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Tag: Paramount

  • Landman Season-Premiere Recap: The Sharks Are Circling

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    Photo: Emerson Miller/Paramount+

    Anyone who followed my recaps of the last few Yellowstone seasons knows that I have a mixed relationship with Taylor Sheridan, to put it lightly. That show had its charms, especially early on, but it grew dull, directionless, and indulgent by the end. Sheridan seemed more interested in devoting his time and energy to his several other series, including Landman, which aired its first season concurrently with that pitiful final stretch.

    So yes, here I am again, recapping a Taylor Sheridan show. The important distinction is that so far, I’m not bored to tears watching this one. It has its issues (and trust me, I’ll get into them), but the oil industry milieu is interesting, and there’s a general energy sorely missing from Yellowstone near the end. Billy Bob Thornton’s performance as petroleum landman Tommy Norris is the obvious standout; this show was written with him in mind, and he’s wildly entertaining to watch, even while delivering eyeroll-worthy rants that feel like they came directly from Sheridan’s mouth.

    “Death and a Sunset” wastes no time getting back to the goods with one of those signature rants. It’s less than a minute into the episode, and Tommy is already monologuing about how corporations like Kellogg’s spread propaganda about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. He also passes along a $100 bill to send a busboy on a cigarette run. What a legend.

    Not much time has passed between seasons. Following the death of Tommy’s boss and buddy Monty Miller (Jon Hamm), he is now president of M-Tex Oil, and he’s slowly getting used to that lifestyle with private-jet trips between Midland and Fort Worth. But pressure is high at work, where the banks are feeling skittish about funding an independent company with a power vacuum at the top. Tommy is still the one who actually gets all the shit done, but Monty’s wife, Cami, owns the company, and she doesn’t necessarily know the ins and outs of oil. That doesn’t inspire much confidence from people who have contracts with M-Tex. So she throws a luncheon to address her naysayers and prove herself as a force to be reckoned with.

    Demi Moore’s nothing role in season one felt inexplicable at times. But it seems like she’ll have a much bigger part to play this time around with Monty out of the picture, and I have to say, I’m pretty excited. This is what I hoped the show was setting up early on, back when she was just the “wife” character, contributing the occasional affectionate or mournful look.

    It also must be said that Landman sorely needs a well-written, strong female character, and Cami might actually fit. The premiere’s time with her is the most compelling stretch, starting with a restroom scene thematically and even visually straight out of The Substance, complete with a harrowing shot of Moore’s distressed, insecure reflection. And in case she needed years of misogyny and ageism reflected back to her verbally, Cami receives a cartoonishly mean remark from a young woman bragging about her upcoming Tulum vacation with a rich old man. “The divorced doctor convention is one hotel over,” she says. “It’s a young woman’s game here.”

    Of course, Cami’s resentment only fuels her to knock her high-stakes speech out of the park, and she does. She identifies herself as a hunter, details her shark-like plans to make money off all these people during the coming energy boom, and claims to be “meaner” than Monty, warning her listeners not to test or underestimate her. The crowd responds well, and Tommy offers some surprisingly warm praise afterward, telling Cami that Monty would be proud. It’s rare to see Tommy genuinely respect a woman on this show, and it feels nice.

    I wish I could say things have also improved with Angela and Ainsley, who struck me during season one as possibly two of the worst-written female characters I’d seen on TV since the aughts. Unfortunately, that is still the case, as evidenced by Angela immediately extolling the virtues of gray sweatpants (two words: dick print) to her 17-year-old daughter. They’re touring Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, where Ainsley’s priority walk-on cheerleader status basically guarantees her admission.

    The admissions counselor doesn’t exactly feel great about that, and I don’t blame her. Their meeting goes disastrously, with Ainsley sinking to previously unknown depths of idiocy. Look, I support a funny bimbo character if the writer has a solid grasp on who she is, but Ainsley is a confusing type of dumb. She studies hard, got a pretty decent 29 on her ACT, and is in the top 10 percent of her class, yet she doesn’t know the word “precipitate,” claims to be “studying abroad” in Midland, and thinks cheerleaders are being persecuted at Texas Tech because they can’t date athletes? It’s not even that funny to watch her flounder.

    If that’s Ainsley’s big, dumb scene of the premiere, Angela’s cacio e pepe dinner (with shaved white truffle on top) is her big, dumb scene. Planning her daughter’s future already has Angela in an emotional mood, and she’s set on buying a house in Fort Worth to be near TCU. It’s not that crazy of an idea, considering the level of wealth this family is accumulating, but to Tommy, it’s another example of Angela being rash and melodramatic due to her menstrual cycle. Gross. But of course, Angela plays right into it by giving him the tantrum he wants, throwing plates everywhere, and then gets over everything almost right away when Tommy compliments her breasts. He learns his lesson and understands now that he doesn’t need to comment on his partner’s periods all the time, but we’ll see how long that sticks. In the meantime, I’m very annoyed that the show vindicates Tommy by confirming that his wife was indeed hormonal and PMSing.

    What about Cooper? Well, everything’s coming up Cooper. The well he owns is starting to churn out oil at high ratios, which will quickly add up and soon totally change his and Ariana’s lives. She only seems moderately impressed by this news, though, and I wonder what we’re supposed to glean from her underplayed reaction. If someone told me we were about to make $10 million a year, I’d probably start screaming and crying.

    In the closing moments of “Death and a Sunset,” Tommy receives some devastating news: His mother has died. We really don’t know much about either of his parents, so we’ll have to wait until next week for some real context, but the episode does introduce his father, Thomas, a.k.a. T.L., seen receiving the bad news about Dorothy while watching the sunset outside his assisted living facility. It’s a striking scene, especially thanks to some better-than-usual writing (T.L.’s misplaced rage about the prospect of missing a sunset feels right) and the always reliable Sam Elliott, whose performance immediately grabs your attention. If there’s one reason to think season two of Landman could be a step up from season one, it’s him.

    Boomtown

    • If there’s another reason, it’s Andy Garcia, who’s also a regular this year following his appearance as cartel boss Gallino in the finale. No sign of him yet, though.

    • When Tommy advises Cami to defer to him, you get the sense that he’s not being condescending or greedy. He just knows that people will gun for her, and he wants to protect her (and the company) as much as he can.

    • Also not around this week: Rebecca Falcone (the young lawyer to whom Tommy once mansplained wind turbines), whom M-Tex presumably still employs.

    • Glad that the admissions counselor called out Ainsley for being offensive and elitist, because we were skirting close to eugenic thinking with all her gushing about hot cheerleaders belonging with hot football players.

    • I hope we get some real insight into Cooper and Ainsley’s beef this season. That would also provide a nice opportunity to see Ainsley do something new.

    • Nate calling out Angela’s use of “senorita” as cultural appropriation just feels like Sheridan’s idea of something the libs would get mad about.

    • T.L. gets the news about Dorothy from “Memory Care in Amarillo,” so I’d guess she was sick for some time.

