Tony Dokoupil Renews CBS News Contract as TV’s Morning Wars Enter New Phase (EXCLUSIVE)

Former Corrie star Lucy Fallon was in the mood for change as she she switched hair styles for the summer. The Bethany Platt actress adopted a different look as she posed on her Instagram after going in for the chop.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarner Bros. Discovery renewed contracts for two of its most senior executives, Gunnar Wiedenfels, its chief financial officer, and Bruce Campbell, its chief revenue and strategy officer, ensuring that two of CEO David Zaslav’s key lieutenants will be around for the next few years of the company’s early steps as the newly combined aggregate of the former WarnerMedia and Discovery Communications.The company said it had extended Wiedenfels’ term through July 10, 2026, and Campbell’s contract through July 8, 2025.

Nick Jonas is a doting dad! The 29-year-old singer, who welcomed his first child, daughter Malti, and wife Priyanka Chopra earlier this year, revealed that parenthood has been an adjustment — in a good way.«It is certainly life changing,» Jonas told ET's Kevin Frazier on Thursday at the ACC Golf Championship, presented by American Century Investments, at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada. "[Malti] is amazing.

Selome Hailu Ella Jay Basco has been cast in Nick Antosca’s upcoming Peacock limited series “A Friend of the Family,” Variety has learned exclusively.The crime series is based on the true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan (Hendrix Yancey) was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by Robert “B” Berchtold (Jake Lacy), a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart and turn their daughter against them. “A Friend of the Family” follows how their lives were permanently altered and how they survived.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorJanai Norman, who has worked in various jobs for ABC News since 2016, was named a co-anchor of the weekend edition of “Good Morning America,”  a part of the morning-news franchise that has gotten new attention in recent years.Norman may already be familiar to viewers of the show. She has hosted its “Pop News” segment on weekends, joining the proceedings when ABC News launched a second hour of weekend “GMA” in October of 2019.  Dan B.

Emily Longeretta The “Field of Dreams” TV adaptation is no longer happening at Peacock, Variety has learned exclusively. Universal Television is currently shopping the project to other outlets.The show adaptation of the 1989 movie was ordered straight-to-series at Peacock in August 2021. Michael Schur was set as writer and executive producer under Fremulon, with Lawrence Gordon of The Gordon Company also executive producing with David Miner of 3 Arts and Morgan Sackett.

Nick Cannon is opening up about his new pediatric cancer foundation created in honor of his son, Zen, who died of brain cancer in December. «I'm a true believer in turning your pain into purpose,» Cannon told ET exclusively while at the Los Angeles stop of his Wild n Out rap battle tour. «To know how much joy that he brought our family, I just wanted to spread that light.»Cannon announced the Zen's Light Foundation alongside his son's mother, Alyssa Scott, on Friday, one day after what would have been Zen's first birthday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCharissa Thompson, a regular presence at Fox Sports, is broadening her horizons.The sportscaster, known for hosting “Fox NFL Kickoff” on Sundays during the NFL season, will also be working Thursday nights. Amazon’s Prime Video has selected Thompson to host its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of “Thursday Night Football,” of which the first season under its aegis will launch this fall.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA lot of changes are taking place at CNN after the merger of its parent company, WarnerMedia, with Discovery, but this wasn’t one many people were anticipating.Christi Paul, who has been a regular presence on CNN’s weekend morning programs for nearly nine years, is leaving the news outlet, she announced on air Sunday morning. Paul has been with CNN and its sibling HLN since 2003, and has co-anchored “New Day” on Saturday and Sunday mornings alongside Victor Blackwell and, more recently, Boris Sanchez. Her Sunday appearance on CNN will be her last.A rotating group of anchors is expected to fill in on “New Day” alongside Sanchez for the foreseeable future, according to a CNN spokesperson.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorChrissy Teigen will be donning her judge’s robes once again for Season 3 of “Chrissy’s Court,” returning exclusively to the Roku Channel this fall.Roku’s greenlight for a third run of the courtroom series, patterned after daytime TV fare like “Judge Judy” and “The People’s Court,” comes after Season 2 scored as the most-watched unscripted Roku original premiere to date. In each episode, Judge Chrissy adjudicates one small-claims case. The plaintiffs, defendants, and disputes are real, and Teigen’s decisions are final and binding.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeAs Emmy nominations voting comes to a close this Monday, UCP and Starz have found one more way to expose their limited series “Gaslit” to potential voters: Free, over-the-air broadcast TV.The first episode of “Gaslit,” starring Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, will air on NBC-owned TV stations in key markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, this weekend in a final push to expose the series to as many people as possible. (Episodes, originally rated TV-MA, will be edited for broadcast standards.)Universal Studio Group’s UCP produces “Gaslit” for Starz. And in a case of Comcast/NBCUniversal synergy, USG and UCP have turned to their sister NBC broadcast station unit for help.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSir Nick Faldo, who has helped call golf tournaments for CBS Sports alongside Jim Nantz for years, plans to step down from his role as CBS Sports’ lead golf analyst in August.Faldo, who has held the role of CBS Sports’ lead golf analyst since 2007, will be replaced by Trevor Immelman, who joined CBS Sports’ golf team in 2019. His new multi-year deal with CBS Sports will begin with its 2023 coverage, when he sits with Nantz for the Farmers Insurance Open.“Sir Nick has had a remarkable career on Network television for nearly 20 years and is one of the most accomplished commentators to ever sit in the 18th tower,” said Sean McManus, chairman, of CBS Sports, in a statement.  “Nick brought the same passion and dedication that propelled him to the world’s number one golfer to our broadcasts.

