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Beyoncé is facing some particularly familiar competition for an Emmy this year: her own husband.

As the 2025 Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday, both Queen Bey and Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) were listed as nominees in the outstanding variety special (live) category; Beyoncé for her Beyoncé Bowl halftime show for the NFL’s Christmas Day game on Netflix, and Jay as one of the executive producers for Kendrick Lamar’s Apple Music Super Bowl Lix Halftime Show.

It’s hard to track how many times a husband and wife have ever competed against one another in the same Emmy category in the past, though it’s certainly not a common occurrence.

Both Beyoncé and Lamar’s halftime shows were critically lauded and groundbreaking. Beyoncé performed the first-ever Christmas Day NFL halftime show, while Lamar broke records for the most-viewed Super Bowl halftime show of all time with over 133 million viewers.

A father-daughter composing team was nominated, Hans Zimmer could win his first Emmy, and a music supervisor was nominated for three different shows — just some of the surprises among nominations for the 2024-2025 Emmys unveiled Tuesday morning by the Television Academy.

Thomas Newman and his daughter Julia Newman were nominated for their music for Netflix’s miniseries “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” a first in Emmy history for a two-generation, same-family collaboration on a single television score. And in another musical-family story, Oscar and Emmy winner Michael Giacchino’s son Mick Giacchino was nominated for his original music for HBO’s “The Penguin.”

Zimmer, who has two Oscars and four Grammys, has never won an Emmy but could this year with his nomination in the documentary music category for NBC’s “The Americas” (shared with fellow composers Anze Rozman and Kara Talve).

Music supervisor Gabe Hilfer dominated the...

Only a month from when “Wicked” wrapped up its awards season run at the Academy Awards and seven months ahead of its release in theaters, “Wicked: For Good” is ready to bring us back down the yellow brick road. Part two of the hit Broadway musical adaptation follows heroine Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) as the people of Oz are manipulated into reviling her, and best friend Glinda (Ariana Grande) is forced to become a mouthpiece for the opposition led by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) and the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

The crowd at CinemaCon got its first look at some of the footage from the film on Wednesday during Universal’s presentation, as well as a live performance of a medley of some of the music from the show as performed by a 43-piece orchestra conducted by Rickey Minor. “Wicked: For Good” opens in theaters November 21, 2025.

Both Erivo and Grande took the...

There’s a reason why Donna Langley has risen from running Universal Pictures to now serving as chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios.

Take Wednesday afternoon at CinemaCon as weary theater owners waited for Universal to present its upcoming slate. Instead of the usual speeches and industry shout-outs, she and her team started off the presentation with an orchestral presentation of famous movie songs and scores conducted by famed musical director Rickey Minor. They were, of course, all from Universal titles: Jaws, Jurassic Park, Oppenheimer, E.T. the Extraterrestrial and Wicked, among many others. The performance by the 43-piece orchestra flown in from Los Angeles brought down the house.

“Wow! Let’s hear it again for Rickey Minor and his amazing orchestra,” said Langley when taking the stage to equally huge applause. “It’s so emotional. Ok. Oh my goodness.”

Amid uncertain times for a number of major Hollywood studios, Langley...

Audiences at CinemaCon this morning got their first look at the live-action remake of “How to Train Your Dragon,” the first time it’s premiered ahead of its release this summer. But Universal is so sky high on the film, the studio announced during its CinemaCon presentation Wednesday that it has already greenlit a sequel.

Universal has dated “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” yet another live-action adaptation of the DreamWorks Animated film, to open in theaters June 11, 2027. It opens a week after “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” which Sony also just dated during its CinemaCon presentation.

Director Dean DeBlois — this franchise has been his baby since the very first animated film back in 2010 — will be back in the director’s chair for the sequel.

“How to Train Your Dragon 2” is an adaptation of the 2014 film specifically, not a new story extending off the live-action film. That film detailed heroes...

Talk about classing up CinemaCon. It was like the Hollywood Bowl inside Caesars Colosseum on Wednesday as a 43-piece orchestra led by Emmy-winning music director Rickey Minor fired up Universal’s presentation with 10 minutes from such pics as E.T., Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, How to Train Your Dragon, Psycho, Jaws, the Fast & Furious movies, Despicable Me, Shrek, Oppenheimer and last year’s Conclave and Wicked.

But then the orchestra continued to play — with music from Jurassic World Rebirth preceding that pic’s new trailer unveil with director Gareth Edwards, Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali onstage. Ali spoke about the wonders of shooting in Thailand with snakes and rivers. “There’s no f’n way I’m doing that,” said Ali about Edwards’ direction through the jungle. “Which is why we shot Jonathan Bailey’s scenes first,” responded Edwards.

“We wanted to put the scares back in Jurassic,” added Johansson.

As Emmy For Your Consideration season gets underway this week, CBS and the Television Academy have revealed the date and time for this year’s 77th Emmy Awards telecast: Sunday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. Et / 5 p.m. Pt.

