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Ted Hodgkinson To Join Hay Festival As Creative Director

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Ted Hodgkinson, the Southbank Centre’s longtime director of literature and spoken word, is leaving the London institution to join Hay Festival in the newly created role of creative director. 

Hodgkinson will officially join the Hay Festival team in the autumn. In the new role, Hodgkinson will be responsible for leading the event’s artistic and creative strategy and public programming. 

He joins Hay’s executive team, led by Chief Executive Julie Finch. The wider executive team also includes International Director and co-Deputy CEO, Cristina Fuentes La Roche; Executive Producer and co-Deputy CEO, Adrian Lambert; Director of Communications and External Affairs, Christopher Bone; Finance Director Amanda Cartwright; Production Director Georgie Cooke; and Commercial Director Penny Compton. 

“We’re delighted to welcome Ted Hodgkinson to Hay Festival Global as our new Creative Director,” Finch said in a statement. “Ted joins us at a pivotal moment, as we build towards our 40th anniversary in 2027 and respond to growing demand for Hay Festival platforms in the UK and around the world.” 

Discussing his new role, Hodgkinson said he aims to build on the event’s “exceptionally strong foundations while being bold and ambitious in reimagining the programme for audiences in Hay-on-Wye and around the world, fired by the belief that its brightest years are still ahead.”

Across his decades-long tenure at the Southbank, Hodgkinson programmed more than 3,000 events, including the now-buzzy London Literature Festival, and expanded the Southbank’s cultural relevance with ambitious programming that mixed the institution’s classical literature programming with contemporary flourishes, like the partnership with Dua Lipa’s Service95 Book Club.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). He also serves as a trustee of English PEN, New Writing North and The Arts Foundation.

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ReelShort Strikes Microdrama Deal With Indonesian Streamer Vidio

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ReelShort has struck a deal with Indonesian streaming platform Vidio to bring hundreds of microdramas to local audiences, as well as co-produce new short dramas with Indonesian production houses. 

ReelShort catalogue titles will be available on Vidio starting on September 1 through the dedicated Short Drama tab, launched by Vidio last year, for subscribers on the TV Extra, Platinum, Platinum Extra, and Ultimate packages. 

The initial offering will include more than 200 titles across popular genres including romance, billionaire romance, fantasy and family drama, with a wide selection of titles available with Indonesian dubbing and subtitles. 

In addition, a “sizable” slate of short drama series co-produced with Indonesian production houses will be made available across both platforms. In a statement, Vidio said the collaboration “creates opportunities for Indonesian creative talent to gain production expertise and knowledge from ReelShort’s global short-drama experience”. 

The partnership, brokered by AR Global Media Network, is ReelShort’s first in Indonesia and is part of a wider expansion across Southeast Asia that has also included strategic partnerships with AIS in Thailand and Globe in the Philippines. 

According to recent data from Media Partners Asia (MPA), ReelShort currently leads the short-form drama market with an estimated 29% global market revenue share. In Q2 2026, Vidio reached 5.8 million paid subscribers across Southeast Asia, ranking third regionally.

MPA data also shows that Indonesia has emerged as Asia-Pacific’s largest market for short-form drama consumption, accounting for 39% of the region’s total audience. 

Sutanto Hartono, CEO of Vidio, said: “Vidio continues to evolve alongside the changing ways Indonesians consume entertainment. As audiences increasingly look for content that fits seamlessly into their daily lives, we want to ensure they can find every type of entertainment they love on a single platform, from live sports, local originals, global entertainment to now, the rapidly growing format of short dramas. 

“Our partnership with ReelShort not only responds to this emerging audience demand but also strengthens Vidio’s position as Indonesia’s most comprehensive entertainment platform, offering more choice, greater convenience, and an even richer viewing experience for our subscribers.”  

Joey Jia, Founder and CEO of Crazy Maple Studio, owner of ReelShort, said: “Our partnership with Vidio marks a significant milestone in ReelShort’s Southeast Asia growth strategy and reflects a fundamental shift in how audiences are consuming entertainment. 

