Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media Acquires Spanish-Language Producer Exile Content Studio

Chris Rock has finally broken his silence, days after it was revealed that he and fellow comedian Dave Chappelle would be uniting for a joint show in London later this year.MORE: Chris Rock makes huge career announcement after Will Smith Oscars altercationTaking to his Instagram, the star confirmed the exciting news himself, sharing a promotional poster for the shows.WATCH: Will Smith assaults Chris Rock at 2022 Oscars"Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock, 3 & 4 September, The O2 Arena, London," the yellow and black poster reads.READ: Jada Pinkett Smith criticized for 'self-righteous' remarks about Will Smith's Oscars slapRELATED: Chris Rock speaks about bruises following Will Smith slap Captioning it, Chris added: "This is really happening."A post shared by Chris Rock (@chrisrock)Chris Rock shared a post featuring the poster of his and Dave Chapelle's upcoming showChris, who earlier this year was struck on stage at the Oscars by Will Smith, was inundated with messages of support from friends and fans.Fellow comedian Ali Wong simply shared a praising emoji, whilst Busta Rhymes shared several head blown emojis.A follower added: "This is going to be amazing … so want to go," whilst another remarked: "Turn the O2 into the O3."One couldn't help but joke: "Gonna need the avengers to guard this stage." Chris and Dave have been friends for yearsAt the Oscars in March, Chris was slapped across the face by Will after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, seemingly unaware that she suffers from alopecia.In May, Dave was performing as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles when he was "tackled" by a man who rushed onto the stage.Chris and Dave's announcement comes after they each joked

Jennifer Lopez wears a cute pink ensemble as she arrives at a studio in Los Angeles on Friday (June 3).

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterJonathan Bing has left his post as director of communications at Netflix to take the role of chief communications officer at Vice Media Group, Variety has learned.Based out of Los Angeles, Bing will lead Vice Media’s communications strategy across its portfolio of brands, including Vice News, Vice TV, Vice Studios and Refinery 29. He will head up Vice’s communications, brand, and reputation strategy globally “to reflect and deliver against the new ambitions for the business,” per the company.Most recently, Bing was head of communications at Netflix and previously senior vice president of communications for Fox Network Group.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Disney exec David Levine is exiting kids entertainment powerhouse Moonbug Entertainment, Deadline has learned. The well-liked exec has been Head of Studios since December 2020.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterHappy, hungry man Phil Rosenthal is back to travel all across the sea and the land for the fifth season of “Somebody Feed Phil.” Bringing fans to five new scrumptious locations — including Oaxaca, Maine, Helsinki, Portland and Madrid — the Wednesday release on Netflix will mark the first season to not include the “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator’s father Max Rosenthal, who died in June 2021.For the first four seasons of “Somebody Feed Phil,” Max appeared over video chat to talk with his son wherever he was in the world and to tell viewers at home a joke. Rosenthal’s mother, Helen Rosenthal, was there alongside her husband Max for the bits in Seasons 1 and 2.

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs have been around the media business long enough to resist the temptation to overreact to Netflix’s latest travails. Even though their emerging investment firm, Candle Media, owns two key Netflix suppliers—CoComelon production company Moonbug Entertainment and Fauda producer Faraway Road—they don’t seem too concerned that Netflix may topple from its perch. (And at press time, the previously unthinkable scenario has become a lot more, well, thinkable.)

“The Coup” in partnership with AP productions. Exile also holds the IP for the character Manolito Gafotas, whose books have been translated into more than 20 languages in 22 countries.

Apple TV+ has ordered the Spanish-language crime drama Las Azules, a 10-episode series from creators Fernando Rovzar and Pablo Aramendi. Pre-production is currently underway in Mexico City.

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media has acquired its latest company, Spanish-language content powerhouse Exile Content Studio.

EXCLUSIVE: Screen Media has acquired North American rights to Renny Harlin’s actioner The Bricklayer from Millennium Films, slating the pic for release in theaters and on VOD next summer. The Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company has also unveiled a new still from the film, starring Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) and Nina Dobrev (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), which can be found below.

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media has hired seasoned executives Courtney Cappa and Kendall Ostrow as, respectively, SVP, Finance & Accounting, and SVP, Business Development & Community.

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media have struck again, announcing the purchase ATTN, a social media storytelling company for Gen Z and Millennials. Candle said today it will help provide scale, capital and expertise to accelerate ATTN’s growth as it continues “to create original content for Gen Z and Millennials across social media, network television and streaming services, in addition to growing their publishing, brand studio, creative strategy and agency services. That includes a TikTok Studio that supports brands and influencers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorCandle Media, the next-gen media roll-up play run by ex-Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, announced the acquisition of ATTN:, a media company that produces short-form news content for Gen Z and millennial audiences.Financial terms weren’t disclosed. According to a source familiar with the pact, Candle Media is paying about $100 million for ATTN: in cash and stock; the deal could be worth up to $150 million with additional earn-out provisions.

HBO Max has commissioned a six-part Spanish-language teen road trip drama, How To Screw It All Up.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAfter a bit of a delay going into Fox’s Monday upfront presentation, the broadcast network has finally renewed “9-1-1” for a sixth season.The Ryan Murphy-produced first-responder drama “9-1-1” stars Angela Bassett as Field Sergeant Athena Grant, Peter Krause as Capt. Bobby Nash, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie Kendall, Oliver Stark as Evan “Buck” Buckley, Aisha Hinds as Hen Wilson, Kenneth Choi as Chimney Han, Ryan Guzman as Eddie Diaz, Corinne Massiah as May Grant, Marcanthonee Jon Reis as Harry Grant and Gavin McHugh as Christopher Diaz.“9-1-1” follows the work and personal lives of the members of Station 118 of the Los Angeles Fire Department, along with those inside the 9-1-1 call center and Los Angeles Police Department field sergeants like Bassett’s Athena Grant.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Somebody Feed Phil” has been renewed for Season 6 at Netflix ahead of its fifth season premiere, Variety has learned exclusively.The five-episode “Somebody Feed Phil” Season 5, which debuts May 25, was filmed back to back with Season 6, which also consists of five episodes.“We filmed 10 episodes in the sweet spot between Delta and Omicron. Remember that? So from August to January, we pretty much filmed everything,” Rosenthal told Variety.

sexual assault trial in Boston.Nearly five years into the #MeToo era, former prosecutors, legal experts and victims’ advocates say prosecuting sexual misconduct cases has proven to be no easier than before the reckoning that ignited a firestorm of accusations against powerful, seemingly untouchable men.Cases such as Batali's, if nothing else, reinforce how the criminal justice system remains “an extremely imperfect tool” for addressing the needs of survivors, said Emily Martin, a vice president at the National Women’s Law Center, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.“Failure to get a criminal conviction doesn’t mean that abuse didn’t happen or that it was okay,” she said. “It will often be extremely hard to prove sexual misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt, especially given the gender stereotypes that lead many people to be especially distrusting when women share their experiences of sexual assault.”Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum, who helped prosecute Batali, declined to comment specifically about the case Wednesday but said sexual assault cases are among the most challenging to prosecute.“Sexual assault victims are trusted less than nearly every other crime victim,” he said.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers finally arrives this Friday, and he kickstarted his rollout on Sunday with a new song and video for “The Heart Part 5," a new entry in the series of songs he began back in 2010.