David Nevins Seeks ‘New Horizons’ Amid Seismic Changes for Content Industry and Paramount

Is Tom Brady going to re-retire?

Mariska Hargitay and Kelli Giddish are savoring their last moments on set together, even when they are working late nights.MORE: Mariska Hargitay gets fans talking with photo alongside Christopher Meloni - see whyThe two are famously close friends beyond their work on Law & Order: SVU, making this season extra bittersweet.The current season marks the very last they will be working on together, as back in August Kelli made the difficult announcement that she would be leaving the show after twelve years.WATCH: Ali Wentworth surprises BFF Mariska Hargitay on The Drew Barrymore ShowMORE: Law and Order Organised Crime: Meet the cast of season three Mariska took to Instagram to share quite the sweet selfie alongside her co-star, revealing what was getting them through some late night shoots on set.The photo sees them huddled next to one another under bright lighting, as they are smiling and showing off some delicious looking chocolate chip cookies they are enjoying in between takes.What's more, the actress revealed that the sweet treat was courtesy of none other than her other good friend Ali Wentworth, who revealed she had baked the fresh batch of cookies just for them.A post shared by Mariska Hargitay (@therealmariskahargitay)The sweet behind-the-scenes selfieThe best-selling author also took to Instagram to share the same selfie of the two, writing in her caption: "When my sisters in crime are working nights- they need some choc chip cookies!"MORE: Mariska Hargitay shows off casual side with fun dance with husband Peter HermannMORE: Mariska Hargitay shares heartfelt message as fans spot major character changeIn turn, Mariska wrote in her own caption: "Thank you @therealaliwentworth for the long night pick me up," alongside

EXCLUSIVE: Academy Award and Emmy nominated producer David Permut and Dawn Krantz have acquired Chaya Doswell’s script Wildfire. The team are currently meeting directors and plan to shoot early next year.After accidentally starting a wildfire, seven-year-old Lu, mute and from an abusive home, slyly tricks Merribelle, a hard-working trans woman, into kidnapping her — sparking a beautifully unexpected bond with a devastating expiration date.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor CANNES — Global tentpoles and local-language series that travel — that’s the content cocktail that Amazon Studios is stirring as the company looks to capitalize the momentum behind “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series. Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, discussed the e-commerce giant’s content strategy and investment priorities in her keynote address at Mipcom on Oct. 18. Salke had intended to travel to Cannes to accept the Variety Vanguard Award, presented by Variety and Mipcom, but on the eve of travel she came down with COVID. Instead, Salke recorded a 35-minute live-to-tape Q&A with Cynthia Littleton, Variety’s Co-editor in chief.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor CANNES — International TV sales veteran Jim Packer has set a multi-year deal with Lionsgate that will keep him on the senior management team as president of worldwide TV distribution. News of his contract extension was revealed Oct. 17, just as the Mipcom content marketplace kicks off this week in Cannes, bringing the global TV community together for the first full time in three years. Packer has been with Lionsgate since 2011. The news that he has re-upped comes at a time of uncertainty for the studio. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has said the company, which is home to the Lionsgate studio and Starz pay TV platform, is considering options for separating those assets, possibly by selling off the studio to focus on building up Starz.

Paramount+ has dropped a fresh trailer for Tulsa King, its upcoming mob drama starring Sylvester Stallone. The trailer debuted on-air Sunday during the Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs game on CBS.

Personality Crisis: One Night Only, directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi, is a documentary that follows punk pioneer David Johansen, which premiered at NYFF60. The film follows Johansen, who, during his residency in New York City in 2020, gave a detailed account of his life, how he navigated the music scene from the 1970s up to the present day, and why music is integral to his existence. 

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Rick Caruso is confident that he’s going to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.  “I’m getting the job,” he says with a grin before sitting down to detail his vision for the future of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles in an interview with Variety‘s “Strictly Business.”  The real estate developer who is behind such retail destinations as the Grove and Glendale’s the Americana is vying against Congresswoman Karen Bass for the job of leading the nation’s second largest city at a time when L.A. is beset with crises — most acutely, the growing ranks of the unhoused.

