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The Conjuring film franchise is set to come to an end with the fourth installment, The Conjuring: Last Rites, which Warner Bros. has scheduled for a theatrical release on September 5, 2025 release – and with that date now just a few months away, a teaser trailer has dropped online. You can check it out in the embed above.

Up until this week, we didn’t have any plot info on The Conjuring: Last Rites, but Entertainment Weekly was finally able to draw some information out of the filmmakers. They shared that the film is set in 1986, five years after the events of The Devil Made Me Do It. The Warrens have retired from the exorcist business, largely due to Ed’s heart attack, the one sustained during the demonic happenings of the third film. They still hit the university circuit, presenting talks at various schools, but even those opportunities are drying up.

Renowned for its chilling portrayal of real-life paranormal investigations by Ed and Lorraine Warren, the Conjuring franchise is set to return with its fourth installment. Scheduled to release this September, Conjuring 4 would delve into one of Warren’s most harrowing cases, the Smurl family haunting.

The Warrens’ investigation into this case revealed a complex haunting involving multiple spirits. As The Conjuring: Last Rites brings this terrifying true story to the big screen, audiences can expect a deeply personal and emotionally charged narrative that promises to be the darkest chapter in the series yet.

The true nightmare of the Smurl Haunting behind The Conjuring 4 The Smurl family house | Credit: International Paranormal Researchers Community

Starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, The Conjuring franchise has long captivated horror fans worldwide with its terrifying stories based on the couple’s real-life paranormal investigations.

The upcoming fourth installment, The Conjuring: Last Rites, continues the tradition...

The first images from The Conjuring: Last Rites reveal Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga's final supernatural case as the Warrens. As the fourth and final Conjuring film, directed once again by Michael Chaves, Wilson and Farmiga will reprise their roles as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren as they take on their last case. The Conjuring: Last Rites cast also includes Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy, Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, Tilly Walker, Molly Cartwright, Peter Wight, and Kate Fahy.

Now, via Entertainment Weekly, a total of eight first-look images from The Conjuring: Last Rites were revealed. The images show Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, along with several flashbacks to a young Ed and Lorraine, played by Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor.

Mia Tomlinson's Judy Warren was also revealed; Ed and Lorraine's daughter, who was played by Sterling Jerins and Mckenna Grace in previous movies.

Update: A behind-the-scenes video for The Conjuring: Last Rites has been released alongside the new images. You can check that out above. The video finds James Wan, Patrick Wilson, and Vera Farmiga reminiscing over their time in the franchise while teasing the latest installment. The Conjuring: Last Rites will bring the story of the Warrens to a close, but not before they investigate their darkest case yet. The first trailer for the film will be released on Thursday, so keep an eye out!

— original article follows —

The Conjuring film franchise is set to come to an end with the fourth installment, The Conjuring: Last Rites, which Warner Bros. has scheduled for a theatrical release on September 5, 2025 release – and with that date now just a few months away, Entertainment Weekly has unveiled the first images from the film! You can check them out at the bottom of this article.

Up until today,...

Co-stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are bidding farewell to their "arranged marriage" in The Conjuring universe. Last Rites will be an epilogue to their story, but they teased that the Warrens also face a reckoning in their final case.

Vera Farmiga teased that something from their past will haunt the Warrens in The Conjuring: Last Rites. "[The audience is] going to witness a moment in the Warrens' lives — and a pretty profound moment," she told Entertainment Weekly. "It's a moment that makes time stand still. This one's different than the others. The other three [Conjuring films] were about hauntings, and this one is about reckoning, in a way." That could reference a previous case or an unrevealed backstory, she didn't elaborate.

One thing's for sure: Last Rites will be Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga's final run in the Conjuring universe. Executive producer Peter Safran confirmed as much, but teased the Warrens could return in future installments.

Comedian Rosie O’Donnell has revealed details about her surprising friendship with Lyle Menendez.

Menendez and his brother, Erik, made headlines when they were convicted of first-degree murder for the 1989 shooting of their parents. In the trial, both brothers alleged that they had been sexually abused by their father. After a mistrial in 1993, the brothers were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. They have continued to fight for their freedom, maintaining that they murdered their parents out of fear for their lives.

O’Donnell recently moved to Ireland to escape Donald Trump’s second term as president.

