Sony sues CBS over Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune / Bob Costas retiring from calling MLB games / Comcast considers spinning off Bravo, MSNBC, USA
PLUS: SNL replaces go-to post-election host Dave Chappelle with Bill Burr.
Sony sues CBS, alleging shady Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune dealmaking
Sony Pictures Television, which makes Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, filed suit Thursday against CBS, which distributes both game shows, "for allegedly undercutting the value of the shows to serve its own interests," reports The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint, noting that “CBS licenses the shows to television stations and sells some ad space in them, receiving a cut of the revenue." In the lawsuit, Sony alleges "breach of contract and claiming CBS earned distribution fees from unauthorized deals, licensed the shows at prices below market rates and favored its own shows over Wheel and Jeopardy! when making distribution deals and selling advertising," says Flint, adding: "Sony said it was seeking damages and will try to end its agreement with CBS and find new distribution and advertising partners for the shows. A CBS spokesperson wasn’t immediately available for comment. CBS is a unit of Paramount Global, which is in the process of being acquired by Skydance Media. CBS has handled distribution for the shows since 1999. The deal has been lucrative for CBS, as it provides for a 35% to 40% commission on the fees stations pay to carry the two shows, the suit said. The typical distribution commission is about 15%." Sony's lawsuit also alleges "layoffs at CBS have adversely affected the ad sales, marketing and distribution teams that work on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune," reports Flint. “CBS has gutted the teams responsible for fulfilling its contractual obligations, requiring us to step in at our own expense,” Sony said in a statement.
SNL replaces go-to post-election host Dave Chappelle with Bill Burr
Chappelle hosted the first Saturday Night Live episodes after the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, as well as the first episode after the 2022 midterms. But for the post-2024 presidential election episode on Nov. 9, SNL is going with another controversial comedian: Bill Burr, who hosted once before in 2020. He'll be joined by indie singer-songwriter Mk.gee as musical guest. "Chappelle taking the SNL stage after an election became a tradition of sorts, but for reasons unknown, SNL boss Lorne Michaels is switching up the show’s ritual and replacing Chappelle, as it gears up to follow the most consequential presidential election in American history," says Eboni Boykin-Patterson. As Boykin-Patterson notes, Chappelle's last time hosting in 2022 came with controversy with several writers reportedly boycotting his return to the show over his anti-trans jokes, though a show rep said there was “no evidence” that anyone was sitting out the episode for that reason. ALSO: Charli XCX will host and serve as musical guest for the Nov. 16 SNL.
Bob Costas announces he's retiring as a Major League Baseball play-by-play caller after 44 years
Costas, 72, is stepping away from MLB broadcasting after calling his first MLB game for NBC 44 years ago. His career includes three World Series and 10 league championships. His last game broadcast on TBS was the New York Yankees’ Game 4 clincher in the American League Division Series. Costas "will continue with his emeritus work at MLB Network, where he contributes to several shows as an analyst, including on historical events, like the Hall of Fame announcement," according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. "He has been MLBN’s lead play-by-play voice on games since the network’s inception 15 years ago, but will cede that role, as well. The decision to retire was made by Costas prior to the season, which coincided with his contract ending, according to sources briefed on the decision."
The View co-hosts didn't wear costumes, but they didn't ignore Halloween this year
Whoopi Goldberg previously announced the ladies of The View would avoid wearing costumes because Halloween is too close to Election Day. Instead, today's episode kicked off with a pre-taped dream sketch that included a Trump nightmare.
Comcast considers spinning off its cable networks, including Bravo, MSNBC and USA Network
During an earnings call this morning, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said the company is exploring the creation of a separate company for its cable networks and will consider partnerships in streaming, which The Wall Street Journal called "a sign of how profound changes in the media business are reshaping the industry landscape. A new cable-network company would be owned by Comcast shareholders and wouldn’t include other assets in the company’s NBCUniversal unit, such as the NBC broadcast network, the Universal studio or theme parks. Comcast owns several cable channels such as MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, USA and Syfy." “We’ve got a very strong hand,” said Cavanagh. “There may be some smart things to do and we want to study that.”
The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" is getting a día de los Muertos and Lucha Libre-style makeover
According to Variety, The Book of Life's Jorge Gutierrez and composer Juan Carlos Enriquez have "put together an intro/couch gag to ‘Treehouse of Horror XXXV’ (or in this case ‘El Treehouse del Horror XXXV’) that includes a version of the Jarabe Tapatío with Día de los Muertos and lucha libre-style imagery.”
