CBS

The Chargers essentially lived on an airplane last season, traveling more miles than any other NFL team.

This season, they will have a long runway followed by a dramatically sharp ascent.

They open against three first-time head coaches in succession, then face four Super Bowl-winning head coaches in a row.

Their first three games are against Arizona (Mike LaFleur), Las Vegas (Klint Kubiak) and Buffalo (Joe Brady), before squaring off against Seattle (Mike Macdonald), Denver (Sean Payton), Kansas City (Andy Reid) and — after a week off — the Rams (Sean McVay).

And it’s not as if the Chargers will be homebodies, as they have four coast-to-coast trips with road games at the Bills, Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Miami. So they will still be racking up the frequent-flier miles.

The NFL made an effort to put some space between those cross-country games for the Chargers.

“We’re always being sensitive, trying to make sure we’re not pingponging a team across the country with travel to the East Coast and back,” said Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution. “So we try to make sure those trips are broken up where we can, and we’re not doing too much of that back and forth.”

This marks the third season under Jim Harbaugh, who has had remarkable success at every stop in his coaching career but has yet to win a playoff game with the Chargers. Same goes for quarterback Justin Herbert, who was drafted in 2020 and is still looking for his inaugural postseason victory.

SoFi Stadium will host the Super Bowl next February, and the Battle For Los Angeles in Week 8 when the Chargers play at the Rams, a rare meaningful matchup of the crosstown foes.

The Chargers will play three preseason games, all Thursday night games against opponents they will face in the regular season. They will play at Houston on Aug. 13, followed by home games against San Francisco (Aug. 20) and the Rams (Aug. 27). All will be broadcast on CBS-LA.

Here is a game-by-game look at the regular-season schedule (all times Pacific):

Sept. 13, ARIZONA, 1:25 p.m. (CBS): It’s a gentle start against the rebuilding Cardinals, who figure to have Jacoby Brissett at quarterback in place of the familiar Kyler Murray, who is now with the Minnesota Vikings. The last time these teams played was in Arizona two years ago, and the Cardinals won, 17-15.

Sept. 20, LAS VEGAS, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): Back-to-back home games for the Chargers, who opened last season in Brazil. The Chargers swept the Raiders last season. Could No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza be starting at quarterback for the Silver and Black?

Sept. 27, at Buffalo, 10 a.m. (Fox): The first of four East Coast trips for the Chargers, who are stepping into a tough environment but at least won’t have to deal with a Buffalo winter. This is the start of a rugged seven-game stretch for the Chargers.

Oct. 4, at Seattle, 1:25 p.m. (CBS): The last time these teams played was 2023, so the rosters have pretty much turned over since then. Kenneth Walker III ran for 167 yards in that 37-23 win by the Seahawks. He was Super Bowl MVP last season and is now playing for Kansas City, so the Chargers will see enough of him.

The Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert are set to play host to the New England Patriots on Thanksgiving weekend.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Oct. 11, DENVER, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): The Chargers and Broncos split last season, with each team holding serve at home. The Chargers won by three at SoFi, but the Broncos held their second-stringers to a mere field goal in the regular-season finale with Denver winning at home, 19-3.

Oct. 18, at Kansas City, 1:25 p.m. (CBS): As is the case with the Buffalo game, the Chargers are sidestepping some potentially harsh weather. They beat the Chiefs in Brazil in last season’s opener, then beat them by three points at Arrowhead in Week 15.

Oct. 25: Bye week. In recent years, the Chargers have almost always gotten their week off in the first half of the season. They had so many injuries last season, they could have used a week off every other week.

Nov. 1, at Rams, 1:05 p.m. (Fox): This is a home game for both teams, so the Chargers catch a break in terms of travel. It will be the third time these stadium-mates have met since the Rams returned in 2016. They split in the previous two meetings, with the Rams winning in 2018 and the Chargers in 2023.

Nov. 8, HOUSTON, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): Harbaugh’s Chargers are 0-2 against the Texans, losing by four to them at SoFi last season, and getting clobbered at Houston in the opening round of the 2024 playoffs, 32-12.

Nov. 16, at Baltimore, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN): This is a “Monday Night Football” game, and for good reason. It isn’t Harbaugh versus Harbaugh — as it would have been when brother John Harbaugh was coach of the Ravens — but Jim Harbaugh vs. Jesse Minter, his former Chargers defensive coordinator.

