Chris Maccarthy Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

EXCLUSIVE: Tonight marks a significant first for Bunim/Murray Productions: its long-running hit The Challenge, which launched 25 years ago on MTV, will debut for the first time on broadcast TV. CBS will follow its summer hit Big Brother with the debut of The Challenge: USA, a spinoff from B/M and MTV Entertainment Studios that features players from CBS’ unscripted lineup of BB, Survivor, Love Island and The Amazing Race. (For an exclusive first look of the series, watch the video above).

EXCLUSIVE: James F. Blue III is leaving Paramount Global after a year and a half as SVP and Head of Smithsonian Channel. He just informed his staff of his decision in an internal memo (You can read it below). Blue did not specify what his plans for the future are but, according to sources, the former PBS NewsHour and Nightline producer would likely return to the news field where he has spent most of his career to date.

EXCLUSIVE: Yellowstone co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan will direct the first two episodes of Bass Reeves, the six-part limited series starring David Oyelowo as the legendary Wild West lawman.

Manori Ravindran International EditorWhatever you do, don’t ask Sylvester Stallone — Mr. Stallone to journalists everywhere — to read off a teleprompter.Stallone stole the show at the Paramount+ U.K.

Jason White is leaving as CMO of MTV Entertainment after a little over a year on the job. He will be succeeded by MTV veteran Amy Campbell who had been promoted to EVP Marketing when White joined the company as CMO in April 2021.

William Earl Amy Campbell has been promoted to chief marketing officer for MTV Entertainment Studios.Campbell’s promotion follows the departure of Jason White, who joined the Paramount Global division in April 2021.Campbell “is one of the smartest, hardest-working and most creative leaders in the industry,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Paramount Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios, wrote in a memo to staffers announcing Campbell’s promotion and White’s departure.“She has lived and breathed life into many of our biggest initiatives, from overseeing our biggest launches including ‘Yellowstone,’ ‘The Challenge’ and ‘South Park’ to delivering impactful pro-social campaigns like “Save Our Moms” (focused on maternal health), “+1 The Vote” (civic engagement) and “#AloneTogether” with The Ad Council (Covid/mental health),” McCarthy wrote. Campbell most recently served as executive vice presi]dent of marketing and brand creative.Campbell has been associated with MTV and its sibling networks for more than 20 years.

MTV Entertainment Studios today announced that USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative will become the long-term home of the Mental Health Storytelling Initiative. The effort was spearheaded last year by MTVE, who brought together a coalition of over 60 entertainment media companies and mental health expert organizations to raise awareness and change the narrative on mental health.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAntoine Fuqua has signed an overall television deal with Paramount and MTV Entertainment Studios, Variety has learned.The deal comes after Fuqua served as executive producer on the Paramount Plus series “Mayor of Kingstown.” The first season of that series concluded in January with a second season on the way. Fuqua returns as an EP on Season 2.Fuqua and his Hill District Media will focus on developing original scripted and unscripted content under the deal.

MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount want to stay in business with the Emmy-winning Antoine Fuqua and his Hill District Media banner. The executive producer of the Paramount+ drama Mayor of Kingstown has signed overall deal with the studios that will focus on original scripted and unscripted content for TV.

Yellowstone TV franchise is set to continue with 1932, as well as more of its other prequel series 1883.Yellowstone stars Kevin Costner, Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, and Gil Birmingham. The show follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, and various family dramas at the ranch and the bordering Broken Rock Indian Reservation, national park, and developers.1932 will see a new Yellowstone origin story set to follow a new generation of Duttons against the desolate backdrop of the Western expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression, according to Entertainment Weekly.Paramount+ has also announced more of spin-off show 1883, but did not confirm whether that would mean a renewal or more episodes.

“Teen Wolf” will howl again.

Emily Longeretta Paramount Plus and CBS are expanding their reality TV lineup. On Tuesday, the streaming service announced the renewals of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” “Queen of the Universe,” “The Real World Homecoming” and “The Challenge: All Stars,” as well as multiple new series.“The Challenge: All Stars,” which landed a Guild of Music Supervisors Award nomination for best music supervision in reality TV, will launch its third season on May 11, Chris McCarthy, chief content officer of unscripted entertainment at Paramount Plus, announced on on Tuesday’s ViacomCBS’s Investor Day event, sharing that the universe is expanding across broadcast and cable channels.Internationally, the streamer will launch “The Challenge: Argentina,” “The Challenge: Australia” and “The Challenge U.K.” Each will be available to stream on demand in their respective markets.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Yellowstone” prequel “1883” has been renewed for Season 2 at Paramount Plus, and the ViacomCBS-owned streaming service has ordered another Taylor Sheridan-created origin-story show following the Dutton Family called “1932.” Yes, you guessed it — the show will follow a new generation of Duttons “during the time of western expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression.”“1883″ stars Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Billy Bob Thornton, Isabel May, LaMonica Garrett, Marc Rissmann, Audie Rick, Eric Nelsen and James Landry Hébert.The show follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It is a stark retelling of western expansion and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana.

Teen Wolf star Tyler Posey is set to reprise his role as Scott McCall in Paramount+’s upcoming movie sequel to the 2011 MTV series. Eleven other series regular and recurring cast members of the original series are set for the full-length reunion film, including Crystal Reed, Holland Roden, Colton Haynes and Shelley Hennig, the streamer’s chief content officer of unscripted entertainment and adult animation Chris McCarthy announced during today’s ViacomCBS Investors Event.

