Ellen Pompeo: America’s most transactional TV star
I’ve always loved the honesty of Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo when talking about her commitment to the show. Asked if she has any plans to leave the show, having scaled back her presence on it back in 2022:
“That would make no sense, emotionally or financially. The show was streamed more than a billion times in 2024. More than a billion times,” Pompeo told El País while promoting A Good American Family. “The companies that own the show and stream the show make a lot of money from our images and our voices and our faces.”
“If I were to walk away completely, everybody gets to make money from my hard work for 20 years and I wouldn’t make any money. To me, it doesn’t make any sense that everybody [else] gets to profit off of my hard work. And emotionally, the show means a lot to people. I want to have an attitude of gratitude toward the show.”
Unless she has plans to go and do something different that will take up too much of her time to continue with the show, why shouldn’t she stick with it?
If I were in her shoes, I’d be on that show until my dying breath and be sticking up my hand to star in a spin-off over the break. Or in the very least, sign over my likeness rights so the AI me can stay out there earning while I stay at home playing Mario Kart.
Read: Deadline
News Desk
HBO has confirmed the adult cast for the upcoming Harry Potter TV show: John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon, and Paul Whitehouse. Read: thefutoncritic
With 5.3 million same-day US cross-platform viewers, The Last of Us season 2 return yesterday was up 10% over the season 1 premiere. Since it debuted, that season 1 premiere was seen by 32 million viewers in the US. Read: Deadline
After 20 years of slogging it out in the business, former Cobra Kai actor Courtney Henggeler (she played Amanda LaRusso) is quitting acting. Read: NY Post
Prime Video has acquired the North American rights to new Jacob Elordi show The Narrow Road to the Deep North - it’ll debut on Friday, joining the other territories where Prime Video is releasing it. Read: Deadline
The Brutalist will debut May 16 on Max in the US. Read: Variety
Minecraft game sales jumped 30% following the release of the film. Read: The Game Business
Will sci-fi end up destroying the world? Read: The Guardian
Greg Gutfeld is hosting a new game show for Fox News. Read: thefutoncritic
The Australian version of Ghosts is now filming in Perth. Read: Deadline
A new report by Ampere Analysis shows that South Korean content is second only to the US’ shows and films on Netflix for total viewing hours. Unsurprisingly, season 2 of Squid Game was the most-watched show. Read: Deadline
DogTV, the streaming subscription service for dogs, is launching a FAST TV channel. Surprised it has taken them this long. Read: Deadline
Trailer Park
Max has released an “in the weeks ahead” trailer for The Last of Us season 2.
Another Simple Favor debuts on Prime Video May 1.
Jewel Thief debuts on Netflix April 25.
Starring Saif Ali Khan as Rehan Roy - a charming and cunning thief with wits as sharp as his moves - and Jaideep Ahlawat as Rajan Aulakh, a cool and calculated mafia boss, the heist thriller boasts a star-studded ensemble cast.
Joining them are Kunal Kapoor as Vikram Patel, a relentless detective determined to catch the thief red-handed, and Nikita Dutta as Farah, who has stolen a different kind of jewel, Rehan Roy's heart. As loyalties shift and motives blur, the race begins for the ultimate prize: the coveted African Red Sun jewel. Buckle up for a high-stakes game of power, pride and romance, infused with an adrenaline-fueled chase.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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