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In June 2019, J.J. Abrams signed a massive $500 million deal with Warner Bros., aiming to create content, mentor new talent, and turn his Bad Robot production company into a powerhouse mini-studio. Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, were set to lead this ambitious vision.

However, as of 2024, the deal has fallen short of expectations, according to Variety. Despite big plans, Bad Robot struggled to meet financial and production goals. Key projects like Madame X and Overlook were canceled by HBO Max, while others, such as Duster, have been delayed for years, despite high costs. Overall, the partnership has yet to deliver the returns Warner Bros. had hoped for.

Hollywood is tightening its belt, and J.J. Abrams’ once-massive $500 million deal has been scaled back to a more modest agreement. This shift marks the end of an era where massive nine-figure deals were commonplace. The industry is grappling with economic challenges, including layoffs,...

Back in June 2019, J.J. Abrams struck a huge deal with Warner Bros. worth $500 million, one of the biggest in Hollywood at the time. The deal allowed Abrams to not only create content but also recruit and mentor new talent through his Bad Robot production company.

The idea was for him to become a mogul, with his company becoming a mini-studio, incubating fresh voices. Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, were set to lead the charge.

However, as of 2024, the deal has not played out as Warner Bros. might have hoped, Variety reports. While Abrams’ team had high ambitions, they struggled to meet financial and output targets. Bad Robot’s efforts, like setting deals with writers and producers such as Angela Robinson, Jessie Nelson, and Latoya Morgan, did not bear much fruit.

Some of the planned projects, like Robinson’s Madame X and Thomason’s Overlook, were scrapped by HBO Max,...

The tenure of J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot at Warner Bros. Television will hit the 20-year mark. After months of negotiations, the company has closed a new film and TV deal with Warner Bros., sources tell Deadline. The pact is believed to be two-year, first-look, non-exclusive in both areas.

It succeeds Bad Robot’s previous big five-year exclusive deal, signed in 2019 at the height of the Peak TV-fueled overall deal bubble. That $250M agreement was among a number of big-ticket items that came under scrutiny following the April 2022 close of the Warner. Bros.-Discovery merger when HBO pulled the plug on Abrams’ sci-fi drama Demimonde.

Ultimately, Bad Robot’s deal proceeded, and the company saw a couple of new series get on the air this summer, Caped Crusader, which launched on Prime Video, and David E. Kelley’s Presumed Innocent for Apple TV+, which started as a limited series...

“Looks like the future,” Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi) says to Daryl (Norman Reedus) as they drive through Paris in the latest episode of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol, "Vouloir, C'est Pouvoir." After the high emotions and climaxes of Episode 4, we spend much of this episode thinking about the future for the characters who have survived the cull so far.

Having lost the majority of the female cast in the previous two episodes, we return to the surviving menfolk. Codron (Romain Levi), it appears, has survived the war at the Nest and makes his way to Fallou’s (Eriq Ebouaney) camp for refuge, recovery and reparation. Romain Levi conveys a great deal of heart and depth in his performance, which works wonderfully with Laurent’s blank-slate openness, as the pair connect through their shared guilt and faith. Their scenes together are oddly touching, and actually create a...

J.J. Abrams is most widely known for directing two of the three modern Star Wars trilogy. The director is also one of the brains behind the Star Trek reboot, directing 2009’s Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness. His company Bad Robot has been behind some great TV and film projects including Alias, Lost, Mission Impossible III, and the Cloverfield franchise among others.

J.J. Abrams’ last feature film was 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker | Credits: Lucasfilm

In 2019, Bad Robot and Warner Bros signed a lucrative deal to develop various film and TV projects. However, several of Bad Robot’s plans fell apart with the new regime having issues with the assets acquired for the deal. It seems the two companies have worked out their differences and are now extending their deal, which has left fans confused.

J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Reportedly Extending Deal With Warner Bros Despite Their Setbacks

In addititon to films,...

The tenure of J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot at Warner Bros. Television is expected to cross the 20-year mark. The company is in advanced negotiations with Warner Bros. to re-up its film and TV deal with the studio, sources tell Deadline.

The pending multi-year extension comes more than two years after Bad Robot’s current massive five-year pact experienced serious turbulence at the half point following the April 2022 close of the Warner. Bros.-Discovery merger when it was among a number of big-ticket items scrutinized by the new regime. At that time, HBO pulled the plug on Abrams’ sci-fi drama Demimonde before production was slated to start on the ambitious — and expensive — series.

