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Tag: television

  • As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

    As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

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    Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with one of her shows being canceled. For a performer, it’s a painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different.

    In December, Riva was floored when she found out that “Gordita Chronicles,” her recently canceled family comedy, would be removed from HBO Max’s vast streaming library — one of dozens of shows that HBO last year effectively wiped from existence for U.S. viewers. Among others: “Westworld,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Minx,” “Mrs. Fletcher” and numerous animated and reality series.

    For Riva, the developments were crushing. Over 10 episodes, the critically lauded series followed a plus-sized 12-year-old named Cucu as she and her Dominican family adapt to life in 1980s Miami.

    “It was as if somebody had broken up with you and then came back to remind you a couple of weeks later that we’ve broken up,” says Riva, who played Cucu’s mother. “It was already heartbreaking. But then it’s an added punch to just say, ‘Now we’re going to wipe the evidence of you ever having been here.’”

    As streamers face mounting pressure to save money, several have followed HBO’s lead. Erasing original shows from their libraries can help streamers get tax write-downs and, to a smaller extent, save on residual payments. But it brings criticism that they are sidelining already marginalized voices and shortchanging creatives out of already slimmer residual paychecks. These issues have increased tension between executives and writers amid union contract negotiations that started late last month and could lead to a significant work stoppage this spring.

    Streaming companies offer this defense: They never promised that shows would live forever. In a hyper-competitive, changing market, they say, each streamer is trying to balance ample offerings with sheer survival.

    STREAMERS TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS

    Amid the downturn in the tech and media industries, streamers are being pushed to cut spending and turn a profit rather than “chasing growth at all costs,” media analyst Dan Rayburn says.

    “These companies have had to change the way they’re spending on content because Wall Street says you’ve got to get to profitability much faster,” Rayburn says. He cites how Disney’s stock nosedived in November after the company revealed that its direct-to-consumer unit, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, lost nearly $1.5 billion in one quarter.

    HBO’s 2022 purges — which occurred as its parent company, Warner Bros., merged with Discovery, enabling a slew of tax write-off possibilities — were the most notable example. But its rivals quickly followed suit. In January, Starz erased a handful of shows including “Dangerous Liaisons,” a costume drama that disappeared from its streaming app days after the finale aired. Some fans said they missed the last episode.

    Then, a few weeks later, Showtime underwent its own culling. It eliminated the Jeff Daniels-led drama “American Rust,” among others. Paramount+, with Showtime integrating into the service, did the same with some of its offerings, including Jordan Peele’s revival of “The Twilight Zone.”

    Some of those shows have found new homes. For those that haven’t, including “Gordita Chronicles,” the effects of their disappearance are widespread. Potential viewers might never have a chance to discover it. Actors and writers no longer know whether their work will be seen again. And the original streamer no longer has to pay residuals.

    How much money streamers save through these erasures is unclear. But Rayburn says the companies clearly concluded that the excised shows weren’t bringing in enough new customers or significantly aiding retention efforts. Instead, streamers have been shopping the programming to rivals, including free, ad-supported streaming TV channels like Tubi, which recently began hosting some HBO shows, including “Westworld.”

    Streamers, Rayburn says, are under no obligation to host shows for years. What’s more, customers have gotten used to hopping among apps to hunt down titles that bounce between them.

    Casey Bloys, chair and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, said on a recent episode of “The Watch” podcast that streamers are taking a closer look at their libraries and seeing how best to profit.

    “The idea that everything a company produces will be in one spot forever and ever, for $15 a month, for eternity, is a relatively new concept,” Bloys said. “$15 a month is going to cover everything for the rest of time? It’s a nice idea, but it’s not viable.”

    THE DECLINE OF RESIDUALS

    The shifting landscape has alarmed creatives who have already seen their residuals dwindle over the years.

    Residuals were once a cornerstone of an actor’s or writer’s livelihood, with large checks consistently rolling in as series were syndicated and appeared as reruns. Now, creatives say, their residual income has plummeted as streamers have grown. As part of union-negotiated contracts, streamers still pay residuals, but those back-end payments are hardly the size that casts and crews receive from TV channels.

    Per the Writers Guild of America West’s contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a single rerun of an hourlong prime-time broadcast show on ABC would currently net its writer $24,558. But if that show were on Netflix, the writer would earn — at most — $20,018 in domestic residuals for the episode. And if the show were on a smaller streamer like HBO Max, that annual payment would max out at $13,346. Each additional year a show is on a streamer, the residuals decrease. That, of course, assumes the show remains part of the library.

    The decline of residuals is an issue that industry insiders say could come to a head as the WGA’s contract expires in May, followed shortly by the expiration of the directors’ and actors’ guild contracts, which are both due to lapse June 30. In addition to seeking better residual rates, writers want higher minimum pay rates and better financial security in an industry that is far more likely to order a 10-episode season than the 22-episode season that was standard when broadcasters dominated the medium. The last writers’ strike, a 100-day work stoppage that ended in 2008, cost the California economy an estimated $2 billion.

    “In case y’all are wondering why a WGA strike may be impending, my first residual check for the broadcast show I wrote on was $12,000. I just got my first residual check for my streaming show… $4,” screenwriter Kyra Jones tweeted.

    Even though residuals have fallen, Riva says they play a crucial role in ensuring that an actor makes enough money over a given year — currently $26,470 — to retain insurance eligibility via the actors’ guild, SAG-AFTRA.

    “If you didn’t get much work recently, but at least had enough residuals to get you over that minimum threshold — that means you can insure your family,” Riva says.

    MARGINALIZED VOICES SHELVED

    In a February news release, the Writer’s Guild of America West decried HBO’s removal of its shows, saying it “illustrates how consolidation increases the power of gatekeepers at the expense of marginalized voices.”

    The guild cited HBO’s decisions to pull “Gordita Chronicles” and “Tuca & Bertie,” an animated series whose two leads were voiced by women of color. It also highlighted the studio’s highly unusual move to ax “Batgirl” — a nearly completed movie starring Leslie Grace, an Afro-Latina actor — that HBO shelved for a tax write-off instead of releasing. In January, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company is “done” pursuing those content-related write-offs.

    “We can’t just let shows disappear, especially shows that depict immigration and Latinx families in a positive light,” said “Gordita Chronicles” showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz. “Our communities are humanized through comedy. And to not have the show be there as part of our media lexicon, it shows a regression to me.”

    In a statement, HBO Max said cancelling “Gordita Chronicles” was a “very difficult decision” it made as part of a shift away from family entertainment. The streamer also confirmed it has returned the show’s rights to Sony.

    While other affected shows have found new homes through licensing deals, “Gordita Chronicles” remains in limbo, all but impossible to find. For a while, some episodes were still streaming on American Airlines flights, but they, too, recently vanished from in-flight viewing options.

    Both Muñoz-Liebowitz and Juan Javier Cardenas, who played Cucu’s father on the show, hope Sony finds a new home for it. Cardenas says that when other shows of his were canceled, he took solace in knowing “the work would survive.” That’s not the case with “Gordita Chronicles” — at least, not now.

    “To know that in the end,” Cardenas says, “despite all the heart and soul we put into the show, that it won’t be available for people in the future to watch and enjoy — that’s a very sad thing.”

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  • As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

    As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

    [ad_1]

    Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with one of her shows being canceled. For a performer, it’s a painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different.

    In December, Riva was floored when she found out that “Gordita Chronicles,” her recently canceled family comedy, would be removed from HBO Max’s vast streaming library — one of dozens of shows that HBO last year effectively wiped from existence for U.S. viewers. Among others: “Westworld,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Minx,” “Mrs. Fletcher” and numerous animated and reality series.

    For Riva, the developments were crushing. Over 10 episodes, the critically lauded series followed a plus-sized 12-year-old named Cucu as she and her Dominican family adapt to life in 1980s Miami.

    “It was as if somebody had broken up with you and then came back to remind you a couple of weeks later that we’ve broken up,” says Riva, who played Cucu’s mother. “It was already heartbreaking. But then it’s an added punch to just say, ‘Now we’re going to wipe the evidence of you ever having been here.’”

    As streamers face mounting pressure to save money, several have followed HBO’s lead. Erasing original shows from their libraries can help streamers get tax write-downs and, to a smaller extent, save on residual payments. But it brings criticism that they are sidelining already marginalized voices and shortchanging creatives out of already slimmer residual paychecks. These issues have increased tension between executives and writers amid union contract negotiations that started late last month and could lead to a significant work stoppage this spring.

    Streaming companies offer this defense: They never promised that shows would live forever. In a hyper-competitive, changing market, they say, each streamer is trying to balance ample offerings with sheer survival.

    STREAMERS TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS

    Amid the downturn in the tech and media industries, streamers are being pushed to cut spending and turn a profit rather than “chasing growth at all costs,” media analyst Dan Rayburn says.

    “These companies have had to change the way they’re spending on content because Wall Street says you’ve got to get to profitability much faster,” Rayburn says. He cites how Disney’s stock nosedived in November after the company revealed that its direct-to-consumer unit, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, lost nearly $1.5 billion in one quarter.

    HBO’s 2022 purges — which occurred as its parent company, Warner Bros., merged with Discovery, enabling a slew of tax write-off possibilities — were the most notable example. But its rivals quickly followed suit. In January, Starz erased a handful of shows including “Dangerous Liaisons,” a costume drama that disappeared from its streaming app days after the finale aired. Some fans said they missed the last episode.

    Then, a few weeks later, Showtime underwent its own culling. It eliminated the Jeff Daniels-led drama “American Rust,” among others. Paramount+, with Showtime integrating into the service, did the same with some of its offerings, including Jordan Peele’s revival of “The Twilight Zone.”

    Some of those shows have found new homes. For those that haven’t, including “Gordita Chronicles,” the effects of their disappearance are widespread. Potential viewers might never have a chance to discover it. Actors and writers no longer know whether their work will be seen again. And the original streamer no longer has to pay residuals.

    How much money streamers save through these erasures is unclear. But Rayburn says the companies clearly concluded that the excised shows weren’t bringing in enough new customers or significantly aiding retention efforts. Instead, streamers have been shopping the programming to rivals, including free, ad-supported streaming TV channels like Tubi, which recently began hosting some HBO shows, including “Westworld.”

