Schneider Breaks Silence on 'Quiet on Set' Doc; 'The Crown,' 'Black Mirror' Lead BAFTA TV Noms; Beyoncé Reveals 'Cowboy Carter' Origins; 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( March 20, 2024 What's news: Jonathan Majors’s ex-girlfriend is suing the actor for battery, assault and defamation. CBS has renewed NCIS: Sydney. See-Saw Films is set to make a new series of live-action films based on The Neverending Story. Jeffrey Wright has joined the cast of Spike Lee's High and Low. ESPN has signed a six-year extension for the College Football Playoff. — [Abid Rahman]( Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at [tips@thr.com](. Dan Schneider Breaks Silence on 'Quiet on Set' Doc ►"I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology." Dan Schneider has broken his silence over Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, a four-part docuseries that made harrowing claims about toxic workplaces for child actors and crews on Nickelodeon series that Schneider created and ran. In a 19-minute video interview with actor BooG!E, who played T-Bo on iCarly, Schneider addressed allegations of cutting scenes from reruns, sexualized content in series, on-set massages and the abuse suffered by Drake Bell and Amanda Bynes. [The story.]( —Letters revealed. Quiet on Set has revealed a number of actors and entertainment industry insiders wrote letters in support of Brian Peck, a voice coach and Nickelodeon actor who was convicted of child sexual abuse inflicted against Drake Bell. In total, 41 people wrote letters of support for Peck, which are used to influence the judge during sentencing. Among the recognizable names that lent support for Peck were Ron Melendez, Alan Thicke, James Marsden, Rider Strong, Will Friedle and Taran Killam. [The story.]( —"So sorry to Drake. Gutted I hurt you." Devon Werkheiser, who starred in Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, has apologized to Drake Bell for mocking the Quiet on Set doc. On Tuesday, Werkheiser awkwardly joked about the abuse Bell suffered during a TikTok livestream with Ned’s co-stars Lindsey Shaw, and Daniel Curtis Lee. After Bell called Werkheiser out directly on X, describing the comments as "Ned’s Declassless," Werkheiser posted an apology on social media, writing that he was "sorry for compounding any hurt." [The story.]( Majors Sued By Ex for Defamation, Assault and Battery ►Suit filed. Fallout from a New York jury’s conviction of Jonathan Majors for misdemeanor reckless assault and harassment has erupted in a lawsuit against the actor from ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari, who claims that she alerted Majors’ management team of abuse in 2021. Jabbari, in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, brings claims for battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution and defamation, which arises from Majors denying that he abused her. [The story.]( —Nearing 1,000. More than 500 additional Hollywood figures signed the letter overnight condemning Jonathan Glazer's Oscars speech for his best international film win for The Zone of Interest. The letter, which was published Monday with 450 initial signatures, denounced the Brit director’s speech, using his own phrasing he used at the awards show on March 10. The signatories include actors, executives, directors, creators, producers and representatives. [The story.]( —Provisional approval. The Directors Guild of America is moving forward with plans to establish a diversity committee for its Jewish members. At its most recent meeting in Los Angeles on Feb. 11 (held the day after the 2024 DGA Awards), the national board approved the formation of a provisional Jewish committee, which all guild subgroups pass through before receiving official standing. As a first step, the guild will soon implement the ability for members to self-identify as ethnically Jewish on their profiles. [The story.]( BAFTA TV Noms: 'The Crown,' 'Black Mirror' Lead ►🏆 Congrats, innit 🏆 The Crown and Black Mirror lead the nominations for the 2024 BAFTA Television Awards, earning eight and seven noms, respectively. Happy Valley, Slow Horses, and The Sixth Commandment have six noms each. David Tennant (Good Omens), Hannah Waddingham (Eurovision Song Contest 2023), Amit Shah (Happy Valley), and Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us) are among the first-time nominees. [The nominees.]( —New home. After their dramatic exit from Verve last month, Bill Weinstein and Devon Schiff are joining Paradigm in the literary content department, the agency has announced. Shortly after Weinstein's ouster, it was reported that he would be starting his own operation, taking three Verve agents — Schiff, Matthew Doyle and Jake Dillman — with him. However, that new company, called Novo, could not find financial backing. [The story.]