The 77th Emmys will air live throughout the mainland on CBS, as well as streaming on Paramount+ (for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers). The kudocast will also be available to watch on demand the next day for all Paramount+ users. The Emmys will once again take place at Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles’ L.A. Live complex.

That means that the two-night Creative Arts Emmys, which usually take place the weekend before the Primetime Emmys telecast, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 7. Hosts and producers for the 77th Emmys telecast, as well as the Creative Arts events, will be announced in the future.

As previously announced, the 77th Emmys...

The Television Academy on Tuesday revealed six appointees named to the Board of Governors Executive Committee in May will return for the 2025 term.

They are Paul Buccieri, president and chairman, A+E Networks Group; Dany Garcia, founder, CEO and chairwoman, The Garcia Companies, and co-founder, Seven Bucks Productions; Pearlena Igbokwe, chairman of NBC Entertainment; John Landgraf, chairman, FX; Amy Reisenbach, president, CBS Entertainment; and Brandon Riegg, vice president, nonfiction series, Netflix.

They will advise Chair Chris Abrego on the organization’s direction and its core initiatives and work with the Television Academy’s officers and the board of governors to guide the Academy throughout the year.

Additionally, the Academy’s Board of Governors has elected the following Peer Group Governors as their representatives on the Executive Committee for the 2025 term: Wendy Aylsworth (Science & Technology), Eddie Bonin (Special Visual Effects), David Hartle (Production Executives) and Christina Lee (Public Relations). They join...

Jay Leno took quite the tumble back in November, falling down a 60-foot hill outside a hotel in Pennsylvania that led to a broken wrist and significant bruising all over his face. Of course, with the internet and tabloids being what they are, speculation ran rampant that it wasn’t a fall that caused Leno’s injuries, but rather the mafia, who came to collect on some gambling debts. Now, the 74-year-old is setting the record straight, saying that’s nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

Appearing on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast (seen below), Leno was asked if he’d heard about the ridiculous theories surrounding not just his most recent accident, but the 2022 gas fire incident that left him with serious burns. The former host of the Tonight Show (now led by Jimmy Fallon) laughed it all off, saying:

I love the idea that the mob would drive to Greenberg,...

NBC will celebrate Motown’s legacy with A Motown Christmas, a two-hour holiday special hosted by Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey. The special, produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill, will air Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 9 p.m. Et/Pt and next day on Peacock.

The special will include performances featuring more than 25 Motown hits, performed by Robinson, Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the Temptations. Contemporary artists including Bailey, Ashanti, Andra Day, BeBe Winans, Jamie Foxx, JoJo, Jordin Sparks, mgk, October London and Pentatonix will also pay tribute to iconic Motown hits. There also will be a world exclusive performance from the Broadway company Mj the Musical.

Motown hits such ranging from “ABC,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to “Dancing in the Streets” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, “My Girl”, “Reach Out (I’ll be There)” and “Tears of a Clown”, plus “Stop...

Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang announced today that the Emmy-winning team behind last year’s Oscars will return in 2025. Raj Kapoor is back as executive producer and showrunner, with Katy Mullan serving as executive producer, and Hamish Hamilton directing. It is Kapoor and Mullan’s second time to executive produce and Hamilton’s fifth time directing the Oscars. The 2025 Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide on March 25, 2025 at 7 p.m. Et/4 p.m. Pt, with the official live red carpet show airing at 6:30 p.m. Et/3:30 p.m. Pt.

The talented creative team also returns from the 96th Oscars, including production designers Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley, who won Emmys for their work in 2024, and red carpet show executive producer David Chamberlin. Music director Michael Bearden joins the team for the first time, replacing three-time Emmy winner (including one for...

Trafalgar Releasing and Sony Music Entertainment in partnership with The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, The Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation and Primary Wave Music have announced the 30th Anniversary celebration of Whitney Houston’s historic South Africa concerts with a fully-remastered worldwide theatrical release on October 23 and 27. The film will appear in nearly 900 theaters in more than 25 countries, featuring the never-before-released concert from Durban, South Africa, which has been remastered in 4K with remastered audio. The release of the new live album, “The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban),” will be released on November 8.

In 1994, Whitney Houston took the stage for a series of three concerts in South Africa including Durban at Kings Park Stadium on November 8, Johannesburg (November 12), and Cape Town (November 19), which made her the first major Western recording artists to perform in the newly unified, post-apartheid nation following President Nelson Mandela’s historic election win.

After the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards went reunion crazy in January with cast reunitings for such classic series as “Cheers,” “The Sopranos,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “All in the Family,” the producers of Sunday’s 76th show have decided to continue on with the theme, celebrating the 50th anniversaries of “Saturday Night Live” (not actually until 2025) and “Happy Days” along with appearances from an assortment of iconic TV characters. In a virtual press conference with reporters on Thursday, the producing team for the ceremony (airing live at 5 p.m. Pt and 8 p.m. Et on ABC from the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles) also confirmed that the music superstar Jelly Roll will perform during the In Memoriam segment.

