The Actor Roundtable; ViacomCBS Day; 'Maisel' Review; Bond Trailer; New THR Cover

What's news: The THR Actor Roundtable, Viacom and CBS prepare to merge this afternoon, the #PayUpHollywood wage fight enlists showrunner allies, a new Planet of the Apes movie is in the works, WarnerMedia content chief says they wont hand rivals a "club to beat us” with. Plus: A review of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season three, and the new James Bond trailer. --Alex Weprin [The Hollywood Reporter]( [The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment DECEMBER 04, 2019 What's news: The THR Actor Roundtable, Viacom and CBS prepare to merge this afternoon, the #PayUpHollywood wage fight enlists showrunner allies, a new Planet of the Apes movie is in the works, WarnerMedia content chief says they wont hand rivals a "club to beat us” with. Plus: A review of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season three, and the new James Bond trailer. --Alex Weprin What's news: The THR Actor Roundtable, Viacom and CBS prepare to merge this afternoon, the #PayUpHollywood wage fight enlists showrunner allies, a new Planet of the Apes movie is in the works, WarnerMedia content chief says they wont hand rivals a "club to beat us” with. Plus: A review of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season three, and the new James Bond trailer. --Alex Weprin The Actor Roundtable [On the cover](: Robert De Niro, Adam Driver, Tom Hanks, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Foxx and Adam Sandler share dark moments, trade secrets and the roles that redefined their lives in a conversation with Stephen Galloway for THR's Actor Roundtable. THR: So, dying is easy, comedy is hard. True or false? Robert De Niro: "Well, there's all kinds of comedy. Certain comedies are easy for certain people, certain comedy for me is not. I can't do what Billy Crystal does, Eddie Murphy, Adam [Sandler]. But I can do other things. I like to think that I work in situations: In Marty Scorsese's movies, some situations are funny and ironic in and of themselves, which is like life. Working with him, whatever you want to do, you can try and do it and maybe it'll work. With some directors, you don't even go there." Adam Sandler: "If you have something you're confident in, something you believe in, it's the same. If you believe in a joke, if you believe in a dramatic scene, you go in there with the same approach." Jamie Foxx: "Here's the thing: Comedy is a natural thing. I was watching [Sandler] when I was 18 years old, sneaking into The Comedy Store, watching him go up when it was like titans — it was Chris Rock, it was Eddie [Murphy] working out sh*t. I remember Eddie had on this yellow, f*ckin' Century 21 jacket. (Laughter.) And somebody said, 'Yo, what's up with that jacket?' And then Eddie, he said, 'Oh, whatever, I'll crush you with my wallet?' And then everybody started laughing." THR: Do you take the role home with you? De Niro: "There is something that carries over, a residual something that you have to be aware of — not in the crazy way of [if you] play psychopaths, you're going to go home and kill [your family]." Tom Hanks: "It's a physiological process that incorporates your emotions in the sinews of your body. It's funny: Laughing and weeping are two very physical acts. I mean, when I cry, man, my face turns to rubber. And you can only get there if the text takes you there. But you can't push it. It has to come out." Foxx: "Well, I'm just emotional. I'm always crying." Sandler: "Really?" Foxx: "Oh yeah, I cry for everything. I'll be crying about stuff like: My accountant just called and said, 'You tried to buy a private plane?!' I'm like, 'F*ck! Run the scene! Shit be goin' through my life!'" (Laughter.) [The full roundtable](. The Actor Roundtable [On the cover](: Robert De Niro, Adam Driver, Tom Hanks, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Foxx and Adam Sandler share dark moments, trade secrets and the roles that redefined their lives in a conversation with Stephen Galloway for THR's Actor Roundtable. THR: So, dying is easy, comedy is hard. True or false? Robert De Niro: "Well, there's all kinds of comedy. Certain comedies are easy for certain people, certain comedy for me is not. I can't do what Billy Crystal does, Eddie Murphy, Adam [Sandler]. But I can do other things. I like to think that I work in situations: In Marty Scorsese's movies, some situations are funny and ironic in and of themselves, which is like life. Working with him, whatever you want to do, you can try and do it and maybe it'll work. With some directors, you don't even go there." Adam Sandler: "If you have something you're confident in, something you believe in, it's the same. If you believe in a joke, if you believe in a dramatic scene, you go in there with the same approach." Jamie Foxx: "Here's the thing: Comedy is a natural thing. I was watching [Sandler] when I was 18 years old, sneaking into The Comedy Store, watching him go up when it was like titans — it was Chris Rock, it was Eddie [Murphy] working out sh*t. I remember