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The American version of The Office is now 20 years old. Some of the talents involved with the hit series took some time to reflect on bringing it to life two decades ago with its earlier episodes, divulging how three of the show's writers wound up pulling double duty as on-screen actors.

Per THR, series creator Greg Daniels shared how B.J. Novak was the first person who was hired for the show. It was planned from the start for Novak to work as both a writer and an actor, and that resulted in him playing Ryan beginning with the very first episode. Daniels said he picked Novak first after recognizing his skills, noting, "It just felt to me like this is a really good place for writer-performers. I wanted to have a writer-performer vibe in the show."

It was different with Mindy Kaling, who played customer service rep Kelly Kapoor. Kaling...

On March 24, 2005, NBC aired the first episode of The Office, an American remake of the universally acclaimed, Golden Globe-winning BBC comedy of the same name. The premiere, a mockumentary that introduced the staff of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company’s branch in Scranton, Pennsylvania, pulled in a decent-sized audience that night. It drew 11.2 million viewers following an episode of The Apprentice — but even with that start, expectations for the show were not high.

NBC had produced a pilot for The Office, written by King of the Hill co-creator Greg Daniels, in early 2004, just after Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s BBC show won the Golden Globe for best comedy and Gervais took home the award for best actor in a comedy. The network ordered the show to series that spring but picked up only five more episodes. After premiering on a Thursday, the remaining episodes ran on Tuesday nights, where it struggled.

Quick Links'The Shield' Is a Violent and Gritty Crime Drama That Pushed BoundariesWalton Goggins' Spectacular Rise to Stardom

Walton Goggins has steadily become one of Hollywood's most dynamic and entertaining actors, with the seasoned star having appeared in a slew of fan-favorite hits throughout his career while serving up unforgettable performances on both the big and small screen. Goggins achieved widespread prominence when he portrayed detective Shane Vendrell in the FX crime drama hit The Shield, which ran for seven exhilarating seasons from 2002 and 2008 and garnered universal acclaim, with the series currently holding a dazzling 96% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes.

The edgy and downright brutal show helped launch Goggins' stellar career, as he would go on to star in TV knockouts like Justified, Vice Principals, The Righteous Gemstones, and Fallout, as well as in popular films including Predator, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight. The gifted actor's most recent project is...

People don't talk much about "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" these days. Maybe that's because it only lasted two seasons, the first of which was truncated to just nine episodes due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Or maybe it was just an early sign of what later "Terminator" movies like "Salvation" and "Genisys" seemed to prove -- that in the wake of James Cameron leaving the franchise and the '80s aesthetic that once defined it dropping off, "Terminator" just wasn't that big of a hit anymore.

The shame, of course, is that "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is actually pretty solid, unlike the aforementioned films. You'd think that after "Game of Thrones" made Lena Headey a global superstar, fans would be interested in going back and revisiting the high-concept sci-fi show she headlined just a few years before being cast as Cersei Lannister. Summer Glau also co-starred in the series,...

During the Season 1 finale, the gloomy air that settled on The Office set was a definitive marker that the sitcom was headed straight for the gallows. But, then-NBC exec, Kevin Reilly staked his reputation on the show doing well in the future, nearly begging the studio heads for another chance to get it right.

The Office [Credit: NBC]

The Office was supposed to be an experiment that lasted only 6 episodes. Instead, the NBC sitcom aired nearly 200 episodes across 9 seasons from 2005 to 2013. This was not made possible by a single factor alone but by the combined efforts of the writers, the network executive, and the whole cast. But most of all, it was Greg Daniels’ radical move that saved the sitcom’s fate.

The Office Gets Saved By a Host of Geniuses Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson in The Office [Credit: NBC]

After the groundbreaking popularity of BBC’s 2-season sitcom helmed by the notorious comedian Ricky Gervais,...

We’re down to just three new episodes with the arrival of CBS’s Blue Bloods season 14 episode 16. Directed by Doug Aarniokoski from a script by Kevin Reilly and Van B. Nguyen, episode 16 – “The Gray Areas” – will air on Friday, November 22, 2024 at 10pm Et/Pt.

Tom Selleck returns to lead the final season’s cast as Frank Reagan. Donnie Wahlberg stars as Danny Reagan, Bridget Moynahan plays Erin Reagan, Will Estes is Jamie Reagan, Len Cariou is Henry Reagan, Marisa Ramirez plays Maria Baez, and Vanessa Ray stars as Eddie Janko.

“The Gray Areas” Plot: Danny and Baez investigate the death of a rising Mma fighter. Also, Eddie and Jamie race to find Badillo, whose job is on the line after he’s caught smoking weed. Frank is blindsided when Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) asks the governor to send in the National Guard to help patrol the subway system. Erin...

