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  • How to maximize your streaming in October 2023, and why Netflix is all you really need

    How to maximize your streaming in October 2023, and why Netflix is all you really need

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    It’s time to churn, baby, churn.

    The streaming scene has changed significantly over the past year or so, and for the worse: more expensive, less new programming, smaller libraries of older shows. And it’s coming at a time when consumers are being increasingly pressed by higher costs on all fronts. Prices for Disney’s ad-free tiers are rising sharply in October, and Amazon will jack up prices early next year for those who don’t want to see commercials. So it’s time for consumers to once again reassess which services are really worth paying for.

    There are three options if you don’t want your monthly streaming bill to look like your old triple-digit cable bill: bundle (you can save significantly with a Hulu-Disney+ package, for example), move to cheaper plans with commercials (ugh) or just drop the services you watch least. Pick a maximum monthly price ceiling and stick to it — at this point, most people don’t need more than two or three services anyway.

    If you’re frustrated by paying more for less, and want to make a point, cancelling a service is the one way that companies will take notice. Streaming services hate churn (adding and dropping services month-to-month) because it lowers their subscriber base and forces them to raise their marketing costs to win you back. As a consumer, it’s really your only weapon.

    Don’t like how Max keeps removing older shows? Dump it. Finding yourself watching less and less Disney+? Ditch it. It’s satisfying, it’s economical and you can always sign up again in the future.

    One benefit of streaming services is they’re a lot easier to cancel than cable. With prices soaring, now’s the time to be brutal in winnowing your subscriptions. A churn strategy takes some planning, but it pays off. Keep in mind that a billing cycle starts when you sign up, not necessarily at the beginning of the month.

    Each month, this column offers tips on how to maximize your streaming and your budget, rating the major services as a “play,” “pause” or “stop” — similar to investment analysts’ traditional ratings of buy, hold or sell, and picks the best shows to help you make your monthly decisions.

    Here’s a look at what’s coming to the various streaming services in October 2023, and what’s really worth the monthly subscription fee:

    Netflix ($6.99 a month for basic with ads, $15.49 standard with no ads, $19.99 premium with no ads)

    After a ho-hum past few months, Netflix
    NFLX,
    +0.33%
    is rolling out a more robust lineup in October. Which is nice, because no other streaming service is.

    After a two-year layoff, the French heist thriller series “Lupin” (Oct. 5) returns for its third season. Omar Sy stars as a master thief who’s now on the lam, and he carries the show largely on his charisma. It’s a fun one, and a welcome return for viewers.

    But the big-name show of the month is “The Fall of the House of Usher” (Oct. 12), from horror hit-maker Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House,” “Midnight Mass”). The miniseries, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story, combines Gothic horror with a modern twist, as the corrupt CEO of a family-owned and scandal-plagued pharmaceutical company is forced to face demons from his past as his family members keep dying, one by one, in increasingly gruesome ways. The sprawling cast includes Bruce Greenwood, Annabeth Gish, Carl Lumbly, Carla Gugino, Rahul Kohli, Mark Hamill, Henry Thomas and Mary McDonnell. This should be one to watch, if for nothing else than to finally see a Sackler-like family get their comeuppance.

    Also on the way: the seventh seasons of the raunchy animated adolescent comedy “Big Mouth” (Oct. 20) and the Spanish high school soap “Elite” (Oct. 20); “Pain Hustlers” (Oct. 27), a meh-looking satirical crime drama starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans as scheming pharmaceutical reps; and the nature documentary “Life on Our Planet” (Oct. 25), narrated by Morgan Freeman.

    More: What’s new on Netflix in October 2023 — and what’s leaving

    And you may have missed it, but Netflix snuck in a new season of “The Great British Baking Show” at the end of September. New episodes stream every Tuesday, and feature new co-host Alison Hammond, replacing Matt Lucas, who always seemed out of place.

    Who’s Netflix for? Fans of buzz-worthy original shows and movies.

    Play, pause or stop? Play. Between some good-looking new shows, fresh eps of the “Great British Baking Show” and recent additions such as “Sex Education” (though its final season is underwhelming) and HBO’s classic “Band of Brothers,” Netflix is once again a must-have.

    Max ($9.99 a month with ads, or $15.99 with no ads)

    After a dismal September, Max has a better October lineup, with Season 2 of the beloved pirate comedy “Our Flag Means Death” (Oct. 5), starring Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi as wildly different ship captains involved in a star-crossed romance; Season 2 of “The Gilded Age” (Oct. 29), Julian Fellowes’ “Downton Abbey”-esque costume drama set in 1880s New York high society, with a sprawling cast that includes Carrie Coon, Cynthia Nixon, Christine Baranski, Morgan Spector and Louisa Jacobson; and the fourth and final season of the DC superhero dramedy “Doom Patrol” (Oct. 12).

    Notably, Warner Bros. Discovery’s
    WBD,
    +1.59%
    Max is launching its live-sports tier — the unfortunately named Bleacher Report Sports — on Oct. 5, just in time for the MLB playoffs and upcoming NBA season. The add-on tier will be free for all subscribers through February, when its price will shoot up to $9.99 a month.

    Also: What’s new on Max in October 2023 — and what’s leaving

    This is also your last chance to watch a bunch of AMC shows that are getting a two-month promotional run on Max: “Fear the Walking Dead” Seasons 1-7, “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” Season 1, “Dark Winds” Season 1, “Gangs of London” Seasons 1-2, “Ride with Norman Reedus” Seasons 1-5, “A Discovery of Witches” Seasons 1-3, and “Killing Eve” Seasons 1-4 will all leave Oct. 31. Do yourself a favor and at least watch “Dark Winds.”

    One more hidden gem to discover: Season 3 of the British rom-com “Starstruck,” which landed Sept. 28. It’s utterly charming and unwaveringly romantic, with literal LOL moments and some of the most swoon-worthy banter in recent years. Catch up with all three seasons, it’s an easy binge that’s well worth it.

    Who’s Max for? HBO fans and movie lovers. And now, unscripted TV fans too, with a slew of Discovery shows.

    Play, pause or stop? Pause and think it over. It’s an exceptionally weak month for streamers, but Max’s lineup — especially with the addition of live sports and its deep library — makes it one of the least weakest.

    Amazon’s Prime Video ($14.99 a month, or $8.99 without Prime membership)

    Prime Video has a fine lineup in October. Not great. Not terrible. But very OK.

    “Totally Killer” (Oct. 6) looks to be a cleverer-than-most spin on a horror trope, as Kiernan Shipka (“Mad Men”) stars as a 17-year-old who travels back in time to 1987 to stop a serial killer before he can start a slaying spree that terrorized her mother (Julie Bowen).

    Greg Daniels’ existential comedy “Upload” (Oct. 20) is back for its third season of rom-com exploits in a digital afterlife, thanks to uploaded consciousness. (Disclaimer: I liked Season 1, but can’t for the life of me remember if I ever watched Season 2, which doesn’t bode well, but perfectly fits this month’s “meh it’s OK” theme.)

    Meanwhile, Amazon’s
    AMZN,
    +0.90%
    free, ad-supported channel, Freevee, has the second season of “Bosch: Legacy” (Oct. 20), the “Bosch” spinoff starring Titus Welliver as a private investigator in L.A., while his daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz) charts her own path as a police officer. As gritty detective shows go, it’s solid.

    Prime Video also has a decent lineup of NFL Thursday Night Football; “The Burial” (Oct. 13), a funeral-home drama movie starring Oscar-winners Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones; all 11 seasons of the classic sitcom “Frasier” (Oct. 1), just in time for the reboot on Paramount+; as well as new eps every week of “The Boys” spinoff “Gen V” and the season finale of “The Wheel of Time” (Oct 6).

    See more: Everything coming to Amazon’s Prime Video and Freevee in October 2023

    It’s also a good time to dig into Prime Video’s extensive library, before commercials come early next year. In an obnoxious move, rather than add an ad-supported tier at a lower price, Amazon will subject all subscribers to commercials — unless they pay an extra $3-a-month ransom. Commercials will be especially annoying on Prime’s more cinematic series, so watch great-looking shows like “I’m a Virgo,” “Dead Ringers” and “The English” interruption-free, while you still can.

    Who’s Prime Video for? Movie lovers, TV-series fans who value quality over quantity.

    Play, pause or stop? Pause. There’s no a compelling reason to start a subscription now, but if you already have one, there’s probably enough to watch.

    Disney+ ($7.99 a month with ads, $13.99 with no ads, starting Oct. 12)

    After a hiatus of more than two years, Marvel’s “Loki” (Oct. 5) is finally back for its second season. The new season finds the eponymous god of mischief (played by Tom Hiddleston) bouncing across the multiverse in a battle for free will while trying to elude agents of the mysterious Time Variant Authority. Season 1 of “Loki” was one of Marvel’s better TV adaptations, and hopes are high that Season 2 can recapture that sense of chaotic fun. Owen Wilson returns as TVA agent Mobius, and Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) joins the cast, which also features Jonathan Majors as big bad Kang the Conqueror, which is… problematic. Disney is reportedly still planning for Majors to play a key role in “Loki” and the next phase of “Avengers” movies despite his arrest on assault charges earlier this year, which prompted troubling allegations of past physical and emotional abuse toward women. (“Loki” had already finished filming prior to his arrest.)

    Disney also has “Goosebumps” (Oct. 13), about a group of high school friends fighting supernatural forces as they uncover long-buried secrets about their small town in this series adaptation of R.L. Stine’s hugely popular series of spooky novels. (It’ll also stream on Hulu.)

    The “Star Wars” spinoff “Ahsoka” has its season finale Oct. 3, while ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” will stream every Tuesday.

    Who’s Disney+ for? Families with kids, hardcore “Star Wars” and Marvel fans. For people not in those groups, Disney’s
    DIS,
    +1.15%
     library can be lacking.

    Play, pause or stop? Pause. The price of ad-free Disney+ jumps by $3 a month starting Oct. 12 — how much do you or your family really want to watch “Loki” and “Goosebumps”? It’ll be worth it for some, but an opportune time to cancel for others.

    Hulu ($7.99 a month with ads, or $17.99 with no ads, starting Oct. 12)

    Hulu has been on a fantastic run since the start of summer, but all good things must end. And it happens to coincide with a $3-a-month hike to its ad-free subscription.

