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EXCLUSIVE : Starz is developing The Comedown , a comedic drama series based on Rafael Frumkin’s book by the same name, sources tell Deadline. The project hails from Regina King ’s Royal Ties Productions and Freddie Highmore ’s Alfresco Pictures as well as TriStar Television, a division of Sony Pictures TV where The Good Doctor star Highmore has had an overall deal. A rep for Starz declined comment. Written by Gretchen Enders ( WandaVision ), The Comedown is a darkly comedic, multigenerational drama that explores delineating lines of race, class, religion, and time, through the story of two very different Cleveland families – one Black, one white – whose lives become intertwined one fateful night when a drug deal goes dramatically wrong and a mysterious yellow briefcase disappears. Highmore and Claire Londy executive produce through Alfresco Pictures alongside Enders as well as Regina King and Reina King of Royal Ties. Enders most recently was co-executive … [Read more...] about Regina King & Freddie Highmore Executive Producing ‘The Comedown’ Series Adaptation In Works At Starz

The Last of Us delivered another series high on Sunday with 7.5M people tuning in across HBO and HBO Max. That’s a 17% increase from Episode 3’s audience of 6.4M, despite Sunday’s episode going head-to-head with the 65th annual Grammy Awards . This is the second week in a row that The Last of Us has had some big competition, after airing on HBO during the last half of the AFC Championship on the East Coast last week. The series has now grown its same-day audience every week since it debuted in January. Sunday night’s viewership was up 60% from the premiere episode’s same-day number. With the Super Bowl approaching this Sunday, The Last of Us fans are in luck, as the next episode drops on HBO Max in just a few days . The episode will debut on the streaming service on Friday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT ahead of its HBO airing at in its usual Sunday spot (which conflicts directly with the Big Game). The series, which is based on the PlayStation game, takes … [Read more...] about ‘The Last Of Us’ Viewership Hits Another Series High With Episode 4 on HBO

Pedro Pascal raced through an apocalyptic version of Mario Kart during Saturday Night Live . The episode took notes from Pascal’s current HBO series The Last of Us with a fake trailer for another upcoming HBO prestige drama: Mario Kart . But instead of smuggling the potential cure to the zombie apocalypse across the United States, Pascal must smuggle Princess Peach through the ruins of Rainbow Road, the final course of the Special Cup in Super Mario. Pascal plays a hardened version of the iconic video game character, who has become cynical since Bowser took control of the kingdom. He’s willing to take on the job, but he warns that the journey won’t be easy. “Karting out here isn’t a game. If we’re going to make it, we’re going to need all the help we can get,” Mario says to Peach. He, of course, brings in Luigi for backup. The trailer teases that viewers will see “all your favorite wacky racers reimagined as complex, dramatic HBO characters.” That … [Read more...] about ‘Saturday Night Live‘: Pedro Pascal Spoofs ’The Last Of Us’ In Trailer For Apocalyptic Mario Kart Prestige Drama Series

Sky is seeking inspiration from Happy Vall ey for its next hit show as programs boss Zai Bennett says the pay-TV giant is taking a ‘less is more’ approach to original content. Speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild event this morning, Sky Studios Director of Original Drama Meghan Lyvers said conversations are taking place with producers about shows that have “an investigative spine with complicated, dysfunctional, flawed, human and relatable characters at the center,” evoking Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire ’s Catherine Cawood. She responded “perhaps yes” when questioned if the next big Sky drama could be led by a Cawood-esque figure and talked up the way in which the BBC One/AMC+ sensation places an older woman front and centre of the story. A similar show, the Kate Winslet-starring Mare of Easttown, was launched by Sky and HBO in 2021 to critical acclaim. “There are always trends in terms of trying new shows and reaching new audiences but older women … [Read more...] about Sky Seeking Next ‘Happy Valley’ As Content Boss Zai Bennett Teases Less Is More Approach

UPDATED with content spend stats from annual report: Giant Amazon said its total expenses for video and music came to $16.6 billion last year, up from $13 billion in 2021. Video and music expense includes licensing and production costs associated with content offered within Amazon Prime memberships, and costs associated with digital subscriptions and sold or rented content, according to the company’s latest annual report that followed fourth quarter financials yesterday. On an earnings call Thursday, CFO Brian Olsavsky noted that Amazon spent $7 billion on originals, live sports and licensed content in 2022, up from $5 billion the year before. It’s unclear if those figures include all worldwide video content, which is increasingly central to Amazon’s strategy in driving membership for Prime, the biggest loyalty program in the world and the beating heart of the company. Amazon (which acquired MGM last year for $8.5 billion in cash) carefully evaluates its return on … [Read more...] about Amazon Praises Video As Key Driver Of Prime; 2022 Content Spend, Including Music, Hit $16.6 Billion

