Platform Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Blac Chyna has candidly revealed how getting baptized and reconnecting with God inspired her dramatic physical and mental make-under, which has seen her dissolving her filler, quitting her 'degrading' OnlyFans career, and shedding her infamous stage name in favor of embracing her birth name. The 34-year-old reality star, who is now going by Angela White, has opened up exclusively to DailyMail. com about putting a very sudden end to her provocative online content - for which she earned $2 million in two years - and beginning the process of reversing all of the cosmetic work that she has had done over the years.

Blac Chyna is having a very unique glow-up!!

Series Mania, which wraps on Friday, looks like it’s succeeded in solidifying its place as Europe’s premier TV festival.  The fest’s main competition was one of its strongest yet, and attendance at the industry-facing Series Mania Forum reached an all-time record of 3,800 delegates. Yet even Series Mania couldn’t escape the big-picture headwinds such as strikes and protests around France’s pension reform, nor the wider market turbulence as global streamers curb content investment around the world.  Read on for Variety’s top takeaways:

You—the Netflix hit series starring Penn Badgley as a —was just renewed for a fifth season and final season following a . The news is bittersweet for fans of the show, which is based on the best-selling book series by Caroline Kepnes. Thankfully, we won't have to say “Goodbye, you” to Joe Goldberg until next year. So, for now, let's try to focus on the present.

Set during a bitter 1964 Massachusetts winter, young secretary Eileen becomes enchanted by the glamorous new counselor at the prison where she works. Their budding friendship takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret — throwing Eileen onto a sinister path. Premiering to critical acclaim at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the film was produced by FIFTH SEASON, Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman, Stefanie Azpiazu, and Peter Cron, along with Luke Goebel and Ottessa Moshfegh’s Omniscient Productions, William Oldroyd, with backing from Film4.NEON beat out several potential buyers following the film’s premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.“It’s a thrill to have NEON on board and give this film a platform to reach a wide audience.

Schiffer added. The forced reduction or ending of remote work is becoming a higher priority not only for Apple but for a range of entertainment and media companies – from Disney, where Bob Iger’s return heralded more demands to get bodies back at desks four days a week, to Amazon, which has told staffers they must show up three days a week starting May 1, to Warner Bros.

Al Franken ended his week hosting “The Daily Show” with a bang on Thursday night — or rather, with a chant. The former senator led the audience in chanting “USA” after joking TikTok should be banned in the country, because only American companies should be able to steal user data and spy on them.Franken’s comments, of course, came in light of the congressional hearing held on Thursday, in which TikTok’s CEO was grilled about safety concerns.

France has announced a measure banning all recreational apps from the work phones of the country’s 2.5 million civil servants. The move, seemingly sparked by recent concerns over TikTok, also impacts a raft of other social media and content platforms.

Selena Gomez has broken her silence over the alleged 'feud' between herself and Hailey Bieber and called for an end to the online abuse directed towards the supermodel. The singer took to Instagram this morning (March 24) to stand up for her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber’s wife after revealing Hailey had contacted her.

New music video alert!

Series Mania on March 21 just after a Spanish series, “Wrong Side of the Tracks” from Mediaset España and Alea Media, had scored 149.6 million watching hours in three weeks on Netflix for Seasons 1 and 2.  That platform connection and power of Spanish series threaded most of the series and much of the commentary at Tuesday’s Next from Spain, supported by Audiiovisual from Spain.  At least in terms of titles now ready to hit the market, there’s little sign as yet of platform pullback in Spain. Rather, it remains a ground zero in the streamer wars.

Lyndon Arthur faces his first ever world title fight on Friday night, taking on Braian Nahuel Suarez in Bolton for the IBO light-heavyweight championship of the world.

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor Continuing its global territorial expansion, Netflix picked up and is now streaming Greek TV series “Maestro in Blue,” its first-ever exclusive worldwide distribution deal for a Greek scripted series. Created for Greek broadcaster Mega TV by multihyphenate Christoforos Papakaliatis, “Maestro” was launched on the platform internationally on March 17 and this week hit the global top 10 of the most-watched shows on Netflix. “Maestro” debuted on Greek linear TV last October. Season 1, consisting of nine episodes, premiered on Netflix in Greece and Cyprus in December before expanding to audiences around the world.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Multi-territory Asian streaming platform Viu is to deliver a Thai version of hit drama series “Reborn Rich.” The 16-episode Korean drama was produced by Korea’s JTBC Studios and Viu, aired on JTBC in Korea between November and December 2022 and was branded as a Viu Original in the 16-territoires in which it operates. Its story sees a long-term employee of a large family-run conglomerate falsely accused of embezzlement. After he is shot on an overseas business trip, he finds himself in the body of the family’s grandson and decides to use his new identity as a means by which to take revenge on the family and the corporation.

In the months to follow, he continued to push back the launch date of Twitter Blue, his formerly $8 (now $7) monthly subscription that buys a shiny blue check and some other platform privileges. Well, the day has come — finally and officially. On April Fool’s Day (April 1) Twitter will be knocking all legacy verified blue checks off the platform, leaving the only open route for verification through Musk’s Twitter Blue. “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks.

Whoa! As the houses of cards making up most (or all?) of the crypto currency market crumble before our eyes, they’re taking plenty of celebs with them!

Netflix might be landing the likes of Nicole Kidman and Dakota Fanning for a new limited series in development.

Nearly one month after being arrested for domestic violence, TikTok star Taylor Frankie Paul gave an update on her life to her fans.

