Television

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Elton John is the latest member of the EGOT club, scoring his first Emmy for best variety special (live). The 2023 Emmy Awards win for the musician’s Farewell From Dodger Stadium special, which he secured during Monday night’s telecast, joins his Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. John was recovering from a knee operation and couldn’t attend …

The Independent reports: David Soul, the musician who appeared in TV series Starsky & Hutch, has died, aged 80. Soul’s wife Helen Snell confirmed the news in a statement on Friday 5 January, writing that he had died following a “valiant battle for life” while surrounded by his loving family. Soul, who starred opposite Paul Michael Glaser as Detective Dave …

Ars Technica reports: Amazon confirmed today in an email to Prime members that it will begin showing ads alongside its streaming Prime Video content starting January 29, 2024. The price will remain the same, but subscribers who don’t wish to see any ads will have to pay an additional $2.99 per month on top of their monthly or yearly Amazon …

NBC News reports: Mayim Bialik, who has been co-hosting “Jeopardy!” alongside Ken Jennings for more than a year, said Friday she will no longer host the syndicated version of the show. “Jeopardy!” said it would be going with one host for the show for continuity. “Ken Jennings will be the sole host for syndicated Jeopardy!” the show said in a …

Variety reports: Matthew Perry died from “the acute effects of ketamine,” according to the toxicology report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office. Contributing factors in the “Friends” actor’s death included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder). The manner of death was ruled an accident. Perry died on Saturday, Oct. …

Variety reports: Andre Braugher, the two-time Emmy winning actor who starred in the hit television series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Homicide: Life on the Street,” died Monday after a brief illness. He was 61. Braugher’s publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed the news of his death to Variety. Braugher was known for his role as the upright Captain Raymond Holt on the police …

The Associated Press reports: Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” dominated the Golden Globe Awards nominations with nine nods for the blockbuster film, including best picture musical or comedy as well as acting nominations for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and three of its original songs. It was closely followed by its release date and meme companion “Oppenheimer,” which scored eight nominations, including …

The New York Times reports: Norman Lear, the television writer and producer who introduced political and social commentary into situation comedy with “All in the Family” and other shows, proving that it was possible to be topical as well as funny while attracting millions of viewers, died on Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 101. Mr. Lear …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Kelsey Grammer sounded curt this morning when he brusquely told a BBC Today program interviewer that he still supports Donald Trump but, according to his interviewer, this curtness doesn’t tell the full story. Justin Webb said the Frasier star was “perfectly happy” to go on talking about his support for the former POTUS, “the Paramount+ PR team, …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: After a grueling 118 days on strike, SAG-AFTRA has officially reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with studios, a move that is heralding the end of the 2023 actors strike. The SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Committee approved the agreement in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, SAG-AFTRA announced. The strike will end at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. …

The New York Times reports: Matthew Perry, who portrayed Chandler Bing in the acclaimed sitcom “Friends,” has died. He was 54. The death was confirmed by Capt. Scot Williams of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide division. He said the cause of death was not likely to be determined for some time, but there was no indication of foul play. …

Variety reports: Richard Roundtree, an icon of Blaxploitation film who starred as detective John Shaft in Gordon Parks’ 1971 action thriller, died Tuesday afternoon after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81 years old. Roundtree was a leading man from the very start of his lifetime in screen acting. After beginning his career in modeling, he secured “Shaft” …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Suzanne Somers, the Emmy nominee and star of hit shows like Three’s Company and She’s The Sheriff, has died. She was 76. Somers’ longtime publicist R. Couri Hay shared a statement on behalf of the actress’ family on Sunday with the news that she had passed away from breast cancer peacefully at her home in Palm …

The New York Times reports: Piper Laurie, who escaped the 1950s Hollywood starlet-making machinery to become a respected actress with three Oscar nominations and an Emmy Award, died on Saturday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 91. Ms. Laurie’s first Academy Award nomination was for best actress in “The Hustler” (1961), in which she played a lonely alcoholic …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: After several long consecutive days of negotiations, the Writers Guild of America and the labor group representing studios and streamers have reached a tentative deal on a new contract in a major development that could precipitate the end of a historic, 146-day writers strike. The Writers Guild of America emailed strike captains the news on Sunday …

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports: Bob Barker, the former longtime host of the popular TV game show “The Price Is Right” and an animal-rights activist, died Saturday morning. He was 99. Details of his passing and the cause of death were not immediately available. Barker was a winner of 19 Daytime Emmy Awards. Also received an Emmy Award for Lifetime …

Variety reports: Paul Reubens, the actor best known for portraying Pee-wee Herman, died Sunday night after a private bout of cancer. He was 70. “Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” wrote Reubens in a statement posted to Instagram after his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of …

TechCrunch reports: NASA is getting in on the “+” streaming action. The government agency announced that it’s going to launch a new streaming service later this year called NASA+. The ad-free, no-cost streaming service will include live coverage of future launches, documentaries and new original series that will be exclusively available on the platform. NASA+ will be available via the …

Forbes reports: SAG-AFTRA, the union representing screen actors, will go on strike starting Thursday at midnight, union leaders announced, a seismic event for the entertainment industry that will shut down any remaining film and television production still going on amid the ongoing writers’ strike, marking Hollywood’s most widespread work stoppage in more than 60 years. The union’s national board voted …

CNBC reports: Disney CEO Bob Iger opened the door to selling the company’s linear TV assets as the business struggles during the media industry’s transition to streaming and digital offerings. Iger appeared on CNBC on Thursday, the morning after the company announced it would extend his contract by two years through 2026. Disney is going to be “expansive” in its …