HBO Drama Chief Francesca Orsi On ‘Succession’ Finale & WGA Strike; ‘The Last Of Us’, ‘House Of The Dragon’, ‘White Lotus’, ‘Euphoria’ Updates & More

The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace will be telling fellow American writers “we are not in this alone” when he returns home from London later.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic There’s a moment in “Stan Lee,” David Gelb’s lively and illuminating documentary about the visionary of Marvel Comics, that’s momentous enough to give you a tingle. The year is 1961, and Lee, approaching 40, is burnt out on comics. It’s a form he has never taken all that seriously, even though he’s been working at it since 1939, when he started, at 17, as a gofer for Timely Comics. (Within two years he’d become the company’s editor, art director, and chief writer.) The comics he creates get so little respect that he tries to hide his profession when asked about it at cocktail parties. In 1961, though, Lee receives a directive from Martin Goodman, the publisher of the company that’s about to be renamed Marvel. He is ordered to devise a team of superheroes that can compete with DC’s Justice League (who have become the fulcrum of the so-called Silver Age of Comics). Lee, weary of superheroes, is ready to quit the business. But his wife, the English-born beauty Joan Lee, suggests that he create the kind of characters he has always been talking about — a more realistic brand of comic-book figure, one that ordinary people could relate to.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features Documentarian Emily Wachtel met Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward when she was two years old. They were neighbors in Westport. Conn, the dearest of family friends. “I knew them my whole life,” says Wachtel. “They are the reason I am in film.”  Wachtel, producer of CNN’s six-part docuseries “The Last Movie Stars,” which paints a sweeping, intimate, romantic portrait of the life, love and careers of Newman and Woodward, describes her childhood with the famed couple as if something out of a suburban New England dream.  “They were incredible people,” says Wachtel. “I was so young when I met them, and I didn’t understand what a movie star was at the time. But part of that is because they were so real. They’d pick you up to go to birthday parties, Joanne made sweaters. They had this big, beautiful barn on the property and they would entertain almost every weekend. Not in a formal way, but with everyone. Not necessarily actors. It was neighbors and friends from all walks of life. They would have everybody over and make hamburgers. They screened movies. I saw a lot of old movies with them, from ‘Lady in the Tramp’ to ‘The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.’ It was just part of the fabric of that household. And it was a gift.” 

Film and television writers from around the world will be picketing and rallying Wednesday in support of the Writers Guild strike, which is now in its 39th day.

IATSE’s general executive board has unanimously approved $2 million to be distributed to the union’s members who are in need of financial assistance due to the Writers Guild strike, which is in its 39th day.

Heather Olander knew she would be taking on a challenge when she joined The CW as its first Head of Unscripted Programming.

The HBO Original documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore reveals the life of the titular actress, producer and philanthropist who dazzled family, friends and fans both on and off screen until her death in 2017.

The HBO Original documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore reveals the life of the titular actress, producer and philanthropist who dazzled family, friends and fans both on and off screen until her death in 2017.

EXCLUSIVE: Perry Mason has tried his last case — at least for now. HBO has opted not to renew the prequel to the classic series, starring Matthew Rhys and executive produced by Team Downey’s Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey, for a third season. The news comes a month and a half after the Season 2 finale debuted April 24.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Vice TV is once again expanding its “Dark Side” franchise with a new spinoff that should hit close to home for millennial audiences in particular: “Dark Side of the 2000s.” Premiering July 18 at 10 p.m., the 10-episode season will cover aughts subjects including the radio wars between Howard Stern and Opie & Anthony, “TRL,” the rise of TMZ, Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen’s “Two and a Half Men” conflict, “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” “The Bachelor,” Siegfried & Roy and men’s lifestyle magazines, or “lad mags.” Per its official logline, “From outrageous shock jocks to record breaking reality TV, and the rise of celebrity gossip to the downward spiral of a child star, ‘Dark Side of the 2000s’ delves into the decade’s untold histories, revealing dark secrets and personal insights from the people who witnessed it all first hand.”

ABC is working to bring back Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to the network after the format’s brief dalliance with HGTV.

will return for season 2. HBO announced the renewal on Jan.

Theo James has been asked ad nauseam about his prosthetic penis in “The White Lotus,” and Meghann Fahy is starting to feel left out. “Nobody ever asks me about my prosthetic,” she says with a laugh. When the two reunite over Zoom to discuss their roles, they’re perfectly in sync and often answer questions in unison, evoking their characters’ deliciously duplicitous cat-and- mouse relationship. In the second season of Mike White’s hit HBO drama, they star as cunning finance businessman Cameron and chipper stay-at-home-mom Daphne, who are vacationing with strait-laced couple Ethan and Harper (Will Sharpe and Aubrey Plaza, respectively). After engaging in the world’s most elaborate “Wife Swap” plot, they depart Sicily as loved-up as ever — and perhaps rubbing off on their friends.