    October’s lineup is weak, and heavily weighed toward Halloween-themed fare, such as Season 2 of FX’s spinoff anthology “American Horror Stories” (Oct. 26); the Stephen King thrillers “Rose Red” (Oct. 1) and “The Boogeyman” (Oct. 5); the Starz horror series “Ash vs. Evil Dead” (Oct. 1); the body-horror movie “Appendage” (Oct. 2); and “Goosebumps” (Oct. 13), a live-action adaptation of R.L. Stine’s bestselling kids’ book series (which will also stream on Disney+).

    Non-horror shows include new seasons of Fox’s “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “Bob’s Burgers” (all Oct. 2), and Season 2 of the comedy “Shorsey” (Oct. 27), the “Letterkenny” spinoff series about minor-league hockey that has a surprising amount of heart to go with its absolutely filthy dialogue.

    For more: What’s coming to Hulu in October 2023 — and what’s leaving

    As an added bonus, all five seasons of ABC’s 1980s detective-agency rom-com “Moonlighting” (Oct. 10), starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd, will stream for the first time ever (legally at least). If I remember correctly, there were some really high highs but also some really low lows — but it’ll be worth checking out, for nostalgia if nothing else.

    There are also new eps every week of “The Golden Bachelor” and “Bachelor in Paradise,” the season finale of “Only Murders in the Building” (Oct. 3) and the series finale of “Archer” (Oct. 11). And if you missed it, all three seasons of “Reservation Dogs” are there and just begging to be watched, or rewatched. (It’s about as perfect as a TV series could ever be, and the recently concluded Season 3 is the best thing I’ve seen this year.)

    Who’s Hulu for? TV lovers. There’s a deep library for those who want older TV series and next-day streaming of many current network and cable shows.

    Play, pause or stop? Stop. If you’re on the ad tier, this month might be tolerable, but it’s certainly not worth $17.99.

    Paramount+ ($5.99 a month with ads, $11.99 a month with Showtime and no ads)

    Twenty years after ending its 11-season run (with 37 Emmy wins), the classic sitcom “Frasier” (Oct. 12) is back. Sort of. Kelsey Grammar returns in this revival as the pompous Dr. Frasier Crane, who’s moved back to Boston to be closer to his adult son (played by Jack Cutmore-Scott), who doesn’t necessarily want him there. The cast is mostly new, though Bebe Neuwirth (as Frasier’s ex-wife Lilith) and Peri Gilpin (his radio producer Roz) will reportedly guest star. David Hyde Pierce (Niles) and Jane Leeves (Daphne) will not return, however, which is a bummer since that’s where much of the original show’s laughs came from (John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s father Marty Crane, died in 2018). The jury’s out on this one — while in theory, it could be a refreshing update to a nostalgic favorite, the trailer is not encouraging.

    Paramount+ also has “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines” (Oct. 6), a creepy prequel to the 2019 horror reboot; “Fellow Travelers” (Oct. 27), a decades-spanning queer love story starring Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey; and Showtime’s courtroom drama “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” (Oct. 6), the late director William Friedkin’s last film, starring Keifer Sutherland, the late Lance Reddick and Jake Lacy.

    That’s on top of a live-sports lineup that includes SEC and Big Ten college football on Saturdays, NFL football every Sunday and UEFA Champions League soccer matches.

    Who’s Paramount+ for? Gen X cord-cutters who miss live sports and familiar Paramount Global
    PARA,
    +0.62%
     broadcast and cable shows.

    Play, pause or stop? Stop. There’s a good football lineup, at least.

    Apple TV+ ($6.99 a month)

    It’s another slow month for Apple
    AAPL,
    +0.30%    ,
    highlighted by the miniseries “Lessons in Chemistry” (Oct. 13), based on Bonnie Garmus’ bestselling novel. Brie Larson stars as a woman in the 1950s whose dreams of becoming a scientist are scuttled by male chauvinism, and instead becomes the host of a TV cooking show, where she inspires housewives and fights the patriarchy. Apple is getting a reputation for getting big-name stars for prestige-type series, only for the shows to fizzle out and quickly be forgotten (like “Mosquito Coast,” “Hello Tomorrow” and “Dear Edward,” for starters). I have yet to see any marketing for this series, and it would not be a surprise for someone to ask six months from now: “Wait, Brie Larson was in an Apple show?”

    There’s also a new documentary from Errol Morris, “The Pigeon Tunnel” (Oct. 20), about the life of spy-turned-writer David Cornwell, aka John le Carré; and “The Enfield Poltergeist” (Oct. 27), a four-part docuseries about the supposed real-life haunting that inspired “The Conjuring 2.”

    Apple’s biggest title will be on Oct. 20 in movie theaters, with the wide release of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the spectacular-looking historical drama about a series of mysterious killings of Osage tribal members in Oklahoma in the 1920s, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro. There’s no streaming release date yet, but expect it to land on Apple TV+ after its theatrical run, possibly in November but more likely in December.

    There are also new episodes every week of “The Morning Show,” “The Changeling” (season finale Oct. 13) and “Invasion” (season finale Oct. 25).

    Who’s Apple TV+ for? It offers a little something for everyone, but not necessarily enough for anyone — although it’s getting there.

    Play, pause or stop? Stop. Apple’s had a great year, but there’s just not a lot on right now. But there’s good stuff coming in November (Season 4 of “For All Mankind”) and December (Season 3 of “Slow Horses”).

    Remember, you can get three free months of Apple TV+ if you buy a new iPhone, iPad or Mac. Strategically, if you buy an iPhone 15, and wait a bit to redeem the free trial, you’ll want it to extend into January.

    Peacock (Premium for $5.99 a month with ads, or $11.99 a month with no ads)

    It’s all about horror and sports for Peacock this October.

    On the scary side, there’s Season 2 of the werewolf rom-com “Wolf Like Me” (Oct. 19), starring Josh Gad and Isla Fisher; “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (Oct. 27), a horror movie based on the videogame about a troubled security guard who starts working the night shift at a cursed pizza parlor, starring Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard; and the true-crime anthology “John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams” (Oct. 13).

    On the sports side, Peacock has the Rugby World Cup (through Oct. 28), NFL Sunday Night Football, Big Ten and Notre Dame college football, English Premier League soccer, and a full slate of golf, motorsports and horse racing.

    Meanwhile, the “John Wick” prequel miniseries “The Continental” ends Oct. 6.

    Who’s Peacock for? Live sports and next-day shows from Comcast’s
    CMCSA,
    -1.16%
     NBCUniversal are the main draw, but there’s a good library of shows and movies.

    Play, pause or stop? Stop. The live-sports offerings are the only lure.

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  • What to stream this week: Drake, ‘Fair Play,’ Assassin’s Creed Mirage and William Friedkin last film

    What to stream this week: Drake, ‘Fair Play,’ Assassin’s Creed Mirage and William Friedkin last film

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    Drake’s latest album called “For all the Dogs,” the corporate movie thriller “Fair Play” starring Phoebe Dynevor, and a game show on CBS that’s being described as Mexico’s version of Bingo are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are the late director William Friedkin’s final movie, “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial,” and season two of “Quantum Leap” premieres on NBC.

    — The corporate thriller “Fair Play” stars Phoebe Dynevor (“Bridgerton”) and Alden Ehrenreich (“Solo”) as two analysts at the same hedge fund in a secret relationship. The workplace environment — sexist, cutthroat — is not exactly a healthy one for romance. In Chloe Domont’s film, that turns out especially true after Emily (Dynevor) gets a promotion Luke (Ehrenreich) expected for himself. “Fair Play,” which begins streaming Friday on Netflix, was a hit out of the Sundance Film Festival for its streamy scenes and thorny gender dynamics.

    — William Friedkin died in August but the legendary filmmaker of “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist” left one movie behind. “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in early September, is Friedkin’s final film. The movie, which streams Friday on Showtime and Paramount+, adapts Herman Wouk’s oft-revived 1950s play, a courtroom drama about mismanagement and mutiny aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer. Friedkin, whose long filmography is dotted with stage adaptations (including Tracy Letts’ “Bug” and “Killer Joe”), transplants the story from World War II to post-9/11 America. It stars Keifer Sutherland, Jason Clarke and the late Lance Reddick.

    — With the calendar turning to October, a long line of horror films is dutifully making its way to screens. “The Haunted Mansion” slides in on the spookier (rather than the scary) end of the spectrum. The film, based on the Walt Disney theme park attraction, is directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People”) and stars LaKeith Stanfield as an inspector called on to investigate a haunted house. Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Tiffany Haddish and Jamie Lee Curtis make up the ensemble cast. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr credited their performances but said the film strains for coherence: “By no means a terrible movie, or even an unpleasant watch, but it’s just missing the magic that makes the trip to the theaters (or Disney World) worth it.”

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    — Drake is no stranger to an inventive roll-out: the OVO rapper has a preference for surprise drops (last year’s “Honesty, Nevermind” is evidence enough). But this year, he gave fans a bit of a heads up for his highly-anticipated “For all the Dogs” album. At select dates, on stage at his massively popular “It’s All A Blur” Tour, Drake teased collaborations with Nicki Minaj and Bad Bunny. The latter marks the duo’s first collaboration since 2018’s “MÍA,” where Drake’s Spanish-language singing was heard ’round the world.

    — By the time ’90s country had reached its apex, Reba McEntire was already a giant of her genre for her countless, consistent chart-toppers — including a famous cover of Bobby Gentry’s feminist anthem “Fancy.” Now, she’s preparing to release a collection of acoustic covers of her greatest hits, cleverly titled “Not So Fancy.” The songs transform in this format, notably due to the richness of McEntire’s voice. A standout: Dolly Parton taking the place of Linda Davis on “Do He Love You.”

    — The funny thing about being in a boy band is becoming a man, individuating outside of the group you spent your entire adolescence and young adulthood in, and figuring out what comes next. For Louis Tomlinson, the cheeky, edgy member of the British (and 1/5 Irish) boy band One Direction, the journey hasn’t been an easy one. In his documentary, “All of Those Voices,” available to stream on Paramount+ on Wednesday, Tomlinson navigates extraordinary circumstances with a charismatic ordinariness. Grief, parenthood, identity, and artmaking are explored with such meticulous and realistic care, you’d almost forget this 31-year-old performer was once in the biggest group on the planet.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    — “Jane the Virgin” scene-stealer, Jaime Camil, hosts a new game show on CBS called “Lotería Loca.” It’s described as Mexico’s version of Bingo. The show is high-energy, easy to learn and has Sheila E. serving as the house band leader. There’s an opportunity in each episode to win $1 million. “Lotería Loca” debuts Monday on CBS and will also stream on Paramount+.