What do you get when you mix a pre-golden-age-of-tv network show with the power of Netflix? If "Suits" and its unmitigated streaming success in 2023 and 2024 are anything to go by, you get nothing short of a full-on TV renaissance. The legal drama saw an unprecedented surge in popularity when it hit the streamer, which had long since established itself as a place where forgotten movies could find new life. But "Suits" proved that canceled network shows could also flourish on the streamer, and now it's time for a new old series to take advantage of the Netflix effect.

That show is, of course, "Prison Break." Belonging to a pre-"Breaking Bad" age, when TV hadn't quite established itself as the serious rival to movies we now know it as, Fox's crime drama was the kind of infinitely bingeable series that would have fared brilliantly had it debuted in the streaming age.

Prison Break ended in 2017 after five seasons on Fox Network, and Prison Break season 6 will unfortunately never happen. The series was a huge success for Fox, especially in the early seasons, and was one of the earliest shows to be widely binged on Netflix. Prison Break was one of the most thrilling shows on television, prompting some speculation as to the possibility of a sixth-season reboot. The series did have a reboot, of sorts, with Prison Break season 5 coming out nine years after season 4.

However, the reboot ended poorly, with Prison Break season 5 coming nowhere near the success its earlier seasons enjoyed. Prison Break attracted a massive fan base during its original four-season run, and despite season 5's failings, many were excited about the prospect of the series continuing. However, a few things came into play that would mean that Prison Break would be canceled after season 5 and a sixth...

Reshet 13, one of Israel’s leading broadcasters, has signed a pact with Deepdub, an AI-based dubbing platform, to deliver news items in different languages, starting with Spanish and English.

The partnership will allow Reshet 13 to expand the network’s audience reach and impact globally. The content will be uploaded on Reshet’s newly-created YouTube Fast channel.

“Reshet’s groundbreaking collaboration with Deepdub Go Platform marks a significant milestone,” said Deepdub CEO Ofir Krakowski. The executive said it “enables Reshet to rapidly deliver its news content globally, ensuring it resonates deeply and authentically far beyond what auto-generated subtitles can offer.” Ultimately, it will also make Reshet 13’s news content “accessible to a worldwide audience like never before,” Krakowski added.

Reshet CEO Emiliano Calemzuk said the “amazing new technology expands our potential worldwide news audience and, for the very first time, enables us to create an engaging, immersive viewer experience that...

The great shake-up in cable TV continues, with Warner Bros. Discovery’s TruTV the latest channel to be overhauled.

The channel, best known for its comedy and reality shows, will shift its primetime lineup to a new sports slate beginning this coming Monday, March 11.

Moving forward, TruTV will be home to exclusive live games (including games in the upcoming March Madness college basketball tournament and MotoGP races) as well as alternative broadcasts of NBA, MLB and NHL games on TNT and TBS. It will also simulcast some of those games, as well.

Alternative telecasts (like ESPN’s Monday Night Football “Manningcast” or Amazon’s Dude Perfect Thursday Night Football option) have become quite popular in recent years, as sports broadcasters seek to bring in new, younger fans to their live events. Leagues, likewise, support having more coverage of their games.

In addition, TNT Sports will produce a slate of sports studio programming,...

Prison Break season 5 undid the emotional death of Michael Scofield in season 4, ruining the closure it provided and making the revival series a mistake. The unnecessary addition of convoluted conspiracies and twists turned off fans and divided critics, making season 5 the worst of the entire series. Although there were initial plans for a season 6, recent statements from the series creator and Wentworth Miller indicate that there are no current plans to revive Prison Break, closing the book on its future.

Prison Break season 5 may have finally given Michael Scofield and his brother Lincoln a happy ending, but for many, the revival series was a mistake. Prison Break season 1 was a pulpy, highly entertaining thriller with great characters and provided a fresh take on the prison subgenre. From the beginning though, the series had an inbuilt flaw – the concept itself. The show had to end with the Scofields escaping in Prison Break...

Fringe is a sci-fi series created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci that premiered on Fox in 2008 and ended in 2013, after five seasons and 100 episodes. The series follows FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), who teams up with a former mad scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson) to investigate paranormal and unexplained occurrences.

Influenced by shows like The X-Files, Lost and Altered State, Fringe's first season initially received lukewarm reviews, but subsequent seasons were met with critical success, and the show received numerous awards and developed a passionate fan base. Unfortunately, these elements didn't guarantee Fringe's longevity, and the series was renewed for a final, shortened fifth season in late 2012. Let's look at what Fringe was and why the series ended after five seasons.

