Apple's H'Wood Mystery; 'Us' Out-Scaring Pace; Disney Braces for TV Cuts; 'Supernatural' Ending

The Weekender: What is Apple going to unveil Monday to the world — and to its Hollywood partners? Plus: Gayle King and CBS News close in on a new deal, Jordan Peele is in line for another box office smash and Disney's TV brass prepares staff for layoffs. — Will Robinson March 23, 2019 The Weekender: What is Apple going to unveil Monday to the world — and to its Hollywood partners? Plus: Gayle King and CBS News close in on a new deal, Jordan Peele is in line for another box office smash and Disney's TV brass prepares staff for layoffs. — Will Robinson ^With bated breath: Nearly two years after Apple first signaled its plan to become a programming powerhouse, the tech giant is set to unveil its vision for the future of entertainment. And it’s got Hollywood on the edge of its seat, Natalie Jarvey looks at the biggest questions: + The mystery: Although producers and agents rushed (and continue) to sell star-powered shows to the iPhone maker, they’ve been left largely in the dark about just how the company will distribute and market its slate. One representative admits being "blind" to most of Apple's plans for the service, while another notes, "that doesn’t happen when you make a movie at Universal or a TV show at NBC.” -> What will the service look like?: Three years ago, an app called, simply, TV began to show up on Apple TV set-top boxes, iPhones and iPads, serving as an aggregator of programming from across Apple's network of third-party streaming video apps. This is a likely bet. "The programming is the programming," says a source with business at Apple. "What's interesting to me is the product. Does it work?" -> Which shows will launch first? How good will they be?: A few, sources say, have even already been renewed (though Apple doesn't seem ready to discuss that — yet). Others have had creative issues. Despite showrunner changes and going over budget, one thing is true: Apple has not struggled to land top talent who trust that the behemoth will be able to deliver. -> What’s the distribution and marketing strategy?: High-wattage stars likely won’t be thrilled if their project drops on the same day as five other shows and gets the equivalent marketing share. But the company does have a marketing advantage with the 500 Apple Stores it operates worldwide, which some predict could be used to market and reach the target audience. [Full primer.]( TV Long View DVR outliers: Though The Big Bang Theory and The Masked Singer rank highly in delayed viewing, they're outliers in a list that's overrun with dramas, Rick Porter reports: + Delayed dominance: Dramas make up just under half (58 of 120) of the non-sports series that have aired on the broadcast networks in 2018-19, as of publication time. There are 30 comedies, 26 unscripted shows and six news programs. Yet dramas count for 16 of the 20 shows with the biggest seven-day gains among adults 18-49 — 80 percent. Seventeen of the top 20 in viewers added (85 percent) are dramas. + Charting a phenomenon: The Masked Singer's gains are especially unusual for unscripted series. The Fox hit grew by 3.43 million viewers and 1.2 points in adults 18-49 after a week of delayed viewing. It outpaces the next-largest unscripted gainers by 51 percent in viewers (America's Got Talent: The Champions) and 71 percent in adults 18-49 (The Bachelor). [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► Ahead of Disney-Fox TV layoffs, Dana Walden rallies staff. "Bringing our businesses together will require strategy and patience," the Disney TV Studios and ABC Entertainment chairman tells employees at the merged Disney-Fox company. * New boss addresses team: Disney TV Studios chief Craig Hunegs sent a memo to staff Friday afternoon in which he hoped for a "friction-less partnership" and vowed that each of Fox's and Disney's studios would "carve out unique identities with their own distinctive creative taste." [Read both memos.]( ► Supernatural to end with season 15 on The CW. Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins [announced]( that the genre drama will wrap alongside Arrow in the 2019-20 broadcast season. Supernatural currently ranks as the longest-running sci-fi/genre series in the history of American broadcast television and will have aired 327 episodes when it concludes sometime next season. ► Gayle King nearing contract extension to stay at CBS This Morning. Keeping the host in the fold was the first order of business for CBS News president Susan Zirinsky. King’s current deal, worth a reported $5.5 million, was [set to expire]( in November. ► Discovery CEO David Zaslav's 2018 pay spikes to $129.4 million. The cable group boss, who [merged]( his company with Scripps Networks Interactive, made $42.2 million in 2017. Discovery's stock rose 10 percent last year, while net income of $594 million meant a swing from a 2017 loss of $337 million. ► ABC renews The Conners. The Roseanne spinoff is among the top five new series of 2018-19 in both adults 18-49 and total viewers. Season one of The Conners ran for 11 episodes, and sources tell Rick Porter season two will be a [similar length]( as