'Silicon Valley' Star Claims Extortion; Paramount's Help Wanted Sign; Kremlin Gripes About CNN; 'Veep' Season Preview

What's news: Paramount is again hunting to fill out its leadership team. Plus: Benedict Cumberbatch lines up a new film project, Rachel Maddow sees her ratings thrive in the Trump era, the Kremlin is complaining about CNN's Putin doc and a Silicon Valley star claims he was extorted. — Matthew Belloni and Erik Hayden. [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( March 14, 2017 What's news: Paramount is again hunting to fill out its leadership team. Plus: Benedict Cumberbatch lines up a new film project, Rachel Maddow sees her ratings thrive in the Trump era, the Kremlin is complaining about CNN's Putin doc and a Silicon Valley star claims he was extorted. — Matthew Belloni and Erik Hayden. Rachel Maddow Tops Cable News In the era of Trump, Rachel Maddow, MSNBC's star player, is enjoying one hell of a ratings run right now, Michael O'Connell notes: The cable news network's 9 o'clock host outrated every other primetime show during the week of March 6. Not only did that make her show No. 1 among adults 25-54 in her time slot with an average 624,000 viewers, she even beat cable news' perennial victor — Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly. What's more compelling is how many people are tuning in. Her average 2.62 million viewers marks[nearly an eight-year high]( and MSNBC's narrowest margins (coming within 1 percent) between Fox News to date. The victory over O'Reilly, who airs during the 8 p.m. hour, comes with the noteworthy caveat that he had a substitute during his Friday telecast. (Monday through Thursday, O'Reilly won by an average 30,000 demo viewers.) ↱ [CNN vs. Kremlin over new Putin doc](. Fareed Zakaria's doc The Most Powerful Man in the World was deemed "hysterical" by Russia. "This was rather odious material," Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, was quoted as saying by news agency RIA Novosti, adding that "there was nothing new in it." ↲ Elsewhere in TV... ► CBS orders Big Bang Theory prequel. The network has handed out a [straight-to-series]( order for the 2017-18 broadcast season for Young Sheldon, played by Big Little Lies actor Iain Armitage. The show will be narrated by Jim Parsons. ► Netflix renews Lemony Snicket. The [pickup](of the Neil Patrick Harris-headlined adaptation comes exactly two months after the eight-episode first season debuted. The series is written by Daniel Handler, who exec produces with Barry Sonnenfeld. ► MTV rebrands annual awards show to add TV honors. The network is the latest to add [small-screen prizes]( to its movie awards ceremony. The Gotham Awards and Critics' Choice Awards began handing out TV honors the same night as their film accolades in 2015. ↱ [24's longtime fan-favorite reflects:]( Carlos Bernard, who spent 16 years with the real-time thriller, talks about reprising his role of Tony Almeida: "This show kind of feels like it's my baby." ↲ [^Trailer watch: HBO's Veep]( season six arrives, following Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Selina Meyer into uncharted waters outside the White House. At SXSW, the cast [previewed]( the plot inspiration for the upcoming episodes. ► Hulu's 9/11 drama enlists Jeff Daniels. The actor has signed on [to star]( in the streaming service's 10-episode series The Looming Tower, based on Lawrence Wright's Pulitzer Price-winning book. Dan Futterman (Foxcatcher, Capote) is writing. ► Showtime's Ray Donovan books Susan Sarandon. The actress, earning rave reviews for her performance on Feud, has [landed]( a sizable role on Donovan. In a seasonlong arc, she will play a motion picture studio chief. In THR, Esq: Silicon Valley star claims extortion. T.J. Miller is going on the offensive after a cab driver accused him of battery during the holidays, saying the man's allegations were part of a serial-scammer's plan [to make money.]( Paramount's Help Wanted Sign It's back to the drawing board for one executive plan at the troubled studio, Pamela McClintock reports: Veteran studio production chief Michael De Luca has turned down an offer to join Paramount Pictures, [according to insiders](. The proposed plan was for De Luca to run the film division and work under Fox film chief Jim Gianopulos, who is Viacom's pick to run the troubled studio should he accept the assignment. De Luca is said to enjoy the autonomy he maintains as an independent producer. He also may have blanched at taking the No. 2 job at Paramount after being in the running himself to serve as chairman-CEO. Sources say Gianopulos is still in the running to take the job, replacing Brad Grey. Elsewhere in film... ► Benedict Cumberbatch lines up new film