South Koreans are celebrating their first win in the Tony Awards, which they say highlights their country’s status as a cultural powerhouse.
The acclaimed Broadway production of Maybe Happy Ending, which debuted in South Korea almost a decade ago, won six Tonys, including best musical.
Maybe Happy Ending is about the romance between two humanoid robots living in an apartment building on the outskirts of Seoul. It entered Sunday night’s awards ceremony with 10 nominations.
With the Tonys, South Koreans have now won the four most coveted awards in US entertainment. Squid Game won Emmy awards in 2022 while Parasite won four Oscars in 2020. Soprano Sumi Jo won a Grammy in 1993.
On Sunday, South Korean lyricist Hue Park and American composer Will Aronson took home the Tony for best original score and best book of a musical.
Before making their Broadway debut with Maybe Happy Ending in 2024, the pair, who met as students at New York University, had written the musical in both English and Korean.
“This is amazing!” one post on Threads reads. “I heard the Broadway version got even more polished. I’m so proud that Korea is becoming a true cultural powerhouse.”
“This feels like a dream come true for the Korean Wave,” reads another post. “I’m just as thrilled as when Parasite won the Oscars, Squid Game won the Emmys, and Han Kang received the Nobel Prize.”
Former Glee star Darren Criss, who played one of the robots, Oliver, won best lead actor in a musical. It was his first Tony win.
The musical, which also stars Helen J Shen as robot Claire, was already on a streak this awards season.
It bagged some of the top prizes at the Outer Critics Circle Awards and Drama League Awards this year.
First directed by Kim Dong-yeon, Maybe Happy Ending premiered in Seoul in 2016 to much critical acclaim. It has since been revived several times in South Korea and abroad – in both Korean and English.
Maybe Happy Ending’s success comes as South Korean artists continue to break ground in entertainment, especially with K-pop acts like BTS and Blackpink dominating music in the last few years.
It also serves as a window into Korean culture, some social media users say.
“It’s amazing that Korean elements like Jeju Island, fireflies, and hwabun (a plant pot) were kept in the Broadway version too,” reads one post on Threads.
“I already felt proud just seeing it nominated, but watching the local audience react so positively made it even more special.” (BBC)
Warner Bros. Discovery, grappling with declines in its overall business, said Monday it planned to divide the company into two publicly-traded entities, one devoted to streaming and content production and one devoted to traditional television.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav will remain as the leader of the streaming-focused entity, while Gunnar Wiedenfels, the company’s CFO who has become known for finding new ways to cut old costs, will lead the TV company. The separation is expected to be completed by mid-2026, subject to closing and other conditions, and the bulk of the current company’s debt — nearly $38 billion –will be assigned to the TV entity.
“By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today’s evolving media landscape,” Zaslav said in a statement.
The company is emulating a strategy recently put into place by rival Comcast. That conglomerate is breaking up NBCUniversal, with plans to place the bulk of its cable networks in a new publicly-traded spinoff called Versant while keeping its broadcast and streaming assets under the better-known entity, NBC.
Warner has had to contend with many obstacles since being formed by the combination of AT&T’s WarnerMedia — the company once known as Time Warner — and the former Discovery Communications, Under Zaslav, Warner has fiddled with streaming strategies and deprived top cable networks of TNT and TBS of the original content they need to flourish. Warner recently lost long-held rights to televise NBA games, a contract that gave its networks a major sporting franchise that drew large crowds on the regular. And it has written down the value of its cable properties.
Warner has recently appeared to find some rhythm. The Max service has developed solid audiences for programs including “The Pitt” and “White Lotus,” and the company has recently articulated a strategy of targeting audiences interested in premium content, rather than a broader crowd. And Warner has struck new distribution deals with cable and satellite companies that call for what are seen internally as favorable terms, despite the loss of the NBA.
The streaming company will encompass the Warner TV and movie studios, HBO and HBO Max and a games and experiences division. The company will focus on building out the HBO Max streaming service and investing in programming. Meanwhile, the TV company will include Warner’s TV networks around the world along with specific digital brands tied to the TV entities, including Discovery+, Bleacher Report and CNN’s new streaming products.
