Jennifer Maas Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox will air a TV special promoting its upcoming spring programming lineup on Fox affiliate stations beginning Friday. Hosted by Fox stars and “Community” alums Ken Jeong (“The Masked Singer“) and Joel McHale (“Animal Control”), the 30-minute spot will be running on stations through March 5.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Philosophy Tube star Abigail Thorn has added to the cast of her upcoming Nebula original short film, “Dracula’s Ex-Girlfriend,” with “Helluva Boss” stars Morgana Ignis and Brandon Rogers. Described as “‘Jennifer’s Body’ meets ‘Euphoria,’” the “sexy and irreverent” short will debut in early Summer 2024 on Nebula under the Nebula Originals banner. Per Nebula’s description, “Two former rivals who share the same toxic ex, Count Dracula, reconnect over dinner and drinks — but one is more healed and moved on than the other.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer A new study reveals that esports viewership jumped 9% in 2023 compared to the previous year, but livestreaming’s weekly average viewership dipped during that same period. According to yearly livestreaming trends report from FaZe Clan owner GameSquare‘s streaming analytics platform Stream Hatchet, 2.5 billion hours of esports events were watched last year.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer A multiplayer fighting video game based on Nickelodeon‘s beloved animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” soon to be a live-action Netflix show, is in the works. The game is set at Maximum Entertainment in a new pact with Paramount Game Studio.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer A spinoff to Dustin Thao‘s New York Times bestselling YA book “You’ve Reached Sam” has been set up at Penguin‘s Dutton Children’s Books imprint in a seven-figure deal following a heated auction between multiple bidders. A TikTok sensation, Thao’s debut novel “You’ve Reached Sam” centers on 17-year-old Julie following the death of her boyfriend Sam. When a heartbroken Julie calls Sam’s cellphone to listen to his voicemail, Sam miraculously picks up the phone and they begin an otherworldly relationship.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Just over a year after the nail was put in the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)’s coffin, media company IGN has revealed plans to launch its own in-person “consumer experience” targeting the gaming community. Taking place early this June in Los Angeles, the inaugural IGN Live three-day event aims to “unite the best of gaming and entertainment with creators, developers, licensors, publishers, journalists and enthusiasts from around the world, to experience beloved brands and franchises in new and meaningful ways.” IGN promises event-goers access to “world-class talent, parties, networking events and unique attractions” from video game and entertainment exhibitors, along with the chance to participate in tournaments and watch live presentations of IGN shows.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Hulu’s TV adaptation of Sarah J. Maas’s romantasy book series “A Court of Thorns and Roses” has been scrapped, Variety has confirmed.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The long-awaited “Squid Game” Season 2 is set to premiere later this year. Netflix announced the-second season debut plans in a letter to shareholders Tuesday, writing: “Looking ahead, despite last year’s strikes pushing back the launch of some titles, we have a big, boldslate for 2024.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Valerie Bertinelli‘s departure from “Kids Baking Championship” is not a cut-and-dry case of Food Network firing the “One Day at a Time” alum from her role as co-host and judge of the show. Rather, it’s the aftermath of the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned channel deciding not to renew Bertinelli’s larger exclusive deal with the network when it ended in 2022, sources tell Variety. Bertinelli signed a multi-series deal with Food Network in 2018, which expired in 2021.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery is asking high school students across the U.S. to “Say Yes to the Prom” for the 12th year in a row with its initiative that will give 1,500 juniors and seniors from underserved communities a chance to put together a complete prom look, courtesy of Macy’s and Men’s Wearhouse.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Powerhouse “Saturday Night Live” alums Tina Fey and Amy Poehler reunited for a revival of their “Weekend Update” co-anchor gig at Monday’s Emmy Awards on Fox and got a round of thunderous applause in the room before their bit began. Because they were presenting the Emmy award for live variety special, they took the liberty of throwing out zingers about the noms in the “Update”-zinger style.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Anthony Anderson took the stage at the top of the Emmys on Monday night to open the much-delayed awards show on Fox with a musical number paying tribute to hit TV theme songs alongside his mother, Doris Bowman, Blink-182’s Travis Barker and actor Christina Applegate. The opening segment took place in Anderson’s “living room” set, with the “Black-ish” star entering following a title card for “Mister Anderson’s Neighborhood.” Upon his entrance, Anderson got a round of cheers — and another set when he mentioned the Emmys were taking place on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Pixar is set to layoff an undetermined number of staffers in the back half of 2024, Variety has confirmed. News of the upcoming cuts was first reported by TechCrunch Thursday, though sources at Pixar say estimates included in that story — as much as 20% of workforce being let go and Pixar being left with less 1,000 employees — are larger than what is actually being considered by leadership at the Disney-owned studio.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Kino Lorber has promoted chief strategy officer Ed Carroll to president of the media company. Carroll will report directly to Richard Lorber, who is giving up his president title to Carroll, but remains chairman and CEO.