Discussing the “Happy Days” reunion, Emmy executive producer Dionne Harmon said, “We’ll have Ron Howard and Henry Winkler,” which fellow EP Jeannae Rouzan-Clay confirmed, “The Fonz will be on that stage.

Get ready for more nostalgia on Sunday’s 76th Emmy Awards — the second one this year, we keep reminding you — but with a twist. Unlike the 75th ceremony in January, which focused on cast reunions, this time the producers are mashing together iconic stars and their characters, past and present.

That means famous TV moms like Meredith Baxter (“Family Ties”), cops like Jimmy Smits (“NYPD Blue”), lawyers like Gina Torres (“Suits”), doctors like Zach Braff (“Scrubs”), TV villains like Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”) and more. (And that’s just some of the names that have already been confirmed to present).

“The response to January was incredible, and we felt like people really connected to the nostalgia,” said Dionne Harmon, who executive produces for Jesse Collins Entertainment along with Collins and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay. “So, we wanted to figure out a way to bring that nostalgia to the show on Sunday without doing the exact same thing.

For the first night of 2024 Creative Arts Emmys coverage on Saturday, September 7, Gold Derby was backstage in the press room as the winners answered journalists’ questions. The ceremony took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, where 50 awards were handed out over two and a half hours. Among the big-name winners who visited the press room for in-depth Q&As were Angela Bassett (“Queens”), Dick Van Dyke (who didn’t actually win the Emmy but was celebrated in “98 Years of Magic”) and Maya Rudolph (“Big Mouth”). Watch the exclusive interviews by clicking on each of their names below.

See 2024 Creative Arts Emmys: Complete list of winners

Angela Bassett (“Queens”), winner for Best Narrator

Dick Van Dyke (“Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic”), winner for Best Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) — note, Dick Van Dyke did not win an Emmy but spoke on behalf of the special

Maya Rudolph (“Big Mouth”), winner...

“Saturday Night Live,” was the big winner on the first night of the Creative Arts Emmys, earning six Emmys, followed by Ron Howard’s “Jim Henson Idea Man,” “The Oscars” and the animated series “Blue Eye Samurai,” which collected four trophies apiece.

The Television Academy handed out Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday in nonfiction and nonscripted programming at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. On Sunday, the two-part Creative Arts Emmy ceremony will focus on scripted content categories.

NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” won awards for directing, technical direction, production design, lighting design, hairstyling and makeup. The TV institution, which is poised to mark its 50th anniversary next year, has now earned 90 Emmys over its long run.

Two stalwarts of the genre won big in the game show categories: “Jeopardy” prevailed for game show while the now-retired “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak prevailed for game show host. It...

“Saturday Night Live” ended Night 1 of the 76th Creative Arts Emmys with the most awards (six), including Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, which went to Liz Patrick, who directed the episode hosted by Ryan Gosling. That episode, which featured the now famous Beavis and Butt-Head sketch, also won hairstyling and makeup. NBC’s sketch-comedy institution — the winningest show in Emmy history with 93 victories — also triumphed in production design, lighting design and technical direction.

“Jim Henson Idea Man” was another big winner Saturday night, picking up four awards. The Disney + documentary directed by Ron Howard about the creator of the Muppets took home Outstanding Documentary or Non-Fiction Special, in addition to trophies for music composition, sound editing and picture editing.

NBC’s 2024 Oscars telecast tied “Jim Henson Idea Man,” as did Netflix’s rapturously reviewed “Blue Eye Samurai” (including previously announced juried awards), which came up tops for animated program,...

James Taylor is speaking out after his performance on night one of the 2024 Democratic National Convention was canceled at the last second.

The legendary entertainer was set to perform his song “You’ve Got a Friend” during the event on Monday night (August 19) at the United Center in Chicago, Ill.

James did a rehearsal for the performance and was set to hit the stage near the end of the night, right before Joe Biden‘s speech. Unfortunately, the event was running late and the performance was cut for time.

Keep reading to find out more…

“It was exciting to see and hear so many of the speakers at the opening night of the Democratic convention here in Chicago. And we had a great rehearsal with Rickey Minor and terrific singers, Kenya Hathaway and Matthew Johnson before the event,” James wrote in a statement on social media.

He continued, “Lots of friends got in touch,...

With less than a month to go before the 76th Emmy Awards, the telecast’s hosts are finally set. As expected, the father-son duo of Eugene Levy and Dan Levy will emcee this year’s Emmys, which take place on Sunday, Sept. 15, live on ABC.