Related: When Did Mulder and Scully Fall in Love? The X-Files Has an Answer

What Was Fringe About?...

Will Estes as Jamie Reagan in ‘Blue Bloods’ season 13 episode 17

Carjackings grab Danny and Jamie’s attention on CBS’s Blue Bloods season 13 episode 17, “Smoke & Mirrors.” Directed by Jackeline Tejada from a script by Kevin Reilly and Van B. Nguyen, episode 17 airs on Friday, April 7, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.

The cast is led by Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan, and Bridget Moynahan as Erin Reagan. Will Estes stars as Jamie Reagan, Len Cariou is Henry Reagan, Sami Gayle is Nicky Reagan-Boyle, Marisa Ramirez plays Det. Maria Baez, and Vanessa Ray is Officer Eddie Janko.

“Smoke & Mirrors” Plot: Frank clashes with the Dream Team when one of the members becomes the focus of a departmental investigation. Also, Jamie and Danny team up to investigate a series of carjackings involving one of Danny’s criminal informants. Eddie and her partner, Badillo (Ian Quinlan), help a...

HBO Max, J.J. Abrams, and Latoya Morgan plan to introduce audiences to Duster, a period drama set in the Southwest starring Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson. Duster is a concept Abrams and Morgan have been kicking around since April 2020, when it nearly got the green light from then HBO Max Chief Content Officer Kevin Reilly. The project remained in limbo since then, with HBO Max labeling it “in development.” The time has come for HBO Max to give Duster a series order after shooting a pilot episode.

Duster stars Rachel Hilson as Nina, the first Black FBI agent, who, in 1972, travels to the Southwest and gains a getaway driver, played by Josh Holloway. Together, the duo aims to take down a crime syndicate taking root in the area. Keith David, Sydney Elisabeth, Greg Grunberg, Camille Guaty, Asivak Koostachin, Adriana Aluna Martinez, and Benjamin Charles Watson also star.

Duster is an...

Rachel Hilson will star alongside Josh Holloway in J.J. Abrams and Latoya Morgan’s period drama Duster as HBO Max has finally handed the project an official series order.

The project has been long in the works, it was first announced in April 2020, where it was seemingly given a series order by then HBO Max Chief Content Officer Kevin Reilly. However, that turned out to be development with a series commitment. It has remained active and recently landed an official series order after a pilot was shot.

Hilson will star as Nina, the first Black female FBI agent, who in 1972 heads to the Southwest and recruits a gutsy getaway driver, played by Holloway, the first in a bold effort to take down a growing crime syndicate.

Keith David, Sydney Elisabeth, Greg Grunberg, Camille Guaty, Asivak Koostachin, Adriana Aluna Martinez and Benjamin Charles Watson also star.

Hilson is best known for...

When "The Shield" premiered on FX in March 2002, it was entering a prestige-tv landscape that was still relatively young. "The Sopranos" had just begun its HBO run three years earlier, and AMC shows like "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" — with protagonists cut from the same antihero cloth as Tony Soprano — had not yet arrived on cable TV. And they might never have done so if "The Shield" hadn't paved the way first. Michael Chiklis won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of corrupt cop Vic Mackey in season 1 of "The Shield," but for series creator Shawn Ryan and company, it took some convincing to even get "The Shield" on the air, and there was a lot riding on its success.

In 2022, for the 20th anniversary of "The Shield," Entertainment Weekly dug into the background of the show with an oral history featuring Chiklis, Ryan, and other cast and crew members.

Jeorge Bennett Watson as Saint Nick, Marisa Ramirez as Det. Maria Baez, and Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan in ‘Blue Bloods’ season 13 episode 11

The murder of a chess hustler becomes incredibly complicated on CBS’s Blue Bloods season 13 episode 11, “Lost Ones.” Directed by Jackeline Tejada from a script by Kevin Reilly and Yasmin Cadet, episode 11 is set to air on Friday, January 20, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.

The cast is led by Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan, and Bridget Moynahan as Erin Reagan. Will Estes stars as Jamie Reagan, Len Cariou is Henry Reagan, Sami Gayle is Nicky Reagan-Boyle, Marisa Ramirez plays Det. Maria Baez, and Vanessa Ray is Officer Eddie Janko.

Season 13’s recurring guest stars include Abigail Hawk, Gregory Jbara, Robert Clohessy, Steven Schirripa, Andrew Terraciano, and Roslyn Ruff.

“Lost Ones” Plot: Danny and Baez’s investigation into the death of a chess hustler...

Back in January 2020, the TCAs — the twice-annual gathering of television critics and reporters, network executives, and talent in Los Angeles — was on life support, a waning version of a once-crucial industry event that had been cannibalized by new technologies and its own industry’s raging competitiveness. And, then: Covid.

