Month: February 2024

“Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light,” formats “Upside Down” and “Shaolin Heroes” and premium doc feature “Front Row,” offering a novel take on the Ukraine War, are potential highlights on Banijay’s powerhouse lineup at what promises to be one of the biggest presentations at next week’s London TV Screenings.  Mixing third-party pick-ups and Banijay

Ever since its premiere nearly two decades ago, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” has been a fan favorite animated franchise. Co-created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the original series garnered critical acclaim and spawned an extended universe. That’s why there was much to anticipate when Netflix announced a “reimagined” live-action “Avatar” television series, helmed

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied ABC’s bid to dismiss the COVID vaccination wrongful termination case filed by a father and son who ran the construction and special effects department for ABC’s “General Hospital.” James Wahl and his son Timothy Wahl sued ABC in 2021, asserting they were fired from the long-running daytime

We don’t talk much anymore about live+same day ratings, since it’s the earliest measurement of a long tail that now includes time-shifted, streaming and more viewership. But if we look at good ol’ fashioned linear live viewing for the week of February 12, CBS has quite the story to tell. Thanks to the halo effect

Sony Pictures Entertainment communications chief Robert Lawson has been promoted to head of all corporate communications for its Tokyo-based parent Sony. The choice to move Lawson, who joined Sony amid the infamous cyber attack and email leaks at the entertainment group in 2014, into the top corp comms role is indicative of Sony’s significant focus

The Los Angeles City Ethics Committee has voted down a proposed settlement by the city with former CBS Corp. head Leslie Moonves for “aiding and abetting the disclosure of confidential information and inducing or attempting to induce the misuse of a City position.” In a unanimous 4-0 vote, committee president Jeffery J. Daar, VP Manjusha

The new Apple TV+ series “Constellation” is a space drama, a category in which its deep-pocketed platform has developed something of a preoccupation. (There’s also “For All Mankind,” “Foundation” and, technically, the most recent season of “The Morning Show.”) But the show also exemplifies a type of series so recognizable it’s become practically a genre

Jay Pharoah, known for “Saturday Night Live” and “The Blackening,” will host “The Quiz with Balls,” a new Fox game show. Each episode will feature two families competing for $100,000 in a “battle of the balls,” combining a high-stakes quiz show with a large-scale physical competition. “When I got hit up about hosting an epic

Mindy Kaling‘s new Netflix comedy series set in the world of pro basketball has added five new cast members, Variety has learned. The new cast members are: Fabrizio Guido (“Good Burger 2,” “Perry Mason,” “Mr. Iglesias”), Toby Sandeman (“Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” “The Game,” “Love Is_”), Chet Hanks (“Your Honor,” “Shameless,” “Empire”), Keyla Monterroso

Roku Channel has released a teaser trailer for the upcoming series “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” after it acquired the show after Disney+ chose not to move forward with it. All eight episodes will be available to stream on April 19. Adapted from the book series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, “The Spiderwick Chronicles” follows a

The BBC have unveiled a new slate of star-studded dramas including the TV adaptation of James Graham’s football play “Dear England” starring Joseph Fiennes, a new co-pro with “Euphoria” producer A24 and the screenwriting debut from “Sex Education” star Aimee Lou Wood. Director of BBC Drama Lindsay Salt revealed the 12-strong slate – which adds

In the world of “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a sky bison makes for the best nap spot, the young cast soon learned. Gordon Cormier, who plays the show’s main character Aang, shared that he and fellow co-stars Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley, who play siblings Katara and Sokka, bonded on set by napping on Appa, Aang’s

Nic Pizzolatto, the original creator of HBO’s “True Detective” franchise, published a bizarre Instagram post amid controversy generated in the aftermath of the show’s fourth season finale. “True Detective: Night Country,” starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, ended it six-episode run on Feb. 18. Pizzolatto found himself in hot water after reposting comments to his

Former NBC Universal Television Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin is taking a job as VP of unscripted series at Netflix — reporting to Netflix VP of nonfiction series Brandon Riegg. It’s a bit of a reversal for the two execs: In 2010, Riegg joined NBC as vice president of alternative series & development, reporting to the

Piper Perabo has been cast in the upcoming Amazon Prime Video spy series “Butterfly,” Variety has learned exclusively. Perabo joins previously announced series lead Daniel Dae Kim in the series along with cast members Reina Hardesty, Park Hae-soo, Kim Tae-hee, and Nayoon Kim. The show was originally ordered to series in May 2023 with a

“Oppenheimer” has achieved the most-watched launch for a pay-one film in Peacock‘s history. That puts it ahead of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which previously held the record for highest opening weekend viewership among films that landed on the streamer through its pay-one deal with Universal Pictures. An exact number of viewers, however, was not