TNT Sports' The Match is going with a Superstars twist that includes Bill Murray, Mark Wahlberg and Nate Bargatze
Murray, Wahlberg and Bargatze will join sports stars Charles Barkley, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, Ken Griffey Jr. and Blake Griffin on The Match: Superstars, which will air on Nov. 21 and 22.
BET+ renews The Ms. Pat Show for Season 5
The renewal includes The Ms. Pat Show star Patricia "Ms. Pat" Williams extending her overall deal with BET Media Group to include linear and streaming projects.
The Traitors returns for Season 3 in January
The Alan Cumming-hosted hit Peacock reality competition will hit the streamer for its third season on Jan. 9, 2025.
Lisette Olivera exits FBI as a series regular after filming a few episodes
Olivera, who joined Season 7, has yet to make her on-screen debut on FBI, But she's already departing. According to Deadline, Olivera's Syd Ortiz "was designed to be a new partner for John Boyd’s Scola, succeeding Katherine Rebee Kane’s Tiffany Wallace who departed in the Season 7 premiere. Since then, Scola has been trying out partners, going through a revolving door of hopefuls. Ortiz will now join the list of temps, departing after a brief trial period."
Jeff Probst reveals how he secretly tallies Survivor votes
“I'll walk you through this because I take this seriously,” Probst said on his On Fire podcast, per EW. “I really do.” As Probst explained, "I take the votes to a private area and go through them and put them in order,” Probst reveals. “And the reason they have to be in order is not just for dramatic impact, but it's also because we're always going to read votes for every player that got a vote.” Probst also emphasized that not all votes are read. “The only votes I don't read are when the only votes left are for the player who already has the most votes," he says. "So they already have the majority, so the rest are all theirs and it's not going to change anything. So you have to order them to make sure you accomplish this.” ALSO: Survivor squanders an incredible merge episode.
Josh Altman and Heather Altman are leaving Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles
According to TMZ, the married couple opted to leave the Bravo reality show after Season 15 to spend more time with their children. Josh Altman has starred on Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles for 13 years and 11 seasons, and also starred in the 2021 spinoff Josh & Josh with Josh Flagg. "Since season 15 aired, and now that we’re on a pause, Heather and I have had some real quality time with the kids . . . We’re just at that point in our lives where our family comes first and our kids are growing up so fast. We just have to cherish every moment and take it in,” he said.
HBO celebrates Halloween by sharing the first look at IT: Welcome to Derry
Andy and Barbara Muschietti are expanding on their 2017 It movie with a series inspired by Mike Hanlon's interludes in Stephen King's novel. "This is a book we love a lot, and we felt that there was still a lot of story to be covered," the director of the two movies, Andy Muschietti, and his longtime producing partner and sister, Barbara, tell EW over email. "It’s so rich with characters and events, we thought we would do justice to the book and the fans by going back into this world. Specifically, we are telling the stories of the interludes, writings by Mike Hanlon based on his investigation that includes interviews he conducts with the older people in the town. In Welcome to Derry, we touch on the usual themes that were talked about in the movie — friendship, loss, the power of unified belief — but this story focuses also on the use of fear as a weapon, which is one of the things that is also relevant to our times."
Could Weather Girl become Netflix’s next Baby Reindeer?
Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer started out as a one-man Edinburgh Fringe play. Now Netflix is looking to find similar success with the Edinburgh Fringe play Weather Girl. "In a competitive situation, Deadline is told that the streamer has secured the rights to Weather Girl, an apocalyptic one-woman play about a Californian weather girl in meltdown that staged sold out shows throughout August to rave reviews," reports Deadline's Max Goldbart. "We understand there were several U.S. buyers interested in Weather Girl and Netflix has just won out. The play’s writer Brian Watkins (Outer Range) and star Julia McDermott (Women of the Movement) are both attached to the TV version, we are told. The project is in early stage development and may not make it to greenlight." Goldbart notes that "the play was staged by Francesca Moody Productions, which was also behind the theater versions of Baby Reindeer and Fleabag."
Yellowjackets offers a preview of Season 3 that includes merging the teen and adult characters
"For each of these pairings and for each of these characters, the merging, or the overlapping of the past and present, happens in a very different way," says co-creator Ashley Lyle of Season 3, which should premiere in early 2025. "It’s very specific to the characters. I have to choose my words so wisely, sorry. [Laughs] In certain cases, that overlap is actually quite literal in a way; in other ones, it is a demonstration of a past and a present character that may have seemed quite different and quite disparate—how that young adult became the person they are. The person that they are, even as an adult, really is an echo or a resonance from the person they used to be."
