Roku’s Big TV Hire: Can Charlie Collier Work ‘Mad Men’ Magic on Streaming Company’s Content Strategy?

One of a kind storytelling. Many of Us Weekly‘s favorite TV shows have been brought to life because of the women behind the scenes.

From Westeros to the nursery! After Kit Harington and Rose Leslie met on the set of Game of Thrones, they sparked a real-life love story before eventually welcoming their first child.

Long live Taylena! Selena Gomez is just like Us — listening to Taylor Swift’s Midnights the moment it dropped.

Helen Skelton, 39, opened up about how she was feeling following her very public split from husband Richie Myler, 32.The Countryfile star is currently competing on Strictly Come Dancing six months on from announcing they were parting ways back in April.Helen has been paired up with Gorka Márquez for this season of Strictly, and last week the professional dancer spoke out about how she had been “made to feel not good enough”.His speech came after the news that Richie was expecting a baby with his new partner.In a recent interview, Helen admitted there are “days when she’s p***ed off”, but that she ultimately doesn’t “see herself as a victim”.“There’s loads of stuff to ask me about that’s really interesting, that’s not, ‘Ohhh, poor you,’” Helen explained.  “I don’t see myself as a victim, no, because I mean, look… There are a lot of people who have been in my situation who haven’t been given the opportunities that I’ve got.”While Helen would not discuss Richie’s recent social media posts, or reports that he is expecting a child with his new partner, she did stress the importance of keeping her children happy.“You cannot have any opinion on anyone else’s life until you’ve walked in those shoes,” Helen remarked. “And my family are happy, my kids are happy, and that’s all ultimately that matters.”The star kept this sentiment when she recalled how uncertain she was about competing in Strictly Come Dancing due to how much exposure there would be for her family.  “I think it would have been disrespectful for me to have not done Strictly,” she reflected.

Anton Du Beke, 56, who worked as a professional dancer on the show since it began in 2004, revealed that after his co-star Brendan Cole, 46, was cut from the show he feared for his own place, saying he never took it for granted or a given that he was going to be invited back the following year.The admission came when Anton appeared on an episode of Lorraine back in 2018.Speaking to the Glaswegian presenter, Anton said that Brendan’s exit from the show came as a complete shock, hinting that it had been an “editorial decision” by BBC bosses.In fact, Anton only found out that Brendan was leaving the show after Brendan himself appeared on Lorraine to drop the bombshell.“[I was] stunned,” Anton said to Lorraine.“It was one of the saddest things I've watched on telly. I was heartbroken for him, for me a little bit as well, I'm going to miss him enormously.

Strictly Come Dancing, showed off her "battle wounds" on Instagram yesterday.The singer took to the picture-sharing site and revealed she suffered a blunder while doing a camera run.Taking to her stories, the singer spoke candidly with her 115,000 followers, as she shared her issue behind the scenes on Friday night.Showing off her platinum blonde hair, Molly mused: "So I've just finished my camera run and I've got the battle wound to prove it."She lifted her hand towards the camera and showed a cut on her hand.Speaking of her gruelling training schedule, the amateur dancer added: "So, yeah... I'm tired."She took to Instagram again today and shared a post from a fan who urged Strictly viewers to vote for her and dancing partner Carlos.Diamente penned: "Make sure to vote tonight please @gkx_carlos @mollyrainford @bbcstrictly."Meanwhile, Molly has been a consistent performer on Strictly this year as the on-screen star has been tipped to lift the Glitterball Trophy.This weekend she will be dancing her Couples’ Choice to the Grange Hill theme tune and she is excited to give it everything she's got.Expert Gary Edwards told Express.co.uk how Molly was "on the list" to lift the Glitterball Trophy this year."I think they are pretty well-placed by now, they are hovering but hovering at a very good level."You have got to give it everything all the time, from the moment they walk on to when they are talking to the judges, to when they walk off."He added: "She's like sunshine.

Roku’s splashy hire of Charlie Collier, former CEO of Fox Entertainment and president of AMC, has sent a clear signal about the company’s ambition to make more noise with original programming.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor OnlyFans has become synonymous with sexually explicit content and providing a way for adult creators to earn money online. Now the social-media platform wants to tickle some funny bones, as well. OnlyFans announced the launch of its Creative Fund: Comedy Edition, which will let creators in the U.K. and Ireland compete for the chance to win a total of £100,000 — more than $100,000 at current exchange rates — and appear in a reality-competition series on OFTV, its non-pornographic streaming service. While continuing to support adult performers, London-based OnlyFans stepped up efforts to recruit mainstream celebrities to its platform and expand into non-sexual genres. It recently ordered a reality show, slated to stream on OFTV, from British reality TV stars Chloe, Demi and Frankie Sims after their exit from “The Only Way Is Essex.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It seems like everyone is launching a podcast these days — and now comes the Central Intelligence Agency. But don’t expect any major revelations from CIA’s “The Langley Files,” which is really a PR-outreach initiative to burnish the agency’s image as well as dispel notions that it’s a glamorous line of work as sometimes portrayed in popular entertainment. As the agency explains, “The mission of ‘The Langley Files: A CIA Podcast’ is to educate and connect with the general public, sharing insight into the Agency’s core mission, capabilities and agility as an intelligence leader…and to share some interesting stories along the way!”

