Film and TV Briefing: Friday 8 August 2025
Welcome to this week’s round-up of news, commentary and industry announcements that you may have missed from the past week.
If you are looking for advice in relation to any of the issues mentioned, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
In the news
Rockerdale studios’ hit show ‘The Assembly’ confirmed for second ITV series (STV)
Paramount-Skydance confirms leadership team including CEO David Ellison (Deadline)
Johansson and Driver’s ‘Marriage Story’ screams scare wolves (Indiewire)
Ben Stiller wants to shoot as quickly as ‘The Bear’ (Indiewire)
Legendary singer Madonna’s biopic still expected, eventually (Indiewire)
Lib Dems call to regulate YouTube ads and prevent scams (BBC)
BBC launches investigation into Strictly cocaine use (BBC)
No jokes: MasterChef returns but with minimum chat from presenters (BBC)
Allegations that female presenter showed BBC colleague explicit image (Deadline)
Sarajevo Film Festival honours Willem Dafoe (Deadline)
Disney apes Netflix and stops providing quarterly subscriber data (Deadline)
Lineker signs deal with ITV after leaving Match of the Day (Daily Mail)
‘F1’ now Brad Pitt’s highest grossing film (Variety)
Features and commentary
What’s next for Paramount – a deep dive (Variety)
AI warning from director James Cameron (The Guardian)
Taiwanese show stokes debate with depicted Chinese invasion (BBC)
A BBC ban and an Oscar win, a look back on controversial British film ‘The War Game’ (BBC)
Industry announcements
Royal Television Society seeks two new trustees to join its board (Royal Television Society)
ITV Director of Reality and Acquisitions steps down after 13 years (Advanced Television)
Brock Media sells minority stake to Studiocanal (Deadline)
BAFTA’s 2026 TV Awards International Category now open to all voters (Variety)
Resources
Ofcom reveals latest pay-TV complaints (Ofcom)
Legal updates
Sanctions sought by Blake Lively’s lawyers against Justin Baldoni’s attorney (Variety)
Sony Music Seeks Court Order Over Unpaid Debt On ‘Creation Stories' (Deadline)
Midjourney issues first response to Disney lawsuit (Variety)
