The Obamas’ Higher Ground production company signs multi-year deal with Audible

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPat McAfee is staying in business with WWE.The sports entertainment giant has announced that McAfee has signed a multi-year extension of his contract. He will continue to serve as a member of the commentary team on “SmackDown Live” alongside Michael Cole. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.“Very few can transition from professional athletics to entertainment the way [Pat McAfee] has,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque wrote on Twitter.

came out as gay.“I rebelled against it my whole life,” he said at the time. “I thought I’d never, ever come out.

EXCLUSIVE: Andy Fischel has joined Yahya Abdul Mateen II’s House Eleven10 after spending four years at Netflix on the Original Studio Film team. In this role, he will oversee production and development for House Eleven10.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAndrew Lloyd Webber and Antonio Banderas are teaming to create a joint company Amigos Para Siempre (APS) aimed at producing musicals, stage plays and live entertainment for major markets in the Spanish-speaking world, including the Latino U.S. Upcoming productions will include Spanish-language makeovers of Lloyd Webber classics, such as “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Starlight Express,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Evita,” “Cinderella,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “School of Rock.”Spanish-language adaptation rights to these works will be ceded to the new joint venture  by Lloyd Webber’s company, Really Useful Group.  Building on a decades-long friendship, APS will also license third-party works, as well as develop and produce original shows for the Spanish-speaking market, the biggest easily accessible non-English-language market in the world, whose theater and musical scene is experiencing robust growth. The joint venture will be overseen by Emanuel Nuñuz, CEO of the NuCO Media Group, who has a deep knowledge of the Spanish-world entertainment scene, and Jessica Koravos, president of Really Useful Group. “Antonio Banderas not only forms part of entertainment royalty but is also one of the most versatile creative minds with whom I’ve have the pleasure of working,” Lloyd Webber said.He added: “It’s really moving to associate with Antonio to present my work, as well as other brilliant Broadway and West End titles, in new markets. Though millions of people in all of the Spanish-speaking world already love our shows and music, there’s an extraordinary appetite to receive more and the levels musical and stage play talent is extraordinary.

previous one with WBTV, signed back in 2020.Thede’s current projects include the acclaimed “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which was renewed for a fourth season earlier this month. Starring, created, showrun, executive produced and written by Thede, the historic sketch series is made entirely by and for Black women, whose skits touch on topics like sex, relationships, religion and social norms.

The Morning Show executive producer and director Mimi Leder is sticking around Apple TV+. The Emmy-winning filmmaker (On The Basis of Sex, ER) has signed a multi-year, overall deal with the streamer.

win an Emmy for lead actor in a drama series. He also just won his second Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer on “A Strange Loop.”Gugenheim recently finished producing Porter’s feature directorial debut “Anything’s Possible” for Orion/MGM.In a statement of his own, Gugenheim said: “While ‘Pose’ was an incredible show that had a deep impact on strengthening my understanding of the importance of telling underrepresented stories and created a clear opening to approach Billy to direct ‘Anything’s Possible,’ it was working on set with Billy and watching him direct the cast and crew that left me with the most profound experience.

A survivor from the accident that occurred on the set of Netflix‘s The Chosen One is speaking out.

Anna Marie de la Fuente A survivor of the Baja California accident that claimed the lives of actors Raymundo Garduño Cruz and Juan Francisco González from the Netflix series “The Chosen One” says he doesn’t blame the van driver or the production company. But actor Yeray Albelda says it’s the norm that “people are exhausted” in many productions.The Mexican actors union ANDA also held a remote press conference Tuesday to weigh in on the fatal crash.In an interview with Variety, Albelda, one of the six survivors of the crash, said he was told that a mechanical failure might have caused it. Others, he was told, have speculated that the driver was trying to avoid a pothole or even a deer.

Audible has entered into a first-look deal with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s media company, Higher Ground.“At Higher Ground, we have always sought to lift up voices that deserve to be heard — and Audible is invested in realizing that vision alongside us. I’m looking forward to partnering with them to tell stories that not only entertain but also inspire,” the former President said in a statement Tuesday.“We are so proud of the stories we have been able to tell at Higher Ground, and there’s no one we’d rather write our next chapter with than Audible.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorPresident Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are going into business with Audible, the Amazon-owned audio storytelling platform.Audible set an exclusive, multiyear and global first-look production deal with Higher Ground, the Obamas’ media company, covering multiple audio projects. The slate of Higher Ground’s shows for Audible “will reflect the companies’ shared mission to tell meaningful and entertaining stories that elevate diverse voices and experiences,” according to the announcement.

President Barack Obama & Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground has found a new podcast home.

Netflix has released an official statement following the tragic death of actors Raymundo Garduño Cruz and Juan Francisco González Aguilar who were working on the series The Chosen One in Mexico.

Jennifer Lopez brought out a very special guest for her latest performance!

After overseeing a handful of unscripted projects at Netflix, Barack and Michelle Obama are pushing forward with their first scripted drama “Bodkin,” which will star “SNL” alum Will Forte, the streamer announced Friday. The series hails from the Obama’s production company Higher Ground and independent studio wiip.

Brynn Cartelli‘s If I Could is sorority girl pop!

Will Forte is set to star in Bodkin (w/t) at Netflix, the first drama series from Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company and wiip. Siobhan Cullen (The Dry), Robyn Cara (Trying), David Wilmot (Station Eleven) and Chris Walley (The Last Voyage of the Demeter) also feature in the seven-episode, darkly comedic thriller, which begins production in Ireland next week.

Paul McCartney joined forces with Bruce Springsteen as he wrapped his ‘Got Back’ US tour in New York last night (June 16).McCartney welcomed The Boss onstage at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as a “birthday present to myself” to perform the latter’s 1984 classic ‘Glory Days’ before the pair played The Beatles‘ ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’.

Kevin Hunter is slamming the production company behind ex Wendy Williams‘ daytime talk show for their handling of the series final episode.