    — Season two of “Quantum Leap” premieres Wednesday on NBC. It takes place 30 years after the original Scott Bakula version and stars Raymond Lee as Ben, a physicist studying a time travel project called Quantum Leap. When Ben travels back in time, he’s unable to return, but leaps around in the past, inhabiting different bodies. The series also shows Raymond’s colleagues working to bring him back to the present. Episodes also stream on Peacock the next day.

    — Paramount+ taps into the appeal of Korean-produced TV shows with “Bargain.” Adapted from an award-winning short film, the series begins at a faraway motel where men go to meet prostitutes. It’s then revealed the men have been tricked to seek out the motel as a trap for a live black-market sale of human organs, and they’re the ones up for auction. Sounds intense, right? It gets worse. An earthquake hits, kicking off a fight for survival among a group of people who do not trust one another. All six-episodes drop Thursday. Jun Jong-seo of “Money Heist: Korea” is one of the stars.

    — Omar Sy resumes his role as France’s favorite charming professional thief in a seven-episode, third installment of Netflix’s “Lupin.” Sy plays Assane, a man with a gift for disguise and deception, who targets those he believes deserve it. Assane has modeled himself after the protagonist in a book of stories called “Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar.” The series began with Assane scheming to avenge the wrongful conviction and death of his late father. In season three, debuting Thursday, Assane’s mother needs his help.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    — Basim Ibn Ishaq, the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, needs to use stealth and cunning to survive the mean streets of 9th century Baghdad. That’s quite the change from the blustering, kill-’em-all Viking who led the last installment of Ubisoft’s venerable franchise. For players who enjoy getting the job done without drawing too much attention — you know, like an assassin — Mirage could be a return to form for a series that may have become too ambitious. Ubisoft describes the new chapter as a “heartfelt homage” to the 2007 original that’s more tightly focused on one bustling city rather than sprawling all over the globe. The knives come out Thursday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One and PC.

    — Let’s leap forward in time to the 1930s, the golden age of pulp, when all sorts of dastardly villains are plotting world domination. The last stand against tyranny is The Lamplighters League, a bunch of “misfits and scoundrels” with the particular sets of skills needed to stop the evildoers. This spunky adventure comes from Harebrained Schemes, the studio behind the cult favorite Shadowrun series. Like those games, it features turn-by-turn, team-based battles, but there are also real-time infiltration sequences that let you get the jump on the bad guys before they even see you. If you like your stealth and strategy mixed with a wry sense of humor, you can join the League on Tuesday, Oct. 3, on Xbox X/S/One and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.

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  • What to stream this week: Drake, ‘Fair Play,’ Assassin’s Creed Mirage and William Friedkin last film

    What to stream this week: Drake, ‘Fair Play,’ Assassin’s Creed Mirage and William Friedkin last film

    [ad_1]

    Drake’s latest album called “For all the Dogs,” the corporate movie thriller “Fair Play” starring Phoebe Dynevor, and a game show on CBS that’s being described as Mexico’s version of Bingo are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are the late director William Friedkin’s final movie, “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial,” and season two of “Quantum Leap” premieres on NBC.

    — The corporate thriller “Fair Play” stars Phoebe Dynevor (“Bridgerton”) and Alden Ehrenreich (“Solo”) as two analysts at the same hedge fund in a secret relationship. The workplace environment — sexist, cutthroat — is not exactly a healthy one for romance. In Chloe Domont’s film, that turns out especially true after Emily (Dynevor) gets a promotion Luke (Ehrenreich) expected for himself. “Fair Play,” which begins streaming Friday on Netflix, was a hit out of the Sundance Film Festival for its streamy scenes and thorny gender dynamics.

    — William Friedkin died in August but the legendary filmmaker of “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist” left one movie behind. “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in early September, is Friedkin’s final film. The movie, which streams Friday on Showtime and Paramount+, adapts Herman Wouk’s oft-revived 1950s play, a courtroom drama about mismanagement and mutiny aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer. Friedkin, whose long filmography is dotted with stage adaptations (including Tracy Letts’ “Bug” and “Killer Joe”), transplants the story from World War II to post-9/11 America. It stars Keifer Sutherland, Jason Clarke and the late Lance Reddick.

    — With the calendar turning to October, a long line of horror films is dutifully making its way to screens. “The Haunted Mansion” slides in on the spookier (rather than the scary) end of the spectrum. The film, based on the Walt Disney theme park attraction, is directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People”) and stars LaKeith Stanfield as an inspector called on to investigate a haunted house. Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Tiffany Haddish and Jamie Lee Curtis make up the ensemble cast. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr credited their performances but said the film strains for coherence: “By no means a terrible movie, or even an unpleasant watch, but it’s just missing the magic that makes the trip to the theaters (or Disney World) worth it.”

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    — Drake is no stranger to an inventive roll-out: the OVO rapper has a preference for surprise drops (last year’s “Honesty, Nevermind” is evidence enough). But this year, he gave fans a bit of a heads up for his highly-anticipated “For all the Dogs” album. At select dates, on stage at his massively popular “It’s All A Blur” Tour, Drake teased collaborations with Nicki Minaj and Bad Bunny. The latter marks the duo’s first collaboration since 2018’s “MÍA,” where Drake’s Spanish-language singing was heard ’round the world.

    — By the time ’90s country had reached its apex, Reba McEntire was already a giant of her genre for her countless, consistent chart-toppers — including a famous cover of Bobby Gentry’s feminist anthem “Fancy.” Now, she’s preparing to release a collection of acoustic covers of her greatest hits, cleverly titled “Not So Fancy.” The songs transform in this format, notably due to the richness of McEntire’s voice. A standout: Dolly Parton taking the place of Linda Davis on “Do He Love You.”

    — The funny thing about being in a boy band is becoming a man, individuating outside of the group you spent your entire adolescence and young adulthood in, and figuring out what comes next. For Louis Tomlinson, the cheeky, edgy member of the British (and 1/5 Irish) boy band One Direction, the journey hasn’t been an easy one. In his documentary, “All of Those Voices,” available to stream on Paramount+ on Wednesday, Tomlinson navigates extraordinary circumstances with a charismatic ordinariness. Grief, parenthood, identity, and artmaking are explored with such meticulous and realistic care, you’d almost forget this 31-year-old performer was once in the biggest group on the planet.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    — “Jane the Virgin” scene-stealer, Jaime Camil, hosts a new game show on CBS called “Lotería Loca.” It’s described as Mexico’s version of Bingo. The show is high-energy, easy to learn and has Sheila E. serving as the house band leader. There’s an opportunity in each episode to win $1 million. “Lotería Loca” debuts Monday on CBS and will also stream on Paramount+.

    — Season two of “Quantum Leap” premieres Wednesday on NBC. It takes place 30 years after the original Scott Bakula version and stars Raymond Lee as Ben, a physicist studying a time travel project called Quantum Leap. When Ben travels back in time, he’s unable to return, but leaps around in the past, inhabiting different bodies. The series also shows Raymond’s colleagues working to bring him back to the present. Episodes also stream on Peacock the next day.

    — Paramount+ taps into the appeal of Korean-produced TV shows with “Bargain.” Adapted from an award-winning short film, the series begins at a faraway motel where men go to meet prostitutes. It’s then revealed the men have been tricked to seek out the motel as a trap for a live black-market sale of human organs, and they’re the ones up for auction. Sounds intense, right? It gets worse. An earthquake hits, kicking off a fight for survival among a group of people who do not trust one another. All six-episodes drop Thursday. Jun Jong-seo of “Money Heist: Korea” is one of the stars.

    — Omar Sy resumes his role as France’s favorite charming professional thief in a seven-episode, third installment of Netflix’s “Lupin.” Sy plays Assane, a man with a gift for disguise and deception, who targets those he believes deserve it. Assane has modeled himself after the protagonist in a book of stories called “Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar.” The series began with Assane scheming to avenge the wrongful conviction and death of his late father. In season three, debuting Thursday, Assane’s mother needs his help.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    — Basim Ibn Ishaq, the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, needs to use stealth and cunning to survive the mean streets of 9th century Baghdad. That’s quite the change from the blustering, kill-’em-all Viking who led the last installment of Ubisoft’s venerable franchise. For players who enjoy getting the job done without drawing too much attention — you know, like an assassin — Mirage could be a return to form for a series that may have become too ambitious. Ubisoft describes the new chapter as a “heartfelt homage” to the 2007 original that’s more tightly focused on one bustling city rather than sprawling all over the globe. The knives come out Thursday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One and PC.

    — Let’s leap forward in time to the 1930s, the golden age of pulp, when all sorts of dastardly villains are plotting world domination. The last stand against tyranny is The Lamplighters League, a bunch of “misfits and scoundrels” with the particular sets of skills needed to stop the evildoers. This spunky adventure comes from Harebrained Schemes, the studio behind the cult favorite Shadowrun series. Like those games, it features turn-by-turn, team-based battles, but there are also real-time infiltration sequences that let you get the jump on the bad guys before they even see you. If you like your stealth and strategy mixed with a wry sense of humor, you can join the League on Tuesday, Oct. 3, on Xbox X/S/One and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.

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  • Hasan Minhaj’s Shot At ‘The Daily Show’ Sinks After Stand-Up Fib Scandal

    Hasan Minhaj’s Shot At ‘The Daily Show’ Sinks After Stand-Up Fib Scandal

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    Comedy Central is casting a wider net in its search for Trevor Noah’s successor on “The Daily Show.”

    While comedian Hasan Minhaj was initially reported as a frontrunner for the hosting job, Variety is now reporting that Comedy Central’s parent company, Paramount Global, is actively considering other talent amid the fallout from a New Yorker piece that found Minhaj stretched the truth in some of his stand-up routines.

    In his response to The New Yorker, Minhaj admitted to embellishing several supposedly autobiographical anecdotes about Islamophobia but claimed the stories revealed “emotional truths.”

    Noah departed “The Daily Show” in 2022. Since then, the popular late-night TV program has featured a roster of different comics filling in as hosts, including Minhaj, Chelsea Handler, Leslie Jones, Al Franken, Kal Penn, Marlon Wayans and Sarah Silverman, as well as long-time contributors Roy Wood, Jr., Desi Lydic and Jordan Klepper.

    Hasan Minhaj performs at the 13th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit concert on Nov. 4, 2019.

    According to Variety, Minhaj is still in the running for the role, but Comedy Central is also taking a closer look at audience research to gauge which recent temporary hosts have been successful.

    This casting conundrum comes as the satirical news show readies itself to return to the studio following a five-month hiatus due to strikes by the Writers Guild of America. Hollywood writers will work once more after striking a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that secured increased residual pay, more transparency around streaming numbers, better staffing and guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence.

