Sebastian Maniscalco isn’t generally viewed as a particularly controversial comic — but he’s found himself in the hot seat this week, scrutinized over a recent SiriusXM changeover in which he’s prominently involved.

Earlier this year, as we first reported, SiriusXM replaced its long-running Raw Comedy channel (Channel 99) with Sebastian Maniscalco’s Comedy Radio, a 24/7 branded channel centered on Maniscalco and his show with Pete Correale. The announcement wasn’t an immediate lightning rod. But now, an online dialogue surrounding it is gaining steam.

As laid out in a piece by nonprofit Stand Up for Stand Up, the change has been harmful to working-class comics who depended on Raw Dog airplay and the royalties that come with it. What’s happened, they’ve shown, is that over 75% of total plays have become concentrated among the industry’s upper echelon of comics — living and dead — severely impacting passive residual income going to comics at lower levels.

Maniscalco’s new channel “is crushing middle class comedians who rely on payments from the company to pad income,” wrote comedian Matt Ruby in a Monday installment of his Substack Funny How: Letters to a Young Comedian. “Now some are fighting back. (Thanks to them!)”

Ruby linked to social posts from comics including Liz Miele and Greg Stone, who lay out the issue in full.

“This year, the Raw channel on SiriusXM became Sebastian Maniscalco’s channel. Great. Fine. Celebrities have taken over channels before. Never been an issue,” Miele says in a video posted to Instagram (view it here.)

“The problem is,” Miele explains, “Raw went from playing 800 working class comedians to now playing less than 300 celebrity comedians like Joan Rivers, Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Norm Macdonald. Just dead comic, dead comic, dead comic, and then a plethora of very famous alive comedians that might not even know about this extra income that they’re about to receive.”

In contrast, Miele said, “every workin- class comedian that has been kicked off the channel is quite aware” of the change, “and it is devastating. Because of this action, hundreds of comedians will no longer be able to have these royalties. Working class comedians, people that only make money on the road, that have no safety net, that depend on this money to just survive, are going from having that money to nothing.”

Previously, Miele said, Maniscalco was perhaps unaware of the impact that his SiriusXM rebrand is having on the broader comedy community. “But now you know, and you can help us. You can fix this. We would love to be reincorporated into the channel and start getting the streams and plays that we were getting before you took it over.”

Deadline has reached out to reps for SiriusXM and Maniscalco for comment; we’ll update the story if and when statements come in.

EXCLUSIVE: Cargo Film & Releasing has set an October 23 theatrical opening for The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony, Habiba Nosheen’s documentary about girls in Pakistan who defy their conservative community by pursuing competitive gymnastics.

The film from executive producers Mariska Hargitay, Trish Adlesic, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai will debut at DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema in New York City before expanding to more than 20 cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Cleveland, Santa Fe, Toronto. Canadian Distributor Blue Ice Docs will open the film in Toronto.

Watch the exclusive trailer below.

“The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony is an intimate coming-of-age story of three inspiring teenage girls in Pakistan whose discovery of gymnastics opens an unexpected new world of friendship, competition and possibility,” notes a release. “As Kiran, Anwara and Sonia train toward their dream of competing at Pakistan’s national championships, their growing passion begins to collide with expectations about what girls can and cannot do. Moving between the exhilaration of the gym and the pressures of everyday life, the film captures three teenagers beginning to imagine their futures on their own terms.”

In a statement, Nosheen said, “This film has always been about allowing audiences to experience the world through the girls’ eyes. We watch Kiran, Anwara and Sonia discover something they love, become fiercely ambitious about it and begin making space for themselves through gymnastics. The result is a deeply human portrait of girlhood from a part of Pakistan we rarely get to see this way on screen. I am thrilled that audiences across North America will now have the opportunity to meet these girls on the big screen.”

Yousafzai, a native of Northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, commented, “I could not be prouder to support this beautiful film and the incredible young athletes at the heart of it. The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony perfectly illustrates the power of sports to change how girls see themselves and how the world sees young women.”

Hargitay and Adlesic are coming off their recent Primetime Emmy wins for My Mom Jayne, the documentary Hargitay directed and Hargitay and Adlesic produced. The Law & Order: SVU star is president and founder of production company Mighty Entertainment.

