Shonda Rhimes Expands Netflix Pact; The Kings Ink Rich CBS Overall Deal; Olympics Still Must-See TV?; Latest From Cannes

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( July 09, 2021 What's news: We roll on to day four of the Cannes Film Festival and quite a few reviews have dropped for films that will enter the awards conversation later this year. Plus: Amazon's The Tomorrow War is getting a sequel and Dua Lipa has bagged her first acting role — [Abid Rahman]( Shondaland Expands Netflix Deal ►All in. Netflix and Shonda Rhimes are deepening their relationship with both an extension and an expansion of the mega-producer’s deal at the streamer. The new pact with Rhimes and her company, Shondaland, will encompass such things as feature films, virtual reality content and gaming in addition to the numerous series her company is already making for Netflix. The current deal includes a branding and merchandising deal for Shondaland Media content, while the expanded pact will also include live events and experiences, which have been a growing part of the showrunner-turned-mogul's business. [The story](. —Kings amongst showrunners. The overall deal bug is catching. Two of CBS Studios’ most important producers are staying in-house, with The Good Fight creators Robert and Michelle King have inked a rich new five-year overall deal to remain with the ViacomCBS-backed studio. The pact, sources say, is valued in the mid-eight figures. [The story](. —Olympics still must-see? Can an Olympic games without any fans in attendance make for must-see TV? It’s a question NBC executives are surely asking themselves after the Japanese government declared a new state of emergency in Tokyo on Thursday. [The story](. —New roles. British pop sensation and Grammy winner Dua Lipa is to make her acting debut, joining a major ensemble of A-list talent in Mathew Vaughn’s newly-announced spy thriller Argylle. [The story](. 'Bachelor in Paradise' Reveals Cast ►Paradise regained. Bachelor in Paradise is filling up its beach huts. ABC has released the starting cast for its summer spinoff in The Bachelor franchise, and unsurprisingly they all have nice teeth and and are very attractive. [The cast](. —Hits hard. The first trailer for Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series What If…? dropped on Thursday and hit some fans harder than they were expecting. Beyond looking like a must-watch, the roughly two-minute preview featured the late Chadwick Boseman. [The trailer](. —Next up. A month after abruptly exiting Netflix’s drama, Rebel Ridge, John Boyega has found a new project. The Brit actor is starring in indie drama 892, to be helmed by first time feature director Abi Damaris Corbin. [The story](. —Tomorrow's Tomorrow War. Amazon and Skydance's big budget sci-fi time travel film The Tomorrow War is getting a sequel just days after being released for streaming. Director Chris McKay is expected to return, along with screenwriter Zach Dean and much of the original cast. [The story.]( Cannes: Quatrième Jour ►All the latest news and reviews from THR's team on the fourth day of the Cannes Film Festival. The full Day 4 daily can be found [here](. —"Doesn't run deep." THR's chief film critic [David Rooney]( reviews Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater starring Matt Damon as an Oklahoma oil worker who travels to Marseille to help Abigail Breslin as his imprisoned daughter in this cross-cultural drama. [The review](. —"Body and soul." THR's awards analyst Scott Feinberg thinks Damon has entered the awards conversation for Stillwater. The actor teared up during the five-minute ovation that the film received at the Palais, and Scott reckons Damon's performance represents the film’s strongest shot at awards season recognition. [The analysis](. —Less posh Josh. After his award-winning success with Netflix's The Crown, Josh O’Connor is returnig to his indie roots with two buzzy Cannes titles, Mothering Sunday, adapted from Graham Swift's novella, and Aisha, which also stars Letitia Wright. [The interview](. —Streamers to the rescue. Conventional wisdom in the industry posits that global streamers might kill theatrical cinema, but niche services such as Mubi, Shudder, or recently-launched Wild Side TV are