    Following The New Yorker’s report, Minhaj defended his storytelling in a statement to Variety.

    “All my standup stories are based on events that happened to me,” he said.

    “Yes, I was rejected from going to prom because of my race,” Minhaj added. “Yes, a letter with powder was sent to my apartment that almost harmed my daughter. Yes, I had an interaction with law enforcement during the war on terror.”

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  • Late-night TV shows announce their return after Hollywood writers strike ends

    Late-night TV shows announce their return after Hollywood writers strike ends

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    NEW YORK — TV’s late-night hosts planned to return to their evening sketches and monologues by next week, reinstating the flow of topical humor silenced for five months by the newly ended Hollywood’s writers strike.

    Bill Maher led the charge back to work by announcing early Wednesday that his HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher” would be back on the air Friday. By mid-morning, the hosts of NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on CBS had announced they’d also return, all by Monday. “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver was slated to return to the air Sunday.

    Fallon, Meyers, Kimmel, Colbert and Oliver had spent the latter part of the strike teaming up for a popular podcast called “Strike Force Five” — named after their personal text chain and with all proceeds benefiting their out-of-work writers. On Instagram on Wednesday, they announced “their mission complete.”

    The plans for some late-night shows were not immediately clear, like “Saturday Night Live” and Comedy Central’s “Daily Show,” which had been using guest hosts when the strike hit.

    Scripted shows will take longer to return, with actors still on strike and no negotiations yet on the horizon.

    On Tuesday night, board members from the writers union approved a contract agreement with studios, bringing the industry at least partly back from a historic halt in production that stretched nearly five months.

    Maher had delayed returning to his talk show during the ongoing strike by writers and actors, a decision that followed similar pauses by “The Drew Barrymore Show,” “The Talk” and “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”

    The three-year agreement with studios, producers and streaming services includes significant wins in the main areas writers had fought for — compensation, length of employment, size of staffs and control of artificial intelligence — matching or nearly equaling what they had sought at the outset of the strike.

    The union had sought minimum increases in pay and future residual earnings from shows and will get a raise of between 3.5% and 5% in those areas — more than the studios had initially offered.

    The guild also negotiated new residual payments based on the popularity of streaming shows, where writers will get bonuses for being a part of the most popular shows on Netflix, Max and other services, a proposal studios initially rejected. Many writers on picket lines had complained that they weren’t properly paid for helping create heavily watched properties.

    On artificial intelligence, the writers got the regulation and control of the emerging technology they had sought. Under the contract, raw, AI-generated storylines will not be regarded as “literary material” — a term in their contracts for scripts and other story forms a screenwriter produces. This means they won’t be competing with computers for screen credits. Nor will AI-generated stories be considered “source” material, their contractual language for the novels, video games or other works that writers may adapt into scripts.

    Writers have the right under the deal to use artificial intelligence in their process if the company they are working for agrees and other conditions are met. But companies cannot require a writer to use artificial intelligence.

    ___

    Dalton reported from Los Angeles.

    ___

    For more on the writers and actors strikes, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/hollywood-strikes/

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  • A fire at a wedding hall in northern Iraq has killed more than 100 people and injured 150

    A fire at a wedding hall in northern Iraq has killed more than 100 people and injured 150

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    MOSUL, Iraq — A raging fire seemingly caused by fireworks set off to celebrate a Christian wedding consumed a hall packed with guests in northern Iraq, killing at least 100 people and injuring 150 others as authorities warned Wednesday the death toll could still rise.

    Authorities said that flammable building materials also contributed to the latest disaster to hit Iraq’s dwindling Christian minority. The fire happened in the Hamdaniya area of Iraq’s Nineveh province, authorities said. That’s a predominantly Christian area just outside of the city of Mosul, some 335 kilometers (205 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

    There was no official word on the cause of the blaze, but the Kurdish television news channel Rudaw showed fireworks shooting up from the floor of the event and setting a chandelier aflame.

    In the blaze’s aftermath, only charred metal and debris could be seen as people walked through the scene of the fire, the only light coming from television cameras and the lights of onlookers’ mobile phones.

    Survivors arrived at local hospitals in bandages, receiving oxygen as their families milled through hallways and outside as workers organized more oxygen cylinders.

    Other footage shown on other local television networks appeared to show the bride and groom on the dance floor when the fire began, stunned by the sight of the burning debris. It wasn’t immediately clear if they were among those hurt.

    Health officials in Nineveh province raised the death toll to 114, though federal officials did not immediately update their figure of at least 100 killed. Health Ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr put the number of injured at 150 in that earlier statement carried by the state-run Iraqi News Agency.

    “All efforts are being made to provide relief to those affected by the unfortunate accident,” al-Badr said.

    Ahmed Dubardani, a health official in the province, told Rudaw that many of those injured suffered serious burns.

    “The majority of them were completely burned and some others had 50 to 60% of their bodies burned,” Dubardani said. “This is not good at all. The majority of them were not in good condition.”

    Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the fire and asked the country’s Interior and Health officials to provide relief, his office said in a statement online.

    Najim al-Jubouri, the provincial governor of Nineveh, said some of the injured had been transferred to regional hospitals. He cautioned there were no final casualty figures yet from the blaze, which suggests the death toll still may rise.

    One witness, who gave just his first name as Amer, said he and others rushed to the wedding hall as they heard sounds of screaming inside the venue. Amer said a cousin who attended the wedding survived, but suffered burns.

    Father Rudi Saffar Khoury, a priest at the wedding, said it was unclear who was to blame for the fire.

    “It could be a mistake by the event organizers or venue hosts, or maybe a technical error,” Khoury told The Associated Press. “It was a disaster in every sense of the word.”

    Civil defense officials quoted by the Iraqi News Agency described the wedding hall’s exterior as decorated with highly flammable cladding that is illegal in the country.

    “The fire led to the collapse of parts of the hall as a result of the use of highly flammable, low-cost building materials that collapse within minutes when the fire breaks out,” civil defense said.

    It wasn’t immediately clear why authorities in Iraq allowed the cladding to be used on the hall, though corruption and mismanagement remains endemic two decades after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

    While some types of cladding can be made with fire-resistant material, experts say those that have caught fire at the wedding hall and elsewhere weren’t designed to meet stricter safety standards and often were put onto buildings without any breaks to slow or halt a possible blaze. That includes the 2017 Grenfell Fire in London that killed 72 people in the greatest loss of life in a fire on British soil since World War II, as well as multiple high-rise fires in the United Arab Emirates.

    Over the past two decades, Iraq’s Christian minority has been violently targeted by extremists first from al-Qaida and then the Islamic State militant group. Although the Nineveh plains, the historic homeland, was wrested back from the Islamic State group six years ago, some towns are still mostly rubble and lack basic services. Many Christians have left for Europe, Australia or the United States.

    The number of Christians in Iraq today is estimated at 150,000, compared to 1.5 million in 2003. Iraq’s total population is more than 40 million.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

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  • Deal to end writers’ strike means some shows could return to air within days

    Deal to end writers’ strike means some shows could return to air within days

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    With a tentative deal between Hollywood writers and the major entertainment studios on a new labor contract, some television shows may return to air in a matter of days. 

    The programs likely to return to production first are daytime and late-night TV talk shows, such as NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” according to the Associated Press. 

    Most late-night show producers are likely to return to work on October 2 or October 9, although some are looking to get back as early as this week, Variety reported. Staffers working on daytime talk shows will likely return to work during the second week of October, Deadline reported. 

    Scripted shows, such as new seasons of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” or ABC’s “Abbot Elementary,” will likely take longer to return because of the ongoing strike by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the union that represents some 65,000 Hollywood actors. 

    The Hollywood writers’ strike began on May 2 and was the first such action since 2007 for the WGA. At roughly four-and-a-half months, it was the second-longest work stoppage in WGA history behind only the 1988 strike, which lasted 154 days.

    Disney CEO Bob Iger and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos were among several studio chiefs who took part in negotiations, according to the Hollywood Reporter. 

    Talks with The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade group representing studios such as Disney, Netflix and Paramount — have yet to resume talks, which likely means further delays for those programs (Paramount Pictures, one of the studios involved in the negotiations, and CBS News are both part of Paramount Global. Some CBS News staff are SAG-AFTRA or Writers Guild members, but their contracts are not affected by the strikes.)

    Writers Guild deal

    The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the AMPTP reached a tentative agreement late Sunday. The deal still needs to be completed, and Hollywood writers won’t return to work officially until the Guild approves the new contract, the union told its members Sunday. 

    The union didn’t disclose details of the new deal, tweeting that “more details coming after contract language is finalized.” The WGA’s council must still approve the pact ahead of holding a vote by its full membership. The guild and AMPTP didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. 

    By contrast, contract negotiations between the studios and SAG-AFTRA have yet to resume. The actors union, which began striking in July, said it remains “committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members.” The statement added that the union continues “to urge the studio and streamer CEOs and the AMPTP to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand.”

    When will “Severance” or “Stranger Things” return?

    Writers rooms for scripted shows that shut down at the strike’s onset, including Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” “Severance” on Apple TV+ and “Abbott Elementary” on ABC are also likely to reactivate quickly. But with no performers to act out the scripts, long delays between page and screen will be inevitable.

    Film writers will also get back to work on their slower timeline, though those working on scripts or late revisions for already scheduled movies — including “Deadpool 3” and “Superman: Legacy” — will certainly be hustling to avoid further release-date delays.

    When will “The Drew Barrymore Show” return? 

    Drew Barrymore’s planned return to her daytime television show became a rallying point for picketers earlier this month, prompting her to cancel her plans. “The Talk” and “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” which also employ some screenwriters, also called off plans to return.

    Barrymore and the other shows have not announced their plans for returning. However, the WGA has made it clear that guild members cannot start working again on projects until the tentative contract is ratified.

    One show that could make a speedy return is “Real Time with Bill Maher.” The host plotted a return without writers but ended up postponing once last week’s negotiations were set.

    —The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

    Khristopher J. Brooks

    Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.

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  • David McCallum,

    David McCallum,

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    Actor David McCallum, who became a teen heartthrob in the hit series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” in the 1960s and was the eccentric medical examiner in the popular “NCIS” 40 years later, has died. He was 90.

    McCallum died Monday of natural causes surrounded by family at New York Presbyterian Hospital, CBS said in a statement.

    “David was a gifted actor and author, and beloved by many around the world. He led an incredible life, and his legacy will forever live on through his family and the countless hours on film and television that will never go away,” said a statement from CBS.