The two made history in 2020 as the first father and son to win major awards in the same year, thanks to “Schitt’s Creek.” That year — in which winners appeared remotely, due to the Covid-19 pandemic — saw Eugene Levy win for outstanding comedy actor and Dan Levy win for supporting comedy actor. Dan Levy also picked up wins for writing and directing, while both won the outstanding comedy series Emmy as exec producers.

“For two Canadians who won our Emmys in a literal quarantine tent, the idea of being asked to host this year in an actual theater was incentive enough,” the Levys said in a joint statement.

It’s official: Eugene Levy and Dan Levy have closed deals to host the 76th Emmy Awards Sept. 15 on ABC. As Deadline reported last week, the Levys, who in 2020 became the first father-son duo to win Emmys in the same year, will now be the first father-son team to host the awards show.

Eugene and Dan Levy reflected on their Emmys for Schitt’s Creek, whose final season set a comedy series record for most wins in a single year, nine, at the pandemic-impacted 2020 Emmy Awards on ABC.

“For two Canadians who won our Emmys in a literal quarantine tent, the idea of being asked to host this year in an actual theater was incentive enough,” they said. “We’re thrilled to be able to raise a glass to this extraordinary season of television and can’t wait to spend the evening with you all on Sept. 15.”

The 76th Emmy Awards...

76th Emmy Awards producers Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay have announced their full production team for the September 15 ceremony.

They’ll be bringing back the production team from last year’s 75th Emmy Awards telecast. Brittany Brazil returns as co-executive producer as does producer Taryn Hurd, production designer Brian Stonestreet and head writer Jon Macks.

Emmy winner Rickey Minor will serve as music director for the sixth time. Lighting designer Noah Mitz and screens producer Drew Findley are returning from last year as well. Eric Cook is joining the team as co-executive producer. As previously announced, Alex Rudzinski returns as director.

The 76th Emmy Awards will air live coast to coast from L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 15 (8-11 pm Edt/5-8 pm Pdt) and streaming next day on Hulu.

Producers of the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards have set their production team for the upcoming Sept. 15 ceremony, it was announced Thursday.

Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, the trio overseeing the Emmys telecast for the second straight year, are bringing back members of the production team from the 75th broadcast.

Brittany Brazil will return as co-executive producer, along with producer Taryn Hurd, production designer Brian Stonestreet and head writer Jon Macks.

Emmy winner Rickey Minor will serve as music director for the sixth time. Lighting designer Noah Mitz and screens producer Drew Findley will also return from last year’s broadcast.

Eric Cook will be joining the team as co-executive producer. It was previously announced that Alex Rudzinski was returning as director.

Several members of the assembled production team are up for Emmys themselves.

Macks is nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special as one of the writers of the Oscars,...

Former President Jimmy Carter is turning 100 this year, and the Carter Center is celebrating his birthday with a special tribute concert taking place at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

The celebration, titled “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song,” goes down on September 17th, and will feature performances from Chuck Leavell, D-Nice, Drive-By Truckers, Eric Church, Grouplove, Maren Morris, The War And Treaty, and The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus.

The event will also feature appearances from, Sean Penn, Dale Murphy, and Atlanta native Killer Mike, with music directed by Rickey Minor. More appearances are set to come and will be announced closer to the show. Tickets for the concert are (fittingly) $100, and go on-sale on Monday, August 5th at 10:00 a.m. Est via the venue’s website.

“Whether it was on his record player, on the campaign trail, or on the White House lawn, music has been...

Billy Joel, Lionel Richie, Usher, Jay-Z and Selena Gomez are some of the music stars who scored major Emmy nominations for the 2024 Emmys.

Billy Joel: The 100th — Live at Madison Square Garden earned four nominations Wednesday, including outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for Joel, who has won five Grammys and a Tony. Richie picked up a nomination for outstanding documentary or nonfiction special as an executive producer of The Greatest Night in Pop, which earned two other nominations. Richie has won an Oscar and four Grammys.

Gomez is a double nominee for Only Murders in the Building, including her first for outstanding lead actress in the comedy series. Her second nod is as one of the executive producers of the TV show in the outstanding comedy series category. Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino earned acting, writing and producing bids for Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

The Apple Music Super Bowl Lviii Halftime Show Starring Usher earned three nominations,...

Songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are on the verge of Egot status… that is, if Emmy voters nominate their song from “Only Murders in the Building” and it winds up winning three months from now.

Pasek and Paul — already Oscar winners for “La La Land” and Tony and Grammy winners for “Dear Evan Hansen” — could finally manage that feat with the witty comic patter song “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?,” sung by Steve Martin and co-written with fellow Tony and Grammy winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the third season of the Hulu comedy-drama.

They are among the many prominent songwriters who have entered songs in this year’s Emmy competition. Voting began Thursday, with approximately 550 members of the Television Academy music peer group eligible to vote in seven music categories. Voting ends June 24 and the nominations will be announced July 17.