The Menendez brothers became a hot topic again following Ryan Murphy’s Netflix anthology crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, released in September 2024. While Murphy’s show became a smash hit on the streaming platform, Erik condemned the show for its portrayal of him and his brother as having an incestuous relationship.

Rosie O’Donnell is opening up about her relationship with Lyle Menendez.

The 63-year-old former daytime TV talk show host said the 57-year-old convicted killer is the first “straight man” she ever “loved” and “trusted” in an interview with the New York Times.

“He started calling me on a regular basis from the tablet phone thing they have,” she revealed.

Keep reading to find out more…

“He would tell me about his life, what he’s been doing in prison and, for the first time in my life, I felt safe enough to trust and be vulnerable and love a straight man.”

Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of first degree murder after killing their parents, Joe and Kitty Menendez, in 1989.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They’re currently seeking a resentencing that could make them eligible for parole immediately.

Rosie said her...

Comedian and former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell has opened up about an unexpected friendship with Lyle Menendez.

He is one of the infamous Menendez brothers, convicted of murdering their parents in 1989.

In a recent New York Times interview, Rosie, 63, revealed that she has developed a deep emotional bond with 57-year-old Lyle.

He is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in San Diego alongside his brother, Erik Menendez, 54.

However, they have a shot at freedom with a judge allowing a hearing on possibly resentencing the brothers.

Erik and Lyle were convicted in 1996 for the execution-style killings of their parents, Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez. This crime shocked the nation and has remained the subject of public fascination for decades.

Rosie and Lyle first connected during the 1996 trial

Rosie’s connection to Lyle dates back to the height of the Menendez trial in 1996.

Appearing on Larry King Live at the time,...

Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney almost feels as though it’s been scientifically calibrated to be as sloppy and chaotic as possible. While some viewers may find that to be insufferable, others might see it as a refreshing alternative to all of those other talk shows that don’t have a janky soda-carrying robot butler.

In a recent Vulture article, Mulaney name-checked some of his Netflix series’ biggest inspirations, including The Dick Cavett Show, Larry King Live and the 1970s punk rock public access show TV Party.

Conspicuously absent from that list, however, is The Chris Gethard Show. When the first iteration of Mulaney’s talk show, Everybody’s in L.A., aired last year, a number of people were quick to point out that it was basically a big-budget version of Gethard’s experimental talk show, which began on stage at the Upright Citizens Brigade, before migrating to public access channel Mnn,...

While her Koosh ball-firing days may be behind her, Rosie O’Donnell seems to be quite busy lately. In addition to joining the cast of the Sex and the City spin-off And Just Like That…, she has reportedly written a new hour of stand-up material for a forthcoming comedy special. Why? To make Ellen DeGeneres look even worse than she already does.

According to In Touch Weekly, the same journalistic outlet that just cracked the case of Jessica Simpson’s weight loss, O’Donnell is “secretly finalizing a deal” for a new comedy special and is “vowing to outshine her longtime rival” Ellen DeGeneres. The outlet spoke with an anonymous insider who claims that O'Donnell's new hour will be “a lot like Ellen’s special, except it’s funny!”

They went on to say that “Rosie still has a swagger and still has real comedy chops, and thankfully, in her new material...

Antonio Banderas had that kind of charm that made even Madonna shoot her shot — publicly. The pop icon was absolutely smitten, and she wasn’t exactly subtle about it. The only problem? Melanie Griffith wasn’t having any of it. Banderas’ wife at the time made sure to keep stuff in check and let’s just say things got so awkward that she ended up being banned from Madonna’s set.

Antonio Banderas in a still from Uncharted (2022) | Credits: Sony Pictures Television

When you’ve got the Madonna openly crushing on your man, you know he’s got some serious magnetism. Too bad for her — Banderas was already off the market, and Griffith made sure it stayed that way.

Madonna wanted Antonio Banderas, but Melanie Griffith got banned from the Evita set Madonna in Evita | Credits: Hollywood Pictures

Back in the ‘90s, Antonio Banderas was caught in a wild love...

