An Ohio jury has returned multiple guilty verdicts against former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn in the murder earlier this year of his wife Ashley Flynn.

Caleb Flynn, a 40-year-old former worship pastor who competed in 2013 on American Idol, sobbed after nine guilty verdicts were read finding him guilty of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence.

The murder occurred in the Flynn’s home in Tipp City, Ohio, about 20 miles outside Dayton, in the early morning hours of February 16, 2026. The 37-year-old woman was fatally shot in the head as she slept in her bed.

Opening statements for the trial began on Friday, September 18, and closing arguments ended Tuesday, September 29. The Ohio jury deliberated for just two hours today following a week of trial testimony. During that week, Flynn’s mistress Alleigha Botner, 24, a worship leader at the same Tipp City church as Flynn, read from more than 100,000 text messages between herself and Flynn, some of which indicated Flynn’s murderous intentions.

In one exchange, Flynn wrote, “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail. If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat. That is how dark and how hateful I feel.”

The night before the murder, Flynn wrote to Botner, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow, February 16, a day I’ll never forget.” Botner has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

After the murder, Flynn told police that his wife had been shot by an intruder. Police early on suspected that the crime scene had been staged to look like a burglary.

Ashley Flynn was fatally shot while the couple’s two daughters, then ages 9 and 11, were asleep in the next room.

Caleb Flynn’s appearance on American Idol is largely remembered for his emotional tributes to his wife. During his “Road To Hollywood” interview from 2013, Flynn said “music is all I know” and that he’d been encouraged to audition by Ashley. “I absolutely love the Lord, and I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty. I love her. I’m just a normal person who absolutely loves to sing more than anything in the world.”

Sam Esmail has left CAA, the agency he has called home since 2015.

The writer-director-producer, who became a hot commodity thanks to his TV series Mr. Robot, is now on the hunt for a new agency, sources the The Hollywood Reporter.

It is unclear why he left the agency although sources say it could stem from delays with his latest feature, Panic Carefully. The movie wrapped production a year and a half ago, and has seen its release date pushed from February 2027 to April 2027.

He still remains with his managers at Anonymous Content and lawyer at McKuin Frankel.

Esmail burst onto the scene with Robot, the hit USA Network series that ran from 2015 to 2019. It was the first series for the rising writer, who was repped by ICM before the show established Esmail as a TV writer and producer to be reckoned with.

He went on to exec produce series or mini-series Briarpatch, Homecoming, Gaslit, Angelyne, The Resort, each of them attracting top talent, including movie star Julie Roberts, who became an Esmail regular.

His relationship with Roberts led to the feature Leave the World Behind, an apocalyptic thriller he wrote and directed for Netflix. The movie, which also starred Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke, was in the top 10 of most watched movies on the streamer for a while.

With his transition to features underway, he then set up thriller Panic Carefully, also with Roberts, at Warners, giving him a shot at a big theatrical release. The movie wrapped production in March of 2025 and became mired in post-production. It is now due to open April 9, 2027.

Willy Wonka has delivered for Netflix.

The streamer has landed a bona fide reality ratings hit with Wonka’s The Golden Ticket after the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-themed competition series debuted at number two on its English-language TV chart.

The series scored 4.6M views in its opening week, becoming one of Netflix’s biggest unscripted launches in recent years

This is in line with the latest season of Love Is Blind – season ten set in Ohio – which also scored 4.6M in its opening week. The Kinetic Content show is considered one of Netflix’s biggest unscripted hits (its premiere came before Netflix changed the way it calculates viewers).

The numbers bode well for a renewal of the Eureka-produced show. Age of Attraction, Velvet Hammer’s dating reality series that launched earlier this year, premiered with 3.8M viewers in its first week and was handed a quick renewal, although admittedly The Golden Ticket is a more expensive show to produce.

Shot in Australia, the series sees 12 lucky golden ticket winners entering the Chocolate Factory to compete for a sweet prize: a lifetime supply of money. As the winners and their partners step through the factory gates, they face a series of series of challenges. There are games, tests and temptations designed to test the competitors physically, mentally, and morally before one walks away with the prize.

A two-part finale for The Golden Ticket will premiere on September 30.

Wonka’s The Golden Ticket was only bested on the list by Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, which was number one with 14.5M views in its second week. This comes after it received 12.5M views in its first four days on the service. Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story also ranked in the Top 10 list in 92 countries, up from 89 in its first week.

Crew Girl was at number three with 4.5M views.

Elsewhere, A Different World, the sequel series to the classic sitcom from 1987, debuted at number four with 4.2M views. This was followed by the second season of The Gentlemen, Gabby’s Dollhouse, WWE’s Raw, the first season of The Gentlemen, The Great British Baking Show and Danny Go!.