The rough post-merger period included a handful of other greenlighted Bad Robot series not going forward at Warner Bros. Discovery streamer Max, including The Shining offshoot series Overlook and the animated Batman: Caped Crusader.

Ultimately, Bad...

The final season of Snowpiercer has finally found a home.

The fourth season of the sci-fi drama will air on AMC after the company acquired the rights to the Tomorrow Studios-produced series. It comes after TNT scrapped the show last year as part of a wider Warner Bros. Discovery content write down strategy.

Deadline revealed in January 2023 that the fourth season wouldn’t air on its original home, as part of a slew of content cuts that also including the axing of Batgirl, Abrams’ HBO drama Demimonde, and TBS series such as The Big D, Chad and Kill The Orange Bear.

It is the latest series that AMC has saved after being scrapped elsewhere; the network bought Captain Nemo series Nautilus after it was cut by Disney+.

The first three seasons of the show will stream on AMC+ later this year and season 4 will air on the linear network...

Following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger one year ago, some members of Congress have petitioned the Department of Justice to launch an inquiry into alleged anti-competitive behavior.

In a letter to the Department of Justice, Democratic representatives Elizabeth Warren, Pramila Jayapal, David Cicilline, and Joaquin Castro suggested that the “Warner Bros. Discover merger market share has enabled it to harm workers and heighten barriers to entry in the media and entertainment industry.” The implication is that harsh tactics employed by the company have adversely affected employees and those employed in the media and entertainment business. The lawmakers allege this harms the ability to fight for improved wages and job conditions by competing in the market.

WarnerMedia and Discovery officially became Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022, a year after announcing the intended merger. As a result, HBO Max, discovery+, and channels like CNN, TBS, and TNT all found a home under the same banner.

Nearing the one year anniversary of Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia merger, four Democrats in Congress are calling for the Department of Justice to reassess the deal.

In a letter to the Justice Department’s top enforcers, the lawmakers say that the merger has enabled Warner Bros. Discovery to “adopt potentially anticompetitive practices” that prompted numerous layoffs and reduced programming options for consumers. They allege that “current competition in the media and entertainment industry is inadequate.”

Months before the $43 billion deal was blessed, 30 members of Congress warned the agency in a letter in Dec. 2021 that the resulting competition vacuum would harm workers and consumers. Among the concerns they advanced was that it could dampen “economic opportunity for workers” on top of diverse programming, which became a common criticism after the company canned its $90 million HBO Max film Batgirl, the first DC movie led by a Latina, for a tax write-off.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, four Democratic lawmakers have called on the Department of Justice to investigate the company.

A letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Johanthan Kanter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Rep. David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) claims that the merger has appeared to have enabled the company to “adopt potentially anticompetitive practices that reduce consumer choice and harm workers in affected labor markets.”

Thousands of jobs cut, content creators harmed in unprecedented ways, less consumer choice. Mergers aren’t automatically good for business or people. (2/2)

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) April 7, 2023

Discovery closed its $43 billion merger of WarnerMedia in April 2022, which was ultimately not challenged by the DOJ after a review.

Also Read:

Warner Bros. in Talks to Produce ‘Harry Potter’ TV Series for HBO Max

The letter cites several workforce...

J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves’ animated series “Batman: Caped Crusader” has been picked up at Amazon after being scrapped at HBO Max, Variety has confirmed.

The streamer has placed a two-season order for the cartoon, which is described as “a reimagining of the Batman mythology through the visionary lens” of executive producers Abrams, Reeves and Bruce Timm.

“Batman: Caped Crusader” was ordered to series at HBO Max in May 2021. In August 2022, the show was scrapped along with five other upcoming animated series set up at the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer, including “Merry Little Batman,” “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie,” “Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical,” “Did I Do That to the Holidays: A Steve Urkel Story” and “The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie.”

The animated series getting the ax came following HBO’s decision to let go of Abrams’ science fiction drama “Demimonde” last June.

Batman: Caped Crusader has found a new home at Amazon.

The streamer and retail giant has handed out a two-season order for the animated series that was scrapped at HBO Max last August. Caped Crusader landed at the Jennifer Salke-led streamer after producer Warner Bros. Animation shopped the project following the cost-cutting move that saw parent company Warner Bros. Discovery scrap the show more than a year and a half after ordering it straight to series. Other streamers, including Netflix, Apple and Hulu, also kicked the tires on the project that marks a reunion for executive producers J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, who previously collaborated on The WB Network’s beloved Felicity.

The animated series hails from Bruce Timm, Abrams and Reeves and was sold to a streaming rival as part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s efforts to monetize content by selling projects to third-party buyers.