Nov. 22, JETS, 1:05 p.m. (Fox): Finally, something of a respite after a battering stretch of games. Of course, in the NFL, you can never breathe easy. The Chargers have beaten the Jets five times in a row, true, but those games were played over the past 14 seasons so those lopsided numbers aren’t relevant to this matchup.

Nov. 29, NEW ENGLAND, 5:20 p.m. (NBC): Back to the grind for the Chargers, who generated next-to-no offense in the playoffs last season against the eventual AFC champions. It was a low-scoring game all around, but the Patriots never looked concerned in their 16-3 victory.

Dec. 6, at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. (CBS): The Buccaneers have beaten the Chargers four times in a row, although that’s dating to 2012, so much of that is ancient history. Baker Mayfield has revived that franchise — and his own career.

Dec. 13, at Las Vegas, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): Sure, the Chargers might face Mendoza in Week 2, but there’s an even greater likelihood they will see him the second time around.

Dec.17, SAN FRANCISCO, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime): This is a Thursday night game, and Harbaugh will be facing the franchise he got to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. If the NFC West turns out to be as competitive as expected, the Chargers could do the Rams a solid here.

Dec. 27, at Miami, 10 a.m. (Fox): The Chargers won at Miami last season on a last-second field goal by Cameron Dicker. December is a good time of year to play in South Florida.

Week 17, KANSAS CITY, TBD: This is where the schedule gets squishy and the NFL pushes games around to give the most exciting ones the most exposure. This game is TBA. It could be a good one, considering the rivalry.

Week 18, at Denver, TBD: Just like last season, the Chargers finish at the Broncos. A difficult final exam, and maybe another gateway to the postseason.

For the sixth and final time before votes are counted, the leading contenders for California governor gathered Thursday night for a televised debate, this one a 90-minute session in San Francisco.

Times columnists Gustavo Arellano, Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria absorbed the rhetorical blows, followed the heated back-and-forths and took in each and every one of the candidates’ myriad policy prescriptions. Here’s their assessment:

Arellano: Near the end of the debate, co-moderator and San Francisco Examiner editor-in-chief Schuyler Hudak Prionas groaned as candidates talked over each other while trying to answer a question that was supposed to elicit a yes or no response.

That’s pretty much how California voters have reacted to this primary.

In an era where politics are far too often about choosing the least worst option, voters in this election are left with the political version of the Angels baseball team.

No candidate has polled higher than 20-some percent — a testament to how many are in the running, but also an indication that none of them has truly captured the zeitgeist of today’s California.

This year’s debates have done little to catapult anyone to the top, and tonight was more of the same. I still don’t know who I’m going to vote for, and no one inspired me to side with them. No one offered a clear vision of how they would pull Californians out of a spiritual malaise that has so many of us leaving the state, or thinking about leaving.

Instead, what I heard too many of the candidates evoke was the glories of the past — their past.

Antonio Villaraigosa’s closing remarks made a mantra out of “Dream with me,” a slogan he used back when he was L.A. mayor — that was 13 years ago.

Xavier Becerra bragged about how he stood up to President Trump as California attorney general — that was five years ago.

Katie Porter pulled out a white notebook with something written on it and directly challenged Becerra to answer a question — a callback to her time as a congressmember grilling people on Capitol Hill with a whiteboard and a marker, which she first made famous seven years ago.

The two Republicans, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton, spoke of a halcyon California destroyed by feckless Democrats and vowed a return to those days.

The only candidates who didn’t live in the past were San José Mayor Matt Mahan and hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer — but they seemed particularly out of their league, with Steyer too often looking down at notes instead of speaking off the cuff with his well-rehearsed populist pluck.

The word “nostalgia” first emerged to describe what doctors back then considered a malady, thinking it unwise to long for the past. It’s a concept historically antithetical to California, long boosted as the land of today and tomorrow by everyone from the Mission fathers to orange barons, developers to politicians. Indeed, nostalgia has sometimes been a dangerous factor in California politics, unleashing the Spanish fantasy heritage movement, Prop. 13, Prop. 187 and all sorts of other nonsense.

The two candidates who advance to the general election would be wise to offer Californians a hope for the future that doesn’t call back to our yesterdays. For now, the only real winners are the political consultants, and the only real losers are Californians, because we still don’t know for sure that any of the candidates can make things better.

All we can expect is that they’ll turn things for the worse.