Another pair of Oscar and Grammy winners,...

“I love music,” declares Rickey Minor, and it’s clear that the music director for the past two Academy Awards telecasts means it. The enthusiasm and joy he projects is infectious. He proclaims that he would “play at the opening of an envelope” and that when it comes to work, “I don’t turn down nothin’ but my collar.” He recalls once telling Quincy Jones that he loves working in music so much he would do it for free and Jones telling him, “Don’t say that.” But while he listened to Jones and insists on getting paid for his work these days, plenty of it comes his way. He’s the go-to music director for live awards shows including the Oscars, the Emmys, the Grammys and The Kennedy Center Honors. Why? Minor believes it’s his meticulous preparation. “Notes, notes, notes,” he says. “I’ve always got my legal pad ready to go.

All Ryan Gosling needed was a 40-piece orchestra, 62 dancing Kens, over 24 gigantic Barbie heads, four “cameo Kens” and a Guns N’Roses surprise to turn his highly anticipated performance of “Barbie” track “I’m Just Ken” into one of the most unbelievable moments in award show history.

After all the protracted speculation about whether Gosling would perform “I’m Just Ken” at the Oscars, the news broke in late February that he had been confirmed for a song and dance extravaganza. But in fact, Oscars producers had been talking to Gosling for months.

“Ryan Gosling is a true professional, that man — we met with him on Zooms months ago, talking about that performance,” said Molly McNearney, who produced the show with Raj Kapoor, Katy Mullan and Rob Paine. “Greta Gerwig weighed in creatively as well. He was so committed to it. His choreographer, Mandy Moore, is exceptional — she was on all the calls.

If everything old really is new again, the creative team behind Sunday’s 96th Academy Awards from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood is hoping that putting forward some of the choices from past Oscar ceremonies will prove inspired this time around as well. During a virtual press conference this week with executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor, exec producers Molly McNearney (also host Jimmy Kimmel’s wife) and Katy Mullan, and music director Rickey Minor, they pointed to a few new wrinkles this time around – the most significant of which repeats a brainchild that drew raves during the first and only time it was attempted in 2009. That would be the introduction of each nominee in all four acting categories individually by a past winner.

It was done 15 years ago when Laurence Mark and Bill Condon conceived the idea of having each previous winner focus on a story involving a single...

Oscar producers Raj Kapoor, Katy Mullan, Molly McNearney and Rob Paine, as well as music director Rickey Minor are days away from the 96th Academy Awards.

But they took time out on Wednesday afternoon to share insight into what to expect from Sunday’s ceremony. In a conversation moderated by Jacqueline Coley, Awards Editor at Rotten Tomatoes, Kapoor said this year’s theme is “human connection, emotion, inspiration and creativity.”

A major highlight that has both fans and producers excited is the news of five former winners presenting to the five nominees. The idea was inspired by Bill Condon when he produced the 81st Academy Awards. Kapoor said the team had done a deep dive into past ceremonies and that stuck with them the most. Said Kapoor, “It was this lovely storytelling and again it came down to connection. It was past winners speaking to present nominees and that lovely connection and that human interaction.

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for Drive-Away Dolls and The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy.

Drive-Away Dolls premiere

Ethan Coen joined stars Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan and Beanie Feldstein at the NYC premiere of their new Focus Features film on Tuesday.

Beanie Feldstein, Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tricia Cooke and Ethan Coen

The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy premiere

Prime Video hosted a red carpet screening event on Tuesday to celebrate the launch of its new adult animated series, with stars and executive producers Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne, as well as showrunner Cirocco Dunlap.

Natasha Lyonne, Cirocco Dunlap and Maya Rudolph

Cécred launch event

Beyoncé celebrated the launch of her haircare line Cécred with an intimate gathering at Revery LA in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Beyoncé

SAG Awards Ambassadors dinner

Phil Dunster,...

The writing team has been set for the 96th Oscars, which air March 10 on ABC hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

The group of scribes tasked with writing the show includes Jamie Abrahams, Rory Albanese, Amberia Allen, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Bryan Cook, Blaire Erskine, Devin Field, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Eric Immerman, Jesse Joyce, Kimmel, Carol Leifer, Jon Macks, Mitch Marchand, Greg Martin, Jesse McLaren, McNearney, Keaton Patti, Danny Ricker, Louis Virtel and Troy Walker.

The names were announced Friday by Oscarcast executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor and executive producers Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan.

They join a production team first rolled out in October that includes Hamish Hamilton as director, creative director Kenny Gravillis, production designers Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley, red carpet show executive producer David Chamberlin, and red carpet creative consultants Lisa Love and Raul Avila.

Today, the EPs also said several others have been...

Raj Kapoor, the executive producer and showrunner of The Oscars, and executive producers Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan announced members of their production team for this year’s awards show, which will take place on March 10.

