Audible Studios Chief Zola Mashariki Exiting

Zelda Williams is horrified by the “disturbing” use of artificial intelligence to recreate her late father, Robin Williams!

EXCLUSIVE: A trio of British actors is leading The Salvation, an Audible sci-fi podcast drama. Ariyon Bakare (His Dark Materials, Good Omens), Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones, Vigil) and Toby Jones (The Hunger Games, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) will star in the time-travel series, which is from musical artist and writer Justin Lockey.

With a new deal between the WGA and the AMPTP in place, writers may once again pick up their pens for upcoming projects. And that also means studios may start meeting with writers again for open assignments in the pipeline.

HBO has set Jan. 14 as premiere date for True Detective: Night County, starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis. The network also has released a new trailer for the six-episode series, which will be available to stream on Max. Issa López serves as showrunner, writer, and director of all episodes. 

EXCLUSIVE: The roller coaster ride of the Writers Guild and the Hollywood studios trying to seal a deal to end the writers’ nearly 5-month-long strike isn’t over yet.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery is giving DC Studios a primary production hub at its U.K.-based TV and film studio Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the home of HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” amid a sprawling plan to expand the location by more than 50% capacity and 10 sound stages.

OK, here’s the situation: Will Smith is set to host a new Audible podcast about a landmark year in hip-hop.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Studio Ghibli, the iconic Japanese cartoon firm behind Miyazaki Hayao’s recent “The Boy and the Heron” is selling a controlling stake to Japanese broadcaster NTV.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix closed a $20 million deal on Hit Man, making the biggest deal at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and of the year for that matter. After the Richard Linklater-directed noir comic thriller debuted to raves at Venice, the film was expected to fetch the biggest deal of the fall festivals so far. Hit Man did not disappoint. Hit Man stars Top Gun Maverick’s Glen Powell and Adria Arjona (Andor) playing the most unlikely romantic partners, in performances that will boost each of their careers. Especially Powell, who co-wrote with Linklater what will be a major star turn for him. Netflix got US, UK, Australia/New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Iceland. There is also a theatrical component to the deal, I’ve heard.

EXCLUSIVE: Fauda and Your Honor firm Yes Studios is heading to Mipcom to launch a thought-provoking factual series going behind the scenes of helpline call centers.

Angel Studios, the outfit behind one of summer’s biggest hits, Sound of Freedom, will release its next film and first original, The Shift, in theaters Dec. 1.

Another senior Amazon Studios UK executive is exiting for the indie production sector.

More studios are suspending additional overall and first-look deals almost four and a half months into the WGA strike.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer CBS Studios has suspended term deals with talkshow star Phil “Dr. Phil” McGraw, BET+’s “Kingdom Business” producer DeVon Franklin and “Nancy Drew” executive producer Lis Rowinski due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Representatives for CBS Studios declined to comment on the suspension of these deals Monday.

Federation Studios Taps TF1 Head Of Drama

The identity of Dan Grabiner’s new production house wasn’t secret for long. The outgoing Amazon UK exec is teaming with British factual veteran Nicola Hill to launch Orchard Studios.

K.J. Yossman Daniel Grabiner, Amazon’s head of originals for the U.K. and Northern Europe, has exited the company.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon’s UK content arm, which is behind series such as Clarkson’s Farm and The Rig, is saying goodbye to its boss.

EXCLUSIVE: The writers have turned up to the theme parks.

Sophia Scorziello editor Annapurna Interactive’s award-winning video game Stray will be getting its very own movie adaptation from the indie studio’s animation branch, Annapurna Animation. Stray, a 2022 adventure game from BlueTwelve Studio, takes players on a journey playing as a drone-equipped, stray cat trying to survive against robots and machines. The Stray adaptation was announced by Robert Baird of Annapurna Animation.