Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

South Korea’s ‘Squid Game’ is Netflix’s biggest original show debut

Hit South Korean show “Squid Game” has officially become Netflix’s biggest original series launch, the streaming service said on Wednesday. The nine-part thriller, in which cash-strapped contestants play childhood games with deadly consequences in a bid to win 45.6 billion won ($38 million), has become a worldwide sensation for Netflix since its launch less than a month ago.

Branagh’s ‘Belfast’ gets UK premiere as Oscar buzz grows

Actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh take audiences to the city of his birth and his childhood with the semi-autobiographical comedy-drama “Belfast” which had its European premiere at the London Film Festival on Tuesday. The mainly black-and-white film centers around nine-year-old Buddy and his family, who live in a working-class neighborhood of North Belfast where Protestants and Catholics live side-by-side.

It’s an allegory: North Korea website says ‘Squid Game’ reflects South Korea’s ‘beastly’ society

A North Korean propaganda website said on Tuesday that the international Netflix hit “Squid Game” exposes the reality of South Korean capitalist culture where “corruption and immoral scoundrels are commonplace”. North Korea’s Arirang Meari site cited unnamed South Korean film critics as saying that the TV series shows an “unequal society where moneyless people are treated like chess pieces for the rich.”

Mini-series ‘Dopesick’ tells stories from all sides of the opioid epidemic

New television series “Dopesick” aims to tell stories from the opioid epidemic still ravaging the rural United States, weaving together accounts from Purdue Pharma board members, prescription drugs salespeople, victims and government officials. Based on the book by Beth Macy, the semi-fictional mini-series is produced by 20th Television and will air on Hulu starting Wednesday.

Media veteran Alan Horn to retire as Disney Studios head

Walt Disney Co’s Alan Horn, who turned the company’s studio business into a media powerhouse and oversaw blockbusters such as “Avengers:Endgame” and “Black Panther” , is retiring at the end of the year after nearly a decade. A former U.S Air Force captain, Horn joined Disney in 2012 and led the integration of Marvel Studios, home to some of the biggest box-office successes worldwide. Horn also oversaw “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” – the highest-grossing domestic release in history.

With ‘Captain Kirk’ aboard, Blue Origin to return to ‘space, the final frontier’

Three months after billionaire U.S. businessman Jeff Bezos soared into space aboard a rocketship built by his Blue Origin company, the craft is set on Wednesday to take another all-civilian crew on a suborbital ride, this time with “Star Trek” actor William Shatner in the lead role. As one of four passengers selected for the flight, Shatner, at age 90, is poised to become the oldest person ever to venture into space.

Paul McCartney blames John Lennon for breakup of the Beatles

Paul McCartney has said he wanted to continue performing with the Beatles when the band famously split in 1970 and that John Lennon instigated the breakup. Speculation about what caused the demise of the world’s most famous pop group has ranged from artistic differences and legal disputes, to Lennon’s marriage to artist Yoko Ono.

Amy Winehouse possessions hit the auction block

Nearly 800 of Amy Winehouse’s belongings, including the short dress the late British singer wore in her final concert, are up for auction. The green-and-black dress, and a heart-shaped Moschino purse the Grammy Award winner was frequently photographed with, are each expected to fetch $15,000 to $20,000.

Superman comes out as bisexual; ‘not a gimmick,’ writer says

Out, out and away! – for Superman on National Coming Out Day. Jon Kent, the son of original Superman Clark Kent and journalist Lois Lane, turns out to be bisexual in DC Comics’ latest iteration of the superhero’s adventures.

KKR-led group nears deal for rights to hits by The Weeknd, Lorde – FT

A consortium led by private equity giant KKR & Co is nearing a deal to buy rights to music by pop icons Lorde and The Weeknd for $1.1 billon, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the talks. The investor group, which will take a majority stake, and the family office of Stephen Hendel, a former Goldman Sachs partner, are closing in on a deal to buy the catalogue from music company Kobalt, whose roster of artists also includes Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks, the FT report said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)