Across several banks of screens in a small TV production control room, a group of American pundits are screaming at each other. It’s a Monday afternoon in mid-November and, naturally, the topic is the election. “That’s me playing the world’s smallest violin for all these crying Democrats!” hollers a red-faced Vincent Oshana, a right-leaning comedian. Shortly after, The Young Turks co-creator Cenk Uygur loudly tells pollster Allan Lichtman that he was “stupidly wrong” for forecasting a Democratic victory and “deserves a tall glass of shut-up juice!”

It could be any angry, spittle-flecked political chat show on cable TV. But while the talking heads are beaming in from around the U.S., the entire operation is being orchestrated out of London. And the host and self-proclaimed “ringmaster” — setting the topics, occasionally goading his guests and sitting back to let sparks fly — is Piers Morgan, one of the most...

On December 26, 1996, Patsy Ramsey reported her daughter JonBenét Ramsey missing after finding a ransom note demanding $118,000. The six-year-old girl used to appear in local beauty pageants and was kind of a celebrity back then. Just hours later, her father John Ramsey would find the lifeless body of JonBenét in the basement of their home in Boulder, Colorado.

A still from Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey | Credits: Netflix

The brutal murder of a little girl within the safety of her home gained significant attention, which really didn’t help in this case. The police and media were quick to jump to the conclusion that the parents did it. 28 years later, the case still remains unsolved.

Academy Award-winning director Joe Berlinger takes a closer look at the case in his Netflix documentary, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey. Here are some of the details covered in the series.

Who Killed JonBenét...

Michael Clarke Duncan had a physique that made him perfect for the strongman and powerful characters he played over the course of his career. Getting shredded for a part is commonplace for Marvel actors these days, but there have been plenty of stars who maintained a superhero-level physique throughout their careers, providing them with a niche in the movie and television industry. Michael Clarke Duncan used his size difference to separate himself from the pack when going into auditions, leading to a successful, if all too brief, career.

Duncan had an exceptional career in both film and television, starting in 1995 when he had an uncredited appearance in Friday and appeared in episodes of four notable TV shows, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Married... with Children. His breakout came in the 1999 adaptation of Stephen King's The Green Mile as John Coffey, which earned him Academy Awards, Golden Globes,...

Rosie O'Donnell has been a longtime advocate for Lyle and Erik Menendez, who shot their parents dead in 1989. Long before the "TikTok Movement," Rosie was already a "big sister" to the incarcerated brothers after they had bonded over the similar abuse that they'd suffered at home.

Now, Lyle and Erik's murder case is up for review for possible resentencing following Ryan Murphy's Netflix drama series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Kim Kardashian has also penned an essay urging authorities to reconsider their life sentences after visiting them in prison alongside Cooper Koch, the actor who played Erik in the hit show.

There are even rumors about them getting offers to do reality TV if they ever get out. The Menendez brothers have been locked up for almost 35 years. During those years, they also got acquainted with O.J. Simpson amid his infamous murder trial. Here's why Rosie has...

Michael Jackson is one of the biggest legends in music, and it’s no surprise he’s called the King of Pop. During his life, he faced a lot of criticism for different reasons, but after his passing, the talk only seemed to increase. Along with that, some of his interviews and performances started going viral again, but one concert, in particular, really caught people off guard.

Michael Jackson in the official music video for ‘Smooth Criminal’ (Credits: Youtube)

Especially for those who didn’t get to follow the star’s career closely, seeing Jackson sing in such a different way from what everyone was used to was shocking. It was just a brief moment during one of his biggest hits where he used a deeper voice, but that was enough to leave everyone speechless and a bit confused.

Michael Jackson Sings With Deep Voice At Copenhagen Concert In 1997 Michael...

Breast cancer is a topic that hits close to home for many. It is one of the most common cancers in women and while it is as overwhelming as it can get, humanity’s biggest weapon against it is awareness and education. Routine check-ups and self-assessments help in early detection of cancer which is the second-most ideal situation in the scenario.

Jenna Fischer | Credits: Image by The Heart Truth, licensed under Cc By-sa 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

We are well into October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The month is more than wearing pink ribbons; it is about the countless women who have been affected by breast cancer and the countless who will be in the future. It is important to learn stories about brave women who have battled the disease in order to be aware of the dos and don’ts. Here are a few celebrities who either lost in battle or emerged victorious.

Rosie O’Donnell received a letter from Lyle Menendez about 30 years ago after he saw her on “Larry King Live,” saying that she believed Erik’s claims that they were molested by their father.