Rob Paine will return as co-executive producer, while Taryn Hurd will return as talent producer. Producers Sarah Levine Hall, Erin Irwin and Jennifer Sharron, as well as music director Rickey Minor and lightning designers Bob Dickinson and Noah Mitz are also rejoining the team.

Jamie Abrahams, Rory Albanese, Amberia Allen, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Bryan Cook, Blaire Erskine, Devin Field, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Eric Immerman, Jesse Joyce, Kimmel, Carol Leifer, Jon Macks, Mitch Marchand, Greg Martin, Jesse McLaren, McNearney, Keaton Patti, Danny Ricker, Louis Virtel and Troy Walker are writers for this year’s show.

Previously announced members of the production team include director Hamish Hamilton and production designers Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley.

Seconds after Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson entered the holding room where presenters and performers at Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy gala were to take this picture, someone became starstruck — but who that was might surprise you.

“It’s Jelly Roll!” Wilson shouted excitedly as she saw the Grammy-nominated singer-rapper. But the feeling was mutual, as Jelly Roll later murmured, if only to himself, about the surrealness of the moment. He was standing in proximity to Hanks and Wilson as Dionne Warwick sat nearby and members of Green Day were hanging out while everyone waited for one of music’s greatest architects — Davis himself — to arrive.

The interaction was just one of several “pinch-me” moments as the likes of The Isley Brothers, Maluma, Josh Groban, Lainey Wilson and many more came together to take a snapshot with Davis and commemorate the night of amazing music that was to come at the legendary party,...

Meredith Hama-Brown’s feature debut “Seagrass,” starring Ally Maki, will debut in U.S. theaters on Feb. 22, beginning with special screenings with the cast and director.

Q&a’s will be held at New York’s Roxy Cinema and Los Angeles’ Laemmle Royal on Feb. 22 and Las Vegas’ Regal Theatre on Feb. 23. Maki will be in Los Angeles, Hama-Brown and cinematographer Norm Li will be in New York, and actor Chris Pang will be in Las Vegas. The film will also have its U.S. festival premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, screening on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13.

The synopsis for “Seagrass” reads, “Set in the mid 1990’s, a Japanese Canadian woman (Maki) grappling with the recent death of her mother brings her family to a self-development retreat. When her distressed relationship with her husband begins to affect the children’s emotional security, the family is forever changed.”

In addition to Maki and Pang,...

Many of the hottest TV stars walked the Emmy Awards red carpet on Monday in downtown Los Angeles. Gold Derby senior editor Denton Davidson and associate editor Latasha Ford enjoyed an exclusive spot on the cool afternoon, interviewing many of the celebrities who were nominated, presenting or part of their television show’s ensembles for Emmys 2023. The Fox ceremony was hosted by Anthony Anderson.

Watch each short video below by clicking that person’s name:

Brian Cox, Best Actor in a Drama Series nominee for “Succession”

Young Mazino, Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series nominee for “Beef”

Joseph Lee, Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series nominee for “Beef”

Rhea Seehorn, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nominee for “Better Call Saul”

Janelle James, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series nominee for “Abbott Elementary”

Henry Winkler, Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominee for “Barry”

Dominique Fishback,...

Hulu has released the trailer for the upcoming series “Death and Other Details,” which premieres on Jan. 16 with its first two episodes.

The ten-episode murder mystery stars Violett Beane, Mandy Patinkin, Lauren Patten, Rahul Kohli, Angela Zhou, Hugo Diego Garcia, Pardis Saremi and Linda Emond.

Per the series’ description: “Set amidst the glamor of the global elite, ‘Death and Other Details’ centers on the brilliant and restless Imogene Scott (Violett Beane), who finds herself in the wrong place/wrong time and becomes the prime suspect in a locked room murder mystery. The setting? A lavishly restored Mediterranean ocean liner. Suspects? Every pampered guest and every exhausted crew member. The problem? To prove her innocence, she must partner with a man she despises—Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin), the world’s greatest detective.”

ABC Signature produces “Death and Other Details.” Mike Weiss and Heidi Cole McAdams wrote and executive produce the series,...

Christmas is history, but there’s still some holiday celebrating to be done. New Year’s Eve festivities are being broadcast across the country Sunday, December 31 from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles to the famous Times Square ball drop in New York City.

The official Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration will kick off at 6 p.m. Et with the lighting and raising of the nearly six-ton crystal ball atop One Times Square. Performers this year include Enrique Iglesias, Maroon5, Jonas Brothers, Flo Rida, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Rod Stewart. The ball drop begins at exactly 11:59 p.m. and makes a 60-second descent down the pole to ring in 2024.

You can watch the livestream here:

Here’s a rundown of how various TV networks will be ringing in the new year:

ABC

Ryan Seacrest is back to host Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, starting at 8 p.

The Television Academy has elected Cris Abrego, the CEO of Hyphenate Media Group, as the new chairman of the organization.