    • “I recommend you find a way to die quick. This dying a little bit every day is…”

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    Ben Rosenstock

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  • New on Netflix: In ‘The Beast in Me,’ Claire Danes brings the crazy again as only she can

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    Premieres Wednesday:

    Being Eddie — Did you know that Shalimar Seiuli, the trans hooker Eddie Murphy was caught with in 1998, died a year later, after falling five stories down the face of her apartment building? Don’t expect to hear that fun factoid in this official retrospective of the legendary comedian’s career. But maybe we’ll get to see “James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub Party” again. (Netflix)

    A Merry Little Ex-Mas — On the cusp of their divorce, Alicia Silverstone and Oliver Hudson have plans to spend one final holiday together. But when his new girlfriend shows up, even that humble aspiration becomes a tall order. See, this is why it’s always better to make a clean break, like the Murdaughs did. (Netflix)

    Premieres Thursday:

    The Beast in Me — Afflicted by writer’s block since losing her son, an author (Claire Danes) gets interested in life again when a suspected murderer moves in next door. And why shouldn’t she? In the best-case scenario, she could get a whole new novel out of it. Especially if she can figure out how to outsource the adverbs to ChatGPT. (Netflix)

    Tiffany Haddish Goes Off — The irrepressible comic actor and some of her childhood buddies take a wacky girls’ trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. No Nigeria, though, because a Signal chat they’re all on said some shit is about to go down. (Peacock) 

    Premieres Friday: 

    Come See Me in the Good Light — Documentary cameras follow married poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley as they navigate Gibson’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer. This doc won the Festival Film Favorite Award at this year’s Sundance, just five months before Gibson passed away. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame want you to know they could be just as punctual if this country would get off its ass and standardize Daylight Saving Time. (Apple TV)

    The Creep Tapes Season 2 — David Dastmalchian is among the guest stars as the found-footage series profiles new victims of the insidious Peachfuzz. Coincidentally, “the insidious peach fuzz” is what Usha has been calling JD ever since he started coming home smelling like Erika Kirk and White Claw. (Shudder and AMC+)

    Malice — It’s Saltburn without the whacking off, as a vengeful nanny (Jack Whitehall) plots the destruction of an upper-class British family headed by David Duchovny. Wait a minute, if it’s Fox Mulder we’re talking about, this is probably more like BRIGHTburn. WITH whacking off. (Prime Video )

    Nouvelle Vague — Richard Linklater dramatizes the filming of Godard’s Breathless in what Variety called “an enchanting ode to the rapture of cinema.” In their spare time, they all break into Barnes & Noble together and lick the Criterion Collection. (Netflix)

    The Seduction — The umpteenth riff on Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a prequel series that has roles for Anamaria Vartolomei, Diane Kruger and Vincent Lacoste. Not to be outdone, Disney+ has placed an eight-episode order for Cruel Intentions Babies. (HBO Max)

    Premieres Sunday:

    Landman — High-profile cast additions in Season 2 of the Texas big-oil drama include Colm Feore, Andy Garcia and Sam Elliott. Wait a minute, you’re telling me Sam Elliott wasn’t already in this thing? I thought SAG had a rule that you have to hire him if your show is set west of New Orleans and there’s a role for Dennis Weaver with pharyngitis. (Paramount+)

    Premieres Monday:

    Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks — This glorified ad for the Universal family of parks has now been delayed two times since its promised launch last July. The problem is that they keep having to update it every time somebody snuffs it on Stardust Racers. (Peacock)

    The Mighty Nein — While you wait for the fifth and final season of The Legend of Vox Machina, enjoy the same cast of Critical Role principals in this stopgap animated show set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Or you could just visit your local comic shop on whatever day of the week everybody’s mom cleans out the basement. (Prime Video)

    Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy — The Tejano sensation’s short but groundbreaking career is recapped in a doc that also won big at year’s Sundance, this one in the category of Archival Storytelling. The runner-up in that category: “The Inspiring Life and Brilliant Future of Andrew Cuomo.” (Netflix) 

    Plus everything else premiering on Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock and Disney+ this week

    All the streaming shows debuting this week on Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video and the rest

    Plus a schlock-doc about the racialized 2023 Ocala shooting and the return of ‘Loot’ on Apple TV

    Orlando’s daily dose of what matters. Subscribe to The Daily Weekly.

    This article appears in Nov. 12-18, 2025.



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    Steve Schneider
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  • Paramount Stock Soars 10% After Skydance Merger

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    Following David Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount, the company’s first earnings report since the merger sent shares soaring 10% on Tuesday

    On Monday, Paramount issued a letter to shareholders announcing that merger-related cost savings are now expected to total $1 billion more than previously forecast, while outlining Ellison’s ambitions for the newly formed Paramount Skydance.

    The letter defined these ambitions as the company’s “North Star priorities”: investing in growth businesses, expanding globally, and driving efficiency with a focus on “long-term free cash flow generation.” Paramount also projected total revenue of $30 billion for next year, supported in part by plans to raise Paramount+ subscription prices in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2026.

    A major theme of the letter centered on efforts to “optimize the workforce for the future.” Ellison has made aggressive budget cuts a cornerstone of his leadership, including substantial workforce reductions, most recently with the elimination of 1,000 positions nationwide last month.

    Less than a month after the merger, employees were notified that a five-day in-office workweek would become mandatory starting in January. Those unwilling to return were offered buyouts; according to the letter, about 600 employees chose to leave the company rather than return to full-time office work.

    Ellison’s broader philosophy has been described as “cutting down to build up.” In pursuit of that vision, he has made three unsuccessful bids to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. 

    When asked about these attempts on Monday, Ellison declined to elaborate, “I think it’s important to know there’s no must-haves for us,” he said. “We really look at this as buy versus build, and we absolutely have the ability to build to get to where we want to go.”

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    Anastasia Van Batenburg

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  • The Complete History of ‘Star Trek 4’ Not Happening

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    Star Trek 4 is dead. Again. But this time, the movie that has died multiple deaths might be gone for good.

    With this week’s news that Paramount, after a decade of back and forth, has seemingly pulled the plug on reviving the “Kelvin Timeline” that returned Star Trek to the silver screen in J.J Abrams’ 2009 movie, we’re taking a look at the decade-long timeline that the Star Trek movie that couldn’t took to come to this unfortunate end.

    2015

    The third entry in the rebooted Star Trek film franchise, eventually titled Star Trek Beyond, enters production in June 2015. But before that, Paramount signs stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto into extended contracts, covering their return for Star Trek 4.

    Months later, in November 2015, shocking news hits: a decade after Star Trek left TV screens with the conclusion of Star Trek: Enterprise, Paramount confirms development has begun on a brand new Star Trek TV series, for its then-nascent streaming platform, CBS All Access (eventually known as Paramount+). Alex Kurtzman, who co-wrote the 2009 Star Trek film as well as its sequel Into Darkness, will produce the series.

    © Paramount

    2016

    In May 2016, Paramount begins registering Star Trek 4 with the MPAA, suggesting that plans to continue the series are in place after Star Trek Beyond. Just days before Beyond is meant to release, J.J. Abrams drops a bombshell during publicity: Star Trek 4 isn’t just happening, but will bring back Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk, James Kirk’s father, who perished aboard the U.S.S. Kelvin in the opening events of the 2009 movie. He also confirms shortly after that the fourth film would not recast Pavel Chekov, following the tragic passing of actor Anton Yelchin a month prior.

    Star Trek Beyond releases shortly after (it’s pretty solid), and Paramount officially confirms Abrams’ prior comments, delivering Star Trek 4‘s first official logline:

    In the next installment of the epic space adventure, Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk will cross paths with a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born: his father. Chris Hemsworth, who appeared in 2009’s Star Trek, will return to the space saga as George Kirk to star alongside Pine.

    It’s a busy week for Star Trek: back in TV land and at San Diego Comic-Con, Paramount reveals that the new TV series announced the year prior is officially called Star Trek: Discovery, and will be set in Star Trek‘s prime continuity, rather than the Kelvin timeline of the rebooted movies.

    2017

    No official updates on Star Trek 4 emerge, leading to months of speculation from stars such as Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban, who hope that the movie is actually happening.

    In December 2017, it is revealed that Quentin Tarantino pitched a Star Trek film to J.J. Abrams, with work immediately beginning on developing a writer’s room to hash out the script, with an eye for Tarantino to direct. No one is sure if this is Star Trek 4 or if it’s another film set in the Kelvin timeline.

    Star Trek: Discovery premieres in September, kicking off a rocky but intriguing debut season.

