Game Show Network Goes Dark on Dish, Sling TV

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Brett Favre’s weekly NFL show for SiriusXM has been put on hold, a company spokesman confirmed to Variety. It’s the latest business deal in jeopardy over the pro QB’s involvement in a welfare fraud case in Mississippi. The SiriusXM rep declined to provide further comment. Favre, who retired from the NFL in 2010 after 20 years in the league, first began co-hosting the SiriusXM show in 2018. The former Green Bay Packers QB has appeared on “The SiriusXM Blitz With Brett Favre and Bruce Murray” on Tuesdays on the satellite radio and audio streamer’s services, most recently Sept. 13. SiriusXM’s pausing of Favre’s show comes as ESPN Milwaukee said it was temporarily suspending the ex-football star’s weekly “The Brett Favre Show” recapping Packers games, NBC Sports reported.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ryan Spicer, after more than 14 years with WarnerMedia and Turner Broadcasting, is joining Atmosphere, which operates a national out-of-home streaming news and entertainment network, to lead ad sales in the role of chief revenue officer. Most recently, Spicer served as VP of sales and partnerships for WarnerMedia Digital, which is now part of Warner Bros. Discovery, covering the CNN Digital portfolio as well as the HBO Max with ads streaming platform. Prior to joining Turner Digital in 2008, he worked as a sales exec at MTV Networks. At Atmosphere, Spicer reports to chief operating officer Blake Sabatinelli. Spicer officially started in the role on Sept. 6.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Winston Duke has recalled working on the sequel without the late, great Chadwick Boseman. Boseman (who played King T'Challa so perfectly across five projects) tragically left us in August 2020 following a battle with colon cancer, yet his legacy will be celebrated in the upcoming MCU blockbuster. "There was no preparing for it," the M'Baku actor told Variety of the early shoot days.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Yara Shahidi will kick it with celebrity peers in a new show premiering on Facebook Watch later this month. The actor, model, activist and self-proclaimed “music nerd” — best known for starring on “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish” — stars in and executive produces Facebook Watch original series “Yara Shahidi’s Day Off.” In each episode, Shahidi will participate in a range of activities with her celeb guests that reflect “their authentic interests outside of their fame,” spanning horseback riding, gymnastics, golfing, soccer and game night. “Yara Shahidi’s Day Off” premieres Thursday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m. PT, on Facebook Watch, Shahidi’s Facebook page (2.2 million followers) and her Instagram page (7.6 million followers).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The YouTube Streamy Awards are coming back this year in-person for the first time since 2019. The 2022 Streamys — the annual awards recognizing the internet’s most notable video creators, shows and brands — will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Dec. 4. The show will stream exclusively on YouTube for the fifth straight year. Marking its 12th year, the 2022 Streamys will feature more than 45 award categories, including Creator of the Year, Show of the Year and Breakout Creator. The program also features the Streamys Brand Awards, launched in 2018, which spotlights brand advertising innovation.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor “Wall-E,” Pixar’s 2008 sci-fi love-story animated film classic, is getting a special three-disc 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray release from the Criterion Collection this fall. The special edition of “Wall-E,” the first collaboration between Criterion and Disney’s Pixar, features a 4K digital master approved by director Andrew Stanton, according to Criterion. The three-disc set will be available Nov. 22, 2022, and is currently available to pre-order from Criterion’s site for $39.96. “Wall-E” is set in the 29th century, after humans have long since fled Earth for outer space, leaving the movie’s protagonist — the last functioning trash-compacting robot — to go about the work of cleaning up the pollution-choked planet, one piece of garbage at a time. When he meets EVE, a fellow automaton sent to detect plant life, the pair are launched on an intergalactic quest to return humanity to Earth.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amazon will bow a new laugh lead-in for its exclusive “Thursday Night Football” NFL games package, enlisting “Saturday Night Live” alum Taran Killam as the host of “The NFL Pile On” — the league’s first official comedy show. “The NFL Pile On” will premiere Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, airing each Wednesday throughout the NFL season one day before Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” coverage. In the half-hour show, Killam will riff on “funny and unexpected moments” from the across the NFL the week prior, from mic’d up players during pregame warmups to postgame press conference zingers, and from epic fumbles to off-the-field blunders — according to Amazon, “everything from studio shows, social media and fashion faux pas will be fair game.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In today’s podcast roundup, CNN’s Anderson Cooper delves into how to move forward after losing a love one; NPR sets “Invisibilia” Season 9 premiere date; and more. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper hosts limited-series podcast “All There Is With Anderson Cooper,” premiering Sept. 14. In the series, Cooper embarks on a “deeply personal and emotional exploration” of loss and grief and how to move forward without forgetting the people we miss. According to CNN, he began recording the podcast alone during his final weeks packing up the apartment of his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, who died in 2019. Among his mother’s keepsakes and secret journals, Cooper found unopened boxes belonging to his father and brother, both of whom died decades ago. Feeling overwhelmed, Cooper began to record conversations with others about their experiences with grief.

