Bridgerton prequel, Taylor Swift and Rwanda’s Oscar first

A Bridgerton prequel about young Lady Violet leads our entertainment news for 8 October 2026, and Shonda Rhimes is writing it herself. Also today: Elizabeth Banks takes on the Karen Read story for Prime Video, Rwanda sends a film to the Oscars for the first time, Taylor Swift books a pre-Oscars gala, Joe Rogan stays with Spotify, and there’s K-pop news and a Kardashians AI stunt. Each item links to the outlet that reported it.

The short answer

• Bridgerton: Netflix has ordered a limited series about Violet Bridgerton’s early life, written and co-run by Shonda Rhimes.
• Karen Read: Prime Video has ordered an eight-episode drama with Elizabeth Banks as Read. Read has not authorised it.
• Oscars: Rwanda has made its first-ever international feature submission, Ben’Imana.
• Taylor Swift: she will close the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on 17 October.
• Podcasts: Joe Rogan has signed a new multiyear Spotify deal, reportedly worth $250 million.

Netflix orders a young Lady Violet Bridgerton prequel

Netflix has given the go-ahead to an untitled limited series about the early years of Lady Violet, born Violet Ledger, and her love story with Viscount Edmund Bridgerton, Deadline reports. On the main show, the widowed head of the Bridgerton family is played by Ruth Gemmell. No actors have been named for the prequel yet, The Hollywood Reporter notes.

Shonda Rhimes will write, executive produce and share showrunning duties with Nicholas Nardini, who worked with her on Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Tom Verica, who directed Queen Charlotte, is set to direct again. According to Deadline, this is the first series Rhimes has written since Queen Charlotte, and it arrives a couple of months after Rhimes agreed a fresh long-term deal with Netflix in August. Like Queen Charlotte, it is planned as a limited series. Fans waiting on the main show should know that Bridgerton Season 5, which centres on Francesca Bridgerton, is filming in London now.

Elizabeth Banks to play Karen Read in an unauthorised Prime Video series

Amazon Prime Video has ordered an untitled drama about the Karen Read case: eight episodes, each an hour long, with Elizabeth Banks starring as Read and serving as an executive producer, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Justin Noble, whose credits include The Sex Lives of College Girls, is writing and running the show. It draws on Karen, a podcast from Law&Crime and Audible, and is produced by Warner Bros. Television, with David E. Kelley Productions among the companies on board.

The series does not have Read’s blessing. When Amazon first announced it was developing the project in 2025, Read said publicly that she had nothing to do with it and had not authorised it in any way. Her lawyer added that her story was hers to tell.

Rwanda enters the Oscars race for the first time with Ben’Imana

Rwanda has submitted a film for the best international feature Oscar for the first time. Its pick for the 99th Academy Awards is Ben’Imana, the debut feature from director Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo, Variety reports. The film has already had a strong festival year: it premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, where it won the Camera d’Or and the Fipresci prize, went on to Toronto, and is due to screen at the London Film Festival this month.

Ben’Imana takes place in a Rwandan village in 2012, 18 years after the genocide against the Tutsi, and follows a community still working out how to live together. It is mainly a Rwanda-Gabon co-production, with France, Norway and Côte d’Ivoire as minority partners, and it was filmed entirely in Rwanda with a mostly Rwandan crew. For African film fans, that matters: this is an African story, with African countries holding the majority stake and three of them among the producers, now putting itself forward for film’s biggest awards night. UK cinemas get it on 19 February 2027, and US audiences in March through the distributor Alexander.

Taylor Swift will close the Academy Museum Gala

Taylor Swift will give the closing performance at the sixth annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on 17 October, The Hollywood Reporter reports. This year’s honourees are Charlize Theron, Colman Domingo and the filmmaker John Carpenter. The timing suits Swift: she is in contention for the best original song Oscar with “I Knew It, I Knew You”, her original song for Toy Story 5. Billboard points out that the museum announced the news on 8 October, nine days before the event, and that Bruce Springsteen was last year’s performer.

Joe Rogan signs a new multiyear Spotify deal

Joe Rogan has agreed a new multiyear licensing deal with Spotify, The Hollywood Reporter reports. His show will stay on Spotify and will also keep appearing on other platforms, as it has since 2024. Spotify has not disclosed the terms. The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the deal, that it is worth $250 million, but Spotify has not confirmed that figure. Rogan’s relationship with Spotify started in 2020 with a deal that made the show a Spotify exclusive. That exclusivity ended in 2024.

Lisa’s ‘SaWaDiKa’ video crosses 200 million views

The music video for ‘SaWaDiKa’, the latest pre-release single from BLACKPINK’s Lisa, passed 200 million YouTube views at about 8 a.m. Korean time on 8 October (around midnight in Lagos), Soompi reports. It took roughly 34 days from its release on 4 September. That makes it the first music video released in 2026 from a K-pop act to hit the 200 million mark.

KATSEYE’s Sophia will return in January

Sophia will rejoin KATSEYE for group activities at the start of January 2027 (the first week of the year), HYBE x Geffen said in an update reported by Soompi. She stepped back in August to look after her mental health and wellness, which meant missing the European dates of THE WILDWORLD TOUR. She will also miss the North American leg and the group’s promotions for the rest of 2026, before returning in the new year.

The Kardashians open Season 8 with a fake-AI prank

The Season 8 premiere of The Kardashians on Hulu began with what looked like AI-generated versions of the family, complete with obvious glitches such as extra fingers and even a tail. Then the real family walked in and asked whether they had been AI all along, BuzzFeed reports. The opening was deliberate, but viewers are divided. Some found it awkward and pointless, while others saw it as an obvious joke about AI creeping into television.

Trend to watch

Big franchises and famous faces are starting to make fun of AI on screen instead of quietly using it behind the scenes, and the Kardashians’ fake-AI opening is the clearest example so far. Fans are split over whether jokes like this are clever commentary or simply cringe. It is a debate worth following as AI keeps coming up across film, TV and music.

• 17 October: Taylor Swift closes the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles.
• This month: Ben’Imana screens at the London Film Festival as Rwanda’s Oscar campaign begins.
• January 2027: Sophia rejoins KATSEYE in the first week of the year.

Related: Entertainment news 7 October 2026: Skydance, Miley, Carrie; Global entertainment roundup: Skydance, Swift No. 1, Emmys. Creators can also try our free creator earnings calculators. More in our International Entertainment section.

Sources

• Deadline: Netflix greenlights Lady Violet Bridgerton prequel from Shonda Rhimes (8 Oct 2026)
• The Hollywood Reporter: Bridgerton prequel about Lady Violet set at Netflix (8 Oct 2026)
• The Hollywood Reporter: Karen Read series with Elizabeth Banks ordered at Amazon (8 Oct 2026)
• Variety: Rwanda submits Ben’Imana, its first international feature Oscar entry (8 Oct 2026)
• The Hollywood Reporter: Taylor Swift to perform at the Academy Museum Gala (8 Oct 2026)
• Billboard: Taylor Swift to perform at the 2026 Academy Museum Gala (8 Oct 2026)
• The Hollywood Reporter: Joe Rogan signs multiyear Spotify partnership (8 Oct 2026)
• Soompi: Lisa’s ‘SaWaDiKa’ is the first 2026 K-pop MV to hit 200 million views (8 Oct 2026)
• Soompi: KATSEYE shares update on Sophia’s activities (8 Oct 2026)
• BuzzFeed: Viewers react to The Kardashians’ AI intro (8 Oct 2026)