A Deep Dive on the 67th Grammy Awards and SXSW's Buzzy 2025 Film Slate

Happy Friday, folks!

As we’re rolling into Super Bowl weekend, I’m excited to see what all’s about to unfold in front of us with this potential Chiefs three-peat, Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated halftime show, and of course, the 80-plus commercials debuting during the big game.

Many brands have already been giving big looks on their star-studded commercials ahead of Sunday’s game including Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan reuniting for a Hellmann’s ad, Shane Gillis and Post Malone teaming up for a Bud Light spot, and a Matthew McConaughey and Kevin Bacon UberEats spot to name a few.

What are you most looking forward to from this year’s game? Will you be watching? Reply to this email to let me know!

In this week’s TFL, we’re covering:

• This past Sunday’s Grammy Awards (both the musical and the linear television aspects)

• This week’s new music on the Good Noise Playlist

• 10 anticipated films and documentaries to look for from SXSW this year

• A round-up of this week’s new trailer drops (including three heavy hitters and of course…Fantastic new films hitting theaters this July)

• 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

🎵 Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, & Chappell Roan Win Top Grammy Honors

The Grammy Awards once again rang another milestone and impactful celebration of music’s biggest night by centering this year’s ceremony around raising money for LA wildfire relief efforts. Nearly $9 million was raised for relief efforts and by the end of the entire weekend leading up to the 67th broadcast, the Recording Academy and MusiCares raised over $24 million for more charitable activities.

Along with the show’s philanthropic efforts, there were nearly two dozen of the biggest artists nominated this year performing during the nearly four-hour broadcast with 94 gramophone trophies awarded (though only 9 of them were given during the televised ceremony versus the rest awarded on the pre-telecast ceremony).

This year’s top recipients included GNX rapper and this weekend’s Super Bowl half-time show performer Kendrick Lamar with five wins. The Compton-raised musician took home two of the night’s top honors for Song of the Year and Record of the Year for his massive smash hit “Not Like Us.” The Drake diss track also took home Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Performance, which then became the most awarded rap song in Grammy history that night.

A long overdue and buzzy win for the Beyhive: After losing the Album of the Year nomination three times, Beyoncé finally won the sought-after award Sunday night for her debut country album Cowboy Carter (cementing her status as the most-awarded artist with 35 wins and 99 nominations). Before winning AOTY, Taylor Swift presented Beyonce with the Best Country Album Award for the same album (the irony of a former country star now pop star awarding a new country star also still a pop star was a sight to see).

And finally, “Hot to Go” singer Chappell Roan took home the Best New Artist award following the huge year she had with 2023’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” and her smash single “Good Luck, Babe!” During her acceptance speech, she didn’t hold back from using her platform to call on record labels to provide better healthcare and financial support for their artists, noting, “Labels, we got you — but do you got us?”

Check out the full list of winners from the night here!

🍿 SXSW Lines Up Stacked & Buzzy Slate of 2025 Film Premieres

Since 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW has emerged as the premiere festival and destination for creatives across the globe to celebrate the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture with excellence. The mega conference has finalized its lineup of film premieres taking place across the storied festival and there’s an endless supply of buzzy and star-studded films, documentaries, and shows making their premieres this March 7th-14th. Among this year’s faces to see with new projects releasing soon are Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Ben Affleck, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Issa Rae, Jenna Ortega, H.E.R., Marc Maron, and more.

What they’re saying about SXSW 2025: "We're absolutely delighted to pull back the curtain on our full SXSW 2025 program!" shares Claudette Godfrey, VP Film & TV. "From boundary-pushing independent voices to major premiere events, this year's lineup showcases storytelling at its finest. Whether you're drawn to thought-provoking documentaries, edge-of-your-seat thrillers, innovative series, immersive XR experiences, or groundbreaking international films, there's something here to inspire every audience member. The creative energy these filmmakers bring is exactly what makes SXSW such a special place for discovery and we hope you’ll join our community as we gather in Austin for an unforgettable festival celebration!"

With 111 films and 17 shows premiering during the festival, TFL picked out 10 of the many exciting new premieres taking place this year to be excited and on the lookout for in a theater or streaming service near you later this year. Check out our 10 picks below and read more on the full list here!

10 New Films & Documentaries To Anticipate Post-SXSW:

Another Simple Favor (World Premiere)

• Director: Paul Feig

• Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Alex Newell, Henry Golding, Allison Janney

• Logline: Stephanie Smothers and Emily Nelson are back for even more glamour, murder and betrayal as they head to Italy for Emily’s surprise wedding.

The Accountant 2 (World Premiere)

• Director: Gavin O’Connor

• Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, J.K. Simmons

• Logline: Christian Wolff is brought out of hiding by Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina after someone close to them is killed by unknown assassins. To solve the murder, Wolff must recruit the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax.