    Streamers, Rayburn says, are under no obligation to host shows for years. What’s more, customers have gotten used to hopping among apps to hunt down titles that bounce between them.

    Casey Bloys, chair and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, said on a recent episode of “The Watch” podcast that streamers are taking a closer look at their libraries and seeing how best to profit.

    “The idea that everything a company produces will be in one spot forever and ever, for $15 a month, for eternity, is a relatively new concept,” Bloys said. “$15 a month is going to cover everything for the rest of time? It’s a nice idea, but it’s not viable.”

    THE DECLINE OF RESIDUALS

    The shifting landscape has alarmed creatives who have already seen their residuals dwindle over the years.

    Residuals were once a cornerstone of an actor’s or writer’s livelihood, with large checks consistently rolling in as series were syndicated and appeared as reruns. Now, creatives say, their residual income has plummeted as streamers have grown. As part of union-negotiated contracts, streamers still pay residuals, but those back-end payments are hardly the size that casts and crews receive from TV channels.

    Per the Writers Guild of America West’s contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a single rerun of an hourlong prime-time broadcast show on ABC would currently net its writer $24,558. But if that show were on Netflix, the writer would earn — at most — $20,018 in domestic residuals for the episode. And if the show were on a smaller streamer like HBO Max, that annual payment would max out at $13,346. Each additional year a show is on a streamer, the residuals decrease. That, of course, assumes the show remains part of the library.

    The decline of residuals is an issue that industry insiders say could come to a head as the WGA’s contract expires in May, followed shortly by the expiration of the directors’ and actors’ guild contracts, which are both due to lapse June 30. In addition to seeking better residual rates, writers want higher minimum pay rates and better financial security in an industry that is far more likely to order a 10-episode season than the 22-episode season that was standard when broadcasters dominated the medium. The last writers’ strike, a 100-day work stoppage that ended in 2008, cost the California economy an estimated $2 billion.

    “In case y’all are wondering why a WGA strike may be impending, my first residual check for the broadcast show I wrote on was $12,000. I just got my first residual check for my streaming show… $4,” screenwriter Kyra Jones tweeted.

    Even though residuals have fallen, Riva says they play a crucial role in ensuring that an actor makes enough money over a given year — currently $26,470 — to retain insurance eligibility via the actors’ guild, SAG-AFTRA.

    “If you didn’t get much work recently, but at least had enough residuals to get you over that minimum threshold — that means you can insure your family,” Riva says.

    MARGINALIZED VOICES SHELVED

    In a February news release, the Writer’s Guild of America West decried HBO’s removal of its shows, saying it “illustrates how consolidation increases the power of gatekeepers at the expense of marginalized voices.”

    The guild cited HBO’s decisions to pull “Gordita Chronicles” and “Tuca & Bertie,” an animated series whose two leads were voiced by women of color. It also highlighted the studio’s highly unusual move to ax “Batgirl” — a nearly completed movie starring Leslie Grace, an Afro-Latina actor — that HBO shelved for a tax write-off instead of releasing. In January, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company is “done” pursuing those content-related write-offs.

    “We can’t just let shows disappear, especially shows that depict immigration and Latinx families in a positive light,” said “Gordita Chronicles” showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz. “Our communities are humanized through comedy. And to not have the show be there as part of our media lexicon, it shows a regression to me.”

    In a statement, HBO Max said cancelling “Gordita Chronicles” was a “very difficult decision” it made as part of a shift away from family entertainment. The streamer also confirmed it has returned the show’s rights to Sony.

    While other affected shows have found new homes through licensing deals, “Gordita Chronicles” remains in limbo, all but impossible to find. For a while, some episodes were still streaming on American Airlines flights, but they, too, recently vanished from in-flight viewing options.

    Both Muñoz-Liebowitz and Juan Javier Cardenas, who played Cucu’s father on the show, hope Sony finds a new home for it. Cardenas says that when other shows of his were canceled, he took solace in knowing “the work would survive.” That’s not the case with “Gordita Chronicles” — at least, not now.

    “To know that in the end,” Cardenas says, “despite all the heart and soul we put into the show, that it won’t be available for people in the future to watch and enjoy — that’s a very sad thing.”

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  • ‘Yellowjackets’ goes deeper into the darkness in new season

    ‘Yellowjackets’ goes deeper into the darkness in new season

    [ad_1]

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Season one of “Yellowjackets” ended with the phrase “let the darkness set us free,” and season two dares to venture into the darkness with little to no remorse.

    The breakout Showtime series blends horror, adventure, comedy, drama and more in an eerily harmonious way as two primary timelines unfold: The first feature a girls’ soccer team stranded in the Canadian wilderness in the ’90s, while the second focuses on the surviving teens now navigating adulthood and dealing with the trauma of the wilderness.

    “The first season is really about them making peace with their new surroundings and season two is about the surroundings closing in on them. It’s about the isolation and all the terrible things that can come from that,” said co-showrunner and co-creator Ashley Lyle.

    As viewers venture back into the wilderness with the surviving teens, there seems to be a dark presence and looming energy over their time. This second season raises the question of how much the audience will visibly endure, as the girls are physically, emotionally and psychologically pushed to the limit.

    “I was personally blown away. The first script made me gasp several times. I love the way the episode ends,” said Christina Ricci, who plays Adult Misty.

    Melanie Lynskey, who portrays Adult Shauna, said she was nervous about how the writers would amplify each storyline from the previous season. “I just was like, ‘Oh my God! They did it. They really did it.’ Every script. I was like,’They did it again!’ It’s really impressive,“ said Lynskey.

    Samantha Hanratty and Sophie Nélisse, who play the teen versions of Ricci and Lynskey’s characters, said that episodes five and six surprised them the most.

    Hanratty says that episode five had her “jaw just on the floor” when watching back footage. “I can’t believe Misty did what she did; I’m not ready for this,” said the actor.

    Nélisse said episode six is a huge moment for her character: “I knew it was going to happen at some point, but I didn’t know the twists and turns it was going to take me on, and I was mostly just nervous I wouldn’t live up to the task. And I cried a little because I was like, ‘I won’t be able to do it.’”

    “Yellowjackets” quickly became a fan-favorite series after its premiere in 2021 as fans scoured the internet for answers to their burning questions. The show has been renewed for a third season.

    This season explores the world of cults and potentially the supernatural. However, Tawny Cypress — who plays Adult Taissa — says it’s all up for interpretation since it is not clear if a supernatural entity has any power over either teens or adults.

    “I think the supernatural is really interpretive. There’s not necessarily anything that’s been said yet that’s written in stone,” said the actor.

    Co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco agrees and said the writers want to take the audience on an exploration of possibilities.

    “I think that we’ve got to be careful about labeling exactly what’s happening and instead exploring the possibilities of what’s happening. That’s really where we’re at,” said Lisco.

    “There are broad definitions of the term supernatural, but what we always want to explore is whether or not there is a presence in the woods that is making them do this, or whether or not energetically these women coming together alchemically produce that kind of darkness and bring out the worst in each other.”

    The trailer for season two also reveals more surviving characters. Fans got a sneak peek of Van — portrayed in the present by Lauren Ambrose — and Lottie — portrayed in the present by Simone Kessell.

    Kessell praised Courtney Eaton’s portrayal of Teen Lottie in the first season. “She set the foundation, and I got to paint the house,” said the actor. “Courtney had done such a beautiful job of creating the dark Lottie and the visionary that is Lottie.”

    The young actors said that at the end of a long day of filming, they turned to self-care and community to take themselves out of their character’s survival mode.

    “It’s a lot of recommending yoga classes to each other,” Liv Hewson said playfully. Eaton and Nélisse lived together and chose to decompress by listening to music on the way home and sitting in silence watching television.

    “I would say that to kind of decompress of the day, it really helped taking off my wig and getting rid of the dirt from under your nails and skin and just coming back to your own skin and feeling fresh again,” Eaton added.

    Season two premiered on Showtime on March 24 and already has fans raving about the unexpected twists and turns.

    Ricci, who has starred in films like “The Addams Family” and “Penelope,” said that fans are drawn to supernatural thrillers because they provide a sense of escape from reality.

    “I think sometimes being able to see the problems of real life through an extreme metaphor, it’s easier to process things. It’s more fun to follow along. But we still feel how much it resonates emotionally for us,” she said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • ‘Yellowjackets’ goes deeper into the darkness in new season

    ‘Yellowjackets’ goes deeper into the darkness in new season

    [ad_1]

    LOS ANGELES — Season one of “Yellowjackets” ended with the phrase “let the darkness set us free,” and season two dares to venture into the darkness with little to no remorse.

    The breakout Showtime series blends horror, adventure, comedy, drama and more in an eerily harmonious way as two primary timelines unfold: The first feature a girls’ soccer team stranded in the Canadian wilderness in the ’90s, while the second focuses on the surviving teens now navigating adulthood and dealing with the trauma of the wilderness.

    “The first season is really about them making peace with their new surroundings and season two is about the surroundings closing in on them. It’s about the isolation and all the terrible things that can come from that,” said co-showrunner and co-creator Ashley Lyle.

    As viewers venture back into the wilderness with the surviving teens, there seems to be a dark presence and looming energy over their time. This second season raises the question of how much the audience will visibly endure, as the girls are physically, emotionally and psychologically pushed to the limit.

    “I was personally blown away. The first script made me gasp several times. I love the way the episode ends,” said Christina Ricci, who plays Adult Misty.

    Melanie Lynskey, who portrays Adult Shauna, said she was nervous about how the writers would amplify each storyline from the previous season. “I just was like, ‘Oh my God! They did it. They really did it.’ Every script. I was like,’They did it again!’ It’s really impressive,“ said Lynskey.

    Samantha Hanratty and Sophie Nélisse, who play the teen versions of Ricci and Lynskey’s characters, said that episodes five and six surprised them the most.

    Hanratty says that episode five had her “jaw just on the floor” when watching back footage. “I can’t believe Misty did what she did; I’m not ready for this,” said the actor.

    Nélisse said episode six is a huge moment for her character: “I knew it was going to happen at some point, but I didn’t know the twists and turns it was going to take me on, and I was mostly just nervous I wouldn’t live up to the task. And I cried a little because I was like, ‘I won’t be able to do it.’”

