NBCUniversal Studio Group & CBS Studios Suspend Non-Writing Producer Deals Amid Strikes

EXCLUSIVE: For some writer-producers, the enthusiasm over going back to work this week was dampened by the news that their overall deals, suspended during the WGA strike, are being reinstated but not extended. Nowhere has this been more prevalent than Universal Studio Group, which includes Universal Television and UCP.

Now that the Writers Guild of America strike is officially over, deals that were suspended are in the process of being reinstated.

Just as studios were quick to start suspending overall and first-look deals just days after the start of the WGA strike, several began to restore suspended pacts right after the strike ended Wednesday morning.

Fans of “The Office” might have something big to look forward to.

Seth MacFarlane is donating an additional $5 million to The Entertainment Community Fund just shy of two months after an initial gift of $1 million to assist industry workers impacted by the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.

EXCLUSIVE: Canada’s Waterside Studios and UK-based podcast producer Blanchard House are teaming up.

Mindy Kaling is opening up about writing the upcoming movie Legally Blonde 3 and why the project is taking so long to finish.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate Television has joined other studios in suspending overall and first-look deals with non-writing producers who are not rendering services due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. I hear those impacted include Paul Feig‘s Feigco Entertainment, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum‘s The Tannenbaum Co., Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly‘s Timberman/Beverly Productions, Michael London‘s Groundswell Productions and Power universe star Joseph Sikora.

It has been exactly five years since Julie Chen Moonves left her hosting gig on The Talk and now she’s sharing the real story behind what happened.

Apple has become the latest entertainment company to suspend additional overall and first-look deals this month as the WGA strike is getting past the four-and-a-half-month mark.

Hollywood has been making steady progress toward including more LBGTQ characters into its storylines, according to the latest report from GLAAD, but SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher says that those gains are in jeopardy because of the studios’ intransigence in reaching a fair deal to end the ongoing strikes by actors and writers.

EXCLUSIVE: Disney has become the latest entertainment company to suspend additional overall and first-look deals four and a half months into the WGA strike.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The SEC charged a company called Stoner Cats 2 LLC — which produced an animated web series “Stoner Cats” funded by sales of NFTs that were priced at $800 each — with conducting an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities. The NFT sale of the Stoner Cats in July 2021 raised approximately $8 million to finance “Stoner Cats.” The voice cast of the “Stoner Cats” series included Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Chris Rock, Dax Shepard, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jane Fonda, Michael Bublé, Seth MacFarlane and Vitalik Buterin.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Entertainment workers have moved to take more than $44 million out of their individual retirement accounts as they endure months without work due to the strikes. Nearly 3,000 workers have filed for hardship withdrawals, according to an update circulated on Friday by the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans. The average withdrawal is about $15,000.

It’s not just The Drew Barrymore Show coming back into production amid the strike.

EXCLUSIVE: Drew Barrymore is not the only daytime talk show host returning to air.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer CBS Studios has suspended term deals with talkshow star Phil “Dr. Phil” McGraw, BET+’s “Kingdom Business” producer DeVon Franklin and “Nancy Drew” executive producer Lis Rowinski due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Representatives for CBS Studios declined to comment on the suspension of these deals Monday.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Drew Barrymore is being criticized by fellow actors and writers on social media for her decision to bring back her eponymous daytime talk show amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. “The Drew Barrymore Show” is set to return Sept. 18.

Ryan Murphy and Greg Berlanti are both making a huge commitment to the cast and crews out of work due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Prolific showrunner Greg Berlanti is donating nearly $1 million to current and former employees affected by Hollywood’s ongoing labor strikes and urging “other industry workers in a fortunate enough situation” to do the same. An email from the “Love, Simon” director circulated Friday afternoon and was addressed to any Berlanti staffer in recent years who needs immediate financial assistance over work stoppages from the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.