Veep creator says he's struggled to raise money for a Trump project / Jimmy Fallon: Tonight Show isn't political / SAG-AFTRA: A.I. actress Tilly Norwood is “not an actor”
PLUS: Ryan Murphy has been considering a Luigi Mangione Monster season, but won’t do one for serial killer Ted Bundy.
Veep creator Armando Iannucci says he’s struggled to raise money for a Trump project over fears of MAGA retribution
The Emmy winner said at a Creative UK event on the fringes of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool that he was developing a screen project based on Trump’s speeches, but was warned that he would not be able to pull together finance in America, according to Deadline. “I got a lot of, ‘Yeah, you wouldn’t get the money for that at the moment, I’m afraid,’” he said, paraphrasing U.S. buyers. “So I said, ‘Why not?’ (They replied,) ‘Well, you know, if you want what comes with it…’” Iannucci added that he‘s been “talking to journalists out there who say, ‘If you’re on the list, your life is made miserable.’ (The message was), the inland revenue will come calling, you better lawyer up, you will spend the next four years just weighed down by legal issues you have to get through.”
Ryan Murphy has been considering a Luigi Mangione Monster season, but won’t do one for serial killer Ted Bundy
“We have a ‘maybe one day’ file,” Murphy tells Variety, noting that he considered a Monster season about Mangione, who is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City street last December, but deemed it too early to proceed. “We know nothing about him,” he says. On ruling out Bundy, Murphy says: “When you look at those crimes, what are the themes there? It doesn’t ask you any questions about society.”
Jimmy Fallon says “I just keep my head down” amid Trump attacks: “Our show’s never really been that political”
While promoting his On Brand reality show on CNBC this morning, Fallon was asked about caution about President Trump’s FCC in the aftermath of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. “Our monologues are the same we’ve been doing since Johnny Carson was doing The Tonight Show, so really I just keep my head down and make sure the jokes are funny,” The Tonight Show host said, per The Daily Beast. “We’re just trying to make the best show we possibly can and entertain everybody.”
Conan O’Brien jokingly warns Stephen Colbert to “not speak truth to power”
“Just as I was leaving my late-night show, I took you and all the other late-night hosts out,” Conan joked as part of his 23-minute The Late Show appearance on Monday. “Remember this? I took you to a wonderful Sizzler restaurant, and we all had our trays and I told you guys, ‘Take care of late night. If you take care of late night, late night will take care of you.’ I said, ‘Don’t do anything to ruffle any feathers.’ Remember? I said that. And I said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t speak truth to power.’ I said, ‘Cowardice is the way.’” Conan joked that in his 28 years of being a late-night host, he “never read the news. I had a masturbating bear and a plastic dog. I didn’t even know who was president!” ALSO: Conan O’Brien makes The Late Show history and fulfills a dream by introducing and throwing to his own movie clip.
SAG-AFTRA: A.I. actress Tilly Norwood is “not an actor” and is in violation of our contracts
“SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement after Norwood was unveiled over the weekend. “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation. It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry. Additionally, signatory producers should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used.”
BravoCon announces its 2025 lineup, will stream all panels on Peacock
Peacock will be the exclusive streaming home of BravoCon, which is taking place from Nov. 14 through 16. Panels will be livestreamed and will be available on demand.
SNL hires seven new writers for Season 51
The new writers include Harvard Lampoon vets Maxwell Gay and Tucker Flodman, actor-writers Jack Bensinger and Rachel Pegram, standup comics Jo Sunday and Maddie Wiener and writer-comedian Claire McFadden.
FCC meeting crashed by protesters calling on FCC chair Brendan Carr’s resignation
Videos circulating on social media show a group of about a dozen demonstrators storming into the open meeting in Washington, D.C., this morning chanting: “Fire Carr the censorship czar!”
Lainey Wilson will host the 2025 CMA Awards solo after co-hosting last year
The country star, who co-hosted the 2024 CMAs with Peyton Manning and Luke Bryan, will become only the second solo host in the past 22 years when she helms the Nov. 19 ceremony on ABC. “Producers picking the country star to be the telecast’s sole pilot is a sign of how fast her star has risen and how dominant she is as an ambassador for country music at the moment,” says Variety’s Chris Willman. “As it happens, this will mark a rare occurrence of an artist who is nominated for the most trophies on a televised awards show also being the host of that show. Going into this year’s CMAs, Wilson is tied with Ella Langley and Megan Moroney for the most noms, with six each.”