    “Yellowjackets” quickly became a fan-favorite series after its premiere in 2021 as fans scoured the internet for answers to their burning questions. The show has been renewed for a third season.

    This season explores the world of cults and potentially the supernatural. However, Tawny Cypress — who plays Adult Taissa — says it’s all up for interpretation since it is not clear if a supernatural entity has any power over either teens or adults.

    “I think the supernatural is really interpretive. There’s not necessarily anything that’s been said yet that’s written in stone,” said the actor.

    Co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco agrees and said the writers want to take the audience on an exploration of possibilities.

    “I think that we’ve got to be careful about labeling exactly what’s happening and instead exploring the possibilities of what’s happening. That’s really where we’re at,” said Lisco.

    “There are broad definitions of the term supernatural, but what we always want to explore is whether or not there is a presence in the woods that is making them do this, or whether or not energetically these women coming together alchemically produce that kind of darkness and bring out the worst in each other.”

    The trailer for season two also reveals more surviving characters. Fans got a sneak peek of Van — portrayed in the present by Lauren Ambrose — and Lottie — portrayed in the present by Simone Kessell.

    Kessell praised Courtney Eaton’s portrayal of Teen Lottie in the first season. “She set the foundation, and I got to paint the house,” said the actor. “Courtney had done such a beautiful job of creating the dark Lottie and the visionary that is Lottie.”

    The young actors said that at the end of a long day of filming, they turned to self-care and community to take themselves out of their character’s survival mode.

    “It’s a lot of recommending yoga classes to each other,” Liv Hewson said playfully. Eaton and Nélisse lived together and chose to decompress by listening to music on the way home and sitting in silence watching television.

    “I would say that to kind of decompress of the day, it really helped taking off my wig and getting rid of the dirt from under your nails and skin and just coming back to your own skin and feeling fresh again,” Eaton added.

    Season two premiered on Showtime on March 24 and already has fans raving about the unexpected twists and turns.

    Ricci, who has starred in films like “The Addams Family” and “Penelope,” said that fans are drawn to supernatural thrillers because they provide a sense of escape from reality.

    “I think sometimes being able to see the problems of real life through an extreme metaphor, it’s easier to process things. It’s more fun to follow along. But we still feel how much it resonates emotionally for us,” she said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

    As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

    [ad_1]

    Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with one of her shows being canceled. For a performer, it’s a painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different.

    In December, Riva was floored when she found out that “Gordita Chronicles,” her recently canceled family comedy, would be removed from HBO Max’s vast streaming library — one of dozens of shows that HBO last year effectively wiped from existence for U.S. viewers. Among others: “Westworld,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Minx,” “Mrs. Fletcher” and numerous animated and reality series.

    For Riva, the developments were crushing. Over 10 episodes, the critically lauded series followed a plus-sized 12-year-old named Cucu as she and her Dominican family adapt to life in 1980s Miami.

    “It was as if somebody had broken up with you and then came back to remind you a couple of weeks later that we’ve broken up,” says Riva, who played Cucu’s mother. “It was already heartbreaking. But then it’s an added punch to just say, ‘Now we’re going to wipe the evidence of you ever having been here.’”

    As streamers face mounting pressure to save money, several have followed HBO’s lead. Erasing original shows from their libraries can help streamers get tax write-downs and, to a smaller extent, save on residual payments. But it brings criticism that they are sidelining already marginalized voices and shortchanging creatives out of already slimmer residual paychecks. These issues have increased tension between executives and writers amid union contract negotiations that started late last month and could lead to a significant work stoppage this spring.

    Streaming companies offer this defense: They never promised that shows would live forever. In a hyper-competitive, changing market, they say, each streamer is trying to balance ample offerings with sheer survival.

    STREAMERS TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS

    Amid the downturn in the tech and media industries, streamers are being pushed to cut spending and turn a profit rather than “chasing growth at all costs,” media analyst Dan Rayburn says.

    “These companies have had to change the way they’re spending on content because Wall Street says you’ve got to get to profitability much faster,” Rayburn says. He cites how Disney’s stock nosedived in November after the company revealed that its direct-to-consumer unit, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, lost nearly $1.5 billion in one quarter.

    HBO’s 2022 purges — which occurred as its parent company, Warner Bros., merged with Discovery, enabling a slew of tax write-off possibilities — were the most notable example. But its rivals quickly followed suit. In January, Starz erased a handful of shows including “Dangerous Liaisons,” a costume drama that disappeared from its streaming app days after the finale aired. Some fans said they missed the last episode.

    Then, a few weeks later, Showtime underwent its own culling. It eliminated the Jeff Daniels-led drama “American Rust,” among others. Paramount+, with Showtime integrating into the service, did the same with some of its offerings, including Jordan Peele’s revival of “The Twilight Zone.”

    Some of those shows have found new homes. For those that haven’t, including “Gordita Chronicles,” the effects of their disappearance are widespread. Potential viewers might never have a chance to discover it. Actors and writers no longer know whether their work will be seen again. And the original streamer no longer has to pay residuals.

    How much money streamers save through these erasures is unclear. But Rayburn says the companies clearly concluded that the excised shows weren’t bringing in enough new customers or significantly aiding retention efforts. Instead, streamers have been shopping the programming to rivals, including free, ad-supported streaming TV channels like Tubi, which recently began hosting some HBO shows, including “Westworld.”

    Streamers, Rayburn says, are under no obligation to host shows for years. What’s more, customers have gotten used to hopping among apps to hunt down titles that bounce between them.

    Casey Bloys, chair and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, said on a recent episode of “The Watch” podcast that streamers are taking a closer look at their libraries and seeing how best to profit.

    “The idea that everything a company produces will be in one spot forever and ever, for $15 a month, for eternity, is a relatively new concept,” Bloys said. “$15 a month is going to cover everything for the rest of time? It’s a nice idea, but it’s not viable.”

    THE DECLINE OF RESIDUALS

    The shifting landscape has alarmed creatives who have already seen their residuals dwindle over the years.

    Residuals were once a cornerstone of an actor’s or writer’s livelihood, with large checks consistently rolling in as series were syndicated and appeared as reruns. Now, creatives say, their residual income has plummeted as streamers have grown. As part of union-negotiated contracts, streamers still pay residuals, but those back-end payments are hardly the size that casts and crews receive from TV channels.

    Per the Writers Guild of America West’s contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a single rerun of an hourlong prime-time broadcast show on ABC would currently net its writer $24,558. But if that show were on Netflix, the writer would earn — at most — $20,018 in domestic residuals for the episode. And if the show were on a smaller streamer like HBO Max, that annual payment would max out at $13,346. Each additional year a show is on a streamer, the residuals decrease. That, of course, assumes the show remains part of the library.

    The decline of residuals is an issue that industry insiders say could come to a head as the WGA’s contract expires in May, followed shortly by the expiration of the directors’ and actors’ guild contracts, which are both due to lapse June 30. In addition to seeking better residual rates, writers want higher minimum pay rates and better financial security in an industry that is far more likely to order a 10-episode season than the 22-episode season that was standard when broadcasters dominated the medium. The last writers’ strike, a 100-day work stoppage that ended in 2008, cost the California economy an estimated $2 billion.

    “In case y’all are wondering why a WGA strike may be impending, my first residual check for the broadcast show I wrote on was $12,000. I just got my first residual check for my streaming show… $4,” screenwriter Kyra Jones tweeted.

    Even though residuals have fallen, Riva says they play a crucial role in ensuring that an actor makes enough money over a given year — currently $26,470 — to retain insurance eligibility via the actors’ guild, SAG-AFTRA.

    “If you didn’t get much work recently, but at least had enough residuals to get you over that minimum threshold — that means you can insure your family,” Riva says.

    MARGINALIZED VOICES SHELVED

    In a February news release, the Writer’s Guild of America West decried HBO’s removal of its shows, saying it “illustrates how consolidation increases the power of gatekeepers at the expense of marginalized voices.”

    The guild cited HBO’s decisions to pull “Gordita Chronicles” and “Tuca & Bertie,” an animated series whose two leads were voiced by women of color. It also highlighted the studio’s highly unusual move to ax “Batgirl” — a nearly completed movie starring Leslie Grace, an Afro-Latina actor — that HBO shelved for a tax write-off instead of releasing. In January, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company is “done” pursuing those content-related write-offs.

    “We can’t just let shows disappear, especially shows that depict immigration and Latinx families in a positive light,” said “Gordita Chronicles” showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz. “Our communities are humanized through comedy. And to not have the show be there as part of our media lexicon, it shows a regression to me.”

    In a statement, HBO Max said cancelling “Gordita Chronicles” was a “very difficult decision” it made as part of a shift away from family entertainment. The streamer also confirmed it has returned the show’s rights to Sony.

    While other affected shows have found new homes through licensing deals, “Gordita Chronicles” remains in limbo, all but impossible to find. For a while, some episodes were still streaming on American Airlines flights, but they, too, recently vanished from in-flight viewing options.

    Both Muñoz-Liebowitz and Juan Javier Cardenas, who played Cucu’s father on the show, hope Sony finds a new home for it. Cardenas says that when other shows of his were canceled, he took solace in knowing “the work would survive.” That’s not the case with “Gordita Chronicles” — at least, not now.

    “To know that in the end,” Cardenas says, “despite all the heart and soul we put into the show, that it won’t be available for people in the future to watch and enjoy — that’s a very sad thing.”

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  • As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

    As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish

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    Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with one of her shows being canceled. For a performer, it’s a painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different.

    In December, Riva was floored when she found out that “Gordita Chronicles,” her recently canceled family comedy, would be removed from HBO Max’s vast streaming library — one of dozens of shows that HBO last year effectively wiped from existence for U.S. viewers. Among others: “Westworld,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Minx,” “Mrs. Fletcher” and numerous animated and reality series.

    For Riva, the developments were crushing. Over 10 episodes, the critically lauded series followed a plus-sized 12-year-old named Cucu as she and her Dominican family adapt to life in 1980s Miami.

    “It was as if somebody had broken up with you and then came back to remind you a couple of weeks later that we’ve broken up,” says Riva, who played Cucu’s mother. “It was already heartbreaking. But then it’s an added punch to just say, ‘Now we’re going to wipe the evidence of you ever having been here.’”