    Scottish-born McCallum had been doing well appearing in such films “A Night to Remember” (about the Titanic), “The Great Escape” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (as Judas). But it was “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” that made the blond actor with the Beatlesque haircut a household name in the mid-’60s.

    The success of the James Bond books and films had set off a chain reaction, with secret agents proliferating on both large and small screens. Indeed, Bond creator Ian Fleming contributed some ideas as “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” was being developed, according to Jon Heitland’s “The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Book.”

    The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
    Robert Vaughn (left) as Napoleon Solo and David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

    NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images


    The show, which debuted in 1964, starred Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo, an agent in a secretive, high-tech squad of crime fighters whose initials stood for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Despite the Cold War, the agency had an international staff, with McCallum as Illya Kuryakin, Solo’s Russian sidekick.

    The role was relatively small at first, McCallum recalled, adding in a 1998 interview that “I’d never heard of the word ‘sidekick’ before.”

    The show drew mixed reviews but eventually caught on, particularly with teenage girls attracted by McCallum’s good looks and enigmatic, intellectual character. By 1965, Illya was a full partner to Vaughn’s character and both stars were mobbed during personal appearances.

    The series lasted to 1968. Vaughn and McCallum reunited in 1983 for a nostalgic TV movie, “The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” in which the agents were lured out of retirement to save the world once more.

    McCallum returned to television in 2003 in another series with an agency known by its initials — CBS’ “NCIS.” He played Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, a bookish pathologist for the Naval Criminal Investigation Service, an agency handling crimes involving the Navy or the Marines. Mark Harmon played the NCIS boss.

    NCIS
    David McCallum as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on “NCIS.”

    Michael Yarish/CBS via Getty Images


    McCallum said he thought Ducky, who sported glasses and a bow tie and had an eye for pretty women, “looked a little silly, but it was great fun to do.” He took the role seriously, too, spending time in the Los Angeles coroner’s office to gain insight into how autopsies are conducted.

    Co-star Lauren Holly took to X, formerly Twitter, to mourn: “You were the kindest man. Thank you for being you.” The previously announced 20th anniversary “NCIS” marathon on Monday night will now include an “in memoriam” card in remembrance of McCallum.

    The series built an audience gradually, eventually reaching the roster of top 10 shows. McCallum, who lived in New York, stayed in a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Monica when “NCIS” was in production.

    “He was a scholar and a gentleman, always gracious, a consummate professional, and never one to pass up a joke. From day one, it was an honor to work with him and he never let us down. He was, quite simply, a legend, said a statement from “NCIS” Executive Producers Steven D. Binder and David North.

    McCallum’s work with “U.N.C.L.E.” brought him two Emmy nominations, and he got a third as an educator struggling with alcoholism in a 1969 Hallmark Hall of Fame drama called “Teacher, Teacher.”

    In 1975, he had the title role in a short-lived science fiction series, “The Invisible Man,” and from 1979 to 1982 he played Steel in a British science fiction series, “Sapphire and Steel.” Over the years, he also appeared in guest shots in many TV shows, including “Murder, She Wrote” and “Sex and the City.”

    He appeared on Broadway in a 1968 comedy, “The Flip Side,” and in a 1999 revival of “Amadeus” starring Michael Sheen and David Suchet. He also was in several off-Broadway productions.

    Largely based in the U.S. from the 1960s onward, McCallum was a longtime American citizen, telling The Associated Press in 2003 that “I have always loved the freedom of this country and everything it stands for. And I live here, and I like to vote here.”

    David Keith McCallum was born in Glasgow in 1933. His parents were musicians; his father, also named David, played violin, his mother played cello. When David was 3, the family moved to London, where David Sr. played with the London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic.

    Young David attended the Royal Academy of Music where he learned the oboe. He decided he wasn’t good enough, so he turned to theater, studying briefly at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. But “I was a small, emaciated blond with a caved chest, so there weren’t an awful lot of parts for me,” he commented in a Los Angeles Times interview in 2009.

    After time out for military service, he returned to London and began getting work on live television and movies, In 1957 he appeared in “Robbery Under Arms,” an adventure set in early Australia, with a rising actress, Jill Ireland. The couple married that same year.

    In 1963, McCallum was part of the large cast of “The Great Escape” and he and his wife became friendly with Charles Bronson, also in the film. Ireland eventually fell in love with Bronson and she and McCallum divorced in 1967. She married Bronson in 1968.

    “It all worked out fine,” McCallum said in 2009, “because soon after that I got together with Katherine (Carpenter, a former model) and we’ve been very happily married for 42 years.”

    McCallum had three sons from his first marriage, Paul, Jason and Valentine, and a son and daughter from his second, Peter and Sophie. Jason died of an overdose.

    “He was a true Renaissance man — he was fascinated by science and culture and would turn those passions into knowledge. For example, he was capable of conducting a symphony orchestra and (if needed) could actually perform an autopsy, based on his decades-long studies for his role on NCIS,” Peter McCallum said in a statement.

    In 2007, when he was working on “NCIS,” McCallum told a reporter: “I’ve always felt the harder I work, the luckier I get. I believe in serendipitous things happening, but at the same time, dedicating yourself to what you do is the best way to get along in this life.”

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  • Screenwriters wait to learn terms of deal with Hollywood studios to end historic strike

    Screenwriters wait to learn terms of deal with Hollywood studios to end historic strike

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    LOS ANGELES — Screenwriters waited Monday to learn what their five-month strike won and prepared for a possible return to work after their union reached an agreement with studio executives that could help end the walkouts that brought Hollywood to a standstill.

    The historic shutdown will go on for now, with actors remaining on strike and no talks planned, though the tentative deal announced Sunday night may provide momentum that could lead to a resolution for them too. That would allow full production to resume for the first time since May.

    The governing boards of the two branches of the Writers Guild of America are likely to vote on the contract Tuesday. With their approval, writers will then vote on the deal, and the strike can officially end. Network shows including NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” could return to the air within days.

    Details of the agreement have not yet been made public or even shared with the writers themselves because the contract language is being finalized. But the WGA said in an email to members that the deal was “exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”

    The 11,500 screenwriters walked off the job May 2 over issues of pay, the size of writing staffs and control of the use of artificial intelligence in scripts.

    “It’s been a long, hard-fought victory,” John August, a writer on films including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” who is also a member of the negotiating committee, said on his podcast, choking up as he spoke. “But it’s nice to be near the end.”

    Writer and guild member Zayd Dohrn said many lives were upended during the strike and will now be changing again, but they’re used to it.

    “It’s not that unusual for writers and actors to suddenly have to drop everything and go to work,” Dohrn told The Associated Press. “Routines will have to be broken or changed. But I think people are pretty used to being ready to go on short notice.”

    Union leaders told writers not to return to work yet, but picketing will be suspended. They encouraged writers to join the actors on their picket lines in solidarity.

    The three-year contract agreement emerged after five marathon days of renewed talks by the WGA and negotiators from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, streaming services and production companies in the negotiations. Chief executives including Disney’s Bob Iger and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos took part in the talks directly.

    Media and entertainment companies got a small boost from the news. Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Disney and Netflix all rose about 2% or less on Monday.

    The agreement came just five days before the strike would have become the longest in the guild’s history and the longest Hollywood strike more than 70 years. When an agreement was reached in the last writers strike, in 2008, more than 90 percent of members voted to approve it.

    The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said its leaders will look closely at the deal struck by writers, who walked out over many of the same issues as actors.

    The actors union said the guild continues to urge executives “to return to the table and make the fair deal that our members deserve and demand.”

    The writers’ deal was reached without the intervention of federal mediators or other government officials, which was necessary in previous strikes.

    President Joe Biden said the agreement was “testament to the power of collective bargaining.”

    “There simply is no substitute for employers and employees coming together to negotiate in good faith toward an agreement that makes a business stronger and secures the pay, benefits and dignity that workers deserve,” Biden said Monday in a statement.

    Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom congratulated the two sides on the deal and expressed hopes that the industry could return to normal soon.

    The writers strike immediately sent late-night talk shows and “Saturday Night Live” on hiatus. Dozens of scripted shows and other productions have been in limbo, including forthcoming seasons of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” HBO’s “The Last of Us,” and ABC’s “Abbot Elementary.” Films including “Deadpool 3” and “Superman: Legacy” were also held up. The Emmy Awards were pushed from September to January.

    More recently, writers had been targeting talk shows that were working around strike rules to return to air, including “ The Drew Barrymore Show,” “ Real Time With Bill Maher ” and “The Talk.” All reversed course in the face of picketing and pressure, and are likely to quickly return now.

    The combined strikes made for a pivotal moment in Hollywood as creative labor faced off against executives in a business transformed by technology, from the seismic shift to streaming in recent years to the potentially paradigm-shifting emergence of AI in the years to come.

    Screenwriters have traditionally gone on strike more than any other segment of the industry, but they enjoyed a relatively long stretch of labor peace until last spring, when negotiations for a new contract fell apart. The walkout was their first since 2007 and their longest since 1988.

    On July 14, they got a dose of solidarity and star power — along with a lot of new picketing partners — when they were joined by 65,000 film and television actors.

    It was the first time the two groups had been on strike together since 1960.

    ___

    Associated Press Writer Alicia Rancilio contributed from New York.

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  • Hollywood writers reach tentative deal with studios to end strike

    Hollywood writers reach tentative deal with studios to end strike

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    Hollywood’s writers union says it has reached a preliminary labour agreement with the industry’s major studios in a deal to end one of two strikes that have halted most film and television production for nearly five months.

    The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced the deal on Sunday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group that represents studios, streaming services and producers in negotiations.

    The three-year contract agreement – agreed to after five marathon days of renewed talks by negotiators WGA and the AMPTP – must still be approved by the guild’s board and members before the strike can be declared officially over.

    The WGA, which represents 11,500 film and television writers, described the deal as “exceptional” with “meaningful gains and protections for writers”.

    “This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who joined us on the picket lines for over 146 days,” the negotiating committee said in a statement.

    There was no immediate comment from the AMPTP.

    The WGA settlement, while a milestone, will not return Hollywood to work as the SAG-AFTRA actors union remains on strike.

    The WGA members walked off the job on May 2 after negotiations reached an impasse over compensation, minimum staffing of writers’ rooms, the use of artificial intelligence and residuals that reward writers for popular streaming shows, among other issues.