Barabak: A popular expression — which Steyer mentioned — defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

By that measure, was the audience for Thursday night’s throwdown insane? Masochistic? Or a group of high-minded, dutiful, quite-conscientious California voters?

The leading gubernatorial candidates have been at this so long that they’re like actors in a stage troupe, delivering well-rehearsed lines, or an old band getting together to play their greatest hits, though far less melodious.

Among those reprising familiar roles were Steyer as the boastful billionaire; Bianco as the angry white avenger; Hilton as the chipper doomsayer; Mahan as the kid brother insinuating his way into the conversation; Porter as the left-wing tribune promising a progressive Valhalla; and Villaraigosa as the old political war horse.

Once more, Becerra was the focal point of attacks, befitting his newfound status as the candidate to beat. “This is what happens when you take the lead in polls,” he rightly noted.

And so rivals again assailed Becerra’s performance as state attorney general and Health and Human Services secretary in the Biden administration. They accused of him being a shill for Big Oil. They tried, implying guilt-through-association, to rope Becerra into the scandal involving his former aides who embezzled from a dormant campaign account.

(Becerra, crisper and more lively than he’s previously been, noted that prosecutors in the case have described him as a victim and not a perpetrator or co-conspirator.)

It’s hard to see all the jostling and thrown elbows making a huge difference. The promises made and attacks scattered like buckshot on the San Francisco soundstage all seem much less important than the numbers that show up in opinion polls between now and Election Day.

Many Democrats, spooked by the prospect of their party being frozen out in June’s top-two primary, have been clinging to their ballots, intending to vote at the last moment for whichever Democrat appears likeliest to finish first.

In that way, the race seems to be shaping up as less a competition than a self-fulfilling prophecy. And Thursday night’s performance, while not wholly irrelevant, was just another television rerun broadcast to a less-than-mass audience.

Chabria: Here’s what I’ll say about Thursday night: It was a debate. The old-school kind where everybody is mostly well-behaved and polite, and the audience scrolls on their phones to stay awake.

The candidates themselves seemed low-energy, even with their jabs — which were largely directed at Becerra, as Mark said.

But no sparks also means we have more clarity. Barring an Eric Swalwell-style blow-up, the top three — Becerra, Steyer and Hilton — are really the only true contenders.

But I’ll give a shout-out to Porter, who had her best performance to date with answers that were clear and laid out policy with detail. Still, I fear it’s too little, too late.

Becerra, on the other hand, seemed subdued to the point of flat (sorry, Mark, he came off crisp like a week-old apple to me) often relying on the line that he sued Trump more than a hundred times as attorney general of California during Trump’s first term. I’m not sure that’s inspiring, though it did lead to some court victories.

Granted, Becerra has had a hard week, with a gaffe with a reporter that went viral and a plea deal by a former aide in that case of money misappropriated from his dormant campaign account. It’s not clear yet if voters care about either of those glitches — but if they stick in people’s minds, that could open a path for Steyer to scrape up the small margin he needs to get through the primary.

But Thursday night also did little to help Steyer’s cause — or hurt it. He made some clear, forceful points that positioned him as the changemaker progressive, especially around his policies on moving away from fossil fuels. He also had some convoluted answers that didn’t land. He didn’t give undecided voters much to work with.

I’ll end with one answer from Hilton that women should pay attention to: He said that if elected, he would allow California abortion providers to be extradited to states such as Louisiana to face criminal charges for mailing abortion medications.

Women across the U.S. now must rely on states such as California for any access to abortion care. Hilton’s position is not just bad for California but presents a risk to women everywhere.

For me, that answer should disqualify him for the highest office in our pro-choice state.

Netflix picked up the rights to three more NFL contests amid government scrutiny over the migration of games from free TV to streaming.

The NFL’s first-ever regular season game in Melbourne, featuring the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, will stream Sept. 10 on Netflix, the company announced Wednesday at its upfront presentation in New York. Netflix will present another NFL game first on Nov. 25 with a Thanksgiving eve game between the Rams and the Green Bay Packers at SoFi Stadium.

The streamer is also picking up a Saturday game in the final week of the regular season. With the Christmas double header Netflix has carried since 2024, the additions bring the total to five games next season.

The five games were a part of ESPN’s NFL package. ESPN relinquished the rights after the league took a 10% stake in the Walt Disney Co.-owned entity.

It was widely believed throughout the sports media business that all five games would go to streamers, split between Netflix and YouTube. But the other two will go to Fox, an international game that will air in the morning in the U.S., and NBC.

