New Batman; 'Rocketman' Censored; Delayed Viewing Trends; N.Y. Times' TV Bet; End of Hollywood Dynasties?

What's news: Warner Bros. finds its new Batman. Plus: Kanye meets with Letterman, Rocketman gets censored in Russia, waiting in line at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and the Times heads to TV. — Erik Hayden June 01, 2019 What's news: Warner Bros. finds its new Batman. Plus: Kanye meets with Letterman, Rocketman gets censored in Russia, waiting in line at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and the Times heads to TV. — Erik Hayden Looking for Viewers The Long View: Delayed viewing will always make a given show's ratings look better. But the first set of complete DVR numbers from the 2018-19 TV season show it's hardly a cure-all for losses of viewers on the front end, Rick Porter writes: + Top-10 shows like Grey's Anatomy and This Is Us recovered a little bit of their season-to-season declines with three days of extra viewing. + Those shows are also still well behind where they were in the same measure last season. CBS' Young Sheldon and Fox's 911 are either flat or actually lost a little bit relative to their same-day numbers. + Noted: Some of those lost viewers may have migrated to digital platforms, which Nielsen doesn't measure in these ratings. But while delayed viewing makes up some, it can't plug all the leaks. [Full chart + analysis.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► FX restructures originals team. The now Disney-owned company has developed a new reporting structure for longtime execs Gina Balian and Nick Grad. Eric Schrier will take on the newly created position [of president.]( ► HBO's Silicon Valley to end with season 6. The Bay Area spoof, which launched in 2014, will join Game of Thrones and Veep as long-running HBO series airing their final seasons in 2019. A ["fitting conclusion."]( ► Starz renews Vida for season 3. The series has grown its Hispanic audience by 56 percent season-over-season, giving the show the highest audience composition in the demo among premium scripted series. [Critical darling.]( ► CBS plus Starz could be valuable in Viacom merger. If the broadcaster nabs the premium channel, it would boast a digital bundle with about 15 million subscribers, which could be combined with Viacom assets. [What if.]( ^Epix's Perpetual Grace, LTD (airing Sunday), reviewed. Tim Goodman writes: "I think, strongly, that Perpetual Grace, LTD is a great series even though I've only seen two of its 10 episodes." [More.]( ► Nat Geo's Right Stuff series finds lead. Patrick J. Adams is the first actor cast in the adaptation of Tom Wolfe's book about the Mercury astronauts, as John Glenn. The series also tapped Mark Lafferty as [showrunner.]( ► Otter Media folded into WarnerMedia. Otter CEO Tony Goncalves will now lead product and development for the forthcoming WarnerMedia direct-to-consumer service, along with Otter's existing brands and services. [Details.]( ► WME signs Jim Rome. The former ESPN personality has since 2013 hosted CBS Sports Radio's The Jim Rome Show, which is the longest-running active stand-alone syndicated sports talk show [on radio.]( ► WBTV head of current programming retiring. Melinda Hage, a 25-year studio veteran who most recently served as exec vp current, is retiring. A replacement has not yet been [determined.]( Kanye's candid chat with David Letterman. The artist kicked off season two of Letterman's Netflix show to talk about his family, memories of his mother, struggles with mental health issues and bipolar disorder. [Watch.]( End of Hollywood Dynasties? Column: It's time for the mega-families that are clinging to power in the entertainment industry to let go. The sooner they do so, the better, writes Stephen Galloway: + In the best cases, the sons of these families (they were almost always sons, rarely daughters) became successful producers like Richard Zanuck or executives like John Goldwyn and Alan Ladd Jr. In the worst, they tried to take over the empires their parents had built. + And that’s where the concept of dynasty — call it blue-blood nepotism, if you prefer — [went disastrously wrong.]( Elsewhere in film... ► Warner Bros. finds new Batman. Aaron Couch and Borys Kit explain: Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult both conducted their tests last week, the week of May 20. + Both met with filmmaker Matt Reeves several weeks ago, even as late as two weeks ago, and were told they were the finalists. They were also told that they would have to screen and costume test. + Reeves and Warners execs took this week to mull over their choices, informing the actors (or their camps) only last night. Pattinson’s deal went into effect as soon as the decision was made. [More.]