    As streamers face mounting pressure to save money, several have followed HBO’s lead. Erasing original shows from their libraries can help streamers get tax write-downs and, to a smaller extent, save on residual payments. But it brings criticism that they are sidelining already marginalized voices and shortchanging creatives out of already slimmer residual paychecks. These issues have increased tension between executives and writers amid union contract negotiations that started late last month and could lead to a significant work stoppage this spring.

    Streaming companies offer this defense: They never promised that shows would live forever. In a hyper-competitive, changing market, they say, each streamer is trying to balance ample offerings with sheer survival.

    STREAMERS TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS

    Amid the downturn in the tech and media industries, streamers are being pushed to cut spending and turn a profit rather than “chasing growth at all costs,” media analyst Dan Rayburn says.

    “These companies have had to change the way they’re spending on content because Wall Street says you’ve got to get to profitability much faster,” Rayburn says. He cites how Disney’s stock nosedived in November after the company revealed that its direct-to-consumer unit, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, lost nearly $1.5 billion in one quarter.

    HBO’s 2022 purges — which occurred as its parent company, Warner Bros., merged with Discovery, enabling a slew of tax write-off possibilities — were the most notable example. But its rivals quickly followed suit. In January, Starz erased a handful of shows including “Dangerous Liaisons,” a costume drama that disappeared from its streaming app days after the finale aired. Some fans said they missed the last episode.

    Then, a few weeks later, Showtime underwent its own culling. It eliminated the Jeff Daniels-led drama “American Rust,” among others. Paramount+, with Showtime integrating into the service, did the same with some of its offerings, including Jordan Peele’s revival of “The Twilight Zone.”

    Some of those shows have found new homes. For those that haven’t, including “Gordita Chronicles,” the effects of their disappearance are widespread. Potential viewers might never have a chance to discover it. Actors and writers no longer know whether their work will be seen again. And the original streamer no longer has to pay residuals.

    How much money streamers save through these erasures is unclear. But Rayburn says the companies clearly concluded that the excised shows weren’t bringing in enough new customers or significantly aiding retention efforts. Instead, streamers have been shopping the programming to rivals, including free, ad-supported streaming TV channels like Tubi, which recently began hosting some HBO shows, including “Westworld.”

    Streamers, Rayburn says, are under no obligation to host shows for years. What’s more, customers have gotten used to hopping among apps to hunt down titles that bounce between them.

    Casey Bloys, chair and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, said on a recent episode of “The Watch” podcast that streamers are taking a closer look at their libraries and seeing how best to profit.

    “The idea that everything a company produces will be in one spot forever and ever, for $15 a month, for eternity, is a relatively new concept,” Bloys said. “$15 a month is going to cover everything for the rest of time? It’s a nice idea, but it’s not viable.”

    THE DECLINE OF RESIDUALS

    The shifting landscape has alarmed creatives who have already seen their residuals dwindle over the years.

    Residuals were once a cornerstone of an actor’s or writer’s livelihood, with large checks consistently rolling in as series were syndicated and appeared as reruns. Now, creatives say, their residual income has plummeted as streamers have grown. As part of union-negotiated contracts, streamers still pay residuals, but those back-end payments are hardly the size that casts and crews receive from TV channels.

    Per the Writers Guild of America West’s contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a single rerun of an hourlong prime-time broadcast show on ABC would currently net its writer $24,558. But if that show were on Netflix, the writer would earn — at most — $20,018 in domestic residuals for the episode. And if the show were on a smaller streamer like HBO Max, that annual payment would max out at $13,346. Each additional year a show is on a streamer, the residuals decrease. That, of course, assumes the show remains part of the library.

    The decline of residuals is an issue that industry insiders say could come to a head as the WGA’s contract expires in May, followed shortly by the expiration of the directors’ and actors’ guild contracts, which are both due to lapse June 30. In addition to seeking better residual rates, writers want higher minimum pay rates and better financial security in an industry that is far more likely to order a 10-episode season than the 22-episode season that was standard when broadcasters dominated the medium. The last writers’ strike, a 100-day work stoppage that ended in 2008, cost the California economy an estimated $2 billion.

    “In case y’all are wondering why a WGA strike may be impending, my first residual check for the broadcast show I wrote on was $12,000. I just got my first residual check for my streaming show… $4,” screenwriter Kyra Jones tweeted.

    Even though residuals have fallen, Riva says they play a crucial role in ensuring that an actor makes enough money over a given year — currently $26,470 — to retain insurance eligibility via the actors’ guild, SAG-AFTRA.

    “If you didn’t get much work recently, but at least had enough residuals to get you over that minimum threshold — that means you can insure your family,” Riva says.

    MARGINALIZED VOICES SHELVED

    In a February news release, the Writer’s Guild of America West decried HBO’s removal of its shows, saying it “illustrates how consolidation increases the power of gatekeepers at the expense of marginalized voices.”

    The guild cited HBO’s decisions to pull “Gordita Chronicles” and “Tuca & Bertie,” an animated series whose two leads were voiced by women of color. It also highlighted the studio’s highly unusual move to ax “Batgirl” — a nearly completed movie starring Leslie Grace, an Afro-Latina actor — that HBO shelved for a tax write-off instead of releasing. In January, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company is “done” pursuing those content-related write-offs.

    “We can’t just let shows disappear, especially shows that depict immigration and Latinx families in a positive light,” said “Gordita Chronicles” showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz. “Our communities are humanized through comedy. And to not have the show be there as part of our media lexicon, it shows a regression to me.”

    In a statement, HBO Max said cancelling “Gordita Chronicles” was a “very difficult decision” it made as part of a shift away from family entertainment. The streamer also confirmed it has returned the show’s rights to Sony.

    While other affected shows have found new homes through licensing deals, “Gordita Chronicles” remains in limbo, all but impossible to find. For a while, some episodes were still streaming on American Airlines flights, but they, too, recently vanished from in-flight viewing options.

    Both Muñoz-Liebowitz and Juan Javier Cardenas, who played Cucu’s father on the show, hope Sony finds a new home for it. Cardenas says that when other shows of his were canceled, he took solace in knowing “the work would survive.” That’s not the case with “Gordita Chronicles” — at least, not now.

    “To know that in the end,” Cardenas says, “despite all the heart and soul we put into the show, that it won’t be available for people in the future to watch and enjoy — that’s a very sad thing.”

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  • New this week: Brooke Shields, ‘Grease’ prequel and NF album

    New this week: Brooke Shields, ‘Grease’ prequel and NF album

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    Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.

    MOVIES

    — “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” a two-part documentary debuting Monday on Hulu, reconsiders how Shields was sexualized throughout pop culture as a child model and as the 12-year-old star of Louis Malle’s controversial 1978 film “Pretty Baby.” Shields, now 57, intimately discusses how the early labeling of her a sex symbol affected her personally and shaped her career. Director Lana Wilson’s film, which debuted in January at the Sundance Film Festival, revisits plenty of infamous episodes from Shields’ life — her friendship with Michael Jackson, her relationship with Andre Agassi, her odd run-in with Tom Cruise — as well as new revelations, including that she was sexually assaulted by someone she knew professionally.

    — A new series on the Criterion Channel revisits sex and film from a much different perspective. Beginning in April, the streaming service has gathered together some of the defining erotic thrillers of the ‘80s and ’90s, including Brian De Palma’s “Dressed to Kill” (1980), with Angie Dickinson and Michael Caine; Lawrence Kasdan’s “Body Heat” (1981), with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner; and the Wachowskis’ “Bound” (1996), with Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon. (“Basic Instinct” arrives in June.) The absence of carnality in today’s more sexless cinema world has been a subject of ongoing debate. But if you want to step back into a steamier time, the Criterion Channel has you (but not its stars) covered.

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    MUSIC

    — Michigan rapper NF has a new album out Friday and some tough love for his record label. “I could write a record full of radio songs/Do a bunch of features that my label would love,” he raps on “Motto,” the first single. “Sounds like a nightmare if you ask me/Went from my bedroom to the big leagues.” The 13-track album ”Hope” boasts features with singer-songwriter Julia Michaels and rapper Cordae. It marks the rapper’s first full-length release since 2019’s platinum-selling “The Search.”

    — Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi is ready for his spotlight in 2023. The artist who gave us the pop ballad “Someone You Loved” will have a new album — “Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent” — out on May 19 and he has been announced for Glastonbury 2023. On Wednesday, Netflix will release “Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now,” a documentary that follows the Grammy nominee returning to his Scottish roots and attempting to reconnect with his old life and the family and friends he left behind. The new music includes the anching love song “Pointless,” with lush strings and powerful percussion.

    — Linkin Park fans can celebrate the band’s landmark “Meteora” album with a 20th anniversary edition dropping Friday. It’s got a lost gem — literally, a complete and mixed, yet forgotten, song from the era, appropriately entitled “Lost.” Says bandmember Mike Shinoda: “Finding this track was like finding a favorite photo you had forgotten you’d taken, like it was waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.” Another lost track is “Fighting Myself,” with the late Chester Bennington in fine force. “Meteora” landed on March 25, 2003, went No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 before selling 27 million units worldwide.

    — AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

    TELEVISION

    — The popular New Zealand murder series “The Brokenwood Mysteries” returns for its ninth season Monday on Acorn TV, a streaming service offering British TV shows and other international television. The show stars Neill Rea as Mike Shepherd, a detective who in the pilot episode, is assigned to a murder case in the small, fictional town of Brokenwood. Shepherd, who uses unconventional methods in his work, must team up with local detective, Kristin Simms, played by Fern Sutherland, who is more structured and straight-lace. Shepherd stays on in Brokenwood, enjoying the town’s idyllic charm, but there are still plenty of mysteries to solve, with Simms’ help, of course.

    — The new Paramount+ series “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” shows the origin of the girl gang before Frenchy, Rizzo, or Sandy ever donned their own pink jackets. “Rise of the Pink Ladies” takes place four years prior to the events of the “Grease” movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. It features original music by Justin Tranter, a producer who has worked with recording artists including Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande and The Chicks. The show’s creator, Annabelle Oakes, says her hope is to create a “Grease” cinematic universe much like Marvel’s, centered around Rydell High. “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” debuts Thursday.