After a few fits and starts — more fits, really — on January 9, the in-person Television Critics Association press tour returns to Pasadena, California for the first time in three years. However, it’s not exactly getting the old gang back together: The scrums are gone, there are fewer 1:1 opportunities, and a number of networks and streaming platforms plan to skip it altogether.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s many platforms, the Paramount Global-owned Showtime, and the very much revamping CW are all slated as no shows; each bailed on Summer TCA shortly before its outright cancellation. There is also no Fox, no CBS,...

Justin Timberlake, as director of the glee club?!?

That’s who Ryan Murphy initially had in mind when casting the pilot for Glee, his hit dramedy for Fox. During his appearance on the first episode of the podcast And That’s What You Really Missed, Murphy admitted that he had someone other than Matthew Morrison in mind when he first went looking for his choir director William Schuester.

“That pilot was written for Justin Timberlake, Mr. Schue,” Murphy admits for the first time to hosts Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz, who starred on Glee as Artie Abrams and Tina Cohen-Chang, respectively.

The episode ended at that point so anyone who wants more details will have to listen in next week.

Murphy also revealed that his Glee co-creator Ian Brennan wanted Schuester to be — get this — a crystal meth addict in an earlier, dark version of the script. “It was sort of like Election,...

Derek Gaines as Bugs and Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan in ‘Blue Bloods’ season 13 episode 5

Frank’s caught between his family and his job on CBS’s Blue Bloods season 13 episode five. Directed by Alex Zakrzewski from a script by Kevin Reilly, episode five – “Homefront” – will air on Friday, November 4, 2022 at 10pm Et/Pt.

The cast is led by Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan, and Bridget Moynahan as Erin Reagan. Will Estes stars as Jamie Reagan, Len Cariou is Henry Reagan, Sami Gayle is Nicky Reagan-Boyle, Marisa Ramirez plays Det. Maria Baez, and Vanessa Ray is Officer Eddie Janko.

Season 13’s recurring guest stars include Abigail Hawk, Gregory Jbara, Robert Clohessy, Steven Schirripa, Andrew Terraciano, James Nuciforo, and Stephanie Kurtzuba.

“Homefront” Plot: Frank launches an investigation after the Reagan family is harassed when protests against a controversial NYPD unit escalate. Also, Danny and Baez form...

Exclusive: There probably has been no other division of WarnerMedia more impacted by the Discovery merger than the TNets, which consist of TNT, TBS and TruTV. In the span of a couple of months after the transaction was completed, they got new leadership, with Discovery’s Kathleen Finch adding them to her portfolio, while the previous toppers exited: General Manager Brett Weitz, SVP Original Programming Adrienne O’Riain, and unscripted chief Corie Henson.

The new owners quickly scrapped or ended scripted series such as Chad, Snowpiercer and Kill the Orange Bear, cut a number of unscripted series such as the already completed The Big D, and let go a number of big-ticket development.

As the dust has started to settle, Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer, US Networks Group, Warner Bros. Discovery, recently made an outreach to talent agencies and producers, laying out her plans for what original programming on the...

Click here to read the full article.

After the banner year of 2021, L.A.’s high-end real estate market is seeing challenges, including some softening of prices, continued low inventory and rising interest rates (an average 30-year fixed mortgage rate today is about 5.8 percent compared with about 2.9 percent a year ago). “It will take some time for buyers to acclimate to the interest rate increases; it’s all cyclical,” says Hilton & Hyland’s Justin Paul Huchel. But for L.A.’s top agents, these setbacks are an opportunity to refocus on a core value: finding clients their perfect home. Despite the market softening, agents profess that they aren’t worried. According to Redfin, the median sale in Beverly Hills still clocks in at 3.8 million, up 15.4 percent from last year. And agents aren’t hurting financially, either. Although marketing, staff and office space must be factored in, many of the area...

In Dana Walden’s first personnel move since being upped to Chairman of Disney General Entertainment three months ago, she has promoted three executives: Eric Schrier, who is taking on a new, larger role, as well as Craig Erwich and Shannon Ryan, who are expanding their current responsibilities.

The biggest surprise is the move of 20-year FX veteran Schrier, who has been most recently FX chairman John Landgraf’s number two, to become president of Disney Television Studios & Business Operations, Disney General Entertainment.

Erwich has been promoted to president, ABC Entertainment, Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals. Ryan has been upped to President, Marketing, Disney General Entertainment.

Bryan Noon, who joined the company from Netflix in November 2021 as President of Entertainment, replacing Craig Hunegs, is exiting as part of the shuffle.