    Star Trek Beyond Kirk Spock Mcoy Jaylah
    © Paramount

    2018

    Two years after it was first announced, Chris Hemsworth joins the list of Star Trek 4 stars who have no idea what’s happening with the movie, alongside perpetual “Star Trek stars asked about Star Trek 4 a lot” stalwarts Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban. The general tone of the responses, beyond a lack of clarity, is that people continue to be uncertain if Paramount is developing one Star Trek movie or two, and whether or not that’s actually Tarantino’s project.

    Paramount decides to finally clarify, slightly, in April 2018, with an announcement at CinemaCon that the studio is developing two Star Trek films. Without more details, it’s up to trade reporting to confirm shortly that one of those films is indeed Star Trek 4, and that S.J. Clarkson will direct, making her the first female director to helm a Star Trek film. J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are set to write the script.

    The summer of 2018 is largely defined by noncommittal hopes for the film’s future, even with Clarkson attached. Black Panther and Walking Dead star Danai Gurira is rumored for a potential role in the project, and rumors swirl of a potential January 2019 production start.

    But issues begin to emerge. It’s first reported in July that Amazon is tapping Payne and McKay to develop their incredibly expensive Lord of the Rings prequel show, and then a month later, The Hollywood Reporter releases a report claiming that Star Trek 4 is on the verge of falling apart, as both Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth attempt to negotiate deals with Paramount they believe the studio is reneging on as it reevaluates the project’s budget in the wake of Star Trek Beyond‘s performance two years prior. It’s unclear if talks could continue, or if Paramount faces the unenviable task of recasting not one, but two of The Hollywood Chrises.

    Meanwhile, back in the world of TV, CBS All Access is emboldened by the launch of Discovery. News quickly emerges that Trek legend Patrick Stewart has agreed to return as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a new series, and the streamer begins making plans to make a lot more Star Trek.

    By the end of the year, updates return to the status of uncertainty. But hey, good news! Chris Pine is hopeful and waiting for the call that would bring him back to the captain’s chair, and that has to count for something, right?

    2019

    Star Trek 4 is seemingly scrapped in January. S.J. Clarkson is tapped to develop a new Game of Thrones prequel spinoff for HBO, an opportunity she can only purportedly take because Star Trek 4 had been shelved by Paramount. The ever-present and ever-vague Quinto offers another noncommittal hope that Star Trek 4 will happen at some point in time.

    Meanwhile, Star Trek‘s streaming TV ambitions go from strength to strength. Paramount announces a Michelle Yeoh-led spinoff show based around the secretive black ops organization Section 31, and a new animated comedic spin on the franchise, Lower Decks, emerges. All eyes are on Star Trek: Picard‘s January 2020 premiere, and after a popular launch in Discovery‘s second season, there’s rumor abound of Anson Mount and Ethan Peck helming another new series to reprise their roles as Christopher Pike and the young Spock.

    But although the year started poorly for Star Trek 4, it concludes with some hope. Eleven months after it was seemingly dead, it emerges that Star Trek 4 is back on with the assistance of Legion and Fargo helmer Noah Hawley. What is dead for real, though? The Chris Hemsworth return storyline.

    Star Trek Beyond Kirk Chekov Sulu
    © Paramount

    2020

    The Hawley era of Star Trek 4 gets off to an immediately odd start when Hawley seems to suggest that his Star Trek 4 might not necessarily be Star Trek 4 while speaking at a Fargo promotional event in early January, framing it as a “new beginning,” and noting that he was as yet unsure as to who would actually appear in the film.

    Simon Pegg takes over as the de facto “Star Trek cast member who has a vague but hopeful wish that Star Trek 4 happens at some point” spokesperson for a while, but even he is largely skeptical that the movie may happen despite Hawley’s involvement.

    A little thing called the coronavirus makes its global debut. No one is making much of anything for quite a while, but good news! That new Discovery spinoff based on the crew of the Enterprise, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, becomes official. Plus, Star Trek: Lower Decks debuts, and it’s pretty good. It would seem that Star Trek is, once again, a television franchise.

    Noah Hawley eventually confirms that his Star Trek movie is not Star Trek 4, as Kirk is not involved, seemingly now leaving three Star Trek theatrical projects in the air. That doesn’t stop Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine from still hoping, though. Just from a safe social distance.

    2021

    A Star Trek movie from Discovery writer Kalinda Vazquez is announced, but it’s made clear that it is not Star Trek 4. To make matters even more confusing, shortly after Paramount dates an untitled Star Trek movie for June 9, 2023 that is not Vazquez’s script.

    Meanwhile, there is another: WandaVision director Matt Shakman is tapped as the latest director of Star Trek 4, with an eye on production beginning in spring 2022.

    Star Trek Beyond Spock
    © Paramount

    2022

    Weirdly enough, Paramount reannounces Star Trek 4 during a sweeping investors call in February, reaffirming that the original cast will return and production is now set for late 2022 with Shakman directing. As an aside, we also learn that Quentin Tarantino’s now very dead Star Trek project would’ve been incredibly weird if it actually had happened.

    Summer comes, and so does Marvel, who now want Shakman for the long-awaited Fantastic Four movie. Star Trek 4 very quickly no longer has a director. Our favorite source of Star Trek 4 updates, Zachary Quinto, starts to suspect that maybe the movie won’t start filming in late 2022 after all.

    2023

    Michelle Yeoh, now an Academy Award winner, will now star in a Section 31 movie instead of a Section 31 TV show, because at least one side of Star Trek remembers how to make films.

    June 9, 2023 passes. No Star Trek movie is released.

    Star Trek Beyond Kirk
    © Paramount

    2024

    The start of 2024 comes with a series of surprises: another Star Trek movie is in the works, according to Patrick Stewart, who finds himself seemingly unable to let go of the role of Jean-Luc Picard after Star Trek: Picard‘s third and final season wrapped up in April 2023. Literally days later, a whole other Star Trek film is revealed. From writer Seth Grahame-Smith and director Toby Haynes, the project is described as an “origin story” for Starfleet. For very complicated time travel/alternate universe reasons, no one is really sure if this actually means this film is set in the prime Star Trek continuity or the Kelvin timeline.

    In a wide-ranging preview of Star Trek‘s future, it’s noted more movies are planned for the franchise after its years of successful revivals as a TV franchise. It’s mentioned that The Flight Attendant’s Steve Yockey is drafting the latest script for Star Trek 4. Months later in July, Skydance Media confirms that it has acquired Paramount for $8 billion.

    2025

    Star Trek: Section 31 releases on Paramount+ in January. It turns out that at least one side of Star Trek does not remember how to make films.

    By August, Skydance’s takeover of Paramount is officially complete. New CEO David Ellison says that movies and Star Trek are a high priority for his plans to re-establish Paramount as a premiere studio, and this still includes Star Trek 4, with Yockey still attached as a writer. No new director is confirmed.

    Which is for the best, with the news on November 4 that Paramount has “moved on” from Star Trek 4. For good? Time will only tell.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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    James Whitbrook

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  • Paramount’s Call of Duty movie taps the writers of Yellowstone and Friday Night Lights

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    We learned last month that Call of Duty would be making the leap to the big screen with a planned motion picture project. Today, Deadline reported that two of the main creative forces behind the movie will be Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg.

    Sheridan and Berg previously both worked on the 2016 film Hell or High Water and 2017’s Wind River. Berg was a producer on those projects, but he’s perhaps better known as a writer for the football drama Friday Night Lights. Sheridan’s most recent endeavor was TV series Yellowstone, and he also worked on Lioness, Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King. For Paramount’s Call of Duty adaptation, both will produce and co-write, while Berg is currently on board to direct.

    Since the writers and director have only just been locked down, there still hasn’t been any public discussion of what era of the lucrative CoD franchise the movie will tackle. Based on the duo’s past work, something contemporary seems most likely, but it may be awhile before we have any confirmation of the story or casting.