( —Moving up. NBCUniversal Media Group exec David Pietrycha has been promoted to chief business officer. Pietrycha, who was previously executive vp of strategy and business development, will report to group chairman Mark Lazaraus. His position oversees NBCU’s broadcast and entertainment cable networks, the company’s direct-to-consumer businesses, including Peacock and NBC Sports properties, international networks, affiliate relations, content distribution and advertising sales. [The story.]( —🤝 Financing pact 🤝 In a new partnership, Waypoint Entertainment — Ken Kao’s shingle behind The Favourite — will co-finance and produce a slate of films with producer-distributor Neon. Described as a "strategic financial partnership", the pact is non-exclusive. No new projects were announced as a part of the new partnership, but Kao said in a statement that the films will be in the $10m plus range that "often get overlooked by studios and streamers." [The story.]( —"I always knew this day would come." Andy Borowitz is bringing his signature political satire to Substack. Just a few months after the satirist parted ways with The New Yorker amid cost-cutting at its parent company Condé Nast, he is re-booting the column, The Borowitz Report, on the newsletter platform. On Substack, Borowitz is planning a broader range of content alongside his humor column. [The story.]( Coogler and Jordan's Next Movie Set for March 2025 ►📅 Dated 📅 Warner Bros. has set a March 7, 2025 release for Ryan Coogler's next feature, which will star Michael B. Jordan and also arrive in Imax. The film is untitled, but true to Coogler form, it is described as an event film. One of Coogler’s frequent collaborators, composer Ludwig Göransson, will executive produce with Rebecca Cho and Will Greenfield. Göransson, who earlier this month won the Oscar for best score for his work on Oppenheimer, also won the Oscar for Coogler's Black Panther. [The story.]( —Edging closer. The King’s Speech and The Power of the Dog producer See-Saw Films has signed a deal to adapt The Neverending Story as a series of live-action feature films. Michael Ende’s novel, published in German in 1979 and in English in 1983, follows the story of a young boy, Bastian Balthazar Bux, who falls into the world of the titular fantasy book, entering the magical land of Fantastica. The Neverending Story was adapted as a trilogy of films in the 1980s and early 90s. [The story.]( —🎭 Stacked 🎭 Jeffrey Wright is joining Denzel Washington in birthday boy Spike Lee's High and Low. The Apple Original Films and A24 thriller, which starts production this month, is the English-language reinterpretation of the Akira Kurosawa classic. In the 1963 Japanese movie, an exec in the middle of a business deal gets caught up in the accidental kidnapping and ransom of his chauffeur’s son, instead of his own son. A24 will give the film a theatrical release before its global launch of Apple TV+. [The story.]( —🎭 Filling out the Bag 🎭 Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Burke have joined the cast of Black Bag, the spy thriller that Steven Soderbergh is directing for Focus Features. Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Regé Jean Page and Marisa Abela are already in Black Bag, whose plot details are being kept under wraps. David Koepp wrote the script. Production begins in May in London, with Casey Silver and Greg Jacobs producing. [The story.]( Euro TV Still Peaking Amid Fears of a U.S.-Style Downturn ►Still gravy. European TV has not peaked. At least not yet. While the U.S. TV business has seen a sharp downturn, with a drop in the number of shows commissioned and broadcast and headline-making layoffs across the major studios, European TV production is still on the upswing, according to a new report by think tank the European Audiovisual Observatory, which presented its findings at a keynote at TV festival SeriesMania on Tuesday. [The story.]( —"More people have signed up for Prime in India than anywhere else in the world." Priyanka Chopra’s Citadel, Anil Kapoor’s action drama Subedaar and the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Be Happy are among 69 movies and TV series unveiled by Amazon Prime Video at a talent-packed event on Tuesday for its 2024 India programming slate. The diverse array of Indian movies headed to Prime Video includes war film Shershaah, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani; Sudha Kongara’s action drama Soorarai Pottru; and the Vicky Kaushal-starring historical drama Sardar Udham. [The story.]