Death of a Unicorn (World Premiere)

• Director: Alex Scharfman

• Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes

• Logline: A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.

Holland (World Premiere)

• Director: Mimi Cave

• Cast: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, Gael García Bernal

• Logline: In this unpredictable thriller, Nancy is a teacher whose life with her husband in Holland, Michigan, tumbles into a twisted tale when she and her colleague become suspicious of a secret.

Summer of 69 (World Premiere)

• Director: Jillian Bell

• Cast: Chloe Fineman, Sam Morelos, Matt Cornett, Nicole Byer, Liza Koshy, Natalie Morales, Alex Moffat, Fernando Carsa, Paula Pell, Charlie Day

• Logline: An awkward high school senior hires an exotic dancer to help seduce her longtime crush before graduation, leading to unexpected friendship and lessons in self-confidence, acceptance, and adulthood.

Friendship (U.S. Premiere)

• Director: Andrew DeYoung

• Cast: Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer

• Logline: Suburban dad Craig has his life turned upside down by the arrival of a new neighbor. As Craig’s attempts to make a friend spiral out of control, their blossoming relationship threatens to ruin both of their lives.

The Rivals of Amziah King (World Premiere)

• Director: Andrew Patterson

• Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Angelina LookingGlass, Kurt Russell, Jake Horowitz, Scott Shepherd, Rob Morgan, Tony Revolori, Owen Teague, Bruce Davis, Cole Sprouse

• Logline: Charismatic local beekeeper Amziah King oversees a beloved honey operation in the American southwest. When his foster daughter unexpectedly returns, Amziah sets out to bring her into the family business despite facing ruthless competitors with other plans.

The Makings of Curtis Mayfield (World Premiere)

• Director: H.E.R.

• Featuring: Curtis Mayfield, H.E.R., Dr. Dre, Mary J Blige, John Legend, Lena Waithe, Stephen Marley, Maxwell, Tom Morello, Ernie Isley

• Logline: The Makings of Curtis Mayfield, directed by and featuring Grammy Award-winning musical artist and actor, H.E.R., explores the legacy and deep musical and cultural influence of singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and entrepreneur Curtis Mayfield.

Seen and Heard (World Premiere)

• Director: Giselle Bailey, Phil Bertelsen

• Featuring: Issa Rae, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Shonda Rhimes, Ava Duvernay, Lena Waithe, Cord Jefferson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Swizz Beatz, Norman Lear

• Logline: From executive producer Issa Rae, Seen and Heard is a two-part documentary that travels through time, creating a kaleidoscopic portrait of Black talent being “seen,” to Black creatives being “heard,” shaping today’s Golden Age of Black television.

Are We Good? (World Premiere)

• Director: Steven Feinartz

• Featuring: Marc Maron

• Logline: An intimate portrait of comedian and podcast pioneer Marc Maron, following the sudden loss of his partner and filmmaker Lynn Shelton. Maron struggles with grief, disillusionment, and a shifting comedy landscape.

📺 Why The Grammy’s Aren’t Concerned About 2025 Ceremony’s Decreased TV Ratings

According to Neilsen data, music’s biggest night pulled a notably impressive 15.4 million viewers during Sunday night’s broadcast. An overall strong audience in hindsight compared to the show’s post-COVID ratings for 2021 and 2022 (8.8 and 8.9 million viewers each, respectively). While it didn’t beat last year’s 16.9 million viewers, there was another interesting statistic revealed by CBS and the Recording Academy showing the direction linear television has been headed in (i.e., cord-cutting) and making it the “most social television program ever.”

This year’s unique Grammy viewership win: On Tuesday, the network revealed it pulled its biggest audience win online, generating 102.2 million interactions where it exceeded all sports, news, and entertainment programs that night (including past years Super Bowls). This means most music fans around the world tuned in to the show primarily through TikTok on their FYPs, YouTube, Instagram via Reels, and other social platforms.

This year’s ceremony ultimately came as another reminder for award shows to begin slowly pivoting to more social media-friendly and streamer-friendly mediums for airing their award shows to win younger Gen Z audiences. One sign of this upward trajectory can be seen with this year’s Academy Awards, it will be streaming live on both ABC and Hulu this year on March 2nd with host Conan O’Brien (the first time the Oscars are offering this luxury and not limiting it to Hulu + Live TV).

What this means for future award shows: So needless to say, CBS and the Recording Academy signaled with these stats that they’re not concerned about this year’s slight decrease in traditional TV viewership. As the market for eyeballs continues to increase in competition with social media and streaming dominating entertainment consumption today, we’ll hopefully continue to see a better viewership rebound for fellow televised award shows in years ahead.

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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