( ► Elton John condemns edited Russian Rocketman. Joint statement: "That the local distributor has edited out certain scenes, denying the audience the opportunity to see the film as it was intended is a sad reflection of the [divided world.](" ► Wesley Snipes plans action thriller. The actor has come aboard to star in Outbreak Z, an action horror thriller being directed by Daredevil fight choreographer and stunt performer Chris Brewster. [The plot.]( ► Producer Miranda Bailey leaves Georgia film over abortion law. She has pulled out of the sci-fi romance film Time Capsule, which is set to shoot in the state next month. Rep: "she stands by women’s [right to choose.](" ► The films leaving Netflix this month. They include Apollo 13, Legally Blonde, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Kill Bill: Vols. 1 and 2, Pretty in Pink and Disney's 101 Dalmatians.[What's leaving]( I [What's arriving.]( Heat Vision watch: Wait times at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. For the moment, the land features only one ride — Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. The wait time was consistently around an hour, according to the Disney Parks app. [Details.]( N.Y. Times Bets on TV Debuting tomorrow night: Journalists enjoy watching the process of journalism, but FX, Hulu and The New York Times hope the audience for the new show The Weekly will be just a little broader than that, Jeremy Barr writes: + The show's first episode, which resembles a more traditional newsmagazine piece before blending in some verité, shoe-leather reporting that clearly sets it apart, focuses on a Louisiana prep school that was too good to be true. + With a big story, Times assistant managing editor (and executive producer) Sam Dolnick asked, "Do we do it on TV first and then do it in the paper on Monday morning?" [A preview.]( What to watch this weekend... Dan Fienberg emails: With the 2019 Emmys eligibility window closing on May 31, this weekend sees an onslaught of content with prestige pedigrees, so much so that you probably won't have enough time to watch all of it. Netflix's [When They See Us]( revisits the outrage of the Central Park 5 case in visceral and bracing form, but what if you don't want to spend more than five hours being angry this weekend? Well, Amazon's [Good Omens]( is more quirky and whimsical. When it comes to urgency, though, HBO's [Deadwood: The Movie]( is nearly 13 years in the making, so if you've been waiting for David Milch to put a bow on his Western classic, THAT is what to watch this weekend. What else we're reading... — "The Endeavor IPO makes no sense." William D. Cohan argues: "Emanuel built a great talent agency - and then bought a jumble of assets mostly with other people’s money." [[Vanity Fair](] — "The paparazzi staked outside Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s D.C. home." Shawn McCreesh writes: "Tabloid photographers are there when they leave for work, when they return at night." [[New York Times](] — "What Amazon might want with Boost Mobile." Klint Finley notes: "It's not much of a stretch to think that Amazon could sell phones bundled with an Amazon-branded wireless service." [[Wired](] — "The real difference between creators and influencers." Taylor Lorenz writes: "YouTube was so successful at pushing the term creator that other platforms soon co-opted it." [[The Atlantic](] — "Apple plans end of iTunes." Mark Gurman notes: "This year, Apple is finally ready to move into a new era. The company is launching a trio of new apps for the Mac - Music, TV, and Podcasts." [[Bloomberg](] [Quoted:]("I personally reject this President's stance that his administration 'supports equal treatment of all.'" — Taylor Swift, in a letter to Senator Lamar Alexander urging him to consider increased protections for the LGBTQ community. From the archives... + Today in 1980: On June 1, 1980, the words "CNN: The News Channel" flickered on the small screen as founder Ted Turner launched the cable network and said he expected to lose $2 million a month at first. [Flashback article.]( Today's birthdays: Tom Holland, 23, Amy Schumer, 38, Gareth Edwards, 44, Alanis Morissette, 45, Heidi Klum, 46, Jonathan Pryce, 72, Morgan Freeman, 82. 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]( June 1, 2019