The two additional games are going to its traditional TV partners after politicians in Washington, including President Trump, raised concerns about the number of NFL contests that are moving off broadcast and behind streaming paywalls.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Fox Corp. Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch visited Trump at the White House in February to warn how traditional TV networks could be priced out of the NFL due to competition from deep-pocketed streamers.

The Department of Justice has also inquired about whether the NFL is violating the antitrust status given to leagues when their teams collectively negotiate TV rights deals.

An NFL executive familiar with the deal who was not authorized to comment publicly said the added broadcast games are not related to the issues raised in Washington. “We always are looking for ways to increase reach at the benefit of our fans,” the executive said.

In recent years, the NFL has carved out a number of games from the broadcast packages to sell to Netflix and YouTube. Those games primarily come out of the regional Sunday afternoon games carried on Fox and CBS.

But the NFL makes the case that it offers 87% of its games on free over-the-air television than any other major sport. Games sold to streamers are still made available on the local TV stations in the local markets of the teams that are featured.

Questioned about his father’s meeting at the White House, Fox Corp. Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts on Monday there is no tension between the league and his company, which has carried the NFL since 1994.

Murdoch also said there have been no new negotiations with the NFL, which has expressed a desire to redo its current media rights package that runs through the 2032-33 season but has an opt-out in 2030. Murdoch has previously said the company is paying fair market value in its current deal.

In addition to the international game in Week 10, Fox is getting an extra Saturday game in Week 15.

The NFL believes its product is undervalued in light of the massive $76-billion, 11-year contract the NBA entered with NBC, Amazon and ESPN last year. The NFL is in the middle of an 11-year deal that pays the league $110 billion for games that provide much higher ratings.

The league has also said the move to streaming in recent years — which includes putting the Thursday Night Football package on Amazon Prime Video — is necessary to reach younger viewers who are not watching traditional TV. The Thursday games are made available on free TV in the local markets of the teams featured.

The NFL does have the right to renegotiate with CBS before that opt-out due to the network’s transfer of ownership. CBS parent Paramount was acquired by Skydance Media last year.

The NFL and CBS are not close on the new deal. The league is looking to increase the network’s fee from $2.1 billion a year to $3 billion, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to comment.

The NFL is currently a break-even proposition for CBS at the current price.

But the NFL is at a significant advantage as the broadcast networks and their affiliated stations are dependent on the league, which provides a vast majority of the highest-rated programming on TV. NFL games give major leverage to TV station groups when they are negotiating new carriage deals from cable and satellite providers.

The 69th Grammy Awards will take place Feb. 7 at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, organizers said Tuesday during Disney’s annual upfront presentation to advertisers. The show will be the first to air on Disney’s ABC network (and stream on its Hulu and Disney+ platforms) since the Recording Academy ended its half-century-long partnership with Paramount’s CBS.

Nominations for the 2027 ceremony — which will recognize recordings released between Aug. 31, 2025 and Aug. 28, 2026 — are set to be announced Nov. 16. Final Grammys voting will open Dec. 10 and close Jan. 7.

A host for the show hasn’t been announced. Trevor Noah, who began hosting the Grammys in 2021, said his gig at February’s 68th ceremony would be his last.

Big winners at the 2026 Grammys included Bad Bunny, whose “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” was named album of the year; Kendrick Lamar and SZA, who won record of the year with “Luther”; Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, whose “Wildflower” took song of the year; and Olivia Dean, who was named best new artist.

Among the albums and songs already thought to be in contention for high-level nods next year are Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide,” Bruno Mars’ “The Romantic,” Rosalía’s “Lux,” Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and Sienna Spiro’s “Die on This Hill.”

Digital entertainment company BuzzFeed Inc. is selling its majority stake to Los Angeles entertainment mogul Byron Allen for $120 million.

BuzzFeed announced the sale late Monday, saying Allen Family Digital had agreed to pay $3 a piece for 40 million shares, representing a 52% stake in the company.

Allen will pay $20 million in cash upfront with the remaining $100 million due in five years.

As part of the deal, Allen also will take over HuffPost, another internet pioneer, owned by BuzzFeed.

The sale is expected to close later this month. BuzzFeed founder and current chief Jonah Peretti will transition to a new role as president of BuzzFeed AI.

Allen will become chairman and chief executive.

“This investment in our business and Byron’s management roles will provide liquidity and operational focus to BuzzFeed,” Peretti said in a statement.

