Television

October 1, 2018 11:10AM PT Merritt Wever has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming HBO comedy pilot “Run,” Variety has confirmed. Wever will star as Ruby Dixie, an American family woman who functions like clockwork, but feels like a fraud. Having packed away her younger self for the sake of other people, she is finally

When the wheels go up on Season 14 of “Criminal Minds” on CBS, the series won’t just unroll a new slew of cases and delve deeper into its roster of characters’ personal lives; it will also celebrate a landmark 300th episode. The episode, aptly titled “300,” picks up a few minutes following the Season 13

October 1, 2018 10:28AM PT Sharon Osbourne has left the U.K. edition of “X Factor,” saying she thought she was surplus to requirements. Her exit came after she said contestants on the talent show were “little s—s,” asked “Is this f—ing karaoke,” and leveled insults at Simon Cowell in a recent profanity-laced interview with Howard

Gary Newman is in negotiations with 21st Century Fox to remain with the company and lead Fox Broadcasting through an anticipated transition period. Sources close to the executive have confirmed to Variety that Newman is in the final stages of talks to remain with so-called “New Fox” after the company’s mega-deal with the Walt Disney

Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV. Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch them. This week, Jodie Whittaker takes over on “Doctor Who” and “The Walking Dead” returns for

Lifetime is relaunching its Emmy Award-winning public affairs campaign, “Stop Violence Against Women,” Variety has learned exclusively. The cabler is partnering with advocacy groups, survivors and thought leaders to spread awareness, empower women, provide healing tools and support for women and survivors in need of assistance. Four of the survivors and thought leaders involved in the initiative

October 1, 2018 9:30AM PT “Queen of the South” has been renewed for a fourth season at USA Network. In addition, Dailyn Rodriguez and Ben Lobato have been promoted to co-showrunners and executive producers on the drama series, taking over for Natalie Chaidez. Rodriguez previously served as co-executive producer and has been part of the show’s writing staff

When “Will & Grace” returns for the second season of its revival, it will open up the world of its core characters, not only by expanding their relationships through new romantic partners, but also by expanding their political views. “It was very insular by design [last season]; we wanted to figure out who these characters

October 1, 2018 8:30AM PT “God Friended Me” debuted to solid numbers in the Sunday overnight ratings on CBS. Airing at 8:30 p.m., “God Friended Me” is currently at a 1.4 rating in adults 18-49 and 10.4 million viewers. That is on par in the demo and better in total viewers than what “Wisdom of

October 1, 2018 3:24AM PT “Babylon Berlin” has launched strongly on free-TV in its domestic German market, where it has become the most popular scripted series on free-TV this year. The landmark €40 million ($46.5 million) show launched on pubcaster ARD on Sunday, having already bowed on pay-TV platform Sky. Its audience peaked at 8.5

“Saturday Night Live” returned for its 44th season Sept. 29 and wasted no time diving back into political sketches, with Matt Damon appearing as Brett Kavanaugh and Rachel Dratch returning as Senator Amy Klobuchar for a cold open sketch about his hearing. Mysteriously absent from the top of the hearing, as Alex Moffat’s Chuck Grassley

“Last Man Standing” debuted its seventh season on Fox Friday night, with the Tim Allen-led sitcom rocketing past its previous season numbers on ABC. “Last Man Standing” averaged a 1.8 rating in adults 18-49 and 8 million viewers, airing at 8 p.m. By comparison, the Season 6 premiere on ABC drew a 1.1 rating and

September 28, 2018 7:32PM PT Bravo has suspended one of the personalities from its “Real Housewives of the Potomac” reality series amid allegations of sexual harassment from a crew member. Michael Darby, husband of series regular Ashley Darby, is facing misdemeanor charges in Potomac, Md., for improper contact with a crew member who accuses Darby

Showtime has canceled “I’m Dying Up Here” after two seasons. The drama series, which boasted Jim Carrey among its executive producers, followed a fictionalized group of stand up comedians in LA in the ‘70s. The cast was led by Oscar winner Melissa Leo, who played tough as nails comedy club owner Goldie. The cast also

“What is… yes!” Luckily, that was what Maria Shafer said to her now-fiancé, “Jeopardy!” contestant Michael Pascuzzi, when he proposed to her mid-show. “Now ladies and gentleman, normally when I interview the contestants I base my conversation on little bits of information they’ve supplied us, but with regard to Michael Pascuzzi from Orlando, Fla., I