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  • Paramount Layoffs Hit Motion Picture Execs In Production, Marketing, Music & More; Studio Co-Chairs Say, “Today Has Been A Difficult One”

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    EXCLUSIVE: Paramount‘s motion picture divisions, including production, literary, marketing and music, were impacted today with many Melrose Ave lot vets exiting. The new David Ellison run conglom is handing out approximately 1,000 pink-slips as it looks to achieve $2 billion in overall savings. We understand that some of those savings aren’t in job cuts alone.

    Among those departing, we hear, are President of Worldwide Music, Randy Spendlove who has been at the studio since 2006. Spendlove arrived to Paramount as a Grammy Winner for Best Soundtrack Album for the Miramax Best Picture Oscar winner, Chicago. He started at A&M Records as VP of Promotions where he worked with Janet Jackson, Sheryl Crow, Soundgarden and Bryan Adams. In 1998, he became President of Motion Picture Music at Miramax Films where he worked on Chicago, Shakespeare in Love, Cold Mountain and Finding Neverland. While at Paramount, he co-supervised the music and co-produced the soundtrack album for Dreamgirls, which was nominated for three Best Song Oscars.

    Other executive departures include Bryan Oh, SVP of Production, who most recently was shepherding a K-pop music drama starring Ji-young Yoo and singer-songwriter Eric Nam; Geoff Stier, EVP of Production who was formerly with Showtime Original Programming and a previous Paramount vet overseeing such titles as World War Z and True Grit before coming back in July 2024; Andres Alvarez, EVP of Home Entertainment; Rachel Cadden, EVP of International Theatrical Marketing; Christine Benitez, SVP Multicultural Marketing; and Phil Cohen, SVP of Literary Affairs who arrived to the studio in 2022.

    In a note to staff today, Paramount Co-Chairs Dana Golberg and Josh Greenstein took a knee, expressing how “difficult” today is and how “we want to take a moment to acknowledge the departure of valued colleagues and express our deep gratitude for their contributions, dedication, and the impact they’ve made on our studio.” The duo also emphasized the new Skydance-owned Paramount’s plan of “right-sizing our organization” which aims to “refocus our energy, and align our efforts with the endless opportunities ahead.”

    There are 1,000 more expected to be cut from the roughly 20,000-employee count of the combined Paramount and Skydance. The next wave is hitting offshore offices. As Deadline previously reported, Paramount television and marketing/distribution were effected today.

    Below is the internal email from Paramount Co-Chairs Dana Golberg and Josh Greenstein.

    Team,

    We recognize that today has been a difficult one as our workforce changes take effect. We want to take a moment to acknowledge the departure of valued colleagues and express our deep gratitude for their contributions, dedication, and the impact they’ve made on our studio.

    This restructuring marks a pivotal step in shaping the path forward. We’re right-sizing our organization to ensure Paramount Pictures remains not only the iconic studio built on more than a century of storytelling, but also the leading destination for creators and innovators who will define the future of entertainment. Please know that we’re making these changes as comprehensively as possible to ensure we can move forward decisively, refocus our energy, and align our efforts with the endless opportunities ahead.

    As we set our sights on the future, our goal is to create clarity and momentum as we begin this next chapter. Your managers and HR business partners are here to support you—please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns. What makes this place exceptional is the spirit of collaboration and kindness you show one another every day. We know that same generosity will carry us through this transition.

    We will be sharing more around our strategy and structure in the coming weeks and appreciate your continued commitment and focus. 

    Thank you for everything you bring to this team. We’re confident that, together, we’ll build an even stronger future.

    Dana and Josh

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    Anthonypauldalessandro

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  • What to watch this week: The triumphal return of ‘Down Cemetery Road,’ a second season of ‘Hazbin Hotel’ and more

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    Emma Thompson in ‘Down Cemetery Road’ Credit: courtesy of Apple TV

    Premieres Wednesday:

    Ballad of a Small Player — Filmmaker Edward Berger (Conclave) casts Colin Farrell as an inveterate gambler and swindler living under an assumed identity in China. The Wall Street Journal called it “a failed attempt to wring laughs out of this abundantly awful man.” That was on page B25, directly opposite a full-page profile of Peter Thiel. (Netflix)

    Down Cemetery Road — Emma Thompson plays a private investigator whose search for a missing girl uncovers a shocking secret: Vast numbers of Britons who were believed dead are secretly still alive and well. “How does a guy get in on that?” asks Keir Starmer. (Apple TV)

    Hazbin Hotel Season 2 — With the forces of Heaven vanquished, Charlie finds her infernal hostelry overrun with new guests who see no need to renounce their evil ways. See, God? This is what happens when you think you’re putting Charlie Kirk somewhere where he can’t do any more damage. (Prime Video)

    Ink Master — The prize is not only $250,000 but recognition for one’s origins in Season 17, which carries the theme “Hometown Heroes.” That’s a significant departure from the previous 16 seasons, the theme of which was “hepatitis.” (Paramount+)

    Selling Sunset — Season 9 adds new realtor Sandra Vergara, who just so happens to be Sofia Vergara’s cousin. And also her adoptive sister. How does that work, you ask? Forget it, Jake, it’s Sunset! (Netflix)

    Star Wars: Visions — Season 3 of the animated anthology hearkens back to Season 1 by once again focusing entirely on anime. I don’t know, do we think that genre is really bankable yet? (Disney+)

    Colin Farrell in ‘Ballad of a Small Player’ Credit: courtesy of Netflix

    Premieres Thursday:

    Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers — Archival footage and interviews with survivors paint a documentary portrait of the criminal psychopath who made living in Central Florida a waking nightmare in the late 20th century. And here you thought everyone had forgotten Glenda Hood! (Netflix)

    Amsterdam Empire — Famke Janssen takes on the role of a former Europop star who tries to ruin her husband’s cannabis business as revenge for his infidelity. I never thought I’d say this, but J.Lo’s inability to find true and lasting love suddenly seems kind of trivial. (Netflix)

    Hell House LLC: Lineage — The fifth and final installment in the franchise about a cursed haunted attraction is the first one that isn’t based on found footage. Which I’m assuming means it was stolen. (Shudder)

    Juan Gabriel: I Must, I Can, I Will — Four documentary episodes retrace the remarkable career of the flamboyant Mexican balladeer, who became a gay icon despite having fathered six children with three different women. In related news, my strategy of hanging around the Parliament House for four years is due to put me up to my neck in it any minute now. (Netflix)

    Son of a Donkey — The Australian YouTube duo known as Superwog launches a new series that explores the lighter side of modern challenges like road rage, online scams and failing kidneys. It must be nice to live in a country where those are your biggest problems. Some of us would gladly give up a kidney to be that close to Kylie. (Netflix)

    The Witcher Season 4 — The eagerly anticipated penultimate season finds Liam Hemsworth taking over the title role from Henry Cavill. But don’t worry, Henry fans: You’ll be able to see him soon enough, in … oh, I’ll think of something. (Netflix)

    Premieres Friday:

    Bad Influencer — A single mother with a special-needs child to take care of runs afoul of the law when she conscripts an aspiring influencer to help her sell phony handbags. And she might have gotten away with it, if Kim Kardashian hadn’t spotted the unauthorized knockoff of her pubes. (Netflix)

    Breathless — The Joaquín Sorolla Hospital has gone entirely private as Season 2 begins, forcing our already taxed resident physicians to make some tough choices. For example, when they have to tell a cancer patient that insurance won’t cover her treatment, do they do it through the portal or as a Zoom puppet show? (Netflix)

    The White House Effect — Return with us now to the complicated days of Bush 41, when warring factions of the Republican party problematized the administration’s response to climate change. Nowadays, the warring factions are the ones who want to ignore it and the ones who want to ignore it while wearing blackface. (Netflix)

    Premieres Monday:

    Crutch — This spinoff from the CBS series The Neighborhood has Tracy Morgan as a Harlem businessman who’s having to do a lot of recalibrating now that his grown son and daughter have moved back in with him. In the hilarious third episode, the son comes out as gay and Tracy stabs him to death with a kitchen knife. (Paramount+)