In the top Dge post, Walden replaced Peter Rice following his shocking dismissal. The move raised questions as to...

Steve Carell has taken on plenty of memorable roles in his life, from the depressed scholar Frank in "Little Miss Sunshine" to the sexually frustrated Andy in "The 40-year old Virgin" to sweet supervillain Gru in "Despicable Me." Yet no matter how many great performances he puts in, he'll always be known first and foremost to many people as Michael Scott from "The Office." The tactless, cringe-inducing, hilarious boss of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company is the sun around which all the show's workplace chaos revolves.

"The Office" wouldn't have succeeded without Carell's faux-sly glances to camera, perfectly uncomfortable line deliveries, and contagious outbursts of laughter. Yet as with so many great roles, it almost went to someone else. In fact, lots of familiar names were considered for the role. 

In Andy Greene's authoritative oral history book, "The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s," the...

WarnerMedia has been owned by telco giant AT&T for less than four years and it will soon have a new parent company — likely by the end of next month.

Discovery’s shareholder vote on the acquisition of WarnerMedia is set for today during a special meeting of stockholders at 10 a.m. Et. The deal is expected to get an easy thumbs-up given the approval already bestowed by Discovery’s oldest and most influential holders, investor John Malone and Advance/Newhouse Co. Both agreed to convert long-held preferred shares into common shares in order to smooth the path for the spinoff combination.

As Discovery conducts a mostly ceremonial poll of shareholders, AT&T is signaling the start of a new chapter. The telco giant will conduct a virtual investor conference at the exact same time as the vote to unveil its post-spinoff strategy. The push into entertainment was initiated by the...

Discovery shareholders are set to Ok the $43 billion merger with WarnerMedia on Friday, the last big step before AT&T completes the spinoff. Ahead of the deal’s expected close next month, a who’s-in/who’s-out parlor game is gaining intensity as CEO David Zaslav finalizes the leadership team.

Top managers who have been with the exec for years will be sticking around, working with a few battle-tested Warner execs, though likely without others. Kevin Mayer, the former Disney exec known for leading the launch of Disney+ and a string of M&a deals, is helping to shape the new org chart as a high-level consultant to Zaslav. The structure will be leaner and less top-heavy than what Warner vets are accustomed to as they settle into a third corporate ownership group in four years.

“Zas doesn’t do layers,” pronounced a former colleague.

Discovery and AT&T have promised...

Chris Linn, former President of truTV, and Marissa Ronca, who was Head of Original Programming & Development at the WarnerMedia cable network, have struck a development deal with Fox-owned Bento Box Entertainment.

The pair have signed the pact via their Contrast Media, the consulting firm that they set up last year.

The agreement will see them advise on creative strategy, packaging and development of animated projects for Fox, free streaming service Tubi and third party platforms.

The pair will also work with the company on its Nft studio Blockchain Creative Labs.

Bento Box, which Fox acquired in 2019, is behind series including Fox’s Bob’s Burgers, Duncanville, The Great North and Housebroken as well as Apple’s Central Park, Comedy Central’s Brickleberry and Netflix’s Mulligan.

Linn left truTV in 2019 after a restructure that saw Kevin Reilly take on leadership of the network and Ronca left shortly afterwards. The pair were...

Carl Kurlander, who went from being director Joel Schumacher’s assistant to writing St. Elmo’s fire with him, wrote a look back on that film for Deadline as well as a tribute when the director passed away., Kurlander today shares memories about Louie Anderson, the comic and actor who died last Friday in Las Vegas at age 68. Kurlander co-authored The F Word: How to Survive Your Family with Louie Anderson and was a consultant on his The Louie Show on CBS. His other credits include St Elmo’s Fire, he has been a senior lecturer at the U of Pittsburgh and producer of Chasing Covid and other titles. Here he discusses the empathy Anderson showed to most everyone around him, and many career breaks he provided, actions informed by the slights and hardships he faced in his own life.

Louie Anderson is being mourned by millions. He’s a widely beloved figure.

Keith Cocozza, a longtime public relations executive who spent nearly two decades at Time Warner/WarnerMedia, has joined CNBC as Senior Vice President, Communications. He’ll report to CNBC chairman Mark Hoffman overseeing external and internal communications worldwide for the network, based at CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

He replaces former communications chief Brian Steel, who exited the NBC Universal-owned business news channel last September.

Cocozza saw the old Time Warner through two major acquisitions, first by AOL in 2003, then by AT&T in 2018 where he worked on the rebranding and restructuring of the company into WarnerMedia, serving as executive VP for corporate marketing and communications. He left in August of 2020 as management turned over under new CEO Jason Kilar in an exodus that included Bob Greenblatt and Kevin Reilly.

