English Entertainment
Star World and Star World Premiere HD announce their new show line-up
MUMBAI: Star World and Star World Premiere HD reveal an exciting line up for the summer of 2014. The two channels have come up with the most thrilling and entertaining TV shows for its viewers to watch. The shows will include drama, romance, comedy and more all in the months to follow.
Star World Premiere HD which launched in September 2013, has already taken the TV viewers by storm with its dynamic content. The channel is a pioneering initiative by the Star network to present brand new content to their Indian audiences with the latest seasons of their favorite shows. The new line up include shows like Masterchef Australia , Masterchef US ,Family Guy, Californication, Nurse Jackie, Gang Related, Helix and Archer among others.
Masterchef Australia (Season 6) -. 'MasterChef' is a unique cooking competition testing amateur budding chefs to the limit with a series of tough challenges judged by culinary experts. From dishes prepared in the studio, cooking for the rich and famous, to surviving the kitchens of top restaurants, the pressure is on to find the Master Chef at the end of each season. As a high-end, prime time spectacular, MasterChef in Australia has become a broadcasting phenomenon breaking all audience records.
Masterchef USA (Season 5) – MasterChef is a U.S. competitive cooking reality show, open to amateur and home chefs. Amateur chefs are initially selected through nationwide auditions, selecting a total of one hundred competitors to the start of the televised competition.
Family Guy ( Season 13) – The series centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian. The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, and exhibits much of its humor in the form of cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture.
Californication ( Season 7) – The final season of the series starts on 6th May. The show revolves around Hank Moody, a novelist plagued by personal demons. He blames his longtime writer's block on reasons ranging from the hedonism of Los Angeles to the departure of his girlfriend Karen. Hank constantly deals with the consequences of his inability to say "no" to temptation while trying to show his family that he can be a responsible, caring father to Becca and a monogamous partner to Karen.
Nurse Jackie ( Season 6) – This dark comedy series starts on Star World Premiere on 26th May. Starring Emmy Award winning actress Edie Falco the show takes place in the surreal world of a New York City hospital, where Falco plays Jackie, a nurse battling the insanity of everyday life in the American health care system. Jackie is a genius at what she does, but she's also a deeply troubled woman, with looming shadows of prescription drug addiction and her lapsed Catholic faith always appearing in the background.
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Gang Related ( Season 1) – Revolves around Ryan Lopez, a gang member sent in to infiltrate the San Francisco Police Department and rise through its ranks who must balance his obligations to his crime family, the gang from his old neighborhood, with an increasing sense of loyalty to his new family, the SFPD's Gang Task Force.
Helix ( Season 1) – The series follows a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to a research facility in the Arctic to investigate a potential outbreak of disease. While there, they find themselves stuck in a life-or-death situation that could decide the fate of the future of mankind.
Archer ( Season 5) – Sterling Archer is the world's most daunting spy. He works for ISIS, a spy agency run by his mother. In between dealing with his boss and his co-workers – one of whom is his ex-girlfriend – Archer manages to annoy or seduce everyone that crosses his path. His antics are only excusable because at the end of the day, he still somehow always manages to thwart whatever crises was threatening mankind.
Star World on the other hand have a spectacular lineup of shows including Once Upon a time, Homeland, House M.D. The channel presents a truly unique viewing experience and plans to bring back the classics on popular demand. Once Upon a time and House MD will be on air 19th May onwards whereas Homeland can be watched 1st May onwards.
Once Upon a time ( Season 1 -3)– OUAT is an American fairy tale drama series which takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine, whose residents are actually characters from various fairy tales transported to the "real world" town and robbed of their real memories by a powerful curse.
Homeland ( Season 1 -3) – Homeland is an American political thriller television series developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa based on the Israeli seriesHatufim. The series stars Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a Central Intelligence Agency officer with bipolar disorder, and Damian Lewis asNicholas Brody, a United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper. Mathison has come to believe that Brody, who was held captive by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war, was "turned" by the enemy and now threatens the United States.
House MD ( Seadon 1 -8)- House (aka House MD), is a new take on mystery, where the villain is a medical malady and the hero is an irreverent, controversial doctor who trusts no one, least of all his patients. Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) is devoid of bedside manner and wouldn't even talk to his patients if he could get away with it. Dealing with his own constant physical pain, he uses a cane that seems to punctuate his acerbic, brutally honest demeanor. While his behavior can border on antisocial, House is a maverick physician whose unconventional thinking and flawless instincts have afforded him a great deal of respect. An infectious disease specialist, he's a brilliant diagnostician who loves the challenges of the medical puzzles he must solve in order to save lives.
Talking about the occasion Kevin Vaz, General Manager (Star India Pvt. Ltd – English Bouquet) said, “ Over the years we have set the lineup of shows according to our viewers demands. Our selection covers multiple genres like Drama, Comedy and Animation which will reach out to a wider audience. Star World & Star World Premiere HD promise to be exciting destinations for the best TV viewing this summer .”
So spend this summer watching your favorite shows on Star World and Star World Premiere HD with the best in TV entertainment. The channel have strived to cater to the viewing needs of the audience today with shows covering diverse genres like action, comedy, drama, romance and fantasy leaving nothing to want for.
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.
