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Pilot Season Picks Up the Pieces • Already disrupted before the strikes, the springtime ritual (barely) soldiers on

Saudi Arabia Beckons Hollywood Once More • Five years after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, the entertainment industry is gravitating back to the kingdom

Remembered: 1922-2023 Norman Lear • The television pioneer was endlessly curious, and he put everything he learned into his shows

One Laugh at a Time: Norman Lear Created the Model for the Modern Sitcom

To Have and to Hold • With movie titles leaving stores and streaming libraries, fans are turning back to DVDs in droves

Finding the ‘Origin’ of the Oscar Problem • Ava DuVernay’s drama should be dominating the early awards, so why has it been largely shut out?

EXPOSURE

ZAC IS BACK • He plays a champion in the ring in Oscar hopeful ‘The Iron Claw.’ To get there, Zac Efron had to do one thing: believe in himself.

DIRECTORS ON DIRECTORS

BEN AFFLECK Air/Amazon Studios & MICHAEL B. JORDAN Creed III/MGM

GRETA GERWIG Barbie / Warner Bros. & JAMES CAMERON

BRADLEY COOPER Maestro / Netflix & SPIKE LEE

YORGOS LANTHIMOS Poor Things / Searchlight Pictures & ARI ASTER Beau Is Afraid / A24

AVA DUVERNAY Origin / Neon & MICHAEL MANN Ferrari / Neon

FILMS THAT LEFT A MARK

Voters’ Guide: Grammys Phase 2 • SZA, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish are the familiar names, but the 2024 Grammys cast a wide net, from Victoria Monét’s sleek R&B to songsmith Edgar Barrera’s genre-busting collaborations, to Noah Kahan’s New England spin on folk to the brand-new African music category

The Late Bloomer • After writing songs for Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony and more, Victoria Monét’s moment has arrived

Seasonal Effects • Noah Kahan’s slow-burning breakthrough ‘Stick Season’ has made him a contender for the best new artist Grammy

Afrobeats Finally Gets Its Grammy Moment • The genre’s biggest stars are nominees for the new best African music performance category

Going Deep • Killer Mike lays it all out in his autobiographical solo album ‘Michael’

The Golden Touch • Songwriter of the year nominee Edgar Barrera revels in innovative collaborations

Quietly Larger Than Life • Gracie Abrams finds her voice with ‘Good Riddance’

Get Ready for the Globes • Variety breaks down top contenders vying for trophies this year

Leaders of the Pack • Here are the front-runners for some high-profile Oscar shortlists

Strategic Shifts Sway Showbiz • How the great streaming reset is transforming dealmaking

Lisbeth Savill and the Art of Dealmaking • The London attorney takes leave of her firm but not her passion

Forging Ahead in a Year of Strikes and Disruption • Despite industry uncertainty, the show must go on — and these dealmakers made sure it did

UP NEXT

The Iron Claw

Erika Alexander • “It’s powerful when someone invests in you.”