or worse." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews FX/Hulu's The Bear. Shameless star Jeremy Allen White stars in a dark comedy about the chaos in the kitchen of a Chicago sandwich joint. The review.

—"A solid coming-of-ager wrapped in a not-so-good romance." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Amazon Prime Video's The Summer I Turned Pretty. Jenny Han (To All the Boys I've Loved Before) adapts her own novel about Belly (Lola Tung), who navigates romance and other life-changing events over the summer of her 16th birthday. The review. 

—"Predictable but sweet." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Katie Holmes' Alone Together. The actress directs and stars in this film about a food critic who spends the early days of the pandemic trapped with a stranger in an upstate New York Airbnb. The review. 

—"Inventive and disarming." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Jim Archer's Brian and Charles. Expanding upon their short film, writer-actors David Earl and Christopher Hayward play, respectively, a lonely Welsh inventor and the robot companion he creates out of odds and ends. The review. 

Thank Pod It's Friday    

►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.

—TV's Top 5. Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. The guys begin by running through the week's headline makers, including new streaming shows for Billy Crystal and Michelle Yeoh and renewals for Starstruck, Schmigadoon, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Boys. There's some TCA Awards noms talk and the most recent, big, updates on the Squid Game franchise. Loot creators Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard drop by for a chat. And finally Dan reviews Paramount+’s Players and Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty. Listen here. 
 
—Awards Chatter. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott speaks to Bill Simmons. The game-changing sportswriter turned CEO of The Ringer reflects on his rise to prominence during the early days of the Internet, his rocky tenure at ESPN and following 30 for 30 with another ambitious docuseries. Listen here.

—Behind the Screen. Tech editor Carolyn Giardina's podcast focuses on the filmmaking crafts. In this episode, Carolyn and Aaron Couch speak to Jurassic World Dominion director Colin Trevorrow, who opens up on ending the JW trilogy. Listen here.

In other news...

—Westworld season 4 official trailer revealed

—Blonde trailer teases first look at Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in NC-17 movie

—Mattel hires Disney exec Josh Silverman to develop IP and franchises

—Talent agent Nathalie Didier joins Paradigm

—NYT podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro signs with CAA

—Iceland increases film tax incentive to 35 percent

—PR firm EBComs incorporates, adds partners

—Former Dick Clark Productions CEO Mike Mahan tapped to lead Fanatics Collectibles

—Study: Streaming subscription growth in South Korea slows dramatically

What else we're reading...

—Marlow Stern has another troubling story about The Flash star Ezra Miller: "12-year-old granted order of protection against Ezra Miller" [Daily Beast]

—Jin Yu Young on BTS' hiatus announcement and the eye-opening negative impact it will have on the South Korean economy [NYT]

—Rosecrans Baldwin has an interview with Ewan McGregor which covers his break with Danny Boyle, Obi-Wan Kenobi and homoerotic Star Wars fan art [GQ]

—Soraya Roberts on why Indian blockbuster RRR became a global hit, and not just because it's awesome [Defector]

—Infamous scammer inevitably gets involved in the scam du jour: "Anna Delvey is in the NFT business now" [The Cut]

Today...  

...in 1987, Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket premiered in Beverly Hills. The anti-war film, which starred Matthew Modine, Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio and Adam Baldwin, was a critical and commercial success making $120m at the box office and securing a best adapted screenplay nomination at the 60th Academy Awards. The original review. 

Today's birthdays: Barry Manilow (79), Ken Loach (86), Jodie Whittaker (40), Kendrick Lamar (35), Thomas Haden Church (62), Marie Avgeropoulos (36), Scott Adkins (46), Greg Kinnear (59), Will Forte (52), Jason Patric (56), Jon Gries (65), John Gallagher Jr. (38), Jennifer Irwin (47), Manish Dayal (39), Heather Mazur (46), Rebecca Breeds (35), Louis Leterrier (49), Arthur Darvill (40), Michael Showalter (52), Joe Piscopo (71), Bobby Farrelly (64), Kelly Curtis (66)