Abrego will succeed the current chairman, Frank Scherma, who has served in the office since January of 2019. His two-year term will begin on Jan. 1, 2024.

“I am honored to step into this role and feel the significant weight of responsibility in leading the Television Academy into the future, especially in this transformative moment in our business,” Abrego said in a press release. “Our members represent one of the most powerful and exciting industries in the world — our content drives local and global economies and has a formative impact on our culture. As the entertainment ecosystem continues to undergo seismic shifts, I look forward to linking arms with our new officers and governors to lead our Academy and support our membership as we forge the path ahead together.”

Abrego is the CEO...

The Television Academy has elected new leadership, headed by incoming chairman Cris Abrego.

The Banijay chairman of the Americas, who has chaired the organization’s foundation since 2020, was running unopposed. He succeeds producer Frank Scherma, who has termed out after four years.

Additionally, the Television Academy has added the title of CEO to its president Maury McIntyre renewing his contract through 2026. Chief financial officer and chief operating officer Heather Cochran and chief marketing officer and svp, media and brand management Susan Spencer have extended their contracts through 2025.

The entrepreneurial Abrego is interested in using his post to help innovate the television business model for sustainability and equity, according to a source close to him. During a keynote at MIPCOM last month, he and Eva Longoria announced the launch of Banijay-backed Hyphenate Media Group, a production company that also will invest in a portfolio of multihyphenate creator-led banners. As with past Academy heads,...

Veteran TV exec, producer and entrepreneur Cris Abrego can add another line to his growing list of titles: Chairman of the Television Academy. Abrego was elected to the post on Thursday night by the org’s Board of Governors, as the TV Academy also firmed up its roster of officers and governors for the board’s 2024-2025 term.

Abrego is the chairman of the Americas at global production company Banijay, and also recently partnered with Eva Longoria to launch Hyphenate Media Group, where he serves as CEO. At the TV Academy, Abrego will begin his two-year term as chairman on Jan. 1.

“I am honored to step into this role and feel the significant weight of responsibility in leading the Television Academy into the future, especially in this transformative moment in our business,” Abrego said in a statement. “Our members represent one of the most powerful and exciting industries in the...

Cris Abrego has officially got the top job at the Television Academy. The top reality producer has been elected by the Board of Governors as its chairman for a two-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2024. He succeeds Frank Scherma, who was no longer eligible after serving two terns as chairman.

The Academy also announced its newly elected officers and governors for the 2024-2025 term. Additionally, TV Academy President Maury McIntyre has added CEO to his title as he has renewed his contract through 2026. Chief Financial Officer Heather Cochran has also been named Chief Operating Officer. She and Chief Marketing Officer and SVP of Media & Brand Management Susan Spencer have extended their contracts through 2025

Deadline revealed last week that Abrego was poised to become Chairman of the Primetime Emmys operator. We hear that he was running uncontested, one of the reasons why he was expected to score the top job. He also had...

Despite all the musical superstars who entered this year’s Emmy competition, only one – Ed Sheeran – managed to score when the 75th annual Emmy Award nominations were announced Wednesday.

Sheeran was nominated (along with co-writers Max Martin and Foy Vance) for the song “A Beautiful Game” for the season 3 finale of “Ted Lasso,” one of two songs from the popular Apple TV+ series that made it into the music-and-lyrics category.

Emmy’s 550-member music peer group ignored the original songs entered by Dolly Parton, David Byrne, Steve Martin, Kid Cudi, Donald Glover and Lainey Wilson, as well as those from such Oscar-winning tunesmiths as Alan Menken, Steven Schwartz, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

Among the seven music categories, a surprising number of first-time nominees was recognized, and more than one-fourth of all the nominees in the five composition and songwriting categories are women, another positive sign of change in the Hollywood musical landscape.

Three months from now, the Weeknd might just have an Emmy to place alongside his four Grammys and his Oscar nomination.

That’s because he joins a dozen other music superstars — including Dolly Parton, Common, Ryan Tedder, “Weird Al” Yankovic and Meshell Ndegeocello — who have entered work in this year’s Emmy competition.

Voting began yesterday in the seven music categories. Approximately 550 members of the Academy’s music branch will cast ballots, although viewing the hundreds of entries before voting ends on June 26 is an impossible task, Academy officials privately concede.

The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, is among the 19 entries in the Music Direction category. He submitted “The Weeknd Live at Sofi Stadium,” an HBO special that aired in February. If nominated, he’s likely to be up against such past winners as Adam Blackstone and Rickey Minor (“The Oscars”).

Most of the big-name performers have entered the song category...

“What goes through my mind is, ‘How can I make it better?'” says music director Rickey Minor, who returned to conduct the orchestra at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12. “Not better than anyone else. It’s just the best that I can do. What is that thing that’s going to elevate it? And the first thing is to come in with how to do it musically…and then bring it to the producers and discuss what ideas I have for this year’s awards.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

This was Minor’s third time at the Oscars after directing the music in 2019 and 2020. He is a two-time Emmy winner for “Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories that Changed America” (2017) and “The 42nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors” (2020).