The family of a teenage girl who was mauled to death by four dogs today backed a new campaign for stricter laws amid a series of recent fatal attacks, saying: "Things are at breaking point. We want justice for families."

Amber Dowling Last April, Sphere Media took the Canadian Screen Awards by storm with 22 awards for its scripted content, including a record 12 wins for the historical Black drama “The Porter” and seven for queer comedy “Sort Of.” It was a big night for Canada’s third-largest independent producer, and in particular for Jennifer Kawaja, Sphere’s president of scripted and feature films for English Canada. Previously, Kawaja spent decades heading up Sienna Films with her business partner, Julia Sereny, helming several award-winning projects like “Cardinal,” “Trickster” and “One Dead Indian.” The duo sold the company to Kew Media Group in 2017 and in 2020, Montreal-based Datsit Sphere snatched it up when Kew was placed into receivership. Last year, Sphere restructured and rebranded under a single banner with the intention of streamlining content creation, production and distribution.

Warning: The following contains spoilers regarding Sunday’s series finale of “Succession.”It seems Tom Wambsgans’ fate on “Succession” may have been hiding in somewhat plain sight all along.Leading up to Sunday’s series finale of the critically acclaimed HBO series, in which the character played by actor Matthew Macfadyen is anointed the new CEO of Waystar Royco, a theory began circulating on the internet relating to the name Wambsgans and its connection to the baseball history.Do the names on Succession reveal the show’s ending? #succession #hbomax #tomwambsgans #billwambsganss #shivroy #successionhbo #successiontok #successionfinale #babynames #nameberry As explained in a now-viral video by Nameberry.com’s editor-in-chief, Sophie Kihm, the names featured in “Succession” are “very intentional” — for instance, the surname Roy meaning “king” — and if a moniker appears unusual, there’s likely a reason behind it.This is where Wambsgans comes in, as it’s the same last name of former Cleveland Guardians second baseman Bill Wambsganss, who completed the only unassisted triple play in World Series history in 1920.“It’s no coincidence that Tom shares a surname with Bill Wambsganss.

Note: This story contains spoilers from the series finale of “Succession.”“Succession” wrapped up the story of Waystar Royco and the Roy family, and social media had many feelings about where things stood after the show’s swan song. The episode, titled “With Open Eyes,” followed the aftermath of Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) emotionally charged funeral and crowned a new CEO for his company in Tom Wambsgans (Matthew MacFadyen). With a tense finale following the Roy siblings’ negotiating efforts to decide the fate of Waystar Royco’s acquisition by GoJo, the episode also gave a satisfying and biting conclusion to the central characters’ story. Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) came together at their mother’s beachside home on the eve of the board meeting, as Shiv and Kendall tried to get their younger brother on their respective sides.

[WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for the series finale of “Succession.”]After four seasons, “Succession” has come to an end — and Waystar RoyCo has a new CEO.In the 90-minute series finale, creator Jesse Armstrong wrapped up a string of conflicts, but ultimately had the goal of answering the question everyone has been asking since Season 1 premiered in 2018: Who will succeed Logan Roy (Brian Cox) as CEO?There were many ways the ending could’ve gone: Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) could’ve filled his father’s shoes — as Logan may or may not have wanted from the looks of the underline/cross-out on his official document, Kendall and Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) could’ve stayed on as co-CEOs, GoJo could have acquired Waystar with Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) coming out on top and naming Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) as CEO, as well as many other possibilities.In the end, the hole left by the death of Logan Roy could only be filled by one person.Spoilers for Season 4, Episode 10, “With Open Eyes” are below, so stop scrolling now if you don’t want to know who got the crown.While it was always presumed that Logan Roy’s successor would be in the family bloodline, it didn’t exactly turn out that way.Neither Kendall, Roman, Shiv — or Connor (Alan Ruck), for that matter — ended up being the heir to the media mogul’s throne.After Matsson decided he wasn’t going to name Shiv as the CEO of the company, an unsuspecting person filled her in on who it would be.“Shiv, you should probably know: it’s me,” Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) told his wife.As noted above, Greg found out by translating a conversation in Swedish that Matsson was not actually planning on giving the CEO title to Shiv, as he promised he would.Upon finding

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of tonight’s Succession series finale.

William Earl SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of HBO’s “Succession,” now streaming on Max. “Succession” has ended, and the finale answered the central question of the show: Who will take over Waystar Royco? Thanks to a last-minute change of heart from Shiv (Sarah Snook) during the tense boardroom vote, GoJo now owns the media company, and GoJo CEO Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) has anointed Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) as its American CEO. While in practice the deal will likely involve, by Matsson’s own admissions, a lot of dirty work with very little input, Tom is thrilled to take the crown. According to series creator Jesse Armstrong, it was a natural choice.