“When we first learned about these young girls and their lives from director Habiba Nosheen, my producing partner, Trish Adlesic, and I knew we wanted to help ensure that their story would reach audiences around the world,” Hargitay said. “This film is a perfect example of the kind of stories we want to champion and support at Mighty. We are honored to partner with Habiba and inspired by her talent as a filmmaker.”

The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony is an Akelo Media Production produced with the participation of Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada, in association with CBC, Chicken and Egg Films and Mighty Entertainment. The film is directed by Habiba Nosheen and produced by Amar Lohana and Nosheen. Executive producers include Malala Yousafzai, Mariska Hargitay, Trish Adlesic, Shizuka Asakawa, Lauran Bromley, Michelle McCree, Ashley McDermott, Robin Smith, Shelley Saywell, Elaisha Stokes, Anna Maria Tremonti, and Jenni Wolfson. Co-executive producers are Ricardo Acosta and Bina Shukla.

Lawence Jackman edited the film; cinematography is by Tess Girard, Nadir Siddiqui, and Muhammad Asif Faraz. Kalaisan Kalaichelvan composed the original score.

The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony held its world premiere in Documentary Competition at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, finishing among the top three documentaries for the festival’s Audience Award. It has also screened at DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in South Korea, the Calgary International Film Festival in Alberta, and Chicago South Asian Film Festival, among others. It screens this weekend at the Zurich Film Festival.

“I am so proud that the film offers a unique portrait of Pakistani girlhood rarely seen on screen, along with a universal story about friendship, ambition and the freedom to play,” said director-producer Nosheen. “It is lyrical, playful and deeply intimate. I am forever grateful to these girls for allowing us to be in their lives and tell their stories.”

Watch the exclusive trailer here:

EXCLUSIVE: Nyle DiMarco has joined the recurring cast of Hulu‘s legal drama All’s Fair for Season 2. The role he will play, which is currently under wraps, was originally written as a hearing character and is being adapted specifically for DiMarco, who is deaf.

A prominent advocate for authentic deaf representation in media, DiMarco joins Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, Matthew Noszka, Sarah Paulson, and Glenn Close, as well as new Season 2 series regular Cauã Reymond.

All’s Fair follows Allura Grant (Kardashian), who sets up a female divorce attorney firm with Liberty Ronson (Watts) and Emerald Greene (Nash-Betts) — as well as assistant Milan (Taylor), who is also sleeping with Grant’s NFL husband Chase Munroe (Noszka) — after leaving a male-dominated firm with the support of Dina Standish (Close). The group navigates high-stakes breakups, scandalous secrets and shifting allegiances — both in the courtroom and within their own ranks — as well as a fierce rivalry with competitor Carrington Lane (Paulson).

Season 1 also featured Judith Light, O-T Fagbenle, Armani Barrett, Jemarcus Kilgore, Joshua Suiter, Ed O’Neill and Hari Nef in recurring roles, and guest stars including Grace Gummer, Kate Berlant, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Jack Davenport, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Brooke Shields.

Season 2 of the Ryan Murphy series will see the lawyers of Grant, Ronson & Greene back for another season of scandals, secrets, and stilettos. As new allegiances form, friendships are tested, and a shocking revelation threatens the very existence of the firm.

All’s Fair, produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television, is executive produced by Murphy, Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Joe Baken, Nissa Diederich, Scott Robertson, Eric Kovtun, Anthony Hemingway, Louise Shore, Tanase Popa, Close, Watts, Paulson, Nash-Betts, Taylor and Lyn Greene.

DiMarco arrives on the series following a year behind the camera. His feature documentary directorial debut, Deaf President Now!, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival before being released by Apple TV+ in May 2025. The film went on to earn a Humanitas Prize nomination and two Emmy nods, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. The directing nomination made DiMarco the first deaf filmmaker nominated for an Emmy in the category. His producing credits include the Oscar-nominated documentary short Audible, and acting credits include appearances in Queer as Folk, Station 19, Difficult People, and Switched at Birth. DiMarco is repped by Independent Artist Group, managed by Atlas and Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk LLP.