    — Kathryn Hahn portrays a character inspired by writer Cheryl Strayed in the Hulu series “Tiny Beautiful Things.” It’s based on Strayed’s book of the same name which excerpts an advice column where she went by the pseudonym Dear Sugar. In the series, Hahn plays Clare, a writer who agrees to take on an advice column where she writes beautiful, heartfelt responses to people’s problems, incorporating her own life experiences, and all the while, Clare’s real lie is messy. Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, who both starred in a film adaptation of Strayed’s memoir “Wild,” are executive producers on the series. “Tiny Beautiful Things” premieres Friday.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    VIDEO GAMES

    — Golf’s marquee annual event, The Masters Tournament, begins Thursday but the big news for virtual duffers is Electronic Arts’ long-awaited return to the links. It’s the first entry in the EA Sports PGA Tour franchise since 2015, and its main selling point is exclusive rights to the Masters and the sport’s three other majors. Augusta National, St. Andrews, Pebble Beach and 25 other classic courses are rendered in vivid detail, and EA has completely overhauled swing mechanics, ball physics, weather and landscape effects. Granted, there are plenty of video golfers who don’t want quite that much realism, so there’s an arcade option for those craving more forgiving, faster-paced action. You can tee off Friday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

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

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  • The man who saved 2000 artists and writers from the Nazis

    The man who saved 2000 artists and writers from the Nazis

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    At the outbreak of World War Two, a US journalist named Varian Fry volunteered to travel to the French port city of Marseilles and help repatriate members of the continent’s cultural elite, many of whom were being hounded by the Nazis as anti-authoritarian dissidents, or because they were Jewish. Marseilles was the last free port in Europe and the final destination for refugees desperate to find a new place to live in freedom.

    When he arrived in the city on 15 August, 1940, Fry had $3,000 in banknotes taped to his leg, and a list of 200 artists, writers, and intellectuals who were blacklisted by the Gestapo and the Vichy police. Just over a year later, when he was forced to leave the city, he had orchestrated a remarkable exodus which had saved approximately 2,000 individuals. This included some of Europe’s most influential artistic figures: Marc Chagall, Marcel Duchamp, Remedios Varo, Max Ernst, Hannah Arendt, Jacques Lipchitz, Wilfredo Lam and many more.

    More like this:
    – The artists who outwitted the Nazis
    – The journeys of looted artworks
    – The art hidden from Nazi bombs

    New miniseries Transatlantic, released on Netflix on 7 April, offers a highly fictionalised version of Fry’s operation, based on the novel The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer. Fry is a shadowy presence in the series, with characters like Mary Jayne Gold – the wealthy heiress, adventurer, and socialite who aided Fry, played by Gillian Jacobs – taking a more central role in the narrative.

    Although Fry, played by Cory Michael Smith, is shown as a bookish and unobtrusive scholar in the series, the real-life figure was a natural rebel. He was born in New York City in 1907 and raised in New Jersey by a Protestant family with liberal values. He was a constant irritation to his teachers at the several boarding schools he attended and was later briefly expelled from Harvard. Fry was a classicist, but he was also smitten by the intellectual sparkle and intricacy of modernist culture – James Joyce and TS Eliot were favourites. Then, a trip to Germany in 1935 transformed his understanding of politics and human character. He witnessed at first hand the appalling violence meted out by fascist thugs – street fights, intimidation, and on one occasion a storm trooper stabbing a man through his hand with a knife, impaling it on a café table. He heard rumours about the Nazis’ intentions to liquidate the state’s dissidents and brutalise its Jewish population. The experience flipped a switch for Fry, directing his innate rebelliousness towards virulent hatred for Nazism and all it stood for.

    On 25 June, 1940, following the fall of France to the Nazis, Fry joined 200 museum curators, artists, journalists, and Jewish refugees at a meeting at the Hotel Commodore in New York City. That afternoon, the Emergency Rescue Committee was born. Its aim was to help anyone who was persecuted by the Nazis, including European artists, philosophers, or writers (both Jewish and non-Jewish). Fry volunteered to travel to Europe and become the ERC’s agent in Vichy France.

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  • Jodie Comer, Paul Mescal take acting gold at Olivier Awards

    Jodie Comer, Paul Mescal take acting gold at Olivier Awards

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    LONDON — Screen stars Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer scored prizes at London’s Olivier Awards on Sunday for their first-ever West End stage roles, while a stage adaptation of Japanese animated classic “My Neighbor Totoro” won six trophies.

    Irish actor Mescal – an Academy Award acting nominee this year for “Aftersun” – was named best actor in a play for his turn as the brutish Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Almeida Theatre. Anjana Vasan won the best supporting actress award for playing Stella in Tennessee Williams’ scorching drama, which was named best revival.

    Mescal, 27, said his rapid success “doesn’t feel real.”

    “But it’s kind of happening at such a rate that there is no time to stop and think, ‘This is a phenomenal feeling,’” he said.

    Liverpool-born Comer, 30, won the best actress in a play award for the one-person show “Prima Facie,” which she is taking to Broadway later this month. Suzie Miller’s drama about a lawyer dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault was also named best new play.

    Comer, who shot to fame as star of TV spy series “Killing Eve,” gave a shoutout “to any kids who haven’t been to drama school, who can’t afford to go to drama school, who has been rejected from drama school — don’t let anyone tell you that it isn’t possible.”

    “My Neighbor Totoro” was named best entertainment or comedy play at the Oliviers, the U.K. equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Awards. Phelim McDermott won best-director trophy for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s magical coming-of-age film. It also took prizes for sound, lighting, costumes and sets.

    “Standing at the Sky’s Edge,” an urban elegy set to the music of singer-songwriter Richard Hawley, was named best new musical, while an edgy, pared-down take on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s corn-fed classic “Oklahoma!” won the prize for best musical revival.

    Arthur Darvill won the best-actor in a musical prize for playing Curly in “Oklahoma!” Katie Brayben was named best actress in a musical for playing televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in the Almeida Theatre’s “Tammy Faye.”

    Musical Supporting performance trophies went to Beverley Knight for hiphop suffragette story “Sylvia” and Zubin Varla for “Tammy Faye.” Will Keen was named best actor in a play for playing Vladimir Putin in “Patriots,” a play about the Russian leader’s relationship with oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

    Keen called his character a “living, breathing, internationally recognized villain.”

    Veteran actor Derek Jacobi received a lifetime achievement award to celebrate his six-decade career.

    Hannah Waddingham – a West End musical star before she found TV fame as the owner of a struggling soccer team on “Ted Lasso” — hosted the ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which included performances from musical nominees including “The Band’s Visit,” “Sylvia,” “Tammy Faye,” “Oklahoma!” and “Sister Act.”

    The prizes were founded in 1976 and named for the late actor-director Laurence Olivier. Winners are chosen by voting groups of stage professionals and theatergoers.

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  • Rock, country, blues merge at 2023 CMT Music Awards in Texas

    Rock, country, blues merge at 2023 CMT Music Awards in Texas

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    This year’s CMT Music Awards will merge country, rock and blues straight from the heart of Texas

    ByKRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This year’s CMT Music Awards will merge country, rock and blues straight from the heart of Texas, featuring performances including collaborations with Alanis Morissette, The Black Crowes, Gwen Stefani and Gary Clark Jr. and tributes to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

    The annual fan-voted awards show in Austin, Texas, on Sunday also will honor country superstar and five-time Grammy winner Shania Twain with the Equal Play Award, recognizing her for being a “visible and vocal advocate” for diverse voices in country music.

    Hosted by Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini, fan-favorite and scheduled performer Lainey Wilson leads the nominations with four chances to win.

    The show airs live on CBS at 8 p.m. EST.

    Carrie Underwood has a chance to extend her record as the most awarded artist in CMT history with 25 awards. Underwood, who also will perform, was nominated again for video of the year for “Hate My Heart.”

    Other performers include Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Wynonna Judd with Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Jelly Roll, Tyler Hubbard and Brown with his wife Katelyn.

    Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd will be honored with a tribute performance following the death in March of the last original member, Gary Rossington. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Slash of Guns N’ Roses and the Allman Brothers’ Warren Haynes and Chuck Leavell are slated to perform with singers Paul Rodgers and Cody Johnson with backup vocals from LeAnn Rimes and Judd.

    Four-time Grammy winner Clark Jr. will perform a tribute to the late Texas guitarist Vaughn.

    __

    Follow Kristin M. Hall at https://twitter.com/kmhall

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  • Rock, country, blues merge at 2023 CMT Music Awards in Texas

    Rock, country, blues merge at 2023 CMT Music Awards in Texas

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    This year’s CMT Music Awards will merge country, rock and blues straight from the heart of Texas

    ByKRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This year’s CMT Music Awards will merge country, rock and blues straight from the heart of Texas, featuring performances including collaborations with Alanis Morissette, The Black Crowes, Gwen Stefani and Gary Clark Jr. and tributes to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

    The annual fan-voted awards show in Austin, Texas, on Sunday also will honor country superstar and five-time Grammy winner Shania Twain with the Equal Play Award, recognizing her for being a “visible and vocal advocate” for diverse voices in country music.

    Hosted by Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini, fan-favorite and scheduled performer Lainey Wilson leads the nominations with four chances to win.

    The show airs live on CBS at 8 p.m. EST.

    Carrie Underwood has a chance to extend her record as the most awarded artist in CMT history with 25 awards. Underwood, who also will perform, was nominated again for video of the year for “Hate My Heart.”

    Other performers include Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Wynonna Judd with Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Jelly Roll, Tyler Hubbard and Brown with his wife Katelyn.

    Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd will be honored with a tribute performance following the death in March of the last original member, Gary Rossington. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Slash of Guns N’ Roses and the Allman Brothers’ Warren Haynes and Chuck Leavell are slated to perform with singers Paul Rodgers and Cody Johnson with backup vocals from LeAnn Rimes and Judd.

    Four-time Grammy winner Clark Jr. will perform a tribute to the late Texas guitarist Vaughn.

    __

    Follow Kristin M. Hall at https://twitter.com/kmhall

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  • Kaley Cuoco has 1st child, a daughter, with Tom Pelphrey

    Kaley Cuoco has 1st child, a daughter, with Tom Pelphrey

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    Kaley Cuoco is flying high after giving birth to her first child

    LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kaley Cuoco is flying high after giving birth to her first child.

