Starz' New Direction; Vice Deal?; WGA Race; 'Moulin Rouge!' on Broadway; 'OITNB' Farewell

What's news: Hulu and Starz hit TCA with a flurry of offerings. Plus: Vice Media eyes Refinery29, the Writers Guild election ramps up, Moulin Rouge! arrives on Broadway and OITNB returns for a farewell. — Erik Hayden July 27, 2019 What's news: Hulu and Starz hit TCA with a flurry of offerings. Plus: Vice Media eyes Refinery29, the Writers Guild election ramps up, Moulin Rouge! arrives on Broadway and OITNB returns for a farewell. — Erik Hayden Starz' New Direction Pivot: With a series on moves on Friday, the network's new approach — dubbed by Starz COO Jeffrey Hirsch as "premium female" — is coming into focus. Lesley Goldberg asks: Q: So what's "premium women"? Hirsch: "A little older — probably 24-54 and a little more economically viable than other segments, in terms of broadcast. They really like high scripted drama, great women in history and a lot of IP. You look at the audience for Outlander and that's the perfect audience for us." [Q&A.]( Starz moves... - Mary J. Blige to star in Power spinoff. The project, Power Book II: Ghost, is the first in what is planned as a suite of shows set in the same fictional world. [Details.]( - Dangerous Liaisons ordered to series. The show is a "reimagining" of the 18th century novel set in pre-Revolution France from Harriet Warner about young lovers in the slums of Paris. [More.]( - The Girlfriend Experience renewed. The premium cable outlet has picked up a third season of the Steven Soderbergh-produced drama more than 18 months after its last episode [aired.]( - Now Apocalypse cancelled. The show drew miniscule on-air ratings, averaging a scant 89,000 viewers for their first showing - only two made it into six figures for their [first airings.]( Hulu's TCA day... ^Handmaid's Tale renewed. The series, returning for a fourth season, has been a huge priority for the service both in terms of marketing and awards: It has won 11 Emmys. [Return date not set.]( + Amy Schumer plans a new comedy. She will create, direct, write, exec produce and star in Love, Beth, which has been picked up straight to series with a 10-episode order. [Details.]( + Mahershala Ali joins Ramy. The casting is a get for the series, which won acclaim for its first season and for Ramy Youssef's performance, but did not result in any Emmy noms. [More.]( + Padma Lakshmi enlisted for food push. The untitled show will find her traversing the U.S. showcasing different meals. It will be part of the streamer's [kitchen vertical.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► CBS' Criminal Minds crewmember files sexual harassment lawsuit. A 2nd assistant cameraman alleges that the show's director of photography touched him in a sexual manner two to three times a week during his [employment.]( ► Warner Bros. inks Bryan Cranston. Under the multi-year pact, his Moonshot Entertainment banner will create and develop original TV series ideas for all platforms. [Moved from Sony.]( ► Vice Media eyes Refinery29. The company has held talks about acquiring the women's lifestyle publisher. A deal is not in place, but should a transaction occur, it would bring more digital media [consolidation.]( ► Hallmark plans *40* original Christmas movies this year. Kristin Chenoweth headlines the marquee film of 2019, A Christmas Love Story, alongside Scott Wolf and Kevin Quinn. [More.]( ► Netflix gives three season renewal to Big Mouth. The deal will take it through a sixth season. The streamer also pacted with the show's creative team to develop more animated [projects.]( *R.I.P., John Ferriter. The longtime William Morris Agency talent agent, who later worked at Octagon Entertainment, has died. He was 59. [Full obit.]( THR, Esq: Universal heads to $77M loss over Columbo lawsuit. The lawsuit was brought by heirs of William Link and Richard Levinson, who waited 45 years before getting their first profit participation check despite Columbo reaping[hundreds of millions.]( Writers' Race Heats Up Challenger: The Writers Guild of America West elections took a new turn Friday with the release of an [open letter]( signed by over 300 writers supporting a slate that is contesting the current leadership. Jonathan Handel writes: + The slate — Phyllis Nagy for president, Craig Mazin for vp and Nick Jones, Jr. for secretary-treasurer — now boasts support from such top showrunners and screenwriters as Greg Berlanti, Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, Ava DuVernay and many more. + Not addressed in the letter: Several recent successes for the WGA: boutique Kaplan Stahler, literary startup Culture Creative Entertainment and mid-tier agency Buchwald all signed on to the guild’s new franchise agreement phasing out packaging fees and prohibiting affiliate production. [Full story.]