Warner’s move is likely to spur new speculation about potential consolidation in the media sector. Part of the strategy behind Comcast’s Versant is its ability to do deals. Paramount Global, owner of CBS, is also under financial pressure and may have to consider new rounds of cost cutting if it cannot consummate a deal it has in place to be acquired by Skydance Media.
During an investor call Monday, executives suggested the two companies might continue to be aligned. Ad sales may represent both sides of the split, executives said, and sports, while being placed with the TV company, will likely continue to stream on HBO Max for the foreseeable future, though those plans could change as the two companies plot their own strategies in the future. “The U.S. sports rights will reside at the global networks, and its management team will determine how best to monetize the streaming and digital rights over time,” Wiedenfels said. (Variety)
Popular Nigerian musician, Darey Art Alade, and his wife, Deola, have thanked God and well-wishers after narrowly escaping a car fire on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State.
Sharing videos from the scene on Instagram on Saturday, Deola revealed that the incident occurred around 4pm on Friday when their vehicle caught fire and was completely destroyed.
“Yesterday, around 4pm, our car caught fire on the 3rd Mainland Bridge and burnt to the ground.
“It was a shocking and painful experience, but we’re incredibly grateful that the driver made it out safely. No lives were lost, and that’s what truly matters,” she wrote.
In her post, Deola emphasised the importance of life over material possessions saying, “Moments like this remind us how quickly things can change and how unimportant material things become in the face of life itself.”
She also noted that the reason for sharing their experience was to encourage others going through sudden loss.
Deola wrote, “We’re not sharing this for sympathy but to remind someone that things can be replaced. Lives cannot. We’re choosing to remain thankful to God for protection, for perspective, and for the quiet strength to keep going.
“If you’re navigating a sudden loss of any kind, we hope this reminds you: we can rebuild. We can begin again and find the strength to keep going. One breath, one prayer, one step at a time. We give thanks in all things. Thank you to everyone that stopped to help.”
Fans and celebrities have taken to the couple’s post to offer prayers and wishes. (Punch)
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has extended his heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and many fans of Mike Ejeagha, one of Nigeria’s greatest folklorists, songwriters, and musicians in the Igbo language, who passed on to eternity on Friday at 95.
In a statement issued by the Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu lauded Mike Ejeagha for using his music and distinctive storytelling style to preserve and project Igbo culture and customs, inspiring generations.
“May the spirit and values of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha’s music continue to remind us that music has the power to revive, heal and redirect energy towards worthy causes that help build our nation,”President Tinubu says.
The President commended the Enugu State Government, led by Governor Peter Mbah, for honouring the music icon while still alive.
President Tinubu prays to God Almighty to grant the soul of the departed eternal rest and comfort to all who mourn his loss.
Mike Ejeagha, popularly known as “Gentleman Mike Ejeagha,” was a renowned Nigerian folklorist, songwriter, and highlife musician born on April 4, 1930, in Imezi Owa, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria.
He passed away on June 6, 2025, at the age of 95.
Ejeagha’s music enjoyed renewed popularity in 2024 when his 1983 track Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Ochewent viral through a dance challenge, introducing his work to younger audiences.
He is celebrated as one of Nigeria’s greatest folklorists and a custodian of Igbo culture through music. (VON)
Solo Leveling was the big winner Sunday night at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, taking home anime of the year, best action, best new series, and multiple performance and music honors in a starry ceremony that brought together anime’s most passionate global fans. Held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo, the annual celebration honored the top talent in Japanese animation across 28 categories — drawing a record-breaking 51 million fan votes worldwide to decide the winners.
In the feature film category, Look Back, the emotional adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s one-shot manga, earned Film of the Year, while fan-favorite Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba added to its legacy with best continuing series and best animation. The genre-defying Dan Da Dan picked up several creative awards, including best opening sequence, best anime song, and best character design.
Hosted for the third year in a row by voice actress Sally Amaki and entertainer Jon Kabira, this year’s show again welcomed a diverse slate of celebrity presenters, further underlining anime’s global appeal. Appearances were made by Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves, Stranger Things stars Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo, Latin music icon J Balvin, Japanese actor Kanata Hongo and Japanese Academy Award-winner Mayu Matsuoka. Also on hand were singer Rina Sawayama, Brazilian pop star Pabllo Vittar, model Saya Ichikawa, actor Dean Fujioka and Damiano David of Maneskin fame.