    The star of “ The Flight Attendant ” and “ The Big Bang Theory ” said on Instagram Saturday that she and fellow actor Tom Pelphrey now have a daughter named Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey.

    “The new light of our lives!” Cuoco posted, along with a series of pictures of the baby, who was born Thursday. “We are overjoyed and grateful for this little miracle.”

    Cuoco has been married twice before, most recently to equestrian Karl Cook. The two split in 2021. Last year she began dating Pelphrey, and in October they announced they were expecting a child together.

    Cuoco, 37, appeared for 12 seasons on the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” She has played the title role in “ The Flight Attendant ” on HBO Max for two seasons, and was nominated for an Emmy for each.

    It’s also the first child for Pelphrey, 40, who has acted primarily in soaps, including “Guiding Light” and “As The World Turns.”

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  • Kaley Cuoco has 1st child, a daughter, with Tom Pelphrey

    Kaley Cuoco has 1st child, a daughter, with Tom Pelphrey

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    Kaley Cuoco is flying high after giving birth to her first child

    LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kaley Cuoco is flying high after giving birth to her first child.

    The star of “ The Flight Attendant ” and “ The Big Bang Theory ” said on Instagram Saturday that she and fellow actor Tom Pelphrey now have a daughter named Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey.

    “The new light of our lives!” Cuoco posted, along with a series of pictures of the baby, who was born Thursday. “We are overjoyed and grateful for this little miracle.”

    Cuoco has been married twice before, most recently to equestrian Karl Cook. The two split in 2021. Last year she began dating Pelphrey, and in October they announced they were expecting a child together.

    Cuoco, 37, appeared for 12 seasons on the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” She has played the title role in “ The Flight Attendant ” on HBO Max for two seasons, and was nominated for an Emmy for each.

    It’s also the first child for Pelphrey, 40, who has acted primarily in soaps, including “Guiding Light” and “As The World Turns.”

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  • CNN preaches patience as ratings tank during turnaround

    CNN preaches patience as ratings tank during turnaround

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    NEW YORK (AP) — CNN’s leadership is preaching patience even though thousands of viewers are abandoning the network during its attempted turnaround, with no indication yet whether it will be rewarded.

    Cable news ratings are down across the board compared to 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was fresh in the news. CNN’s dip is most dramatic — 61% in prime time in March, with Fox News Channel down 27% and MSNBC off by 12%, according to the Nielsen company.

    Fox averaged 2.09 million viewers in prime time in March, with MSNBC at 1.14 million and CNN at 473,000, Nielsen said. In the key 25-54 age demographic for advertisers, CNN is seeing some of its lowest numbers in decades.

    CNN is a year into new corporate management with Warner Bros. Discovery, which hired ex-CBS producer Chris Licht to run the network. The chief goal has been to rebuild trust as a non-partisan news brand after years of criticism by former President Donald Trump and his followers, at a time Fox and MSNBC have profited handsomely by appealing to specific points of view.

    Licht’s biggest programming move to date, a revamp of “CNN This Morning,” hasn’t borne fruit in the ratings and has been beset by bad publicity, including co-host Don Lemon’s ham-fisted reference to a woman’s prime years.

    Changes to CNN’s daytime look are imminent. Licht’s vision for prime time is months away, though, and only beginning to take shape.

    His plans are to couple news coverage with hosts from different worlds, including entertainment, who can talk about the news without a specific partisan take. Licht is exploring several possibilities, and CNN is reportedly close to deals with CBS’ Gayle King and former NBA star turned sportscaster Charles Barkley for shows that will air once a week, although the network wouldn’t confirm that.

    If Licht’s bet pays off, CNN will strengthen its reputation as a news brand while also attracting viewers who are now watching Netflix or HGTV — not just competing news networks.

    As those plans develop, CNN’s prime-time lineup has largely been in flux after Anderson Cooper’s hour at 8 p.m. Eastern. The network has experimented with some interviews, events and subject-focused hours at 9 p.m. Eastern. They include talks with first lady Jill Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and town halls with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and one focused on the Ohio train derailment.

    The news hours that follow, at least for now, are led by Alisyn Camerota and Laura Coates.

    “Viewers are a bit confused with all of the changes, particularly in the prime-time lineup,” said Jennifer Thomas, a former CNN producer who now teaches journalism at Howard University. She said CNN needs more news that impacts viewers and less analysis.

    CNN expresses pride in some of the efforts, while admitting some are duds. Last Friday, for example, only 295,000 people watched Jake Tapper’s interview with “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis. It was less than a quarter of the people who saw Alex Wagner’s MSNBC show at the same 9 p.m. Eastern time slot, Nielsen said.

    David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, delivered a pep talk to hundreds of CNN managers earlier this month to reinforce the message that he wanted to see a network focused on the news that didn’t lean any way politically.

    CNN saw strong ratings under the leadership of Licht’s predecessor, Jeff Zucker, and Zaslav said he recognized that a more partisan approach could bring more viewers and money, but that “it’s not what I came here to do,” according to a transcript of Zaslav’s speech.

    He said he hoped the network would be able to figure out what is working and what isn’t. He urged the managers to not worry about outside noise.

    “Ratings be damned,” he said. “Let’s focus on who we are. This is our mission. This is our legacy. And this is our journey together.”

    The question for Licht and his team, as it is often in similar situations, is “how much time do they really have?” said Mark Whitaker, a former executive at CNN and NBC News.

    Strong ratings mean more revenue, and more money to spend on programming, Whitaker said.

    Cable news viewership is often very habit-driven, with viewers drawn to personalities they know and trust, he said. For the first three days this week, CNN’s 9 p.m. Eastern hour had three different hosts — Erin Burnett, Pamela Brown and Kaitlan Collins.

    CNN must wonder whether viewers will lose the habit of tuning in while waiting for the network’s true personality to emerge under Licht. A new prime-time schedule is not likely until the fall.

    It doesn’t help that many CNN viewers have long considered the network a utility to be used primarily when there are big stories, and it’s a relatively quiet period now. An important test will be how many viewers will reflexively turn to CNN during big news events, where it has often dominated the ratings.

    MSNBC, in touting its biggest audience advantage over CNN in nearly four years, said that its viewers watched the network an average of 381 minutes per week during the first three months of 2023, compared to 183 minutes for CNN.

    “They’re fighting against the toughest foe they can fight,” said Rick Kaplan, a former CNN president. “They’re fighting against short attention spans. They’re fighting against the fact that we’re such a divided people, so angry at each other, that if you don’t reflect that anger, the people don’t have time for you.”

    Continued poor ratings “eats away at the fabric of the network, if you’re doing great shows and nobody is watching,” he said.

    Kaplan said he believes CNN has the right executive in Licht, who has a strong track record as a successful programmer.

    “If there’s a right way, he’ll find it,” he said.

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  • Return of the Roys: Succession is Back and Better Than Ever

    Return of the Roys: Succession is Back and Better Than Ever

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    They’re back: our favorite toxic, turbulent family. The Roys returned on March 26 in Succession Season 4, the HBO Max dramedy’s suspense-filled final season.

    SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN SEASON 4, EPISODE 1 YET, TURN BACK NOW

    Like Season 1, the sunset season begins on Logan’s birthday. And like Season 1, Logan is not happy. “The Munsters,” he calls the crowd surrounding him — referencing the 1960s sitcom about a family of monsters. Not an auspicious start, but certainly a hilarious one.

    But since Season 1, tectonic plates have shifted. After the Season 3 finale — one of the most dramatic episodes of television I’ve ever seen, barring maybe the penultimate episode of White Lotus Season 2 — the family is ruptured. But this time, it’s not just the internal strife or Kendall being on the outs while all the others are on the inside. There’s a clear line. Logan vs the kids. And they say you can’t put a price on family, but the bidding war on this one starts at $10 billion dollars.

    Recap: What’s going on?

    The highlights of this episode are clear: the kids are trying to screw over their father by overbidding on the Pierce deal. Well, they certainly did that. As culture writer Hunter Harris put it in her Succession Power Rankings: “Ten billion dollars just to get a call from Daddy… pathetic.”

    But the emotions undergirding this conflict are what makes it intriguing — and different than past seasons. Yes, the Roy kids are always either sucking up to or attempting to spite their father. Too bad they lack — as Logan said — their own ideas. After insisting that they were going to strike out on their own and build something themselves, they do what they always do: go after their father’s scraps. Their euphoria at the Pierce deal is in contrast to Logan’s isolation during his birthday party. His lonely stroll through Central Park? Add a Lana Del Rey soundtrack and that’s me at 16 — having an existential crisis, wondering about the world and the meaning of it all.

    Logan’s reflectiveness is new for us, and for him. We see it in his conversations with Kerry, his sad diner dinner, and even in his drawing room pleas for everyone to “roast” him and “tell a joke.” Anything to feel something. For Logan, things are going well. Yet he can’t shake the feeling that something is missing.

    It’s Greg who comes out and says it: “Where’re all your kids, Uncle Logan?”

    And indeed, the first time we see Logan back to his usual self is when he’s yelling at his kids on the phone. And as we gear up for the rest of the season, it seems clear that this battle will bring the Roys together — even if it’s just in their usual, toxic ways.

    Who are the major players this season?

    The lines are clearly drawn this season. But it wouldn’t be HBO’s Succession without the cast’s internal strife in all camps.

    Though Shiv and Kendall pretty much bullied Roman into a $10 billion deal — younger siblings can relate — previews hint that Roman might be the one to flip-flop back to his father’s side. He sent him a birthday text, after all. Gasp.

    And on Logan’s side, everyone, as usual, has their own agenda. Tom posits what his life will look like if he and Shiv divorce, namely his current place in Logan’s proverbial lap. Kerry’s climbing up the ladder and feels comfortably perched at the top, on Logan’s right-hand side, but how long will that last? And Greg is having “a rummage” in the Roy house. Cue all the finance bros renaming their groupchats to: “the disgusting brothers.”

    But from what reports foretell, this season will conclude with a successor being named. So, one of the Roys will inherit the keys to the kingdom. At this point, I honestly can’t imagine who. All I know is the road there will be full of hidden agendas, witty one-liners, and buckets and buckets of wasted money.