( Meanwhile, in film... ► Disney's Aladdin hits $1B milestone. Despite lukewarm reviews, the live-action film gives star Will Smith and director Guy Ritchie entry to the billion-dollar club for the[first time.]( ► Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer sees pay decline. The company said in a regulatory filing Friday that Feltheimer's compensation package for fiscal 2019 was $6.61 million, down from $14.4 million in fiscal 2018. [Filing.]( ► Sony meets with Andy Serkis amid Venom 2 director hunt. The helmer flew to Los Angeles for meetings set by Sony brass earlier this week. He is one of several filmmakers [in the mix.]( ► Paramount plans Mark Wahlberg dog tale. The actor has signed on to star in Arthur the King, a true-life adventure story for Paramount Players. Mark Canton and Tucker Tooley are [producing.]( ► Netflix casts lead for dance movie. Sofia Carson, one of the stars of Disney Channels' popular Descendants franchise, will star in director Elissa Down's ensemble [Feel the Beat](. ► Cinepolis USA buys Moviehouse & Eatery theaters. The chain is expanding its footprint, with five cinemas in Texas: two in Austin and three in the Dallas Fort-Worth area. [More.]( Johnny Depp's $50M lawsuit Against Amber Heard allowed in Virginia. A state judge on Thursday ruled that Depp will be allowed to move forward in Virginia in his $50 million defamation case over a December op-ed in The Washington Post. [Details.]( 'Moulin Rouge!' on Broadway Opening: Baz Luhrmann's playfully postmodern riff on the Hollywood movie musical set in fin de siècle Paris gets amped up for the stage, with Karen Olivo and Aaron Tveit starring. David Rooney's take: + "The show is A LOT, in every sense, both intoxicating and exhausting in its unrelenting visual and sonic assault. But it virtually defies you not to be entertained." [Full review.]( + Baz Luhrmann talks about how the movie was adapted for Broadway: "I realized how passionate we were and how much work we did and how we didn’t pay heed to people saying the music will never work." [Story.]( What to watch this weekend... + Orange Is the New Black (Season 7): Daniel Fienberg emails: Much more than even House of Cards, which received more initial hype, OITNB is the series that established Netflix in specific and streaming in general as a home for quality content. The [final OITNB season]( is the show's most consistent run of episodes in years, full of humor and tears and trenchant observations about the prison system and, in a new setting and twist, our current immigration quandary. With a little more distance, it will be easier to reflect on the show's overall greatness and its many triumphs of inclusivity. In the short term, spend your weekend reveling in an all-time great ensemble cast and a fitting sendoff. [Review]( I [What to expect.]( What else we're reading... — "A TV maverick is going all-in on a new wireless bet." Drew FitzGerald writes: "Charlie Ergen, the poker-playing billionaire who co-founded Dish Network, has been hoarding airwaves for years. Now the U.S. government is handing him the cards he needs to make his play." [[Wall Street Journal](] — "How Yesterday became a summer counter-programming hit." Jeremy Kay reports: "women account for 56% of the audiences, while 29% is aged 45 and up, and ... a “sweet spot” of 29% is aged between 25 and 34." [[Screen](] — "This is a bet for us." Max Willens writes: "On July 25, about 700 people gathered at Webster Hall in Manhattan for a taping of Internet Live, a kind of variety show that BuzzFeed will distribute as a video on August 4." [[Digiday](] — "Is the internet making writing better?" Katy Waldman notes: "A new book, Because Internet ... argues that our richest, most eloquent language is found online." [[New Yorker](] — "The con man who became a true-crime writer." Rachel Monroe's writes: "In his old life, Matthew Cox told stories to scam his way into millions of dollars. Now he’s trying to make it by selling tales that are true." [[The Atlantic](] — "Shepard Fairey’s posters still go viral." Dan Adler notes: "A new retrospective of his 30-year career gave the street artist an opportunity to take the measure of his fame and his politics." [[Vanity Fair](] From the archives... + Today in '84: On July 27, 1984, Prince unveiled Purple Rain. Fueled by an electric album, Warner Bros.' musical stormed the box office: "Even those who aren’t Prince fans are likely to be captivated." [Flashback review.]( Today's birthdays: Taylor Schilling, 35, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, 42, Seamus Dever, 43, Maya Rudolph, 47, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, 49, Bryan Fuller, 50, Cliff Curtis, 51, Donnie Yen, 56, Norman Lear, 97. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? 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