several castmembers also have other commitments. ► HBO hands Perry Mason series order. Sopranos veteran Tim Van Patten [will direct]( and serve as executive producer. ► Netflix dates Ryan Murphy's Politician. The comedy starring Ben Platt is the first series on Netflix for the prolific producer but [fall outside]( his massive deal with the streamer. It'll stream Sept. 27. Casting call... ► Dynasty adds fan-favorite character to help offset departures. Michael Michele [will join]( The CW's soap late in the season and could be a regular in season three. ► Kristin Cavallari to host Fox's Paradise Hotel reboot. The series will have a two-hour premiere Thursday, May 9 on Fox and [air]( three nights a week for five weeks in what the network is calling an "as it happens" format. ^Saving One Day at a Time: On the newest episode of TV's Top 5, Lesley Goldberg and Daniel Fienberg talk to show ep Mike Royce on any updates to find a new home for the series after Netflix canceled it: + "There's a lot of stuff going on — pilot season, a merger — there's reasons why getting the exact level of interest is not coming super quickly but we're hot on the trail," Royce says. "The phone has been ringing." [Listen]( | [Subscribe]( Digital digest... ► Viacom "gaining real traction" with int'l mobile deals. International networks unit CEO David Lynn [discusses]( the firm's 5 million subscribers and not copying peers' direct-to-consumer strategy, instead focusing on "deeper and more flexible" content partnerships. ► NFL seeks online outlet for Sunday Ticket. “We’re looking to make sure that we continue to deliver this package, which is a premium package of great content,” commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We want it delivered on several different platforms.” [[Bloomberg](] ► Amazon to launch mobile ads. "Amazon has emerged as a fast-growing challenger in the digital advertising market since it captures 50 percent of all online sales in the US. Amazon’s digital advertising market share will grow to 8.8 percent this year from 6.8 percent in 2018." [[Bloomberg](] Ratings notes... ► March Madness takes ratings hit. The CBS portion of NCAA coverage drew a 2.6 household rating in metered markets, down 26 percent from the first Thursday of the 2018 tournament. Possible reasons include a blowout and early and lack of big names in the late contest. [Details.]( Robert Mueller concludes Russia probe, delivers to Attorney General. The [next steps]( are up to AG William Barr, to Congress and, in all likelihood, federal courts. [Dems call for transparency.]( Enjoy reading this? Six days a week, look for Today in Entertainment in your inbox to stay up-to-date on the industry. Sign up for this newsletter (and others) at [THR.com/Newsletters](. Big Scares, Big Return Another Blumhouse success: Jordan Peele's critically acclaimed Us is doing terrifying business at the Friday box office, where it's pacing to earn $27 million for the day and a whopping $64 million for the weekend, Pamela McClintock reports: + Horror history: Friday's haul includes $7.4 million in Thursday night previews, one of the best showings ever for a horror film. And if it indeed crosses $60 million by Sunday, that would mark the third best domestic opening for an R-rated horror pic behind It ($123.4 million) and last year's Halloween sequel ($76.2 million). + Flying high: Us, from Universal and Peele's Monkeypaw Productions, will steal the No. 1 perch from Captain Marvel, now in its third weekend. Captain Marvel should earn another $32 million domestically as it zooms past $300 million in North America and $900 million worldwide. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Elton John biopic Rocketman expected to get R-rating for sex, drug scenes. The film [will include]( an intimate love scene between Taron Egerton, who plays the English singer, and Richard Madden, who plays John's former manager and lover, John Reid. -> Lessons from MoviePass' demise. A thorough look at the beleaguered service: "MoviePass was an example of a subscription customers love, but to survive it needed to become one customers would begin to hate. This—more than the epic cash burn—was why MoviePass failed." [[TV[R]EV](] ► To All the Boys I've Loved Before sequel taps new director as supporting cast returns. Anna Cathcart, Janel Parrish and John Corbett [will join]( stars Lana Condor and Noah Centineo in the follow-up that Michael Fimognari will direct. ► Notorious Hollywood fixer Anthony Pellicano to be released from prison. In his heyday, the ruthless former private eye was a tremendous asset to the rich and famous, with clientele [including]( Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Roseanne Barr, CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz and many more. Casting call... ► Idris Elba in talks to star in Mouse Guard. Andy Serkis and Thomas Brodie-Sangster are [already on]( Fox's call sheet. R. Kelly update... ► Singer's defense strategy includes claiming accusers are lying, sex was consensual. Kelly's attorney has [also signaled]( he may push to have some counts tossed on grounds statutes of limitation ran out or because some are too closely related to crimes for which Kelly was acquitted at his 2008 child pornography trial. Musical notes... ► Paul Simon to headline Outside Lands Festival. The former Simon & Garfunkel singer is [bucking]( his "retirement" to take the stage at the Aug. 9-11 festival. Coming attractions... ► Trailer: Brie Larson reluctantly faces adulthood in directorial debut Unicorn Store. The film also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Joan Cusack, Bradley Whitford, Karan Soni, Mamoudou Athie, Mary Holland and Hamish Linklater. [Watch.]