( —Fair dinkum. CBS has ordered a second season of NCIS: Sydney, the first international edition of its NCIS franchise. The pickup corresponds with a second-season order for the show from Paramount+ in Australia. NCIS: Sydney was an 11th-hour addition to CBS’ fall schedule, which the network had to revamp extensively during last year’s labor strikes. It has performed well stateside, drawing an average of 6.54m viewers per week over seven days (and not including streaming) and ranking first among new series in the fall. [The story.]( —Great start. The phenomenon that is Taylor Swift's Eras Tour has extended to Disney+. The concert movie, The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version), had a solid opening weekend on the streamer amassed 4.6m views (defined as total viewing time divided by run time) worldwide over its first three days, making it the No. 1 music film ever on Disney+. The view count is notably lower than some other film premieres Disney+ has touted in recent months — The Little Mermaid, for instance, racked up 16m views last year, while Elemental had 26.4m. [The story.]( March Madness Is Booming for TV Networks In Need of a Jolt ►"Even Republicans and Democrats can't screw up March Madness." At a moment where linear TV is in something of a lull, with last year’s strikes still being felt and a continued weak advertising market, THR's [Alex Weprin]( writes that the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament might be just the thing the market needs. [The analysis.]( —🤝 Extension 🤝 In the biggest sports rights deal of 2024 so far, ESPN has snagged a six-year extension for the College Football Playoff, a critical deal (valued at a reported $7.8b) that will keep ESPN as the home of the playoffs through 2031-2032. The CFP will expand this year from four teams to 12 teams, with another expansion to 16 teams possible in 2026. Also beginning in 2026, the national championship game will be broadcast on ABC, in addition to ESPN’s traditional "MegaCast." [The story.]( —"The natural progression is from a pass to a catch." A year after teaming with the NFL for the docuseries Quarterback, Netflix is passing to another position on the football field. The streamer has greenlit Receiver, which like Quarterback will follow several wide receivers (and one tight end) through the ups and downs of the 2023 season. As with the prior series, NFL Films is teaming with NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahome's 2PM Productions on the show. [The story.]( —🤝 Leaning into live sports 🤝 Max has acquired the U.S. rights to the MMA outfit Bellator, kicking off its coverage on March 22 from Belfast, with eight events set for this year in Paris, Dublin, London, Chicago and San Diego. TNT Sports will also run Bellator content on its new TruTV sports programming block. Paramount sold Bellator to the Saudi-backed PFL last year in a deal estimated at around $500m. The PFL subsequently inked a multi-year rights deal with ESPN, though the Bellator brand is distinct from the PFL brand. [The story.]( Beyoncé Reveals 'Cowboy Carter' Origins ►"My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant." Beyoncé has revealed what led to the creation of Act II: Cowboy Carter, which is a continuation of her record-breaking album Renaissance. The singer shared the cover art for the album on Instagram, along with a lengthy caption. She explained that the album has been in the making for over five years and was born from an experience in which she “did not feel welcomed” after facing criticisms when she first tried to enter the country genre. [The story.]( —"How do we fix this?" The pervasive belief that weight loss injectables are simply vanity drugs, fueled by its widespread use among celebrities and social media personalities, was addressed head on in a follow-up segment to Monday night’s An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution now streaming on Hulu. Experts weighed in on issues like access to care and the importance of medical supervision around weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. [The recap.]( —"It's a matter of how we treat ourselves." Whoopi Goldberg revealed on Tuesday's episode of The View that she used weight loss drug Mounjaro after weighing around 300 pounds when filming Till, which she starred in and produced. Goldberg joins a growing list of celebrities to speak openly about obesity drugs amid Oprah Winfrey’s ABC special. [The story.]