Reps for all...

For those like me who pay way too much attention to these sorts of things, you may remember the news that filmmaker J.J. Abrams had signed an immensely profitable deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. This enabled him to write, produce, and direct various projects on both the big screen and small, with the freedom to sell certain projects to other distributors as well as producing original stories for Warner Bros. and HBO Max. Discerning readers may also recall that, in the years since, absolutely nothing has actually come from that high-profile agreement -- not for lack of trying, mind you. There was that double-whammy announcement of a "Justice League Dark" project and a spin-off of "The Shining" called "Overlook" that had nerds everywhere all hyped up. Unfortunately, those ultimately never came to fruition for various reasons, along with an incredibly expensive sci-fi series called "Demimonde."

Finally, however, we're about to...

“Duster,” an eight-episode drama from “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams and Latoya Morgan, has been ordered to series by HBO Max, it was announced Thursday. The order comes almost three years after “Duster” was first revealed to be in development at the streamer in April 2021.

Additionally, Max unveiled the cast for the 1972-set series, with Rachel Hilson starring as Nina, a young Black FBI agent who journeys to the Southwest on an assignment to take down a crime syndicate. Josh Holloway, best known for playing Sawyer in Abrams’ ABC series “Lost,” stars opposite Hilson as Jim, a getaway driver recruited to help Nina on her mission; his casting was first reported by Variety in 2021.

“We are delighted to bring this high-voltage crime caper from the brilliant minds of J.J. Abrams and Latoya Morgan to the HBO Max audience,” HBO Max head of original content Sarah Aubrey said in a statement.

J.J. Abrams and HBO Max are officially putting a series into gear.

The streamer has picked up Duster, a 1970s-set drama from Abrams and Latoya Morgan (Into the Badlands, The Walking Dead). Rachel Hilson (Love, Victor, This Is Us) and Josh Holloway, who worked with Abrams on Lost, head the cast.

Duster is the first series to spring from a nine-figure film and TV deal Abrams’ Bad Robot company signed with WarnerMedia (now Warner Bros. Discovery) in 2019. In April 2020, Duster was one of three Bad Robot projects announced for the yet-to-launch HBO Max, along with The Shining offshoot Overlook and a Justice League Dark project. The latter two have since been scrapped (Bad Robot has shopped Overlook to other possible buyers), as has Abrams’ long-developing sci-fi series Demimonde (which was for the HBO parent channel) after concerns over its projected 200 million-plus budget.

As for Duster, it’s set in 1972 in...

Rachel Hilson will star alongside Josh Holloway in J.J. Abrams and Latoya Morgan’s period drama Duster as HBO Max has finally handed the project an official series order.

The project has been long in the works, it was first announced in April 2020, where it was seemingly given a series order by then HBO Max Chief Content Officer Kevin Reilly. However, that turned out to be development with a series commitment. It has remained active and recently landed an official series order after a pilot was shot.

Hilson will star as Nina, the first Black female FBI agent, who in 1972 heads to the Southwest and recruits a gutsy getaway driver, played by Holloway, the first in a bold effort to take down a growing crime syndicate.

Keith David, Sydney Elisabeth, Greg Grunberg, Camille Guaty, Asivak Koostachin, Adriana Aluna Martinez and Benjamin Charles Watson also star.

Hilson is best known for...

J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot banner have teamed up with Warner Bros. for the feature adaptation of Billy Summers, a very recent Stephen King novel that was published in 2021.

Appian Way will also produce the project, which is being written by Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz.

A year ago the project was in the works as a limited series from Abrams’ Bad Robot banner. At the time, Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz were attached to adapt, with Zwick eying to direct a good portion of the episodes, if not all.

Not one of King’s horror novels, Summers focuses on a 44-year old hitman, the eponymously titled Billy Summers, who is ready to retire when he takes up one last job from a regular client. (“One last job” is always synonymous with “things go awry,” but we’ll get to that in a moment.) Taking up a cover story that he is a novelist,...

A hot property that J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot acquired two years ago has finally found its director, according to Deadline. Actor, comedian, and filmmaker Jason Bateman is set to step behind the camera for "The Pinkerton," which will be the first original film project to come from Bad Robot's reported 250 million deal with WarnerMedia.

News of "The Pinkerton" first broke in early March 2020, when it was announced that "Kin" and "F9" screenwriter Daniel Casey was working on the script for the project. Given the obviously inauspicious timing of that announcement, it makes sense that it's taken "The Pinkerton" a while to get off the ground. Now, though, Bateman is set to return to feature directing for the first time since 2015 to helm what's being called a "supernatural revenge-Western hybrid," per Deadline.

