This combination photo shows Roger Ailes at a special screening of "Kingsman: The Secret Service" in New York on Feb. 9, 2015, left, and actor Russell Crowe at the Australian premiere of his movie "The Mummy" in Sydney on May 22, 2017. Crowe will portray Ailes in a new Showtime series about the late Fox News founder. (AP Photo)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Russell Crowe will portray Roger Ailes in a new Showtime series about the late Fox News Channel founder.
The eight-episode limited series is based on the 2014 book "The Loudest Voice In The Room" by Gabriel Sherman.
Sherman's book chronicles the rise and fall of the media mogul who shook up the American political news landscape.
No air date was announced for the series, which will focus on Ailes' journey from local television producer to one of the most influential forces in news.
Ailes was CEO of Fox for 20 years before resigning after sexual harassment allegations against him surfaced in 2016. He died at age 77 from complications after a fall in May 2017.
Crowe is best known for his roles in "Gladiator" and "A Beautiful Mind."
Tom Llamas appears on NBC's Today show at Rockefeller Plaza in New York on Sept. 3, 2021. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
NBC News appointed Tom Llamas on Wednesday to replace Lester Holt as anchor of "Nightly News" starting this summer, but he's not abandoning his streaming newscast.
The elevation of Llamas, 45, was widely anticipated. He has been Holt's chief substitute on the broadcast news summary since switching from ABC to NBC in 2021. He's also essentially the lead anchor for the NBC News Now streaming service, hosting the one-hour "Top Story" show.
Holt said last week that he was stepping down from "Nightly News" after a decade. He plans to stay at the network to work at "Dateline NBC."
"Tom has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity — all characteristics that have long been trademarks of NBC `Nightly News,' said Janelle Rodriguez, NBC News' executive vice president of programming.
That leaves ABC's David Muir as the longest-serving evening news anchor at "World News Tonight," as well as the ratings leader. CBS News earlier this year replaced Norah O'Donnell with the team of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois.
While news is a far different environment from the days Walter Cronkite was beamed into millions of homes at dinnertime, the ABC, CBS and NBC newscasts collectively reach more than 10 million viewers a night. The anchors are generally considered the face of the broadcast news divisions.
Llamas will be the first to take that role while retaining his job on the streaming service. His "Top Story" newscasts will begin each weeknight after "Nightly News" ends.
