Chris Maccarthy Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

There’s more change at Showtime.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Amy Israel, the head of scripted at Showtime, is stepping down, Variety has learned. Israel’s formal title is executive vice president of global programming. She will remain with Showtime through the end of the year in a transitional role.

EXCLUSIVE: Showtime is developing Jonah Kills, a UK-based comedy created and written by Clem Garritty. It hails from Jax Media UK, which commissioned up-and-comer Garritty to generate four scripts before the comedy was pitched to Showtime. There is no work currently being done on the scripts but I hear the intention is to cast and film a pilot after the strikes, and veteran TV director Iain B. MacDonald (Poker Face, Shantaram) has been tapped to direct it.

EXCLUSIVE: Audiences appeared eager for the return of Showtime’s The Chi.

EXCLUSIVE: Taylor Sheridan might have more ratings royalty on his hands with Special Ops: Lioness.

UPDATED, 12 PM: Showtime has released the official trailer and key art for Season 6 of Lena Waithe’s critically acclaimed drama series The Chi. New challenges await Kevin (Alex Hibbert), Jake (Michael Epps) and Papa (Shamon Brown Jr) and the rest of the Chi fam in the upcoming expanded season. Season 6, which is split into two parts of eight episodes each, premieres its first half on August 4 streaming on Paramount+ and on demand, followed by its linear debut at 9 p.m. Sunday, August 6.

EXCLUSIVE: Nicole Kidman hadn’t figured on taking an acting role in the latest entry in the Taylor Sheridan universe, Special Ops: Lioness. Then she got hooked.

Jon Stewart may have replaced John Oliver in the Outstanding Talk Series category at the Emmys but HBO’s Last Week Tonight is still up for four awards.

Starting today, Paramount+ is the new streaming home of Showtime, the latest in a string of moves at major media companies looking to integrate their offerings to boost engagement and reduce churn.

The Chi is coming back later this summer.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Billions” will officially end with Season 7 at Showtime. The show, which is set in the world of high finance and politics, originally debuted on the premium cabler in 2016. Season 7 will consist of 12 episodes and is set to debut on Paramount+ with Showtime on August 11 before making its linear debut August 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. “‘Billions’ has deftly explored power, money and greed in a way that not only made it a massive hit, but also defined its own genre thanks to the creative brain trust of Brian and David,” said Chris McCarthy, President & CEO of Showtime, MTV Entertainment Studios, and Paramount Media Networks. “This final season is packed full of the incredible, complex dialogue and character dynamics fans have come to love, and we are thrilled to partner with them on turning this hit series into a global franchise.”

Matthew McConaughey is soon joining the "Yellowstone" universe, in a highly anticipated new series. Details about the show are still scarce, but in a recent interview on the "Lex Fridman Podcast," McConaughey spoke about the appeal of the show and its lead, Kevin Costner.

It’s official. Billions will end with its upcoming seventh season. Showtime confirmed Thursday that the seventh season will be the last for the hit drama series, and announced the premiere date. The first episode will stream on Paramount+ with Showtime on Friday, August 11, before making its on-air debut Sunday, August 13 at 8 pm on Showtime. Subsequent episodes will roll out weekly.

Showtime has made a decision on its last remaining current scripted series whose fate had been up in the air, opting not to pick up a second season of comedy I Love That for You. The news comes a year after the Season 1 run of the show starring Vanessa Bayer, who co-created I Love That For You with Jeremy Beiler. The two serve as executive producers alongside showrunner Jessi Klein and Michael Showalter.

 finished its second season on Friday, completing a nine-episode installment of everyone's favorite soccer team-turned-survivalists. Co-created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, Showtime's mystery-thriller series follows a 1996 girls soccer team whose plane crash lands in the Canadian wilderness while en route to a tournament in Seattle, Washington. The group was left stranded for 19 months, forced to endure harsh weather and dwindling options for sustenance.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Showtime research and scheduling chief Kim Lemon is exiting his post after 34 years with the company. Upon his exit, MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks’ Laurel Weir will be adding oversight of the Showtime brand (soon to be renamed Paramount+ With Showtime) to her purview. Most recently executive vice president of data strategy, research, scheduling and programming, Lemon began his career at Showtime more than three decades ago as a manager of marketing research. “Throughout his tenure, Kim has played an integral role in Showtime’s evolution from a linear network to a bonafide streaming service, establishing a first-in-class data science group,” wrote Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president Chris McCarthy and Paramount’s executive vice president and chief research officer Colleen Fahey Rush in a memo to staff Tuesday, which was obtained by Variety. “He is a pioneer in brand strategy, always prioritizing our content and being mindful of how it would inform our growth while showing great reverence for the creative process and our audience’s feedback.”

