In case you didn’t already know, Paramount CEO David Ellison really wants to make sure this afternoon that everybody is clear those pesky state Attorney Generals and their antitrust lawsuit are ruining a really good $111 billion thing — and now even Mexico agrees with him.

“Paramount and WBD could and would close today and begin delivering the benefits recognized by regulators around the world, theater owners and others across the industry but for the actions of just 12 state attorneys general,” declares a Friday news dump by any other name from Paramount as America’s immediate south neighbor joins “68 countries worldwide, including the European Union, UK, Australia, Canada, Brazil, China, COMESA, the U.S. Department of Justice” in approving the increasingly bitter merger

“While we remain confident that the law and the facts are on our side, we have offered commitments and concessions and remain open to working constructively with the State AGs to find a path forward in the interest of our employees and the creative community in California and across the world – just as we have with the regulators in 68 countries worldwide,” Ellison is quoted as saying.

Read today’s full “news announcement” from Paramount Skydance here

The long anticipated action from California’s Rob Bonta, New York’s Letitia James and other Blue State AGs against the MAGA inclined Ellison, Para and WBD was filed on July 13. The WGA leapt on the bandwagon with a suit of their own. With a truncated TRO in place, Oakland-based U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín set a two-week trial to start on March 2 2027.

Both sides have consequently dug legal and PR trenches to snipe at the other and rally endorsements. To that Team Ellison has dribble out a series of executive elite themed leaks in recent weeks, including leaving the home of Hollywood for the likes of Texas, Tennessee or Georgia.

There are no settlement talks, though Paramount’s legal boss Makan Delrahim has said “everything is on the table” to make a deal with Sacramento and Albany.

To that Paramount claims they have submitted a number of concessions to the AGs, but they need some response by October 1 — which is when a $7 million a day ticking fee to WBD shareholders kicks in. That ticking fee, potential further payouts and the declining net worth of Papa Ellison and Oracle founder Larry, adds a multi-billion dollar bill for Paramount to the $80 billion debt the combo company will have on Day 1.

To that in perspective, the penalties bill that could exceed $10 billion, and see no ParaBros in the end.

So, reiterating a lot of the same talking points and math the company has been making for months, and offering none of the specifics the likes of the Teamsters and others have demanded, we now have today’s self-styled “news announcement” from the Melrose lot.

An announcement that is taking the blame game to great heights or lows, depending on your POV and who is blackmailing who — to paraphrase Bonta banger of earlier this week.

“Rather than support a stronger Hollywood and deliver tangible commitments to invest in for the benefit of labor, talent and other industry participants, the current path the 12 State AGs are on additional delay for a trial beyond the engagement of the last 9 months will impose needless costs from penalty fees, litigation expenses and business disruption,” Paramount asserts today.

Instead of proclaiming investment in L.A. production (which the company received nearly $38 million in Golden State tax credits for earlier this week), Paramount pours gasoline on the fear fire.

“As a business with many stakeholders, including pension and state retirement funds, Paramount is required to consider how it can absorb the unnecessary additional financial costs while preserving the longer-term strength of the combined company,” the over 110-year old studio states. “The better path would be to resolve this through a settlement that would serve the interests of workers, consumers and the consumers in each of the 12 states.”

Let’s just say, with a bit less ominous implications, the top law enforcement officials of some of the biggest and richest states in the union aren’t buying into Paramount’s premise.

“We’ve made our legal position clear: As it stands today, the proposed Warner Bros./Paramount merger will mean higher costs, less competition, lower wages, job cuts, and fewer movies and TV shows,” a spokesperson from the California AGs’ office told Deadline in reaction to Paramount’s Friday release

“This merger violates long-standing federal antitrust law,” Bonta’s team added in language we’ve all heard dozens of times before the last month or so. “Further, as the court indicated when it ruled in its July temporary restraining order our case is likely to succeed on its merits. The California Department of Justice remains committed to enforcing the law.”

Looks like, as Hollywood packs up for one of the last weekends of the summer, we have a very sticky stalemate.

EXCLUSIVE: Scrubs is staffing up for Season 2. Keyla Monterroso Mejia (The Studio, Abbott Elementary) is joining the ABC comedy series as a recurring guest star.