Once an internet darling valued at $1.5 billion, the 20-year-old site appealed to consumers with its lists, splashy news articles and quizzes, including “Which ‘Schitt’s Creek’ character are you?”

BuzzFeed has been on the ropes, financially, for a number of years. It bought HuffPost in 2021 to bolster its readership and offerings to advertisers. Three years ago, it pulled the plug on its once ubiquitous BuzzFeed News unit.

BuzzFeed reported a $15 million net loss in the first-quarter of the year. The company generated $31.6 million in revenue, a 12.4% decline compared to the year-ago period. Ad revenue fell nearly 20% year-over-year to $17.1 million. However, content revenue grew more than 50% to $7.5 million.

BuzzFeed soon will make another round of significant cost cuts prior to Allen’s takeover, Peretti said in the statement. He added that BuzzFeed Studios and Tasty will spin off to form a new independent entity.

The deal comes at a busy time for Allen, a former stand-up comedian who is taking over CBS’ late night block later this month, replacing “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which is being canceled by CBS and its owner Paramount Skydance.

Earlier this month, Allen sold television stations in nearly a dozen markets owned by the Allen Media Group to Atlanta-based Gray Media Inc. for about $170 million.

Allen still owns 13 network-affiliate stations in nearly a dozen markets, including the Weather Channel‘s linear and digital outlets, including PETS.TV and COMEDY.TV.

“Our vision is to build on the iconic foundation of BuzzFeed and HuffPost by expanding into free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content,” Allen said. “BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premiere free video streaming service.”

Two press freedom groups that own shares in Paramount Skydance are demanding to see the company’s books and internal documents, citing allegations that the company’s leaders may have promised favors to the White House to win approval for Paramount’s deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.

The letter, sent Thursday to Paramount chief legal officer Makan Delrahim, says that media reports alleging that Paramount owner David Ellison and others promised favors to the Trump administration “create credible concern that Paramount leadership has offered, solicited, or effectuated a corrupt exchange,” which the groups argue would “constitute a breach of fiduciary duties” and open the company up to a “range of potential civil and criminal penalties.”

The letter cites Delaware law that allows stockholders to inspect the company’s books and records “for any proper purpose.”

Paramount declined to comment on the letter.

Among the issues raised in the letter are promises reportedly made by David Ellison and his father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, that they would make “sweeping” changes at the news network CNN, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Ellison family acquired Paramount, which includes CBS and the storied Melrose Avenue film studio, last summer.

The letter cites changes implemented in CBS since their acquisition, including their decision to end late night television house Stephen Colbert’s show days after he characterized a settlement Paramount reached with Trump as a “big fat bribe.”

Under Ellison’s ownership, the letter says, numerous high-profile reporters have left the network and its ratings have dropped to “historic lows.”

Larry Ellison, who is backing the financing of Paramount’s proposed takeover of Warner, reportedly told White House officials that Paramount would “implement the CBS playbook” at CNN if the merger is approved, and remove anchors and commentators at the cable news network that Trump doesn’t like, according to the letter.

The effort comes just two weeks after Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders overwhelmingly approved the proposed merger. Investors have supported the Larry Ellison family takeover, which would become the biggest Hollywood merger in nearly a decade. The deal would pay Warner stockholders $31 per share — four times the stock price a year ago.

The letter was written on behalf of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which develops secure communication tools for journalists and tracks violations of press freedom, and Reporters Without Borders, which tracks press freedom globally.

The organizations are being represented by former federal prosecutor Brendan Ballou, who established the Public Integrity Project this year to challenged alleged government corruption, as well as Delaware attorney Ronald Poliquin.

The missive, which could be a precursor to a lawsuit, opens another avenue of attack against the controversial $111-billion deal, which would transform the smaller Paramount into an industry titan.

With Warner Bros. Discovery, the Ellisons would also control HBO, TBS and the vast film and TV library of Warner Bros., which includes the Harry Potter, DC Comics, and Scooby-Doo, in addition to CNN.

Paramount, led 43-year-old David Ellison, wants to finalize its Warner Bros. takeover by the end of September. President Trump favors the deal; he has long agitated for changes at CNN.

But the proposed merger would saddle the combined company with $79 billion in debt, stoking fears that Paramount would be forced to make steep cost cuts to juggle such a large debt load.

Politicians, unions and progressive groups separately have pressed California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to scrutinize the proposed merger, hoping that he brings an antitrust lawsuit in an attempt to upend the deal.