When Calls the Heart is coming back!

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe hottest place to be in TV may not be traditional television, but Paramount Global was able to make the medium seem pretty cool.Paramount Global has largely completed its upfront sales negotiations. And while the company saw its volume of advance advertising commitments rise most significantly for digital venues like Pluto and Paramount Plus, ad dollars committed for the traditional primetime schedule on the CBS broadcast network rose as well, according to a person familiar with current negotiations  The company expects at least a 10% rise in volume for its primetime schedule, this person says.  In 2021, CBS may have seen its primetime commitments total between $2.03 billion and $2.64 billion, according to Variety estimates, compared with $2.03 billion and $2.51 billion in 2020.

Puss in Boots is back for an all-new adventure.

Tony Dokoupil appeared on CBS Mornings alongside his wife and co-host Katy Tur to discuss her new memoir, Rough Draft.MORE: Tony Dokoupil shares emotional message from family of AR-15 inventorShedding light on her childhood, the MSNBC anchor described how her father was once physically abusive toward the family. Opening up to her husband, Katy described how isolating she found the experience, adding: "I always kind of felt like a bit of a fraud, like I didn't really belong."WATCH: CBS Mornings' Tony Dokoupil shares emotional message from family of AR-15 inventorAcknowledging her reluctance to share her story with Tony, she said: "I didn't really know how to broach it with you."In the eye-opening interview, Katy went on to describe how she only began "confronting" the traumatic events of her childhood during the Covid pandemic after her mother sent her emotional footage of their news coverage.

K.J. Yossman 101 Studios, the company behind series including “Yellowstone” and “Mayor of Kingstown,” has inked a first-look deal with PZAJ, Variety can exclusively reveal.PZAJ, a global film and television production label formed by Phillip Glasser, Jason Brown, and Ash Greyson, is owned by Nasdaq-listed Vinco Ventures Inc. Vinco Ventures is currently merging with Zash Global Media.Already in development under the new partnership are a feature film adaptation of LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke’s “Paradise Found,” a story about a small California town ravaged by fires that finds new hope in a football team that rises from the ashes of the devastation.

Selome Hailu Apple TV+ announced that “Schmigadoon!” has been renewed for a second season. Additionally, Tituss Burgess and Patrick Page have joined the cast.The series stars Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key as a couple named Melissa Gimble and Josh Skinner, two doctors from New york who go on a backpacking trip when their relationship hits a rough patch and find themselves lost in the town of Schmigadoon — where life is a 1940s-50s musical with songs and characters inspired by “Oklahoma!” and “The Music Man,” among others.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAdam Verdugo, a news producer who has worked for years with anchor Norah O’Donnell, has been named executive producer of “CBS Evening News,” just weeks after O’Donnell and CBS extended a contract to keep her at the helm of the show.Verdugo will start his new duties June 13, and brings the executive producer position for the program back to Washington, D.C. For the past several months, CBS News veteran Al Ortiz supervised the evening newscast out of New York.