BACHELOR NAMES FIRST BLACK EXEC IN HISTORY: When Chris Harrison was ousted from Bachelor Nation, ABC and Warner committed to diversifying its cast and crew. Variety reports that the franchise has named the first-ever Black exec producer, Jodi Baskerville. She has been working on the franchise for nearly 10 years.
SOUTH PARK CREATORS SIGN CBS MEGA-DEAL: MTV Entertainment Studios has signed mega-deals with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The deal will be in effect through 2027, and includes 14 new movies made for Paramount+, and renews South Park through season 30. The deal is worth $900 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Comedy Central has been our home for 25 years and we’re really happy that they’ve made a commitment to us for the next 75 years,” said Parker and Stone in a statement. “When we came to ViacomCBS with a different way to produce the show during the pandemic, Chris (McCarthy), Nina (Diaz), Keyes (Hill-Edgar) and Tanya (Giles) were immediately supportive and enabled us to try something new that turned out to be really well received. We can’t wait to get back to doing traditional South Park episodes but now we can also try out new formats. It’s great to have partners who will always take a chance with us.”
JESSICA CHASTAIN SET FOR TIFF HONOR: The Oscar-nominated Jessica Chastain is set to receive the TIFF Tribute Actor Award at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. “Jessica has brought to life such strong and inspiring roles for women, from the films that have screened at TIFF such as The Debt, Take Shelter, The Martian, Crimson Peak and Molly’s Game to the upcoming world premiere of The Eyes of Tammy Faye at the festival — she is one of the most respected actors of her generation,” Joana Vicente, executive director and co-head of TIFF, said in a statement on Thursday.