( DC Universe app offering 24 hours of free access to Batman movies, comics. The move is in celebration of the Dark Knight's 80th birthday. To accompany the Bat-centric promotion, all new members who [sign up]( to the service between March 29 and April 4 will receive a special rate for their first month. To Be Young Across-the-pond differences: The Brits may do it better, but a look back reveals that many American TV series have also grappled with teen sexuality in interesting and valuable ways, Tim Goodman writes: + Boldly going: For so many years, sexuality — particularly surrounding horny teenagers and what that might look like if explored through drama rather than comedy — scared the bejesus out of people who made television. Any "brave" steps in that direction were applauded, but in reality our take on it was light years behind Europe, for many obvious reasons. + Domestic shows doing their part: I think the best thing to come out of this was not only could I recommend that people who haven't yet sampled Sex Education do so immediately, but also I could promote the notion of going back into the archives to check out any number of American shows — but certainly Friday Night Lights, My So-Called Life, Parenthood and others listed above. Consider that a different kind of sex education. [Full column.]( What to watch this weekend... THR critic Daniel Fienberg sends his recommendation: If you like true crime and great acting, Hulu's The Act is weird and uncomfortable and [anchored]( by Joey King's most accomplished performance to date, as well as Patricia Arquette's second Emmy-worthy performance in a true crime miniseries in the last five months. If you like crazy and sincere and high-minded science fiction, you've probably had the second season of The OA [on your calendar]( for several weeks. But really, [find a way to watch]( Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's vampire mockumentary feature What We Do in the Shadows so that you're ready for FX's funny, albeit maybe not quite as funny, regular series, which [premieres]( next Wednesday. What else we're reading... — "Roseanne Just Can't Shut Up." Geoff Edgers follows the comedian to Jerusalem: "The network didn’t propose a no-tweet clause in Barr’s contact. Instead, as revealed by interviews with people close to the show and messages ... they spent months nudging her to stop while also trying to keep from offending her." [[The Washington Post](] — "Rick Steves Wants to Set You Free." Sam Anderson profiles the personality: "Steves is a gentle soul who wants to help you feel at home in the world. ... He seems miraculously untouched by the need to look cool, which of course makes him sneakily cool. To the aspiring traveler, Steves is as inspirational as Julia Child once was to the aspiring home chef." [[The New York Times Magazine](] — "The Man Who Was Almost Killed by Don Quixote." Bilge Ebiri talks to Terry Gilliam: "Gilliam may sometimes seem like the world’s unluckiest director. His career has been one of fights with producers, runaway productions, and catastrophic bouts of misfortune." [[Vulture](] — "How Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and My Work Friends Made Me an Honorary Millennial." Aline Brosh McKenna writes: "As a woman of her generation, Rachel [Bloom] draws no arbitrary social distinctions. ... She respects few hierarchies, follows her instincts, and speaks her truth, as the young kids say. ... I may privately disdain the rules of the old guard, but I’ve learned to obey them." [[The New York Times](] — "Explainer Shows, Explained: A Brief Survey of the New Streaming Subgenre." Alison Herman explores: "They scratch two seemingly opposite itches at once: on the one hand, the comfort-food effect of tuning out the latest sign of the apocalypse; on the other, the nutrition of feeding your brain on a steady stream of trivia." [[The Ringer](] From the archives... + Today in 1990: Julia Roberts shot to the A-list in the modern telling of Cinderella, Pretty Woman, with her performance nominated for a best actress Oscar at the 63rd Academy Awards: "The movie displays an almost preternatural disregard for women's feelings ... but the comedy is so slickly delivered that audiences may be content with chuckling over its polished surface charms." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Keri Russell, 43, Michelle Monaghan, 43, Jaume Collet-Serra, 45, Marin Hinkle, 53, Catherine Keener, 60, Amanda Plummer, 62, David Milch, 74. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2019 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Preferences]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use]( March 23, 2019