WGA East, CBS, Paramount+.
WGA East is about to have a new president. The two candidates succeeding current president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen (consulting producer: Law and Order SVU) are:
Charles Kipps (Writer: Fat Albert, Columbo: A Trace of Murder)
Tom Fontana (Creator: HBO’s Oz) (former: VP WGAE)
Election kicks off Sept. 5th.
Kenya Barris (creator: Blackish) returns to broadcast with a CBS multi-cam comedy starring Mike Epps about estranged brothers forced to reunite after a wildfire. With his resume, this is a bit like the return of a family sitcom king.
Douchebag (dudebro) double feature: Paramount+ debuts two fall docuseries: Thirst Trap (Sept. 9), exploring TikTok star William White’s online presence and his older fans' obsessions - Trailer and Don’t Date Brandon (Oct. 28), which follows a girl as she navigates dating a serial liar.
David Steinberg has passed away at 81. He was the manager of comedy legends like Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.
Just ahead of ESPN’s streaming launch, Disney has hired two EVPs for the ESPN technology group. Former Walmart exec Tony Donohoe will focus on ad platforms in his new Disney role, and Google employee Erin Teague will specialize in product management at Disney.
Writer Anna Klassen has been tapped by Germany’s Leonine Studios (prod co: Netflix’s Brick) to adapt Anna Shilling’s 2023 novel All In Monte Carlo, a stylish, revenge-tinged tale of four women in Monaco reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada and First Wives Club. This news comes not long after Klassen was announced to adapt The Last Sunrise, an Anna Todd novel, for Amazon MGM Studios.