    What’s coming up?

    • The Pierce Battle: Is this the end? Or will it blow up in the kids’ faces?
    • The GoJo Deal: The world’s convinced this is set in stone. In fact, it’s the source of all the money the kids are betting their futures on. So, it seems ripe for an implosion. And I can’t wait to see more of Alex Skarsgard as a typical tech mogul.
    • Logan’s Life: We saw the man experience emotions for the first time. Now what’s he going to do with them?
    • Speaking of Emotions – Shiv and Tom: Is this the end for TV’s most malignant couple? They were barely together when they were together. But we saw that hand-holding! And we’re intrigued!
    • There’s a Presidential Election: Connor certainly isn’t going to win. But the kids and Logan seem on the opposite end of this battle, too. Will it be a harbinger of how things turn out with the Roys?
    • Oh, Greggy — have we lost our clueless, bumbling boy for good?

    That’s all for week one of Succession’s final season. And it looks like it’s going to be a good one.

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    LKC

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  • New this week: ‘Rye Lane,’ ‘Tetris,’ ‘Riverdale’ and Chlöe

    New this week: ‘Rye Lane,’ ‘Tetris,’ ‘Riverdale’ and Chlöe

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    From the compelling backstory of how “Tetris” became a cultural juggernaut to a return to “Riverdale,” here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.

    NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

    — Romantic comedy fans would do well to make an evening around “Rye Lane,” a Sundance Film Festival breakout that arrives on Hulu on Friday. The 80-minute charmer follows 20-somethings Dom (“Industry’s” David Jonsson), sensitive and a little uptight, and Yas (Vivian Oparah), a lively free spirit, on one eventful day in South London. When they meet, they are strangers who are reeling from bad breakups and appear to be polar opposites. The feature debut of director Raine Allen-Miller and writers Tom Melia and Nathan Byron, “Rye Lane” has garnered comparisons to Richard Curtis in his heyday and had critics singing about Jonsson and Oparah’s terrific chemistry its freshness.

    — “Tetris,” a new film coming to Apple TV+ on Friday, explores the wild origin story of how one of the most popular video games of all time reached the world from its Soviet beginnings. Taron Egerton, sporting a Ted Lasso mustache, plays Henk Rogers, the American who secured the rights to distribute it globally from the Soviets and, specifically, Alexey Pajitnov, the Russian computer engineer who created the addictive block puzzle. Directed by Jon S. Baird, the film takes quite a few liberties with the truth to create suspenseful, comedic, Cold War-era thriller.

    — With over $2.3 billion grossed at the box office, there’s a good chance you (and everyone you know) has already seen “Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron’s 13-years-in-the-making, $350 million, 3-hour-long spectacle that won over critics and audiences alike, despite over a decade of jokes about its cultural irrelevance. Now after months of playing in theaters only, you can finally bring Pandora to your living room. Starting Tuesday, it’ll be available to purchase digitally (its Disney+ release date has yet to be announced). The film left this critic (a self-proclaimed “Avatar” agnostic) dazzled and floating on a blockbuster high. But a big question remains: Will it have the same impact on the small screen?

    — AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

    NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

    — When Joni Mitchell was celebrated with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the event was by invitation only. Now PBS is inviting you to watch a recording of that night from earlier this month. It airs Friday and features James Taylor, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Marcus Mumford, Graham Nash, Diana Krall, Lucius and Angelique Kidjo. Mitchell will sing George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.”

    — Chlöe — the elder half of Chloe x Halle — is releasing her solo debut, “In Pieces,” on Friday. The 14-track album has features by Chris Brown (on ”How Does It Feel”), Missy Elliott (on “Told Ya”) and Future (on “Cheatback”). The cover art depicts Chlöe holding a colorful, crystalline version of her heart. “I hope this project brings healing to those who listen, as it’s been completely therapeutic for me,” she wrote on social media. In the single, “Pray It Away” she sings “I lost my halo/My halo is gone.”

    — AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

    NEW TELEVISION TO STREAM

    — A new docuseries on Fuse tackles issues surrounding women in sports including mental health, gender, race, social stigmas, and body image. “Like A Girl” is hosted by former college basketball player and designer Bejia Velez. Female athletes featured include Paralympic swimmer Anastasia Pagonis, beach volleyball player April Ross, who is a three-time Olympic medalist, and a skateboarder from Jersey City, New Jersey named Jennifer Soto. “Like a Girl” debuts Wednesday on Fuse.

    — “Riverdale” returns for its final season Wednesday on the CW. Season seven begins with Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead and the rest of the gang transported back to the age of sock hops, swing skirts, cardigan sweaters and milkshakes in 1955. Jughead is the only one who remembers where they came from and works to convince his friends that they need to get back to their former lives. Like the previous “Riverdale” seasons, the last episodes will also feature a murder mystery.

    — “The Big Door Prize” is a new series on Apple TV+ that’s a blend of sci-fi, comedy and heart. A mysterious machine that can reveal people’s true purpose in life appears in a local drug store and turns a small-town upside down. Some view the machine’s revelations as a push in the right direction and freedom to live out fantasies. Others feel defensive or let down by what the machine says. The series stars Chris O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids”) in a charming and delightfully silly role — but each episode also focuses on a different character’s reaction to their personal prediction by the machine. The show is based on the novel by M.O. Walsh and debuts Wednesday.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    NEW GAMES TO PLAY

    — Major League Baseball is always looking for ways to reach a younger audience. Which may explain why Jazz Chisholm Jr. — an appealing yet unproven young outfielder for the Miami Marlins — is on the cover of MLB The Show 23. On the other hand, the most intriguing new feature of the annual baseball sim may be more appealing to old-timers: a mode celebrating heroes of the Negro Leagues like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil. The just-concluded World Baseball Classic tournament is also part of this year’s lineup. As usual, Sony’s San Diego Studio has spent the offseason tinkering with game mechanics and graphics, most dramatically by giving you the ability to scan your own face onto a player. The Show 23 steps up to the plate Tuesday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One and Nintendo Switch.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

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

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  • The 12 best TV shows to watch in April

    The 12 best TV shows to watch in April

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    12. Tom Jones

    If ever a novel were ready-made for a series, it’s Henry Fielding’s mammoth, picaresque 1749 story of a foundling taken in by a wealthy country squire. Tom (Solly McLeod) falls in love with Sophia (Sophie Wilde), the rich girl next door, but circumstances force him to London, where he gets involved in many mishaps and adventures. The famous 1963 film starring Albert Finney leaned into the novel’s bawdiness. The series takes a different approach, with its writer, Gwyneth Hughes, calling Fielding’s work “the mother of all romcoms.” This version stays in the 18th century, though, with all its colourful period trappings, and has a terrific supporting cast, including Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham (pictured above) as the aristocratic and vicious Lady Bellaston, Alun Armstrong as Sophia’s doting grandfather, Squire Weston, and James Fleet as Tom’s adoptive father, the wonderfully named Squire Allworthy. 

    Tom Jones premieres 30 April on PBS in the US and 11 May on ITVX in the UK

    Love film and TV? Join BBC Culture Film and TV Club on Facebook, a community for cinephiles all over the world.

    If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

    And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called The Essential List. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

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  • Niall Horan Has A Skincare Routine…Do You?

    Niall Horan Has A Skincare Routine…Do You?

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    I’ve been carefully curating my skincare routine for over a year now. Par for the course, skincare related TikToks have been flooding my FYP, selling me every trendy product on the block. Whether or not they work is a different question. I’ve fallen for gimmicks, traps, and cute packaging, but I’ve also found a solid 6-step routine.

    I advertise skincare to everyone I meet, because who doesn’t want to stay as effervescent and youthful looking as possible? Not only can you get rid of the texture, redness, and acne we all deal with…but you literally can delay the aging process. If I only do one thing daily to take care of myself, it’s going to be my skincare routine.

    My toughest crowd, however, has been men. While we all have skin, which needs care just like the inside of our bodies do, I have yet to meet many men who have figured out a skincare routine for themselves.

    Maybe it’s because of masculinity. The patriarchy, at it again! Since the beauty industry is catered towards women, it’s an impossible task to break through and convince men that these pots of fragranced creams and tubes of scented gels are worth smearing on your face twice a day. But I’m here to change all that.

    I’m of the firm belief that everyone can benefit from makeup and skincare – not just women. We all wake up, look in the mirror, and think we look a little tired…or see a new pimple on the horizon and want to eliminate it immediately from our faces. So what’s the harm with dabbing a bit of makeup to make us look – and feel – immensely better about our appearance? Nothing.

    Your favorite male celebrities wear makeup daily. That’s right, even Tom Cruise is sporting concealer while doing all those stunts. And maybe even a layer of blush. Brad Pitt and Pharrell even have skincare brands of their own.

    Niall Horan, judge on this season of The Voice and former member of One Direction, recently went on Vogue’s Beauty Secrets to share his 22-step beauty routine…and while I’m not saying every man needs a 22 step routine, his recommendations are a great foundation for any man.

    He says it himself: “Look fab, feel fab.”

    While walking us through his luxurious routine, Horan muses why more men don’t have a routine. “I think with men…we’re getting better at it! Everyone’s always kind of against the skincare thing and I don’t really know why. It’s like, do we give up some of our masculinity if we admit to using moisturizer?”

    So if you’re looking to start a routine…or you’re looking to inspire your boyfriend, brother, friend, or family member…take it from Niall. Here are my favorite steps from his routine that anyone can follow!

    CLEANSER: Sarah Chapman Skinesis Ultimate Cleanse

    Of course Niall enjoys nothing but the best for his skin…and this Sarah Chapman Cleanser is no exception. With peptides and Vitamin A for anti-aging properties and Vitamin C for brightening, this cleanser gets deep in your pores to purify while removing makeup and impurities.

    MASK: Make Beauty Micro Crystalline Exfoliating Face Mask

    Exfoliation helps get dead skin cells off your face, giving you a moisturized, glowing surface. Niall recommends doing this a few times a week at least, crediting the Make Beauty Face Mask as his savior. A mask is easy to use, low maintenance, and not necessary for everyday…perfect for the male skincare routine.

