Paramount Global Layoffs Begin; CEO Bob Bakish Tells 800 Departing Employees, “Your Talents Have Helped Us Advance Our Mission”

Terence Winter, who stepped down as showrunner of the Sylvester Stallone-starring mob drama Tulsa King after its first season, is back as a writer on Paramount+ series’ upcoming second season in addition to his continuing duties as an executive producer. The series, created by Taylor Sheridan, has opted not to bring in a replacement for Winter in line with the practice at the other Sheridan series produced by 101 Studios which don’t have a traditional showrunner. Instead, Tulsa King has hired a director/executive producer whose deal is still being finalized.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As expected, layoffs began hitting Universal Music Group almost immediately after the company’s earnings call on Wednesday. The moves, which have been signaled by chairman-CEO Lucian Grainge since last fall, were still evolving at the time of this article’s publication, and follow the broad consolidation of the company’s labels under Interscope (West Coast) and Republic (East Coast) groups, under CEOs John Janick and Monte Lipman, respectively.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The inevitable M&A question came toward the end of Paramount Global‘s hourlong conference call with Wall Street analysts on Wednesday — a session that undoubtedly would have been more contentious for Paramount leaders if they hadn’t started out by serving up sacrifices for the greater good of free cash flow and profit. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish waved off the inquiry from Bank of America Merrill Lynch media analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich about the tidal wave of media speculation about suitors coming (and going) for the company with a breezy “We’re always looking for ways to create shareholder value.” But it was clear from the earlier commentary and business updates from Bakish and chief financial officer Naveen Chopra that they are charting a course for this year and next to take streamer Paramount+ to the promised land of profitability and keeps the company entact as a standalone entity.

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish derided a planned streaming venture backed by Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery for having “only a subset of sports.”

Paramount Global expects to take a $1 billion charge in the current quarter due to ongoing programming shifts and the layoffs it announced earlier this month.

Paramount Global‘s earnings in the fourth quarter edged Wall Street forecasts, but a double-digit slide in advertising dragged down total revenue by 6%.

EXCLUSIVE: Buoyed by the overperformance of music-driven films Bob Marley: One Love and Mean Girls, Paramount Pictures has slotted Better Man for an exclusive qualifying release on December 25, followed by a wide theatrical release on January 17 in the heat of awards season. The film is an original musical by The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey, based on the life and music of singer Robbie Williams.

The Donovans, a new series loosely based on Showtime’s popular drama Ray Donovan, is set at Paramount+, with Guy Ritchie attached to direct and executive produce. Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett will pen all 10 episodes of the series, an extension of the Ray Donovan franchise, from Showtime/MTV Studios and 101 Studios. The Donovans will debut on Paramount+ for subscribers with the Paramount+plan with Showtime later this year.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Paramount+, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, and 101 Studios are teaming for a new series loosely based on the hit Showtime series “Ray Donovan.” Titled “The Donovans,” the series will be fully written by Ronan Bennett with Guy Ritchie attached to direct and executive produce. It will be available to Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers later this year.

Paramount+ may have culled a wealth of international originals in the past couple of weeks but that hasn’t stopped it committing to a UK thriller series set in a world where men live under a strict nightly curfew.

EXCLUSIVE: The news when Deadline speaks to Lisa Kramer is the launch of a Paramount+ branded hub with African pay-TV giant MultiChoice. But a conversation with the President, International TV Licensing at Paramount Global Content Distribution (PGCD), offers a much wider insight into the world of TV in 2024.

Refresh for latest…: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love continued to sing sweet tunes in its sophomore session, adding $15M from 59 international box office markets for a drop of 37% from its above-expectations stellar opening. The overseas cume is now $49.4M for $120.6M worldwide.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Four Chinese films dominated the mainland China and global box office charts over the latest weekend. “YOLO,” a comedy drama about weight loss and self-discovery, was crowned as the top earning film worldwide for a second weekend running. “YOLO” took $86.5 million (RMB614 million) between Friday and Sunday, giving it a 9-day cumulative total of $402 million (RMB2.85 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. The second film by Jia Ling, who previously directed 2021 Lunar New Year smash hit “Hi, Mom”, “YOLO” released on Saturday, Feb.

Refresh for latest…: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love brought folks together around the world in its opening frame, singing up a sweet estimated $80M global bow. After coming on strong in early overseas play this week, and as audiences turned a deaf ear to critics, the international box office portion of that is $29M, landing well ahead of expectations.

Katcy Stephan Ridley Scott is in talks to direct Paramount’s Bee Gees film. Scott will produce the currently-untitled film alongside Graham King for GK Films, Stacey Snider, and Michael Pruss for Scott Free. John Logan, who wrote Scott’s 2000 epic “Gladiator,” will pen the script.

Jon Hamm is the latest star to join the cast of Yellowstone creator’s Taylor Sheridan‘s new Paramount+ series.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Noggin, Nickelodeon’s interactive learning platform for preschool-age kids, is shutting down after almost 10 years, Variety has confirmed. Noggin is a casualty of Paramount Global’s companywide layoffs this week, which resulted in about 800 staffers being let go. The entire team that ran Noggin was laid off, as first reported by trade publication Kisdscreen.

Emmy winner Jon Hamm is set for a recurring role opposite Billy Bob Thornton in the Paramount+ drama Landman from Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace.

UPDATED: The companywide layoffs at Paramount Global on Tuesday impacted about 20 employees at CBS News, including correspondents Catherine Herridge and Jeff Pegues, several sources said.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Approximately 20 CBS News staffers were given termination notices Tuesday as a result of broader layoffs taking place across Paramount Global. The cuts extended across CBS News operations in Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles, according to two people familiar with the matter, and included two of the news operation’s most prominent correspondents, Jeff Pegues and Catherine Herridge, these people said. A CBS News spokesperson did not respond immediately to a query seeking comment.