project. The actor's own SunnyMarch banner has teamed with StudioCanal to [pick up]( the film rights to How to Stop Time, the forthcoming book from author Matt Haig. ► Sony (finally) plans Dragon Tattoo sequel. The Girl in the Spider's Web will have a lower budget than Tattoo and an all new cast, without Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig returning. It'll be released [Oct. 5, 2018](, opposite Warner Bros.' Aquaman. ► Ridley Scott to direct Getty kidnapping drama. The Martian helmer is set to tackle All the Money in the World, from the The Black List [script]( by David Scarpa. It centers on the the infamous 1973 Mafia kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. ► Damien Chazelle-penned mystery film moves forward. Motion Picture Capital, Route One and Oceanside Media are partnering for the La La Land director's mystery The Claim, with a 2018 release eyed. [Fun fact:]( Route One picked up the script, which appeared on the annual Black List in 2010, four years before Chazelle made his breakout feature Whiplash. [Quoted, Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya](, when asked by GQ magazine about Samuel L. Jackson's comments on U.K. and U.S. black actors: "I'm just an individual. You probably feel that as a writer, too. Just because you're black, you['re] taken and used to represent something. It mirrors what happens in the film." ► Moonlight producer planning Hong Kong-set thriller. Andrew Hevia is [developing]( Dark Room, an English-language film budgeted at under $5M. The producer has met with Chinese and Hong Kong companies for possible collaboration. ► Liam Neeson thriller denied park shooting permit. Hard Powder, a Rocky Mountains-set action thriller, has been denied a permit to shoot some locations in Canada's Banff National Park over how an indigenous character, played by Tom Jackson, [is portrayed.]( ► Annette Bening joins drama Life, Itself. The actress has been added to [the cast]( of This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman's relationship film, which also stars Olivia Wilde, Samuel L. Jackson and Antonio Banderas. It's filming on location in New York and Seville. ► Common to star in thriller Quick Draw. The actor, coming off a turn in John Wick: Chapter 2, will[topline]( the revenge thriller from Content Media and Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. MPAA chief to skip big CinemaCon speech. Chris Dodd has cited a scheduling conflict that will keep him away from this year's annual gathering of theater owners and film studios. It may be the first time an MPAA chief has [missed the show](. Fourth Time Is Charm for 'Bachelor' Four-time star Nick Viall finally found someone, Vanessa Grimaldi, on last night's season finale of The Bachelor. The two revealed the finale was taped right before Thanksgiving, meaning they have been forced to keep their relationship a secret for four-plus months: "[There’s a 25-page contract we had to sign.](” What else we're reading... — "The fate of the critic in the clickbait age." Alex Ross observes: "The profession may be destined to fade away, but others will have to take up the critic’s simple, irritating, somehow necessary job." [[The New Yorker](] — "Grimmer times, grimmer Kardashians." Andy Martino notes: "The show deserves credit for being ahead of the curve, having spent several years engineering what appears to be a slow pivot to more serious matters." [[The Outline](] — "On Netflix, the borders remain open." Mike Hale writes: "Alongside its well-publicized drive to dominate original content, Netflix is quietly transforming our television experience in another, perhaps just as profound way." [[The New York Times](] — "With Love Jones, black love took center stage." Tre'vell Anderson's oral history of the 1997 title, which "showcased a different aspect of black life, one where struggle and strife did not dictate one’s circumstances." [[The Los Angeles Times](] — "Why is Silicon Valley so awful to women?" Liza Mundy's new cover story: "Tech companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to improve conditions for female employees. Here’s why not much has changed — and what might actually work." [[The Atlantic](] — "Hemingway was a spy." Harvey Klehr notes: "In 1940, as he was preparing to go on a trip to China, the writer agreed to work for the NKVD, the Soviet foreign intelligence agency." [[The Wall Street Journal](] Today's Birthdays: Ansel Elgort, 23, Jamie Bell, 31, Corey Stoll, 41, Grace Park, 43, Billy Crystal, 69, Wolfgang Petersen, 76, Michael Caine, 84. Follow The News Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2017 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. 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