Jennifer Maas Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Vice TV has set the premiere date and released the trailer for “Dark Side of Comedy” Season 2, its “Dark Side” spinoff series that explores the behind-the-scenes stories of iconic comedians. Season 2 subjects include Robin Williams, Sam Kinison, Joan Rivers, Carlos Mencia, Phil Hartman, Tracy Morgan, the sitcom “Family Matters,” Ellen DeGeneres, Norm MacDonald and Gilda Radner.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Food Network fires up the second season of “Bobby’s Triple Threat” Tuesday, treating fans to the return of host Bobby Flay and the three “titan” chefs he’s once again relying on to do the cooking competition for him: Tiffany Derry, Michael Voltaggio and Brooke Williamson. The trio will face off against chef Michael Symon as a team, going for three head-to-head rounds full of surprise ingredients and evaluated by a mystery judge on the Season 2 premiere Tuesday at 9 p.m.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” on Fox. A (food) star was born on Fox Wednesday, when Gordon Ramsay picked the winner of his new food business-focused competition series.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Layoffs have hit the streaming marketing team at HBO and Max. A source close to the situation told Variety Wednesday that the cuts are in the double digits, but no specific number was available at the time of publication. The insider says the content division is not impacted by these layoffs.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the Season 2 finale of Fox’s “Crime Scene Kitchen.” While the final bake of Fox’s “Crime Scene Kitchen” Season 2 turned out to be a “Dark and Stormy” cake, inspired by the cocktail of the same name, it was a light and sunny treat for contestants Amber Croom and Yassmeen Haskins. The classically trained baking duo beat out the other two teams competing for the Joel McHale-hosted mystery baking competition’s second-season trophy in Monday’s finale episode, titled “I Need a Drink.” And they did it without even making the exact right recipe, as they had first decided to make a “Dark and Stormy” cake, they pivoted to a piña colada-flavored version when they started to doubt their detective work.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery is getting into the spooky spirit early, setting the Halloween-themed programming slate for its cable networks, which includes the linear debut of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” as well as new and returning specials and film marathons across Food Network, Discovery Channel, TNT, TBS, TCM, Travel Channel and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. The leader in Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed the ongoing writers and actors strikes during the Mouse House’s quarterly earnings call Wednesday, just as the WGA’s work stoppage hit the 100-day mark. “Nothing is more important to this company than its relationships with the creative community. That includes actors, writers, animators, directors and producers,” Iger said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Gordon Ramsay’s “MasterChef” has been renewed for a 14th season at Fox ahead of airing its milestone 250th episode Wednesday at 8 p.m. “I cannot believe 250 episodes have flown by since we started this journey in 2010,” Ramsay told Variety.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer In the summer of strikes and labor action, calls for reality TV personalities to form a union are gaining steam. Bethenny Frankel unleashed a storm last month with her unvarnished criticism of Bravo and other unscripted-focused platforms for the way that unscripted stars are treated behind the scenes. Frankel was not shy about detailing what she described as commonplace abuses, including producers manipulating contestants for the cameras.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Nexstar reported its second-quarter 2023 earnings Tuesday, revealing the TV stations group giant had turned a profit of $153 million in Q2, while its CW broadcast network posted a loss of $78 million for the April-June quarter. For the CW, which was formally acquired by Nexstar in October 2022 from Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, a year-over-year comparison can’t be drawn based on the lack of financial results disclosed publicly by its former parent companies.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Paramount Global hosted its second-quarter earnings call Tuesday amid the ongoing writers and actors strikes in Hollywood. Just like every other major media company that has reported its Q2 results already, the CBS parent company’s execs addressed the work stoppages with hopes for a timely resolution and comments on how it will affect their business operations. “We anticipate continued delays in production for the duration of the strikes, and as such, we estimate free cash flow in the back half of the year will be significantly higher than previously expected,” Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Dennis Miller has extended his contract as president of the CW Network through 2027. Miller (pictured above left) joined the network as president in October 2022, following its acquisition by Nexstar Media Group from Paramount Global and Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Longtime “Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. spoke about the future of late-night TV at Variety and Rolling Stone’s Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Showtime, saying he believes studios don’t realize that the more they look to downsize shows, the more likely they will face stiff competition from TikTok creators and other social media stars who can retain the rights to their content.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery reported the Hollywood writers and actors’ ongoing work stoppage had brought the company savings in the “low$100 million range” during its Q2 earnings results call Thursday. “We’re in the business of storytelling.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery lost 1.8 million streaming subscribers from April 1-June 30, the quarter during which it launched new combined streamer Max. Streaming subscribers across WBD’s HBO, Max and Discovery+ now total 95.8 million, per the company’s Q2 earnings report released Thursday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer New York City filming permits were down 65.7% year over year in July amid the beginning of the actors strike, and well into the ongoing writers work stoppage. Per the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), 260 permits were issued to 125 projects from July 1-31. Comparatively, 757 permits were granted to 173 projects in July 2022.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery streaming comms senior vice president Chris Willard is exiting the company to pursue other interests after 14 years working with the HBO team, Variety has learned.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer WGA East president Michael Winship will not be seeking re-election amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. “This is a decision that was made right from the start two years ago when I was asked to return to the presidency,” Winship said in a statement sent to guild members Tuesday, just as WGAE revealed the candidates up for officer seats in its upcoming council election this September.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains spoilers from the Season 2 finale of “Good Omens,” now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. In the 2006 reprinted edition of Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett’s 1990 classic “Good Omens,” the co-authors did a Q&A in which they answered the question “Why isn’t there a sequel?” like this: “We played around with ideas, but we could never work up the enthusiasm. Besides, we wanted to do other things (and some of those ideas probably ended up, bent to a different shape, in the works of both of us).

