Billboard’s New Chart Rules, ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’ Update, And Tina Fey’s New Series

Happy Friday y’all!

In this week’s TFL, we’re covering:

• Billboard’s new chart rules and how they’ll save you (and your bank account)

• New hope for ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’ and how it may finally see the light of day

• A look at Tina Fey’s newest Netflix series starring opposite Steve Carell called ‘The Four Seasons’

• A vibey new “Good Noise” playlist featuring 30 new songs you need to hear from this week

• A round-up of this week’s new trailer drops

• Plenty of tidbits across the entertainment industry going on and in the works!

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Thank you for being here - now let’s get into it!

—Stephen Frost

🎵 Billboard’s New Chart Rules Will Save You (and Your Bank Account)

Over the past few years, landing a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 has become something of a competitive sport—with artists dropping countless versions of the same album to juice first-week sales. No one’s done it bigger than Taylor Swift, whose latest album The Tortured Poets Department reportedly had 18 digital versions available for purchase.

This week, that era of chart gaming may finally be winding down.

According to Chart Data, Billboard and Luminate have officially changed the rules for how album sales are counted—aiming to close the loopholes that artists and labels have been using to boost chart performance.

• Digital Album Redemption: “Digital albums sold via an artist, label, or other official web store must now be redeemed in order to be chart eligible. In addition, verification using Captcha is now required to prevent bots.”

• False Streaming Data & Bots: “Any D2C store with three submissions of illegitimate data within a 12-month period may receive a minimum 90-day reporting suspension. […] Physical D2C shipments which fall outside of “established sales trends” will require the reporting store to provide enhanced tracking status along with other info such as geolocation data and if a VPN was used to make the purchase.”

• Fixed Pricing Minimums: “Minimum price for all D2C exclusive digital albums has been raised to $7.99.” As well as, “Minimum price of albums increasing at all retailers: $7.99 – CD $7.99 – Cassette $15.99 – Vinyl.”

• Restrictions of D2C Exclusive Versions: “Only four digital D2C exclusive versions will be allowed for the life of an album. Includes deluxe versions. […] Digital D2C exclusive versions cannot be put up for sale during the middle of the first week. Either need to be available for pre-order or held for a later week of release.”

Why it matters: in short, Billboard is trying to level the playing field. And for fans, that means less pressure to drop $150 on 10 versions of the same album just to support your favorite artist. Pop fandom in 2025 might finally get a little less exhausting.

🍿 ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’ May Finally See The Light Of Day

Over the past few years, Warner Bros. Discovery has made headlines not for what it released—but for what it didn’t. Under CEO David Zaslav, the studio has built a reputation for scrapping completed projects for tax write-offs, shelving titles like Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt before they ever reached audiences.

One of the most controversial cancellations was Coyote Vs. Acme, a finished live-action/animated hybrid film produced by James Gunn and starring John Cena, Will Forte, and Lana Condor. The movie was quietly canned in late 2023 despite positive internal screenings—and fans haven’t stopped fighting for its release since.

Now, hope is back on the table.

Fill me in: according to Deadline, indie distributor Ketchup Entertainment is finalizing an all-rights acquisition deal that could finally get Coyote Vs. Acme into theaters—potentially with a 2026 release. If it goes through, it would mark the second Looney Tunes-related film Ketchup has rescued, following The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, which hit theaters last weekend.

The film follows Wile E. Coyote as he takes legal action against the Acme Corporation after years of failed gadgets in his endless chase of the Roadrunner. Will Forte plays his attorney, while Cena steps in as the opposing counsel—and Forte’s former boss. Chaos (and heart) ensue.

What the future holds for Looney Tunes at WBD: whether this signals a new chapter or the beginning of the end for Looney Tunes at WBD remains unclear. But with beloved shorts disappearing from Max and future programming in limbo, Coyote Vs. Acme might be one of the last hurrahs for now.

📺 Tina Fey’s Newest Series Is Full Of Comedy Royalty

It goes without saying that Tina Fey is a comedy titan. From adapting Mean Girls for the big screen to her writing and starring roles on SNL, 30 Rock, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Fey has long been a force in Hollywood—both in front of and behind the camera.

But since 30 Rock ended in 2013, she’s mostly stayed behind the scenes, producing and guest-starring on shows like Girls5eva, Only Murders in the Building, and most recently SNL50. Aside from a voice role in Netflix’s animated series Mulligan, she hasn’t taken on a lead role—until now.

Fey is returning to the spotlight (and reuniting with her Date Night co-star Steve Carell) for The Four Seasons, a new Netflix comedy premiering May 1. Based on the 1981 romantic comedy by Alan Alda, the series follows three couples whose relaxing weekend getaway is turned upside down when one couple announces they’re splitting up.

Fey stars as Kate, opposite fellow SNL alum Will Forte as Jack. The ensemble cast also includes Carell and Kerri Kenney-Silver, along with Coleman Domingo and Marco Calvani. Fey co-created the series with longtime collaborators Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield, both of 30 Rock fame.

“I hope audiences feel like they are inside a big sweater with us,” Fey told Tudum. “We hope to provide some laughs and comfort.”

Between The Four Seasons and a new NBC comedy she’s developing with Tracy Morgan, Fey’s TV reign is showing no signs of slowing down—and we couldn’t be more excited!

That’s it for this week folks. Let me know if you have any feedback or comments on what’d you like to see in this newsletter, feel free to reply to me on this email.

We’ll see you back again next Friday & have a great weekend!

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