Last March, he launched his own firm, Inwood Consulting, for communications strategy, public relations, publicity and crisis communications.

Two-year-old streaming service Topic has set a deal with tech firm Deepdub to make its catalog of foreign-language series and TV shows available in English.

The pioneering effort will span dozens of titles, including noted shows like Arctic Circle, Pagan Peak, The Bridge, The Killing. As streaming continues to expand overall, appetites are growing for global content, but dubbing and subtitling can both be a challenge in terms of cost and execution.

Israel-based Deepdub, which launched in 2019, sees its technology as the answer. It uses artificial intelligence to create what it deems fully “localized” entertainment, playable in a viewer’s native language depending on where programming is streaming. Crucially, other sound is preserved in the process, including the actors’ original voices. Kevin Reilly, who helped launch HBO Max and has headed entertainment for Fox and NBC, joined Deepdub’s advisory board last January. He told Deadline he hoped the company...

Former WarnerMedia executive Bob Greenblatt is launching a production company and has a first-look deal with Lionsgate.

Jon Wu will serve as a producer and head of filmed content for Greenblatt’s company, The Green Room. Wu comes to The Green Room from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, where he was vice president of film and television.

“I’m proud to welcome Bob to the Lionsgate family,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said. “During the more than 30 years I’ve known him, he has been associated with some of the most iconic television shows in history, and his creative talent relationships and instincts for great IP are second to none. He brings to our television business a major studio and world-class platform perspective that will help to continue driving our growth.”

“I’m honored to join Jon, Kevin, Sandra and the whole Lionsgate family in creating premium content for their expanding television slate,...

Conan O’Brien brought his 28-year career in late-night television to a close with a sweet list of thank yous, bringing an end to his linear small-screen career that has consisted of over 4,000 hours of TV.

Much like his final episode of The Tonight Show, he brought on Will Ferrell, via Zoom, as well as Jack Black as his final in-studio guest for his eponymous TBS show.

The hour-long finale started with a bang with his old friend Homer Simpson.

The cold-open was a skit from The Simpsons, which O’Brien previously wrote for, and started with Homer saying, “Oh my god, you’re one of the Impractical Jokers”. When an animated Conan stresses he was a talk-show host, the nuclear worker replies, “Ah, a dying breed. There’s only like 800 of you left”.

“It’s hard to believe it’s our final show on TBS,” O’Brien said. “Every night,...

As if we didn’t already have proof that nature was healing in the wake of the last year, the first trailer for the “Friends” reunion special coming to HBO Max just solidified it.

The recent WarnerMedia upfront presentation gave advertisers a glimpse at what was going to happen when our favorite NBC characters reunited, but it was just a taste of the friendship, laughter, and tears that make up this trailer. The entire series cast, comprised of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, and Matthew Perry are present and accounted for in the trailer, which can be seen below.

With James Corden acting as master of ceremonies, the “Friends” reunion special looks to recreate specific moments from the series’ history, bring back guest stars — and they even have a fashion show. The show will also see the cast reminisce about working together, as well as...

They're back!

HBO Max debuted the official trailer and key art for Friends: The Reunion, debuting Thursday, May 27 on HBO Max.

Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer return to the iconic comedy’s original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank for a real-life unscripted celebration of the beloved show.

Ben Winston directed the special episode and executive produced along with Friends executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane.

The special comes from Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, Fulwell 73 Productions and Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions.

Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, and Schwimmer executive produced the special.

Emma Conway, James Longman and Stacey Thomas-Muir co-executive produced.

The project is set to feature special guests including David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling,...

David Zaslav was officially named Monday to lead a new combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery, propelling him to the top ranks of operators in the industry and offering just the latest example of consolidation among media conglomerates as the rise of video streaming continues to upend the entire sector.

Zaslav’s ascension is part of a surprising move by AT&T and Discovery to pool their media resources and make a bid to compete more directly with large rivals like Netflix, Walt Disney and NBCUniversal. Under terms of the deal, AT&T shareholders will control 71% of the new company, while Discovery shareholders would own 29%. The boards of both companies have approved the pact and the transaction is expected to close in mid-2022, subject to approval by regulators and Discovery shareholders. Two key Discovery backers, the media executive John Malone and the media company Advance, will vote in favor of the transaction.

It’s seven years since then-Fox chief Kevin Reilly declared “Rip pilot season”.

Today, NBC chiefs Susan Rovner and Frances Berwick were the latest top broadcast executives to declare the traditional cycle dead with the network looking to replace it with a “52-week scheduling mindset”.