“I was out to lunch with Barbara Walters and our publicist Cindy Berger, and I said, ‘Barbara, you’re not going to believe this, but guess who wrote to me—Lyle Menendez,” O’Donnell recalls. “Barbara said, ‘Ignore him, he’s a murderer. He’s very cunning.’”

Walters had previously interviewed Lyle and his brother Erik in prison for “20/20.”

O’Donnell followed her advice. But two years ago, when a documentary was released that featured new evidence that Lyle and Erik were molested by their father, O’Donnell spoke out in support of the siblings on social media and in the press. “I got a call from Lyle’s wife – I didn’t even know he had a...

Larry King was most popularly known for his popular TV talk show program Larry King Live. The celebrated host entertained audiences since the 80s and has had many memorable episodes with celebrities. His funny yet articulate demeanor was loved by audiences and he made his guests very comfortable and welcome every time they came on the show.

Larry King as the host of Larry King Now | Ora TV

King’s marital life, however, was messy and he was married 8 times before he married Shawn Southwick in 1997. But their relationship also soured in 2019 and they filed for divorce that year. Considering the failed marriages he has had, King asserted in 2020 that he was not a ‘marrying guy’ and the big age gap between them led to the downfall of their marriage.

Larry King and Shawn Southwick’s 26-Year Age Gap Took Its Toll On Their Marriage

Larry King was devoted to...

John Mulaney’s wildly chaotic six-episode run of Everybody’s In LA featured old punks, phone-ins and just about every top comedian in the states.

But the show, which ran for six episodes around the Netflix Is A Joke Festival between May 3 and May 10, was originally designed as a variety show. “I wanted everyone to go make what they wanted and I will put it on. We can’t get renewed. We should actually be a variety show,” he said.

Mulaney was asked why he wanted to make a show that was largely difficult? He said that Netflix approached him as they wanted to do something live across the comedy festival but weren’t entirely sure what. “One idea they had was stand-up at the Geffen Theater. Only with only David doing stand-up, just Laura Nyro stories. He had a tight hour,” Mulaney joked. “I liked that it was an...

Macaulay Culkin, the actor who reached extraordinary heights of fame and success with his tremendous portrayal of the genius Kevin McCallister in his version of the Home Alone saga, actually shared a rather peculiar relationship with Michael Jackson in the eyes of the public. That being said, most fans may not know that this friendship actually started with a phone call.

Macaulay Culkin in Changeland. | Credit: Gravitas Ventures.

As Culkin himself admitted it, the pair probably wouldn’t have shared the kind of close relationship they did had it not been for one “weird, random” call that the child actor received from the now-deceased King of Pop. And, although this may sound similar to the rumors surrounding Jackson’s alleged abuse of youngsters, that’s hardly the case, and Culkin stands as a witness to this claim.

Macaulay Culkin’s Friendship with Michael Jackson Started with a Call

Hollywood actor...

The slow-speed car chase never really ended.

It began on June 17, 1994, and it happened, appropriately, in prime time for many viewers. A warrant was out for O.J. Simpson’s arrest for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. And when police caught up with Simpson on a Southern California freeway, a TV news helicopter was hovering overhead.

“Ok, I’m going to have to interrupt this caller,” CNN’s Larry King said during his show. “I understand we’re going to go to a live picture in Los Angeles…...

Martha Stewart didn’t talk to CNN for a new original documentary series the news outlet has produced about her. But she’s still the star of the show.

“The Many Lives of Martha Stewart” is a four-part series produced by CNN Studios, a division devoted to longer-form and enterprise programming in the wake of a strategic decision made in 2022 to scale back big ambitions to compete in the documentary arena. Under previous leader Jeff Zucker, CNN extended its aegis to the world of film festivals and documentary series led by notables such as Anthony Bourdain, Lisa Ling and W. Kamau Bell.

A good chunk of that work was scrapped after Warner Bros. Discovery, a big player in the world of cost-conscious reality programming, took over CNN, and installed a leader, Chris Licht, who had a mandate to pare operations. Months later, CNN would win an Oscar for a documentary...

Before the writers of The Crown dove into the romance of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed for season six (Part 1 of which is currently streaming on Netflix), the creators built up a narrative around the film producer’s life as the son of billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed. For many, it was their first glimpse into who Fayed was outside of his highly publicized relationship with Diana.

