Maryland Expands Medicaid Coverage for Gender-Affirming Treatments

Magnolia Network is expanding the Fixer Upper franchise with new installment The Hotel, set for premiere this November. The news was announced during Warner Bros. Discovery’s unveiling of the Max streaming service today in Los Angeles.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A+E Networks has made two high-profile appointments in London as part of an initiative to expand its international coproduction activities. Ninder Billing is appointed VP of unscripted co-productions international. Alexandra Finlay is appointed VP scripted co-productions international. Both report to Patrick Vien, group MD, A+E International. Billing was previously creative director at Darlow Smithson Productions, leading the premium factual slate focusing on streamer, international and U.K. terrestrial unscripted output and securing six new unscripted series. Prior to DSP, she was head of specialist factual at The Garden where she launched and oversaw BAFTA-nominated “Operation Live” for Channel 5, “Police Tapes” for ITV and “The Unshockable Dr Ronx” for the BBC.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox Nation is moving further into reality TV with the launch of new series “The Real Hatfields & McCoys: Forever Feuding.” Launching April 24 on the Fox News-backed streaming service, the five-episode series “will spotlight the modern-day Hatfields and McCoys whose notoriously violence-ridden relationship has taken a contemporary twist. From the families’ brutal disputes in the 1800s to current 21st century issues, the program, set in West Virginia, highlights their ongoing rivalry.” Per Fox Nation, “Hatfield family members including Nancy Justus (the oldest surviving direct descendent of Devil Anse Hatfield), Missy Lester, Amber Bishop, Chad Bishop and Christopher Champagne will be featured on the program, while the McCoys’ Big Jim, Courtney Quick, Derek DeProspero, Casandra Champagne, James Quick and John Quick will appear.”

, an all-new installment in the  franchise that expands the world of Rydell High and its two most formidable school cliques, the Pink Ladies and the T-Birds. In fact, the original musical series focuses on the former as it shows how an unlikely group of girls came together to form a refuge for the female misfits that they were on the verge of becoming and helped them transform into the coolest coeds in school.Simply put: «It's about four outcast girls [who] can’t really find their place at Rydell High, so they come together and they decide to start breaking rules,» Cheyenne Isabel Wells tells ET, before Ari Notartomaso adds, «And join a girl gang.»   The cast, including Wells (Olivia), Notartomaso (Cynthia), Marisa Davila (Jane) and Tricia Fukuhara (Nancy), as well as showrunner Annabel Oakes and music producer Justin Tranter break down what's in store for, from the catchy new song-and-dance numbers to the many connections to the original films.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Food Network is adding a sixth series to its “Baking Championship” franchise with the launch of new seasonal competition “Summer Baking Championship,” Variety has learned. Currently comprised of “Kids Baking Championship,” “Holiday Baking Championship,” “Halloween Baking Championship,” “Spring Baking Championship” and the spinoff “Spring Baking Championship: Easter,” the franchise will grow by one upon the May 15 premiere of “Summer Baking Championship,” hosted by Palmer and with Duff Goldman, Carla Hall and Damaris Phillips set as judges. In two back-to-back episodes airing at 9 p.m. on Food Network and streaming on Discovery+, ten talented bakers from around the country tackle unique summer-themed baking challenges featuring the flavors, ingredients, and celebrations of the season for a chance to take home a $25,000 grand prize.

The Motion Picture Association is expanding its team in Latin America, with the hiring of new executives in communications and advocacy.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK-based VFX and animation company Jellyfish Pictures has launched a new production outpost in Mumbai, India, and hired producer Jasjit Singh as General Manager to run operations.

A post shared by YITTY (@yitty)The announcement was made by the company on Instagram, where it shared a photo of Lizzo and several models wearing what appears to be items from the upcoming line.The caption reads, “When we say we support every body, we mean it. We believe in radical self-love for people of all gender identities—including the trans, non-binary, gender-fluid, and gender non-conforming communities that have been chronically underserved.