    In Waves and War — Follow the healing journey of three Navy SEALs who had to travel overseas to be prescribed psychedelics for their PTSD. Meanwhile, ICE want you to know they’re going to shoot you in the face if you try to charge them for that vanilla latte. (Netflix)

    Premieres Tuesday:

    All’s Fair — And speaking of Kim Kardashian, she’s been cast in the lead role of a divorce attorney in Ryan Murphy’s new legal drama. Supporting parts go to Glenn Close, Naomi Watts and Sarah Paulson, who might be stars themselves someday if they can just get their muffs on Candies. (Hulu)

    Leanne Morgan: Unspeakable Things — Taking a momentary step away from her Netflix sitcom, the Tennessee comedian fills us in on everything that’s been going on in her life, like adjusting to success and trying gummies. As opposed to Pete Davidson, who’s adjusting to gummies and thinking about trying success. (Netflix)

    Squid Game: The Challenge — The spinoff competition show stays married to the bit in Season 2, pitting another 456 contestants against each other in pursuit of $4.56 million. High concept, right? Now give me my two tickets to Tucson, because my flight is boarding at Gate 2 in two minutes. (Netflix)

    Plus a schlock-doc about the racialized 2023 Ocala shooting and the return of ‘Loot’ on Apple TV

    Plus everything else debuting on Netflix, HBO Max, Peacock and the rest

    Plus everything else debuting this week on Prime Video, Shudder, AMC+ and the rest

    Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

    Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

    This article appears in Oct. 29–Nov. 4, 2025.



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  • How to cancel your Paramount+ subscription

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    Do you have one streaming service too many? While you’re far from alone in that, sometimes it’s worth saying goodbye to one and saving some cash. Take Paramount+, which starts at $8 per month for its ad-supported Essential plan. Then there’s its ad-free Premium plan, coming in at $13 a month.

    If you’re not really using it, or just can’t justify the cost, canceling your Paramount+ subscription is pretty easy. Plus, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are right around the corner if you change your mind. Paramount+ has run significant deals for both in recent years.

    In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about canceling your subscription through Paramount+ or third-party providers like Apple or Google.

    How to cancel via web:

    If your subscription is directly through Paramount+ then canceling it takes only a few clicks.

    1. Sign in to your Paramount+ account on your browser.

    2. Go to the Paramount+ Account page.

    3. Tap on Cancel Subscription.

    How to cancel via third-party provider:

    It’s still relatively simple to cancel your Paramount+ subscription even if you bought it through a third-party. Here’s what you need to know based on where you purchased it.

    Cancel via Apple iPhone or iPad

    1. Go to Settings in your iPhone or iPad.

    4. Click Paramount+ and then select Cancel Subscription.

    Cancel via Apple TV

    1. Go to Settings in your Apple TV.

    3. Select your Apple TV account.

    5. Click Paramount+ and select Cancel Subscription.

    Cancel via Google Play Store on a web browser

    1. Go to the Google Play Store through a web browser.

    2. Sign in to your Google Play Store account.

    3. Click Bills & Accounts on the left side of the screen.

    4. Choose Paramount+ and tap Cancel Subscription.

    Cancel via your Android smartphone or tablet

    1. Go to the Google Play Store app.

    2. Click on your profile icon.

    3. Choose Payment & Subscriptions.

    5. Click Paramount+ and then select Cancel Subscription.

    6. Follow the prompts to confirm your cancelation.

    Cancel via your Android TV

    1. Open the Google Play Store app.

    5. Click Paramount+ and then select Cancel.

    6. Choose Yes to confirm your cancelation.

    Cancel via Amazon

    1. Go to Amazon App Store Subscriptions.

    2. Sign in to your Amazon account.

    3. Find your Paramount+ subscription and choose Actions.

    4. Tap Turn Off Auto-Renewal.

    5. Click Turn Off Auto-Renewal again to confirm your cancelation.

    Can I pause my subscription?

    No, there’s no option as of yet to pause your Paramount+ subscription. If you want to cancel it then just do so and rejoin when the time is right — or a better deal is available.

    What happens after you cancel

    The good news is that your subscription won’t end immediately. If you’re in a free trial then your access to Paramount+ will remain until the trial period ends. Similarly, paid subscribers will lose the ability to use Paramount+ at the end of the current billing period. Notably, if you’ve used a multi-month promotion, your subscription will still stop at the end of your current billing period.

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    Sarah Fielding

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  • Like All of Us, the WGA Dislikes Another Warner Bros. Merger

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    Just when we’d all gotten used to (and tired of) Warner Bros.’ merger with Discovery, we learned the company’s open to having another owner. The news of yet another potential merger has drawn a lot of negative reactions, and now the Writers Guild of America has its own take on the matter. Spoiler: they don’t like it.

    In a joint statement from its east and west branches, the WGA said to combine Warner Bros. with any of the major studios would be “a disaster for writers, for consumers, and for competition. Merger after merger in the media industry has harmed workers, diminished competition and free speech, and wasted hundreds of billions of dollars better invested in organic growth.”

    To date, Paramount is the studio most chomping at the bit to acquire Warner Bros. It was first hinted at back in 2023, and the desire’s only grown now that the Transformers studio has gone and merged with Skydance, whose owner David Ellison is the son of one Larry Ellison, head of Oracle and one of Donald Trump’s most powerful supporters. Back in September, reports indicated Ellison was making a play for all of WB, including its cable networks and movie studio.

    Outside of Paramount, other potential candidates looking to nab Warner Bros. include streamers Amazon, Netflix and Apple. Whichever studio makes a real play to acquire it, the two WGA branches have vowed to “work with regulators to block the merger.”

    [via Variety]

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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    Justin Carter

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  • Warner Bros. Discovery is Officially Considering a Sale – LAmag

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    Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of Warner Bros. movie studio, HBO, and CNN, just announced they are open to a sale. If sold, it would mark the largest media transaction since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019.

    In a statement released Tuesday morning, Warner Bros. Discovery said it is considering a variety of deals, mentioning things like the spinoff of some assets or even the sale of the entire company in response to interest from various potential buyers.

    This announcement is likely to set off a bidding war for one of Hollywood’s most influential companies. Whether it is a complete or partial sale, it would reshape the industry. This decision and stands to increase or greatly minimize could potentially minimize the number of major companies fighting for consolidation over Hollywood.

    Prior to the announcement of being open to sales, Warner Bros said they were planning to split their streaming and studio business from their cable networks business. This is intended to separate the most promising parts of the company, such as HBO Max, from parts of the company with lower profit, like CNN.

    The decision to divide the company proves to be a great call as they consider selling. Warner Bros. Discovery executives mentioned that they expect its streaming services to be the biggest draw for potential buyers, hoping to see offers from companies like Netflix and Apple, with some analysts saying that more companies are likely to jump in as a result of Paramount’s interest.

    As of now, Paramount is a buyer to watch, as David Ellison, the chief executive, has been seeking out acquisitions left and right. Acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery would add another layer of influence, potentially making Paramount one of the most powerful companies in Hollywood.

    Beyond Paramount, Comcast has expressed interest as well as Amazon, in purchasing either the entire company or distinct parts.

    While Warner Bros. Discovery did not name any specific companies, they said in a statement, “While we aren’t going to get into the specifics of who has expressed interest, it is safe to assume it is multiple parties,” hinting that Paramount isn’t the only company with its eye on it. 

    An analyst at the Bank of America said in an interview that Warner Bros. Discovery has a value of roughly $50 billion and that “These are assets that can’t be duplicated.”

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    Amaya Arnic

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  • “Mayor of Kingstown” stars describe what to expect during the show’s upcoming season and working together for the first time

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    The stakes are high as season four of “Mayor of Kingstown” unfolds, Jeremy Renner revealed on “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday.