“One of the first questions I asked was, ‘What did he sound like?'” actor Khalid Abdalla, who portrays Fayed in seasons five and six of The Crown, tells The Hollywood Reporter in the conversation below. (Elizabeth Debicki portrays Princess Diana and Salim Daw plays Mohamed Al-Fayed.) “With the incredible hunt of the research team, they found one piece of footage that exists: Audio of him calling into Larry King Live while Burt Reynolds was being interviewed to ask him to do an impression. It’s 17 seconds of him speaking.

Image Source: Getty / L. Busacca

Are *Nsync songs still the music of your heart? Same. Though the band officially split up in 2004, they've continued to occupy a special place in many fans' hearts, and there's been renewed interest in the group ever since they reunited and released their first song in two decades in September for Dreamworks' film "Trolls Band Together." The band also reunited onstage at the 2023 MTV VMAs, and even Taylor Swift couldn't help expressing her hopes that there's more *Nsync to come.

In honor of the group's reunion, however brief it turns out to be, we're taking a look back at how the best '90s boy band first formed. Over the years, bits and pieces of their origins have been shared in TV specials and interviews, including some pretty surprising details. Did you know there was almost a different fifth member in Lance Bass's spot?...

Image Source: Getty / Jeff Kravitz For MTV

*Nsync are in the building. For the first time in 10 years, all five members of the band - Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Jc Chasez - reunited at the MTV VMAs in Newark, NJ, on Sept. 12. Nearly 16 years since they officially disbanded in 2007, *Nsync surprised fans by presenting the first award of the night: best pop, which was awarded to Taylor Swift for "Anti-Hero."

After being introduced by Nicki Minaj, the band walked out to the tune of "Bye Bye Bye." Fans greeted the pop superstars with an uproar of cheers and applause, which later increased when Swift took the stage to accept her award. "I'm not doing well pivoting from this to this," Swift said in her speech, referring to her win and the opportunity to meet the band.

As she accepted her award, Bass also stepped forward...

In Mark Thompson, Warner Bros. Discovery probably hired the perfect person to save CNN. But even the former president and CEO of the New York Times will have his hands full with this one: In 2023, CNN is so far behind its cable news competition.

In primetime, the most important part of the day for advertising, Nielsen ranks CNN third of three in overall viewers and the key 25-54 demographic. In total viewers, it’s not even close: CNN has less than half MSNBC (1.226 million) and less than a third of Fox News Channel’s league-leading haul (1.862 million).

CNN tightens the ranks a bit across the entire day’s programming, but it is still (un)comfortably in last place among total viewers. In the key news demo, MSNBC settles for bronze — a mere 6,000 viewers behind CNN.

Fox’s giant 2023 declines are generally on par with — or even harsher than — CNN’s,...

Password is considered one of the greatest television game shows of all time — so great that it has been revived in different iterations on CBS, ABC and NBC over the past 60 years. The current reboot, hosted by Keke Palmer on NBC, is eligible this year for Emmy consideration in the outstanding game show and game show host categories — two honors that for the first time will be part of the Primetime Emmys instead of the Daytime Emmys.

Password first aired on CBS in 1961. The premise: two teams, each composed of one celebrity and one “civilian,” battle to be first to correctly guess a hidden word. Each team is given a single-word clue and works against the clock to guess the password and earn points toward a cash prize. Allen Ludden served as the show’s original emcee and hosted the ABC reboot from 1971 to 1975 — during which time Password won outstanding...

Comedian Rosie O’Donnell is still holding her grudge against fellow comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

She recently received an apology from DeGeneres, who said years ago on Larry King Live that the pair “weren’t friends” and that she didn’t know O’Donnell.

O’Donnell told The Hollywood Reporter, “She texted me a few weeks ago checking in, seeing how I’m doing, and I asked her how she’s surviving not being on TV.”

She added that they had a complicated relationship, citing that it could possibly be down to “jealousy, competition or the fact that she said a mean thing about me once that really hurt my feelings.”

O’Donnell said they used to be close: “I have a picture of her holding Parker, [my then-infant son].”

But now she says that she doesn’t “trust this person to be in my world.”

Her hurt feelings caused her to never appear on DeGeneres...

