Kay Oyegun ABC Drama Pilot Adds Five To Cast

Vice Puts FAST Channel In Gear On Fox’s Tubi

Tom Prior stars in this exclusive clip from his new movie Firebird!

Michele Amabile Angermiller Epic Records has promoted Ayanna Wilks to vice president of publicity and has hired Natalie Geday as VP of publicity as well.Both report to Melissa Victor, SVP and head of publicity for the Sony Music label. Both are based in Los Angeles.Wilks (pictured at left) was previously senior director of public relations and has worked on the media campaigns for Giveon, Bia and Mimi Webb as well as newcomers India Shawn, Melvoni and MK xyz, among others.

Huge congrats to Rihanna and boyfriend A$AP Rocky, who’ve become the proud parents to a baby boy after the superstar reportedly gave birth on 13 May in Los Angeles. But while the proud couple are said to be over the moon at their new arrival, we’re hearing the lead up to the birth was far from the idyll Rihanna hoped for – particularly as her plans to have her baby in Barbados went out of the window after Rocky’s recent arrest. “Rihanna’s really been through it recently,” says an insider close to the singer, 34, who was good friends with the rapper for a decade before they got together in 2020.

Variety Entertainment Marketing Summit presented by Deloitte, marketing executives who lead companies ranging from Snap to the Los Angeles Rams came together to discuss what their work looks like in the media landscape of 2022.Aim for Long-Lasting Impact in Marketing Strategies Jackie Gagne, SVP of multicultural marketing at HBO and HBO Max, detailed a recent Los Angeles-based marketing campaign for HBO Max’s 1980s Lakers drama series “Winning Time.” The company partnered with Project Blackboard, a nonprofit that renovates public basketball courts, to spend weeks fixing up a court in Inglewood for community use. The result, she said, was a winning ad strategy with lasting impact.“We partnered with a local street artist, David Flores, to create a mural that was inspired by the show, and the result was… absolutely incredible,” Gagne said.

Wilson Chapman editorAfter 11 years and over 200 episodes, the popular Fox animated sitcom “Bob’s Burgers” is making its big-screen debut. And although the movie acts as a fresh point of entry, at the Tuesday premiere of the film at the El Capitan theater in Los Angeles, the voice actors behind the Belchers revealed the TV episodes they’d recommend for newcomers before seeing the film.H. Jon Benjamin and John Roberts, the voices behind the central couple Bob and Linda, both recommended that viewers start with one of the many Thanksgiving episodes the show has produced, which acts as a window into the dynamics of the quirky but lovable family.“I would probably go to one of the Thanksgiving episodes as a primer for what the family is like and the dynamic between them,” Benjamin told Variety on the red carpet of the premiere.

Planning ahead? The 2022 Oscars are barely in the rearview, but ABC exec Craig Erwich already has his eye on potential hosts for the 2023 show — with Chris Rock among them.

Fox has given a straight-to-series order to Alert, a character-driven police procedural from The Blacklist showrunner John Eisendrath and Jamie Foxx. The pickup was part of Fox’s upfront slate announcement for the 2022-23 season.

Pat Saperstein Deputy EditorSpeakers including Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, mayoral candidate and congressperson Karen Bass, attorney Gloria Allred and actors including Ricki Lake and Christine Lahti urged people to fight for reproductive freedom at the “Bans Off Our Bodies” rally in downtown Los Angeles Saturday.“I can’t work in Texas anymore,” said “Abbott Elementary” star Lisa Ann Walter, who stated that she is working with SAG-AFTRA to inform members of the reproductive health laws in each state. “We won’t quit until women are guaranteed autonomy all over this country.”Thousands of people turned out for the Los Angeles event in front of City Hall, while more than 380 rallies were planned across the United States.

Capital FM star Sonny Jay has opened up on his wedding plans, admitting he and fiancée Lauren Faith are in two minds about where they'll wed. Sonny, who won Dancing On Ice 2021, has been with Lauren since 2017 and the couple got engaged after he popped the question in Mykonos while on a romantic boat trip. Sonny shared that he and Lauren recently spent their five year anniversary in Los Angeles and opened up to OK! about wedding planning.

Netflix surprised fans in Los Angeles Thursday night at the “Cobra Kai: Live & Bad Ass” event with a first-look teaser for the upcoming fifth season and also announced that Season 5 will premiere globally on Netflix September 9.And since we all know you’re here for the trailer, watch it at the top of the page right now.After the shocking results of the All Valley Tournament in the fourth season finale, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) is expanding the (new, way more evil) Cobra Kai empire. With Kreese (Martin Kove) behind bars and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) setting karate aside to focus on repairing the damage he’s caused, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) must call on an old friend for help… Chozen (Yuji Okumoto).Daniel and Silver square off in the trailer, with the Cobra Kai heavy telling him, “You’re playing with fire, Danny boy.” To which Chozen responds, “And I am gasoline.” We also see Johnny head to Mexico to find Miguel (Xolo Maridueña).

Eminem, Duran Duran, Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie are all set to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2022.Eurythmics, Carly Simon, Judas Priest and Pat Benatar will also be inducted into the Hall Of Fame this year.Kate Bush, Beck, DEVO, Fela Kuti, MC5, New York Dolls, Rage Against The Machine and Dionne Warwick made the initial shortlist for 2022, but didn’t make the final cut.The honourees — voted on by more than 1000 artists, historians and music industry professionals — each “had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock ’n’ roll,” said John Sykes, the chairman of the Rock Hall, in a statement.The 2022 event, which will be the Hall’s 37th annual induction ceremony, will be held on November 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.The announcement comes after Parton initially refused the honour on the grounds that she didn’t feel that she had “earned the right”. But she reversed her stance last month to confirm she will accept the honour should she be voted in.Parton continued to explain that, at the time she made her statement bowing out, she hadn’t realised that the institution already included numerous artists from other genres outside the world of rock.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticWell, Dolly Parton didn’t get her wish, although she’s likely to be happy anyway. The country superstar will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November — a possibility she said last week she’d come to terms with and would “graciously” accept, after initially trying to get herself nixed  — along with Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Eminem, Lionel Richie, Eurythmics and Carly Simon.Those are the seven performers that the Hall’s thousand-plus voters chose.

LOS ANGELES -- To keep up with the Kardashians for the past two weeks, you would've had to spend a lot of time at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse, where they've been watching and testifying at a trial over a lawsuit brought against them by former reality television star Blac Chyna. In a verdict delivered Monday while defendants Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner were all in New York attending the Met Gala, the Kardashians were victorious.