Television

CANNES – The uncertain fate of Endemol Shine Group was a hot topic at the Mipcom international TV sales conference this week, with insiders telling of jitters behind closed doors at the company even as its distribution team continued to make deals in Cannes. Mipcom brought together many of the players who had been expected

October 18, 2018 6:37AM PT Angela Bassett is set to narrate “The Flood,” the upcoming National Geographic documentary special about animals living in the heart of Africa’s Okavango Delta. Surrounded by the Kalahari Desert, the delta is one of the world’s last great wildernesses, and welcomes leopards, elephants, lions and hippos each year as the

Teen mystery series “Elite” has been renewed for a second season by Netflix, the streaming giant announced Wednesday in Spain. Netflix’s second Spanish original drama, “Elite” was released worldwide on Oct. 5, gathering positive reviews from TV critics in Spain and abroad. Offering eight episodes entirely shot in 4K, Season 2 is scheduled to launch

October 18, 2018 12:01AM PT A consortium of Japanese media companies is partnering with U.S. animation studio Tonko House to make an animation series starring Kumamon. The hugely popular character is the mascot of Kumamoto, a province in southern Japan. The project was announced by Kumamon creator Kundo Koyama and provincial governor Ikuo Kabashima. Koyama is

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Return to Murder House,” the sixth episode of “American Horror Story: Apocalypse.”  It was finally here, “American Horror Story” fans. “Apocalypse’s” “Return to Murder House” was Jessica Lange’s first appearance on the show since “Freak Show.” Sarah Paulson has done an excellent job taking over

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Return to Murder House,” the sixth episode of “American Horror Story: Apocalypse.” Sarah Paulson has been a staple of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story” universe since its first season, so it may only seem fitting that the first time she stepped behind the camera to

Fox is developing a single-camera comedy that hails from Riki Lindhome and Monica Padrick. “Tails” will follow Erika (Lindhome), a woman in her late 30s, who despite the pressure she feels from the world around her, refuses to settle in any area of her life. Lindhome will serve as writer and executive producer on the project

October 17, 2018 5:00PM PT Sarah Chalke is reuniting with “Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence for a drama series currently in development at ABC, Variety has learned. The untitled one-hour series is inspired by Chalke’s life. It is described as a family dramedy about two very different sisters who take over the adoption agency that their parents, a

October 17, 2018 4:30PM PT The CW is developing a drama series that hails from writers Jordan Reddout and Gus Hickey. Titled “No Hard Feelings,” the project is described as a dark comedy about a group of friends who conspire to exact revenge on an old rival who assaulted one of their own and got

In Wednesday’s roundup, Netflix announces family comedy series “Family Reunion,” and the company is also bringing back its Spanish original series “Elite” for a second season. DEVELOPMENT Netflix has announced “Family Reunion,” a multi-generational live action comedy series. The series, which recently began production, stars Loretta Devine (“The Carmichael Show”) and Tia Mowry (“Sister, Sister”). Mowry will

October 17, 2018 3:30PM PT A new installment of “NYPD Blue” has scored a pilot production commitment at ABC, Variety has learned. The new series follows Andy Sipowicz’s son, Theo, as he tries to earn his detective shield and work in the 15th squad while investigating his father’s murder. Original series writers and executive producers Matt Olmstead and

October 17, 2018 3:00PM PT Dr. Phil and his son Jay McGraw are developing two new drama series at CBS, Variety has learned. Both projects will be produced by CBS Television Studios, where the McGraws are set up under an overall deal. The first project is titled “Chaplain.” It follows a talented, scientifically minded ICU doctor and

October 17, 2018 2:00PM PT The CW is developing a series based on Oscar Wilde novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Variety has learned. Titled “Dorian,” the series is described as a comedic spin on the classic story. It follows a woman who made a deal with the devil 50 years ago to remain young and

October 17, 2018 2:00PM PT “Orange Is the New Black” is set to end after its upcoming seventh season on Netflix. The cast of the series broke the news in a video post on Wednesday, which can be viewed below. Netflix had renewed the Lionsgate-produced series for three seasons ahead of the Season 4 premiere

The Disney streaming service series “High School Musical: The Musical” has found its lead. Joshua Bassett has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming series, which is slated to debut in late 2019. Bassett will play Ricky, a cynical but charming high school junior who launches a bold plan to win back his ex-girlfriend