Indonesia is one of the region’s most dynamic entertainment markets. We see tremendous potential not only to expand access to our global catalogue, but also to create original stories for Indonesian audiences. Through our planned local productions with Vidio and Indonesian production partners, we look forward to combining ReelShort’s global experience in developing high-performing short-drama IP with local creative talent to build stories and franchises that resonate locally while reaching audiences across the region and beyond.” 

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Marlo Miazga Debuts M Media With “Deeply Personal” Doc For CBC

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EXCLUSIVE: Canadian producer and showrunner Marlo Miazga is launching a production company with a “deeply personal” documentary for CBC about her death of her teenage son.

M Media will operate out of Toronto, as a IP-focused media business making scripted and unscripted content, with former Sphere Media boss Miazga at the helm.

Miazga’s debut commission, Ground Control, is a feature documentary that has been in development alongside a memoir she is writing for Random House Canada titled Ground Control: Losing My Child to Suicide. The book, co-written with journalist Katrina Onstad, details her tragic story of losing Miazga’s 14-year-old son, Mars, to suicide in 2020 and the aftermath.

Canadian pubcaster CBC has now greenlit production. This will begin in October with delivery aligned for spring next year following the official launch of the book on January 26, 2027. Production finance is in place with Telefilm Canada’s Theatrical Documentary Program, the Canada Media Fund’s POV program and the Roger Documentary Fund all contributing.

Directing the film is Chase Joynt (No Ordinary Man), with Greg Beer and Onstad the writers. Miazga will be joined as an executive producer by Catalyst founder Julie Bristow, who is a long-time colleague and an advocate for mental health, with Ryan Dias also an exec.

Ground Control will have a theatrical run in Canada, which is being handled by Eyesteel Films. Worldwide rights are being shopped.

Miazga is one of Canada’s premiere producers, and was most recently President and exec producer at Sphere Media’s Unscripted and Kids & Family arms. At Sphere, she oversaw docs such as Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness and the Hare Krishnas, an adaptation of Anne Allan’s book Dancing with Diana: A Memoir and a doc series based on Sophie Grégoire Trudeau’s memoir-cum-manifesto Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other.

Return to entrepreneurial roots

The launch of M returns Miazga to her entrepreneurial roots, having co-founder her first company, NewroadMedia, in 2011 with CBC exec Ann Marie Redmond.

She went on to work with Bristow, another former CBC exec, at Bristow Global Media (BGM), where she developed, created and produced several shows. BGM was ultimately sold to Kew Media, and later became part of Sphere (then Datsit Sphere) when Kew went into administration over six years ago.

She left Sphere in July last year, at which point she began work on her new venture.

“As M Media officially launches, the greenlight for Ground Control marks a deeply personal and professional turning point,” said Miazga. “After this period of reflection and planning, I’ve built the foundations of a company rooted in resilience, creativity, and ethical storytelling.

“We know how to make great shows, that has been proven countless times. The secret now is how to make them whilst experimenting, learning, adapting and remaining open, curious and kind. I’m now ready to tell the most important story of my life and to bring other stories that matter to audiences worldwide.’”

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‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Star Juno Temple Unpacks Friendship & Romance

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SPOILER ALERT: This post spoils Ted Lasso Season 4 Episode 4, titled “Greyhounds’ Day Off.”

Getting a women’s soccer team off the ground takes its challenges, which Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) and Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) have begun to realize four episodes into the fourth season of Ted Lasso.

From the “Higgins Report” disclosing some devastating numbers and probabilities about whether the team could profit to their different mindsets of going about business, the pair have clashed over decisions. Rebecca has had to say no to many a Keeley pitch, and Keeley has, in turn, had to get creative.

In Episode 4, Keeley’s eagnerness is on full display when she and Rebecca witness Zelda Southport (Tracy Ullman) speak at a conference. Rebecca’s desire to remain demure and not show their cards wins out, and she ends up googling Zelda and finding some red flag results. Rebecca accidentally calls Keeley “naïve” after the publicist and burgeoning businesswoman wants to enlist Zelda in their mission of getting the women’s team more funding and attention, but the pair make up in the Nelson Road stadium seats one night.

