NBCUniversal Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

relaunched as Max — and streaming competitor Peacock took the opportunity to make an NSFW joke.NBCUniversal’s streamer took a hilarious dig at HBO Max’s rebrand for dropping the first half of its name, letting everyone know that they will not be following suit.“I know you’re all very disappointed, but I will *not* be dropping the first half of my name any time soon,” the official account tweeted.Peacock got its name thanks to NBC’s iconic colorful logo that looks like the animal, though jokes have often been made around the “c- -k” part of the name.The tweet was reposted to the streamer’s Instagram account, and those running the social media account enjoyed responding to people in the comments.“Your social media person deserves a raise for this one,” one person suggested, to which the account responded, “brb sending this to my boss.”Another told the brand to “live a little,” and the account replied that those were “my words to legal exactly.”I know you’re all very disappointed, but I will *not* be dropping the first half of my name any time soon

according to reports. His departure marks the latest exit amid a larger exodus of big names that have departed from “SNL” in recent months.“Being part of ‘SNL’ has been the experience of a lifetime,” he said in a statement that was shared on social media.

book. Reports of Maddow scaling back her schedule have been made ever since she signed a new multi-year deal with MSNBC and NBCUniversal, allowing her a broader range of projects.The new contract keeps her at the company through 2024.”I do still have all these other irons in the fire, all these other things I’m working on that I want to bring to fruition, none of them are fast, all of them take a long time, and I’m still working on all of them,” Maddow said on her program Monday.She clarified that for bigger news events, such as the lead-up to the election, she plans to be in the anchor spot more than once a week. “This might change….We will see how things go, but that is the plan as of now,” Maddow said. Rotating hosts will fill in the 9 p.m. slot the rest of the week, and there are no immediate plans for a permanent replacement host, according to a network spokesperson.

Nearly a decade after the series finale back in 2013, “The Office” is more popular now than ever before. Thanks to a new generation of viewers discovering the sitcom on Netflix years ago, combined with the fact that you can find an episode of “The Office” airing nearly 24/7 somewhere on cable TV, the Steve Carell-led comedy series from NBC seems to be the topic of conversation whenever people talk about potential reboots and revivals.

MSNBC’s star anchor Rachel Maddow has reportedly renewed her contract with the cable news network — but the multi-year deal will see her five-day-a-week show transition into a weekly show.

With WarnerMedia effectively blowing up the theatrical exclusivity window with its entire 2021 Warner Bros. film slate, many are wondering which studio will make a similar move.

Sure, it was only like five months, but it sure does feel like Netflix’s “Tiger King” took over the public discourse years ago, doesn’t it? Oh, how quickly the world can change in 2020, with each new month bringing yet another ridiculous obstacle. Frankly, I miss the good ol’ days of March 2020, when the pandemic seemed like only a minor inconvenience that would pass relatively quickly.

If you’re a film fan that has followed the career of Neil Marshall, you are, no doubt, familiar with the up and down nature of his filmography. With a strong start thanks to horror films “Dog Soldiers” and “The Descent,” Marshall would later stumble a bit with films like “Doomsday” and last year’s horrendous “Hellboy” reboot.

Normally, when a panel or discussion is pulled from a festival schedule, it’s due to the project not being completed or maybe some sort of filmmaker squabble with officials from the event. But I would go out on a limb and say the situation that forced Fantasia Fest to pull Neil Marshall’s upcoming Q&A from the event is a first for any festival.

NBC’s new streaming network. It’s by turns charming, funny, serious and sensitive as it spins its narrative arc of five people at a wedding — seated at “the table behind the speakers” (aka “the singles table”) — who decide to buy a house and live together.It’s a disparate group.

“The Office.” But it joins an already crowded landscape with well-established rivals like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Disney+.Peacock is also debuting without its main draw, the Tokyo summer Olympics, which were postponed until 2021.

After the disastrous launch of Quibi and the tepid response to HBO Max, it appears that the folks at NBCUniversal are ready to try anything possible to build the anticipation for the launch of its streaming service, Peacock, next month. And that means working with a rival studio to help bolster its streaming library.

The cast of 30 Rock is reuniting for a one-off special. The hour-long commercial-free show, airing in America on 16 July, will feature the return of original series stars Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, and Jane Krakowski in character as they “celebrate the stories and talent featured in NBCUniversal’s 2020-21 television season”.

Comcast chief Brian Roberts, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell and other division leaders at Comcast will donate their salaries to coronavirus-related relief efforts as the world grapples with the devastating pandemic.

Jeff Shell, NBCUniversal’s newly appointed CEO, has tested positive for coronavirus, Variety has confirmed.

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new video streaming service, now has one fewer of its crown jewels to drive it into homes across the U.S. this summer when it’s rolling out nationwide.

Imagine if your birthday, wedding and college graduation, all scheduled to take place over a two-week period, were suddenly pushed back by a year. That’s how companies that were depending on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to take place this summer must be feeling today.

A crew member who worked on “FBI: Most Wanted” has tested positive for COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, Variety has learned, and some who worked on the production are upset that they were not told earlier, ahead of the test results being received, so they could take precautionary measures against the respiratory illness.

Telemundo viewers are about to see a familiar face in a new role.

Some of the nation’s biggest media outlets and the White House are readying a blitz of public-service messages aimed at getting Americans to take as many steps as possible to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chris Matthews is abruptly stepping down from “Hardball” amid scrutiny of recent on-air remarks as well as speculation about behind-the-scenes behavior.

Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics is months away from starting, and yet one of the event’s most critical races has already begun: Can the people who organize this unique global gathering outrun the growing effects of the illness known as the coronavirus?

Dick Wolf is renewing his commitment to NBCUniversal.

Banking on a long-running partnership with Entertainment One, NBCUniversal Intl. has picked up German, Austrian and Swiss licensing rights for the popular series “Deputy,” “Upright,” “Nurses,” and “Burden of Truth.”

A former longtime CNBC anchor announced plans Tuesday to run against incumbent New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  for a Congressional seat representing parts of the Bronx and Queens.

George Cheeks’ decision to join ViacomCBS may have been a surprise, but he will begin his tenure as CEO of CBS Entertainment Group in March with a great deal of goodwill in hand, even as some Moonves-era staffers are said to be a mite apprehensive about the next era of their newly enlarged company.

Franqi French — Photo: Nicholas Karlin

“Cats,” the musical movie that bombed at the box office, scratched away at Comcast’s fourth-quarter earnings, even as overall profits soared 26 percent.

In an era when consumers feel more empowered to avoid TV commercials, NBCUniversal is the latest media company to try to get them to bring ads back into their TV lives.

In the big unveiling Thursday on the “Saturday Night Live” stage at 30 Rock, NBCUniversal leaders described Peacock as a 21st century iteration of a broadcast network.

Ch-ching! The original “Law & Order” is finally make its streaming debut later this year on NBCUniversal’s Peacock.

Peacock unveiled more of its original programming slate just ahead of its investor presentation on Thursday.

Peacock will unfold its tail feathers this spring for Comcast customers — and will launch widely across the U.S. this summer.

Peacock is adding a bunch more feathers to its slate.

“MacGruber” and Laverne Cox are officially in business with Peacock.

George Cheeks, vice chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios, has stepped down after nearly eight years with the company and is poised to join ViacomCBS as a successor to Joe Ianniello as the head of CBS’ operations within the newly merged company, sources familiar with the situation tell Variety.