TV Business

It seems Brendan Carr was not amused by Jimmy Kimmel's "light roast joke" about Melania Trump last week ... because he's reportedly about to order Disney-owned TV stations to re-up their broadcasting licenses early.

A source with knowledge of the matter tells NBC News the FCC chairman is set to issue the directive Tuesday ... which will force Disney's 8 stations to file their renewals two years ahead of schedule -- noting they weren't due until 2028 at the earliest.

The insider says the "unprecedented" order is sparked by the Melania joke Jimmy made during his show last week.

ICYMI ... Jimmy aired a mock White House Correspondents' Dinner roast on Thursday, 2 days before the actual event -- since this year's dinner did not have a comedian host, as is tradition -- when he said Melania "had the glow of an expectant widow."

Melania Trump is demanding ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel ... blasting the late-night host as a "coward" and accusing him of spreading "hateful and violent rhetoric" after his jokes about her family.

The First Lady unloaded in a fiery statement Monday ... saying Kimmel's monologue "isn't comedy" and claiming his comments are helping fuel division across the country. Kimmel's roast of the event aired Thursday night, days before the WHCD shooting in D.C. Saturday night.

"His words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she said ... adding that people like Kimmel “shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”

Melania also accused the network of shielding Kimmel from consequences ... saying he “hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him.”

The Lonely Island member Jorma Taccone is looking back at his "Saturday Night Live" days ... and calling out the one guest host who made him seriously uncomfortable ... Kevin Spacey.

Taccone spilled it on the "Obsessed" podcast, saying there was one person he "wasn't super geeked on" -- before finally naming Spacey -- admitting he'd never said it out loud before.

Jorma didn't go into much detail, just saying the vibe around Kevin during his guest-hosting in 2006 made him uneasy.

Big changes with "The White Lotus" only days into filming ... Helena Bonham Carter is OUT!!!

TMZ has confirmed Helena's departure from the show, which just started filming about a week ago in France, and her role will be rewritten and recast.

In a statement, a rep for HBO tells TMZ ... "With filming just underway on season four of The White Lotus, it had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set."

"The role has subsequently been rethought, is being rewritten and will be recast in the coming weeks. HBO, the producers and Mike White are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans and very much hope to work with the legendary actress on another project soon."

Jinkies! Netflix released the first look at the new Mystery Incorporated gang ... and announced production is officially underway in Atlanta.

The streamer took to social media Friday to share a snap of the "Scooby-Doo: Origins" cast recreating an iconic image from the animated series.

According to Netflix ... this new adaptation is a "modern reimagining" that's "less about what you already know, and more about how it all started."

It might be light's out for "The Great Christmas Light Fight" ... TMZ has learned.

A source with direct knowledge tells us ABC has not picked up the holiday reality TV competition for this season.

Our insider explains the miniseries is shot a year in advance ... and it was not shot last December.

Lactose lines and zero regrets -- that’s how Lena Dunham is spilling the tea on one of the most chaotic "Girls" scenes.

Dunham shared the behind-the-scenes chaos this week on the "Las Culturistas" podcast with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang -- revealing the show’s infamous Season 2 “cocaine” scene with Andrew Rannells was actually powered by lactose powder … not drugs.

Watch the clip ... Dunham says the duo snorted lactose powder take after take while filming the bathroom bender ... and yeah, it was as gross as it sounds.

Taylor Frankie Paul had a major legal victory yesterday that just might result in "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" production resuming ... and the reality TV star wants back on the popular Hulu series.

TMZ broke the news ... TFP will NOT be prosecuted for her alleged involvement in a couple of domestic violence incidents in Utah involving her ex, Dakota Mortensen. This is a big deal since it was those accusations -- and footage from a prior incident we reported -- which torpedoed her two shows, "The Bachelorette" being the other.

An insider with direct knowledge tells TMZ … yesterday was a major development ... and is a big step in 'SLOMW' maybe resuming production. But there are still some matters that need to be attended to -- such as the findings of the third-party investigation. It’s unclear at the moment where that process is at.

"Love Island" star Kendall Washington was in fact slated to appear on “Unwell Winter Games” -- despite speculation that his last-minute absence was staged for drama, TMZ has learned.

