WARNERMEDIA STARTS NEW WAVE OF LAYOFFS: WarnerMedia‘s CEO Jason Kilar warned staffers that there would be a “painful” wave of layoffs, which he sees as a “critical” step in their evolution. During the last wave of layoffs in August, 600 jobs were cut. Here’s what he wrote in part: “Many of you have patiently waited to hear how the reorganization would affect you personally, which is both uncomfortable and stressful. Reducing this period of uncertainty was one of the many reasons we pushed so hard to get through this work as quickly and as thoughtfully as possible, although it probably didn’t feel fast enough. I want to thank you all for continuing to contribute your best, despite this challenging period and the additional pressure of everything else that has been going on in the world.”
MATTHEW MORRISON TO STAR IN GRINCH: Matthew Morrison is set to star as the Grinch in a two-hour production of Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical on NBC this December. The theatrical event will air December 9th at 8 p.m. Denis O’Hare will star as old Max, Booboo Stewart as young Max and newcomer Amelia Minto as Cindy-Lou Who.”In what has been an extremely challenging year for us all, it is an honor to bring some holiday cheer into viewers’ homes this December,” Morrison said. “My wish is to bring some Who-ville magic to this holiday season and, while the pandemic presents some challenges in bringing a stage production to life, we are excited to present a unique version of this seasonal favorite in a new creative and imaginative way.”
KALEY CUOCO TALKS PIVOT TO THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT: The Big Bang Theory alum Kaley Cuoco tells The Hollywood Reporter of her decision to take on a very different role with HBO Max‘s The Flight Attendant: “I've been with the same team of nearly 20 people — agents, managers, attorneys, publicists — since I was about 15. During the last few years of Big Bang, they were all telling me, ‘You might want to start thinking about the next step.’ They knew I wasn't planning, so it was one of my managers who told me to look out for an article or a book that I liked. One night, I was swiping through upcoming books on Amazon and saw The Flight Attendant. I read one sentence and called my attorney: ‘Have you heard of this book? And, if you have, did Reese Witherspoon get the rights?’ I was assuming she probably did. (Laughs.) I had not even read the book yet, and all of a sudden I have the rights — I guess I'll just walk into soon-to-retire Warner Bros. Television Group chairman Peter Roth's office with it and say, ‘Hey, let's make this.'” The Flight Attendant bows on November 26th.
NIELSEN SHAKES UP RATINGS: Nielsen is changing the way it measures a show’s reach, by adding data from DirecTV and Dish set-top boxes and Vizio smart TV’s into its national currency. “I would say our Holy Grail for what we are working toward is creating a currency that’s more reliable across TV, connected TV and digital devices,” says Scott N. Brown, general manager for audience measurement at Nielsen, in an interview with Variety. “This is a real important first step in that direction.”