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CBS Postpones Next Week’s Fall Schedule Announcement Party Due to Writers Strike

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CBS has put on hold plans to announce its fall 2023 schedule at a reveal event in Los Angeles on May 9. The network will still share its schedule next week, but instead likely by traditional press release.

The party, which was to take place at NeueHouse Hollywood (next door to CBS’ new Hollywood headquarters), was to have served as a replacement for the traditional upfronts event that CBS always held in New York at Carnegie Hall during upfronts week. (Paramount Global, which took over the CBS Wednesday slot during upfronts last year, earlier opted not to continue the upfronts week presentation this year. Filling that Wednesday

‘Chicago Fire’ to Bring Back Jesse Spencer for Finale, Taylor Kinney Will Not Return During Season 11

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While Matt Casey fans will be happy, Kelly Severide supporters, not so much. During the May 24 Season 11 finale of “Chicago Fire,” Jesse Spencer will return to make a guest appearance. Taylor Kinney, who last appeared during the Feb. 22 episode and stepped away to deal with a personal matter, will not return.

Spencer exited Dick Wolf’s firefighter procedural in 2021 after 200 episodes. He has made multiple appearances since his departure, including during Severide’s wedding on the Season 10 finale. He came back again earlier this season, starring in the April 5 episode, “Danger Is All Around.” At the time, his storyline was left open,

‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ Director Kelly Fremon Craig on the Pressures of Adapting Judy Blume: It Felt ‘Like Painting Over a Picasso’

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Now in her eighties, legendary children’s author Judy Blume only recently became keen to the idea of adapting her books for the screen. But when it came to “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” — arguably Blume’s most famous title — her arms were crossed. She didn’t want any filmmaker to touch it.

“And then I got this letter from Kelly,” Blume told Variety, smiling, in a cover story for March’s Power of Women issue. She’s referring to “The Edge of Seventeen” writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, to whom she eventually granted the screen rights. Blume was convinced for three reasons: the beauty of the letter that

MTV Movie & TV Awards Remain Set for Sunday, as Producers Mull Strike Contingency Plans

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The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which is slated to air live this Sunday from Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger with host Drew Barrymore, will move forward even as a writers strike is now underway. Because it’s live, the kudocast will likely be the first program noticeably impacted by a strike, although insiders close to the show tell Variety they already had multiple contingency plans in place in case.

“We are all collectively hoping for the best, we’re hoping for a resolution so that the show can continue on as planned,” one production source told Variety on Monday, prior to the WGA contract expiration and announcement of

Snap Testing Sponsored Links in My AI Chatbot, Warner Bros. to Launch Snapchat First Story Takeover Ads for ‘The Flash’

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Snap took the wraps off new advertising initiatives at its 2023 NewFronts presentation for marketers in New York — including revealing a new test of sponsored links in My AI, which can deliver ads based on a user’s conversation with the chatbot.

The company, which averaged 383 million daily active users in Q1, last month announced the rollout of the artificial intelligence-powered My AI chatbot to all Snapchat users. While it’s still early days, Snap says My AI has the potential to deliver more relevant content and experiences across the app — and execs told NewFronts attendees the company is experimenting with sponsored links in My AI.

Onyx Collective Announces ‘Searching for Soul Food’ Premiere Date, Releases Teaser (EXCLUSIVE)

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Onyx Collective’s “Searching for Soul Food” will arrive on June 2 exclusively on Hulu, Variety has learned.

“Searching for Soul Food” follows rock star celebrity chef Alisa Reynolds as she discovers what soul food looks like around the world. As she seeks out the food, she’ll also explore the stories, the people, and the traditions of each place she visits, bringing her own flavor right along with her. The international journey finds Chef Reynolds exploring the culinary worlds of Mississippi, Oklahoma, Appalachia, South Africa, Italy, Jamaica, Peru and Los Angeles.”

Additionally, Onyx Collective also released a teaser for the unscripted series. The 38-second clip offers

Florence Pugh, Miley Cyrus to Star Alongside Hormone Monsters in ‘Human Resources’ Season 2 (TV News Roundup)

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Your hormone monster would like a word with you.

Florence Pugh, Miley Cyrus, Eugene Levy and Isabella Rossellini will guest star in the Season 2 of Netflix’s bawdy animated series “Human Resources,” the show that follows Netflix’s equally raunchy adult animation series “Big Mouth.” The new season has 10 episodes and is set to premiere on June 9.

“Human Resources” follows the creatures that help people through the awkward journey of puberty and the hard life of parenthood. Even as they assist their human clients, the hormone monsters, depression kitties, shame wizards and other creatures lead hilarious lives of their own, both in and out of

Music Box Films Takes North America on Babak Jalali’s Sundance, SXSW Title ‘Fremont’

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Music Box Films has acquired the North American distribution rights to “Fremont,” the critically acclaimed drama from Iranian-British filmmaker Babak Jalali.

The film, which premiered to much acclaim, including from Variety, in the Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT section and later screened at SXSW, stars newcomer Anaita Wali Zada alongside Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White.

“Fremont” follows mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya, played by real-life refugee Anaita Wali Zada, who is struggling to adjust to her new surroundings in Fremont, California. Working at a fortune cookie factory and having lonely dinners at a local restaurant, Donya finds it challenging to connect with the culture and people

Writers Strike Begins: ‘No One Wants This, but It’s Necessary’

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The Writers Guild of America is on strike for the first time in 15 years, as writers will fan out on Tuesday afternoon to walk picket lines outside the major studios in L.A.

“No one wants this, but it’s necessary,” said Courtney Perdue, a writer on “Up Here” and “Gossip Girl.” “This business starts on the page. No pages, no profits.”

Talks on a new contract broke down just before 8 p.m. on Monday night, as the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers remained far apart on a host of key issues. The guild has said that writers are facing an existential

WGA Spells Out Vast Differences That Led to Strike

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The Writers Guild of America has detailed the vast differences between writers and the studios that led to the first strike in 15 years, which will begin Tuesday.

In a lengthy document, the guild spelled out its proposal for a TV staffing minimum, which would range from six to 12 writers per show, based on the number of episodes. That proposal is a non-starter for the studios, which declined to make a counter-offer.

The guild also wants a guaranteed minimum number of weeks of employment per season, ranging from 10 weeks to 52 weeks. The studios likewise rejected that proposal and did not make a counter-offer.