‘Bones’ Reunion WGA Picket Draws Crowd at Fox and Spurs Nostalgia for Procedural TV: ‘We Worked 46 Weeks a Year’

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s largest employers are wrestling over complicated contract proposals in a business turned inside-out by the transition from linear to streaming. But some of what’s on the table isn’t so complicated. Some of the discord between labor and management that led SAG-AFTRA to go on strike on July 13 is rooted in money and the hard reality of making minimum rates in Hollywood. SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher has vowed publicly that securing a hefty increase in minimum pay rates across the board is a deal-breaker issue for the union. Talk to any established working actor and it becomes clear why. Most of them say they’ve been dragged back to working for scale in a marketplace that has paid high-wattage stars record fees but put the squeeze on everyone else down the call sheet.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor A dominant 3-0 win by the U.S. Women’s National Team helped the Women’s World Cup get off to a strong start for Fox Sports and Telemundo on Friday night. Viewership of the USA-Vietnam match, which aired at 9 p.m. ET, came in just shy of the record set in 2019 by a comparable Group Stage match. The Fox broadcast network brought in 5.26 million viewers for its live 9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET coverage of the game, held at Eden Park stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Telemundo, which has Spanish-language rights in the U.S., averaged 1 million viewers for the game across linear and digital platforms, including Peacock. The 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, is drawing heightened attention in the U.S. as Team USA pursues a historic third consecutive victory. The tournament runs through Aug. 20.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor There was a large crowd in the room when SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s major studios and streamers formally began contract bargaining negotiations on June 7. About 80 participants from both the labor and management sides gathered at the Sherman Oaks headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for the first day of what everyone knew would be a difficult negotiation for the performers union, which has been on strike since July 13. One big presence in the negotiations process who was not there in person on Day One was Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA. But Drescher had no trouble making herself heard that day. She addressed the gathering via video conference call from Paris – and she definitely got management’s attention.

Has Scheana Shay buried the hatchet with Tom Sandoval??? She is setting the record straight!

, New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey spoke about star Sarah Michelle Gellar's claims that the show's creator, Joss Whedon, originally wanted Lynskey for the role of Buffy's best friend, Willow Rosenberg. Gellar previously said that there was an issue with Lynskey's visa that prevented her from auditioning for the part, which ultimately went to Alyson Hannigan. «It is basically true. It was kind of a visa issue, but not really,» Lynskey shared of the missed moment.

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are enjoying a day out with friends.

Scheana Shay and Tom Schwartz have been taking heat from “Vanderpump Rules” fans for seeming to be uncharacteristically friendly toward Tom Sandoval in the wake of his cheating scandal.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor In a milestone media moment for women’s sports, Fox Sports is about to deliver the most expansive coverage of a FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament in history – an investment driven by the success of the U.S. national team and its pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive victory. From July 20 through Aug. 20, cabler Fox Sports 1 (FS1) and the Fox broadcast network will serve up more than 190 hours of live soccer programming from the tournament staged in Australia and New Zealand. The roster includes 64 matches, about half of which will air on Fox, the broadest platform for the games and for sponsors. All matches will stream live via the FS1 app. The quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match and the big finish will all air live on Fox.

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are continuing to work on their relationship. A source tells ET that the engaged couple is «continuing to work through things and still going to couples therapy.»«Megan is very adamant about keeping that consistent,» the source says of the 37-year-old actress.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday stepped up her rhetoric on the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, calling for “a fair and equitable solution” in contract negotiations for both sides.“Los Angeles is experiencing a summer of struggle to make ends meet,” Bass said in a statement. “Whether you’re a writer who has been on strike for more than 72 days or an actor who has been on strike for 72 hours, wages and health benefits to afford housing, food and the basic necessities to survive should be a minimum requirement in discussions.”She added that “a strong business sector is essential for our city to become affordable for working families once again,” noting that the Los Angeles is facing “a historic inflection point” as the entertainment industry experiences economic pressure and business uncertainty.“A fair and equitable solution must be reached,” Bass said, adding that “in all industries — education, hospitality, goods delivery or entertainment — Angelenos deserve fair contracts.”Meanwhile, California Gov.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s largest employers are sparring over the terms of the offer that SAG-AFTRA rejected before the union went on strike last week. SAG-AFTRA issued a detailed statement outlining its objections to the deal presented last week after weeks of bargaining with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The AMPTP countered late with a statement that accused the union of trying to “deliberately distort” the terms of the employers’ offer. SAG-AFTRA opened its statement to members by declaring that the union is fighting “against a system where those in charge of multibillion-dollar media conglomerates are rewarded for exploiting workers.” SAG-AFTRA called a strike against AMPTP companies on July 12. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis held a packed union meeting at their Beverly Hills home. Desi Arnaz poured his heart out in an open letter to the industry while Lew Wasserman worked the numbers quietly behind the scenes. And it was none other than future Oval Office occupant Ronald Reagan who led the Screen Actors Guild through the war in 1960, the last time that Hollywood experienced such a season of labor strife with actors and the Writers Guild of America on strike at the same time. And it was already a tumultuous time for the industry. In 1959, Congress and the Justice Department were deep into their investigation of “payola” corruption involving music labels and radio station owners. Congress also held hearings that year on the notorious TV quiz show scandals (see 1994’s “Quiz Show” for a primer).