The night’s most poignant moment came when Attack on Titan was awarded Crunchyroll’s first-ever Global Impact Award, a new honor recognizing a franchise’s profound influence on anime and global pop culture. Director Yuichiro Hayashi accepted the award on behalf of studio Mappa and the series’ many creators, following the release of Attack on Titan: The Last Attack in late 2024, which concluded the long-running saga.
Fans were also treated to live performances from some of anime music’s biggest acts, including Creepy Nuts with their viral hit “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” from Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Japanese rock legends Flow with “Days” in honor of Eureka Seven, and a three-song medley by J-pop star Lisa, including her Demon Slayer anthem “Gurenge.”
“Fans form deep emotional connections to anime. These are not just series, films or songs, but rather works of art that help define the identity of anime fans,” said Rahul Purini, president of Crunchyroll. “With an incredible 51 million votes this year, the 2025 Anime Awards are celebrating the creators in Japan who have captured the hearts of fans and are powering anime’s prominence in global pop culture.”
Crunchyroll partnered with Sony Music Solutions Inc. and Dempsey Productions to deliver the high-energy show, which will be available to stream via Crunchyroll’s YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as Sony Pictures Core and other Sony Group platforms.
Sony Group has identified anime as a key pillar of its growth strategy, with Crunchyroll sitting at the center of its holdings in the sector. On Sony’s most recent earnings call in May, the conglomerate revealed that Crunchyroll now counts 17 million subscribers worldwide. Crunchyroll, Aniplex and Sony Pictures will collaborate later this year on the North American and international release of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, a trilogy of films that concludes what is currently the world’s most bankable anime franchise. Crunchyroll and Aniplex are also co-producing an anime series based on the blockbuster samurai adventure PlayStation game Ghost of Tsushima.
Full List of 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards Winners
Anime of the Year: Solo Leveling
Film of the Year: Look Back
Best Original Anime: Ninja Kamui
Best Continuing Series: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc
Best New Series: Solo Leveling
Best Opening Sequence: “Otonoke” – Creepy Nuts (Dan Da Dan)
Best Ending Sequence: “request” – krage (Solo Leveling)
Best Action: Solo Leveling
Best Comedy: Mashle: Magic and Muscles – The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc
Best Drama: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Best Isekai Anime: Re:ZERO – Starting Life in Another World – Season 3
Best Romance: Blue Box
Best Slice of Life: Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!
Best Animation: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc
Best Background Art: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Best Character Design: Dan Da Dan
Best Director: Keiichiro Saito (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
Best Main Character: Sung Jinwoo (Solo Leveling)
Best Supporting Character: Fern (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
“Must Protect At All Costs” Character: Anya Forger (Spy × Family, Season 2)
Best Anime Song: “Otonoke” – Creepy Nuts (Dan Da Dan)
Best Score: Solo Leveling – Hiroyuki Sawano
Voice Performance Awards
Japanese: Aoi Yuki (Maomao – The Apothecary Diaries)
English: Aleks Le (Sung Jinwoo – Solo Leveling)
Arabic: Hiba Snobar (Anya Forger – SPY × FAMILY Season 2)
Brazilian Portuguese: Charles Emmanuel (Sung Jinwoo – Solo Leveling)
Castilian Spanish: Masumi Mutsuda (Sung Jinwoo – Solo Leveling)
French: Adrien Antoine (Kafka Hibino – Kaiju No. 8)
German: Daniel Schlauch (Monkey D. Luffy – One Piece)
Hindi: Lohit Sharma (Satoru Gojo – Jujutsu Kaisen, Season 2)
Italian: Ilaria Pellicone (Kyomoto – Look Back)
Latin Spanish: Miguel Ángel Leal (Eren Jaeger – Attack on Titan Final Season: The Final Chapters – Special 2)
As Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale builds towards its series finale, Margaret Atwood, who wrote the 1985 novel on which the popular TV drama starring Elisabeth Moss is based, will be honored by The Hollywood Reporter at its Women in Entertainment Canada event on May 29 in Toronto.