Rosie O’Donnell still isn’t in a great place with Ellen DeGeneres after the latter denied being friends with her.

O’Donnell told The Hollywood Reporter how the pair were among the young entertainers in Hollywood going to parties together all those years ago, so it was weird when DeGeneres said they weren’t pally.

The comedian shared of what the dynamic was like between her and DeGeneres as “two rising comics in the scene,” “It was a good relationship. We were friends. We supported each other. Which is why when she came on my show, I said, ‘Let me not have you standing there by yourself. Let’s get a joke in there.’ And we sat down and came up with that, ‘Oh my God, I love Casey Kasem. Maybe I’m Lebanese.’ It became a big thing.”

DeGeneres had gone on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” back in 1996, where she...

A news King and Sir Charles are getting ready to mix it up in an unorthodox way.

Gayle King and Charles Barkley are finalizing a deal that would have them jointly lead a primetime hour each week on CNN, according to people familiar with the matter. The pact is not complete and there is always the risk it may not come to fruition, one of these people says. CNN declined to make executives available for comment.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that a deal involving King was nearing completion, but it has been an open secret in TV-news circles that CNN has been courting both personalities — and others like them — for some time. Puck reported on negotiations with both King and Barkley earlier this year.

CBS News declined to offer immediate comment on expectations it had for King, who is also the center of its “CBS Mornings” on weekdays...

It’s two months into 2023, and Roger Ross Williams has just landed in his home state of New York from the Berlin Film Festival, where he debuted his latest documentary, about music superstar Donna Summer. Before that, he had alighted in Los Angeles at the Academy Museum, where he posed on the red carpet with Oprah Winfrey at the premiere of Hulu’s The 1619 Project, after the Sundance Film Festival screening of his narrative directorial debut, Cassandro. The Park City stop took place at the back end of a trip to Pasadena for the TCAs, where he presented projects from his prolific One Story Up production banner.

“This is the busiest my career has been,” says Williams. It was only a decade earlier that the filmmaker had an Oscar to his name but was sleeping on a friend’s couch, unable to raise money for his first feature documentary,...

Anyone who went into this weekend wondering if Dick Tracy knows how to use Zoom now has a definitive answer.

Late Friday night, Turner Classic Movies aired a mysterious new program called “Dick Tracy Special: Tracy Zooms In,” which features Warren Beatty reprising his role as the iconic detective from his 1990 film of the same name. Donning the character’s signature yellow coat and hat, Tracy participates in a Zoom call with TCM hosts Ben Mankiewicz and Leonard Maltin to give an update on his life and express his displeasure with Beatty’s film.

The three men watch several clips from the film together before they decide to call Beatty to settle Tracy’s complaints once and for all. Beatty then joins the call as himself, where he eventually reconciles with Tracy and they agree to have a more collaborative relationship in the event Beatty makes a sequel.

While the...

Howard Bragman, a decades-long veteran of entertainment PR, has died of leukemia, according to a journal entry by his boyfriend Mike Maimone. He was 66.

“The enormity of our shared loss can’t be overstated — Howard was a constant in so many of our lives and the brightest star in his wide constellation of friends and family,” Maimone wrote.

The news, which initially arrived via social media tributes late on Saturday, Feb. 11, comes as a shock to the community of journalists and public relations professionals who worked closely with Bragman in his many different capacities. Bragman worked in PR for over 40 years, co-founding the firm Bnc (Bragman Nyman Cafarelli), which was later merged with Pmk, and then his own Fifteen Minutes PR and, later in life, Labrea Media.

His clients have included Cameron Diaz, Paula Abdul, Stevie Wonder, Sharon Osbourne, Monica Lewinsky, Joe Manganiello, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard, Ricki Lake and Melissa Rivers,...

The Hollywood Reporter has named Jason Rovou, a multiplatform producer, showrunner and journalist, as its vp production and development for video.

In his new position, Rovou will oversee the publication’s daily news productions, its Emmy-nominated Roundtable series and other video initiatives while developing exciting new editorial and branded content.

“Jason is a creative, talented journalist who has produced top-notch content for some of the biggest names and media outlets in the country,” said Nekesa Mumbi Moody, THR’s editorial director. “We are incredibly pleased to have Jason aboard to elevate the already stellar video lineup THR is now producing.”