Premier Streaming Network is now the international streaming home for Major League Wrestling.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter It may have been implausible a few years, heck, even a few months ago, that tech giants like Apple and Amazon would spend billions on theatrical movies. And yet, Apple is reportedly planning to invest $1 billion per year to make films that’ll play exclusively in cinemas. The news, which was first announced by Bloomberg, comes months after Amazon’s similar commitment to putting 12 to 15 new movies in theaters annually. Could it be that newer Hollywood players actually care about the big screen? “Having multiple large streaming platforms decide they need theaters shows there is value to theatrical, which was the biggest concern,” says Eric Wold, a media and entertainment industry analyst with B. Riley Securities.

Chris Martin mentioned his partner Dakota Johnson in a new interview and spoke about how she actually impacted his Coldplay concerts.

Gavin Bridge Senior Media Analyst Entertainment-industry pros believe the writers have more leverage than the studios as they begin negotiations over a new contract, according to an exclusive new survey. One-third of respondents gave TV scribes a vote of confidence, as opposed to one-fifth who touted the studios’ clout in an online poll of 640 U.S. adults working in showbiz conducted on March 15-16 by insights firm YouGov. The survey was commissioned by Variety Intelligence Platform, which recently released the special report “Time to Strike?”  What may explain the perception of the writers’ leverage is a sense that there’s newfound solidarity among members of the WGA, in the past a notoriously fractious group believed this time to be united around key issues, from its top showrunners to its newbie scribes.

The 2023 Oscars drew another million viewers in the week following the live telecast.

Katcy Stephan Next-generation social platform Spill has named cultural leader Kenya Parham its new global VP of community and partnerships. In her role, Parham will be the voice of the Spill community within the company and the face of the platform to creators, communities and media partners externally. Spill, founded in December 2022 by a group of ex-Twitter employees, is named after the phrase “spill the tea.” It aims to recognize and reward culture drivers and voices from the most marginalized groups, in addition to crafting a strong advertiser and creator ecosystem with more nuanced content moderation.  Parham will create and execute upon Spill’s audience development strategy from the ground up, with a focus on helping onboard and support creators in the U.S. and in key markets abroad. In addition, this role will drive partnerships and activations with media partners, complementing movie premieres, TV shows, events and other culturally relevant moments people are talking about.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The odds of the U.S. banning TikTok are higher after the app’s CEO testified before a House committee, according to some analysts. During the hearing, American politicians expressed frustration over what they saw as evasive and unconvincing answers about China’s influence over TikTok — and the communist regime’s ability to track user data — as well as its efforts to curb misinformation and harmful content, particularly in relation to children who use the app. In his D.C. appearance Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the popular app, used by more than 150 million American users monthly, as committed to ensuring privacy and security. He insisted, as TikTok has claimed before, that the company has never furnished U.S. user data to the Chinese Communist Party (nor has the CCP ever made such a request). Chew talked up TikTok’s “Project Texas,” intended to bring user data fully under the aegis of U.S.-based personnel and hosted on Oracle infrastructure.

has a return date!Starz's popular time-traveling period drama will kick off its seventh season — which will be split into two parts of eight episodes each -- on Friday, June 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, the premium cable network announced Thursday.

Social media star Jack Wright has signed with Buchwald for representation, the agency announced on Thursday.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Los Angeles-based Italian director Andrea Pallaoro’s delicate drama “Monica” is finally set to open in U.S. theaters via IFC following its world premiere at last year’s Venice Film Festival. The film starring transgender actor Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) as a woman who returns home to the Midwest to care for her dying mother, played by Patricia Clarkson, marked the first time an openly-transgender actress headlined a Venice competition title. In “Monica” Lysette plays a woman who from Los Angeles goes back to her suburban midwest home for the first time since she was a teenager to care for her mom who had rejected her when she transitioned.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In front of a panel of skeptical and often hostile U.S. representatives, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew tried to make the case for why the popular app is not a security threat to the country — and why a government ban of the app would be the wrong course of action. A U.S. ban of the app would hurt the country’s economy, reduce competition and “silence the voices of over 150 million Americans,” Chew said in testimony submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing, titled “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms,” was held Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. The Biden administration recently demanded that ByteDance divest its ownership stake in TikTok or potentially be banned in the U.S. over national-security concerns given TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Under pending congressional legislation, which has bipartisan support, President Biden would have the authority to ban TikTok under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Droughtlander is nearly over as Starz sets the premiere date for Outlander‘s seventh season for Friday, June 16 at midnight ET via streaming, and internationally on the Lionsgate+ premium streaming platform in the U.K. For linear viewers, the show premieres on the same day at 8 p.m. ET/PT in the U.S. New episodes will be released weekly on Fridays.

Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz has called the plethora of shows on the market “really confusing” for viewers.

The chairwoman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee opened a hearing featuring the CEO of TikTok by telling him that “your platform should be banned.”

All aboard the Shania Train! The five-time Grammy winning country star’s name is now the title of a high-tech train in Switzerland.

Mark Sutherland Lauren Laverne is buzzing with excitement. She woke up to the news that Lizzo had given her a shout-out from the stage at London’s O2 Arena. “Lauren Laverne played my record on Radio 6 and just like that, I was flying to England every other weekend,” declared the singer, who had her first major radio exposure on Laverne’s BBC 6 Music show back in 2013. “What an utter queen,” laughs Laverne, who has been helming the station’s flagship breakfast show since 2019. “For everybody at 6, it’s a dream come true to have a world-changing, game-changing artist standing up on stage and describing what we do. We’re this little greenhouse; we plant these seeds and what grows out of them, who knows?”

Marks and Spencer have launched their spring clothing collection, much to the delight of shoppers.

The BAFTAs are having a real #OscarsSoWhite year…