Month: February 2020

February 5, 2020 7:11AM PT Banijay Group-owned company Yellow Bird U.S. has optioned the rights of Krystal Sutherland’s “A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares” to produce a TV series adaptation. The book centers on 17-year old Esther Solar who believes everyone in her family has been cursed with a debilitating phobia that will ultimately kill them.

Next week’s London-based U.K. Screenings sales events are set to be heavily impacted by the absence of key Chinese buyers, a number of whom have pulled out from the BBC Studios Showcase on the back of China’s coronavirus outbreak, Variety has confirmed. Production and distribution powerhouse BBC Studios annually hosts a raft of Chinese buyers in

House Productions, the indie production company founded by former Film4 boss Tessa Ross and ex-Working Title exec Juliette Howell, has acquired the international film and TV rights to Jack Fairweather’s critically acclaimed biography “The Volunteer.” The team behind the Emmy-nominated HBO and Channel 4 drama “Brexit: The Uncivil War,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, secured a multi-territory

Red Arrow Studios-backed Endor Productions has hired former Fox Networks Group (FNG) exec Sara Johnson as creative director. Led by managing director Hilary Bevan Jones, the TV-focused Endor’s recent series include “Vienna Blood” for Germany’s ZDF and Austria’s ORF, which was acquired by the BBC and PBS; two seasons of Matthew Parkhill’s “Deep State” for

In an evening filled with surprises and theatrics, President Donald Trump awarded conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh — who recently revealed his advanced lung cancer diagnosis — with a Presidential Medal of Freedom in the middle of in his third annual State of the Union address Tuesday night. “Rush Limbaugh, thank you for your

CBS has picked up three more multi-camera pilots and one single-camera comedy pilot for the 2020-2021 season. The first hails from writers and executive producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, the co-creators of “Will & Grace.” Their CBS pilot is titled “Please Hold for Frankie Wolfe.” Wolfe is described as an unfiltered, irreverent, powerful businesswoman

Six-time Emmy winner Gene Reynolds, known for his writing, directing and producing for the lauded socially conscious 1970s TV shows “MASH” and “Lou Grant,” died Monday in Burbank, Calif. He was 96. Starting in 1993, Reynolds served four years as president of the Directors Guild of America, which confirmed his death. Asked to produce a

February 4, 2020 3:30PM PT Stephen Falk has signed on as creator and showrunner of the planned limited series about the rise and fall of WeWork. The series was originally announced in December, with “Succession” star Nicholas Braun attached to play WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann. No network or streaming service is currently attached to the

February 4, 2020 3:43PM PT HBO Max has announced that actress Jameela Jamil will serve as MC and judge on “Legendary,” the streaming service’s upcoming unscripted competition series. “Legendary” turns modern day ball culture into a competition, featuring divas battling on teams called “Houses” in challenges involving fashion, dance and voguing. Each house is comprised

In today’s TV news roundup, Danielle Deadwyler joined the cast of HBO Max’s “Station Eleven” adaptation and Netflix unveiled a teaser for “Altered Carbon” Season 2. CASTING Danielle Deadwyler has joined the cast of the HBO Max adaptation of “Station Eleven” in a recurring role, Variety has learned exclusively. She will play Miranda Carroll, the author