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Traditionally a strong performer in the fall and holiday TV season, Food Network is sizzling this summer, too. From Memorial Day on May 27 through July 20, Food Network content has drawn more than 50.6 million total viewers across the linear TV channel, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamers Max and Discovery+.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Comcast reported its second-quarter 2023 earnings Thursday, revealing theatrical revenue rose 65.9% year over year with the release of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” while Peacock added just 2 million more subscribers over the three month period. At the end of Q1, Comcast said the NBCUniversal streamer had reached 22 million U.S.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae El Moussa’s new HGTV docuseries “The Flipping El Moussas” has been renewed for a second season with an expanded 14-episode order. Per HGTV’s description for the second batch of “The Flipping El Moussas” episodes, “During the new season, the couple will face unexpected challenges both professionally and personally, including welcoming a new baby and contending with strong headwinds from the tumultuous southern California real estate market.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Longtime Fox exec Michael Biard has be named the new president and chief operating officer of TV station group giant Nexstar, the owner of NewsNation and the CW Network. Current Nexstar president and COO Thomas Carter is stepping down from his post and shifting to senior advisor.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Discovery’s Shark Week has been a TV institution for 35 years, a summertime staple that has never changed its core purpose: Celebrating the great white and its brethren. But a lot has changed around Shark Week in the decades since, including an explosion of popularity (as “30 Rock” once put it, we all now strive to “live every week like it’s Shark Week”), more competition, a few controversies and one giant corporate acquisition. In 2023, the Warner Bros. Discovery-produced TV event now has a few more boxes to check: From keeping its linear ratings (which grew 10% year-over-year in 2022) up to driving customers to two streaming platforms, Max and Discovery+. Shark Week has also been enlisted to help promote other TV shows and movies in the WBD family. But it also faces lingering concerns over the makeup of its programming (often criticized for lacking enough scientific research or proper experts), while simultaneously competing with younger copycat programming from rival companies Nat Geo’s Sharkfest.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Here’s an example of just how chaotic things are in Hollywood these days: Disney CEO Bob Iger’s recent remarks that the company’s linear TV assets “may not be core” to its business were buried under the lede of his comments that SAG-AFTRA and the WGA are not being “realistic” in their contract negotiations last week. But now that a small bit of the initial dual strike dust has settled, sources inside and outside of Disney are asking what reaction Iger was looking to provoke by announcing Disney’s intention to “open-minded and objective about the future of those businesses,” which include broadcast network ABC as well as cablers FX, Disney Channel, Nat Geo and Freeform, among others. (Not ESPN, which is run by Jimmy Pitaro under a separate segment of Disney’s business from its other TV and streaming assets.)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Amazon Prime Video has finally set the premiere date for “The Boys” spinoff series “Gen V.” Also from creator Eric Kripke, the new show, which takes place at a superhero college, will launch with its first three episodes on Sept. 29. New episodes will rollout weekly until the Season 1 finale on Nov. 3. Per Amazon’s description for “Gen V”: “From the world of ‘The Boys’ comes ‘Gen V,’ which explores the training of the first generation of superheroes to know about Compound V, and that their powers were injected into them, rather than God-given. These young, competitive heroes put their physical and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the school’s highly coveted top ranking. They quickly come to learn that ambition comes with sacrifice, and the difference between right and wrong is not as clear as they once believed. When the university’s dark secrets come to light, the students must come to grips with what type of heroes they are going to become.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer HGTV is ordering more from network darling Christina Hall: The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned cabler has renewed the “Flip or Flop” alum’s docuseries “Christina on the Coast” and “Christina in the Country” for additional seasons. From real estate and design star Hall, “Christina on the Coast” has received an additional 12-episode pickup, while “Christina in the Country” got another six-episode order. Per HGTV, the new episodes of each of Hall’s series “will continue to spotlight Christina’s cross-country adventures,” while “in both Southern California and Tennessee, the busy mom of three, author and entrepreneur will expand her growing design business alongside fellow designer and project manager James Bender as well as spend quality time with her children and husband Josh Hall.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos addressed Hollywood’s dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes alongside the release of the company’s Q2 earnings results Wednesday. Sarandos said: “Let me start by making something absolutely clear: This strike is not an outcome that we want. We make deals all the time. We are constantly at the table negotiating with writers with directors with actors and producers with everyone across the industry. And we very much hoped to reach an agreement by now. So I also want to say, if I may, on a personal level, I was raised in a union household. My dad was a member of IBEW Local 640, he was a union electrician. And I remember his local because that union was very much a part of our lives when I was growing up. And I also remember on more than one occasion, my dad being out on strike. And I remember that because it takes an enormous toll on your family, financially and emotionally. You should know that nobody here, nobody within the AMPTP, and I’m sure nobody at SAG or nobody at the WGA, took any of this lightly. But we’ve got a lot of work to do there. There are a handful of complicated issues. We’re super committed to getting to an agreement as soon as possible, one that is equitable, and one that enables the industry and everybody in it to move forward into the future.