The Canadian author, poet and activist will receive the ICON Award at this year’s second annual WIE Canada gala ceremony. Atwood wrote the Handmaid’s Tale book on which the Hulu TV series, from creator Bruce Miller, is based. Her follow-up 2019 novel, The Testaments, is currently being adapted as a sequel series.
The Handmaid’s Tale explores the complicated lives of handmaids who are sex slaves forced to give birth for infertile elite couples. Cultural and political observers have noted that the themes and concepts of the Canadian-born author’s celebrated novel are eerily familiar in today’s climate that sees the Donald Trump administration making repeated strikes against the rights of women, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals and other marginalized communities.
The WIE Canada’s ICON Award was created to recognize Canadian cultural icons who have advanced greater representation of women in the media and entertainment industry and whose artistic vision has reached global audiences.
Having written around 50 books of fiction, poetry, critical essays and graphic novels, Atwood will publish her memoir, Book of Lives, later this year. She has also received awards like the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Franz Kafka International Literary Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Los Angeles Times Innovator’s Award.
WIE Canada earlier announced that Tantoo Cardinal will receive the Equity in Entertainment Award, lifestyle journalist Jeanne Beker will be given the IMPACT Award; and The Sex Lives of College Girls star Amrit Kaur will receive the Breakthrough Award at this year’s event.
The upcoming second annual WIE Canada summit will again bring together the Canadian industry across TV, film and music to celebrate and recognize the achievements of women driving the industry forward.
The event’s return follows a successful first-ever WIE Canada summit on May 30, 2024 that was attended by iconic Canadian entertainers in the TV, film and music fields like Lilly Singh, Nia Vardalos, Devery Jacobs, Kim Cattrall, Catherine Reitman and Jully Black. (THR)
Marvel and Disney’s newest release Thunderbolts* has proved a hit at the box office, after taking an estimated $162m (£122m) internationally.
The film, which both production houses hope will kickstart a new franchise, is based around lesser-known superheroes who have to take on human and superhuman threats whilst fighting their own personal battles.
It stars Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan in two of the main roles, alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Harbour.
Whilst not all critic reviews have been favourable, the movie has been a hit with superhero fans – drawing in an impressive 95 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It means the film receives the third highest audience score for a Marvel title, tying with Spider-Man: Far From Home and behind Shangi-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Not all critics have not treated the film as favourably, with Empire’s John Nugent noting that the film is “missing a bit of colour – literally, in the washed-out palette and CG shadow-threat that dominates the latter half of the film — and figuratively, in its subject matter”.
He adds that the topics covered, including suicide, depression and domestic violence are “not always sensitively handled”.
Radheyan Simonpillai at The Guardian gives the film three stars, citing that although the film is “the best thing to come from the brand [Marvel] since WandaVision“, “Thunderbolts often irritates because the depression and trauma the movie supposedly grapples with so often lives on the surface”.
Simonpillai is full of praise for Pugh though, “who can wrestle sincerity out of a screenplay (and a franchise) that has so little”.
However, Clarisse Loughrey from The Independent looks on the film a little more favourably, giving it four stars and calling it “the best Marvel movie in years”.
“Thunderbolts does feel different to what’s come before.
“It’s the first of its kind to seem genuinely self-aware – Thunderbolts might actually then be the ultimate Marvel film for now,” she adds.
Audience fatigue when it comes to Marvel films is a genuine concern for the studio, which has been trying to pivot away from the characters from the main Marvel Cinematic Universe since the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
It is perhaps why Deadpool & Wolverine was a big hit for Marvel last summer, as it featured characters that have been less front and centre for them, with Thunderbolts* potentially following a similar path. (BBC)
The US government agency that regulates television says it is opening an investigation into Disney’s diversity and inclusion practices, in the latest sign of pressure being applied to media firms.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr sent a letter to Disney on Friday notifying the firm, and its ABC News unit, of the plan.
He said the move had been prompted by concerns that the company was promoting diversity “in a manner that does not comply” with government regulation.