What Should We Expect From The Pinkerton?

The plot of "The Pinkerton" is totally under wraps,...

Jason Bateman has added another film to his growing list of directorial obligations. And this one sounds fun.

TheWrap has confirmed that Bateman has signed on to direct “The Pinkerton,” from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Based on a spec script by Daniel Casey (“F9”). This marks the first feature project since Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. signed a lucrative, 250 million deal in 2019. Bateman will also produce “The Pinkerton” alongside Michael Costigan and Bad Robot’s Abrams and Hannah Minghella.

While details on the script aren’t known, it is said to be a supernatural Western revenge movie. The Pinkerton Detective Agency, as it is now known, was established in 1850 by a Scottish-born abolitionist named Allan Pinkerton. Pinkerton claimed to have foiled the 1861 plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln (known as the Baltimore Plot), who then hired the group as spies and his personal security force during the Civil War.

HBO Max has canceled six upcoming animated series, including “Batman: Caped Crusader,” Variety has learned. The project was ordered to series in May 2021 with Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves attached to executive produce.

The other series on the chopping block are “Merry Little Batman,” “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie,” “Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical,” “Did I Do That to The Holidays: A Steve Urkel Story” and “The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie.” Production on all six series continues, with plans to shop them to platforms besides HBO Max. Warner Bros. Animation is the studio for each, with the exception of “The Amazing Word of Gumball,” which is being produced by H-b Studios Europe.

“Batman: Caped Crusader” was meant to build on “Batman: The Animated Series,” which was co-created by Timm and aired on Fox Kids for 85 episodes from 1992-1995. This is the second project from J.

Bad Robot has certainly had a run of, well, bad luck lately. The J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath-led production label only just saw its ambitious sci-fi fantasy series "Demimonde" scrapped at HBO Max back in June 2022. This came a mere ten months after the streamer turned down Bad Robot's proposed prequel series to "The Shining," a show that has since failed to find a new home.

More recently, the company's 250 million deal with WarnerMedia has been scrutinized by the penny-pinching bosses at the newly-formed Warner Bros. Discovery, given that Bad Robot has yet to actually deliver any of the high-profile films or TV series it's started working on since the agreement was finalized in 2019. If all that wasn't enough, Apple TV+ has also elected to cancel Bad Robot's limited series "My Glory Was I Had Such Friends" after giving it a straight-to-series order in 2018.

A small screen adaptation...

Jennifer Garner and J.J. Abrams’ creative reunion will have to wait: Apple TV+ has scrapped the limited series My Glory Was I Had Such Friends, a long-gestating project on which the Alias vets would have collaborated.

According to our sister site Deadline, who broke the news, Apple’s decision came after Garner exited the project due to scheduling conflicts. Warner Bros. Television and Abrams’ production company Bad Robot reportedly plan to shop the project elsewhere.

More from TVLineShantaram: Charlie Hunnam Rides Again in New Apple TV+ Adaptation — Get First Look and Premiere DatePhysical Renewed for Season 3 at Apple TV...

Exclusive: Jennifer Garner has pulled out of the long-in-the-works Apple TV+ limited series My Glory Was I Had Such Friends, from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV. As a result, the streamer has opted not to go forward with the project that it had landed with a straight-to-series order in 2018. Reps for Apple, Bad Robot, Wbtv and Garner declined comment.

According to sources, Garner exited My Glory Was I Had Such Friend for scheduling reasons. The show has taken quite awhile to get off the ground, and the Alias alumna is currently filming another Apple TV+ limited series, The Last Thing He Told Me, an adaptation of Laura Dave’s bestselling novel, which is produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.

Wbtv and Bad Robot are said to both be high on My Glory Was I Had Such Friend and intend to seek another home for it,...

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When House of the Dragon, HBO’s big-budget prequel to Game of Thrones, premieres Sunday night, the future of the Targaryen family won’t be the only thing at stake.

For HBO parent Warner Bros. Discovery, how House of the Dragon lands with audiences, in the U.S. and worldwide, could determine how far the studio is willing to commit to the World of Westeros universe.

Related Stories TV Inside 'House of the Dragon': The Epic Mission to Make the Next 'Game of Thrones' TV Nathan Fielder's 'The Rehearsal' Renewed at HBO

“It’s a big responsibility to take on,” says Ryan J. Condal, showrunner and co-creator, with George R.R. Martin, of House of the Dragon. “Because I feel like the success of this show will dictate how deep the exploration of this universe goes. I think there’s a...