Kim Lemon, who rose to EVP of Data Strategy, Research, Scheduling and Programming at Showtime during a 34-year run, is departing the company.

Kim Lemon, Paramount’s executive vice president of data strategy, research, scheduling and programming, will exit Showtime after 34 years to “embark on his next chapter.”“Throughout his tenure, Kim has played an integral role in Showtime’s evolution from a linear network to a bonafide streaming service, establishing a first-in-class data science group,” Showtime, MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president and CEO Chris McCarthy said in a memo to employees. “He is a pioneer in brand strategy, always prioritizing our content and being mindful of how it would inform our growth while showing great reverence for the creative process and our audience’s feedback.”McCarthy noted that Lemon will “be around for some time to help with the transition and consult.”Laurel Weir, MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks’ executive vice president and head of programming and strategic insights and research, will step in and expand her purview to now include Showtime.

to ‘Your Honor,’ Showtime is home to big, premium, sophisticated series which will now be complemented with broad, blockbuster originals and movies in the alignment of Paramount+ with Showtime,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, added. “Together, Paramount+ with Showtime will provide our consumers a much more rewarding experience with our vast set of unique originals and deep library of iconic shows and hit films.”Paramount dropping this news a day before Max’s launch is undoubtably a strategic move.

New frontiers. Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly and Kelsey Asbille are among the Yellowstone stars who have other projects lined up as the Paramount+ series draws to a close.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Global is cutting back the Smithsonian Channel’s New York Hub as more details about the U.S. layoffs emerge.

Now that "Yellowstone" is wrapping after the second half of season five, many people are curious to see how the show ends, especially amid controversy with its leading star, Kevin Costner. Country musician and actress Lainey Wilson is no exception. She made her debut on the show as singer Abby earlier this season.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Layoffs will be hitting 25% of employees across the Showtime, MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks groups in the U.S. Tuesday, following months of internal deliberations about integration amid Showtime’s rebranding into Paramount+ With Showtime. Additionally, MTV News — which was significantly affected by layoffs more than five years ago — will be shutting down. Other units, most of which are operations, will be shuttered as well. In a memo to staff, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president Chris McCarthy said that, despite Paramount’s “success in streaming, we continue to feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers,” and that “senior leaders in coordination with HR have been working together over the past few months to determine the optimal organization for the current and future needs of our business.”

In the latest wave of industry layoffs, the recently combined Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios as well as Paramount Media Networks, overseen by the division’s President and CEO Chris McCarthy, is reducing its domestic team by 25% today. McCarthy addressed the cuts, which he called a “very hard but necessary decision”, in a company memo. (You can read it in full below.)

Yellowstone will officially end with season five – although a new sequel series is on the way.The announcement comes following numerous reports that the fifth and current run of the show would be its last. It was also reported that lead star Kevin Costner would not return for a future series, having committed to the two-part Western feature Horizon.However, the Dutton family’s story will continue to be told in a brand-new spin-off series, which will premiere on Paramount Network and Paramount+ this December.The newly announced and currently untitled show, which joins fellow spin-offs 1883 and 1923, comes from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, who’ll be working alongside MTV and 101 studios.“Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits – from 1883 to Tulsa King,” said Chris McCarthy, president & CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios.“I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life.”“The Dutton story continues, picking up where Yellowstone leaves off in another epic tale,” added David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios.

After five seasons, several spinoffs and endless drama, "Yellowstone" is officially coming to an end. The Kevin Costner-led western show will air the second half of its fifth and final season in November before rolling out an unnamed sequel series in December.

Long live “Yellowstone”.

Yellowstone will officially end after the release of the final episodes from its fifth season, but it’s not all bad news for fans.

Kevin Costner was set to leave  after the end of season 5, Paramount Network has revealed that the series will end in November, following the release of its remaining episodes. The franchise is far from over, however, with a new, untitled sequel series from creator Taylor Sheridan set to follow by the end of this year. " has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from to — and I am confident our sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life," said Chris McCarthy, President & CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios. David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios and executive producer of, added, «The Dutton story continues, picking up where leaves off in another epic tale.

“Yellowstone” is coming to an end, but the world will live on. The series will wrap on Paramount Network with its fifth season, set to air in November, and will be succeeded by a new sequel series.The new series will air on Paramount and stream on Paramount+ in December, and Matthew McConaughey remains in talks to star in that show.“’Yellowstone’ has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits – from 1883 to ‘Tulsa King,’ and I am confident our ‘Yellowstone’ sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life,” said Chris McCarthy, President & CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios.“The Dutton story continues, picking up where ‘Yellowstone’ leaves off in another epic tale.