Super Sunday is upon us — and with it, Madison Avenue’s annual spending spree, which has seen the Big Game’s Hollywood quotient rise noticeably in recent years. Celebrity product pitches date back to the days of leather helmets, of course, but in the increasingly rare air of the Super Bowl they have started to overtake the left-field breakouts of the past by the likes of Puppy Monkey Baby or beer-loving frogs. With Fox’s telecast commanding a peak level of more than $7 million for 30-second spots, producers and brands again are banking on stars in a big way. Super Bowl LVII , a contest in Arizona between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs , will feature commercials starring Will Ferrell , Melissa McCarthy, Miles and Keleigh Teller and Sylvester Stallone, among others. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reteam as their Breaking Bad characters to plug Popcorners . Brian Cox joins a roster of A-list athletes for a riff on Caddyshack , and Alicia Silverstone leads a … [Read more...] about Super Bowl Commercials 2023: Watch Ads With Melissa McCarthy, Bryan Cranston, Serena Williams, Danny McBride And More

Getty Win or lose, some Eagles fans won't have to stress about waking up early for math class the day after the Super Bowl ... 'cause one school district has already implemented a two-hour delay in honor of the big game. The Gloucester City School District in South Jersey announced its plans to have a late start on Monday, Feb. 13 .. allowing kids and teachers to either celebrate -- or mourn -- the result of the game a bit longer before hitting the hay. "It is a rare and special time for families to watch our local professional football team compete in the Super Bowl," school superintendent Sean Gorman said about the decision. "We feel that it's important to give students and staff the opportunity to enjoy the game with the families and still attend school and work the next day safely and well-rested." FYI, Gloucester City is located in Camden County in New Jersey ... and is located about 12 minutes from Lincoln Financial Field in Philly, where the Eagles play … [Read more...] about Eagles Fans Get Two-Hour School Delay Day After Super Bowl LVII

EXCLUSIVE : Artists First on Friday announced its signing of boxing Hall of Famer, Sugar Ray Leonard . Leonard enjoyed an elite, 20-year career in the ring before being inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1997, winning three National Golden Gloves titles, two Amateur Athletic Union championships and the 1975 Pan-American Games crown. He first got into boxing at age 14 and turned professional after winning a gold medal at the 1976 Olympic games, in a last-ditch effort to help his family with medical bills incurred from his father’s hospitalization with meningitis. Leonard won his first professional fight at age 20, then going on to defeat some of the greatest boxers of the modern era, from Wilfred Benetiz to Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvelous Marvin Hagler, from whom Leonard won the world middleweight title. His boxing career also saw him win world titles in the welterweight, junior middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight division, … [Read more...] about Sugar Ray Leonard Signs With Artists First

UPDATED with latest: Nike on Friday night became the latest company to distance itself from Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving , saying it will “suspend our relationship” with the all-star guard. The shoe brand also said it would not move forward with launching its latest line of Irving-branded shoe, the Kyrie 8. “At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” Nike said in a statement this evening, per the AP . “To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8.” The move comes after Irving on Thursday night gave a more definitive apology about the impact of posting a link to a movie that espouses disproven anti-Semitic tropes. That wasn’t fast enough for the Nets, though. who suspended him for “no less than five games” earlier in the day for a failure to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.” Earlier in the day, … [Read more...] about Kyrie Irving Dropped By Nike Amid Controversy Over Highlighting Antisemitic Movie – Update

Good news for The Last of Us fans. Episode 5 will be hitting HBO Max two days early. The next episode of the Pedro Pascal -led series will be available on HBO Max beginning February 10 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Usually, HBO originals debut on HBO Max at the same time the episode begins airing on the east coast. The episode will also still air on HBO during its regularly scheduled time on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The east coast airing will conflict with the Super Bowl, which is likely the reason that HBO is debuting the episode early. The Last of Us has posted impressive audience gains over the first three weeks of its run. The premiere episode brought in a same-day audience of 4.7M, which was the largest debut after House of the Dragon since Boardwalk Empire launched in 2010. Episode 3’s audience was up 37% , with 6.4M people tuning in across HBO Max and linear channels — and that’s with the first half of the episode going up against the AFC Championship on the … [Read more...] about ‘The Last Of Us’ Episode 5 To Debut Early On HBO Max