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Months before the Justice Department blessed the 43 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger, 30 members of Congress warned the agency in a letter that the resulting competition vacuum could allow the newly formed giant to ignore what consumers want. Among the antitrust concerns they pressed was that it could dampen diverse and inclusive programming — which has become a common criticism after Wbd canned its 90 million HBO Max film Batgirl, the first DC movie led by a Latina, Leslie Grace.

“There’s been no indication with Batgirl that they’ll shop it around,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So this incredibly gifted Latina actress and wonderful story get thrown down the drain for a tax write-off.”

In the four months since the deal closed, CEO David Zaslav has overhauled the entertainment powerhouse. During an Aug. 4 earnings call, he trumpeted a 10-year plan for...

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In 2015, David Zaslav compared the industrywide rush to scripted TV to a kids’ soccer game — all players are clumped around the ball, while the rest of the field is wide open. “It’s quite crowded, it’s pretty expensive, and it’s looking more and more like the movie business,” the then-Discovery CEO said, explaining why his executive team wouldn’t join the Peak TV fray.

Fast forward to 2022, and Zaslav, as CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, is running a scripted powerhouse and betting on movies as a key content engine. But he, along with CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, still vows to zag where the industry zigs. “We have no intention of being beholden to anyone in particular or to a specific business model,” Zaslav said during an Aug. 4 earnings call. “Simply put: we are open for business.”

As Zaslav detailed, that plan...

If there was one thing that the turbulent week at Warner Bros. Discovery displayed, it’s just how quickly conventional wisdom can change from one regime to the next, when each is trying to gin up the stock price for Wall Street.

Wbd chief David Zaslav was busy. On the eve of a rumored layoff bloodbath across the company to cut at least 3 billion of debt off the books, there was the abrupt and cruel cancelation of Batgirl and the HBO Max animated feature Scoob! with the latter message delivered while the co-directors were in Morocco as one of them was getting married.

There has also been rampant speculation there may be further trims of the HBO Max development slate of J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot after Abrams’ big-ticket series Demimonde was scrapped in one of the new regime’s first moves. It’s clear that current DC Films head...

Warner Bros. Discovery Friday detailed its charges for the second quarter that included a combined 825 million hit on the content side, including 496 million for content impairment and 329 million for content development write-downs, as well as 208 million for employee terminations for the three months ended June.

As reported Thursday, Wbd posted a net loss of 3.4 billion (or 2.2 billion pro forma) in its first quarter as a combined company, recording 1 billion of restructuring and other charges (and 983 million of transaction and integration expenses). An SEC filing today said that, “Content impairments and development write-offs resulted from a global strategic review of content following the Merger. Employee terminations relate to cost reduction efforts and management changes. These charges resulted from activities to integrate Wm and establish an efficient cost structure.”

Restructuring and other charges by segment stood at 200 million for studios, 308 million for networks and 475 million for Dtc.

The filing didn’t specify the content — either produced,...

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In a surprising development, Warner Bros. will no longer be releasing Batgirl, the DC film that already completed shooting and was expected to arrive on HBO Max this year. The unusual move comes after a change in leadership at Warners, with newly installed Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav prioritizing cost-cutting measures and refocusing Warners on creating theatrical films rather than projects for streaming, as had been a priority for former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar.

Batgirl was budgeted at around 80 million, with costs rising to nearly 90 million due to Covid-19 protocols. It’s a hefty sum, but significantly lower than DC theatrical releases, thus the film is said not to have the spectacle that audiences have come to expect from DC fare. (The Batman, released in March, had a budget of 185 million, before marketing costs.) Warners has also decided to shelve animated feature Scoob!: Holiday Haunt,...

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Snowpiercer is preparing to make its final stop.

The TNT series, which launched in May 2020 following the 2013 Bong Joon-ho film of the same name, will conclude after its upcoming fourth season that is currently in production. The show starred Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs.

“We can confirm that Snowpiercer will end after a successful, multi-season run on TNT,” a network spokesperson said in a statement. “Its talented writers, actors and crew took an extraordinary premise and brought it to life in thrilling ways. It was critically acclaimed, had a significant impact on the post-apocalyptic genre, and now remains in the hearts and minds of fans forever.”

The train-focused series, centering on a globe-spanning voyage with plenty of tension, has had a bumpy ride. The project was led by four different showrunners, with the most recent being Paul Zbyszewski. It also had two pilot...

