Matthew Macfadyle as George Smiley feels like either inspired casting or a huge risk, and I'm genuinely uncertain which. A new BBC and MGM+ adaptation called Legacy of Spies is coming with Macfadyen playing George Smiley, the legendary le Carré spymaster who anchors the entire espionage universe. Charlie Hunnam plays Alec Leamas. The first images just dropped and he's got the glasses and everything. It's an eight-part drama series based on le Carré's work. Here's what's bugging me: Smiley is such a loaded character. We've seen him done before, memorably, and there's weight to getting it right. Macfadyen has serious dramatic chops from Succession. But this feels different from that show. Le Carré's spy world operates on restraint and moral ambiguity. I'm not totally convinced that's where Macfadyen naturally lives as an actor. He's done great work, but he can veer toward intensity when subtlety is what matters. I want to see how he handles the quieter moments because that's where Smiley actually lives. The casting isn't bad. I just wish I had more clarity on what they're going for with this version. https://deadline.com/2026/09/legacy-of-spies-matthew-macfadyen-george-smiley-le-carre-1237115171/

I'm genuinely curious what Peacock thinks it's doing with its October lineup because the snippet doesn't tell me anything. There's apparently a whole roster of stuff coming to Peacock next month, but without seeing what it actually is, I can't figure out if this is worth caring about. Is it the kind of month where they're dropping something legitimately good, or is this the streaming equivalent of rearranging deck chairs? Peacock's had this weird problem where it announces content like it matters but then half of it gets buried in the interface somewhere. What I'm really wondering is whether they're actually competing for attention here or just filling time slots. The streaming wars have gotten so exhausting that these monthly roundups barely register anymore unless there's something genuinely unmissable. I'd need to see the actual list to know if October's the month I finally boot up the app again. https://www.ign.com/articles/whats-new-on-peacock-october-2026

Media layoffs across the entertainment industry are hitting hard after the past two years’ avalanche of job cuts. The unfortunate trend can still be felt following the Covid-19 pandemic, dual Hollywood strikes and — the latest event to hit Los Angeles hard: a series of wildfires that broke out in January 2025. As the entertainment […] Source: https://deadline.com/feature/hollywood-media-layoffs-list-1236007845/

California is struggling to keep its iconic reality competition series filming in the Golden State after it emerged that another long-running series is considering an exit. America’s Got Talent is the latest show that may move production out of California for its next season, coming days after Deadline revealed that American Idol is on its […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/americas-got-talent-considering-california-exit-1237110428/

Lionel Richie is recovering from a procedure to address Atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat, and has canceled several shows over the next few weeks. The singer is still set to begin a Las Vegas residency next month. In a statement to the press, Richie’s rep said, “Lionel underwent a common procedure for Atrial fibrillation […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/lionel-richie-atrial-fibrillation-shows-canceled-1237110385/

Fifty years ago, a young director named Barbara Kopple came out with her first film, a documentary she thought would be little seen. “When I started making the film, I thought, ‘Oh, my parents will see it and their friends and maybe a museum will show it,’” she recalls. That film was Harlan County U.S.A., […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/union-town-interview-director-barbara-kopple-1237109699/

California Attorney General Rob Bonta can rest easy: A merged Paramount Warner Bros. Discovery would already account for 36 movies on the release schedule for 2027. Note, that’s an organic number of theatrical releases which were always set to happen even before the union of the storied studios came together. As for 2028, the combined […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/paramount-deal-36-film-movie-slate-1237109549/

Here is a concession no one really asked for — the settlement of state attorneys generals’ anti-trust lawsuit over the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger includes a provision ensuring that Paramount will keep Pluto TV or another free, ad-supported streaming service for the next five years. While Pluto TV is protected, the settlement spells out […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/paramount-settlement-pluto-tv-bet-comedy-central-divesture-1237109340/

Chad Gilbert, the New Found Glory founding member and lead guitarist, has died. He was 45. On Sunday, Gilbert’s wife Lisa Cimorelli announced that he “passed away peacefully in his sleep,” following his emergency brain surgery in March when three tumors were discovered and his metastatic pheochromocytoma was upgraded to stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma. “On […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/chad-gilbert-dead-new-found-glory-1237108950/

