Evenin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on SUNDAY, June 21, 2026.
Where congrats to Wyndham Clark for taking the U.S. Open trophy this evening on a wind-strewn east end of Long Island all weekend. He held off Sam Burns and avoided blowing the largest 54-hole lead in Open history to win his second major and second Open (he also won in 2023).
Now, everybody pay it cool about the “after party,” mmkay?
PLUS: Any Big Lebowski fans out there that would love some items from the movie — the pic’s set decorator Chris Spellman is putting a bunch of stuff up for auction, including the infamous rugs, bowling balls and much more.
AND: L.A.’s Department of Economic Opportunity puts about 2,500 local jobs “at risk” in a WARNAMOUNT deal (and 6,000 globally).
AH: Hollywood comedy writers and their creativity . . . take that, AI! (and CBS)
YEAH: This NYT look at AI education/homework cheating apps and the number of companies that suddenly “cut ties” with influencers who promote them on social media — and some influencers who soon deleted things like their LINKEDIN profiles once the Times started asking questions — is both entertaining and enlightening. We’ll be back to pen-and-paper education in no time.
THEN: The World Cup keeps scoring:
- TELEMUNDO/PEACOCK got 13.3M viewers for MEXICO vs. SOUTH KOREA on Thursday in prelim NIELSEN and ADOBE ANALYTICS numbers.
- A huge 5.8M was on PEACOCK, which is a far greater viewership % share than any other sport NBC has.
- FOX got its 2nd biggest non-U.S. group stage match on Tuesday with ARGENTINA (Messi) vs. ALGERIA at 9.1M viewers.
- No FOX ONE viewership data is being reported.
FINALLY: My great apologies to Phoebe Bridgers from my brain, which used her name on Friday instead of Maggie Rogers as the singer who was on a date in NYT headquarters with a staffer (and thank you to the readers who sent me a note).
REST IN PEACE: We lost a great one on Friday in James Burrows. Even before I started my career in this business, I knew his name from seeing it repeatedly as the director on TV episodes throughout the ’80s and ’90s. Thanks for literally decades of laughs that will live on for many more decades ahead.
🎥 The Box Office
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