Apple Acquires 'Severance' As Studio Grows; Kate Hudson Interview; EFM Preview

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View on web New reader? Subscribe SUBSCRIBE. IT'S FREE. APPLE ACQUIRES 'SEVERANCE' AS IT GROWS IN-HOUSE STUDIO SERIES EYES FOUR-SEASON RUN & UNIVERSE EXPANSION Produced by an “outie” studio for its first two seasons, Apple TV‘s flagship drama series Severance will now be made by an “innie” one. In a deal finalized late last year, Apple has acquired Severance — the IP and all rights — from Fifth Season, Deadline has learned. Under the pact, which sources peg at just under $70 million, Apple’s in-house Apple Studios will be the studio on the Emmy-winning series going forward, with indie Fifth Season becoming an executive producer. The transaction is similar to the handover between AMC Studios and Apple Studios of another elaborate, high-concept drama, Silo, after Season 1. Severance, a high-end drama said to cost as much as $20M an episode for its 10-episode second season, will become a marquee title in the Apple Studios portfolio, joining popular series such as Your Friends and Neighbors, Stick, Sugar and Palm Royale and movies such as last year’s tentpole F1. >>>Full Analysis EFM PREVIEW   EXCLUSIVE ‘Obsession’ & ‘Superman & Lois’ Star Inde Navarrette Set For Rollercoaster Thriller ‘Invertigo’ From ‘Fall’ Producers EXCLUSIVE Jason Isaacs, Josh Gad & Ruth Negga Set For Peter Fellows’ WW2 Dark Comedy ‘Bad Major’ ​​​​​​​Guy Pearce, Jared Harris & Merab Ninidze To Play Truman, Churchill & Stalin In Anthony McCarten’s Potsdam Conference Thriller ‘The Price Of Peace’ Deadline Exclusives & Originals From BookTok To Netflix - Bestselling author Navessa Allen’s popular dark romance novel Lights Out is set for a television adaptation at Netflix. Hannah Schneider (Why Women Kill, Accused, The Waterfront) will adapt the novel for Netflix as showrunner. >>> Peter Chernin Among EPs Gore Studios' AI Buy - John Gore Studios, the outfit led by the 25-time Tony Award-winning producer, has moved further into the AI production game with the acquisition of Deep Fusion Films. >>> Resurrected Peter Cushing 'Desert Warrior' Release Planned - Vertical has acquired U.S. and U.K. rights to the action film Desert Warrior, starring Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart and Ben Kingsley, from MBC Studios. It’ll be released this spring. >>> $150M Saudi Epic 'Wuthering Heights' Review  - Emerald Fennell’s lackluster film doesn’t really bother with the stylistic flourishes of the source — this is really just the Cathy and Heathcliffe show, two awful people competing to destroy each other and threatening to take us to hell with them into the bargain. >>> Damon Wise's Take Empire Building - The Empress creators and showrunners Robert and Katharina Eyssen, producer Sommerhaus, and Netflix have gotten the band back together for Witches (working title), a dark historical drama set during the European witch hunts of the 17th century. >>> Major Historical Series Deadline's Rendering Column - The big beasts of Hollywood are baring their legal teeth against copyright-flouting AI companies, and there’s a new tech startup in town looking to throw studios more red meat. LightBar is assembling bounty hunters to track down misuse of Hollywood IP. >>> “Napster Moment” THE DEADLINE INTERVIEW Kate Hudson On Going Back To The Oscars 25 Years After ‘Almost Famous’ & What Goldie Told Her Kate Hudson joins us this week for the latest episode of Deadline's video series The Actor’s Side. She talks about making the movie, returning to the Oscars, what her mother Goldie Hawn told her when she interviewed her for an FYC Q&A after a screening of the film, plus the challenge of actually singing as the character and not Kate Hudson. >>> Watch RENEWALS, CANCELLATIONS & PICKUPS   EXCLUSIVE Hello Sunshine’s ‘The Rise’ Sets Next Two Documentaries: ‘The Inaugural Season Of The PWHL’ And ‘The Gold Medal Girls Of X Games’ HGTV Cancels ‘Rehab Addict’ After Star Nicole Curtis Used Racial Slur While Filming Series 'Off Campus' Gets Early Season 2 Renewal At Amazon; Season 1 Premiere Window QUOTABLE   "A complete breach of the values we hold as a city"- L.A. Councilmember and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman on the LA28 board's decision to keep Casey Wasserman in charge of the city’s Olympics efforts CASTING ABOUT Jesse Tyler Ferguson will portray the famed writer and swan-collector Truman Capote in the first New York revival of Jay Presson Allen’s 1989 Broadway hit Tru. Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer will join Alex Brightman and Sara Chase in the upcoming Broadway production of Schmigadoon!, producers have announced.   Exclusive Franz Rogowski (Passages) and Benedict Wong (Weapons) have closed deals to join Mikey Madison and Léa Seydoux in The Masque of the Red Death for A24. BY THE NUMBERS   130,000 - Number of jobs added in the U.S. over the past month, according to the Labor Department MORE NEWS 🤬 The live feed for today's opening jury press conference of the Berlin Film Festival went down as a journalist in the room asked a contentious question on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Questioned by Deadline on whether the broadcast of the question had been censored, a spokesperson said the cut in the broadcast had been due to technical issues. 💰 Under a just-inked settlement, Disney now will make a $2.75 million civil payout over its past alleged data indiscretions and overly complicated opt-out process for Disney+.  🎬 Jason Momoa will star in PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures’ film adaptation of Helldivers, based on Arrowhead Game Studios’ video game franchise. Justin Lin will direct. ⚖️ Court-ordered settlement talks in Blake Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Justin Baldoni have floundered, and the It Ends With Us co-stars are almost certainly going to trial. 🧟‍♂️ AMC Networks is poised for another payday from The Walking Dead as its current streaming deal with Netflix nears its end. The 177 episodes in the original series, which ended in 2022, are due to return to AMC Networks’ control “in less than a year,” CEO Kristin Dolan said, and talks have begun between the companies about a potential renewal.    HIRINGS, PROMOTIONS & EXITS   Exclusive Rohan Shah Named President Of Camelback Productions’ Board As Kumail Nanjiani & Lata Krishnan Join BritBox President Promoted To BBC Studios Streaming Role OBITUARIES   🕯️ James Van Der Beek, who played the titular Dawson Leery on Kevin Williamson’s WB hit Dawson’s Creek and also starred in Varsity Blues, The Rules of Attraction and other films and TV shows, died Wednesday after a long battle with colorectal cancer. He was 48. 🕯️  Bud Cort , whose indelible portrayal of the gawky, death-obsessed young man barely out of his teens who falls in love with a spirited 79-year-old Holocaust survivor played by Ruth Gordon in 1971’s Harold and Maude, died Wednesday in Connecticut following a lengthy illness. He was 77. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery ON THE RADAR Thu - Bernie Sanders on Colbert Sat - Valentine's Day Sun - Last Week Tonight returns; NBA All-Star Game; Spirit Awards Mon - Presidents' Day Wed - 56 Days premieres PHOTO OF THE DAY Good 'Night' - Fola Evans-Akingbola, Shawn Ryan and Genesis Rodriguez at the special screening of The Night Agent Season 3 held at Tudum Theater. This email was sent to punjabsvera@gmail.com by Deadline. Please add email@email.deadline.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. Visit the Preferences Center to update your profile and customize what email alerts and newsletters you receive. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 11355 W Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA, 90064 View in Browser | Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Rights | Ad Choices | Terms of Use | Unsubscribe