Martin Scorsese was at the New York Film Festival last night to introduce his new documentary with David Tedeschi, “Personality Crisis: One Night Only,” about the legendary proto-punk band The New York Dolls. Scorsese in his hometown at NYFF? That’s awesome enough.

First, a confession: I came to “Personality Crisis: One Night Only,” knowing next to nothing about the New York Dolls or its lead singer, David Johansen. Sure I’d heard of them and heard a fair amount of the Dolls’ music, and Johansen’s, and that of his alter ego Buster Poindexter (including the once-ubiquitous “Hot Hot Hot,” which he now calls “the bane of my existence”).  For this viewer— and, for I suspect, a fair number of others — the draw of “Personality Crisis” is Martin Scorsese, who co-directs with his frequent collaborator David Tedeschi.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor “Blonde” producer Plan B Entertainment is looking for a new blueprint. The production banner run by Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner has tapped Moelis & Co. to shop for a buyer or potential investors. The company has a first-look deal for TV with Amazon Studios and a pact with MGM Studios for film. Reps for Moelis & Co. declined comment. Reps for Plan B could not immediately be reached for comment. Plan B was hatched in late 2001 as a partnership between Pitt and actor Jennifer Aniston, about four months after the two were married in July 2001. Pitt eventually took over the venture after the pair split in 2005.

At the CW’s May upfront presentation, then-Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz announced that a new initiative with United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy would launch in the 2022-23 season to tackle “the number one issue facing America’s youth: mental health” by developing storylines across the network’s programming as well as working with advertisers and affiliates and across social media.

In a fickle TV business where the top network posts rank at the bottom for job security, we lost two of the longest-tenured executives in just a couple of days, the CW Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz, who stepped down Monday, and David Nevins, Chairman and CEO, Paramount Premium Group and Chief Creative Officer, Paramount+ Scripted Series, whose exit was announced today. Both were around the 12-year mark in their jobs.

Chris McCarthy, Tom Ryan and George Cheeks are all seeing their portfolios expand at Paramount Global after the departure of David Nevins.

Dear Team,I am writing this morning, so you hear the news from me that I’ve made the decision that the time is right for me to step down from my post atop the premium group at the end of the year.The good news is that it’s not immediate and I’ll be helping to figure out the details of the transition.I am tremendously grateful for the past 12 years and the varying positions I’ve held at this company. It has truly been one of the great joys of my life to get to do what I love to do with all of you.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Longtime Paramount Global exec David Nevins is exiting the company, Variety has learned. Sources say Nevins, who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of Paramount Premium Group and chief creative officer of Paramount+ scripted series and was previously the chief at Showtime, is stepping down from his post just over a year after being named to the expanded role. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news that Nevins was exiting Paramount Global. See Nevins’ Thursday note to staff regarding his exit, which was obtained by Variety, below.

David Nevins has stepped down as Chief Content Officer of Scripted Originals for Paramount+, and Chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks. He just made the announcement internally in a memo, a copy of which was obtained by Deadline.

Variety’s Entertainment Gaming Leaders report is an up-to-the-minute look at the key figures driving this dynamic intersection, where nothing less than a visual media revolution is taking place. Variety teams with Pixel United for first-ever Leaders in Gaming & Entertainment Breakfast Oct.

Jimmy Smits and Amanda Warren are taking to the streets of New York for justice.The duo stars in CBS' new police drama, launching this Sunday, and only ET was on the set of the series this week. The one-hour drama follows newly promoted boss of the 74th Precinct in East New York, Regina Haywood (Warren), who is determined to deploy creative methods to protect her community.

EJ Panaligan editor “Yellowjackets” emerged as a sleeper hit for Showtime last year. On Thursday, the network’s chairman and CEO David Nevins, who also serves as Paramount+’s chief content officer of scripted originals, broke down the reasons for the genre show’s sizzle with multigenerational audiences during his keynote address at the NATPE Streaming conference in Hollywood. Nevins, who spoke with Variety‘s co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton, also discussed how the globalization of the content marketplace is changing the way Hollywood works. And he was pressed by Littleton on the potential for a “Desus & Mero” reunion in the wake of the Showtime late-night pair’s decision to call it quits earlier this year.