    The writers strike immediately sent late-night talk shows and comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live into hiatus, and has left dozens of scripted shows and other productions in limbo, including the forthcoming seasons of Netflix’s Stranger Things, HBO’s The Last of Us and ABC’s Abbot Elementary, as well as films including Deadpool 3 and Superman: Legacy.

    The Emmy Awards were also pushed from September to January.

    Efforts to restart daytime talk shows without writers, such as The Drew Barrymore Show, collapsed this month in the face of criticism from striking writers and actors.

    At picket lines, protests took on the rhetoric of class warfare.

    Writers assailed media executives’ compensation and said working conditions had made it hard for them to earn a middle-class living.

    Executives at times fanned tensions.

    Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger, fresh from a contract extension that gave him an annual bonus of five times his base salary, criticised striking writers and actors as “just not realistic” in their demands.

    Iger subsequently struck a conciliatory note, citing his “deep respect” for creative professionals.

    The work stoppages took a toll on camera operators, carpenters, production assistants and other crew members, as well as the caterers, florists, costume suppliers and other small businesses that support film and television production.

    The economic cost is expected to total at least $5bn in California and the other US production hubs of New Mexico, Georgia and New York, according to an estimate from Milken Institute economist Kevin Klowden.

    Four top industry executives – Iger, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and NBCUniversal Studio Group Chair Donna Langley – joined negotiations this week, helping to break the months-long impasse.

    As with past writers strikes, the action is partly a response to Hollywood capitalising on a new form of distribution – and writers seeking their share of the newfound revenue.

    The 100-day strike in 2007-08 focused, in part, on extending guild protections to “new media,” including movies and TV downloads as well as content delivered via advertisement-supported internet services.

    This time around, a central issue is residual payments for streaming services, which writers said represented a fraction of the compensation they would receive for a broadcast television show.

    Writers also sought limits on AI’s role in the creative process. Some feared that studio executives would hand a writer an AI-generated script to revise and pay the writer at a lower rate to rewrite or polish it. Others expressed concerns about intellectual property theft if existing scripts were used to train artificial intelligence.

    Even as studio executives celebrated the end of the longest-running writers strike since 1988, it is only half the labour battle. The studios must still find a way to get actors back to work.

    SAG-AFTRA, representing 160,000 film and television actors, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals, walked off the job in July, the first time in 63 years that Hollywood faced a strike by two unions at the same time.

    At issue are questions of minimum wages for performers, protections against the use of artificial intelligence replacing human performances and compensation that reflects the value actors bring to the streaming services.

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  • Usher to headline the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show in Las Vegas

    Usher to headline the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show in Las Vegas

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    LOS ANGELES — Usher has a new confession: The Grammy winner will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in Las Vegas.

    The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Usher would lead the halftime festivities from Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11. The music megastar, who has won eight Grammys, said he’s looking forward to performing on the NFL’s biggest stage.

    “It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list,” Usher said in a statement. “I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before.”

    Usher spring boarded into superstardom with “Confessions,” which sold more than 10 million units in the U.S. and earned him eight nominations at the 2005 Grammys, winning him three. He lost album of the year to Ray Charles’ final album “Genius Loves Company,” released two months after the legend died.

    “Confessions” ranks among one of the best-selling music projects of all time and launched No. 1 hits such as “Yeah!” with Ludacris and Lil Jon, “Burn” and “Confessions Part II.” His special edition version included the smooth hit “My Boo,” a duet with Alicia Keys. Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the epic album.

    Usher, 44, is currently headlining his “Usher: My Way” residency in Las Vegas, which has drawn sold-out shows and rave reviews. He’s also beginning an eight-night block of performances in Paris on Sunday. Usher is expected to wrap up his Las Vegas residency in early December before he makes his Super Bowl halftime appearance a couple months later.

    The singer has served as a coach on NBC’s “The Voice” and appeared in several films including “Hustlers” and “Light It Up.”

    Roc Nation founder Jay-Z called Usher the ultimate “artist and showman.”

    “Ever since his debut at the age of 15, he’s been charting his own unique course,” he said of Usher, who released his debut self-titled album in 1994. In total, he’s released eight studio projects that were filled with hits including “U Got It Bad,” “U Remind Me,” “You Make Me Wanna,” “Nice & Slow” and “Love In This Club” with Jeezy.

    “Beyond his flawless singing and exceptional choreography, Usher bares his soul,” Jay-Z continued. “His remarkable journey has propelled him to one of the grandest stages in the world. I can’t wait to see the magic.”

    Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show. Hamish Hamilton returns as director. It’s the second collaboration between the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation.

    Last year, a pregnant Rihanna emerged suspended on a platform above the field for a s pectacular halftime show – her first solo event in seven years.

    “We are so proud of what we were able to accomplish together with the NFL and Roc Nation last year and now with the insanely talented Usher set to take the stage we’re looking forward to another incredible Halftime Show from one of the world’s all-time greatest performers,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s Vice President of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Sports, and Beats.

    Usher will join a list of celebrated musicians who have played during Super Bowl halftime shows including Beyoncé, Madonna, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, U2, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson and Katy Perry.

    “Usher is an icon whose music has left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape throughout his career,” said Seth Dudowsky, NFL Head of Music.

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  • WWE’s ‘Smackdown’ moving from Fox to USA Network in new rights deal with NBCUniversal

    WWE’s ‘Smackdown’ moving from Fox to USA Network in new rights deal with NBCUniversal

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    WWE’s popular television show, “Friday Night Smackdown,” will be moving from Fox to USA Network next year under a new five-year domestic media rights partnership with NBCUniversal

    ByMICHELLE CHAPMAN AP business writer

    September 21, 2023, 11:13 AM

    Wrestler Akira Tozawa goes airborne during his match with Carmelo Hayes during the WWE Monday Night RAW event, Monday, March 6, 2023, in Boston. WWE’s popular television show, “Friday Night Smackdown,” will be moving from Fox to USA Network next year under a new five-year domestic media rights partnership with NBCUniversal, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. “Smackdown” will begin airing on USA Network in October 2024.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

    The Associated Press

    WWE’s popular television show, “Friday Night Smackdown,” will be moving from Fox to USA Network next year under a new five-year domestic media rights partnership with NBCUniversal.

    “Smackdown,” a weekly two-hour live program that features wrestlers such as Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, Rey Mysterio and Bianca Belair, regularly performs strongly in the key 18-49 demographic. It’s also experienced strong ratings of late with regular appearances by John Cena and an unadvertised appearance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

    “Smackdown” will begin airing on USA Network in October 2024. Fox had a five-year deal for “Smackdown” that started in October 2019. Prior to that, “Smackdown” had aired on USA Network from 2016 to 2019.

    Financial terms of the deal between WWE and NBCUniversal were not disclosed.

    As part of the agreement, WWE will also produce four prime-time specials per year that will air on NBC, starting in the 2024/2025 season. This will be the first time that WWE will air on the network in prime time.

    “NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” WWE President Nick Khan said in a statement on Thursday. “We are excited to extend this long-standing relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”

    USA Network currently airs “WWE NXT” and “WWE Monday Night Raw.” The two programs will continue to be broadcast on the network through September 2024.

    “It’s a privilege and thrill to continue NBCU’s decadeslong partnership with WWE which has helped cement USA Network’s consistent position as the top-rated cable entertainment network in live viewership,” Frances Berwick, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, said.

    WWE is now part of TKO Group Holdings Inc., which started trading on the New York Stock Exchange last week.

    Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. has closed on its previously announced deal with World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The pairing of WWE with the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship creates a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company.

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  • Vanna White extends her time at the puzzle board on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for two additional seasons

    Vanna White extends her time at the puzzle board on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for two additional seasons

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    Vanna White will remain with “Wheel of Fortune” for two additional seasons

    ByThe Associated Press

    September 20, 2023, 11:25 AM

    FILE – Game show personality Vanna White appears at the 25th annual Race to Erase MS Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif., on April 20, 2018. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

    The Associated Press

    Vanna White is not giving up her puzzle board when Ryan Seacrest takes over for Pat Sajak as host of “Wheel of Fortune.” In fact, she will be there for his first two seasons.

    Sony Pictures Television announced Tuesday that White has extended her contract with the game show — taking her through the 2025-26 season. Her contract was expiring at the end of the current 41st season, which Sajak announced earlier this year would be his last.

    White and Sajak have worked together since 1982 when “Wheel” began airing in syndication.

    Confirmation of White’s contract extension was announced while Seacrest was taping an upcoming interview segment for “Sunday Today with Willie Geist.”

    Seacrest called it “great news” and said that he has “been excited to work with her” and “can’t wait.”

    He will make his “Wheel of Fortune” debut next fall.

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  • What’s happening with the strike-delayed Emmy Awards?

    What’s happening with the strike-delayed Emmy Awards?

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    LOS ANGELES — In a normal year — if there is any such thing in Hollywood anymore — the 75th Emmy Awards ceremony would be Monday night, and the many nominees from shows like “ Succession ” and “ Ted Lasso ” would be claiming their trophies or happily clapping for the winners.

    Instead, the actors and writers strikes brought a postponement until January.

    Here’s a look at what’s happening, and what may happen, with the awards that have been thrown off course.

    A shadow hung over this year’s Emmys from the start. Writers, who are essential to the process both as nominees and the people who provide jokes and patter for the show, had been on strike for more than two months when the nominees were announced June 11. Then just three days after “Succession,” “ White Lotus,” “ The Last of Us ” and “Ted Lasso” were named as the top nominees, leaders of the actors union announced they would join writers in a historic Hollywood work stoppage.

    With union rules allowing no interviews, panels or awards-show participation, acting nominees had just a few days to do the kind of media promotion that is usually rampant after a nomination. Writers couldn’t do it at all.

    The Television Academy and Fox TV, which was scheduled to air the show this year, initially kept the original Sept. 18 show date in place, with hopes the strikes would end quickly.

    But with no realistic prospects for resolution, Fox and the academy decided in mid-August to change the show date to Jan. 15, 2024, Martin Luther King Day, at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. No host has been announced.

    The January date in many ways makes sense. Because they are still tied to the traditional fall-through-spring broadcast television season, the Emmys have been among the few awards shows held in September. That TV model, as the strikers know all too well, has been upended by cable and streaming structures that observe no such conventions. That traditional Emmy scheduling was starting to create odd situations. Voters were casting ballots for season one of the “The Bear” — which got 13 nominations — after season two had already aired. And now the results won’t be known until nearly a year after the second season premiere.

    The January date will put the Emmys within the rest of Hollywood’s awards season, when red carpets rule and performers are on the promotional prowl. The show is slated for about a week after the Golden Globes and about six weeks before the Screen Actors Guild Awards — both ceremonies that honor television along with movies.