Rovner, who is Chairman, Entertainment Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, speaking at the unveiling of its fall schedule, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has ignited this change.

“The unique circumstances of this year have made us relook at how we approach the traditional broadcast pilot season and I really think it’s going to benefit all of us. Rather than competing each year with other networks for the best directors, best actors and best writing staff all in the same small window, we’re now going to be able to take the time to make the best show, period,” she said.

The former Warner Bros....

It's almost time to catch up with some old friends.

HBO Max will debut Friends: The Reunion special on Thursday, May 27, the one-year anniversary of HBO Max’s launch.

Series stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer return to the iconic comedy’s original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank for a real-life unscripted celebration of the beloved show.

The project is set to feature special guests including David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon, and Malala Yousafzai.

Ben Winston directed the special and executive produced along with Friends executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane.

The special comes from Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, Fulwell 73 Productions,...

Image Source: Everett Collection

We could not be more excited: the Friends reunion officially has a release date! It's been rumored for some time that there would be a reunion special of the iconic sitcom, and it's finally coming to HBO Max on May 27. We also got a sneak peek at what's to come in the first teaser, which dropped on May 13. In the short clip, the cast are shown walking away with their backs to the camera with the words "The One Where They Get Back Together" written across the screen.

The reunion will feature a variety of guest stars, including David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon, and Malala Yousafzai.

HBO Max famously snapped up the streaming rights to the entire original series of Friends,...

Anyone in the mood to catch up with some old Friends?

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer’s long-awaited Friends reunion special will premiere on Thursday, May 27, HBO Max announced Thursday.

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In addition,...

Here’s the question haunting Hollywood about the Oscar show: Why expect next year to be different?

Anthony Hopkins’ no-show put a hole in the show last Sunday, but it was the slate of nominees that represented the biggest “hole.” Audience movies — films that register on some scale of awareness — were on the missing list. But will that change?

The majors are clearly panting to unleash their wannabe blockbusters like Black Widow and A Quiet Place Part II – pricey projects that were pushed back this year. The indies (those that survived) also wait nervously for theater openings and confirmed festival dates. “The pipelines are bulging at the moment but the delivery systems are still iffy,” observes one seasoned distributor.

Hollywood is trying to figure out what sort of product will define the majors in 2022, given their shifting hierarchies and redefined business models. Further, will those indie filmmakers who fueled the...

Fox is mulling a return to Bedrock, teaming with Warner Bros. Animation and Elizabeth Banks for a primetime animated adult comedy that will continue the story of that “modern Stone Age family,” the Flintstones.

With a pilot penned by Lindsay Kerns (DC Super Hero Girls) and Banks voicing grown-up Pebbles Flintstone as well as producing, Bedrock will catch up with the Flintstones two decades after the classic cartoon was set, with Fred on the brink of retirement and twentysomething Pebbles embarking on her own career. “As the Stone Age gives way to a shiny and enlightened new Bronze Age, the...

Jessie Henderson has joined Apple Studios as a feature film executive, the tech giant announced Friday.

Based in Los Angeles, Henderson will report to Apple Original Film’s head of features Matt Dentler.

Henderson most recently served as executive vice president of original feature films at HBO Max, focusing on development. She departed the WarnerMedia-owned service in late 2020, following a reorganization that gave Warner Bros. Pictures chief Toby Emmerich full control of HBO Max’s straight-to-streaming feature slate, which he had previously shared with HBO Max’s chief content officer Kevin Reilly. Many wondered where the pedigreed Henderson would land in the months following.

Before HBO Max, Henderson served as co-president of Feigco Entertainment alongside Paul Feig. There she produced film and TV projects including “Spy,” “A Simple Favor, “Someone Great,” the all-female “Ghostbusters” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” She was also an executive at Peter Chernin’s eponymous company,...

It’s. Finally. Happening. HBO Max’s long-awaited Friends reunion is set to film next week, our sister site Deadline reports.

All six of the classic sitcom’s original stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer — will appear in the unscripted event, which they’re also executive-producing alongside series creators Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane.

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Warner Bros' CEO Ann Sarnoff recently confirmed that even though Zack Snyder's Justice League finally got to see the light of day, his Snyderverse will not be restored, no matter how much the fans campaign. She also spoke at length about actor Ray Fisher's previous claims of facing abusive and racist treatment on the sets of Justice League in 2017. She stressed that his accusations against the production company as well as its executives have been fallacious.

Previously in July 2020, Ray Fisher had made accusations against Warner Bros' executives and Joss Whedon on social media, wherein he had blamed him for his "gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable" behaviour on the sets of Justice League. Following his comments, Warner Bros conducted an internal investigation that wrapped up in December 2020 with the production company announcing that the "investigation into the Justice League movie has concluded and remedial action has been taken.