Eddie had on this yellow, f*ckin' Century 21 jacket. (Laughter.) And somebody said, 'Yo, what's up with that jacket?' And then Eddie, he said, 'Oh, whatever, I'll crush you with my wallet?' And then everybody started laughing." THR: Do you take the role home with you? De Niro: "There is something that carries over, a residual something that you have to be aware of — not in the crazy way of [if you] play psychopaths, you're going to go home and kill [your family]." Tom Hanks: "It's a physiological process that incorporates your emotions in the sinews of your body. It's funny: Laughing and weeping are two very physical acts. I mean, when I cry, man, my face turns to rubber. And you can only get there if the text takes you there. But you can't push it. It has to come out." Foxx: "Well, I'm just emotional. I'm always crying." Sandler: "Really?" Foxx: "Oh yeah, I cry for everything. I'll be crying about stuff like: My accountant just called and said, 'You tried to buy a private plane?!' I'm like, 'F*ck! Run the scene! Shit be goin' through my life!'" (Laughter.) [The full roundtable](. [What's Next For ViacomCBS?] What's Next For ViacomCBS? This afternoon after the market closes, CBS and Viacom will merge, creating ViacomCBS. The deal will bring together the two pillars of the Redstone family's empire, uniting the CBS broadcast network with cable channels like MTV and Comedy Central, the Paramount movie studio, and a slew of other media properties. The deal is all about scale, as ViacomCBS finds itself surrounded by much larger competitors in the media, entertainment, and technology fields. That being said... ►Does ViacomCBS need to slim down to scale up? As the two companies prepare to recombine this afternoon, some Wall Street skeptics hope the mogul will sell "non-core" assets (like book publishing, real estate or even a TV channel) to better position the firm for investors, Paul Bond and Georg Szalai report. Quote: "The company's management (and the new board) should move quickly to help erase the stench of this deal process by selling non-core assets and aggressively cutting costs," says MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson. Gimme Credit analyst Dave Novosel echoes, "Speculation is that the combined company may seek to sell non-core assets to reduce leverage." [The story](. +What others are saying: "CBS and Viacom reunite just in time for a media fight" [[Bloomberg](]... "Viacom and CBS reunite in $12 billion deal, but challenges abound" [[LA Times](]... "Investors bearish as Viacom and CBS deal nears close" [[Axios](]... ►Assistants' #PayUpHollywood wage fight enlists showrunner allies. The organizing effort has inspired several boldfaced names to fight for a better pay structure for assistants, including Adam Conover and Ayelet Waldman, Katie Kilkenny reports: "I would like to see the entry-level salary in Hollywood be $20 per hour plus benefits." [The story](. ►A new Planet of the Apes movie is in the works. Borys Kit reports that Fox has brought on Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind the popular Maze Runner film series, to develop and direct a new Planet of the Apes feature. The move makes Apes one of the first historically significant Fox titles to get the redevelopment treatment since Disney’s acquisition of the storied studio. [The story](. Elsewhere in film... --Here's [the first trailer](for the next James Bond film, No Time To Die. --Focus Features[is teaming]( with Will Packer Productions to develop Amber Garza's upcoming novel When I Was You as a female-driven thriller. --A movie about Russian interference into the 2016 election, called Winner, [is in the works]( from Big Beach— the production company behind awards contenders The Farewell and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. --The Apollo director Roger Ross  Williams[talks about]( the iconic venue's impact on black culture and the bet Obama took to sing Al Green. --Simon Pegg: "Theatrical cinema sadly [appears to be dying](." ^Kevin Reilly: HBO Max will keep biggest WarnerMedia hits, not hand rivals a "club to beat us” with. Speaking at a London conference Wednesday, the WarnerMedia content chief also discussed the downsides of the binge-viewing culture and algorithms and how the company will share data with content producers. [More](. Yesterday saw a number of significant new TV projects... +A new Oprah Winfrey-backed doc: Apple has [nabbed an untitled documentary]( presented by Oprah Winfrey and by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering about alleged sexual misconduct in the music industry. Set to debut next year, Dick and Ziering's latest documentary will follow a former music executive who grapples with whether to go public with her story of assault and abuse by a notable figure in the music industry. +A Mary J.Blige documentary: Amazon Studios and Entertainment One [are at work on]( an untitled Mary J. Blige documentary for Amazon Prime Video. Blige and Sean Combs will executive produce the film about the Oscar nominee and Grammy winner to be directed by Vanessa Roth. +Another Star Wars show: Disney+ has [ordered the competition show]( Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge to series. Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks in the movie prequels, will host the show, which tests its contestants' Jedi principles, such as strength, bravery and knowledge. The show will also feature a humanoid droid voiced by Mary Holland. +Also: HBO Max has [landed the U.S. rights]( to Boys, a 1980s-set limited series from Queer as Folk and former Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies... AMC Studios [has optioned]( author Jeff VanderMeer's Borne science fiction novels for development as a series... HBO Max has [also picked up]( hourlong stand-up specials from Tracy Morgan, John Early and rising stars Rose Matafeo and Ahir Shah... The BBC[is teaming]( with the producers of its hit shows Bodyguard and Line of Duty on a new drama called Showtrial... Elsewhere in TV... --AT&T CFO John Stephens says TV [customer losses]( have "peaked." --TBS [has renewed]( comedic game show The Misery Index for a second season. --Fox Corp. and Amazon have [signed a multi-year deal]( that will see the tech giant’s Amazon Web Services division deliver Fox’s video to linear and streaming services. --Fox News host Sean Hannity [puts his muscle]( behind potential Georgia senate pick. --Ratings: Amazon's Jack Ryan [drew a decent-sized audience]( in its first week of release, according to figures from Nielsen. An average of 4.62 million people in the United States watched the eight-episode second season in the first seven days of its release. What's Next For ViacomCBS? This afternoon after the market closes, CBS and Viacom will merge, creating ViacomCBS. The deal will bring together the two pillars of the Redstone family's empire, uniting the CBS broadcast network with cable channels like MTV and Comedy Central, the Paramount movie studio, and a slew of other media properties. The deal is all about scale, as ViacomCBS finds itself surrounded by much larger competitors in the media, entertainment, and technology fields. That being said... ►Does ViacomCBS need to slim down to scale up? As the two companies prepare to recombine this afternoon, some Wall Street skeptics hope the mogul will sell "non-core" assets (like book publishing, real estate or even a TV channel) to better position the firm for investors, Paul Bond and Georg Szalai report. Quote: "The company's management (and the new board) should move quickly to help erase the stench of this deal process by selling non-core assets and aggressively cutting costs," says MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson. Gimme Credit analyst Dave Novosel echoes, "Speculation is that the combined company may seek to sell non-core assets to reduce leverage." [The story](. +What others are saying: "CBS and Viacom reunite just in time for a media fight" [[Bloomberg](]... "Viacom and CBS reunite in $12 billion deal, but challenges abound" [[LA Times](]... "Investors bearish as Viacom and CBS deal nears close" [[Axios](]... ►Assistants' #PayUpHollywood wage fight enlists showrunner allies. The organizing effort has inspired several boldfaced names to fight for a better pay structure for assistants, including Adam Conover and Ayelet Waldman, Katie Kilkenny reports: "I would like to see the entry-level salary in Hollywood be $20 per hour plus benefits." [The story](. ►A new Planet of the Apes movie is in the works. Borys Kit reports that Fox has brought on Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind the popular Maze Runner film series, to develop and direct a new Planet of the Apes feature. The move makes Apes one of the first historically significant Fox titles to get the redevelopment treatment since Disney’s acquisition of the storied studio. [The story](. Elsewhere in film... --Here's [the first trailer](for the next James Bond film, No Time To Die. --Focus Features[is teaming]( with Will Packer Productions to develop Amber Garza's upcoming novel When I Was You as a female-driven thriller. --A movie about Russian interference into the 2016 election, called Winner, [is in the works]( from Big Beach— the production company behind awards contenders The Farewell and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. --The Apollo director Roger Ross  Williams[talks about]( the iconic venue's impact on black culture and the bet Obama took to sing Al Green. --Simon Pegg: "Theatrical cinema sadly [appears to be dying](." ^Kevin Reilly: HBO Max will keep biggest WarnerMedia hits, not hand rivals a "club to beat us” with. Speaking at a London conference Wednesday, the WarnerMedia content chief also discussed the downsides of the binge-viewing culture and algorithms and how the company will share data with content producers. [More](. Yesterday saw a number of significant new TV projects... +A new Oprah Winfrey-backed doc: Apple has [nabbed an untitled documentary]( presented by Oprah Winfrey and by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering about alleged sexual misconduct in the music industry. Set to debut next year, Dick and Ziering's latest documentary will follow a former music executive who grapples with whether to go public with her story of assault and abuse by a notable figure in the music industry. +A Mary J.Blige documentary: Amazon Studios and Entertainment One [are at work on]( an untitled Mary J. Blige documentary for Amazon Prime Video. Blige and Sean Combs will executive produce the film about the Oscar nominee and Grammy winner to be directed by Vanessa Roth. +Another Star Wars show: Disney+ has [ordered the competition show]( Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge to series. Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks in the movie prequels, will host the show, which tests its contestants' Jedi principles, such as strength, bravery and knowledge. The show will also feature a humanoid droid voiced by Mary Holland. +Also: HBO Max has [landed the U.S. rights]( to Boys, a 1980s-set limited series from Queer as Folk and former Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies... AMC Studios [has optioned]( author Jeff VanderMeer's Borne science fiction novels for development as a series... HBO Max has [also picked up]( hourlong stand-up specials from Tracy Morgan, John Early and rising stars Rose Matafeo and Ahir Shah... The BBC[is teaming]( with the producers of its hit shows Bodyguard and Line of Duty on a new drama called Showtrial... Elsewhere in TV... --AT&T CFO John Stephens says TV [customer losses]( have "peaked." --TBS [has renewed]( comedic game show The Misery Index for a second season. --Fox Corp. and Amazon have [signed a multi-year deal]( that will see the tech giant’s Amazon Web Services division deliver Fox’s video to linear and streaming services. --Fox News host Sean Hannity [puts his muscle]( behind potential Georgia senate pick. --Ratings: Amazon's Jack Ryan [drew a decent-sized audience]( in its first week of release, according to figures from Nielsen. An average of 4.62 million people in the United States watched the eight-episode second season in the first seven days of its release. ['Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Review] 'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Review ►Review: Season three of Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Daniel Fienberg writes that the show "remains at times as good as it has ever been, while continuing to struggle with a focus that often strays either into things it doesn't do nearly as well or things I don't enjoy nearly as much." [The review](. Universal Music Group can't delay handing over information about which master recordings it said were destroyed in connection with previous litigation and insurance claims arising from a devastating 2008 backlot fire — even if it has evidence the masters of the artists who are currently suing haven't been lost.[More](. +On Monday, Vivendi's StudioCanal unit filed counterclaims against the creators of the 1984 cult film Spinal Tap in a bid to have a California federal judge declare it to be a "work made for hire." [More](. +Also: Lyrics site Genius on Tuesday[sued Google and LyricFind]( for $50 million, alleging they have been misappropriating its transcriptions for years... Pete Davidson's stand-Up NDA [may be]( an "effective deterrent," even if it won't hold up in court... Good Times star Jimmie Walker defends Louis C.K.: "It's totally unfair." The actor says he's writing a book about comedy's great generational and racial divide — and judging from his red carpet remarks to Chris Gardner at a recent event, it sounds like it's going to be a doozy of a read. "We've gone too far with PC culture," Walker said. "It's way out of line. It's really hurting comedy and hurting a lot of artists. It's totally unfair." [More](. ►The best New York theater of the decade. THR’s chief theater critic David Rooney looks back over the past ten years on Broadway and off, rounding up the most memorable musicals and dramas along with the arrival of an exciting new generation of American playwrights. [The list](. In music news: Spotify [named]( Drake and Ed Sheeran as most-streamed artists of the decade... The rock band The Who [announced Tuesday]( night it will play its first Cincinnati-area concert since 11 fans died 40 years ago in a pre-show stampede... The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday announced the 20 films in the running for this season's Oscar in visual effects. In a year that saw a lot of innovation and artistry in this field, the list features Jon Favreau's photoreal CG retelling of The Lion King, the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Cats. [The list](. +The Irishman has been named the best film of 2019 by the National Board of Review. The film was also honored with best adapted screenplay, for writer Steven Zaillian, with director Martin Scorsese and stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino set to receive an "Icon Award, which NBR introduced this year to honor "cinematic artists who have contributed meaningfully to the history, culture, and excellence of motion pictures." [The full list of honorees](. +Bob