June 27, 2024

What's news: Inside Out 2 could hit $1b this weekend. Kenya Moore is exiting The Real Housewives of Atlanta. The Street Fighter movie will hit theaters in 2026. Six additional companies have joined the Streaming Innovation Alliance. Sarah Michelle Gellar has signed up for Dexter: Original Sin. AMC has renewed Interview With the Vampire. Colin Jost will cover the surfing competition at the 2024 Olympics. — Abid Rahman

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Paramount Guts Comedy Central, TV Land, CMT and MTV Websites

►The purge. Following the unexpected shuttering of the MTV News website earlier this week, Paramount has now largely cleaned house on the sites for several more of its cable channels, in a potential cost-cutting move. As of Wednesday afternoon, the sites for Comedy Central, CMT, Paramount Network and TV Land were instead directing users to the media conglomerate’s streaming platform Paramount+. On Monday, MTVnews.com was taken down, purging some 20 years of stories from the web. The story. 

—Decision expected. The LAPD, DEA and USPS investigation into the death of Matthew Perry is coming to a close, and multiple individuals have been linked to the late actor’s acquisition of a lethal amount of ketamine that was found in his blood. News reports suggest prosecutors will soon decide who will face charges in Perry's death by drowning after taking the dissociative recreational and therapeutic drug. The story. 

—Expansion. The Streaming Innovation Alliance, which counts most major direct-to-consumer services as members, has added six new platforms to its ranks. The alliance was initially formed in September 2023, with members including Netflix, Max, The Walt Disney Co., Paramount+, Peacock, PlutoTV and more. The new members are Demand Africa (by The Africa Channel), FedNet, In The Black Network, Radiant Technologies, SkinsPlex Native America On Line and TVEI Network. The story. 

THR's 25 Best Drama Schools in the World

►Best of the best. With multiple drama schools the world over going tuition-free, there’s never been a better time to pursue a degree in the performing arts. Here is THR's selection of the top global programs recommended by industry insiders and educators. The list. 

—Suit filed. Klutch Sports Group and agency founder Rich Paul have been sued for allegedly not paying fees to a former veteran agent, who used to head its NBA contract negotiations arm and engineered more than $1b in deals. Ex-Klutch agent Mark Termini, in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Ohio district court, accuses Paul of breach of contract for failing to pay him more than $4.9m on fees for deals he says he negotiated, including LeBron James’ $154m 2018 contract that saw the star sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. The story. 

—No charges. The saga surrounding Killer Mike's arrest at the Grammy Awards is a step closer to a conclusion. The Grammy Award-winning rapper, real name Michael Santiago Render, was detained at the telecast on Feb. 4 following a scuffle with a security guard outside Crypto.com Arena. He will not face charges for the incident after prosecutors in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office have elected to not file. The story. 

NBC Brings A.I. Al Michaels to Peacock for Olympics Recaps

►Hmmm. NBC is bringing Al Michaels back for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Or rather, NBC is bringing a version of Al Michaels generated by artificial intelligence to this year’s Games. The company says that it is turning to AI software to re-create the iconic sportscaster’s voice, which will provide customized Olympic recaps for Peacock subscribers during the Olympics. It announced the offering at a press event held at Studio 8H in NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Center headquarters. The story.

—Hollywood magic. Steven Spielberg is set to welcome TV viewers to NBC’s Summer Olympics coverage by narrating the short film Land of Stories just before the opening ceremony in Paris on July 26. NBCU said the director would appear in the four-minute film, which was shot on a Universal Studios soundstage in November 2023. The film has Spielberg transported to Paris via the artistry of Industrial Light & Magic. The story. 

—Tahiti bound. Colin Jost is stepping out from behind the “Weekend Update” anchor desk to join NBCU's Olympics coverage — but he won’t be going to Paris. Instead, the Saturday Night Live regular will be traveling to Tahiti to cover the surfing competition. The Pacific island is part of French Polynesia and will play host to the second ever surfing event at an Olympics. The story. 

'Street Fighter' Movie Lands 2026 Release

►📅 Sonic Boom incoming 📅 Despite losing its directors, the long-gestating Street Fighter film has a release date. Sony Pictures announced Wednesday that the new movie based on the popular video game franchise will be released theatrically on March 20, 2026. The Legendary film is co-developed and produced with Capcom, the company behind the long-running series of fighting games. THR reported earlier this month that the film had lost directors Danny and Michael Philippou, with scheduling partly to blame. The story. 

—📅 Abbey thoughts 📅 Downton Abbey 3 will open in cinemas globally on Sept. 12, 2025. The feature will be written by Julian Fellowes, the scribe who created the acclaimed TV show that ran from 2010-15. Simon Curtis is returning to direct after helming 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era. Focus Features and Carnival Films are partnering on the third big screen outing for the franchise. Universal Pictures International is handling the movie overseas. The story. 

—🎭 Pot shots 🎭 Paddington star Hugh Bonneville, Michael Socha and Ella Bruccoleri have grabbed the lead roles in the crime comedy Go Away! The indie, written and directed by Ed Kear and Cringo Williamson through their production banner Rude Guests. Steve Speirs, Jo Martin, Niky Wardley, Jeff Mirza and Chris Gascoyne round out the cast. The film tells the story of a deadbeat lodger as his life is turned upside down when an accident with a bailiff on the same day his landlord has viewings with potential home buyers threatens to derail his pot-growing business. The story. 