( 'Shōgun' Star on What's Next for Lady Mariko ►"It all just gets better and better." THR's Patrick Brzeski spoke to Anna Sawai about her starring role in FX's critical smash hit series Shōgun. The Japanese actress, who also recently starred in Apple TV+'s Godzilla spinoff Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, details the exhaustive training she went through to inhabit an aristocratic woman of feudal Japan — as well as her thoughts on how the hit FX period series might get a second season. [The interview.]( —"One thing to know about the show is that we've been talking about it as a mystery-thriller." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to writer-producer Leslye Headland about the highly anticipated new Disney+ show Star Wars: The Acolyte. Headland reveals the series, set 100 years before The Phantom Menace, will have a Rashomon-like quality to its storytelling. [The interview.]( —"I wanted to show the next chapter, that was my plan. That lasted about five minutes." For THR, Hadley Meares spoke to reality TV stars Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright about their new Bravo show, The Valley. The former Vanderpump Rules regulars are back and working to be more grown-up in suburbia but can't escape the drama. [The interview.]( Film Review: 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' ►"The proton packs still work, and so does the formula." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Gil Kenan's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace star in the venerable franchise's latest gathering of demon fighters old and new. [The review.]( —"A fun throwback to those pre-MCU days." THR's [Angie Han]( reviews Disney+'s X-Men '97. Picking up where the 1990s Saturday morning cartoon left off, the animated show finds the mutant superheroes trying to move forward in the absence of Professor X. [The review.]( In other news... —Anya Taylor-Joy [transforms for battle against Chris Hemsworth in Furiosa trailer]( —AMC [releases Interview With the Vampire S2 trailer]( —Netflix [reveals first trailer for Korean horror sci-fi series Parasyte: The Grey]( —First look: [Jacob Elordi’s epic romance series The Narrow Road to the Deep North]( —Sundance [sets dates for 2025 festival]( —BBC Studios [acquires Spanish producer Brutal Media]( —Walter Hill [to receive Writers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award]( —Ariana Grande [and Dalton Gomez finalize divorce]( —Nonfiction producer [CreativeChaos signs with CAA]( —Designer [Dries Van Noten steps down from his fashion brand]( —Hollywood [office tower ‘The Star’ on Sunset unveils $1b makeover plan]( —All [the best new hotels and restaurants to visit in Cabo right now]( ​​​What else we're reading... —Dan Kois, Nitish Pahwa and Luke Winkie have put together the oral history of legendary music site Pitchfork, including the careers it made and the bands it destroyed [[Slate]( —With a slew of lawsuits filed by some of reality TV's biggest names in recent times, Louisa Ballhaus looks into the actual legal rights of reality stars [[BBC]( —Molly Fischer profiles Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson, who discusses how she was able to create a broadcast hit series in the age of prestige streaming shows [[New Yorker]( —Tiffany Hsu grapples with the seemingly boundless numbers of online trolls who revel in doubting the existence of celebrities such as Kate Middleton and Britney Spears [[NYT]( —Clare Ansberry reports on a new study that says the U.S. is no longer ranked among the world’s 20 happiest countries [[WSJ]( Today... ...in 1964, Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau made his way to North American theaters in Blake Edwards' The Pink Panther. Featuring a memorable score by Henry Mancini, the film was a big critical and financial success and spawned a ten movie franchise. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: [Spike Lee]( (67), Holly Hunter (66), David Thewlis (61), Ruby Rose (38), Murray Bartlett (53), Hassie Harrison (34), Melanie Zanetti (39), Michael Cassidy (41), Justin H. Min (34), Freema Agyeman (45), John de Lancie (76), Xavier Dolan (35), Cooper Hoffman (21), Robb Wells (53), Kathy Ireland (61), Stephen Sommers (62), Mikey Day (44), Linda Larkin (54), Elizabeth Bourgine (67), Leila George (32), Marc Warren (57), Jessica Lundy (58), Stephanie Kurtzuba (52), Cedric Yarbrough (51), Theresa Russell (67), Amy Aquino (67), Stacy Martin (34), Paula Garcés (50), Bianca Lawson (45), Christy Carlson Romano (40), Liza Snyder (56), Vanessa Bell Calloway (67), Tommy Martinez (32), Edoardo Ballerini (54) This email was sent to {EMAIL} by The Hollywood Reporter. 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