Variety

This AI Startup Made a 24-Hour AI News Channel. Who Wants This?

Is there an audience for AI-delivered news? Public data says no, and previous attempts to deliver such ventures have yielded many human-written stories about projects that never materialized. And yet Mirage — the AI startup behind the video-editing app Captions that raised $75 million this year and was last valued at $500 million — thinks […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

Christy Knowings, Nickelodeon’s ‘All That’ Cast Member, Dies at 46

Christy Knowings, who was a cast member on Nickelodeon’s children sketch comedy show “All That,” died Tuesday. She was 46. Knowings suffered an asthma attack that left her with brain damage, according to TMZ, and she was hospitalized on Friday. TMZ, which broke the news of Knowings’ death, reported that she was placed on life […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Sets Premiere Day Viewing Record for Apple TV

The show's return drew nearly 300 million minutes of viewing time on Aug. 4 and 5.

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

Netflix Shuts Down Studio Behind ‘Unhinged’ Game 6 Weeks After Release

Netflix is shutting down two studios, including the developer behind horror game, “Unhinged,” which released less than two months ago. The streaming service is closing “Unhinged” maker Night School Studio, which it acquired in 2021, and Moonloot, a Helsinki-based studio founded in 2022. “We are incredibly grateful to the talented colleagues we’re saying goodbye to […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Come Back Home review – loss and love in Palestinian artist’s intriguing fringe hour

Summerhall, EdinburghFadi Murad’s unconventional drama is a collage structured with the free-form imagination of a poetLast year, a group of Scottish producers staged a four-day mini festival called Welcome to the Fringe, Palestine. One of the excerpts was a scratch performance by Fadi Murad, which now returns as a full-length show. It is not a conventional drama. Rather, Come Back Home is structured with the free-ranging imagination of a poet, an impressionistic collage that resists straightfor

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

Inside the Disney Machine: How the Iconic Brand Is Discovering the Next Generation of Stars

It’s a tale as old as time — or at least the late ’90s. Young actors cut their teeth on Disney youth programming and blossom into fully fledged pop stars or Academy Award-nominated actors. Some of today’s biggest stars — Zendaya, Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sabrina Carpenter, for example — got their start in the […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Opens With 296.6 Million Minutes Watched in Two Days, Apple TV’s Biggest Launch Ever

“Ted Lasso” made a strong return to Apple TV last week, with the Season 4 premiere pulling in 296.6 million minutes watched over the course of Aug. 4-5. That total, measured by Nielsen, makes the episode the biggest launch in the history of Apple TV, outpacing all previous seasons of “Ted Lasso” in addition to […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

CBS News Pushes Into Live Events as ‘Sunday Morning’ Teams With 92nd Street Y (Exclusive)

The long-running morning show will collaborate with the Upper East Side cultural institution on live interviews and programming that will stream on both their platforms.

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Singer Ejae ‘Made Mistakes’ During BAFTAs Performance After Seeing Leonardo DiCaprio: ‘He Was Not Smiling’ and ‘That’s What Put Me Off’

Leonardo DiCaprio could throw any of us off of our game — as EJAE can testify. The “KPop Demon Hunters” vocalist spoke with the U.K. newspaper the Times and recounted her experience performing at this past year’s BAFTA Awards. “I made mistakes,” she said. “I cracked a little bit on the high notes. Leonardo DiCaprio […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

Will Smith’s ‘King Richard’ Co-Star Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Defends the Oscars Slap: ‘I Stand By That’ Because the First Amendment Should Not ‘Protect A—holes’

When it comes to Will Smith’s shocking Oscars slap, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is sticking with her “King Richard” co-star. The Oscar nominee, who played Smith’s on-screen wife as the mother of Venus and Serena Williams in the biopic, told The Daily Beast’s “Obsessed” podcast that she understands why Smith stormed the stage in 2022 and smacked […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

‘La Gradiva,’ Cannes Critics’ Week Winner and French Oscar Hopeful, Sets U.S. Release Date and Reveals New Image (EXCLUSIVE)

Marine Atlan’s coming-of-age drama “La Gradiva,” a French hopeful eyeing to represent the country in the international feature Oscar race, has set its U.S. release date. The Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize winner will open at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center in New York on Dec. 18, followed by an expansion the next […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

Nara Smith Signs With CAA (EXCLUSIVE)

Nara Smith, a popular influencer on TikTok and other platforms, has signed with CAA for representation. Smith is a South African and German model, content creator and entrepreneur. She is best known for posting videos on TikTok in which she cooks elaborate meals or recreates common snack foods from scratch while dressed in designer clothing […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

How ‘All Her Fault’ Helped Put Peacock on the Map in Scripted Awards Conversations

Peacock finally landed a major scripted series program nomination at the Emmys this year, and it’s “All Her Fault.” The NBCUniversal streamer has already won two outstanding reality competition series Emmys for “The Traitors,” and plenty of noms in categories like outstanding TV movie (“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” in 2025). But “All Her […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

“We Don’t See This as Entertainment”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With Octavia Spencer on True Crime Docu-Series ‘Lost Women of Alaska’

The narrator and executive producer of the ID series talks about the "duty" she feels to amplify the stories of missing and murdered native women and the current efforts toward seeking justice.

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Sally Field Recalls the Roles She Fought for the Hardest

The Emmy-nominated star of Netflix’s 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' adaptation discusses the "The whole time?" moment from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and whether you can expect to see her reprising Mary Todd Lincoln on Broadway: "No, no, no."

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

Creator Agency Fixated Taps Mary Murcko as Chief Revenue Officer

Media biz veteran Mary Murcko has joined Fixated, an agency that provides support services for creators ranging from talent representation to creator economy support services. Murcko has been tapped to steer the company’s global revenue organization, overseeing brand partnerships, direct media sales, podcast sales, clipping and other brand and sponsorship activities. Launched in 2024, Fixated […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

‘House of the Dragon’ Star on Narrowly Cheating Death: “They Can’t Get Rid of Me That Easily”

The Sea Snake, played with royal gravitas by Steve Toussaint, survives the end of season three. "Who knows what tomorrow may bring. But for now, I'm still employed," says Toussaint.

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

What Showrunner Will Smith’s Exit Means for ‘Slow Horses’ Season 6

As the acclaimed series returns Sept. 16, executive producer Doug Urbanski explains how Gaby Chiappe stepped in, why the new season combines two Mick Herron novels and what comes next.

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

6 Things You Need to Know About the Shocking $12.5 Billion Lakers Sale

Read this article on Variety’s sister website Sportico. The record-breaking Los Angeles Lakers sale, announced Wednesday to a largely unsuspecting audience, is packed with intrigue.  The seller, Mark Walter, is facing federal investigations across his business empire. The buyer, Joshua Kushner, is Trump family-adjacent, recently tried to invest in FIFA in what became a true international scandal […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026

Variety

Netflix FTX Series ‘The Altruists’ Sets November Release Date, Drops First Look Photos

Netflix has set the release date for “The Altruists,” inspired by Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison’s rise and fall from financial power. “The Altruists” hits Netflix November 19. Netflix has also released the first-look photos for the drama, which can be seen below. The logline for the show reads, “The story of Sam Bankman-Fried and […]

entertainment  Aug 13, 2026