Netflix cuts back on smoking

Where there’s smoke, there’s ire: After a report from anti-smoking group Truth Initiative blasted season two of Netflix’s Stranger Things for having the most depictions of smoking (100% of episodes included tobacco use), the streamer said all new shows it commissions with ratings of TV-14 or below will exclude smoking and e-cigarette use, except for reasons of historical or factual accuracy. Netflix also said starting later this year, its ratings will include smoking information.

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Cat's meow: Quaid will star in his own animal rescue story

Dennis Quaid is the cat’s meow. He’s partnering with ITV America’s Leftfield Pictures for unscripted TV project Saving Dennis Quaid, which he’ll star in and exec produce. Project documents the animal lover’s recent headline-making pet rescue where he and partner Jimmy Jellinek set out on a mission to adopt a 6-year-old black cat from Lynchburg, […]

Turner Sports Shaq’s up

Big news at Turner Sports, as the company lands a multiyear extension of its partnership with Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq’s expanded role gains the Basketball Hall of Famer more airtime, including on TNT’s Inside the NBA and NBA on TNT, as well as contributions to NBA.com. He also will develop projects throughout the WarnerMedia portfolio including […]

The Tonys go digital

The Tonys go digital

The 74th Annual Tony Awards ceremony will go on, presented digitally sometime in the fall. Date and platform are TBA. The event had originally been scheduled for June 7, but was replaced by plans for a streaming special on the same date due to COVID-19. That special was postponed amid unrest over the George Floyd […]

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