Schmigadoon! musical sets Broadway premiere
The musical based on Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio’s 2021-2023 Apple TV+ musical comedy series will debut on Broadway in the spring, with previews starting April 4 and an opening night April 20. The show is currently set to run through Sept. 6.
High Potential’s Season 2 premiere has ABC’s best season premiere viewership in five years
With seven days’ viewing, the Kaitlin Olson-led drama has 12 million total multi-platform viewers. That’s the biggest season premiere audience since Grey’s Anatomy in 2020.
Fran Drescher honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star
Drescher’s The Nanny co-stars Nicholle Tom and Madeline Zima and Lisa Ann Walter were among the speakers at her Walk of Fame ceremony this afternoon.
Scott Wolf returning to Doc
Wolf, whose Dr. Richard Miller character exited after Season 1, will return for a multi-episode Season 2 arc. Wolf will also direct an episode of the Fox medical drama.
Fubo shareholders approve merger with Hulu + Live TV
The sports-centric live TV streaming platform said its deal remains subject to a green light by government regulators.\
Aimee Lou Wood says calling out SNL’s “mean” sketch about her teeth was like “breaking a pattern” of bullying
“I don’t regret saying it because it was breaking a pattern, which is what I would usually do — what I did when I was younger and got bullied,” The White Lotus star told BBC News.
The Bold and the Beautiful bringing back Big Brother’s Rachel Reilly
Reilly will again be playing her legendary role of “Rachel” — a Bikini Bar server, who will also be revealed to be an “energy healer and spiritual cleanser.”
USA Network gets WNBA Finals games amid reworked Versant deal after NBC Universal split
Versant, the new spinoff entity that will house NBC’s cable assets including USA Network, Golf Channel, and more, will be the WNBA’s largest broadcast partner by volume for the next 11 years, the league announced Tuesday.
John Cena will enter the ring for his final WWE match in December
Cena will wrap up his year-long farewell tour by headlining Saturday Night’s Main Event on Dec. 13.
Around the Horn’s Tony Reali announces he’s launching a new media company
Four months after the former ESPN star’s decades-long show ended, Reali said he’s launching a new Substack newsletter called “I Love Everything About This!” that will be part of his new media company. “For 25 years, I brought energy, joy, and debate to ESPN’s Around the Horn and PTI,” Reali writes. “Now I’m building The Real Ones Universe — a digital-first home where highlights meet heartlight. The mission? To make sports + life content faster, smarter, more authentic, and community-driven.”
The CW sets premiere dates for Harlequin romance movies
Kate McNamara will lead Montana Mavericks on Nov. 18, while Danielle Panabaker will star in Second Guessing Fate on Nov. 23.
Ina Garten’s Be My Guest books Tina Fey and Christine Baranski for Season 7
Violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman and fashion designer Daniel Roseberry will also be among Garten’s guests on her Food Network show, which returns Oct. 19.
Jennifer Lawrence reveals she’s Team Jeremiah in The Summer I Turned Pretty love triangle
“I have been ordered by all of my friends to not reveal this, but I am team Jeremiah. I am,” Lawrence said while sitting next to Robert Pattinson while promoting their new film Die My Love. “I think that Conrad is toxic. He kind of liked (Belly) but then didn’t. He left her hanging. For him to confess his love for her the night before her wedding is sick. I am team Jeremiah. Rake me over the coals.” Meanwhile, Pattinson, who was famously part of a Twilight love triangle, has not seen The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Tubi will livestream Fox’s Thanksgiving Day NFL game for free
The Fox-owned free ad-supported channel will show the Packers-Lions game in 4K after streaming the Super Bowl for free for the first time earlier this year.
BBC unveils the trailer for Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home
The docuseries on the Osbourne family’s return to Britain will premiere Oct. 2 after it was delayed following Ozzy’s death in July.
Apple TV+’s Pluribus releases another teaser
Watch Rhea Seehorn’s character watch as a drone picks up her trash.