    The date also puts it in line with the Emmys’ early years in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when they were held in January or February.

    The delay is the first time the Emmys have been postponed since 2001, when the 9/11 attacks came just five days before the planned ceremony. Then the launch of the war in Afghanistan, which came hours before the rescheduled October show, prompted another postponement until November, when a small, restrained show hosted by Ellen DeGeneres finally ran.

    The 2020 ceremony, dominated by “ Schitt’s Creek ” and dubbed the “Pandemmies” by host Jimmy Kimmel was seriously scaled back because of the coronavirus, with nominees accepting trophies and making speeches from remote locations, but the date was never moved.

    With nothing else normal about the Emmys, the Television Academy at least wanted the voting process to go on as planned, and for the results to be as close as possible to what they would have been without the upheaval.

    The Emmys are decided by votes from the nearly 20,000 members of the Television Academy. The membership is divided into 31 peer groups including animators, performers, directors and writers. Members of each group vote for Emmy winners in those categories, and all eligible voters can cast ballots for the awards that go to entire shows, including best drama series and best drama series.

    This year’s ballots went out as planned on Aug. 17 and had to be returned by Aug. 28. That means the winners are already decided, but it will be four months — at least — before the envelopes are opened revealing them.

    The new date looked a long way off when it was scheduled, but Emmy organizers may have to face the prospect that the strikes could still be going on in January. Writers have currently been off the job for 4 1/2 months, the actors for two months. The stoppages spilling into next year would make them historically long, and go well past initial predictions.

    Negotiations between writers and studio s have been slow in restarting. There have been no talks, and none are planned, between studios and actors.

    Prolonged strikes could mean another Emmys postponement, or a show transformed into a glorified news conference, as happened with some awards during the pandemic.

    It would also throw the Oscars, and the entire awards season, into doubt.

    ___

    For more on the actors and writers strikes, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/hollywood-strikes/

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  • Drew Barrymore and ‘The Talk’ postpone their daytime talk shows until after the Hollywood strikes

    Drew Barrymore and ‘The Talk’ postpone their daytime talk shows until after the Hollywood strikes

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    NEW YORK — Drew Barrymore, who drew criticism for taping new episodes of her daytime talk show despite the ongoing writers and actors strikes, now says she’ll wait until the labor issues are resolved. Hours later CBS’ “The Talk” did the same.

    “I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore posted on Instagram on Sunday. “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today.”

    Barrymore’s initial decision to return to the air Monday — without her three union writers and with picketers outside her studio — was met with pushback on social media. Her show resumed taping in New York last week and was picketed by striking writers.

    “We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her,” said a CBS Media Ventures spokesperson

    Other daytime shows have resumed. “The View” has returned for its 27th season on ABC, while “Tamron Hall” and “Live With Kelly and Ryan” — neither are governed by writers guild rules — have also been producing fresh episodes. “The Jennifer Hudson Show” is to restart Monday.

    But “The Talk” scrapped its restart, planned for Monday. “We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date,” CBC said in a statement Sunday.

    Ariel Dumas, head writer and supervising producer for “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” reacted on X, formerly Twitter: “This is really great,” she wrote, saying “The Drew Barrymore Show” “decided to do the right thing. I hope @TheView and others will follow suit.”

    As long as the hosts and guests don’t discuss or promote work covered by television, theatrical or streaming contracts, they’re not technically breaking the strike. That’s because talk shows are covered under a separate contract — the so-called Network Code — from the one actors and writers are striking. The Network Code also covers reality TV, sports, morning news shows, soap operas and game shows.

    Barrymore’s stance prompted the National Book Awards to uninvite her as host in November. The organization rescinded her invitation “in light of the announcement that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ will resume production.”

    The ongoing strike pits Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others.

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  • What to stream this week: Drake, Doja Cat, ‘Sex Education,’ ‘The Super Models’ and ‘Superpower’

    What to stream this week: Drake, Doja Cat, ‘Sex Education,’ ‘The Super Models’ and ‘Superpower’

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    The return of Netflix’s “Sex Education” with Gillian Anderson, Sean Penn’s documentary about Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a docuseries that charts the rise of the first supermodels are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are albums Doja Cat and Drake, and a reboot of Robert Rodriguez’s “Spy Kids” franchise with a film starring Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi.

    — In Mexican lucha libra wrestling, exóticos traditionally are male fighters dressed in drag who offer a campy contrast to the machismo of the main-event matches. “Cassandro,” premiering Friday, Sept. 22 on Amazon Prime Video, stars Gael Garcia Bernal as a pioneering exótico named Saúl Armendáriz who rose to become one of the biggest stars in Mexican wrestling. In my review of the film, directed by Roger Ross Williams, I wrote that Armendáriz’s transformation of the exótico into something more than was prescribed by lucha tradition makes for a stirring metaphor for gay empowerment.

    — Robert Rodriguez’s “Spy Kids” movies are pluckily still going, more than two decades after the director — with his kids in tow — first launched the admirably goofy, charmingly childlike espionage fantasy. The family film franchise, begun with the 2001 original, had tapered off by the time the lackluster fourth installment, “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,” was released in 2011. But Rodriguez and clan return for a reboot in Netflix’s “Spy Kids: Armageddon,” debuting Friday, Sept. 22. The film, written by Rodriguez and his 26-year-old son, Racer, stars Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi.

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    — Long gone are the days of the viral retro-hit “Say So” – but who could expect the pop experimentalist Doja Cat to stay in one lane? (Anyone who remembers the viral “Moo! (B—- I’m a Cow)” video that made her an internet star would know better.) On “Scarlet,” Doja Cat bids adieu to her former self and in the hardest rap verses of her career, demands listeners’ heed. Like on the lead single, “Attention,” a criticism of normalizing parasocial relationships, or “Demons,” where she spits, “Are you off a key/I would never let you in my VIP/ We are enemies, we are foes/Who are you? And what are those?” while embodying her inner — and outer — incubus.

    — Drake is no stranger to an inventive roll-out: the OVO rapper has a preference for surprise drops (last year’s “Honesty, Nevermind” is evidence enough). But this year, he gave fans a bit of a heads up for his highly-anticipated “For all the Dogs” album. At select dates, on stage at his massively popular “It’s All A Blur” Tour, Drake teased collaborations with Nicki Minaj and Bad Bunny. The latter marks the duo’s first collaboration since 2018’s “MÍA,” where Drake’s Spanish-language singing was heard ’round the world.

    — And now, to look away from pop’s present and into its future! Chappell Roan, the Missouri-raised, LA-based dark pop balladeer first made headlines for her queer theatrical pop hit “Pink Pony Club,” and later, the Gen-Z situationship anthem, “Casual,” which she worked on with Olivia Rodrigo’s chief collaborator and producer, Dan Nigro. “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” is Roan’s solo debut, an enterprising collection of explicit ballads and bangers. Next year, Roan will open for Rodrigo on the “GUTS” singer’s first-ever arena tour. Big things are on the horizon.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    — Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn has co-directed a documentary about Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Penn says he began the project — called “Superpower” — in 2021, with a lighthearted approach to the life of Zelenskyy, who was a comedian and actor before he entered politics. The tone and focus of the film shifted when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. “Superpower,” which features interviews with Zelenskyy and families affected by the war, debuts Monday on Paramount+.

    — Before Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Winnie Harlow ever stepped onto a catwalk, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington defined the word glamour and became household names. A new four-part docu-series called “The Super Models” traces their rise to success. It debuts Wednesday on Apple TV+.

    — The critically-acclaimed “Sex Education,” one of Netflix’s most popular shows, returns for its fourth and final season Thursday. The series stars Asa Butterfield as Otis, an awkward, precocious teen whose mother (played by Gillian Anderson) is a sex therapist. (You can watch how that unique situation affected Otis’ high school experience and social standing in earlier episodes.) In season four, Otis heads off to college.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    — The mighty Shaolin warrior Liu Kang has created his own universe, and he’s decided the best way to keep it peaceful is to invite his old friends over to beat each other up. That’s the typically loopy setup for Warner Bros. Games’ Mortal Kombat 1 (the follow-up to Mortal Kombat 11 — go figure). Granted, most fans of the franchise aren’t here for plausible plotting. They’re looking to get reacquainted with their favorite fighters (Sub-Zero! Kitana! Johnny Cage!) and try out some new ones (Homelander from “The Boys”! Peacemaker from “Suicide Squad”! Megan Fox as a vampire!). Or they’re psyched to find new ways to rip out their opponent’s innards, which MK developer NetherRealm is always happy to deliver. The limbs start flying Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

    — The “P” in Neowiz’s Lies of P is Pinocchio — but he’s come a long way from the cute little guy you know from the Disney movie. He’s still a puppet, but he’s all grown up and kind of looks like Timothée Chalamet. He can also unscrew his left arm and replace it with a shield, a grappling hook or a flamethrower. That’ll come in handy as he explores a decadent Gilded Age city that’s filled with hostile, corrupted automatons as well as more supernatural monsters. It’s an eye-grabbing mix of steampunk, eldritch horror and the sort of demanding combat popularized by games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Don’t expect Jiminy Cricket to start singing when the nightmare begins Tuesday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.

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  • Hollywood strikes enter a new phase as daytime shows like Drew Barrymore’s return despite pickets

    Hollywood strikes enter a new phase as daytime shows like Drew Barrymore’s return despite pickets

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — “The Drew Barrymore Show” will begin airing fresh episodes on Monday but a lot of off-air controversy will be clinging to its typically bubbly host.

    Barrymore — a daughter of a proud acting dynasty — is making new batches of her syndicated talk show despite picketers outside her studio, as daytime TV becomes the latest battlefield in the ongoing Hollywood labor strife.

    “We’re four months approximately into this strike and it’s not surprising that there are defectors,” said Michael H. LeRoy, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “I couldn’t predict that this would happen on daytime TV, but everybody has a breaking point in a labor dispute.”

    “The Drew Barrymore Show,” operating without its three union writers, isn’t the only daytime show to resume. “The View” has returned for its 27th season on ABC, while “Tamron Hall” and “Live With Kelly and Ryan” — neither are governed by writers guild rules — have also been producing fresh episodes. “The Jennifer Hudson Show” and “The Talk” are also restarting Monday.

    As long as the hosts and guests don’t discuss or promote work covered by television, theatrical or streaming contracts, they’re not technically breaking the strike. That’s because talk shows are covered under a separate contract — the so-called Network Code — from the one actors and writers are striking. The Network Code also covers reality TV, sports, morning news shows, soap operas and game shows.