In the first episode of the brand new YouTube show, host Alex Cooper reveals Kendall is no longer a part of the show, forcing her to recruit Andrew Vetter from production -- but fans weren't buying it and speculated Cooper was throwing a subtle dig towards Kendall -- however, we're told it's all a big misunderstanding.

Sources close to the situation tell us the mishap isn’t being pinned on production from Kendall's end, and there’s no bad blood between Kendall and the Unwell team. Those close to the situation describe it as an innocent mistake rather than any kind of fake setup for the purpose of the show or to shade KW.

"Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson paid tribute to the show's late actors Angus Cloud and Eric Dane at the Season 3 premiere last night ... revealing how tough the year Angus died was for him.

In a video posted by Deadline, the HBO show creator is heard getting emotional as he dedicates the upcoming season to "those we lost," and shares how tough it was when Angus died ... admitting he loved him deeply and fought hard to keep him clean.

Levinson opens up to the audience, somberly saying ... "Death is what gives life meaning." In the heartfelt message, he goes on to say life is a gift, and this next season of the show will be about the "meaning beyond the absurdity."

Craig Melvin wouldn’t last a second under Miranda Priestly -- not after accidentally spilling a major "The Devil Wears Prada 2" cast secret on live TV ... and you just know Jenna Bush Hager had words waiting off-camera!

The "TODAY" host casually revealed Wednesday Jenna is gonna be in the new movie ... and when the camera cut to her, you could see the instant shock all over her face.

Jenna shut it down fast, saying that info was not supposed to be out ... with Savannah Guthrie piling it on that it definitely wasn't public knowledge.

"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" cast is seeing light at the end of the tunnel -- after X dark weeks of no production, they seem to think filming will begin again ... if they can get the bosses onboard.

Multiple sources tell TMZ, it's the cast's understanding that production on the Hulu series will resume in a matter of weeks. There's also a push by the cast because delayed production could upend their summer plans, so it's kinda like ... let's get this show on the road!

While the cast was in solidarity for the show to pause production during a domestic violence investigation involving Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen ... we hear the consensus now is the casts concerns have been resolved.

Timothy Busfield's accusers say he touched their kids inappropriately on set ... but the actor-director's lawyer says they're bloodthirsty scammers -- out for either money or revenge.

Busfield's civil attorney, Larry Stein, told NewsNation on Monday that the children's parents have been labeled by the Department of Justice as scammers, and he says they coerced their children to lie about the accusations to get back at Busfield.

Remember ... the kids' father is a disbarred lawyer who reportedly did jail time for cheating people out of millions of dollars -- meanwhile, Stein says the mother got caught passing bad checks at Las Vegas casinos.

"Survivor" has no plans to edit or make cuts to their anticipated episode featuring YouTuber MrBeast ... despite reports claiming otherwise, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to production tell TMZ ... reports claiming the show is re-cutting an upcoming episode for CBS's 50th season to reduce or remove MrBeast are flat-out false.

We’re told it’s not surprising a shake-up like this sparked mixed reactions from fans, but the idea producers would go back and re-edit the episode just isn’t happening.

Dr. Oz is being dragged to court by an L.A. Armenian meat market owner ... claiming the former TV doc falsely tied her shop to massive healthcare fraud and the mafia in a viral video.

According to a new lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- Anna Ivanyan, who owns Tigranakert Meat Market in Van Nuys, says Oz trashed her reputation by featuring her business in a clip about alleged fraud in the Armenian community.

In late January ... Oz posted a video across social media showing him riding in a car and posing outside businesses, claiming billions of dollars in healthcare fraud -- including alleged hospice schemes -- are tied to what he describes as the “Russian Armenian Mafia.”

"Summer House" cameras aren't going back up, and the reunion is still on track despite the reveal that Amanda Batula is now dating Ciara Miller's ex, West Wilson ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... there's been no talk -- at least for now -- of resuming filming to capture the fallout between Amanda and Ciara following the relationship reveal.

We're told production isn't taking a "Scandoval" approach here ... unlike "Vanderpump Rules," where cameras famously picked back up after filming wrapped to document the cheating scandal's aftermath.