John Wilson’s The History Of Concrete had a record-breaking IFC Center debut, grossing $90k in three days for the top doc opening and the second-highest weekend gross in the NYC theater’s 21-year history after only Parasite ($119k in 2019). Nearly every available ticket sold for the entire weekend, including for shows added Saturday afternoon for […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/indie-film-box-office-john-wilson-the-history-of-concrete-1237108942/

Ke Huy Quan was 12 years old when he made Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In his new memoir, Never Say Die, excerpted in Entertainment Weekly, the Oscar-winning actor reveals that producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg took care of him in way he didn’t know about until after filming had concluded. […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/ke-huy-quan-spielberg-lucas-indiana-jones-payment-1237109016/

Anthony Page, the prolific British stage, film and TV director who won a Tony Award for his 1997 Broadway production of A Doll’s House and was twice Emmy-nominated for acclaimed TV movies in the 1970s, died September 11 at a London residential care home. He was 90. Page’s death has been confirmed by press representative […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/anthony-page-dead-1237108346/

President Donald Trump is following through on pledge to ban journalists he doesn’t like from the White House: This morning, MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, announced that its journalists had been denied access to the White House grounds. In a statement posted on social media today, the news network wrote, “Earlier this morning, MS NOW journalists […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/ms-now-journalists-denied-white-house-entry-following-donald-trumps-announced-ban-1237108359/

EXCLUSIVE: Jolt is partnering with Propagate Content to support the North America, UK, Australia, Latin America, and Asia release of Ukraine war documentary A Simple Soldier. The partnership will include Academy-qualifying theatrical screenings, an impact campaign, a Jolt.film TVOD window, and digital aggregation. The film follows Ukrainian filmmaker and cinematographer Artem Ryzhykov “as he trades […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/ukraine-war-film-simple-soldier-release-jolt-propagate-1237107372/

One of Prime Video’s next big book adaptation bets is that on Elsie Silver’s Rose Hill series. The streamer is adapting the contemporary small-town romance into a TV show, which sounds like its in the vein of Netflix’s My Life With the Walter Boys and Ransom Canyon. The cast is currently being assembled with many […] Source: https://deadline.com/feature/elsie-silver-rose-hill-series-tv-show-news-prime-video-1237107205/

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here back after a lengthy break to helm the weekly newsletter. Read on. And sign up here. NAZA Saga Israeli cinema & politics blur: As is often the case with Israeli cinema these days, that oh-so-blurry line between culture and politics has been crossed. A documentary feature of extreme urgency, […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/naza-israel-france-oscars-deadline-international-insider-1237106355/

Margaret Qualley makes Amazon MGM’s new romantic drama worth watching. This is an actress who consistently becomes more fascinating it seems with each role, and as Maya in Love Of Your Life she plays a woman who finds love, loses it, faces extreme grief, wanders the world , and only comes back when she learns […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/love-of-your-life-review-margaret-qualley-toronto-film-fest-1237101197/

I have to confess I am a sucker for down-on-your-luck Hollywood stories, especially movies about actresses who once had success and are now scraping the bottom. Of course there is the classic of classics, Sunset Boulevard, but there are many more. A personal favorite is The Star, which got Bette Davis an Academy Award nomination […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/misty-green-review-rosalind-eleazar-chris-rock-hollywood-1237099694/

As Jimmy Kimmel’s interview with James Talarico nears 7 million views on YouTube, FCC chairman Brendan Carr weighed in on Saturday evening, accusing the Texas U.S. Senate candidate of orchestrating a “hoax” to drive up “clicks and donations.” Earlier this week, Kimmel told viewers that he would be sitting down with an interview with Talarico […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/jimmy-kimmel-james-talarico-fcc-1237100486/

It is no spoiler to say I am going to reveal the final moments of Peter Farrelly’s fantastic crowd-pleasing biopic I Play Rocky, chronicling the making of the 1976 classic Rocky, which not only made Sylvester Stallone a major star but also became one of the greatest behind-the-scenes stories in Hollywood history. Stay all the […] Source: https://deadline.com/2026/09/i-play-rocky-review-peter-farrelly-biopic-tallones-classic-1237100498/