A doctor offering an online clinic for transgender patients has won a High Court appeal after she was suspended from working.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Lauren Probyn Aouad has joined UTA as a marketing executive, marking the company’s first senior hire in its newly opened Atlanta division. As an executive, Aouad will be responsible for growing the division’s presence within the community and developing new partnerships with brands at the intersection of entertainment and advertising. She will report to Julian Jacobs and David Anderson, UTA partners and co-heads of the entertainment and culture Marketing division. She will work closely with Steve Cohen, partner and co-head of UTA’s Atlanta office. “We’re excited to welcome Lauren to our team,” said Anderson, “Our group has expanded substantially over the past few years, both domestically and globally, and we look forward to having her help us grow the business.”

 was released from prison in September 2022 after serving more than 20 years for the murder of his Woodlawn High School classmate and ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.Lee was killed in 1999.In January, Lee's brother, Young Lee, filed a motion centered around the October 2022 hearing in which the charges were dropped against Syed. The Lee family argued that prosecutors infringed upon Maryland victims' rights and the short notice Lee's brother received ahead of the hearing.Young Lee said the court «denied him his rights as the representative of a crime victim.»    Lee's family attorney, Steve Kelly, said the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office gave his client less than one business day's notice for the hearing, and that he was denied the right to fully participate in the proceeding because he wasn't provided with adequate notice, facts, or evidence. The decision released Tuesday from the Court of Special Appeals granted a new hearing where Young Lee is given notice of the hearing that is sufficient to allow him to attend in person.

Jordan Moreau Adnan Syed’s murder conviction — which gained worldwide attention from the hit podcast “Serial” in 2014 — has taken another turn. A Maryland court has reinstated Syed’s conviction after it was previously overturned in September 2022 and Syed was released from prison. The Appellate Court of Maryland ruled on Tuesday that a lower court had violated the right of Young Lee, the brother of the late Hae Min Lee — whom Syed was found guilty of murdering in 2000 — to have been notified of and attend a hearing on the state’s motion to vacate Syed’s conviction. The Maryland court ordered a new hearing on the motion to vacate Syed’s murder conviction in a 2-1 decision.

Tyler, The Creator has shared a new track called ‘Dogtooth’ – you can listen to it below.The song will appear on a forthcoming deluxe edition of the Odd Future rapper’s sixth and most recent studio album ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’, the original of which came out in 2021.Titled ‘Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale’, the expanded version of the record is set to contain unreleased tunes that didn’t make the final cut. It’ll arrive this Friday (March 31).Announcing the new collection on Twitter yesterday (March 27), Tyler explained that he had “a lot of songs” left over from the LP.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a bill into law that bans most gender-affirming care for transgender minors, making that state the latest to target trans youth in legislation. Photo: Office of Gov. Brian Kemp

The Motion Picture Association said Josh Levin starts today as VP of State Government Affairs for the Northeast Region, reporting to Kathy Bañuelos, SVP of State Government Affairs. His hiring creates an office for the region as the MPA pursues a shift in strategy for its state government affairs work, bringing in top executives across key U.S. production hubs to maximize advocacy.

Mandy Moore is opening up about the possibility of having more kids!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hit Japanese animation “Suzume” improved its box office performance in its third week of release in South Korea and remained far ahead of all competing titles. “Suzume” earned $6.06 million over the weekend between Friday and Sunday, a 7% increase on its previous weekend, itself a strong hold that almost equalled its opening session. Data is sourced from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The film, which has been a huge hit in Japan and some other Asian territories, enjoyed a 66% share of the entire Korean cinema box office over the most recent weekend and expanded its cumulative haul to $23.9 million after 19 days on release.

EXCLUSIVE: Hot on the heels of longtime client Michelle Yeoh becoming the first Best Actress Oscar winner of Asian descent for Everything, Everywhere All At Once, Artist International Group is expanding. AIG has named Kimberly Hines as partner, and Ian Stack as manager. They join AIG’s international talent and producing divisions. They will be based in New York and Rome. 

Katherine Tulich The Australian International Documentary Conference celebrated a record-breaking edition after holding its first expanded in-person event after two previous hybrid and virtual outings. Held at Melbourne’s Australia Centre for the Moving Image on March 5- 8, the lively four-day conference of industry panels, screenings and networking events was followed by a three-day online international marketplace (March 9 – 11) that drew 820 documentary and factual industry delegates. The numbers were the highest in 20 years and the most attendees since the event relocated to Melbourne in 2016. The third annual awards were also announced on March 8 with the top prize for best documentary feature going to “Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow,” director Philippa Bateman’s portrait of musician and activists Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter.

Carrie Budoff Brown is expanding her role at NBC News, leading the network’s politics and elections while retaining oversight of Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.