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Just over a year into his tenure at the top of Roku Media, president Charlie Collier sees his service, “the number one TV operating system in America,” as the streaming industry equivalent to a hit primetime series airing ahead of your new show on broadcast TV. “We host the experience of television,” Collier told Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton at Variety‘s Entertainment Summit at CES in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Sundance turns 40 this year and AMC Networks is celebrating the film festival’s big 4-0 with the release of a curated lineup of dozens of movies that previously debuted at the event, including “Birth/Rebirth,” “Sleeping with Other People,” “Savage Grace” and “Heathers,” for streamer AMC+. A long-time sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival with roots in indie films through IFC Films and now horror-focused streamer Shudder, whcih is debuting Chris Nash’s “In A Violent Nature” at the fest this year, AMC Networks will be offering the compilation of Sundance movies all through January, in connection with the 2024 edition of the film festival running Jan.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Sony Pictures Entertainment general counsel Leah Weil is exiting her role after almost three decades with the company. The longtime senior executive vice president is the studio’s most senior legal advisor with oversight across film and TV production, acquisition and distribution, media networks, digital content creation and distribution, operation of studio facilities and development of new entertainment offerings.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Gersh has acquired A3 Artists Agency‘s digital and alternative departments. As part of the deal, 25 agents and 45 additional staffers will move to Gersh under a new standalone digital business. For the new setup, Jade Sherman will run the department, heading things up as senior partner and chief of digital.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Hogwarts Legacy” crossed 22 million copies sold by the end of 2023, with approximately 2 million of those units selling during the December holiday season, according to Warner Bros. Games. “But it’s not just the unit sold that I’m so proud of, it’s just that it delighted the fans so much,” Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Jo Koy kicked off his first-ever Golden Globes hosting gig Sunday with a monologue that referenced the size of “Saltburn” star Barry Keoghan’s penis and Ozempic in front of top Hollywood talent, drawing a mixed response for his jokes. “Some I wrote, some other people wrote,” the standup comedian said after one of his lines fell a little flat.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery corporate communications chief Nathaniel Brown is exiting the company. CEO David Zaslav announced the news in a memo to staff Friday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Hollywood got back on its feet on Wall Street this year, and if it wants to remain on solid ground in 2024 — or even climb a few steps higher — it needs to look beyond what movies and TV shows were the greatest hits. The biz is overdue when it comes to keeping an eye on the video game titles consumers poured their time into over the past 12 months.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Lionsgate closed its $375 million acquisition of studio Entertainment One (eOne) from toy company Hasbro Wednesday. The deal adds 6,500 film and television titles to Lionsgate’s existing library, including Showtime hit “Yellowjackets,” ABC’s “The Rookie” and Discovery’s “Naked & Afraid” franchise.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Hollywood had a rough year in many areas — but the stock market largely was not one of them. Wall Street is poised to finish out 2023 up double digits: As of Dec. 27, the S&P 500 index has climbed 25% year to date and is nearing an all-time high record close.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, the creators of ChatGPT and other A.I. platforms, over copyright infringement, claiming the companies are responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages.” The suit, filed Wednesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, does not include a specific monetary demand but does assert the above-mentioned claim that Microsoft and OpenAI are responsible for billions in damages, and also demands that any chatbot models and data that pulled copyrighted work from The Times be dismantled.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Mega media merger mania is once again afoot in Hollywood with very, very early talks between Warner Bros. Discovery‘s David Zaslav and Paramount Global’s Bob Bakish about a potential merger of the two companies. Analysts and industry sources have already raised a number of questions about what a WBD-Paramount combo would look like and the effect it could have on the larger TV and film landscape.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Legendary wildlife host Jack “Jungle Jack” Hanna’s TV franchise library, including 400 episodes of “Jack Hanna‘s Into the Wild” and “Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown” has been acquired by Hearst Media Production Group. Hearst is the longtime distributor of Hanna’s series, previously owned by Into The Wild, LLC, and already held ownership of “Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures” and in 2021 launched the Jack Hanna Channel, a FAST channel showcasing hundreds of episodes of Hanna’s adventures in the wild.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Gamer and social media star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is hosting his own New Year’s Eve special targeted at a Gen Z audience. Titled “Ninja’s NYE,” the event that will be streamed across Blevins’ Twitch, YouTube and TikTok channels is described as “a unique alternative live entertainment option geared toward gaming and digitally native audiences for New Year’s Eve.” Special guest stars that will be featured in the special include fellow web stars TimTheTattman, SypherPK, DrLupo, BasicallyIDoWrk and LEGIQN.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “One Piece” is about to become an anime series — again. On the heels of the immense success of the first season of its live-action “One Piece” TV series, Netflix has teamed with “One Piece” creator Eiichiro Oda, publisher Shueisha, Fuji Television Network and Toei Animation Co.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Nissa Diederich, 20th Television‘s head of production, will step down from her position after nearly 25 years as an executive with 20th TV, Fox 21 Television Studios and its successors. Most recently, she spent the past three years as an executive VP.