See 2024 Oscars ceremony date revealed

“You start with a list of things that I would love to hear,...

When music executive Steven Abdul Khan Brown was making his way to the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, he was blown away by the beautiful sound he heard as he walked closer to the parish.

One of those voices? A teenage Whitney Houston.

“That’s scary — whoa,” he thought, recalling the moment more than 40 years later in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Why haven’t I ever been here before?”

Khan Brown, also a Newark native who had been working with Kool & the Gang and Phyllis Hyman, was encouraged to check out the talented musicians at New Hope, where Cissy Houston worked as minister of music. Khan Brown met the matriarch and a big-voiced Whitney, who blew him away as soon as she began singing.

“Lord, I’ve died and went to heaven,” Khan Brown recalls of her performance. “I thought my ears were going through something.

The Oscars, airing March 12 on ABC, have the remainder of their key production team set. The group ranges from veteran lighting designer Robert Dickinson embarking on his 34th voyage on the show and co-executive producer Rob Paine on his 28th, to three new female producers getting their first shot with the venerable awards telecast.

Rickey Minor takes charge of the orchestra’s baton for the first time since 2020, while Dave Boone is coming back as a writer, his 13th Oscars in the last quarter century. Executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss (who is also directing the show for the 8th time) and Ricky Kirshner made the announcement.

Here are the players AMPAS announced today:

Rob Paine has worked on the Oscars telecast for over two decades and returns for his 28th year in a new role as co-executive producer. Paine has more than 200 credits to his name, spanning four decades.

At Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy Gala on Feb. 4, Lil Wayne brought the heat singing hits like “Lollipop,” Kevin Costner remembered Whitney Houston, and a slew of A-list guests, including Sheryl Crow, Latto and Jennifer Hudson, gathered for the event’s annual group portrait with the legendary record executive.

The event — held at the Beverly Hilton and making its in-person return after three years — included a host of performances, beginning with Maneskin working the crowd and getting Chance the Rapper to jump out of his seat to dance. Others who took to the stage included 88-year-old Frankie Valli, Lizzo, Elvis Costello with Juanes, Mj musical star Myles Frost, Lil Baby and Latto. Hudson honored Houston by singing a top-notch rendition of “The Greatest Love of All,” while Sheryl Crow paid tribute to the late Christine McVie with a performance of “Songbird.”

Guests of the Pre-Grammy Gala included Joni Mitchell, Tim Cook, Janelle Monáe,...

Viewers won’t go wrong watching the two-hour entirety of “Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon” tonight on CBS. But if you have only about a 10-minute stretch to spare for televised non-holiday music in the days leading up to Christmas, maybe make it the closing act of this special — especially the generational handoff number that has one master, Rhiannon Giddens, movingly joining another. As Giddens and Simon perform “American Tune,” you may feel like you’ve gone off to find America, and actually kinda succeeded in that search, over the course of just one number.

Everything else about the telecast — which was filmed before a live audience at Hollywood’s Pantages back in April (see Variety‘s next-day coverage here) — feels immaculately chosen by producer Ken Ehrlich, if hardly marked by left-field surprises. There are no sops to the youth vote, except for the...

Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann, Danny Elfman and Rickey Minor are among the industry luminaries set to take part in Variety‘s virtual Music for Screens, which is among a number of activations slated in conjunction with next month’s LA3C two-day festival celebrating the culture and creativity of Los Angeles.

Music for Screens will unspool virtually from Nov. 29-Dec. 1. Variety‘s annual deep dive into the world of composing for the screen is one of several official activations for the LA3C festival set to run Dec. 10-11 at Los Angeles State Historic Park. LA3C and Variety are units of Penske Media Corp.

Other events on the LA3C schedule include:

Vibe kicks off LA3C with a 30th anniversary party on Dec. 10 featuring DJ Linafornia.

Deadline Contenders Film: The Final Round on Dec. 10 is a showcase of film and talent as award season heats up.

IndieWire has...

Apparently the next best thing to being Emmy nominated is being Emmy snubbed. At least, that seemed to be the case on Tuesday morning, when publicists quickly switched gears after their clients failed to get an Emmy nomination — and instead started pitching them to be included in the roundup of this year’s biggest “snubs.”

It’s a further sign of just how important the awards industrial complex has become in Hollywood. If you aren’t nominated, the next best thing is to have fans and the press agonizing about the fact that you should have been nominated. And sometimes it finally works: Look at how years of “Better Call Saul” star Rhea Seehorn being on the “snub” list got to the point that many of us in the media — myself included — started threatening to burn this whole town down if Seehorn didn’t get a nod. She finally did this year,...