    “It is a pretty intense show. … all the main storyline involves all of the players, the main players, in the show. So there are not a lot of side storylines that you have to kind of follow, so it keeps everything pretty intense for everybody on the show,” Renner said.

    Renner plays Mike McLusky, whose brother is an incarcerated cop. This season, Edie Falco joins the cast to play Nina Hobbs, the new warden at Anchor Bay Prison. 

    “To come up against a brick wall like Nina Hobbs, the new warden in town, creates real real real problems for Mike throughout the entire season,” Renner said.

    After recovering from an accident on New Year’s Day in 2023, Renner — who broke 38 bones and had to undergo multiple surgeries — said the crew on “Mayor of Kingstown” has been helpful to him as he returned to set.

    “Everybody is very good about taking care of me,” he said. 

    Renner and Falco on working together

    Falco, an Emmy-award winner and former star of “The Sopranos,” said she enjoys playing strong female characters like Hobbs.

    “On more than one occasion, my agents have called me and said, ‘well the part was written for a man.’ … After I learned not to take that personally, I’ve come to really enjoy the place of power that a lot of these women stand in and do so with a great amount of confidence,” Falco said.

    It’s the first time Renner and Falco have worked together.

    “When you’re working opposite an actor, if you look in their eyes there’s part of them that’s always saying, ‘hi. Look at us. We’re on this show.’ … And there was none of that. He’s the guy,” Falco said of Renner. “And it makes the playground completely real for me.” 

    Renner said Falco is “tremendous” as his on-screen counterpart.

    “First of all, also it’s a great character. It’s a really strong female character, which is amazing. Such a great adversary really and then there’s nobody better to fill those shoes.” 

    “Mayor of Kingstown” returns Sunday, Oct. 26 on Paramount+.

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  • Warner Bros. Discovery May Have Just Sparked the Next Big Hollywood Bidding War

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    Warner Bros. Discovery is the latest media conglomerate to go up for sale.

    The company, which owns HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio, and several cable channels, announced on Tuesday that it is reviewing a variety of offers to sell the company.

    It said it would consider these bids as it moves forward with previously announced plans to separate its streaming and studio business from its struggling cable channels.

    “It’s no surprise that the significant value of our portfolio is receiving increased recognition by others in the market,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, in a press release. “After receiving interest from multiple parties, we have initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to identify the best path forward to unlock the full value of our assets.”

    All options appear to be on the table, including a sale of the entire company or separate deals for its streaming/studio division and its cable channel business.

    The move could totally reshape Hollywood and continue the trend of media consolidation into a frighteningly small number of hands. Just this year, Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, MTV, and Paramount Studios, completed its merger with Skydance Media. And it wasn’t that long ago, 2019, when Disney acquired its longtime rival, 20th Century Fox.

    It was also only in 2022 when then-WarnerMedia merged with Discovery to become Warner Bros. Discovery. That deal was pitched as a way for the two to become more competitive against conglomerates like Disney and Comcast, as well as streaming pioneer Netflix. But it seems like things haven’t gone as initially planned. This June, the company announced it was splitting itself into two, with its streaming service and studios becoming Warner Bros. and the majority of its cable channels forming Discovery Global.

    The company’s streaming service has also undergone several rebrands, most recently settling on the HBO Max name. The company also announced today that it is raising prices for the service.

    So, who’s interested?

    The Wall Street Journal reported today that Warner Bros. Discovery rejected a second offer from Paramount this week. If the two companies were ever to reach a deal, it would put a lot of power in the hands of Paramount CEO David Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

    As head of Paramount, Ellison currently controls CBS News, where he recently appointed The Free Press’s Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief. Under a deal with WBD, Ellison could also potentially gain control over the cable news network CNN.

    Comcast is reportedly interested as well, despite recently starting the process of spinning off its own cable channel business, according to The New York Times.

    For now, it doesn’t appear that Netflix is seriously considering a bid. Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters recently shut down rumors that the streaming giant is seeking to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.

    “We come from a deep heritage of being builders rather than buyers,” Peters said earlier this month at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles, Deadline reported. “One should have a reasonable amount of skepticism around big media mergers. They don’t have an amazing track record over time.”

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    Bruce Gil

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  • The Final Seasons of ‘Strange New Worlds’ Will Move Away From ‘Outlier’ Episodes

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    One of the many criticisms that emerged from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ uneven third season was that the show struggled with the effective balance it had maintained in its first two seasons between classical action-adventure episodes in the vein of Star Trek‘s past and more outlier (and largely lighter-hearted) one-off episodes that put zany premises over building on character arcs and a broader seasonal narrative.

    Those episodes are clearly not going away as we get closer and closer to Strange New Worlds‘ end—after all, we are getting an episode where the crew becomes puppets next season—but they may become a bit more sparse as the show tries to make the most of the time it has left with these characters.

    “We’re making season five now, we’re trending towards that, which is probably the center line of Star Trek, right?” Co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman told Screenrant of Strange New Worlds‘ final episodes. “We’re trending now, and beginning with season four and through season five, to a much more singular sci-fi, action-adventure, emotional storytelling. And you know, the outliers are getting less and less as we kind of focus on saying goodbye to each other and the fans.”

    It’s the latest in what’s been a bit of a promotional apology tour in the wake of season three’s release, which has already seen the crew behind the show promise fans that the show’s last batches of episodes will be stronger than the unevenness of season three. With season four being the last full installment of the series—season five will be truncated down to just six episodes—the series doesn’t have a lot of time to spend with either its version of classic original series characters and getting them on the path to their places in that show or its remaining original characters that, presumably, have to eventually move on from the Enterprise in one way or another by Strange New Worlds‘ end.

    It might be a while before we start seeing the fruits of Goldsman’s promises, but at least there’s something to be hopeful for as we wait for season four and beyond.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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    James Whitbrook

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  • David Ellison Could Make a Move on Warner Bros. Discovery

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    Following Paramount Skydance’s $8 billion merger, Ellison is said to be weighing a potential cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery as speculation grows over Hollywood’s next major deal

    There could be another shake-up for Hollywood soon.

    With Warner Bros. Motion Picture chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy signing new contracts, Deadline reports that David Zaslav runs Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) could soon become the next addition for David Ellison and Paramount Skydance.

    No formal offer has been made yet, but Ellison, whose company recently completed an $8 billion merger with Paramount, is said to be weighing a potential cash bid. Backed by his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the Skydance chief is reportedly eager to avoid the kind of drawn-out process that defined the Paramount deal.

    According to reports from Deadline, there appears to be little room for Zaslav in a merged studio. At most, he could be offered a board seat or adversity role, however, his long-term involvement seems unlikely. 

    Reports also note that Zaslav has been seeking alternative buyers like Netflix, but analysts doubt the streamer would pay between $75 billion and $100 billion for WBD, citing the company’s cable assets and complex distribution structure.

    For now, speculation centers around whether Ellison will move before WBD completes its planned split of the linear and streaming divisions. This is a change that could raise the price tag. With few competitors able to match Ellison’s resources, the prospect of a Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery union remains a high possibility.

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    Melissa Houston

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  • David Ellison Aims to Rebuild Trust in News Through The Free Press Acquisition

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    Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison speaks during the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 9, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

    For months, it was one of the worst-kept secrets in media circles: Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison was angling to buy The Free Press, the provocative digital outlet founded by a culture warrior who left The New York Times over what she viewed as its anti-conservative groupthink. Yesterday (Oct. 9), just four days after Paramount Skydance confirmed its $150 million acquisition of The Free Press, Ellison finally explained his reasoning in detail at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles.

    He described the deal—which also includes naming Free Press founder Bari Weiss the first-ever editor-in-chief of CBS News, the crown jewel of Paramount’s media holdings—as a cornerstone of his plan to rebuild trust in journalism and connect with audiences “where they are.” That means a mix of broadcast, digital and direct-to-consumer platforms aimed at the roughly 70 percent of Americans he believes fall between the ideological extremes.