—Certified monster hit. THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Pixar/Disney’s Inside Out 2 has a big weekend ahead of it as it prepares to close out June by becoming the first film of 2024 to jump the $1b mark in worldwide ticket sales. It’s expected to accomplish the feat on Sunday or Monday, in just  17 to 18 days, faster than any animated movie in history. Also, the film shouldn't have much trouble staying No. 1 in its third outing ahead of A Quiet Place: Day One and Kevin Costner’s $100m Western, Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1. The box office report. 

HBO, BBC Snag Richard Gadd's 'Baby Reindeer' Follow-Up

►Huge get. Richard Gadd will take his next series to HBO and the BBC. The two outlets will co-produce the writer-director-actor's follow-up to Baby Reindeer, which was a breakout success for Netflix and sparked waves of conversation over its based-on-a-true-story tale of Gadd's alleged stalker. The new series is currently titled Lions and will follow a decades-long and very complicated relationship between two brothers. The story. 

—It's official. Kenya Moore is leaving Real Housewives of Atlanta while season 16 filming is underway. Moore, who has starred in the Bravo series for 11 seasons, was suspended from the franchise earlier this month after she reportedly displayed posters with sexually explicit images of newcomer Brittany Eady (allegedly performing oral sex) at the grand opening of her Kenya Moore Hair Spa in Atlanta, Georgia. Bravo cameras were filming the cast event at the time. The story. 

—🎭 Totally not Felix Leiter 🎭 After landing a role in HBO's The Last of Us, Jeffrey Wright has signed up for another high profile TV gig. Emmy-winning actor will star in Paramount+'s CIA thriller The Agency, which has begun production in London. Wright will star opposite Michael Fassbender, who plays an agency operative called in from an undercover assignment. The series (formerly titled The Department) is based on the acclaimed French drama Le Bureau des Legendes and will stream on the Paramount+ With Showtime premium tier. The story. 

—🎭 OMG it's SMG for DOS 🎭 Paramount+’s Dexter prequel cast keeps getting more impressive. Emmy winner Sarah Michelle Gellar has signed onto Dexter: Original Sin, which follows a young Dexter Morgan as he becomes an avenging serial killer in Miami. Gellar joins previously announced stars Christian Slater, Patrick Gibson, Patrick Dempsey, Molly Brown, James Martinez, Christina Milian, Alex Shimizu and Reno Wilson. The story. 

—🎭 Returning home 🎭 Andrew Lincoln will make a long-awaited return to British television in ITV's newly-commissioned Cold Water. Joining The Walking Dead star in the six-part thriller will be Ewen Bremner, Indira Varma and Eve Myles. Written by playwright David Ireland and produced by Sister, the series is set in the fictional Scottish village of Coldwater. It follows John (Lincoln), a repressed man suffering from an identity crisis after he moves his wife (Varma) and children far from London. The story. 
 

—🎭 Speaking up 🎭 Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson is lending her voice to Terminator Zero, the anime Terminator reboot from Netflix that already has Timothy Olyphant set to voice the killer robot. Dawson has nabbed the role of Kokoro, an advanced artificial intelligence and Japan’s answer to Skynet. The series from The Batman II writer Mattson Tomlin is set to debut on Aug. 29, and also features the voices of André Holland, Sonoya Mizuno and Ann Dowd. The story.

—Back for another bite. Just days ahead of Sunday’s season two finale, AMC Networks has renewed Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire for a third season. The season three logline reads: "Resentful of the perfunctory portrayal in the trashy best-seller Interview With the Vampire, the Vampire Lestat sets his story straight in a way only the Vampire Lestat can — by starting a band and going on tour." The story. 

TV Review: 'The Bear' S3

►"An episode-by-episode marvel." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews season three of FX/Hulu's The Bear. The Christopher Storer-created series continues to be packed with food porn, surprising guest stars and deep thoughts on the magic of cooking and mentorship. The review. 

—"The Bear is coming." Or rather, The Bear is here. If you need a catchup on the show before bingeing season three, Josh Wigler has everything you need to know and where things were left with Carmy, Richie, Sydney, Marcus, Tina, Sugar, Fak and Uncle Jimmy. The recap.  

—"Carmy's out for perfection." THR's Kirsten Chuba spoke to some of the stars of The Bear at the season three premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Jeremy Allen White and co-star Ayo Edebiri teased the new season and also talked about the latter directing episode six, with White explaining why he likely won't be stepping behind the camera. The story. 

—Cashing in. For the third season of The Bear, don’t be surprised if you see a Stella Artois on one of the restaurant tables (or in a chef’s hands), or perhaps a reference to American Express or its reservation app Resy. The Bear has become a bona fide hit for FX, and Disney says that advertisers are responding accordingly. The company says that over 25 sponsors have signed on, including brands in the food categories like Uber Eats, Whole Foods, Talenti and Hellmann’s, but also brands like State Farm, Dell and Chime. The story.