Jimmy Fallon visits Hot Ones, addresses his reputation for breaking on SNL
During his visit to Hot Ones, Fallon recalled cracking up during the iconic "More Cowbell" sketch. “Christopher Walken wasn’t even talking like a human being, he was doing like an impression of himself,” Fallon said while eating spicy hot wings. “The room got hot and it shook. I remember I had one line and right as I’m about to give my line, (Chris) Kattan and Will (Ferrell) improvised and pushed each other. Kattan knocked Will’s sunglasses off and I could see the eyes of a lunatic. And I started laughing. That’s what got my reputation as the guy who laughs during all the sketches.” ALSO: Jimmy Fallon has the perfect Tonight Show guest booked for Halloween night: SNL's Sarah Sherman.
Did Donald Trump rip off Parks and Rec's Leslie Knope with his garbage stunt?
Trump trolled President Biden on Wednesday by dressing as a trash collector. But as Cracked points out, Leslie Knope and April Ludgate did a similar garbage stunt in Season 5.
Saoirse Ronan didn't expect the "wild" reaction to her viral The Graham Norton Show clip
Ronan's appearance last week with Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Eddie Redmayne went viral when she interrupted while the men spoke by saying “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?," prompting applause from the audience. On Wednesday, Ronan told The Ryan Turbidy Show on Virgin Radio U.K. that the reaction has been “wild," according to The Hollywood Reporter. “(It’s) definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn’t necessarily set out to sort of make a splash… I think there’s something really telling about the society that we’re in right now and about how open women want to be with the men in their lives.”
Hannah Simone: Prince guest-starred on New Girl because he had a crush on me
New Girl costume designer Debra McGuire said on Simone's podcast The Mess Around that Prince wanted to be on the show “because he had a crush on our little Hannah," according to People. “Yeah,” Simone admitted. “He tried for a very long time to find a way to be in the same room together.” But Simone said she was not interested the music icon “in that way.” “Love a Prince song. Happy to put on a Prince record. I was not interested in anything else,” Simone explained. “So, I was never in the same room with Prince. And then yeah, he was like a teenage boy who showed up at my job, which was really funny.” Simone also revealed Prince came up with the idea that they play ping-pong.
Ted Danson turns Quinta Brunson's Cheers praise into a diss of Shelley Long
The Abbott Elementary star gushed over Cheers in her visit to Danson's podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name. More than most TV comedies, Cheers “felt like a play. Everyone was very grounded,” Brunson told Danson. “I remember thinking that Diane was so grounded. I almost felt like she wasn’t acting.” As Cracked's Matt Solomon notes, that got a laugh from Danson. “I felt the same way being with her sometimes," he said. "Oof," said Solomon. "The comment flew past Brunson but it jibes with Danson’s comments to the Smartless guys on an earlier podcast." “It was hard for us sometimes to be in the room together,” he said. “We’re so different. Our styles, our approach, our everything is really different.”
Andrew Santino sets Hulu standup special
Santino is moving to Hulu a “Hularious” standup comedy lineup with a standup special from Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions. Santino's last three specials were for Netflix, Amazon Prime and Comedy Central.
Wendell Pierce had "the worst experience ever" at World Series Game 5, forcing him to leave early
"Unfortunately I just left the Yankees game because I was talking to a Dodgers fan and people were throwing things at me," the actor tweeted. "Unruly, obnoxious people can ruin everything. The worst experience ever. The game and experience is of no significance now. The spirit of sports ends with the ugliness of humanity."
Abbott Elementary surprises Quinta Brunson for Halloween with a young extra dressed as her 2014 viral video
Check out a child paying homage to Brunson's 2014 viral video "The Girl Who's Never Been on a Nice Date" from 2014.
Squid Game's Season 2 teaser shows Seong Gi-hun back in the game
The Netflix teaser also shows the return of Lee Byung-hun as the mysterious Front Man. Squid Game Season 2 premieres Dec. 26.
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches unveils Season 2 trailer
Alexandra Daddario’s Rowan Mayfair on a mission to tracking down the demon Lasher in the trailer for the second season of the AMC series, premiering Jan. 5.
Bravo drops the trailer for Real Housewives of Orange County's three-part Season 18 reunion
The trailer features a fiery exchange between Shannon Beador and Alexis Bellino.