filling a gap in the indie film business, helping arthouse and genre titles get made. [The story](. —"I’m never deliberately out to provoke." Paul Verhoeven talks to THR's [Scott Roxborough]( about his lesbian nun drama Benedetta. The bad boy of Dutch cinema might appear to be courting controversy with his latest film, but he says it is informed by his own sense of spirituality. [The interview](. In other Cannes news... —Cannes hidden gem: Poverty and poultry collide in absurdist Egyptian drama [Feathers](. —Charlize Theron debuted at Cannes with [The Yards](. —Cannes film review: Kogonada's [After Yang](. —Cannes film review: Joachim Trier's [The Worst Person in the World](. —Cannes film review: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's [Lingui, The Sacred Bonds](. —Cannes film review: Andrea Arnold's [Cow](. Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. —TV's Top 5. [Lesley Goldberg]( and [Daniel Fienberg]( break down the latest TV news. This week the guys discuss the return of the overall deal in light of mega-producer Shonda Rhimes expanding her pact with Netflix. Why HBO passed on another season of Lovecraft Country. Netflix's multicam fails. Atypical's Robia Rashid is the showrunner under the spotlight. And Dan offers reviews of HBO’s The White Lotus and Catch and Kill, The CW’s Wellington Paranormal and more. [Listen here](. —Awards Chatter. Awards analyst [Scott Feinberg]( talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In the latest episode, Scott speaks to Carroll Baker. The Oscar-nominated actress turned author, who is now 90 and celebrating the 65th anniversary of her start in the movies in Giant and Baby Doll, shares memories of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe and her controversial views about Bill Cosby and the #MeToo movement. [Listen here](. —Behind the Screen. Tech editor [Carolyn Giardina]( podcast focused on the filmmaking crafts. In this episode, Carolyn speaks to Black Widow cinematographer Gabriel Beristain. [Listen here](. In other news... —[Yahya Abdul-Mateen II to topline limited series]( from Macro TV Studios. —Paulo Coelho’s [The Alchemist]( to star Sebastian de Souza, Tom Hollander, Shohreh Aghdashloo. —Kristen Bell joins Allison Janney, Ben Platt in [wedding comedy from Amazon, FilmNation](. —Disney debuts Stephanie Beatriz as "not special special" heroine in enchanting [Encanto trailer](. —[Pause With Sam Jay]( renewed for second season on HBO. —[American Horror Stories]( releases first official trailer. —[Evil renewed]( for season 3 at Paramount+. —[Rutherford Falls renewed]( for season 2 at Peacock. —Uzo Aduba, Matthew Broderick to star in [opioid crisis drama Painkiller at Netflix](. —Kiefer Sutherland to play Franklin D. Roosevelt in Showtime’s [The First Lady](. —Samara Weaving to star in Searchlight drama [Chevalier de Saint-Georges](. —Participant to receive [American Cinematheque’s Power of Cinema Award](. —[Fans banned at Olympics]( Tokyo under state of emergency. —Streaming wars kick off [studio space race in Ontario](. What else we're reading... —"Leandra Medine: Upper East Sider Realizes She’s Privileged" [[The Cut]( —"Legally Blonde Oral History: From Raunchy Script to Feminist Classic" [[New York Times]( —"Cat Person and Me" [[Slate]( —"'It’s An Inherent Comfort Zone': Why The American Sitcom Has Endured" [[The Guardian]( —"How Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline Became An Accidental Soccer Anthem" [[BBC]( Today... ... in 1999, Universal released the R-rated teen comedy American Pie in theaters, where it would go on to gross $235 million worldwide and kickstart a franchise. [The original review](. Today's birthdays: [Tom Hanks]( (65), Toby Kebbell (39), Kelly McGillis (64), Richard Roundtree (79), Courtney Love (57), Chris Cooper (70), Pamela Adlon (55), Fred Savage (45), Jimmy Smits (66), David O'Hara (56), Douglas Booth (29) Chick Vennera, who portrayed a bean farmer for Robert Redford in The Milagro Beanfield War and danced atop parked cars outside an L.A. discotheque while wearing leather from head to toe in Thank God It’s Friday, has died. He was 74. [The obituary.]( 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. 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