Fox Entertainment Chairman Charlie Collier is leaving the linear network to join Roku.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor In a sign of big moves to come for Roku, veteran TV executive Charlie Collier is exiting his post as chairman of Fox Entertainment to join the digital distribution platform as president of Roku Media. Collier will oversee advertising sales and content for Roku’s owned-and-operated channels featured on the streaming platform that hosts the fast-growing number of free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels as well as serving as a key funnel for Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+ and other subscription streamers. Collier is set to shift to his new post at Roku in late October and will be based in New York.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The iconic music video for R.E.M.’s 1991 hit “Losing My Religion” has surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube — one of only a few songs from the decade to hit the milestone. The alternative band’s official video for “Losing My Religion” has averaged more than 300,000 views globally per day across YouTube so far this year, according to the video platform. It was first uploaded to YouTube in July 2011. Other videos from the ’90s in the YouTube Billion Views Club are Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” (1992); Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991); and The Cranberries’ “Zombie” (1994).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok can add jet fuel to entertainment marketers’ messages — but they have to learn how to speak the language of the platform to effectively harness the creativity of its creators. That was one of the key takeaways from the Variety/TikTok Culture Catalysts Dinner, held in West Hollywood on Sept. 20. Paramount Pictures’ approach with its TikTok campaign for blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” — 2022’s top-grossing movie at the box office so far — was to introduce the nearly 40-year-old flyboy franchise to Gen Z, said Danielle De Palma, EVP of global marketing for the studio. With TikTok, its biggest goal was to reach “younger audiences that didn’t have that same emotional, nostalgic connection to the film that so many of the older audiences did,” De Palma said.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Kevin Hart’s “Die Hart” action-hero spoof is bringing in some fresh faces for Season 2 of the Roku original comedy: John Cena, Ben Schwartz and Paula Pell have joined the cast of “Die Hart 2: Die Harter,” the streaming company announced. In addition to the new cast, Nathalie Emmanuel will reprise her role in Season 2. Eric Appel returns to direct with Tripper Clancy returning as writer. Production of “Die Hart 2: Die Harter” has begun in Atlanta. The series will stream free (with ads) on the Roku Channel but a premiere date has not been set. In “Die Hart” Season 1, which co-starred John Travolta, Hart played a fictionalized version of himself who ultimately achieved his dream of becoming a bona-fide action hero. In the second season, Hart now wants to cement his legacy as the greatest action star of all time. He’s developed a concept for a revolutionary movie where the action is so unscripted and unexpected that even Kevin won’t know what’s coming next. But Kevin’s vision comes with a blind spot, and he soon finds himself the victim of an evil revenge plot, orchestrated by someone from his past. To survive, Hart must enlist the help of his favorite co-star, Jordan King (Emmanuel), his overeager assistant Andre (Schwartz), Andre’s mom Cynthia (Pell) and legendary Hollywood stuntman Mr. 206 (Cena).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Twitch said that, starting next month, it will ban the streaming of certain gambling websites that aren’t licensed in the U.S. or “other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection.” The move by the Amazon-owned livestreaming platform, most popular among game creators, comes after reports that a streamer called ItsSliker had scammed fellow Twitch creators out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to support a “gambling addiction,” as the Verge reported. In a tweet Tuesday, Twitch announced that as of Oct. 18, it will ban livestreaming sites that provide dice games, slots and roulette. It identified four sites that will be banned — Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com and Roobet.com — and said “we may identify others as we move forward.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube has spent two years building up YouTube Shorts, its TikTok-style feature for short form video clips. Now it’s about to throw the switch to monetize that content — and share the revenue with creators. Starting in early 2023, YouTube Shorts-focused creators can apply to be part of the platform’s revenue-sharing program if they have at least 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views over 90 days. The new partners “will enjoy all the benefits our program offers, including the various ways to make money like ads on long-form and Fan Funding,” according to Amjad Hanif, VP of creator products at YouTube. YouTube also announced a new way for creators to license music for their videos — and still get paid for their video views under the ad-revenue sharing program.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ryan Spicer, after more than 14 years with WarnerMedia and Turner Broadcasting, is joining Atmosphere, which operates a national out-of-home streaming news and entertainment network, to lead ad sales in the role of chief revenue officer. Most recently, Spicer served as VP of sales and partnerships for WarnerMedia Digital, which is now part of Warner Bros. Discovery, covering the CNN Digital portfolio as well as the HBO Max with ads streaming platform. Prior to joining Turner Digital in 2008, he worked as a sales exec at MTV Networks. At Atmosphere, Spicer reports to chief operating officer Blake Sabatinelli. Spicer officially started in the role on Sept. 6.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify wants to give Audible, Amazon’s market-leading audiobook marketplace, a run for its money. Starting Tuesday, Spotify users in the U.S. are able to purchase and listen to more than 300,000 audiobook titles. The streamer is introducing a new user interface designed specifically for audiobook listening, alongside Spotify’s features for music and podcasts. At launch, Spotify is selling audiobooks à la carte, without any ads. But the company is exploring new business models that could include subscriptions or ad-supported formats, according to Nir Zicherman, Spotify’s VP and global head of audiobooks and gated content. Spotify plans to roll out audiobook sales in additional markets following the initial U.S. debut.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A judge has overturned the murder conviction of Adnan Syed — whose case was the focus of the viral “Serial” podcast back in 2014 — and the Baltimore man has been released from prison after serving more than 22 years behind bars. The ruling Monday by Judge Melissa Phinn of Baltimore City Circuit Court vacated Syed’s murder conviction, after she found that prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that could have helped Syed at trial — specifically, evidence that two other suspects may have been involved in committing the crime. “At this time, we will remove the shackles from Mr. Syed,” Judge Phinn said after announcing the decision, according to the New York Times.