“We were chomping at the bit to go into that scene, weren’t we?” Waddingham said of the reconciliation between the female friends.

“Totally. It’s so interesting when I think about that now. We didn’t even have to talk about what it was. We just had to run our lines together” Temple added. “Which is such an interesting and a beautiful thing to be able to say.”

Complete with pink fuzzy blankets and thermos mugs, Rebecca apologizes and voices how she feels bad that she has to shut down many of Keeley’s ideas, but Keeley takes it in stride and says it’s okay, embracing the way it makes her think of another way to “get things done.”

“We played it, and then we had to go back over it because it was Diwali when we were shooting it, and so we were really shut down by the fireworks,” Waddingham continued, with Temple chiming in that they “weren’t supposed to actually pay attention to” the pyrotechnics.

The distracting Diwali fireworks distracted led to reshoots of the pivotal moment.

“You were guilty of this too. I won’t let that slide,” Temple said in response to her costar. “I kept being distracted because I’m like Keeley. I like anything that glitters, that’s sparkly, and I kept looking at them, then being like, “Oh my god, they’re not supposed to be there.’”

In the show, Keeley has also tasked Kenneth the Bus Driver (Mark Kempner), who sources drugs and now, fireworks, apparently, to test out different hues of the colorful smoke that is popularly used opening women’s soccer games. The explosions provide different interruptions, punctuating the moment as one of Keeley’s ideas plays out in real time.

RELATED: NWSL’s Kansas City Current Owner Thanks ‘Ted Lasso’ After Team’s Season 4 Cameo: “The Taylor Swift Effect”

“We had to reshoot it, but what I’m saying about that is, it gave us space to perhaps tweak things a little,” Waddingham said. “It was gorgeous. So we got to shoot the whole thing again, and it was really great to do. It was great fun. Cold, but it was really fun.”

Waddingham also shouted out the props team for the blankets, cups and other details.

L-R: Juno Temple and Roy Kent in Season 4 of 'Ted Lasso'

L-R: Juno Temple and Roy Kent in Season 4 of ‘Ted Lasso’

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As for romantic relationships, Temple described her relationship with Roy as “one for the ages,” teasing that “matters of our hearts” for both Rebecca and Keeley will play a big part this season.

“I hope it goes well. It’s gonna be a really great journey for them this year,” she said. “And it’s gonna need some support from her bestie.”

After some flirting in the guest locker room, which became the women’s team’s locker room after Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) undid all his rigging to intimidate opponents in Episode 2, the now AFC Richmond men’s coach gruffly broached the topic of hinting if he and Keeley could try again to be a couple.

Higgins, unfortunately, has been pulled into the tally and scorekeeping group chat between the pair after Keeley tells him Roy needs to go on a series of dates before they can attempt to date again. Higgins was also there in person to witness the bargain go down and the specific number — 10 — of dates reached.

RELATED: ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Enters The Pitch With Apple TV’s Biggest Premiere Ever

“I loved doing that scene. It reminded me of sort of being a — ‘What do you call it… a raspberry?” Swift said, and Temple corrected him, supplying the term ‘gooseberry,’ which can be compared to the term ‘third wheel.’

“You can be our raspberry,” Temple said.

“At school, I was often the mate whose good-looking friend got a girlfriend, I’d be [playing the gooseberry],” Swift added. “It reminded me of that, and it was a lot of fun. And also, I got to add something in that, but yes, maximum awkwardness for Higgins.”

Temple called Swift’s improvisation “iconic.”

“But if anyone can handle it and do it with grace and just leave you watching the moment and wanting to rewind it, it will be Jeremy as Higgins,” she said. “I have to say that.”

RELATED: Paloma Cinco Breaks Down Surprise ‘Ted Lasso’ Appearance

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