WGA East Preps for First Election After Overhaul of Membership Structure into Film/TV, Online Media and News Sectors

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Gordon Ramsay’s high-anxiety restaurant rescue series “Kitchen Nightmares” returns to Fox Monday after 10 years off the air. In that time, a lot has changed — not only in the restaurant industry, but also the broadcast TV food landscape, where Fox dominates with more culinary competitions than the other Big 4 networks. With foodie culture stronger than ever amid the popularity of “The Bear” and the surge of cooking videos splattered across TikTok, Ramsay decided now was the time to expand upon those first seven seasons of kitchen chaos.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Hollywood studios continued into Friday night as questions swirled around town regarding whether a deal had been reached or if talks had once again broken down. There is no word yet on a potential deal, but insiders with knowledge of ongoings in the room say there is momentum on both sides to find a resolution that will end the 144-day writers strike. Friday’s talks are said to have begun at approximately 11 a.m.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Max fans who don’t relish the idea of coughing up $9.99 per month more to access the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer’s upcoming live sports tier might not realize that they’ve been making out like bandits with seemingly “free” sports content on other platforms for years, according to WBD global streaming chief JB Perrette.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, running unopposed, has been elected president of the WGA East. Cullen, who until now had been VP of the guild’s Film/TV/Streaming sector, succeeds Michael Winship, who chose not to seek re-election.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members have elected Lisa Takeuchi Cullen as its new president. Cullen, who was an unopposed candidate for the posititon, takes over for outgoing president Michael Winship, who announced his decision to not seek reelection of his longtime post over the summer. “I am honored to become the next President of the Writers Guild of America East,” Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery is giving DC Studios a primary production hub at its U.K.-based TV and film studio Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the home of HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” amid a sprawling plan to expand the location by more than 50% capacity and 10 sound stages.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “The Recruit” producer P3 Media has scored a seven-figure investment from Ready Entertainment, a company led by Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Bernice A. King, and Ashley Bell.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox’s Tubi and Dan Abrams’ Law&Crime have teamed up on a true-crime series, “Behind the Crime.” The limited series will launch Sept. 20 with an episode about the 2019 murder of rapper Nipsey Hussle.

EastEnders star Molly Rainford has revealed who she will be backing on the new series of Strictly Come Dancing when the live shows return on Saturday night. Molly starred on last year's series of the BBC show, and she managed to reach the final, where she finished as a runner-up with her dance partner Carlos Gu.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Amazon is taking back to school shopping to a whole new level with a virtual experience to promote the Sept. 29 debut of “The Boys” college spinoff “Gen V.” On Tuesday, the e-commerce giant launched GodolkinUniversity.com, a “Gen V”-themed website that includes an online campus tour for the show’s fictional superhero college, Godolkin University, that gives users the chance to purchase 150 items from Amazon.com through the company’s first-ever “title-themed virtual store.” The “Gen V” tie-in website allows you to explore the campus, including the campus store, and gives you multiple opportunities to purchase Godolkin University merchandise through the Amazon website, as well as standard dorm room supplies already available on Amazon.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer CBS Studios has suspended term deals with talkshow star Phil “Dr. Phil” McGraw, BET+’s “Kingdom Business” producer DeVon Franklin and “Nancy Drew” executive producer Lis Rowinski due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Representatives for CBS Studios declined to comment on the suspension of these deals Monday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Author Rebecca Yarros’s romance-fantasy series “Fourth Wing” has had a chokehold on TikTok’s reader community #BookTok this summer. That heat eventually was reflected on the The New York Times bestseller list — a place where many a viral hit goes after influencers and fans elevate its popularity beyond the virtual realm and into the mainstream. As of early September, “Fourth Wing” was riding high at No.

Former Strictly Come Dancing star Aljaz Skorjanec has been told his drink of choice was 'deserved' as he was seen without his baby daughter for the first time. While it's not the first time he's had to be away from his first child, the new dad did appear to be enjoying a little date night with his wife Janette Manrara.

Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has been spotted for the first time after being injured in a horror crash while filming for Top Gear.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer On the heels of its splashy debut, the producers behind Netflix’s “One Piece” say scripts for a possible Season 2 are completed and that the next season could be “ready to air” in a year, once production is able to begin. “We’ve got scripts ready,” Marty Adelstein, CEO of Tomorrow Studios, which produces the live-action “One Piece” in partnership with manga creator Eiichiro Oda and publisher Shueisha, told Variety Thursday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Paramount+ saw its first price increase this year with the launch of Paramount+ With Showtime, and Paramount CEO Bob Bakish says it won’t be the streamer’s last. The goal is to hike the cost of Paramount+ With Showtime once again at some point in the next two years. “Our plan is to raise price again, this isn’t our only price increase.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Comcast and Disney last week signed a modification agreement to bring forward the timing of their formal Hulu sale talks to Sept. 30 from its previous January 2024 timeline, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says.

Charli XCX has hailed EastEnders writers for naming a baby after her in a storyline on the show.The artist reposted a clip from last night’s show (September 5), on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “Shout out my gays in the writers room!”In the clip, it is revealed that Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) and Ricky Mitchell (Frankie Day) have named their baby after Charli.Lily’s mum, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), asks what they’ve called the baby and Ricky says she’s called “Charli” adding “after Charli XCX” to correct Stacey who assumes the name was after her late uncle Charlie.shout out my gays in the writers room! https://t.co/ghOer7fI9K— Charli (@charli_xcx) September 5, 2023In another scene, the Slater family become even more confused over the name as they struggle to make a connection with the pop star’s name.Ok this scene is even funnier Charli XYZ pic.twitter.com/HnU0hphUKD— R A Y (@iamraymccormick) September 5, 2023Many fans reacted with delight to the news with one writing: “Lily naming her baby after Charlie xcx is iconic.”Another added: “I cannot believe we live in a world where Charli XCX has an #EastEnders character named after her.”Another user wrote: “So excited for in 5 years time when the new Charli XCX character in Eastenders is 15 years old and having her own storylines.”Lily naming her baby Charli after @charli_xcx is iconic ✨ #EastEnders— Kimberley ᱬ ◊

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery expects the ongoing Hollywood strikes to have a $300 million-$500 million negative impact on the company’s 2023 earnings.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “How I Met Your Father” has been canceled after two seasons at Hulu, Variety has confirmed. The Hilary Duff-led “How I Met Your Mother” spinoff concluded its second (and now final) season July 11 without revealing who Duff’s character, Sophie, ended up having a child with.