More than 4,000 film industry workers, including Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, Ted Danson, J.J. Abrams, Jane Fonda and Kristen Stewart, have signed an open letter imploring Bonta and other regulators to block the merger. The group lamented the proposed tie-up, saying it “would reduce the number of major U.S. film studios to just four.”

Opponents fear the consolidation would lead to massive layoffs and diminish the quality of programming that Warner Bros., CNN and HBO are known for.

Hollywood has sustained thousands of layoffs over the last seven years since Walt Disney Co. swallowed Fox’s entertainment assets in another huge merger. In addition, the film production economy hasn’t recovered from shutdowns during the 2023 labor strikes. An estimated 42,000 entertainment industry jobs were lost from 2022 and 2024.

On Thursday, 34 California Democrats in Congress also sent a letter to Bonta, encouraging him to look closely at the merger.

The deal is expected to become one of the largest leveraged buyouts ever.

Ballou, who is working with the press freedom groups, previously served as a Justice Department special counsel with expertise in private equity transactions.

He resigned from the Justice Department in January 2025 when Trump returned to office. In his book, “Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America,” Ballou examined large leveraged buyouts and found that many of which resulted in bankruptcies.

Contenders are almost lined up for the 79th Tony Awards.

Tony nominee Uzo Aduba and Tony winner Darren Criss on Tuesday morning will announce the nominees live on CBS and YouTube. Nominated productions included “The Lost Boys” and “The Balusters,” with Rose Byrne (“Fallen Angels”) and John Lithgow (“Giant”) earning acting nods.

Other headline nominees included John Lithgow (“Giant”), Lesley Manville (“Oedipus”), Nathan Lane (“Death of a Salesman”), Daniel Radcliffe (“Every Brilliant Thing”) and Stephanie Hsu (“The Rocky Horror Show”).

The 79th Tony Awards will return to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on June 7. The ceremony, hosted by Pink, will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Here is the complete list of nominees. (This story is being updated.)

Play

“The Balusters”
“Giant”
“Liberation”
“Little Bear Ridge Road”

Musical

“The Lost Boys”
“Schmigadoon!”
“Titaníque”
“Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”

Revival of a play

Revival of a musical

Performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical

Sara Chase, “Schmigadoon!”
Stephanie Hsu, “The Rocky Horror Show”
Caissie Levy, “Ragtime”
Marla Mindelle, “Titaníque”
Christiani Pitts, “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”

Performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical

Nicholas Christopher, “Chess”
Luke Evans, “The Rocky Horror Show”
Joshua Henry, “Ragtime”
Sam Tutty, “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”
Brandon Uranowitz, “Ragtime”

Performance by an actress in a leading role in a play

Rose Byrne, “Fallen Angels”
Carrie Coon, “Bug”
Susannah Flood, “Liberation”
Lesley Manville, “Oedipus”
Kelli O’Hara, “Fallen Angels”

Performance by an actor in a leading role in a play

Will Harrison, “Punch”
Nathan Lane, “Death of a Salesman”
John Lithgow, “Giant”
Daniel Radcliffe, “Every Brilliant Thing”
Mark Strong, “Oedipus”

Book of a musical

Original score

Performance by an actor in a featured role in a play

Performance by an actress in a featured role in a play

Performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical

Performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical

Scenic design of a play

Scenic design of a musical

Costume design of a play

Costume design of a musical

Lighting design of a play

Lighting design of a musical

Sound design of a play

Sound design of a musical

Direction of a play

Direction of a musical

Choreography

Orchestrations

Shawna Thomas, who exited CBS News earlier this year, has joined MS NOW as political director.

The cable network formerly known as MSNBC announced Wednesday that Thomas will lead the organization’s political unit and direct coverage of campaigns and elections. She will also appear as an on-air analyst.

Thomas lands at the progressive-leaning MS NOW after five years as executive producer for “CBS Mornings.” She announced her departure from the program last month, just as co-host Gayle King was signed to a new deal.

Thomas is among a number of executives and on-air talent who have left CBS News since the arrival of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, although she told colleagues her decision was about getting away from the grind of early morning television.

MS NOW is owned by Versant, a company created out of the cable assets spun off by Comcast. The new company chose not to rely on the news-gathering resources of NBC News, which oversaw MSNBC, and is building its own editorial operation.

