“The Daily Show” makes fun of CNN, but it’s not supposed to work like CNN. That dynamic will change a bit come November 6, when the Comedy Central late-night mainstay goes live on Election Night. “In the control room, it’s madness,” says Jen Flanz, an executive producer who has been with the program since 1998,
Television
The third hour of NBC’s “Today” will look a lot like the first and second hours of “Today.” For today. In the wake of the cancellation of Megyn Kelly’s hour of the program, NBC is planning – for now – to utilize the crew that anchors the first two flagship hours of the show to
Jan Frouman will exit Red Arrow Studios early next year and step down from the board of its parent company, the German media giant and broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1. Frouman (pictured) will depart production and distribution group Red Arrow at end-Feb. 2019 when his current contract expires. At that point James Baker will move up from COO
SPOILER ALERT: Do not keep reading if you have not seen Episode 4 of Season 9 of “The Walking Dead,” titled “The Obliged” The demise of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) draws ever closer, with this episode teasing Rick’s swan song multiple times. But first… The episode begins with Michonne (Danai Gurira). She is working dilligently
October 28, 2018 9:49AM PT An executive from Fox Business Network said the cable outlet would pull from rotation a recent broadcast of “Lou Dobbs Tonight” featuring a guest making remarks about a “Soros-occupied State Department” that has spurred social-media pushback in the wake of Saturday’s shooting tragedy at a Pittsburgh synagogue. “We condemn the
October 27, 2018 9:15AM PT Peter Alexander is taking on more duties at NBC News, joining the network’s “Today” show on Saturdays in addition to keeping his role as White House correspondent. Alexander joined the morning program Saturday alongside co-anchor Sheinelle Jones and weather anchor Dylan Dryer. He replaces Craig Melvin, who has taken up
In today’s TV News Roundup, the two-part “Timeless” series finale airs on NBC in December. FIRST LOOKS Emmy Award-winning Netflix series “Beat Bugs” returns for a third season on Nov. 9. Even more classic Beatles songs will be reimagined this season, including Let It Be, Day in the Life, Hey Jude, Paperback Writer, Yesterday, Revolution,
We may never exactly know why Netflix decided to cancel its Peabody Award winning comedy “American Vandal” after two critically lauded seasons. Without Netflix confirming any solid ratings numbers, it’s impossible to know if enough people watched; the best bet is that Netflix simply didn’t feel like gambling anymore on a show owned by CBS
ABC has ordered more of both “A Million Little Things” and “The Conners,” Variety has learned. “A Million Little Things” has been given an order for four more episodes, bringing its first season total to 17. The freshman drama stars David Giuntoli, Ron Livingston, Romany Malco, Allison Miller, Christina Moses, Christina Ochoa, Grace Park, James Roday,
A former chef on the Hallmark Channel’s “Home & Family” show alleges she was fired after reporting executive producer Woody Fraser for sexual harassment. Shanti Hinojos filed a lawsuit against Crown Media, the channel’s parent company, claiming that Fraser harassed her for years and the network failed to respond. She alleges that he was removed
October 26, 2018 12:30PM PT CBS has given a put pilot commitment to a comedy series co-created by “Crazy Rich Asians” author Kevin Kwan, Variety has learned. The multi-camera comedy is titled “The Emperor of Malibu.” It follows two very different families–one from Shanghai with new money and one from the East coast of the U.S. with
October 26, 2018 11:31AM PT The premiere of the Roseanne Barr-less “The Conners” grew over 20% in both key ratings measures in the delayed viewing numbers. For the week beginning Oct. 15, “The Conners” posted 25% growth in adults 18-49 and 22% growth in total viewers in Live+3, bringing it to a 3.0 rating and
Going forward, the 9 a.m. hour of NBC’s “Today” is likely to be more about the show than the anchors who host it. With Megyn Kelly in discussions with NBC about her future at the network, media-buying executives say they expect the Peacock to return the third hour of its morning franchise to a more
October 26, 2018 10:33AM PT Joel Fields has joined the production team on FX’s limited series revolving around the creative partnership between stage legend Bob Fosse and dancer Gwen Verdon. Fields is serving as an exec producer on the eight-part series along with Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams are set to
October 26, 2018 10:33AM PT Fox has ordered 13 episodes of a new animated family comedy from Amy Poehler and Mike and Julie Scully. Currently titled “Duncanville,” the show will center on Duncan, a “spectacularly average” 15-year-old boy and his family and friends. Poehler will lend her voice to the character of Duncan, as well
