MGM+ and MGM Alternative Head Chris Brearton Exits Amazon

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which welcomed back Jon Stewart as one of its hosts this year, will continue its election year tradition of taking the show on the road to the national political conventions this summer, Variety can confirm. The extent of Stewart’s involvement at the two conventions has not yet been determined, but Comedy Central has made it official that “The Daily Show” will take its “Indecision 2024” coverage to Milwaukee, Wisc., from July 15 to July 18 for a full week of shows during the Republican National Convention. The following month, “The Daily Show” will set up shop in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention from August 19 to August 22.

Champagne is one of the most luxurious sparkling wines you can get and as a result the price tag matches. Did you know that you can get something extremely similar for a fraction of the price?

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Miss USA pageant is expanding its relationship with The CW, sealing a three-year deal that adds Miss Teen USA to the mix. The network announced Thursday that the 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air live on Sunday, Aug. 4., at 8 p.m.

Paddy McGuinness has opened up about navigating single life, including going on dates and cohabiting with his ex-wife Christine McGuinness. In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, Paddy shared his stance towards Christine potentially finding someone new, stating: "If Christine met someone else, I’d be supportive." Despite their separation, Paddy explains that their relationship status would not be apparent to outsiders.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large PBS landed 11 nominations, by far the most of any outlet, as Peabody Awards Board of Jurors announced this year’s 41 nominees across its documentary, news, public service and radio/podcast categories. The pubcaster’s Peabody noms include “20 Days in Mariupol,” which recently won the Oscar for best documentary feature film.

Manchester City have a triple injury concern over three key players as attention turns back to the FA Cup.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Ghosts” hit another landmark on Thursday night, as this week’s episode of the hit CBS comedy revealed the truth behind Flower’s disappearance — while also, on a much more profound level, explored the truth behind Hetty’s death in 1895. In the episode, “Holes are Bad,” when Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) go away for the weekend, the ghosts are left alone — and discover that Flower (Sheila Carrasco) hadn’t been “sucked away” to the afterlife as they thought.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 7 of “The Masked Singer,” “Queen Night,” which aired April 10 on Fox. “The Masked Singer” dropped a bomb on us: Singer/songwriter Charlie Wilson, who has enjoyed a tremendous career as a solo artist in addition to his time as lead vocalist for the Gap Band, was one of two celebrities revealed on Wednesday night’s edition of “The Masked Singer.” Also unmasked: “The Office” star Kate Flannery (who played the frequently inebriated Meredith). Wilson was unveiled during the show’s Group A finals as Ugly Sweater, while Flannery was Starfish. For the Ugly Sweater, Robin Thicke got it right with Charlie Wilson.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is finally resurrecting its outdoor concert stage, starting on Wednesday, April 17, with musical guest Chris Stapleton. The singer-songwriter will appear on the show to relaunch the space and perform his song ““It Takes A Woman.” Up until the pandemic, the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” outdoor stage, located in the parking lot behind the show’s Hollywood studio, was a staple for the late-night talker. But it hasn’t been in use since February 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Last week, Amazon Studios/Prime Video senior VP announced that Chris Brearton was leaving Amazon “to pursue a new opportunity outside the company.” Now we know what that opportunity is: Brearton, who had most recently served as vice president of Prime Video Studios Corporate Strategy at MGM+ and MGM Alternative Television, has joined indie media company AGBO as a partner. At AGBO, he will join company leaders Anthony and Joe Russo (the directors who co-founded the company in 2017) and partner Donald Mustard.

Days after he left Amazon, Chris Brearton has found a new gig.

It has only been one month since the 96th Academy Awards ended, but this week it looks like the race for the 97th has (un)officially begun.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Talk” is going silent. CBS is ending the long-running daytime chat show, which will get an abbreviated final season (its 15th) this fall, before signing off for good with what it’s calling a “celebratory sendoff” in December.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic At their least, the myriad serial-killer movies that followed in the imitative wake of “Se7en” three decades ago have gotten the grisly part down, but find compelling suspense, atmospherics and original narrative ideas harder to come by. Such is certainly the case with “Damaged,” which serves up a considerable number of victims’ severed limbs, yet is likely to leave scant impression — scarring or otherwise — on the viewer. Though Samuel L.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 6 of “The Masked Singer,” “Transformers Night,” which aired April 10 on Fox. Former “The Bachelor” star Colton Underwood knows the symbolism of his being unmasked on a reality show — in this case, “The Masked Singer” — is huge. Underwood, a former pro football player who made history as the first star of “The Bachelor” to come out as gay, was one of two celebrities to be revealed on Wednesday night’s show — the other being another ex-NFL player, the Hall of Fame, former pro football linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Apparently TV can’t get enough “Melrose Place.” The campy sudser from the 1990s, which was already rebooted once in the 2010s, is looking to make another comeback — and this time with three of the OG stars. Heather Locklear (who was always billed as a “special guest star” back in the day, although once joining the drama she quickly took lead), Laura Leighton and Daphne Zuniga are all back to reprise their roles in the latest reboot, this time from writer Lauren Gussis. Gussis will also exec produce with Leighton, Zuniga, Tiffany Grant and Jason Weinberg.

While Amazon MGM Studios didn’t take the stage at CinemaCon, they did meet with exhibitors and key press to strut their future theatrical slate, in particular they showed off ten minutes of the Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ movie Red One. While we agree to keep mum about the details of the Santa Claus rescue movie, let’s just say the originally conceived for Prime Video title is definitely meant for theatrical, which is where it’s going on Nov. 15; the only wide release currently on that weekend.

Manchester United seem destined to finish outside of the Champions League places this season despite a valiant draw against Liverpool on Sunday.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 5 of “The Masked Singer,” “Group C Finals: Shower Anthems Night,” which aired April 3 on Fox. After two weeks of being on “The Masked Singer” chopping block, Sisqó is finally gone-guh-gone-gone-gone. I think I’ll sing it again: Sisqó’s been dumped like a truck, truck, truck. “The Masked Singer” has removed his butt, butt, butt.

The Dandy Warhols and The Black Angels have announced a UK and European co-headline tour for this autumn – find all the details below.The run of joint dates is set to kick off in Paris on September 21 before the two bands head to Brussels, Den Haag, Utrecht and Berlin ahead of a stop-off at Cannonball Festival in Copenhagen.From there, The Dandy Warhols and The Black Angels will head to the UK and Ireland for concerts in Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, London and Bristol at the end of September and into early October.Tickets go on general sale at 9am BST this Friday (April 5).