Sony Pictures TV-owned Game Show Network is no longer available on Dish after the two companies could not reach a new carriage agreement following eight months of negotiations.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Adam Blackstone is riding a career high. For years he has been the musical mastermind behind live shows for Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5 and Eminem. This weekend, he picked up an Emmy Award for outstanding music direction for his work on “The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent.” And just last week, he kicked off a residency, “The Legacy Experience,” at new Los Angeles music venue the Sun Rose. Blackstone never really saw himself as a frontman until COVID made him stop and think about his legacy. “People trust me to curate,” he says. “I saw a couple of my friends pass away during COVID, and I had heard someone say, ‘I don’t want to die with a laptop full of ideas.’”

On Tuesday afternoon, the gorgeous Victoria Beckham shared a sensational picture of herself and British Vogue editor Edward Enninful from four years ago. In the snap, the mother-of-four wore one of her most famous little black dresses - the bold number she wore to the fashion awards back in 2018.READ: Victoria Beckham's polarising wedding guest dress just had a surprising revampAccompanying the snap, she paid tribute to her friend, writing: "Congratulations to my dear friend, and one of the most important figures shaping fashion, @Edward_Enninful on the launch of his inspiring debut memoir A VISIBLE MAN.

Nick Cannon was joined by a pregnant Brittany Bell and their two children for an overseas vacation. On Tuesday, the 41-year-old entertainer shared a series of pictures featuring himself, the model and their kids enjoying their time in Guam.

EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Buirski, director of feature doc Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy, which just premiered at the Venice Film Festival, has signed a development deal with Cineflix Productions.

In the opening scene of Nancy Burski’s “Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of ‘Midnight Cowboy’,” Jon Voight tells a story. The actor recalls, with vivid intensity, the conclusion of principal photography for “Midnight Cowboy,” John Schlesinger’s 1969 film adaptation of James Leo Herlihy’s novel.

Square Enix has confirmed what titles will be showcased during the Tokyo Game Show, with Final Fantasy 16 missing from the list of confirmed games.Tokyo Game Show has released a list of exhibitors and what people can expect to be showcased, with Square Enix set to give players updates on a variety of Final Fantasy titles – but Final Fantasy 16 isn’t mentioned anywhere.According to the official Tokyo Game Show website (and translated by Eurogamer), Square Enix will be bringing news on Final Fantasy 14, Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Stranger Of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin and mobile remake Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis.The studio will also be offering players a look at Tactics Ogre Reborn, Dragon Quest Treasures, The DioField Chronicle, Romancing Saga – Minstrel Song, Star Ocean 6, and Valkyrie Elysium.The hybrid digital/in-person Tokyo Game Show opens September 15 and runs until September 18.Back in June, a new trailer for Final Fantasy 16 was revealed alongside the news that the title is looking at a summer 2023 release. At the same time, director Hiroshi Takai confirmed that development on Final Fantasy 16 is finished and the game can now be played through from start to finish “though, from optimisation to brush-up, there is still a mountain of challenges to tackle as we head into our final push.”Following that the producer of Final Fantasy 16, Naoki Yoshida, confirmed the reason for the game’s lack of turn-based combat, saying it’s to appeal to a younger audience.He later said that he believes the Final Fantasy series is “struggling” to adapt to industry trends but isn’t worried. “My current impression is that all we can really do is create multiple games, and continue creating the

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Flavortown is back — and it’s better than ever. Guy Fieri returns to the Food Network this week with a new cooking game show, “Guy’s Ultimate Game Night.” The series, which is the beloved host’s fourth show with the network, is stacked with celebrity guests such as Alyssa Milano, Penn and Teller and Natasha Leggero, who will compete in food-related games and trivia for a chance to win a prize for their favorite charity. A trailer that came out earlier this month sees contestants playing classics like charades and hot potato, garnishing a pizza to resemble Guy Fieri and blind-decorating a cake. Supporting Fieri in his hosting duties is chef Antonia Lofaso, a fan-favorite fixture on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” “Chopped” and “Cutthroat Kitchen.”

A report on pending anti-LGBTIQ legislation in Ghana has found that it’s already resulted in a surge of violence and hostilities towards sexual and gender minorities.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Fans of NBC’s current-season shows will no longer find them on Hulu as of next month — they’ll be flying over to NBCUniversal’s Peacock. NBCU announced that starting Sept. 19, Peacock Premium will become the streaming home for next-day access to current seasons of NBC shows the day after they air on the network. The media conglom had clawed back the next-day rights for NBC shows from Disney-controlled Hulu, in which NBCU still owns a one-third stake, earlier this year. NBC series that will become exclusively available on Peacock include franchises like Dick Wolf’s “Law & Order” trifecta and One Chicago shows, the network’s late-night lineup including “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and “Saturday Night Live,” returning series such as “La Brea,” “New Amsterdam” and “Young Rock” and competition shows including “The Voice” and “America’s Got Talent.” Also streaming exclusively on Peacock are new series bowing on NBC this fall including a reboot of “Quantum Leap” and “Lopez vs. Lopez.”