When its parent company struck a deal in January for the TV rights to “Thursday Night Football,” Fox Broadcasting’s fortune was set to improve. The NFL is the undisputed champion driver of live television ratings — an increasingly valuable commodity in a world of delayed and digital viewing. Fox paid handsomely for the rights, spending

Roseanne Barr made it loud and clear that she was not pleased with how ABC killed off her character on Tuesday night’s premiere episode of “The Conners” — but even though her character is dead, could she ever return for a flashback scene? While flashbacks featuring killed-off characters is typical for many TV shows, “The

October 17, 2018 12:30PM PT ABC has given a full-season order to freshman comedy “Single Parents.” The pick-up makes “Single Parents” the first new series of the season to have its order extended by ABC. Through its first three episodes, the series, from 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios is averaging an audience of

“The Conners” premiere was the top-rated show of Tuesday night but debuted well below what the premiere of “Roseanne” drew earlier this year. The series debuted sans Roseanne to a 2.3 rating in adults 18-49 and 10.5 million viewers. The one-hour “Roseanne” revival premiere back in March drew a 5.2 rating and 18.4 million viewers in

South East Asian media company WebTVAsia has struck long-form and short form deals with Chinese partners. Both agreements were unveiled at MIPCOM in Cannes. With Ciwen Media it plans to co-develop and co-produce produce “Gangsters of Shanghai,” an original story based on a novel by Gerry O’Sullivan, with an undisclosed budget in over $10 million.

The new CBS competition series “The World’s Best” is set to debut immediately following Super Bowl LIII, the broadcaster announced Wednesday. The series is set to air on Feb. 3, 2019, at approximately 10 p.m ET/7 p.m. PT depending on the post-game coverage. As previously announced, James Corden hosts and executive produces the talent competition series

October 17, 2018 5:49AM PT The opening episode of the new season of “Doctor Who,” starring Jodie Whittaker as the first regular female time lord, scored a new audience high in the U.K. for the modern iteration of the long-running show. New 4-screen measurements by British TV ratings organization Barb, which include non-TV online viewing,

Upheaval in the entertainment business may have sent traditional players scrambling, but it’s what has enabled Issa Rae to put out the stories she wants to tell and that had long been overlooked, the star of HBO’s “Insecure” said Wednesday. In times gone by, there was “a constant desire to appeal to a broad audience

Nora Melhli’s recently launched production company Alef One is set to produce an untitled thriller mini-series based on Ghyslain Wattrelos’s book “Flight MH370, A Life Rerouted” and Florence de Changy’s “Flight MH370 did not simply disappear.” Gilles Bannier, the director of episodes of “Spiral” and “The Tunnel,” will write and direct the six-episode series. It

The roar rivaled the sound that reverberates around Madison Square Garden when the New York Rangers score a goal. On Oct. 6, 5,000-plus die-hard fans of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” gathered in the Theater at Madison Square Garden for the New York Comic Con panel that marked the swan song for series star Andrew Lincoln.

October 17, 2018 4:13AM PT PBS International has sold space-race documentary series “Chasing the Moon” to a host of international broadcasters following a screening at Mipcom in Cannes, the company announced Wednesday. Among 13 broadcasters boarding the title are the BBC for the U.K., Arte for France and Germany, and SBS in Australia. The six-hour

CANNES — Facebook hopes to amp up the Facebook Watch video platform by opening it up to outside content producers and partnering with MTV on a relaunch of “The Real World” for the global social media generation. Facebook unveiled the “Real World” reboot with MTV Studios and Bunim/Murray Productions as part of a broader overview

“King of the Worlds,” “The Painting” and “City” are just three productions from Argentina pitching at Snack & Screen Argentina!, taking place Oct. 17 at Cannes’ Palais des Festivals. Thrillers stand out as the genre of the day, with three of the ten projects promising something spooky. “King of the Worlds” is an anime-style production

CANNES — Two of the power axes on the new worldwide TV production scene, Argentina’s ElTrece, Pol-ka, Cablevision on one hand and Mediapro Group-Oficina Burman on the other, have pacted to produce together a brand new dram series, scheduled to air from 2019. The series turns on the campaign of a man who runs for

CANNES — Adrián Suar, Latin America’s most extraordinary hyphenate, sits in Cannes’ Palais des Festivals, the Croisette behind him, ready to talk up his latest pioneering move in the Latin American TV entertainment scene. That’s no minor detail. As Fox pushes ever more into a digital cord-cutting world, Suar’s show, “The Host,” currently rates as