“Schitt’s Creek” star Emily Hampshire has signed on to star as the title character in a new, updated version of Norman Lear’s 1970s syndicated hit “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.” Hampshire will also be an executive producer on the project, and co-write the script with Jacob Tierney (“Letterkenny”), who will serve as showrunner. Sony Pictures TV
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Starz has ordered the period drama series “The Serpent Queen,” based on the life of Catherine de Medici. The eight-episode series is based on the book “Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France” by Leonie Frieda. Justin Haythe will write and executive produce the series, with Francis Lawrence and Erwin Stoff also executive producing. Stacie
WWE shares were down in after-hours trading Thursday after falling well short of fourth-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts. In Q4, revenue fell 26% from the prior-year quarter to $238.2 million. Net income was $13.6 million, or 16 cents per diluted share. Analysts had predicted the sports entertainment company would post per-share earnings of 30 cents
UPDATED: Snapchat gained 16 million daily users to hit an average of 265 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, continuing its solid growth during the COVID pandemic. Snap beat revenue and adjusted earnings estimates for the quarter, but its Q1 guidance disappointed Wall Street. Snapchat’s daily active users were 265 million in Q4 2020,
Writer-director Deon Taylor will direct the upcoming film “Freedom Ride,” based on first-person accounts of the original freedom riders, including the late Congressman John Lewis. Taylor and his Hidden Empire Film Group partner Robert F. Smith will executive produce the project, joining a producing team that includes civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and his company,
Michelle Williams is on board to portray another classic Hollywood icon, in the Peggy Lee biopic “Fever” for director Todd Haynes, Variety has confirmed. MGM is in talks to back the film. Marc Platt, Reese Witherspoon, and Killer Films’ Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon are producing. Doug Wright (“Quills”) is writing the screenplay. Billie Eilish, her
Focus Features has elevated Kiska Higgs to president of production and acquisitions. In her new role, she will oversee the studio’s films and team across development, production and acquisition for domestic and international titles. Higgs will continue to work from the Focus Features headquarters in Los Angeles. Higgs, who previously served as executive VP of
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NBC’s “Chicago” crossover trio, which consists of the three dramas “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire,” and “Chicago PD,” took up the top three slots in Wednesday’s overnight primetime numbers— again. In the last two weeks, they pulled the same triumph (and in the same order), dominating total viewers and all key demos among the Big 4
“I’m not a perfect person / There’s many things I wish I didn’t do.” These are the opening lyrics to Hoobastank’s 2004 hit “The Reason” — and, somewhat surprisingly, the basis for a new viral trend on TikTok. Perhaps due to the song’s wide range of lyrical relatability and its nostalgia factor, TikTok users have
Paris Hilton is jumping into the podcast biz in a three-year deal with iHeartMedia — and the influencer and entrepreneur is going to produce micro-podcasts for social media in addition to longer-form shows. Under the pact, Hilton and iHeartRadio will produce a new podcast/social media hybrid format, dubbed “PodPosts,” which will comprise short-form audio clips
Emerald Fennell’s pitch meetings for “Promising Young Woman” were telling, to say the least. Explaining her 2017 process to fellow director Olivia Wilde (of “Booksmart” fame), Fennell recalled the stunned faces of male studio executives after she detailed the brutal, pre-title sequence of her film. “One guy said, ‘Oh, I got it. So she’s a
Over the course of her three features, Paz Fábrega has gradually stripped her films down in search of an essence. In her debut “Cold Water of the Sea,” she played with ambiguity and inscrutability while foregrounding a casual naturalism. In her followup “Viaje,” she reduced her scope with a playful, intimate story of a couple’s
It was the beginning of last year, and radio personality and former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield was still on the mend from a major car accident. Crossing the street in Hollywood, he had been hit by a car going 40 miles an hour and immobilized for months. He also had suffered a torn retina. Then
It’s been worth the wait. Mexican indigenous filmmaker Angeles Cruz and her producing team could have bowed her feature debut “Nudo Mixteco” at one of the many virtual film festivals last year, but they decided to wait for an in-person film festival to launch it to the world. “Premiering ‘Nudo Mixteco’ during the maelstrom of
Rapper Lil Yachty is developing an action heist comedy based on Uno — yes, the card game — with Mattel Films. Marcy Kelly wrote the screenplay for the movie, set in the underground hip hop world of Atlanta. Though the cast has not been announced, Lil Yachty is being eyed for the lead role. “I’m
Breaking News Bygones are apparently bygones now in both Tampa Bay AND New England … ’cause just days after Tom Brady praised the Patriots, Robert Kraft said he’s rooting like hell for the QB in the Super Bowl! Kraft, in an interview that’s slated to air in its entirety Sunday on WBZ-TV, said he’s holding
On the heels of the nominations for the Golden Globes and the release of the BAFTA longlist, the Screen Actors Guild Awards have weighed in on the best films and performances of the season. Critics awards be damned, SAG will do what they want to do. Overall, the nominations provided not as many jaw-droppers as
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety“… Rupert Grint may have co-starred as Ron Weasley in all eight “Harry Potter” movies, but he hasn’t actually watched most of them. “I’ve probably seen the first three at the premieres, but after that I stopped watching them,” Grint, 32, tells me from his home in the U.K.
“Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao is tackling the classic Universal monster Dracula, as the writer, producer and director of a new take on the character in the vein of a futuristic sci-fi western. “I’ve always been fascinated by vampires and the concept of the Other they embody,” Zhao said in a release. “I’m very excited to
Former president Donald Trump has resigned from SAG-AFTRA, after the union announced last month that it would move to expel him for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. SAG-AFTRA announced on Jan. 19 that it would hold a hearing on whether to expel the former president. Trump responded in a letter to
Netflix has ordered a new one-hour drama series from Martin Gero and Brendan Gall, Variety has learned exclusively. The six-episode series is titled “Breathe.” When a small plane crashes in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, a lone woman must battle the elements and odds to survive. Gero and Gall are co-writing and executive producing the
As usual, the SAG Awards manages to pick up what the Golden Globe nominations left off. In particular, the biggest mistake the mostly solid Globes nods made this year, in missing the boat on Michaela Coel’s stunning, heartbreaking HBO series “I May Destroy You.” Coel landed a first-ever SAG Award nom in the female actor
Lilly Singh will star in a new animated musical short film — centering on the theme of LGBTQ pride — from Pocket.watch, part of the digital kids’ content studio’s expansive 2021 slate. In “Lilly Singh’s Proud Princess,” the YouTuber and host of NBC’s “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” will voice a young girl discovering
Kids (and children at heart), prepare to be mystified: Netflix has summoned “Daniel Spellbound,” a new CG-animated series about a young seller of rare magical goods to sorcerers and sorceresses in modern-day New York City. The show will be produced in collaboration with creator and director Matt Fernandes (“Dino Ranch,” “Remy & Boo,” “Kingdom Force”),
Remember when Fox News Channel launched in 1996 with the slogan “Fair and balanced”? Believe it or not, early on, the channel at least pretended to follow that idealistic goal, providing straight news during the day and balancing conservative voices with liberal ones on primetime opinion shows. Hell, even Sean Hannity shared a show with
The impact of the ongoing pandemic on the film and television industry will change production practices, re-shape the exhibitor sector, transform distribution and expand global opportunities for European producers over the next five years, according to the latest Nostradamus Report, which forecasts trends in film and TV. Presented by author Johanna Koljonen at the Göteborg
Over the years, fans of singer and actor Brandy have learned to “never say never” or believe that something’s “impossible” — and their patience and perseverance has been rewarded. “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” the 1997 TV movie that stars Brandy and Whitney Houston, is officially coming to Disney Plus. Disney announced Thursday that the beloved
The Weeknd shared some details about his headlining halftime performance at Super Bowl LV during a press conference on Thursday. The show takes place on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Fla., and will be broadcast on CBS. It will also feature a pregame show by Miley Cyrus, the National Anthem sung by
Most composers spend a few weeks, sometimes even a few months, on a film score. Ludwig Göransson spent a year and a half on Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet.” The time-shifting spy thriller, last year’s cerebral challenge from the maker of “Inception” and “Interstellar” (currently being promoted for multiple craft awards, including Göransson for original score) forced