Iger, Cicely Tyson, Seth MacFarlane, Geraldine Laybourne and Jay Sandrich will be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. [More](. +Emmy-winning director and producer Don Mischer is following in the footsteps of Warren Beatty, Sylvester Stallone and Jamie Lee Curtis as the honoree of the International Cinematographers Guild Publicists' 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. [More](. +Also: THR's Scott Feinberg issues his [latest Feinberg Forecast](, handicapping the Oscar Race Post-Gotham Awards Ceremony and NBR Awards Announcement... British actress Helen Mirren [will receive]( a lifetime achievement honor at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival... Patrick Stewart [will take home]( an accolade at the 2020 Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards. Hollywood Remixed podcast: In the fifth episode of THR’s new podcast, hosts Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun -- joined by colleague Lesley Goldberg! -- explore how the depictions of female-female attraction have changed on the small screen, and speak with The L Word: Generation Q showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan. [Listen](. Obituary: Dorothy Catherine “D.C.” Fontana, the first female writer for Star Trek who penned a number of classic episodes has died, according to the sci-fi property's official site. She was 80. A trailblazer for female writers in sci-fi television, Fontana crafted numerous stories for The Original Series, including 1967's "Journey to Babel," which introduced Spock's father Serek and mother Amanda. [The obituary](. Casting roundup: Kristin Chenoweth [will star in]( and executive produce a comedy series called The Biggest Star in Appleton for Disney+... Nolan Gerard Funk[is joining]( HBO Max's The Flight Attendant... Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Fred Armisen and Tim Meadows [will appear]( in the Quibi show The Mapleworth Murders... Revolving door: Google CEO Sundar Pichai [has been elevated]( to run the search giant's parent company, Alphabet, co-founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced in a blog post on Tuesday... ABC Studios [has signed]( Maggie Carey to a multiyear overall deal that will see her write, produce and direct comedies and dramas for various platforms, including ABC, Hulu and Disney+... Tim Doyle, who took over as showrunner for ABC's Schooled in August,[has departed]( the 1990s-set comedy. Tom Hertz and Vanessa McCarthy have been elevated to serve as showrunners... NBC [has promoted]( longtime executive Shelby Shaftel to senior vp alternative programming and development. Universal Television Alternative Studio, meanwhile, has hired Endemol Shine executive Georgie Hurford-Jones as executive vp current programming... What else we're reading... --"How today’s queer artists are revising history" [[T Magazine](] --"Virtual MVPDs were supposed to help save the TV industry—what went wrong?" [[AdWeek](] --"The Bloomberg 50: From finance to fashion and technology to trade, these are the people who defined 2019." [[Bloomberg](] --"“Trump was pissed”: Rudy given Fox time-out after 'insurance' diss" [[Vanity Fair](] --"2019 marked the end of a television era—and the beginning of a new one" [[The Ringer](] --"Podcasts and travel apps? Facebook Is working on those" [[NY Times](] Today's birthdays: Kevin Sussman, 49, Fred Armisen, 53, Jay-Z, 50, Jeff Bridges, 70, Marisa Tomei, 55, Tyra Banks, 46. 'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Review ►Review: Season three of Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Daniel Fienberg writes that the show "remains at times as good as it has ever been, while continuing to struggle with a focus that often strays either into things it doesn't do nearly as well or things I don't enjoy nearly as much." [The review](. Universal Music Group can't delay handing over information about which master recordings it said were destroyed in connection with previous litigation and insurance claims arising from a devastating 2008 backlot fire — even if it has evidence the masters of the artists who are currently suing haven't been lost.[More](. +On Monday, Vivendi's StudioCanal unit filed counterclaims against the creators of the 1984 cult film Spinal Tap in a bid to have a California federal judge declare it to be a "work made for hire." [More](. +Also: Lyrics site Genius on Tuesday[sued Google and LyricFind]( for $50 million, alleging they have been misappropriating its transcriptions for years... Pete Davidson's stand-Up NDA [may be]( an "effective deterrent," even if it won't hold up in court... Good Times star Jimmie Walker defends Louis C.K.: "It's totally unfair." The actor says he's writing a book about comedy's great generational and racial divide — and judging from his red carpet remarks to Chris Gardner at a recent event, it sounds like it's going to be a doozy of a read. "We've gone too far with PC culture," Walker said. "It's way out of line. It's really hurting comedy and hurting a lot of artists. It's totally unfair." [More](. ►The best