    “Our goal in news is to become the most trusted destination in news media,” Ellison said. “Civil discourse that currently exists is not in a great place. We basically believe in all the things The Free Press believed in—speaking to the 70 percent of the audience that identifies themselves as center-left to center-right. We believe in the open exchange of ideas, and then fundamentally presenting both sides and allowing the audience to ultimately make their determination about how they feel about it. But they’re presented with the facts.”

    Ellison praised the heritage of CBS News and 60 Minutes but said the network lacks a cohesive digital strategy—one reason The Free Press became central to the deal. He said Weiss’s publication would continue to operate online while helping Paramount expand across formats such as broadcast, podcasts and eventually a direct-to-consumer platform that unites them all.

    Ellison also used the conference to outline a broader vision for Paramount Skydance as a company built for reinvention. He pointed to its 80 million streaming subscribers and what he called “one of the best content libraries in existence.” He drew a distinction between CBS’s broadcast business and the broader decline of linear TV, calling CBS “a remarkable asset that’s been number one in primetime for 17 straight seasons,” one that remains profitable and buoyed by sports rights.

    In addition to the Free Press deal, Paramount Skydance has also secured high-profile partnerships in recent weeks with the UFC, Activision’s Call of Duty and filmmaker James Mangold. Ellison called the acquisition of UFC rights a key piece of a “year-long sports strategy” that complements CBS’s existing portfolio of the NFL, March Madness and The Masters.

    Pressed about consolidation rumors, particularly speculation over a possible Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Ellison declined to comment. But he emphasized that any acquisition would be guided by storytelling, talent relationships and shareholder value. “Consumers don’t love going to seven different apps,” he said, arguing that any deal would need to produce “more content, not less,” and create something better for audiences.

    Ellison is the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who was briefly the world’s richest person recently, thanks to Oracle’s surging stock. When asked about family dynamics, the Paramount Skydance CEO described their relationship as “phenomenal,” calling Larry Ellison a mentor with an unmatched record of value creation. “He’s the largest shareholder [in Paramount Skydance], but I run the company day-to-day,” Ellison said.

    Ellison closed his onstage talk by reflecting on the passion that started it all. “I fell in love with movies as a kid. My mom and I would go to the movies every single weekend. We went 52 weeks a year and just saw anything that was playing,” he said. “I have always loved and believed in this business. I love storytelling. I believe in the value of entertainment and media and what these stories mean, and it’s a privilege to get to tell them in our culture.”

    David Ellison Aims to Rebuild Trust in News Through The Free Press Acquisition

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    Andy Meek

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  • California bill targeting loud streaming ads signed into law by Gov. Newsom

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    Believe it or not, an 8-month-old’s sleep schedule is what led to a face-off between California lawmakers and the entertainment industry over loud commercials on streaming services.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 576 into law this week. The bill, introduced by state Senator Tom Umberg, prohibits Netflix, Prime Video, and other streamers from blasting commercial volume way above the level of whatever show or movie you’re watching in California.

    This mission began when Zach and Rachel Keller were doing what new parents do: settling in to watch TV after finally getting their daughter, Samantha, down for the night.

    That is when a blaring commercial abruptly ended their moment of peace, waking Samantha again.

    “A lot of times, we have the volume so low that we just have subtitles running and still, the commercial ad volumes are so ear-piercing that it wakes her up,” Rachel Keller said.

    Federal law already prohibits regular TV broadcasters from running commercials that are way louder than the program you’re watching. However, streaming services weren’t around when lawmakers passed the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act back in 2010. So it doesn’t apply to them.

    Zach Keller works for Senator Umberg and approached him about closing that loophole.

    “I thought, ‘I’ve got three kids, eight grandchildren. That’s a good idea,’ Umberg told CBS News California in August before Newsom signed the bill. “I think it’s one of the most popular bills in the legislature, but it’s not popular with everyone.”

    The bill was unanimously passed by the state Senate and sailed through its Assembly committee, but it stalled before its final vote as the powerful Motion Picture Association fought hard to kill the bill, arguing it could hurt small independent streaming services.

    Unlike the broadcasting cable networks, streaming ads come from several different sources and cannot necessarily or practically be controlled by streaming platforms.

    “‘Are you kidding?’ That’s my response [to that]. They know which hand I use to basically control the remote. They can basically figure out how to make them within a normal range,” Umberg said in August.

    None of the streaming services responded to our emails, and the Motion Picture Association declined an interview.

    As for Samantha and her very tired parents, they hope this ultimately helps babies across the country sleep a little more soundly.

    “We heard Californians loud and clear, and what’s clear is that they don’t want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program,” Newsom’s office said in a statement after the bill was signed into law.

    The Kellers weren’t the only ones who had been frustrated. Forum and forum, and review after review, people across the country have complained about loud streaming commercials and ads.

    SB 576 demonstrates the power of the California lawmakers to do something the federal government can’t.

    In a state this big, companies generally don’t create one policy or product for California and another for everyone else. So as goes California, goes the nation.  

    Now signed by Newsom, the commercial volume restrictions for streaming services will go into effect on July 1, 2026.

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  •  Re-Upped Warner Bros. Motion Picture Chairs Michael De Luca & Pam Abdy Acknowledge Box Office Hot Streak – “We’re Doing Our Part”

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    Warner Bros Motion Picture chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy touted movies in theaters with De Luca saying he’d have a problem working for a movie studio that didn’t put its fare on the big screen — saying he’s thought about that a lot, and if that ever happened he’d probably focus on series.

    But both will be at WB for he foreseeable future. At a Bloomberg Screentime conference in LA today the duo acknowledged their contract renewal announced Wednesday. They also weaved away from any criticism of their past rocky relationship with WBD CEO David Zaslav, who had been openly talking to other execs about running the film division back when the studio was having a rough patch.

    With the relentless success over the past months starting with Minecraft (a sequel is coming),  Ryan Coogler’s (“all heart”) Sinners, a Superman revival and the praise on One Battle, the duo are now sitting in the C-Suite drivers’ seat, and are a major asset for WB unto themselves

    “We’re doing our part,”  De Luca acknowledged on the growth in actual big screen output, with WBD now at pre-pandemic box office levels.

    “There is no one size fits all. Abdy added, meaning both budgets, but clearly emphasizing their overall approach to their diverse slate.

    Centering  on One Battle After Another‘s long-term box office success, De Luca spotlighted the acclaimed Leonardo DiCaprio authoritarian ” masterpiece” from Paul Thomas Anderson as being a “marathon not a sprint.”

    The two took the stage just after David Ellison, the new CEO of Paramount Skydance who is eyeing an acquisition of Warner Bros.

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    Dominic Patten

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  • What Will Bari Weiss Do to CBS News?

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    In 2018, Bari Weiss, then an opinion columnist at the Times, wrote about the so-called Intellectual Dark Web, a loose “alliance of heretics” who were “making an end run around the mainstream conversation.” Adherents were photographed for the article in literally dark settings: glowering out from under an umbrella, perched amid mossy branches, standing half-obscured by bushes. Though they came from different ideological backgrounds, Weiss wrote, these figures—including Eric Weinstein, the managing director of Peter Thiel’s venture-capital fund, who had “half-jokingly” coined the movement’s name; Joe Rogan, an “MMA color commentator and comedian” with a hugely popular podcast; and Jordan Peterson, the already best-selling philosopher—felt they had been ostracized by legacy media outlets in the Trump era for voicing reasonable opinions. These positions ran the gamut: arguing that free speech was under attack, believing in biological gender differences, thinking that forcing Muslim women to “live their lives inside bags is wrong.” Many in the group were building channels of their own. Weiss was sympathetic, but did not quite commit to fellowship. “Having been attacked by the left,” she wrote, “I know I run the risk of focusing inordinately on its excesses—and providing succor to some people whom I deeply oppose.”