Keith Cocozza, former executive VP for corporate marketing and communications at WarnerMedia, today launched Inwood Consulting, a communications strategy, public relations, publicity and crisis communications advisory firm based in the New York metro area.

The firm offers consultative services for c-suite executives, marketing professionals, policy makers and community-based organizations.

During his two decades at WarnerMedia (formerly Time Warner), Cocozza worked on media relations, financial communications and corporate social responsibility across divisions. His tenure encompassed major structural shifts from the AOL-Time Warner deal through the acquisition by AT&T to the rebranding and restructuring of the company into WarnerMedia. He left last August as management turned over under new CEO Jason Kilar in an exodus that included Bob Greenblatt and Kevin Reilly.

Prior to joining Time Warner, he was director of media relations for Cablevision. He previously served in the New York City Mayor’s Office as a legislative affairs director...

In his first year as WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar earned $52.1 million, according to an SEC filing, though there is a pretty big asterisk on that value.

Kilar took home more than $49 million in stock swards, on top of his base pay of $1.67 million. However, that $49 million will vest over the next four years. Kilar took over as WarnerMedia CEO on May 1 and John Stankey assumed the top job at AT&T in July. Going forward, Kilar’s yearly compensation package will be around $17 million.

Stankey’s base pay was just over $2 million with his stock awards totaling $13.4 million. In total, he took home just over $21 million. That was down slightly from the $22.5 million he earned in 2019, his last full year as WarnerMedia CEO.

Kilar’s first year atop WarnerMedia has been filled with numerous changes, and the launch of one pretty major streaming service in HBO Max. Kilar reorganized the business,...

Jason Kilar, who has served as CEO of WarnerMedia since May 2020, has a compensation package worth about $17 million per year in cash and stock, according to a regulatory filing.

Kilar’s base annual salary is $2.5 million, plus $2.5 million in short-term target bonus and $12 million in vested stock grants per year, according to AT&T’s proxy fling Thursday. The exec’s total realized compensation in 2020 was $2.92 million.

When Kilar was hired, AT&T granted him restricted stock valued at $48 million, which will vest over a four-year period (from 2021-24). The telco listed his total comp for 2020 at $52.17 million, even though he can’t get his hands on most of that until his stock units vest.

The company praised itself for Kilar’s hiring. “The Board sought the best talent available to lead WarnerMedia, and Mr. Kilar, with his experience at Hulu and Amazon, among other companies, brings a broad range of...

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar addressed the media conglom’s controversial move to release Warner Bros.’s full 2021 movie slate on HBO Max day-and-date with theaters — he said theatrical releases are still a key part of the studio’s strategy, but also acknowledged that the industry’s approach to windowing has likely permanently changed.

“I think we’re still in the experimentation mode” on theatrical/streaming movie release windows, said Kilar, speaking Thursday at the 2021 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.

The WarnerMedia chief also talked up plans for HBO Max’s release of a price-reduced, ad-supported tier, currently set to launch in the second quarter of 2020.

“I get so excited about it,” he said of the forthcoming ad-supported HBO Max version, noting he has experience in the ad-supported VOD business as the first CEO of Hulu. “It turns out most people on this planet are not wealthy,” he added, and...

What if you could dub Morgan Freeman’s voice into any language while retaining the actor’s iconic pitch and tone?

That’s the idea behind deepdub, an Israel-based startup that aims to make a name for itself in the dubbing industry. The company, which made headlines after former WarnerMedia executive Kevin Reilly joined its advisory board earlier this month, claims that it can dub films, television shows, and video games via a technology that retains the sound of the original actors in any given project.

Dubbing might be an expensive and time-consuming process, but it’s become increasingly vital for film and television distributors looking to take their products to international markets: Netflix announced in its Q4 2020 earnings that the vast majority of its recent subscriber gains were from outside the United States, while China’s influence on the global box office has grown exponentially in recent years. (Last...

Brett Weitz is an industry veteran with nearly two decades of experience. The general manager of WarnerMedia linear networks TBS, TNT, and truTV has had to adapt to a lot in recent years, from the launch of the WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max to the exit of his longtime boss Kevin Reilly.

So how is Weitz finding his groove in the new WarnerMedia?

“I love Kevin and was incredibly was bummed to see him go,” Weitz says in an interview with Variety. “He gave me a lot of opportunity to grow within the company. The great news for me now is I report directly to Ann Sarnoff, who’s an incredible leader.”

“I re-upped my deal for three more years,” he continued. “I’ve been in the company for quite some time, so to really start to place a flag of stability inside of the organization and be able to...