Emily Deschanel is looking back at her time on Bones.

Variety + Sportico’s Sports and Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles, presented by City National Bank. Leaders, athletes and executives came together at the 1 Hotel West Hollywood to discuss the varying challenges, techniques and strategies that have served them well. Here are 10 key takeaways from a day of lively discourse.

William Earl Who’s up, who’s down and who is really in deep trouble on Wall Street? Media stocks have been on a wild ride in the first half of 2023. On the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” Variety Intelligence Platform media analyst Heidi Chung breaks down how Disney, Netflix, Comcast and other leading lights of media and entertainment have performed so far this year. “The best performing sector in the first half of the year was technology. And a lot of that was driven by the interest by investors in the generative AI boom, specifically,” Chung says in conversation with “Strictly Business” hosts Andrew Wallenstein and Cynthia Littleton.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor “Succession” planning paid off big time for HBO once again on Emmy nominations day. The family dynasty drama led the Emmy field pack for the second consecutive year. The series was the cornerstone of HBO’s total tally of 127 nominations, including shows that also ran on the streamer previously known as HBO Max (now just Max). Netflix weighed in with 103 mentions. “Succession” raked in 27 bids, including a history-making troika of noms in the lead actor drama category for Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong. Last year the series grabbed 25 nominations and went all the way to take the top prize for drama series. Also adding heft to HBO’s tally this year was the acclaimed freshman drama “The Last of Us,” with 24,” and “The White Lotus” at 23.

McKinley Franklin editor You know that it’s their time: “Vanderpump Rules” has officially been nominated for its first Emmy award.  After a shell-shocking 10th season that drew in record-breaking ratings for the series and Bravo at large, the Lisa Vanderpump-led series has been named one of the five nominees for unstructured reality. It’s competing against “Deadliest Catch,” “Life Below Zero,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked,” and “Welcome To Wrexham.” When news broke during the airing of the show’s 10th season that castmates Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix had split amid Sandoval’s ongoing affair with fellow co-star Raquel Leviss, cameras quickly began rolling to capture the fallout. The quarrel shifted the friendships of the Los Angeles-based “Vanderpump Rules” cast so much that Leviss took out a restraining order on her former best friend and co-star Scheana Shay for an alleged punching that took place when the affair was revealed. 

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Buckle up for a busy 72 hours. SAG-AFTRA’s already-extended contract talks will come to a head one way or another by the July 12 midnight PT expiration deadline. And as goes SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations with the major studios and streamers goes the rest of Hollywood’s year. By multiple accounts, progress in the negotiating room has been negligible since SAG-AFTRA granted a 12-day extension of talks hours before the contract expired June 30. The mood across town is grim with the expectation that Hollywood will soon endure its first “double strike” in more than 60 years. The Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike since May 2, stands ready to help SAG-AFTRA execute its first industry-wide work stoppage since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. SAG-AFTRA’s move would bring a burst of energy to the WGA’s public efforts at a time when union members privately acknowledge that strike fatigue is setting in. With little diminution in the resolve of WGA members to back their union, polite discussions of “what’s the endgame” are nonetheless rising among writers and showrunners who were busy juggling multiple projects for 2023 and 2024 before scribes went pencils down.

Bones, the popular procedural television show, ended in 2017, but renewed interest in the show has fans wondering if, or how, the series could ever be rebooted.

“Bones” aired for 12 hit seasons, producing 240 episodes and earning one of the most devoted fan bases in television.