Paramount Makes New Moves to Lure Small-Business Advertisers

Meghan Markle appears to be the one to have made the first move in patching up her broken relationship with her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton.

Chris Petrikin, a former Paramount, Fox and William Morris Agency communications executive, has joined consulting firm Actum LLC as a managing director.

There will be no season 5 for Evil. The Paramount+ series from Robert and Michelle King has been canceled and will end with its upcoming fourth season, set for premiere this May. A specific date TBA. The streamer said today four bonus episodes have been ordered and are set to begin production soon in New York City to wrap up the storyline. Paramount+ also released a teaser trailer for the final season. Watch it above.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Evil” will end with its upcoming Season 4 at Paramount+. The series was renewed for a fourth season back in June 2022, though it was not reported at the time that it would be the final season. New episodes of the series will debut in May, with Paramount+ also ordering four bonus episodes to supplement the season.

Beyonce is supporting her family. The beloved performer, who’s currently in the midst of the release of a new record, was spotted at a New York Fashion Week event she attended in support of her nephew, Julez, who’s a model. How, in 10 years, Telfar became the ‘It’ bagBeyoncé’s childhood home catches fire on Christmas morningDaniel “Julez” Smith Jr is the son of Solange Knowles, Beyonce’s sister.

Beyoncé is making a surprise appearance during New York Fashion Week!

UPDATED: The companywide layoffs at Paramount Global on Tuesday impacted about 20 employees at CBS News, including correspondents Catherine Herridge and Jeff Pegues, several sources said.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Approximately 20 CBS News staffers were given termination notices Tuesday as a result of broader layoffs taking place across Paramount Global. The cuts extended across CBS News operations in Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles, according to two people familiar with the matter, and included two of the news operation’s most prominent correspondents, Jeff Pegues and Catherine Herridge, these people said. A CBS News spokesperson did not respond immediately to a query seeking comment.

A bit more than a year into selling advertising, Netflix is setting plans for its debut in the upfronts, the annual springtime showcase in New York for ad buyers and sellers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Before marketers can start putting their commercials into Netflix programs for the year to come, they’ll have to step into those programs themselves. Netflix plans to host an interactive “Netflix Experience” for advertising clients and buyers, all via an event to be held throughout Thursday, May 16, at New York’s Pier 59 Studios. Those who choose to participate will traverse through rooms and experiences built around Netflix series like “Stranger Things” or the comedy offerings of “Netflix is a Joke.” The company also plans to hold what it calls “an intimate first-look presentation” with its executives on Mary 15 in the afternoon.

Channing Tatum and his daughter Everly made a rare red carpet appearance together over the weekend!

Piers Morgan has confirmed he will no longer host his one-hour long evening news show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, for TalkTV after two years at the helm.The former GMB presenter, who launched the show in 2022, confirmed the news on Twitter. He told his 8.7 million followers: "Some news," as he shared a post which said: "News: Piers Morgan is ending his live broadcast show on UK's TalkTV, and going full YouTube.

EXCLUSIVE: Ella Hunt, Emily Fairn and Kim Matula have joined Sony Pictures’ SNL 1975, which will be directed by Jason Reitman and is based on the real-life behind-the-scenes accounts of Saturday Night Live‘s opening night. Hunt will play Gilda Radner, Fairn will play Laraine Newman, and Matula will play Jane Curtin. The original screenplay is by Reitman and Gil Kenan.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor PBS and ABC News were among the top winners at the duPont-Columbia Awards, some of the top honors accorded each year to audio and video reporting done in the public interest. The 15 award winners of 2024 were announced Thursday during a special ceremony. The awards have been administered since 1968 by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

WWE is making another change with it’s Monday Night Raw programming!

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Paramount Global doesn’t feel it needs Carnegie Hall to make its point to Madison Avenue. The New York owner of CBS, the Paramount movie studio and the Nickelodeon kids-cable outlet plans a second year of individual meetings with media buyers and advertisers for its outreach during the industry’s “upfront” sales market, and will not return to the more formal, glitzy presentation that has long been a staple of the period.

Many other Republican candidates have suspending their campaigns this cycle, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis‘ exit inspired some pretty biting and snarky reactions today, coming from other politicos and some celebrities.

Emily Longeretta From one Regina George to another. Rachel McAdams, who led the hit movie “Mean Girls” in 2004 as the main bully, appeared on the Jan. 20 episode of “Saturday Night Live” to introduce musical guest Reneé Rapp.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Sean Gupta, who has served as senior VP of strategy for Paramount Streaming for more than two years, is exiting the company, Variety has confirmed. Gupta reported to Jeff Shultz, Paramount Streaming’s chief strategy officer and chief business development officer. Gupta took on the role in the fall of 2021 (when Paramount Global was known as ViacomCBS), tasked with helping shape the media conglomerate’s approach to developing and growing its Paramount+ subscription-streaming property and the Pluto TV free, ad-supported streaming TV service.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor In an era when advertisers can buy digital inventory at any time they wish, does the media industry still need an “upfront” sales session? Warner Bros. Discovery believes it does. The media conglomerate said Thursday that it plans to hold a presentation for advertisers at 10 a.m.