English Entertainment
Say Goodbye to your favorite TV shows this Summer!
This summer, some of the most popular shows of television will end their remarkable season journeys! Some will leave on a high note, some will leave you at the edge of your seats and waiting for the next seasons and some will leave you content and at peace.
So, while there is an amazing summer line-up waiting to be premiered on television, it is time to say goodbye to many of your favorite shows!
• How to Get Away with Murder starring Viola Davis
Season 2 of the Golden Globe winning series How to Get Away with Murder finally comes to a dramatic end and is sure to leave its viewers at the edge of their seats this summer wanting more of the American drama series. Fear not for the show has already been renewed for Season 3 and it is not too far away!
The show will premiere every Monday to Friday at 9 pm starting from 25 April at the same time.
• Martin Scorsese’s debut TV show – Vinyl starring Bobby Cannavale and Olivia Wilde
Vinyl has been in the news for all the right reasons – its stupendous cast, the phenomenal dream team of showmakers and its very Scorsese-like theme! The show that was loved by audiences world over generated a lot of curiosity for it was being directed and produced by the legendary Martin Scorsese, the iconic Terence Winters and the rock n roll star Mick Jagger! So whether the show was widely spoken about for Cannavale’s brilliant performance or Wilde’s love for merkins, it’s all coming to an end. But then again, fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief as HBO has already renewed the much-loved show for its second season!
The show will air every Wednesday at 10 pm on while the finale episode of the show next Wednesday, 20 April at the same time.
•Ryan Murphy’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story starring John Travolta, David Schwimmer, Cuba Gooding Jr., Sarah Paulson, Johnnie Cochran among others
The show that made the biggest noise in 2016 yet, the first instalment of Ryan Murphy’s The American Crime Story series – The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, is all set to wrap up its season. The FX series that garnered the highest viewership ever was a true story based on celebrity footballer O.J. Simpson’s trial acquittal after he was accused of brutally murdering his wife and her friend. Known as the ‘trial of the century’ and the most televised crime story in the history of crime, the show in its finale episode will detail out the final verdict and its aftermath.
Ryan Murphy fans, there’s no need to worry as he has recently announced that he’s working around a theme for the series’ second season! Yay!
The finale episode will air on 11 April at 10 pm. 
•Better Call Saul starring Bob Odenkirk
The prequel of the highly enthralling show Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul’s second season is quickly coming to an end after delivering power-packed performances and a thrilling plot all season. With all the pieces in place for a thrilling end to Better Call Saul’s superlative second season, audiences are sure to wonder what to do with their lives once the show ends.
But don’t worry fans, this season too has been renewed for a third! But will the series ultimately lead to Breaking Bad like fans are hoping it would? Well, we’ll have to just wait and watch!
The show will premiere on 19 April at 11 pm.
•Arrested Development season 4
With every other major series ending this summer, Arrested Development Season 4 adds on to that list. The award-winning comedy series that is known to send rib tickling humour up everyone’s spines, the season finale will certainly be one that leaves the audience content but at the same time wanting more.
The finale episode will air on 13 April at 8 pm.
English Entertainment
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount deal
Investors wave through a $111 billion megamerger but deliver a stinging, if toothless, rebuke over half-a-billion-dollar goodbye packages
NEW YORK: The shareholders said yes to the deal. They said no to the cheque. At a virtual special meeting on Thursday that lasted barely ten minutes, Warner Bros. Discovery investors voted overwhelmingly to approve Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of the company — and then turned around and voted against the lavish exit pay packages lined up for chief executive David Zaslav and his fellow outgoing executives.
Not that it will make much difference. The compensation vote is purely advisory and non-binding. The Warner Bros. Discovery board can, and almost certainly will, pay out as planned.
But the symbolism stings. It is the second consecutive year that WBD shareholders have voted against the executive compensation packages, and this time they had good reason. Zaslav’s exit deal is, by any measure, extraordinary. Under the terms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he is set to receive $34.2 million in cash severance, $517.2 million in equity in the combined company, and $44,195 in continued health coverage — a total of at least $550 million. On top of that, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to reimburse Zaslav up to $335 million for taxes assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on his accelerated stock vesting, though the company says that figure will decline depending on when the deal closes. As of March 11, Zaslav also held $115.85 million in vested WBD stock awards — and last month sold a further $114 million worth of WBD shares.
Shareholder advisory firm ISS recommended voting against the compensation measure, citing “problematic” tax reimbursements to Zaslav and the full vesting of his stock awards.
Zaslav will be bound by a two-year non-competition covenant and a two-year non-solicitation of customers and employees after the deal closes.
His lieutenants are not walking away empty-handed either. J.B. Perrette, chief executive and president of global streaming and games, is in line for $142 million, comprising $18.2 million in cash severance and $123.9 million in equity. Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, will receive an estimated $121.5 million, including $18.8 million in severance and $102.7 million in equity. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels is set for $120 million, made up of $6.6 million in cash severance and $113.1 million in equity. Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, will get $82.6 million, including $11.9 million in severance and $70.7 million in equity.
The deal itself, clinched in February after Netflix declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros., still needs regulatory clearance from the Justice Department and European authorities. Several state attorneys general are also weighing legal action to block it.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, was unsparing. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal,” she said after the shareholder vote. “State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
If it does go through, the combined entity would be a formidable beast, bringing together Paramount Skydance’s stable — CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, BET, MTV and Nickelodeon — with WBD’s portfolio of HBO, Max, Warner Bros. film and TV studios, DC, CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV and Discovery+. Paramount has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings from the merger, which is Wall Street shorthand for mass layoffs on a significant scale.
The ten-minute meeting was presided over by chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr., with Zaslav, Campbell, Wiedenfels and chief communications officer Robert Gibbs in virtual attendance. Di Piazza was bullish. “We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio,” he said. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community.”
Zaslav echoed the sentiment. “Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. Discovery and returned the company to industry leadership,” he said. “Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.”
Paramount Skydance struck a similar note. “Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” it said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to “closing the transaction in the coming months.”
The shareholders have spoken on the merger. On the pay, they were ignored before the vote was even counted.
