Alexi Hawley, creator, executive producer and showrunner of The Rookie franchise, has extended his overall deal with the lead studio behind the hit ABC cop series and its upcoming spinoff, Lionsgate Television. The new multi-year pact comes on the heels of ABC renewing Hawley’s mothership The Roo…

Mari, the events company founded last year by Ari Emanuel, has agreed a deal to acquire West End and Broadway theater giant ATG Entertainment. Mari’s agreement with Providence Equity Partners is subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms were not disclosed, though the Financial Times…

EXCLUSIVE: Following the success of this year’s War Machine, Netflix and Alan Ritchson are making long-term plans under a new first-look feature deal while also revving engines on their first project under the pact. Sources tell Deadline that Ritchson and Netflix have formed a creative…

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion Pictures has landed rights to Howl, a horror comedy in which Kumail Nanjiani will make his directing debut and also star from a script by Madison Vanderberg. The film is in development and will be produced by Weed Road Pictures and Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s…

EXCLUSIVE, with update: ABC is switching affiliations in the St. Louis market, with plans to move from the Sinclair-owned outlet to Gray Media, sources familiar with the plans confirmed on Thursday. The change will take place on Sept. 1. Gray will provide locally produced news at its station…

CBS is switching the affiliation of stations in a half dozen markets from Nexstar-owned stations to those from Hearst and Forum Communications. Nexstar said that CBS was extending affiliation in 36 of its markets, but that six others would switch to other networks. The changes will take effect…

Ahead of its September 2 world premiere as the opening-night film for the 83rd Venice Film Festival, Oscar winner Danny Boyle’s new thriller Ink has been acquired by Netflix for U.S. and Latin American distribution. Based on the Tony-nominated play by multi-Olivier Award-winning playwright…

Banijay Entertainment and All3Media have completed their merger, creating a new London-based production and distribution giant that makes and sells shows including The Traitors, Big Brother, MasterChef and Peaky Blinders. The combined $8BN entity is called Banijay Entertainment. Coming shortly…

UPDATED with deal done: Neon has officially acquired, from Amazon MGM Studios, global rights to Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial. The film, written by SNL‘s Simon Rich, chronicles the days leading up to the sudden firing and reinstatement of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI, as the fate of who gets to…

EXCLUSIVE: In the highest-profile showrunner move so far this year, Abbott Elementary creator, executive producer and star Quinta Brunson has signed a big, five-year overall deal with 20th Television for her Fifth Chance Productions. She is coming off a four-year overall deal at Warner Bros…

Just ahead of next week’s Season 1 finale, Apple TV has announced a Season 2 renewal for its hit horror-comedy series Widow’s Bay, starring and executive produced by Emmy winner Matthew Rhys. Additionally, the streamer clearly wants to stay in business with series creator Katie Dippold, signing her…

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy-nominated producer Nicholas Weinstock (Severance, Escape at Dannemora) has signed a first-look deal with Prologue Entertainment, the independent film and television studio that produced Netflix thrillers Zero Day and A House of Dynamite, among others. Under the deal, Weinstock…