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Netflix reported its second-quarter 2023 earnings Wednesday, revealing its subscribers increased by 5.89 million in the quarter ended June 30. At the end of Q1, Netflix’s global subscriber count was 232.5 million. Analysts had project the streamer gaining 1.769 million new subscribers in Q2, which saw Netflix begin notifying customers in the U.S. and other countries that users on their accounts who live outside their households would need to be added as an “extra member” (or pay for their own subscriptions). Wall Street forecast earnings per share (EPS) of $2.86 on $8.3 billion in revenue, according to analyst consensus data provided by Refinitiv. Netflix reported diluted EPS of $2.88 on $8.2 billion in revenue.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The CW network has nabbed the exclusive broadcast rights to 50 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) college football and basketball games each season. The deal is good through 2026-27. The Nexstar-owned broadcast acquired the rights from Raycom Sports, who sublicenses the rights from ESPN. Raycom Sports will produce all games for The CW. Per the CW, the first of its 13 ACC football games, a face-off for the Pittsburgh Panthers and Cincinnati Bearcats, will air on on Saturday, Sept. 9. Games will continue airing every Saturday throughout the season in the afternoon and in primetime.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The X Games is welcoming one of its alums into the corporate fold: snowboarder Scotty James has joined the company as an investor and a brand advisor. While James is still scheduled to compete in X Games Aspen Men’s Superpipe competition in 2024, and beyond, he will now also “liaise with X Games on how to continue to strengthen the competition moving forward and serve as a brand steward to build the X Games business and external X Games partnerships.” Founded in 1995 by ESPN, the X Games’ controlling stake was old to MSP Sports Capital last October, with the new parent company committing to expanding digital livestreaming of the event. The upcoming 2023 games are set for July 21-23, with coverage to be broadcast on ESPN and ABC.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Unpack your knives and stay: Kristen Kish has been named the new host of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” following the exit of longtime staple Padma Lakshmi after the recently concluded “world all-stars” Season 20. Kish, who was the winner of Season 10 and has served as guest judges multiple times since, will begin her hosting duties with the upcoming Season 21, which Bravo has revealed will be set in Wisconsin. Head judge Tom Colicchio and judge Gail Simmons will both return for Season 21. Lakshmi announced her decision to step away from “Top Chef” just ahead of the Season 20 finale, which saw Buddha Lo take the title of world all-star in the special international season held in honor of the show’s 20th anniversary. Having hosted the show for 19 seasons, Lakshmi said she now needs to “make space” for her Hulu series “Taste the Nation,” her books and “other creative pursuits.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Celebrity chef David Chang has signed a production deal with Brent Montgomery and Jimmy Kimmel’s Wheelhouse. Previously under a production agreement with Vox Media, Chang’s banner, Majordomo Media, has set a pact with Wheelhouse, a producer on Chang’s latest Hulu series, “Secret Chef,” to exclusively develop and produce unscripted programming across food, home and lifestyle, among other genres. Wheelhouse and Chang are also focused on creating original content and developing new talent for his new FAST channel, MajordomoTV, co-developed with LG Electronics.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Paramount Global vet David Nevins has been named CEO of Peter Chernin’s global content house The North Road Company, just as the company celebrates its first year of business. Formerly chairman and CEO of Paramount Premium Group and chief creative officer of Paramount+ scripted series, Nevins will oversee North Road’s portfolio of brands, including scripted film and TV studio Chernin Entertainment, unscripted house Kinetic Content, nonfiction studio Words + Pictures, and a London-based international division. Chernin will continue to act as executive chairman of North Road, while Nevins heads up an exec leadership team that includes Jenno Topping, Jan Frouman, Chris Coelen, Connor Schell and Darian Singer.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Food Network has renewed its latest “Baking Championship” spinoff, “Summer Baking Championship, for a second season. “Summer Baking Championship” features 10 talented bakers from around the country competing in unique summer-themed baking challenges featuring the flavors, ingredients and celebrations of the season for a chance to earn the title of Summer Baking Champion and win $25,000, per the cable channel’s official description for the competition series. The show is hosted by Jesse Palmer, with Duff Goldman, Carla Hall and Damaris Phillips serving as judges.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery has walked back its decision to cut longtime Turner Classic Movies programming exec Charles Tabesh following a PR black eye over dramatic cost-cutting changes at the beloved cable network, and announced a partnership with filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson to help curate content at TCM. Tabesh, a 25-year TCM executive who had been slated to leave as part of the downsizing of TCM staff, will now stay in his post and report to Warner Bros. film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, who Variety previously reported were slated to take oversight of the operations at the network.