    “I know there is just nothing I can do that will make this OK to those that it is not OK with. I fully accept that,” Barrymore said in a video posted Friday on Instagram that was later deleted. “I just want everyone to know my intentions have never been in a place to upset or hurt anymore. It’s not who I am.”

    The ongoing strike pits Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others.

    The return of daytime hosts, producers and studio crews will make for some awkward exchanges, predicted Zayd Ayers Dohrn, a writer, professor and director of the MFA in Writing for Screen and Stage at Northwestern University.

    “It’s kind of amazing that they’re going to go back to work with their own writers picketing outside the doors of the studios,” said Dohrn, a writers guild member. “They’re literally walking past the picket line of the workers who they say they’re supporting.”

    Barrymore’s decision to return to the air was met with pushback on social media. “You have the heart and mind to be more tapped into the needs of the community than this,” wrote one viewer on Instagram. Another was more blunt: “You don’t get to play a generous and relatable character when it’s financially expedient for you and then scab when your pocketbook is at risk.”

    Actor and activist Alyssa Milano, whose friendship with Barrymore stretches back years, also criticized the return, calling it “not a great move.”

    “I love her very much — I grew up with her — but I’m not sure that this was the right move for the strike. I’m sure in her eyes it’s the right move for her and the show, but as far as the WGA and SAG and union strong — not a great move.”

    Barrymore’s stance was also met with some puzzlement since she walked away as host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards in May, the first big awards show to air during the strike. Back then, she wrote: “I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike.”

    She has since lost another hosting gig: the National Book Awards in November. The organization rescinded her invitation “in light of the announcement that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ will resume production.”

    LeRoy, who has studied labor-employer struggles for 30 years, warned that TV shows like Barrymore’s may think they can get by without using union writers but may find long-term costs.

    “No members of the Writers Guild will ever work with that show again,” he said. “It’s a short-term, feel-good moment or get-by moment for Drew Barrymore and maybe the others, but long term they really have, in my view, basically given themselves an early retirement.”

    He noted other strikes in the past that left bitter feelings for decades, like when Major League Baseball umpires went on strike in 1999. New umpires were hired and integrated with veteran ones but tensions continued.

    “For the next 25 years, those umpires would not talk to each other if they were assigned to work games together,” LeRoy said. “Twenty-five years of shunning. People do not forget it.”

    Viewers who tune into new episodes of daytime talk shows these days will find a changed landscape. Guests aren’t always the A-listers with blockbuster TV shows or films to promote. Since the strike began, authors, musicians and comedians are filling the gaps.

    This week, Neil deGrasse Tyson was on “Live With Kelly and Ryan” talking about the science behind the Hulk while Cedric The Entertainer was telling Hall about his debut novel. Matthew McConaughey was on “The View” to promote his book ”Just Because.”

    Hosts like Barrymore may be caught in a lose-lose situation — contractually obligated to return to work but certain to anger colleagues when they do. Last week she noted “This is bigger than just me.”

    Bill Maher, who also announced he would return to his late night talk show, couched his reasoning as wanting to help all his staff, saying writers “are not the only people with issues, problems, and concerns.”

    Dohrn isn’t buying it: “They talk about wanting to support the people who are just getting by. But Bill Maher and Drew Barrymore and the hosts of ‘The View’ are not just getting by. They could very easily stand with their fellow workers in the industry and say, ‘We’re not going to feed the studio pipeline until they make a fair offer,’” he said.

    “They’re deciding for a whole host of complicated reasons to go back to work and to ultimately try to break the strike.”

    ___

    Associated Press Writer Krysta Fauria contributed to this report.

    ___

    Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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  • Eno Ichikawa, Japanese Kabuki theater actor and innovator, dies at 83

    Eno Ichikawa, Japanese Kabuki theater actor and innovator, dies at 83

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    TOKYO — Eno Ichikawa, who revived the spectacular in Japanese Kabuki theater to woo younger and global audiences, has died. He was 83.

    Ichikawa died after suffering heart problems on Wednesday in Tokyo, the entertainment company Shochiku Co., a major Kabuki producer, said Saturday.

    Ichikawa, or Masahiko Kinoshi, became known for “Super Kabuki,” incorporating modern music and storytelling as well as the circus-like elements of the tradition — such as “flying” supported by ropes — that had been discarded over the years. He focused on what he called the three S’s: “Speed, story and spectacle.”

    Kabuki, which features live music and dance on a revolving stage, originated in the 17th Century Edo era and is traditionally performed only by men. So, Ichikawa played beautiful damsels, as well as witches, samurai and even animals throughout his career.

    He is best known for bringing back the stunt “chunori,” which translates as “lifted into space,” portraying a joyous fox that receives from a princess a small drum made from the hide of its slaughtered parents.

    Ichikawa was listed in the Guinness World Records in 2000 for having “flown across the stage and audience for 5,000 performances since April 1968.”

    Hailed as “the rebel in Kabuki” by Japanese media, Ichikawa also created new works. “Yamato Takeru,” based on Japanese mythology and centered on a prince who battles evil forces, debuted in 1986. At the end, the hero transforms into a magnificent white bird that flies through the theater.

    Ichikawa not only collaborated with modern writers and composers but also recruited and trained people outside the Kabuki families as actors. That had been unheard of, although such collaborations are routine now due to Ichikawa’s efforts.

    After he divorced from actress Yuko Hama, Ichikawa became estranged from his son, Teruyuki Kagawa, a well-known actor in movies and TV shows. They later reunited, and Kagawa took up Kabuki as Chusha Ichikawa when he was in his 40s. Most Kabuki actors start as children, learning the art that is passed down from grandfather to father to son.

    “He was an actor who devoted his life to blazing new trails, always with a heart that aspired to fly to the heavens, no matter the obstacles,” Kagawa said in a statement.

    “He was truly blessed to have been loved by so many people and for giving his all to his own Kabuki Way.”

    Kagawa’s son Danko has now started acting in Kabuki and is on track to inherit the family roles.

    “There was so much more I wanted to learn from my grandfather,” Danko said.

    “I vow to keep doing my best, never forgetting the drive to soar above and the power to dream that he so treasured,” he added.

    Ichikawa continued to act even after suffering a stroke in 2003, delivering his final performance in 2013. He has been honored with numerous cultural prizes, including from the Japanese and French governments.

    Tragedy struck Ichikawa’s family earlier this year when his brother and fellow Kabuki actor Danshiro Ichikawa and his wife died in an apparent triple-suicide attempt. Their son, Ennosuke Ichikawa, whose attempt failed, is set to face trial over the deaths.

    A public memorial for Ichikawa is being planned for a later date, following family services, according to Shochiku.

    ___

    Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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  • Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Jackman separate after 27 years of marriage

    Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Jackman separate after 27 years of marriage

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    Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Jackman have decided to end their marriage after 27 years and two children, the pair told People magazine Friday

    ByThe Associated Press

    September 15, 2023, 2:28 PM

    FILE – Hugh Jackman, right., and Deborra-Lee Furness Jackman attend the premiere of Apple Original Films’ “Ghosted” in New York on April 18, 2023. Jackman and Deborra-lee Jackman have decided to end their marriage after 27 years and two children, the pair told People magazine Friday. In a joint statement provided to People, they said they “have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage.” (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

    The Associated Press

    NEW YORK — Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Jackman have decided to end their marriage after 27 years and two children.

    “We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth,” they said in the joint statement. Their separation was first reported by People magazine.

    They said the statement would be their only one on their breakup. They added that their family is their highest priority and that they’ll undertake “this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness.”

    A representative for the couple confirmed the statement to The Associated Press Friday.

    The couple met in 1995 on the set of an Australian television show where both were actors. Deborra-lee Furness at the time was the more established of the two. They married in 1996 and had two children: Oscar, now 23, and Ava, now 18. Jackman also ascended to major stardom in Hollywood and on Broadway.

    The couple have been red carpet mainstays for years, posing together at the Oscars, at Broadway events and at the Met Gala, including the most recent edition in May. They attended Wimbledon together in July.

    In April, Jackman celebrated their 27th anniversary with a tribute on Instagram.

    “I love you so much. Together we have created a beautiful family. And life,” he wrote. “Your laughter, your spirit, generosity, humor, cheekiness, courage and loyalty is an incredible gift to me.”

    Furness, 67, is an advocate for orphans and adoption, especially in her native Australia, and one of the founding members of National Adoption Awareness Week.

    Jackman, 54, who played the superhero Wolverine in several movies, is reprising the role in “Deadpool 3,” which is on hold due to the actors strike.

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  • Media mogul Byron Allen offers Disney $10 billion for ABC, cable TV channels

    Media mogul Byron Allen offers Disney $10 billion for ABC, cable TV channels

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    Media mogul Byron Allen has offered $10 billion to the Walt Disney Co. to purchase its ABC television network, in addition to the cable networks FX and National Geographic.

    The bid, which Allen’s representative confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch, would include ABC’s national TV network as well as several regional stations. The offer is “preliminary” and “could change” at any time, a source with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. 

    The $10 billion figure is based on an estimation that the networks accrued $1.25 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization within the past year, the publication reported.   

    Disney CEO Bob Iger signaled in July that Disney was open to selling some of its television assets as consumers continue to flock to streaming networks, eclipsing traditional television and cable. Since then, the company has been in talks with potential buyers including local broadcaster Nexstar, Bloomberg reported.  

    Disney is facing financial pressures as its fledgling streaming business continues to lose money. The company’s streaming unit has lost more than $11 billion since it debuted Disney+ in 2019, and during the most recent quarter alone it reported $512 million in losses, according to an August earnings report.

    Byron Allen is the founder and CEO of Allen Media Group, a global media production and distribution company that owns the Weather Channel, along with several regional sports networks and broadcast TV stations. 

    US-ECONOMY-MILKEN
    Byron Allen, founder and CEO of Allen Media Group, attends the Milken Institute Global Conference on October 19, 2021, in Beverly Hills, California.

    PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images


    Allen entered the media business in the early 1990s after a successful career as a stand-up comedian on programs like The Tonight Show and as host of the late-night talk show The Byron Allen Show, according to a bio on his company’s website. In 1993, he founded CF Entertainment, later renamed Entertainment Studios, a division of AMG, which he built into a media empire worth roughly $1 billion through a series of acquisitions, according to the Hollywood Reporter. 

    In 2022, he tried to buy the Denver Broncos — a move that would have made him the first Black majority owner of an NFL franchise — but was ultimately outbid. 

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