Legendary Television Head Chris Albrecht Placed on Administrative Leave

Kristen Hall is returning to CBS Studios as EVP of communications. She succeeds in the top studio PR job Lauri Metrose who left in June after two decades. Hall, who is coming from Amazon Studios, was considered the lead contender for the job as she has a long history at CBS Studios, including a stint as Metrose’s #2.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Arcade Fire is having trouble keeping name acts in the opening slots for its arena tours. Beck has now dropped out of his position as the opener for the group’s U.S. tour, without any explanation so far. In an email sent to ticket buyers, Beck was described only as “unfortunately no longer able to join Arcade Fire on their upcoming North American tour. Taking his place will be Boukman Eksperyans,” described as a Grammy-nominated Haitian roots band. Contacted by Variety, Beck’s reps declined to comment on his bowing out. The move was not necessarily a surprise, as fans had already been speculating whether the singer-songwriter might exit the Arcade Fire outing, after Win Butler was accused of sexual misconduct in an August Pitchfork article. Feist dropped out of her opening slot on the European leg of the tour after playing just the first two dates.

The New York Democrat fundraiser linked to "Squad" member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was placed on administrative leave from his job after reports of his anti-Semitic social media posts.

Roving gangs have gained power throughout Haiti over the past 15 months in the wake of former President Jovenel Moïse's assassination, blockading essential ports and terrorizing citizens who are increasingly in need of basic supplies like food and medicine.  The Biden administration announced this week that it will deploy security assistance to Haiti's National Police and issue visa restrictions on Haitian officials involved with gangs.  The move falls short of "a specialized armed force" that Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry requested from the international community, an action that U.S. Sen.

The U.S. government will pull visas belonging to current and former Haitian government officials involved with criminal organizations as well as provide security and humanitarian assistance to Haiti, senior U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Three illegal immigrants caught and released at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as a fourth person, a U.S. citizen previously released on cashless bail, have been charged in New York’s Long Island for carrying out a hate-fueled robbery ring allegedly targeting members of the Indian community.  Brayan Alexis Ortiz-Ramos, 20, Daniel Esteban Jimenez-Carrillo, 30, Gersson Jhoan Hernandez-Gomez, 33, all born and raised in Columbia, as well as Justin Mora-Soto, 20, who was born in the U.S.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Warner Bros. Television has promoted Parul Agrawal to the role of senior vice president and head of drama development, Variety has confirmed. Agrawal previously served as vice president of drama development. She tales over the role from Leigh London Redman, who exited the studio in July to join Berlanti Productions. Agrawal will report to Clancy Collins White, executive vice president and head of development. Agrawal originally joined WBTV in 2010, rising to vice president of drama development in 2019. During her tenure with the studio, she has helped develop shows like “Lovecraft Country” at HBO, “All American” and “All American: Homecoming” at The CW as well as “Batwoman,” “Black Lightning,” “Kung Fu” “Supergirl,” and the upcoming “Gotham Knights” at the broadcaster. Others include “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and “Maid” at Netflix as well as “Castle Rock” at Hulu and many more.

J. Kim Murphy Legendary Television president Chris Albrecht has been placed on a leave of absence by the company, a spokesperson for Legendary confirmed to Variety Monday. No official reason for the exec’s leave of absence was provided.

Chris Albrecht has been placed on administrative leave from his position as president of Legendary after new details from his days at HBO have emerged from the upcoming book “It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO” By Felix Gillette and John Koblin.

And Just Like That … they’re back! Filming has begun on season 2 of the Sex and the City sequel series — and the fashion is glorious, to say the least.

A special education teacher at a public high school in Loudoun County, Virginia, was reportedly put on paid administrative leave after she was charged Friday with being under the influence of alcohol in public by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Amy Richards, 60, is a special education teacher at Potomac Falls High School in Loudoun County, where she has taught eight out of her 21 years teaching in the county, according to local WJLA. Someone reportedly notified the school resource officer that Richards appeared to be "under the influence," according to police.

Wilson Chapman editor “Saturday Night Live” lampooned the seemingly endless barrage of bad headlines in in the opening sketch of Season 48’s second episode. Bowen Yang starred in the opener as a game show host for “So You Think You Won’t Snap,” a program which features contestants being read real-life headlines in an attempt to make them snap, whether that means breaking a glass or punching an assistant. Also in the sketch was Heidi Gardner as a yoga teacher who is forced to watch a video of President Joe Biden talking about his mental state on CNN; Chloe Fineman as a an apolitical mom outraged by Chris Pratt’s voice acting in the “Super Mario Bros” movie; Kenan Thompson as a contestant who loses it at the very mention of Elon Musk; and Devon Walker as a contestant who is confronted by a barrage of negative news involving Kanye West. Watch the sketch below.

Haiti is preparing to seek military assistance from the international community to confront gangs that have blocked the country's principal fuel port, the Miami Herald reported on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of the decision. The government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry plans to make the written request on Friday to allied nations, without specifying where the troops should come from, the Herald reported.

Leonardo DiCaprio just had a reunion with former co-star Timothy Olyphant!

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary got ahead of the scrum and pre-emptively acquired Fight Fast, a spec script by Chris Sparling. The project is a high-concept take on underground fighting that has franchise potential.