Taylor Sheridan's universe is getting bigger.Paramount+ has formally greenlit , a new prequel series following the success of , it was announced Tuesday during ViacomCBS' Investor Day. Additionally, the streaming service has plans for «more» , but came short of announcing a formal season 2 pickup., according to the official synopsis, will follow «a new generation of Duttons during the time of Western expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression.»“The incredible storytelling and stellar performances behind have fueled phenomenal new records for Paramount+,” said Tanya Giles, chief programming officer at ViacomCBS Streaming, in a statement. “Promoting the series through linear sampling on the Paramount Network during their latest record-breaking season of further enabled us to introduce Sheridan’s loyal audience to this fantastic new series.

Yellowstone has been renewed at Paramount Network!

Mónica Marie Zorrilla Yeehaw! Paramount has greenlit a fifth season of its neo-western, ratings-wrangling hit “Yellowstone.”The highly-acclaimed SAG and PGA-nominated series from MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios is set to begin production in May 2022 with the ensemble cast, as well as Jen Landon and Kathryn Kelly, who have been upped to series regulars.“Yellowstone,” created by Taylor Sheridan and fronted by grizzled rancher gazillionaire Kevin Costner, stars Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Kelsey Asbille, Gil Birmingham, Wes Bentley, Brecken Merrill, Jefferson White, Forrie Smith, Denim Richards, Ian Bohen, Finn Little and Ryan Birmingham, all of whom will return for Season 5.“Yellowstone’s record-breaking performance proves we’ve tapped a cultural nerve and unleashed a passionate audience from the center of the country to each of the coasts,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of ViacomCBS Media Networks, said in a statement. “We are honored to be able to bring audiences another season of Yellowstone.

EXCLUSIVE: Former MTV topper Van Toffler is back in a formal relationship with the company where he spent almost three decades as an executive. MTV Entertainment Group has signed a multi-picture deal with independent studio Gunpowder & Sky, co-founded and run by Van Toffler, former CEO of Viacom Media Networks Music & Logo Group. The pact follows MTVE’s collaboration with Gunpowder & Sky on Comedy Central’s Hot Mess Holiday movie, starring Kal Penn, which was recently nominated for two NAACP awards, and signals a push in that area for the ViacomCBS division.

Ethan Shanfeld Paramount Network will remain Paramount Network — at least for now — as the cabler nixes plans to rebrand as the Paramount Movie Network.According to insiders, the rebrand plans have been put on ice partly due to COVID-19, which has had an immense impact on production, as well as the success of “Yellowstone,” which has grown into a tremendous hit for Paramount Network and is now the No. 1 entertainment program on cable.The initial plan, first announced in September 2020, was for the ViacomCBS subsidiary to focus on television movies and cancel its unscripted programming.

1883,” TheWrap confirmed on Monday.A source close to the network also cited ensuing pandemic delays as a reason for pausing production on the planned slate of 52 new movies a year. “Yellowstone’s Season 4 finale hit an all-time high with 9.3 million total viewers in Live+Same Day numbers, a leap of 81% from the Season 3 finale.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Network is safe, for now.

South Park, fresh off its two December Post Covid movie events, will return to Comedy Central for its 25th season next month.

Yellowstone continues to defy gravity — and an industrywide decline in linear ratings. The Season 4 finale of Paramount Network’s hugely popular drama starring Oscar winner Kevin Costner hit a new series high with 9.3 million total viewers in Live+Same Day, up +81% vs. the Season 3 finale (5.2 million). The Jan. 2 closer eclipsed the previous L+SD viewership high mark set by the Season 4 premiere (8 million) to become the most watched telecast on cable since The Walking Dead Season 8 premiere on AMC in October 2017 (11.4 million).

MTV’s Europe Music Awards (EMA) will go ahead in Hungary this year in a bid to counter the country’s new stringent anti-gay laws, with President & CEO Chris McCarthy saying the outfit will “use the opportunity to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary and around the world.”

LOS ANGELES -- The MTV Europe Music Awards will be held Nov.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNina L. Diaz will now head up unscripted and adult animation for Paramount Plus, Variety has learned exclusively.The promotion was announced by Chris McCarthy in a memo to MTV Entertainment Group staffers on Thursday, which can be read in full below.Diaz will now serve as chief creative officer for unscripted entertainment and adult animation at Paramount Plus, while remaining CCO and president of content for MTV Entertainment Group.

“‘Yellowstone’ is a massive hit show with tens of millions of fans – with ‘1883,” we are taking those fans back to the origin story, and in the process, turning the ‘Yellowstone’ world into a global hit franchise to fuel the growth of Paramount+,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, MTV Entertainment Group.

ViacomCBS has promoted two top executives in a move to streamline its U.S. and international leadership structure, the company announced Thursday.MTV Entertainment Group’s Chris McCarthy and Nickelodeon’s Brian Robbins have both been upped to President and CEO of their respective groups and have added oversight of their respective brand’s international operations.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorViacomCBS said it would unite the company’s domestic and international businesses under top executives, and assigned new duties to three of its senior operating executives that expands their influence across the media conglomerate.Chris McCarthy, president of the company’s linear entertainment-focused cable networks, becomes president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group.

ViacomCBS has restructured its international reporting structure, bringing its global business under the control of a trio of U.S. execs.