Rovou will report to Patricia Mays, THR’s executive editor of news, and will be based in Los Angeles.

Rovou has produced breaking news reports, documentaries, talk shows and various other content for ABC News, CNN, Spike, Hulu and Ora TV, earning six Emmy nominations for his work over a two decade-plus career.

Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the 20th century’s most consequential world leaders, who ushered in an era of reform in the Soviet Union and played a role in ending the Cold War with the West, has died, Russian state media and other outlets reported on Tuesday. He was 91.

Russian state TV said that Gorbachev died after a “long and grave illness.”

Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery

The subject of one of President Ronald Reagan’s most famous quotes – “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” from Berlin in 1987 – he led the Ussr from March 1985 until its collapse in late 1991, first as General Secretary of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party and later as its president starting in March 1990.

Being the last leader of the Soviet Union colored his legacy for many of the country’s citizens, but his tenure saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the lifting of the Iron Curtain.

Rush Limbaugh, the pioneering and polarizing conservative talk show host whose radio program drew millions of listeners and influenced Republican politicians including President Donald Trump, died today of lung cancer. He was 70.

Limbaugh’s wife, Kathryn, made the announcement on his radio show today. He had announced his Stage 4 cancer diagnosis a year ago, one day before Trump presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the 2020 State of the Union address.

The homepage on Limbaugh’s site reads: “In Loving Memory of Rush Hudson Limbaugh III The Greatest of All Time.”

Trump marked Limbaugh’s death by calling into Fox News for his first interview of 2021. The former commander in chief praised the late media titan for supporting him early during the 2016 campaign but also used the opportunity to regurgitate debunked falsehoods about Trump winning the 2020 election. “Rush thought we won, and so do I. I think we won substantially,...

[[tmz:video id="0_98lfajx2"]] Lee Daniels thinks his hit show "Empire" has helped cure hip-hop's homophobia and it won't be long before a gay rapper dominates the real charts. Daniels was on "Larry King Live" this week where he told King he thinks his show has "made gays okay” in the hip-hop world. For those who don't watch Empire... a big part of the plotline is the relationship struggle between hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon and his gay son, Jamal,...

One of the journalists who has accused Mark Halperin of sexual harassment spoke to NBC News’ Megyn Kelly shortly after news broke that the news division had terminated his contract. "I was angry because I was silent, and because I was silent, this happened to other people," Eleanor McManus told Kelly, in her first TV interview, on Megyn Kelly Today this morning. McManus, former senior producer for CNN’s Larry King Live, previously wrote for the cable news network that she…...

On Saturday, Kathy Griffin showed her neighbor Kim Kardashian West a very special gift she once got from a fan — a portrait of herself painted by Erik Menendez, one of the Menendez Brothers who was sentenced to life in prison along with his brother Lyle for fatally shooting their parents in 1989.

In true Kardashian fashion, the 36-year-old reality star documented the odd moment on her Snapchat with a cute rainbow-eared animal filter.

Standing next to Griffin, who was holding her portrait, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star said, “Alright guys, I’m here with my neighbor – ”

“Kathy Griffin,” Griffin interrupted.

Hugh Hefner built an empire and created an entire lifestyle based on the simple premise that people are always fascinated by what is considered taboo.

Hefner, who founded Playboy in 1953 in part with a $1,000 loan from his mother and went on to become one of the most successful (and envied) entrepreneurs of the 20th century, died on Wednesday from natural cause at his home, The Playboy Mansion, surrounded by loved ones, according to Playboy Enterprises, Inc. He was 91 years old.

“I know there was a tremendous amount of curiosity about me and my lifestyle, and that is not altogether an accident,” Hefner told Et in 1982. “But I also think that has a major part to do with what Playboy’s all about. I think the two great fascinations and guilts in America are sex and wealth, and combining the two in Playboy -- and then with my own lifestyle so intimately and related to the magazine -- I think...

If NBC didn’t make “The Apprentice,” there would be no President Donald Trump. And if there was no President Donald Trump, there would be no MSNBC ratings bump.

The television butterfly effect has become a popular topic. At San Diego Comic-Con, “The Simpsons” executive producer Matt Selman (somewhat) jokingly pointed out that it was his animated smash that gave Rupert Murdoch the resources to launch Fox News… which created a political environment that eventually also led to a President Trump.