Despite a confirmed premiere date and a series of promos, the new TBS dating competition The Big D has been dropped just weeks before its Thursday, July 7 debut. The cancelation comes following the recent Warner/Discovery merger, which has seen new CEO David Zaslav reassessing the company’s slate as it looks to deliver 3 billion in cost savings from the deal. Earlier this month, HBO pulled the plug on J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi epic Demimonde, which had a reported budget of over 200 million. Bachelorette alumni JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers were on board to host The Big D, which was set to follow recent divorcees as they looked for love in paradise — the twist being that their exes would be along for the ride. “We’re assessing our schedule to ensure we have the right content mix to support our network strategies,” a TBS/TNT spokesperson told Deadline. “We are grateful to JoJo Fletcher,...

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TBS will no longer air dating series The Big D, with the decision coming just weeks prior to the scheduled premiere.

The unscripted show, hosted by The Bachelorette alums JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers, has been cut despite having been scheduled to debut July 7, a network representative told The Hollywood Reporter.

“We’re assessing our schedule to ensure we have the right content mix to support our network strategies,” the TBS spokesperson said in a statement. “We are grateful to JoJo Fletcher, Jordan Rodgers and the executive producers of Big D for their partnership through the process.”

The project was first announced back in March 2021, with production underway in Costa Rica at the time. The 10-hour series, hailing from creators of VH1’s Dating Naked and MTV’s Are You the One?, was to feature 10 recently divorced couples exploring potential romance with the other castmembers.

TBS dating show “The Big D,” hosted by “Bachelorette” newlyweds JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers, will no longer air on the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned network, Variety has confirmed.

The 10-episode reality show, which follows recent divorcees on their search to find love in paradise, was set to premiere on July 7.

“We’re assessing our schedule to ensure we have the right content mix to support our network strategies,” a TBS spokesperson tells Variety. “We are grateful to JoJo Fletcher, Jordan Rodgers, and the executive producers of ‘Big D’ for their partnership through the process.”

According to the show’s logline, 10 divorced couples “move into a tropical villa in Costa Rica to re-learn how to date and search for love amongst a group of other single divorcees – including their ex. The group takes part in revealing relationship Ex-ercises designed to help the singles form connections, make peace with their former partners,...

The Big D now stands for dunzo.

TBS‘ new dating competition hosted by Bachelorette alumni JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers has been cancelled, just weeks ahead of its Thursday, July 7 debut — and after promos for it (watch a trailer above) had already begun to air.

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The news comes on the heels of parent company Warner Discovery reassessing its slate at large, and making some harsh cuts. Most notably, the J.J. Abrams-shephered sci-fi drama Demimonde,...

Exclusive: The Big D, a dating competition hosted by The Bachelorette alums JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rogers, has been axed at TBS weeks ahead of its premiere.

The show is the latest TBS series to be canceled following the Warner Bros-Discovery merger, which also saw the Damon Wayans-fronted comedy series Kill the Orange Bear get the chop a week before it was set to begin production, as revealed by Deadline.

It comes as David Zaslav and his team are taking a closer look at the slate that they inherited at networks such as the Turner channels TNT, TBS and truTV as well as HBO and sister streamer HBO Max.

HBO’s high-profile J.J. Abrams sci-fi series Demimonde is also not going forward after discussions over budget.

Admittedly, The Big D doesn’t quite have the same price tag as the Bad Robot-produced series, but Deadline understands that the...

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HBO Max is going back to Vegas — and presumably, L.A.

The Warner Bros. Discovery-backed streamer has renewed the Emmy-winning comedy series Hacks for a third season. The series starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder recently wrapped its critically praised sophomore run and is currently working the Emmy FYC campaign beat.

“We congratulate Hacks’ extraordinarily gifted executive producers and cast, and our partners at Universal Television. We are overjoyed at the audience and press response to the new season, and glad to give viewers more of this gorgeous, hilarious, moving show,” said Sarah Aubrey, who heads originals for HBO Max.

Smart earned an Emmy win for her role as an aging Vegas comedian who teams with an unlikely 30-something writer as they both look to reinvent themselves. The series, from Comcast-backed Universal Television, hails from fellow Emmy winners Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky.

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Months after its April 8 deal close, the 3 billion in synergies that the new leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery had pledged to find are beginning to come into focus. Senior U.S. leaders in the advertising division were informed that buyouts will be coming, but they haven’t been offered yet, a source confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

CEO David Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels have in the past repeatedly pointed to the successful integration of Scripps Networks Interactive — which Discovery acquired in 2018 — as a sign of their team’s readiness to bring together the two companies, take out management layers and cut cost. But they have also emphasized that content is not part of the cost savings game, with the goal being to spend more on content and to spend smarter.