    EYE MASK: Jaxon Lane Bro Mask Eye Gels

    Jaxon Lane makes skincare targeted towards men, and these Bro Mask Eye Gels make a routine feel easy. Bring these bad boys anywhere, wear them in the car on the way to work or put them on before you go out. They’ll de-puff and brighten up those tired under eyes.

    MIST: Allies of Skin Molecular Saviour Probiotics Treatment

    If you’re someone who doesn’t have the time for a routine, a mist will be your BFF. The Allies of Skin Mist is Niall’s favorite, and contains Niacinamide and Amino Acids to wake up your skin and restore its youthful bounce. It soothes redness and helps your hydration levels without you having to work hard at it.

    SERUM: Osea Essential Hydrating Oil

    Osea is known for their hydrating products, and this oil will be your best friend. With jojoba and macadamia oils, Osea has created the ultimate moisturizing oil that will reduce the appearance of fine lines while maintaining your skin’s elasticity. If you have one serum, make it this.

    EYE CREAM: Ilia Bright Start Retinol Eye Cream

    What I love about the Ilia Eye Cream is that it can be applied directly onto your face. You don’t have to dip your finger into a pot, and the metal applicator feels cooling on your under eyes. The retinol will aid with wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles, and more over time.

    SUNSCREEN: Jaxon Lane Rain Or Shine Sunscreen

    Sunscreen may not seem important year round…but Niall Horan knows his Irish skin is sensitive even when you don’t necessarily see the sun. If you experience redness or irritation seemingly out of nowhere, chances are it’s the sun’s fault. Using sunscreen in the morning will help prevent damage and slows down the aging process. A necessity if I’ve ever heard one.

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    Jai Phillips

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  • Jeremy Strong and Hollywood’s most extreme actors

    Jeremy Strong and Hollywood’s most extreme actors

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    Still, with the likes of Al Pacino, Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffman training with the Actors’ Studio in the 70s, a new generation of stars renewed Hollywood’s commitment to method acting. Hoffman, for example, lost 15lbs and ran up to four miles a day to get into shape for playing a PHD student and would-be marathon runner Babe in the acclaimed Nazi-espionage thriller Marathon Man (1976). When a scene called for his character to be out-of-breath, Hoffman would run half a mile before shooting so his exhaustion would be realistic. In the film, Babe finds himself on the wrong side of Nazi war criminal Dr Christian Szell, played by the classically trained thespian Laurence Olivier. The legendary story goes that when Olivier heard Hoffman had stayed up all night for two days before shooting scenes where his character had not slept for 72 hours, he allegedly told his co-star, “My dear boy, why don’t you just try acting?” Hoffman claims his insomnia was down to excessive partying in the wake of his divorce, but, whatever the truth of the matter, the tale has since become symbolic of the friction between classic and method acting styles.

    For Clint Dyer, actor and deputy artistic director of London’s National Theatre, who considers himself “an actor who has worked out a practice that is based in Stanislavski”, whatever method Hoffman used was worth it. “No one can say that that performance doesn’t turn you on as an actor,” he tells BBC Culture. “What Dustin Hoffman was going through [in character] was very different to what Laurence Olivier had to go through, so for Hoffman to run for miles and want to feel out of breath, feel his heart rate racing or stay up all night so that he doesn’t have to act it – well, it’s up to [him]. We all have different capabilities, so allow people the space to do what they need to get there.”

    The fetishisation of acting ‘labour’

    Though it didn’t earn Hoffman a best actor Oscar nomination (ironically, Olivier did get a nod for best supporting actor), he has been rewarded with seven nominations and two wins over the course of his career, and more generally method performances have often been recognised during award seasons because of the obvious labour that they involve. This can include recreating experiences from the character’s backstory, as De Niro did when he played Martin Scorsese’s eponymous Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle. In the 1976 film, he drove around as a cab driver in New York for nights on end without sleep. He was nominated for best actor for the role. The actor might also remain in character throughout the shoot, maintaining their accent and body language, to ensure authenticity is never lost. “Whether I’m doing Norma Rae or something seemingly lightweight and silly, I am quintessentially a method actor,” said Sally Field, who won best actress for her titular performance in Norma Rae (1979), and is  part of a long line of female method actors including Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn and Shelley Winters.

    “I prepare totally with the methods with which I was taught,” says Field. “So I would never lose the accent, I would wear the clothes she would wear, I would go and work in the mill. I would walk around and use whatever exercises to find her walk and find her rhythm and be it, so that you were no longer acting – you were behaving.”

    As film academic Kevin Esch notes of the last 50 years of Hollywood, “the opportunity arose for an approach to acting that evoked the Method’s behavioural extremes at the same time that it fetishised discipline”. That discipline mostly manifested itself through what he describes as actorly transformation, whereby an actor physically alters their body through weight gain or loss. De Niro won best actor for Raging Bull (1980) for which he not only spent months training as a boxer with the real Jake LaMotta, but then, once the fight scenes were shot, gained 60lbs over a further four months so that he could look like the retired Bronx boxing champ in his older years. “What De Niro does in this picture isn’t acting, exactly,” critic Pauline Kael wrote in her review. “De Niro seems to have emptied himself out to become the part he’s playing and then not got enough material to refill himself with… what I found myself thinking about wasn’t LaMotta or the movie but the metamorphosis of De Niro.”

    The likes of Christian Bale (The Fighter, American Hustle, Vice), Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, Castaway) and Adrien Brody (The Pianist) have also earned Oscar recognition for their extreme weight loss and gain for roles, with much of the marketing and press focused on their dangerous commitment to aesthetic authenticity. For Oscar-winning women who have similarly transformed their bodies, like Charlize Theron (Monster) and Hillary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry), the focus has been less on how much labour they went through as actors and more how unstereotypically feminine these beautiful women are willing to become. “The worst thing that can happen to Charlize Theron is that she doesn’t look like Charlize Theron,” says Bastién, who criticises the received industry wisdom that transformation is the marker of an awards-worthy performance. “In the wake of De Niro and Christian Bale, [physical transformation] has been grafted on to method acting, even though it isn’t intrinsic to it.”

    In general, says Bastién, the labour of acting has been mythologised by mainly cis white male actors in order to portray their profession as something that demands to be appreciated with solemn regard. “There is maybe the fear and insecurity about being an actor and about the seriousness of their work,” Bastién notes, “so they have to graft a legible form of labour upon it so that they can get praised.” That certainly seems to be the case for Strong. “If I were to be halfway in and at the same time aware of the artifice of what we’re doing,” he told GQ. “I would just think the whole thing is ridiculous.”

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  • Pedro Pascal Is Daddy Of The Year

    Pedro Pascal Is Daddy Of The Year

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    What is there to say about Pedro Pascal that hasn’t been said already? The star has been around for over two decades now, but there’s been a recent fervent love burning in the hearts of millions across the globe for The Mandalorian. There are currently 885,000 videos on TikTok under the sound “Hey Sexy Lady” by Shaggy – with half of those videos dedicated to slo-mo Pedro in his new shows.

    And yes, you’ve heard of White Boy Of The Month, but let’s introduce you to Daddy Of The Year. Pedro Pascal made a name for himself as Oberlyn Martell in Game of Thrones and Javier Peña in Narcos, but his roles as the titular character in Disney+’s The Mandalorian and Joel in HBO Max’s wildly popular The Last Of Us have catapulted him into full-blown stardom.

    The Last Of Us is just another cog in HBO’s mega-famous show machine. It joins shows like Euphoria and Succession, breaking streaming records and garnering a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. It follows Joel (Pascal) in an apocalyptic post-pandemic world in which he’s in charge of smuggling a young girl across the country.

    It’s a role that isn’t technically unfamiliar to Pascal, who also plays a father figure in The Mandalorian. It’s why so many of his fans have cheekily nicknamed him “Daddy,” a playful jest at his character arcs as well as his good looks and exciting fashion sense. He’s the reluctant father on your screen, and the handsome, funny star on the red carpet. Fans eat him up.

    But what fans love most about Pascal is that he fully embraces this new obsession with his every move. In an interview with Vanity Fair, he even says, “Daddy is a state of mind, you know? I’m your Daddy.” But that’s not all, the people’s heartthrob took to the red carpet to reiterate his sentiments. He tells Entertainment Tonight in all seriousness, “I’m your cool, slutty daddy.”

    And it’s not just his quick wit in interviews, but his style. Pedro Pascal has quickly emerged as a style icon for us all, thanks to stylist Julie Ragolia. We’ve watched him devour looks from a yellow Gucci cardigan wrapped around his shoulders or a crochet sweater paired with red trouser pants. He’s become a case study for style, humility, and personality among celebrities.

    The world can’t get enough of Pedro Pascal, and neither can we. Here are our favorite red carpet looks to keep the fire lit.

    Pedro In Gucci

    Pedro Pascal

    John Salangsang/Shutterstock

    There’s something so fatherly about this look, yet it still includes a few elevated features to make it less frumpy and more fashion. Starting with the oversized gray tailored suit pants, fitted just enough to cinch at the waist. But the star of the show is the yellow button-down paired with a monochromatic cardigan thrown effortlessly over his shoulders like he’s attending brunch at the golf club. It’s rich, elegant, and just polished enough.

    All Hail The Cardigan

    Pedro Pascal

    David Fisher/Shutterstock

    I love how Julie Ragolia incorporates color into Pedro’s wardrobe. A pop of red with the trouser pant – again, oversized – and the brown crochet cardi make for an easy look that still stands out. For Pascal, his looks blend comfort with relevant trends like knitwear. They’re also easy looks for any man to recreate, and not too out-of-the-box.

    The Two-Toned SSBD

    Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal

    Scott Kirkland/PictureGroup for The Game Awards/Shutterstock

    Every man needs a good SSBD – short sleeve button down – but not all men have them. Sure, the Hawaiian shirt is overdone and often a bit tacky, but this chaotically patterned ensemble somehow works with Pascal. The rest of the look is simple: black slacks and black-rimmed glasses. Let the shirt do the talking.

    Monochrome Moments

    Pedro Pascal

    Marion Curtis/StarPix for Lionsgate/Shutterstock

    Reminiscent of prom in the 80’s, the white tuxedo is something most men consider at one point in their lives. This opalescent white tux on Pedro paired with an off-white loafer with black accents is the way to go. It’s simple, yet elegant.

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    Jai Phillips

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