Why Kenya Barris Left His $100M Netflix Deal; NBC's "Moral Hazard" As Olympics Near; Hollywood and Hong Kong Censorship

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( June 23, 2021 What's news: It's magazine day! This week, multi-hyphenate creative Kenya Barris adorns the cover and he reveals why he left Netfliix. Plus: There's a new Disney Princess, Mark Harmon may be saying farewell to NCIS and U.K. regulators look into the streaming giants — [Abid Rahman]( Kenya Barris on Why He Left His $100M Netflix Deal ►On the cover. In January, Kenya Barris' reps untangled him from his pricey partnership with Netflix, as they’d done with his Disney pact a few years earlier, and hammered out a new deal that gave the multi-talented creative equity and a board seat in what would become BET Studios. "I think a lot of people thought I got fired or I quit, like 'F*** this,' over some kind of beef with Netflix," says Barris, speaking publicly about the move for the first time — but the truth was more complicated. Speaking to THR's [Lacey Rose]( Barris, a showrunner turned media mogul, reveals a raft of new projects including a new record label, podcast venture, book deal and a first-look film pact: "It's a special time in this industry if you’re Black and you have something to say." [The cover story.]( Quote of the Day "My approach at the time was a lot of tough love" Vin Diesel, the paterfamilias of the Fast & Furious franchise, shared his take on what may have sparked the feud between him and co-star Dwayne Johnson. [The story.]( NBC Approaches "Moral Hazard" Amid Olympics Push During Pandemic ►"Ethical questions." As the Tokyo Olympics' July 23 opening ceremony draws nearer, just 6 percent of Japan's population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and polling regularly reports a large majority of the public wants the Olympics scrapped or postponed, writes THR's Patrick Brzeski. Yet, organizers, the IOC and broadcasting partner NBC, with billions on the line, are insistent on ploughing forward, despite local health experts repeated pleas that the plan risks an unnecessary loss of life in the host country. [The story.]( —U.K. regulators! Mount up. The British government is out to prove it's no geek off the street by announcing that it will "consider tightening regulation of video-on-demand services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video" and look into whether they should be subject to similar rules as traditional broadcasters like the BBC, ITV and Sky. The U.K. government has also revealed plans to privatize Channel 4, which is sure to provoke a backlash from the creative community. [The story.]( Crunching the Numbers $200 Million The biggest-budgeted Chinese film ever made is heading to the Cannes market. The $200 million war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin is co-directed by A-list Chinese filmmakers Chen Kaige, Hark Tsui and Dante Lam. [The story.]( Hollywood and Hong Kong Censorship ►"Chilling effect." As Hong Kong authorities impose a ban on any theatrical title deemed "a threat to national security," documentary makers, financiers and distributors are facing an immediate impact. [The story.]( —New Disney Princess just dropped. Rachel Zegler, who will make her onscreen debut in West Side Story, has landed her next job with Disney playing the studio's first ever princess: Snow White. [The story.]( —Settlement. Vanessa Bryant along with the other plaintiffs have reached a confidential settlement agreement with the company that operated the helicopter and the estate of the pilot involved in the crash that killed Kobe and Gianna Bryant and seven others last January. [The story.]( —Setting the stage? Mark Harmon's NCIS shift may be coming to an end. THR's Lesley Goldberg writes that the star and exec producer of the CBS franchise’s flagship series inked a one-year deal to return for season 19, during which he is slated to appear in a limited capacity. [The story.]( Crafting Season Finales ►"We didn’t try to solve anything." Creators and showrunners of Mare of Easttown, This Is Us, Fargo, Lovecraft Country, Shameless, The Handmaid's Tale and Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story talk to THR about how they crafted the season finales of their respective shows. [The story.]( —Beyond a reasonable doubt. Roc-A-Fella Records has convinced a New York federal judge Jay-Z’s first album shouldn’t be sold as an NFT, at least for the time being. [The story.]( —The Unbothered. Jemele Hill is launching a podcast network exclusively with Spotify that will focus on elevating the voices and stories of Black women. [The story.]( —More awks guaranteed. Ziwe is staying put at Showtime. The premium cable network has handed out a season two renewal for its late-night variety sketch show starring the queen of awkward interviewing Ziwe Fumudoh. [The story.]( In other news... —Bill Hader and Paul Rudd reveal the backstory behind the["worst-received" skit]( on SNL. —[The Suicide Squad]( puts the spotlight on Idris Elba's Bloodsport. —Glenn Close is set to star in the second season of Apple TV+'s original series [Tehran](. —Solar Opposites, Hulu's animated comedy from Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan, [nabs early season 4 renewal](. —[Brian Tyree Henry and Kate Mara]( to star in FX on Hulu FBI drama Class of '09. —Liv Tyler [options Jens Christian Grondahl's novel]( Lucca. —Somebody Feed Phil [renewed for season 5]( at Netflix. —Simon Cowell set for ITV musical game show [Walk the Line.]( —Longtime Billboard contributor [Jim Bessman]( dies at 68. —The Recording Academy names [Valeisha Butterfield Jones and Panos A. Panay as co-presidents](. —Bob Dylan film Odd and Ends to be [digitally released by SME](. —Scarlett Johansson to receive [American Cinematheque honor](. —RTL Nederland to [merge with John de Mol's Talpa]( to form Dutch TV giant. What else we're reading... —"Britney Spears Quietly Pushed for Years to End Her Conservatorship" [[New York Times]( —"Conservative Media's Lame Attempt to 'Cancel' Billie Eilish" [[Daily Beast]( —"Jane Levy on the Cancellation of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: "I Gave It My All"" [[Vanity Fair]( —"American Basketball Pro Spent Eight Months in Secretive China Detention" [[Wall Street Journal]( —"Untangling MF DOOM’s Lifelong Struggle With the U.S. Immigration System" [[Pitchfork]( Today... ... in 1971, the 106-minute racing drama Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen and Siegfried Rauch as rivals, hit theaters stateside. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Frances McDormand (64), Selma Blair (49), Melissa Rauch (41), Joe Taslim (40), Bryan Brown (74), Russell Mulcahy (68), [Miles Fisher]( (38), Glenn Danzig (66) This email was sent to {EMAIL} by Penske Media Corporation. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. Visit the [Preferences Center]( to update your profile and customize what email alerts and newsletters you receive. Copyright © 2021 The Hollywood Reporter, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90025 [View in Browser]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Your Privacy Rights]( | [Ad Choices]( | [Terms of Use]( | [Unsubscribe](