New York theater of the decade. THR’s chief theater critic David Rooney looks back over the past ten years on Broadway and off, rounding up the most memorable musicals and dramas along with the arrival of an exciting new generation of American playwrights. [The list](. In music news: Spotify [named]( Drake and Ed Sheeran as most-streamed artists of the decade... The rock band The Who [announced Tuesday]( night it will play its first Cincinnati-area concert since 11 fans died 40 years ago in a pre-show stampede... The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday announced the 20 films in the running for this season's Oscar in visual effects. In a year that saw a lot of innovation and artistry in this field, the list features Jon Favreau's photoreal CG retelling of The Lion King, the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Cats. [The list](. +The Irishman has been named the best film of 2019 by the National Board of Review. The film was also honored with best adapted screenplay, for writer Steven Zaillian, with director Martin Scorsese and stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino set to receive an "Icon Award, which NBR introduced this year to honor "cinematic artists who have contributed meaningfully to the history, culture, and excellence of motion pictures." [The full list of honorees](. +Bob Iger, Cicely Tyson, Seth MacFarlane, Geraldine Laybourne and Jay Sandrich will be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. [More](. +Emmy-winning director and producer Don Mischer is following in the footsteps of Warren Beatty, Sylvester Stallone and Jamie Lee Curtis as the honoree of the International Cinematographers Guild Publicists' 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. [More](. +Also: THR's Scott Feinberg issues his [latest Feinberg Forecast](, handicapping the Oscar Race Post-Gotham Awards Ceremony and NBR Awards Announcement... British actress Helen Mirren [will receive]( a lifetime achievement honor at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival... Patrick Stewart [will take home]( an accolade at the 2020 Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards. Hollywood Remixed podcast: In the fifth episode of THR’s new podcast, hosts Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun -- joined by colleague Lesley Goldberg! -- explore how the depictions of female-female attraction have changed on the small screen, and speak with The L Word: Generation Q showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan. [Listen](. Obituary: Dorothy Catherine “D.C.” Fontana, the first female writer for Star Trek who penned a number of classic episodes has died, according to the sci-fi property's official site. She was 80. A trailblazer for female writers in sci-fi television, Fontana crafted numerous stories for The Original Series, including 1967's "Journey to Babel," which introduced Spock's father Serek and mother Amanda. [The obituary](. Casting roundup: Kristin Chenoweth [will star in]( and executive produce a comedy series called The Biggest Star in Appleton for Disney+... Nolan Gerard Funk[is joining]( HBO Max's The Flight Attendant... Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Fred Armisen and Tim Meadows [will appear]( in the Quibi show The Mapleworth Murders... Revolving door: Google CEO Sundar Pichai [has been elevated]( to run the search giant's parent company, Alphabet, co-founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced in a blog post on Tuesday... ABC Studios [has signed]( Maggie Carey to a multiyear overall deal that will see her write, produce and direct comedies and dramas for various platforms, including ABC, Hulu and Disney+... Tim Doyle, who took over as showrunner for ABC's Schooled in August,[has departed]( the 1990s-set comedy. Tom Hertz and Vanessa McCarthy have been elevated to serve as showrunners... NBC [has promoted]( longtime executive Shelby Shaftel to senior vp alternative programming and development. Universal Television Alternative Studio, meanwhile, has hired Endemol Shine executive Georgie Hurford-Jones as executive vp current programming... What else we're reading... --"How today’s queer artists are revising history" [[T Magazine](] --"Virtual MVPDs were supposed to help save the TV industry—what went wrong?" [[AdWeek](] --"The Bloomberg 50: From finance to fashion and technology to trade, these are the people who defined 2019." [[Bloomberg](] --"“Trump was pissed”: Rudy given Fox time-out after 'insurance' diss" [[Vanity Fair](] --"2019 marked the end of a television era—and the beginning of a new one" [[The Ringer](] --"Podcasts and travel apps? Facebook Is working on those" [[NY Times](] Today's birthdays: Kevin Sussman, 49, Fred Armisen, 53, Jay-Z, 50, Jeff Bridges, 70, Marisa Tomei, 55, Tyra Banks, 46. [Image] [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2019 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. DECEMBER 04, 2019 [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [MANAGE PREFERENCES]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [TERMS OF USE](