She will play Mimi, Turk’s (Donald Faison) new surgical nurse. A bit quirky with some sass, she is a high-energy and loyal assisting hand for the surgeons.

Mimi is joining Sacred Heart amid some turnover, which includes the departure of charge nurse Raymond, played by X Mayo.

The Scrubs reboot had been set up in a way that all cast except returning stars Zach Braff (John “J.D.” Dorian), Faison (Christopher “Turk” Turk) and Sarah Chalke (Elliot Reid) had been recurring. That is changing in Season 2 when Ava Bunn, who plays one of the new interns, Sam Tosh, is being promoted to series regular alongside Braff, Faison and Chalke.

In Season 2, J.D., Turk and Elliot have leveled up from interns to icons at Sacred Heart. Now, the respected doctors inspire the next generation while balancing the ups and downs of working in a hospital. Together with characters new and old, they are navigating this next chapter with laughter, heart and some surprises along the way.

The original series’ creator Bill Lawrence serves as executive producer on the revival via his Doozer Productions alongside the company’s Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer as well as showrunner Aseem Batra and stars Braff, Faison and Chalke. Scrubs is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios. The series will return to ABC on Wednesdays Sept. 30 and stream next day on Hulu.

Mejia, known for her arc as Maria Sofia Estrada on Larry David’s HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, has been keeping busy recurring on several high-profile comedies, including as Seth Rogen’s harried assistant, Petra, on Apple TV’s Emmy-winning The Studio and as chaotic teacher’s aide Ashley on ABC’s Abbott Elementary.

She will next be seen recurring on the upcoming second season of Apple TV’s Bad Monkey opposite Vince Vaughn and the third season of of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This. The casting on Bad Monkey may have paved the way to her joining Scrubs as both series come from creator Bill Lawrence.

Mejia is repped by UTA, Artists First and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

EXCLUSIVE: After two seasons, the Onyx Collective series Deli Boys has been canceled at Hulu. The crime dramedy stars Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, and Poorna Jagannathan.

The reason for the show’s cancellation is due to ratings, sources say. The series was a priority for Onyx, which pushed for the addition of a new series regular and a supporting cast to help attract new viewers, sources told me at the time. Following the casting of Fred Armisen in the series regular role, the show was renewed for a second season. Next, the supporting cast additions were announced for Andrew Rannells, Kumail Nanjiani, Lilly Singh, Robin Thede and Tan France.

Deli Boys was unique in that it centered South Asian characters, with the series creator Abdullah Saeed (Pakistani American) and the core three lead actors being of South Asian descent, a rarity in Hollywood in 2026. The series boasted representation for the community with many behind-the-scenes jobs, as well.

There are examples of TV shows featuring at least one South Asian actor in leading roles, including Mindy Kaling’s (Indian American) Hulu series Not Suitable For Work, featuring Avantika, an Indian American actress in the series regular cast; Prime Video’s 56 Days, led by Avan Jogia, whose father is British Indian; and CBS’ Ghosts stars Utkarsh Ambudkar, who is of Indian descent.

Deli Boys follows Mir and Raj Dar (Ali and Shaikh), a pair of pampered Pakistani American brothers who lose everything and are forced to reckon with their Baba’s (Iqbal Theba) secret life of crime as they attempt to take up his mantle in the underworld. Jagannathan stars as Naveeda “Lucky,” Baba’s confidant and a crime boss auntie.

In Season 2, Armison played Max Sugar, a legendary gambling savant with an uncanny ability to read people like cards in the half-hour series. His casino empire is global, but his crown jewel is in Philly.

Deli Boys was a special series for the actors like Jagannathan, who previously told Deadline, “What I love about this role is that Lucky has masculinity to her and a fieriness and a physicalness that I’ve never been able to play. It’s definitely not a role you’ve ever seen a South Asian woman play; you don’t see women play these types of roles. But she is stabbing someone with her left hand and shooting someone else with her right while taking somebody’s eye out with her heel. It’s on all possible fronts.”

Jagannathan will next be seen in HBO Max’s Lanterns, premiering August 16.