September 28, 2018 1:45PM PT CBS Corp. is facing investigations by city and state officials in New York stemming from the reports of alleged sexual misconduct by former chairman-CEO Leslie Moonves and concerns about the working environment at the company. CBS disclosed Friday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it has received subpoenas

Walt Disney Co. further realigned its ad sales efforts, noting that it would work to position its sales teams to have “a deeper level of advisory relationships with marketers” as Madison Avenue increasingly puts new emphasis on all forms of video, not just TV, as a means of reaching consumers. Disney earlier this month combined

They’re getting ready to start the stopwatch again at CBS’ “60 Minutes.” Over the course of its more than half-century of life, the venerable CBS newsmagazine has had only two chiefs, Jeff Fager and Don Hewitt.  Now it has none. That won’t keep the show off the air. “60 Minutes” will kick off its 51st

CNN founder Ted Turner opens up about his battle with a brain disorder that is causing dementia in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” to air this weekend. Turner tells “CBS Sunday Morning” senior contributor Ted Koppel he is grappling with a condition known as Lewy body dementia. “It’s a mild case of what people

September 28, 2018 11:18AM PT The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday drew a massive audience for the cable news networks, according to Nielsen data. The hearing–which saw testimony from both Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault–aired throughout most of the day Thursday. Fox

September 28, 2018 11:13AM PT Rashida Jones has planted her flag with MRC, setting up a first-look TV development pact with the indie studio. Jones and her producing partner, Will McCormack, will develop projects for MRC through their Le Train Train production banner. The pair at present are exec producers on TNT’s “Claws” and the

September 28, 2018 11:00AM PT Jennifer Beals has joined the cast of the upcoming “Swamp Thing” series at DC Universe, Variety has learned. Beals will appear in the recurring guest star role of Sheriff Lucilia Cable. Described as tough as nails and pragmatic, Cable’s fierce devotion to her son, Matt, is rivaled only by her sworn duty

September 28, 2018 10:30AM PT ABC Studios has promoted Patrick Maguire to oversee drama development. Maguire succeeds Nne Ebong as the studio’s senior VP of drama development. Ebong exited ABC Studios in August. Maguire worked under Ebong as drama development VP. He’s been in the ABC fold since 2002 when he joined the network in

Hillary Clinton was the first big name cameo of “Murphy Brown’s” revival season. Clinton appeared in the Sept. 27 premiere of the Candice Bergen-led sitcom — but not as herself. Instead, she was “Hilary,” a woman who said she is often mistaken for the former presidential candidate but actually spells her name with only one

Nearly 1,000 SAG-AFTRA members picketed the Los Angeles office of advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty on Thursday, a week after the union struck the company. “BBH is trying to walk out on its contractual obligations and we are taking a stand,” said President Gabrielle Carteris. “As union actors, we must hold the line against those

Say this for Brett Kavanaugh’s performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee: It suited the times. In an era during which all major political news seems to happen on and for TV, the Supreme Court nominee put forward a startling performance of rage and discontent seemingly intended for an audience of one. The testimonies of both Kavanaugh

September 27, 2018 4:01PM PT Richard Gere is headed to Cannes to launch “MotherFatherSon,” his upcoming series for the BBC. Gere will be in town for Mipcom, the international TV business’ annual October get-together, where BBC Studios will be selling his new show. There are no deals yet for the series outside the U.K., but

September 27, 2018 4:01PM PT Endemol Shine’s former Asia MD, Fotini Paraskakis, has joined The Story Lab, the Dentsu Aegis-backed content company that counts “Ninja Warrior” among its shows. Paraskakis will be based in the company’s London office as EVP, entertainment, overseeing scripted and unscripted. The Story Lab said Paraskakis will work with producers, platforms, and

In today’s TV News Roundup, Fox drops a clip from the first episode “The Simpsons” season 30 featuring Gal Gadot and Emily Deschanel.  FIRST LOOKS Bart takes a dare and ends up in the hospital in the 30th season premiere episode of “The Simpsons,” airing Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox. Celebrities

September 27, 2018 3:36PM PT Kevin Jackson has been terminated as a Fox News contributor following a series of tweets in which he referred to Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers as “lying skanks” as the Kavanaugh hearing played out Thursday. “Kevin Jackson has been terminated as a contributor. His comments on today’s hearings