The newly combined firm is “moving rapidly to capture synergies,” Cowen analyst...

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Starstruck fans, you can exhale now.

HBO Max and BBC Three have renewed their award-winning and critical darling comedy from creator and star Rose Matafeo for a third season. The news comes some four months since the series returned with its second season on the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed streamer.

“A third? Sure. Fine. I’m truly thrilled to bring this incredibly talented cast back for a third installment, and equally excited to clamber into the director’s seat alongside my nice friend Alice Snedden who I cannot seem to get rid of,” said Matafeo who co-writes the series alongside fellow director Snedden and Nic Sampson.

The comedy about a millennial in East London who becomes romantically involved with a famous film star (played by Nikesh Patel) currently has an impressive 96 percent rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 77 percent score from viewers.

J.J. Abrams‘ sci-fi epic Demimonde will no longer be moving forward at HBO due to disputes over the show’s budget. According to Deadline, the network and Warner Bros. Television had been trying to cut costs on the project, leading to multiple discussions with Abrams and his Bad Robot production company. However, Bad Robot would not move on their proposed budget, estimated to be over 200 million, and so HBO has decided to drop the series. Demimonde was given a straight-to-series order four years ago following a bidding war with Apple. Written, executive produced, and directed by Abrams, the show was to star Danielle Deadwyler as Olive Reed, who is forced to solve a conspiracy after she is ripped away from her husband and daughter in a brutal scientific accident. The series was still in the early pre-production stages when HBO backed out. Warner Bros. Television will now shop the project to streamers,...

HBO is officially not moving forward with J.J. Abrams’ ambitious HBO sci-fi drama series Demimonde. The decision comes after weeks of discussions with Abrams, his Bad Robot production company and Warner Bros. Television which were focused on the show’s budget. As Deadline reported last month, the studios on the project, Warner Bros. Television and HBO, had been trying to rein in costs, but Bad Robot kept firm on their proposed budget, said to be in the mid-200 million range, and would not agree to a reduction.

The final stages of the Demimonde conversations were held against the background of a larger reevaluation of the massive deal Abrams’ Bad Robot has at Warner Bros for film, TV, gaming and digital content as the new Warner Bros. Discovery is scrutinizing every aspect of the assets they took over when the merger was completed in April.

Bought by HBO four years ago with a straight-to-series order,...

J.J. Abrams’ science fiction drama series “Demimonde” will no longer move forward at HBO.

This is the end of a long road for the project, which was ordered to series at HBO in Feb. 2018 after a bidding war with Apple. The series order came over a year before Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath first set a major overall deal for their production company Bad Robot at WarnerMedia.

Rumored to have an impressively high budget, “Demimonde” looked to be a major project until recently. In 2020, “The Handmaid’s Tale” executive producer Kira Snyder and “Life” executive producers Rand Ravich and Far Shariat were set as showrunners, and casting announcements were underway as recently as April 2022, when Danielle Deadwyler was learned to be leading the series.

But progress took a turn in May, when the status of “Demimonde” reportedly came into jeopardy as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav began to...

Click here to read the full article.

As expected, Demimonde will not be moving forward at HBO.

The series, which marked the first original created by J.J. Abrams since Fringe in 2008, has officially been passed over by the premium cable network following issues surrounding the show’s sprawling budget.

Sources tell THR that Abrams made a last-ditch plea to HBO/HBO Max boss Casey Bloys to spare the drama from cancellation. Bloys took the week to do so but ultimately the decision was made to part ways with the series for which Abrams had sought a budget north of 200 million. By comparison, HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon clocked in at less than 200 million. Abrams was also slated to direct the pilot for Demimonde, which has already changed showrunners since it landed at HBO in 2018 following a bidding war with Apple.

Demimonde, starring Danielle Deadwyler (Station Eleven,...

J.J. Abrams’ big comeback as a TV writer isn’t happening after all: HBO has scrapped Abrams’ sci-fi drama Demimonde, more than four years after handing it a series order, TVLine has learned.

The official announcement comes two weeks after The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Demimonde was on the bubble, with David Zaslav — the CEO of HBO’s newly formed parent company Warner Bros. Discovery — reportedly voicing frustrations about the lack of output from the rich overall deal HBO signed with Abrams’ production company Bad Robot. Abrams was reportedly seeking a budget for Demimonde that topped 200 million, a number...

Click here to read the full article.

Warner Bros. Discovery Access, the diversity, equity and inclusion portal for the newly branded company, is launching the Comedic Voices Program, a weeklong boot camp for identifying and developing fresh talent for late-night and unscripted content.

