Fremantle UK Unveils New CEO

New Music Friday! The weekend is here, which means more streaming, new playlists and the best that music has to offer. ET has you covered for everything in between.Ed Sheeran leads this week's releases with, pronounced «Subtract,» Sheeran's fifth studio album.

The nominations for the 2023 Tony Awards were announced this week and every actor who is nominated for their performance in a musical showed up for the Meet the Nominees event!

Human Resources,” the show that follows Netflix’s equally raunchy adult animation series “Big Mouth.” The new season has 10 episodes and is set to premiere on June 9. “Human Resources” follows the creatures that help people through the awkward journey of puberty and the hard life of parenthood. Even as they assist their human clients, the hormone monsters, depression kitties, shame wizards and other creatures lead hilarious lives of their own, both in and out of the office.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Fast-rising R&B star Brent Faiyaz has struck a wide-ranging partnership with Steve Stoute’s company UnitedMasters that spans a recording partnership and a creative agency. UnitedMasters CEO and founder Steve Stoute says, “Brent Faiyaz is one of the most prolific independent artists today and we are extremely excited to embark on this new partnership with him. It’s been inspiring to watch his journey as an artist over the years and with this partnership we look to further amplify his creative vision and support his entrepreneurial ambitions.”

K.J. Yossman Actors and creatives from “Star Trek” and “Ghosts” are set to host Master Classes during the Banff World Media Festival in June, Variety can confirm. The two Paramount Global shows will be repped at the 44th edition of the festival, which is set to take place in Banff, Alberta, Canada from June 11-14. The “Star Trek” masterclass will feature “Star Trek: Discovery’s” Sonequa Martin-Green, “Star Trek: Lower Decks’” Tawny Newsome, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’” Ethan Peck plus Alex Kurtzman, who is an executive producer for the “Star Trek” franchise, and CBS Studios president David Stapf. They will all be on hand do discuss “ushering in the golden age of ‘Trek,’ growing the franchise, and introducing a new generation to this universe all while staying true to what made it a cultural phenomenon 56 years ago,” according to the festival.

Naveen Kumar If there is a megawatt star in “New York, New York,” the new musical from Broadway titans John Kander and the late Fred Ebb (with additional lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda), it’s right there in the title. Aside from the occasional f-bomb and pantomimed scurry of rats, the show that opened at Broadway’s St. James Theatre is a love letter to Manhattan so unabashed that its vibe might be best expressed in cityscape and heart-eye emojis. Cynical? These New Yorkers? Fuhgeddaboudit! Though inspired by the 1977 film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli, “New York, New York” is more accurately described as a musical-length rhapsody on the dreams crooned out in its title song, made famous by Frank Sinatra and naturally performed here as a big-band finale turned audience singalong. A crowded cast of characters has come to chase their dreams, and most of them want to be musicians. 

K.J. Yossman Keira Knightley is set to star in Netflix series “Black Doves,” the streamer unveiled today. Written by “Giri/Haji” showrunner Joe Barton, the drama will see Knightley star as Helen, a woman with a secret identity who embarks on a passionate affair. When her lover falls victim to London’s shadowy underworld, Helen’s employers send an old friend, Sam, to protect her. The two of them soon embark on a high octane adventure set against a backdrop of diplomatic tension and Christmas. “‘Black Doves’ is the story of two old friends coming back together, finding trust in one another in a world where trust can get you killed and, ultimately, changing the course of each other’s lives forever,” reads the logline.

Jens Richter has added commercial duties to his Fremantle International CEO role.

Netflix on Tuesday announced the new animated films In Your Dreams and Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, coming to the platform in 2024, also setting new voice cast for the fantasy adventure Nimona and offering new first-look stills from each of its animated titles debuting over the next 18 months, which you can view above and below.

The Black List and the GM Incubator Fund have today announced the launch of a new Writer-Driven Shorts Program, which will provide two emerging, diverse filmmakers with $100,000 grants enabling production on shorts based on their feature script. General Motors will provide both selected filmmakers with vehicles for use in their shorts, which will ultimately be submitted to major festivals and aim for 2024 awards consideration.

Sir Isaac Newton's prediction on when the world would come to an end from way back in the year 1704 is causing people to fear the legendary scientist may have been right.

Roll up, roll up, Insiders. Cannes has been in the headlines for both film festival and Mip TV reasons this week, so plenty to follow. Jesse Whittock taking you through. Don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter by clicking here.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Veteran Fremantle executive Amelia Brown has been appointed the new CEO of Fremantle U.K., replacing Simon Andreae who abruptly stepped down from the role earlier this week citing health reasons. Brown, who has been with Fremantle for 20 years, is the former managing director of its U.K. label Thames and has been a key creative on trademark Fremantle hit shows as “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The X Factor.” Fremantle in a statement noted that Brown has also been instrumental in strengthening Thames’ slate of programming and expanding the scripted production outfit into the world of reality television with shows like “Too Hot To Handle” for Netflix and upcoming entertainment show “Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream” for ITV. Her successor as MD of Thames will be announced soon.

Jeff Kleeman has stepped in as CEO for Bold Films, taking over for Gary Michael Walters, whose March departure from the company after nearly 20 years was just announced.

Emiliano De Pablos Spanish super-indie production-sales companies are stepping back in time with vigor, building on opportunities opened up by streamers’ growing market flexibility to retain IP and sell territory-by-territory. Prioritizing bottom lines over market share, global platforms are ever more splitting rights and investing less in single titles. As budgets reduce, projects’ producers are forced to court ever more partners. That often means partnering on productions. “We accustomed customers to enjoying high-quality series with large budgets. In the new context, it is increasingly difficult to continue in this vein if you don’t partner,” says Onza’s Carlos Garde.

K.J. Yossman Fremantle U.K. CEO Simon Andreae has stepped down from the company, he confirmed today. He has been with Fremantle for eight years. In a company-wide memo, Andreae cited “challenges to my health” as part of the reason for stepping back. He has said he plans to focus his time on his health, family and a “smaller portfolio of projects.” A spokesperson for Fremantle declined to comment on Andreae’s successor, simply saying: “A replacement will be announced soon.” Read Andreae’s email below:

EXCLUSIVE: Simon Andreae has resigned as the Chief Executive of Fremantle UK with immediate effect, Deadline can reveal.

Jon Hamm and his fiancee Anna Osceola stop for drinks while running errands in Los Feliz, Calif.

A special 50th anniversary event celebrating the release of cult folk horror movie The Wicker Man will be held in Newton Stewart at the end of the month.

Emmerdale fans were treated to a third twist in the ongoing fight to bring down Home Farm owner Kim Tate, as another character was revealed to be embroiled in the plot to help Caleb and Nicky Miligan claim back their fortune. During Tuesday night’s episode, Caleb confirmed that a mystery character, who appeared to be a solicitor, was helping with their plot to target Kim without her even knowing.The solicitor was seemingly revealed to be in on the plan to steal Kim's fortune including her hidden money - while it's not even known for sure if Caleb is lying about their identity.