Last month, MS NOW poached long time NBC News White House correspondent Peter Alexander, who will have a daily program on MS NOW and handle extended breaking news coverage starting later this year.

Thomas is a veteran of political coverage. She is a former Washington bureau chief for the news division at Vice Media, overseeing politics and policy stories for the HBO series “Vice News Tonight.”

Thomas spent a decade working for NBC News in various production roles, including planning its election coverage. She also had a stint as an executive at Quibi, the short-form streaming video platform.

CBS hasn’t given up on producing an original late-night show — despite easing Stephen Colbert out the door.

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” ends next month after CBS canceled the popular program, citing financial pressures. The network’s top two executives told reporters during a press briefing in Hollywood on Wednesday that the network still wants to be a player in the 11:35 p.m. hour.

CBS struck a one-year deal with media mogul Byron Allen to bring his “Comics Unleashed” syndicated show to the prominent time slot once occupied by David Letterman until Colbert took the mantle a decade ago. President Trump, in social media posts, has taken credit for getting Colbert, whom he dislikes, tossed off the air.

Colbert’s final broadcast will be May 21.

Beyond the stop-gap arrangement with Allen, network executives acknowledged they don’t have a long-term plan for the late-night hours — but development executives are working on it.

“We are still going to develop other ideas, other concepts,” said George Cheeks, whose role as chair of TV Media at Paramount includes running CBS. He added that Allen’s programs, including “Funny You Should Ask” at 12:35 a.m., will allow the company to immediately turn a small profit — an increasingly critical mandate as CBS prepares to absorb the high cost of keeping NFL football on its schedule.

“If we are going to go back into that space, we have to go back into that space with a different financial model,” Cheeks said, in contrast to a show set in a theater with a band, live audience and large group of writers and support staff to stage a nightly show with numerous guests.

“I grew up in late night — I believe in late night,” Cheeks said. “The reality is that the reach is still there, but the reach is primarily on YouTube.”

It’s become increasingly difficult for CBS or other major networks to make money on a topical show when the majority of the audience, particularly younger viewers, watch snippets on YouTube.

CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach acknowledged the network wasn’t actively developing a replacement late-night show; instead the effort was in the brainstorming stage. “They’re just conversations at this point,” she said.

CBS can make money on “Comics Unleashed” because Allen pays CBS for the hours and covers production costs. In return, Allen’s company receives most of the commercial spots in the programs, which his company can sell to advertisers to defray its costs.

Cheeks dismissed concerns that Allen’s programs, which have been in syndication for years, would not be viewed as “CBS-level quality.” He called Allen “a great partner.”

“Comics Unleashed” has run at 12:35 a.m., but CBS is moving it one hour earlier on the schedule, where it will have more exposure and benefit from running immediately after TV stations’ local late news. “Funny You Should Ask” will air in the 12:35 a.m. time slot.

“I actually think the shows are strong. … They have a point of view,” Cheeks said of Allen’s programs. “It’s a change in format … a change from what people are used to.”

It’s been a rough year for CBS.

The last 12 months have included a nasty spat with Trump over a “60 Minutes” segment with Kamala Harris, which Paramount ended by paying the president $16 million. Then came the tempest over Colbert’s cancellation just days after he called the Trump settlement “a big fat bribe.”

The network got new owners — David Ellison and Skydance Media — in August and Ellison promptly installed a new boss at CBS News, Bari Weiss, who has made talent moves to shake up the division.

Six weeks ago, Paramount prevailed in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery — a deal that will bring more turmoil to Paramount, CBS and Hollywood production.

Because of last year’s Paramount change in ownership, the NFL has the ability to reopen the network’s TV license deal, which is expected to increase the cost of retaining the NFL by as much as $1 billion a year, potentially cutting into CBS’ programming budget.

“Capital allocation is always a major consideration,” Cheeks said. “But I would harken back to something that David Ellison said recently, which was content investment was mission critical to the future of this company.”

CBS unveiled its new fall schedule Wednesday, announcing that fan-favorite LL Cool J was returning to star in a new show, “NCIS: New York,” with Scott Caan, and the introduction of a new legal drama, “Cupertino,” from hit-making executive producers Robert and Michelle King. CBS will serve up two other new shows, including a comedic drama, “Einstein,” and a half-hour vampire family comedy, “Eternally Yours.”

Cheeks also acknowledged that, for the first time in 18 years, CBS would not end the television season in first place in viewers. This year, that honor goes to NBC, which broadcast a blockbuster February with the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.