    Weiss wrote this article at something like the midpoint of her Times journey. When Donald Trump won the Presidency in 2016, she was at the Wall Street Journal; the morning after the election, she sobbed at her desk, and realized that she felt too liberal for the paper and needed to leave. In 2017, she joined the Times, where this was definitely not a problem—but, after three years of being consistently derided (not least over the I.D.W. piece), she quit, and, on the way out, publicly accused her colleagues of cowering before the orthodoxies of Twitter and “bullying” her for committing “Wrongthink.” She has said that she voted for Joe Biden in 2020. But, by the beginning of this year, she was sounding more conciliatory about Trump, dismissing her prior anguish as “Trump derangement syndrome.” “There were two things, I think, that I didn’t know in that moment when I was crying at my desk,” she explained: “the kind of illiberalism that was born out of the reaction” to Trump, and the fact that he would enact “a lot of policies that I agreed with.”

    Along the way, Weiss founded the Free Press, a news site hosted on Substack—where it is the best-selling politics offering, with roughly a million and a half subscribers, some eleven per cent of whom pay—that sits somewhere between the center and the right, without “center-right” feeling like a consistently accurate label. This was Weiss’s own end run around mainstream institutions, and the site has come to be seen, at least by its fans, as an expression of her “pro-Israel and anti-woke worldview—not to mention her broadly shit-kicking anti-establishment disposition,” as Puck’s Dylan Byers recently put it. Weiss’s many critics would dispute that she was ever “anti-establishment.” Either way, she is indisputably back in the mainstream: the occasion for Byers’s piece was to report that David Ellison, the son of the billionaire Larry Ellison, and the freshly minted chairman of Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News, was planning to put Weiss in charge of that outlet’s “editorial direction”; this morning, she was formally unveiled as its editor-in-chief. (Notably, she will report directly to Ellison.) The Free Press is coming along, too, with Ellison’s company having acquired it at a reported valuation of a hundred and fifty million dollars. According to a press release, Weiss will continue to lead the Free Press, but the site will “maintain its own independent brand and operations.”

    Weiss arrives at a moment that feels almost existential for CBS News, whose owners have been widely and credibly accused, in recent months, of kowtowing to Trump. This summer, Paramount settled a risible lawsuit that Trump filed over edits to a “60 Minutes” segment about Kamala Harris that had displeased him. Shortly thereafter, the Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount’s merger with Ellison’s Skydance. More or less everyone saw these developments as connected; Stephen Colbert said—on CBS—that the settlement was a “big fat bribe,” right before his show was cancelled. (Executives denied any quid pro quo, and cited financial motivations for cutting Colbert.) Brendan Carr, the F.C.C. chair, did publicly welcome Skydance’s “commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network,” including measures to “root out” what he described as bias. Paramount Skydance also promised to appoint an ombudsman to oversee CBS News, and soon did, tapping Kenneth Weinstein, a right-wing think-tank type and recent G.O.P. donor. Last month, the network said it would no longer edit interviews on its Sunday show “Face the Nation,” after the Administration complained about cuts to a pre-recorded sitdown with Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security.

    In a recent profile of Weiss in the Guardian, the progressive journalist David Klion predicted that she would act as an “ideological commissar” at CBS, helping to further “enforce compliance” with the White House line. Others share the fear that a Trumpified Weiss is storming the citadel of objective journalism. Some version of this dynamic may well play out—as I see it, neither Ellison nor Weiss has accumulated enough benefit of the doubt for us to trust any promises to the contrary. But a MAGA-fied CBS isn’t a guarantee. The story is a bit murkier than Manichaean talk of stormers and citadels.

    One could say that the Free Press focusses on the excesses of the left to an extent that provides succor to people Weiss opposes, or, at least, used to oppose. The right-wing activist Christopher Rufo, who is often helpfully explicit about his aims, has described the site as a “beautiful off-ramp” for center-left élites whom he is trying to “radicalize” into “a kind of defector class.” But the Free Press is not Breitbart, and Weiss is not Steve Bannon. Last year, the Free Press polled its own staff and found its support was split, somewhat evenly, between Trump, Kamala Harris, and neither; since Trump returned to power, the site has rebuked his Administration for nakedly threatening Jimmy Kimmel, to name one example. Last week, Byers wrote that Weiss is “more consistently centrist than her critics care to acknowledge,” and that “it’s quite likely that her first brush with controversy will come when her free speech absolutism” puts CBS in conflict with Trump. Given the crêpe-paper quality of Trump’s skin, you don’t have to think that Weiss is a centrist or a free-speech absolutist (and I certainly don’t believe she is either) to see this as a plausible collision.

    Trump’s return to power is, at minimum, essential context for Ellison’s takeover of CBS News and hiring of Weiss, in ways that are specific—Trump’s recent pressure campaign against the network and the role of his regulators in approving the Skydance deal; his apparent closeness to the Ellison family—and in the more general sense that he has exerted a rightward gravitational pull on the concept of what it means for media to be “mainstream.” (The denizens of the Intellectual Dark Web, it’s safe to say, would not be depicted hiding in a forest today.) Ellison will, perhaps, need to stay in the Administration’s good graces as he seeks approval for other deals, including a possible bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN. Even if Ellison seems to care more about Warner Bros.’ entertainment properties—and Paramount’s, for that matter—than he does about news, it’s plausible that he sees hiring Weiss as throwing a bone to Trump while maintaining deniability in politer company. (Again, she’s not Bannon.) Publicly, Ellison has pledged to prioritize “truth” and “trust” at CBS, and said that he won’t politicize the network. At least some staffers say they already view this promise as worthless.

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    Jon Allsop

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  • Mckenna Grace on going from

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    Actor Mckenna Grace, known for her work in “Young Sheldon” and other films, joins “CBS Mornings” to talk about her latest role in the new Paramount Pictures film “Regretting You.”

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  • Man pleads guilty to throwing Molotov cocktail at deputies during L.A. protest

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    A man admitted Wednesday that he lit a Molotov cocktail and threw it toward Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies during protests against immigration crackdowns over the summer.

    Emiliano Garduno Galvez, 23, who authorities said is a citizen of Mexico in the country illegally, pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing an unregistered destructive device and civil disorder tied to his actions the evening of June 7 in Paramount.

    Galvez is set to be sentenced Jan. 30, and he faces up to 15 years in prison.

    On the morning of June 7, Border Patrol agents were spotted gathering in Paramount, across the street from the Home Depot. Word quickly spread on social media. Passersby honked their horns. Soon, protesters arrived.

    Already tensions were high, with federal officials raiding a retail and distribution warehouse in downtown L.A. the day before, arresting dozens of workers and a top union official.

    According to the plea agreement, several people gathered near Hunsaker Avenue and Alondra Boulevard in Paramount and began amassing around personnel of federal agencies and later local law enforcement. People threw rocks or chunks of cinder blocks, lit objects on fire and set off fireworks in the direction of law enforcement, Galvez’s agreement states.

    Authorities said the protest interfered with “the coordination of federal agencies’ personnel and preparation for immigration enforcement activities,” and also “obstructed, delayed, and adversely affected commerce.”

    Specifically, according to the plea agreement, the Home Depot at the location had to close temporarily “and had products stolen during the civil disorder, including cinder blocks that were thrown at law enforcement.”

    Galvez admitted he was in Paramount that evening and that he saw the sheriff’s deputies engaged in crowd control. As the deputies tried to disperse and move the crowd back, Galvez admitted in the plea agreement to going behind a stone wall, lighting the wick inside the Molotov cocktail and then throwing it over the wall toward where he had seen the deputies.

    The Molotov cocktail landed in a grassy area near the foot of a protester and around 15 feet from the deputies, according to the plea agreement. Galvez admitted that he then ran from the area.

    Galvez threw the Molotov cocktail “intending to obstruct, interfere with, and impede the LASD deputies who were lawfully engaged in performance of official duties,” according to the agreement.

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    Brittny Mejia

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