A spokesperson for Disney said the company is reviewing the letter.
“We look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.
The FCC’s investigation into Disney also comes amid a wider crackdown on DEI practices by the Trump administration, with impacts felt beyond the US.
French companies with US government contracts received a letter from the American embassy in France this week, asking them to sign on and comply with Trump’s executive order banning DEI programmes.
The order, the letter said, “applies to all suppliers and service providers of the US government, regardless of their nationality and the country in which they operate.”
In a letter addressed to Robert Iger, the chief executive of Disney, FCC chairman Carr said he wants to ensure that the media company “ends any and all discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just name”.
He added: “I want to determine whether Disney’s actions – whether ongoing or recently ended – complied at all times with applicable FCC regulations.”
Carr has been a member of the FCC since 2017 and was named to lead the agency by Trump in November.
Since being appointed to the post, he has ramped up scrutiny of media firms, launching probes of NPR and PBS and demanding information from Big Tech companies including Apple and Google, about their use of services that influence how news articles get ranked.
The FCC also announced investigations of Verizon and Comcast and its media unit, NBCUniversal over their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Disney, best known for its cartoon classics and theme parks, made changes to its DEI policies earlier this year.
“While I have seen reports that Disney recently walked back some of its DEI programs, significant concerns remain,” Carr wrote in the letter.
“I want to ensure that Disney and ABC have not been violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination,” he said. (BBC)
The Academy Awards have taken place in Los Angeles, with Anora scooping the most honours, while Conclave, The Brutalist, Wicked and Emilia Pérez also took prizes.
Here is the full list of winners.
Best picture
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best actress
WINNER: Mikey Madison – Anora
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Demi Moore – The Substance
Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
Best actor
WINNER: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
Best supporting actress
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Best supporting actor
WINNER: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Yura Borisov – Anora
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Best director
WINNER: Sean Baker – Anora
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
Best international feature
WINNER: I’m Still Here – Brazil
The Girl with the Needle – Denmark
Emilia Pérez – France
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Germany
Flow – Latvia
Best animated feature
WINNER: Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best original screenplay
WINNER: Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
September 5 – Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David
Journalist and TV presenter Henry Kelly has died aged 78, his family has announced.
Kelly was a journalist who later pivoted to light entertainment, hosting TV gameshow Game For A Laugh and Going For Gold in the 1980s and 90s.
He also presented programmes on BBC Radio 4, LBC and Classic FM.
In a statement, Kelly’s family said he “died peacefully” on Tuesday “after a period of ill health”.
“Henry will be sorely missed by his friends and family,” it continued, “including his partner Karolyn Shindler, their son Alexander, Henry’s daughter Siobhan and her mother Marjorie”.
Born in Dublin on 17 April 1946, Kelly started his journalistic career in newspapers.
He worked for The Irish Times in the 1970s during civil unrest and the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
He left the newspaper and moved to London to join the BBC in 1976, working as a reporter and presenter for Radio 4’s The World Tonight.
But in 1980, aged 34, he left journalism to become a light entertainment presenter.
He went on to front ITV’s Game For A Laugh, and the first iteration of Good Morning Britain on TV-am, alongside Toni Arthur.
Game For A Laugh largely involved practical jokes and elaborate set-ups, often on members of the studio audience or filmed on location on unsuspecting members of the public.
Kelly also fronted lunchtime quiz show Going For Gold for 10 seasons from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.
The theme tune for Going For Gold was composed by Hans Zimmer, who went on to become a hugely successful film and TV composer.
The show saw contestants from different European countries compete against each other to answer questions to win prizes.
Going For Gold was briefly revived in the late 2000s by Channel 5, presented by John Suchet.
Kelly later became one of the launch presenters of Classic FM and also hosted shows on speech station LBC, BBC Radio London.
He hosted a show on BBC Radio Berkshire for 10 years from 2005.
Speaking to Challenge TV about his memories of Going for Gold, Kelly – who almost missed the hosting audition as he was planning to play golf – noted how “the whole point” of the show “was that it was Pan-European”.
“We were the only people in this country at the time, and probably since, who were really European, and so we had contestants from all over Europe,” he said. (BBC)
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