“Our program is designed to position up-and-coming comedians for next-level career success,” senior vp for diversity, equity and inclusion Karen Horne said in a statement. “We recognize that access continues to present barriers to performers from historically marginalized groups. So we’re creating opportunities for them to show what they can do in front of global audiences in order to propel the trajectory of their already promising careers.”

More from The Hollywood ReporterMichael De Luca, Pam Abdy Reach Deal to Lead Warner Bros. Film Division (Exclusive)'Demimonde' on the Bubble as Warner Bros. Discovery Puts Pressure on J.J. AbramsNathaniel Brown Named Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Warner Bros.

You didn't think Tom Cruise was the only one with a patent on the phrase "the need for speed," did you?

Both filmmaker J.J. Abrams and Apple TV+ remain incredibly busy these days. The producer extraordinaire has his fingers in a number of different pots through his Bad Robot production company, although we most recently heard that his "Demimonde" series over at HBO may have hit somewhat of a snag. No matter, however, as he seems to be moving forward with another project at another major streaming service.

Variety is reporting that Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television are teaming up with Apple TV+ to create a new live-action...

The post Apple TV+ Orders Speed Racer Series from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot appeared first on /Film.

Not all is well within the halls of Bad Robot, the production company headed up by mega-producer and blockbuster director J.J. Abrams. The filmmaker and his company signed a gigantic overall deal with Warner Bros. back in September of 2019 but it has not produced all that much content for HBO, HBO Max, or the movie studio up to this point. Now, under the new leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery, Abrams' sci-fi series "Demimonde" may be in trouble -- and it seemingly comes down to a big budget issue.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is frustrated by Bad Robot's...

The post J.J. Abrams' HBO Series Demimonde Might Be In Trouble appeared first on /Film.

A “Speed Racer” live-action series is in the works at Apple with J.J. Abrams onboard as an executive producer, Variety has learned.

Apple has given the project, which has been in the works for a considerable amount of time, a series order. Ron Fitzgerald and Hiram Martinez are attached to write and executive produce in addition to serving as co-showrunners. Abrams will executive produce under his Bad Robot banner. Warner Bros. Television is the studio, where Bad Robot is under an overall deal.

“Speed Racer” follows the adventure of auto racer Speed Racer and his souped up car, the Mach 5. His team consists of his father and car builder Pops Racer, his little brother Spritle and his pet chimpanzee Chim-Chim, and Speed’s girlfriend Trixie. Speed also frequently crosses paths with the mysterious Racer X, who is secretly Speed’s older brother Rex Racer.

This would be the second live-action...

J.J. Abrams’ ambitious HBO sci-fi drama series Demimonde has hit a major roadblock in its long journey to the screen. The issues, related to the show’s price, come amid talk of a potential reevaluation of the massive deal Abrams’ Bad Robot has at Warner Bros for film, TV, gaming and digital content as the new Warner Bros. Discovery is scrutinizing every aspect of the assets they took over.

Bought by the network four years ago with a straight-to-series order, Demimonde is still in early pre-production, but major budget issues are threatening to derail it. According to sources, the studios on the project, Warner Bros. Television and HBO, have been trying to rein in costs, but Bad Robot has kept firm on their proposed budget, said to be in the mid-200 million range, and would not agree to a reduction below that.

While current talks between Warner Bros. and Abrams are focused on Demimonde,...

The Afterparty will be welcoming back two former suspects: Sam Richardson and Zoë Chao will return as Aniq and Zoe for Season 2 of the Apple TV+ murder mystery comedy, the streamer announced on Wednesday.

Joining the cast are Zach Woods (Silicon Valley), Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds), Poppy Liu (Hacks), Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai), Anna Konkle (Pen15), Jack Whitehall (Good Omens) and Vivian Wu (Away).

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"Demimonde," the long-gestating HBO series to be helmed by J.J. Abrams, has finally found its protagonist. Danielle Deadwyler, who played June in "Watchmen," and also starred in last year's "The Harder They Fall," has been cast in the much-anticipated limited series as Olive Reed (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Abrams' "Demimonde" was first announced back in 2018, and details about the project remained scant since then. Now, with Deadwyler being cast as Olive Reed, details about the show have emerged. Deadwyler's character is separated from her family, namely her husband and daughter, after a scientific accident, leading her to navigate cover-ups and conspiracies to reveal the...

The post Watchmen's Danielle Deadwyler Will Star in HBO's J.J. Abrams series Demimonde appeared first on /Film.