NBCUniversal must appreciate the irony: However America got here, MSNBC – with host Rachel Maddow as its central star – has capitalized on the hunger to make sense of this administration.

Read MoreNBC Boss Remains Bullish on Jimmy Fallon Even As Rivals Get a Trump Bump

It’s only been eight months (just three years and three months until the next presidential election, folks), but the Trump effect has had a tremendous impact on TV ratings.

Donald Trump taught his children to fight dirty and win, no matter the cost. Subscribe now for a look at how the ruthless family culture has shaped Don Jr., his siblings, and the Presidency – only in People.

Decades before he started making headlines as a First Son with a controversial record of meeting with Russian nationals, President Donald Trump‘s eldest child was a self-confessed hard-partying fraternity brother at the University of Pennsylvania.

There, Donald Trump Jr. was so notorious for his strong interest in women that a friend who went to frat parties with him tells People in this...

In the months since President Donald Trump took office, his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has become one of his father’s most vocal supporters — and Twitter defenders.

The president returned the favor on Tuesday and Wednesday, coming to his son’s defense after his namesake seemingly embroiled himself more deeply in the ongoing Russian collusion investigation by releasing emails detailing how he eagerly set up a meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer who allegedly promised damaging information on his father’s presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.

“My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency,” the president said in...

For over six decades, Don Rickles was a living comedy highlight reel. Whether he was roasting his own audience during a stand-up routine, bringing talk-show-host veterans to tears with laughter or acting alongside the biggest movie stars in the world, all of Rickles’ performances were one of a kind.

The legendary insult comic died on Thursday at the age of 90. His longtime representative Paul Shefrin told People in a statement: “Emmy-Award winning iconic comedian Don Rickles passed away at his home Los Angeles this morning (Thursday) as a result of kidney failure.”

While younger generations will remember him as the...

Notorious is not long for this world. 

That much has been abundantly clear if you have been keeping track of the ratings for the show throughout the first few weeks of the 2016-2017 season.

The show is averaging just 4.4 million viewers and a 1.0 among adults 18-49. 

It was revealed today that ABC made the decision to trim the episode order to 10 episodes. 

That's far from good news for the show and it's clear ABC is ready to say goodbye to it. 

Scandal is waiting in the wings for a January return.

The veteran hit was placed on hiatus due to series star, Kerry Washington's second pregnancy. 

ABC Assures Fans: Scandal is Returning! We Swear!

Chances are, Notorious would never have made the fall schedule if Scandal was coming back in the fall.

Notorious is based on the real-life criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and Larry King Live news producer Wendy Walker.

Sanjay Gupta is getting into scripted television. Deadline reports ABC has bought a new series from the CNN medical correspondent and Larry King Live Ep Wendy Walker.Written by Sharon Lee Watson, the medical drama "centers on a team of physicians, working for a cable news operation, who travel the United States gaining access to our countries hot spots—medical mysteries, outbreaks, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters."Read More…...

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta has teamed with long-time Larry King Live executive producer Wendy Walker for a medical drama that would draw on both their experiences at the news cable network. The project, which has landed at ABC with a script commitment plus penalty, reunites several auspices behind the network’s freshman drama series Notorious: executive producers Walker, whose relationship with criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos inspired the series…...

CSI: NY alumna Melina Kanakaredes has booked a recurring role on ABC’s new drama series Notorious. From Sony Pictures TV and Jeff Kwatinetz's The Firm, Notorious was inspired by the relationship between famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and long-time Larry King Live executive producer Wendy Walker. It’s described as a provocative look at the interplay of criminal law and the media. Kanakaredes will play Dana Hartman, a natural beauty with a keen intelligence…...

If you already have a healthy distrust of cable news, Thursday’s series premiere of Notorious — which is keeping Scandal‘s timeslot warm until the drama returns midseason — likely did very little to quell your suspicions.

PhotosBest & Worst New Shows: The TVLine Staff Share Its Picks… and Passes

Inspired by the real-life relationship between celebrity attorney Mark Geragos and Larry King Live producer Wendy Walker, the ABC drama purports to give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at how criminal lawyers work with the media to sway public opinion about their clients. In the case of Notorious, it’s producer/all-around “tough-ass...