NBC said Friday that it had cancelled “Megyn Kelly Today,” ending a fizzling experiment that matched an anchor with an outsized presence to a format best known for lighter fare, and indicated it would move its 9 a.m. hour back to a more traditional “Today” format. Meanwhile, an attorney for Megyn Kelly indicated the anchor
Homer Simpson gave the Georgia film and TV production community backhanded props in this season’s premiere of “The Simpsons,” telling prospective producers he had three conditions for permission to turn son Bart’s near-death experience into a movie: input on the script, tickets to the premiere, and, “I’m not thanking the Georgia Film Commission, no matter
When Steve Calcote and Lillian Diaz-Przybyl conceived their science fiction series “Orbital Redux” about a year ago, they broke down the story arc, the characters, and the stunts they wanted to include. But because the show is a live series with an interactive audience element, very quickly in the production process they realized they were
October 26, 2018 4:42AM PT Discussions have already begun over anchor Megyn Kelly’s exit from NBC, according to a person familiar with the matter, who confirmed details released in a report on the network’s “Today” show, the first time any NBC News property has acknowledged the star anchor is likely to leave NBCUniversal in the
October 26, 2018 3:24AM PT Takayuki Yamada, who has starred in everything from commercial actioners (“Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure”) and arthouse dramas (“The Devil’s Path”) to the popular “Ushijima the Loan Shark” series, is to star in a new Netflix original show, “Naked Director.” The drama series focuses on notorious 1980s porn director, Toru Muranishi. The
Greg Berlanti has produced a host of superhero TV shows for the CW, many of which feature LGBTQ characters. But he says it’s time for audiences to see an LGBTQ superhero on the big screen. “I grew up a huge James Bond fan and I really think it’d be nice to have a LGBTQ character
Emma Thompson will play a charismatic celebrity-turned-politician in “Years & Years,” the upcoming future-set family drama from Russell T. Davies, whose extensive credits include “Doctor Who” and “Queer as Folk.” The limited series will go out on the BBC in the U.K., HBO in the U.S., and Canal Plus in France, with the three coproducing.
In today’s roundup, Facebook Watch’s “Queen America” drops a teaser and Netflix’s “F Is for Family” announces the Season 3 premiere date. FIRST LOOKS Facebook Watch’s “Queen America” has released a teaser clip ahead of its Nov. 21 premiere. The weekly 10-episode series stars Catherine Zeta-Jones as a renowned and ruthless pageant coach whose reputation is put
Days after high-profile actors, Democrats, and media companies were targets of alarming bomb threats, NBC News correspondent Cynthia McFadden expressed disappointment over President Donald Trump’s latest attacks on the media. “The events of yesterday are unspeakable. I was heartened by the president’s tweet yesterday saying that these were unacceptable events. And, then saddened and dismayed about what he
“You’re in this fight whether you like it or not,” Alexander Skarsgard’s character, Becker, tells Charlie, played by Florence Pugh, in a new AMC trailer for “The Little Drummer Girl.” “Who are you people?” a bemused Charlie asks in another scene from the eagerly anticipated show, the latest John le Carre adaption set for AMC
Can Megyn Kelly and NBC repair a relationship that is already being torn asunder by press reports? Her attorney will have to find out. Attorney Bryan Freedman is expected to meet with NBC executives “as soon as Friday,” said Davidson Goldin, a spokesman for Kelly. While some media outlets have reported NBC is cutting ties
Kevin Kay is exiting Viacom, where he oversaw Paramount Network, TV Land, and CMT. The move is part of a reorganization of the company’s cable brands, announced Thursday by CEO Bob Bakish, that will see executives Kent Alterman and Chris McCarthy broaden their portfolios. Alterman will now lead the Comedy Central, Paramount Network and TV
Megyn Kelly has beefed up her team by hiring a top Hollywood litigator amidst her blackface controversy, signaling that the anchor is ready to put up an aggressive fight as she sorts out her likely exit plan with NBC. Kelly is now represented by Bryan Freedman, one of the founding partners of the Los Angeles-based law
Courtney A. Kemp is staying in business with Lionsgate. The creator and co-showrunner of the hit Starz series “Power” has signed a new multi-year development and production deal at the studio, which produces “Power.” Under the deal, Kemp will develop and produce a variety of new content across multiple platforms through her End of Episode
October 25, 2018 11:00AM PT Writer-director Daniel Sawka’s “Icebox” has been acquired by HBO Films. The feature, produced by James L. Brooks’ Gracie Films and co-financed with Endeavor Content, is set to debut Dec. 7 on HBO. The film tells the story of Anthony Gonzalez’s Óscar, a 12-year-old Honduran boy who is forced to flee his