Television

Israeli surrogacy drama series “A Body That Works” has an international trailer, shared with Variety by Keshet International, which handles distribution, in the run-up to the title’s Series Mania international premiere.  Created by Shira Hadad, Dror Mishani and Shay Capon, who also directs, the series shows one couple’s struggle to get pregnant. After suffering another miscarriage, Ellie

The aftermath of a deadly volcanic eruption will set the stage for a new eco-thriller between Los Angeles-based Upgrade Productions, Iceland’s Act 4 and Croatia’s Drugi Plan. The eight-part series is produced by Act 4, the newly announced production company led by prominent Icelandic creatives, including “True Detective” actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and “Black Sands”

LILLE, France  — ZDF Studios is bringing onto the market at Series Mania, “Dear Vivi,” the biggest series hit to date on ZDFmediathek, the VOD service of German public broadcaster. Described by ZDF Studios as an “emotional family drama and thriller combo,” “Dear Vivi,” now renewed for a second season,  also joins a new wave of more

Have A Good One (HAGO) has boarded “Split,” a series created and directed by well-respected French feminist author Iris Brey ahead of its world premiere in competition at Series Mania Festival. “Split” was produced by Fabienne Servan-Schreiber et Charlotte Ortiz at Paris-based Cinétévé for the French broadcaster France Televisions’ digital platform Slash. The show revolves

Indian streamer SonyLIV has revealed a robust 35-strong series slate, including some returning hits, with a further expansion into South Indian languages in addition to its Hindi-language slate. Headquartered in Mumbai, the streamer now has three content offices in South India, in Kochi, Hyderabad and Chennai. SonyLIV also now has 24 million paid subscribers, SonyLIV

Prime Video has released the first official trailer for its Emmy-winning comedy series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” The upcoming fifth and final season will have a total of eight episodes. The season will premiere with three episodes on April 14, followed by one new episode each Friday, until the May 26 series finale. The fifth

The Writers Guild of America officially began negotiations on Monday with the studios, as the union seeks to increase compensation and set minimum standards for the size and duration of writers rooms. Over the decades, bargaining has become a highly ritualized process, with each step carefully scripted. The guild has already told members that the

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert have leapt from the multiverse to a galaxy far, far away. The Oscar-winning directing duo, known as Daniels, have helmed an episode of the upcoming “Star Wars” series “Skeleton Crew” for Disney+. After kicking off filming last summer, production has reportedly wrapped in recent months. While the complete list of

Allison Tolman has been cast in “St. Denis Medical,” a comedy pilot at NBC from “Superstore” and “American Auto” creator Justin Spitzer. The pilot is described as a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity. Tolman will play

Oklahoma is frequently depicted on screen as a peaceful place filled with scenic beauty, waving wheat fields and vast, bucolic plains. But the Paramount+ series “Tulsa King” captures a far grungier side of the Sooner State, and much of the credit for that goes to the show’s production designer, Todd Jeffery. Created by Taylor Sheridan,

Four African episodic screenwriters will take the stage Tuesday at Series Mania to pitch the genre-flavored series they currently have in development, a crop of shows that reflect the rich and fertile landscape for African series creators looking to tap into the global TV market.  The shows are created by the first graduating class of

Amazon Freevee has landed the exclusive first-run U.S. rights to “Casa Grande,” a bilingual limited series that follows the tales of California’s hardworking, often undocumented migrant workforce, as well as the wealthy landowners in Northern California. The series, which consists of five one-hour episodes, premieres May 1 on Freevee. Lauren Swickard (“A California Christmas”) and

“Vanderpump Rules” — after two fallow seasons of grim plots and uninspired storylines — has risen from the ashes in Season 10, and its ratings are spiking as a result. The show’s 10th season was already filled with old school “Vanderpump Rules” drama, caused largely by fallout from breakups among the core cast. That resurgence was before

The Darnell Ferguson-hosted primetime competition “Superchef Grudge Match” has been renewed for Season 2 at Food Network. Production on the eight-episode second season is set to begin later this year, with new episodes scheduled to debut in early 2024. Hosted by “Tournament of Champions” alum Ferguson, “Superchef Grudge Match” seeks to settle two long-standing personal

Kids, did I ever tell you about the time that my streaming series got a secondary run on a linear cable network? Hulu’s “How I Met Your Father” will make its linear debut next month on Freeform, marking the first time the series has been available off of Hulu. “How I Met Your Father” will

Andy Kaufman is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2023, Variety has learned. Kaufman will be inducted alongside this year’s fellow honorees that currently include Rey Mysterio and The Great Muta. Kaufman is best known for his career on the stage and screen, most famously starring as Latka Gravas

Julianne Hough, who has boosted her career through several seasons-long stints with “Dancing With the Stars,” is set to return to the ballroom, this time as host. The news comes on the heels of Tyra Banks announcing she will not return for Season 32. Alfonso Ribeiro will return as co-host, and Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno

Montreal-based Also Productions, the rising premium outfit behind the Series Mania title “Disobey” and the popular police drama “The Sketch Artist,” will next hit international waters with the facts-are-stranger-than-fiction geopolitical thriller “Chain Reaction.” Based on the best-selling book from investigative journalist Vincent Larouche, the development project will untangle a multinational web that connected Quebecois businessmen

MOTEL MOVES Indonesian horror feature “Losmen Melati” (aka “Motel Melati”) has set theatrical releases in Malaysian and Singaporean cinemas on April 6, and April 13, respectively, following its release in Indonesia on Thursday.  The film is co-directed by Mike Wiluan and Billy Christian. It tells the story of a secluded and enigmatic guest house, run by its mystifying owner, Madam Melati.

Brazilian media titan Globo bowed its ambitious doc series “Extremists.br” to market audiences in Berlin last month alongside a slate of equally promising emerging concepts. With sights now set on France, the telenovela and docu-centered powerhouse readies for buyers at Series Mania. Directed by journalist and documentary filmmaker Caio Cavechini (“Marielle – The Crime That

The duo behind the hit Nordic franchise “Snabba Cash,” helmer Jesper Ganslandt and screenwriter Oskar Söderlund, have re-teamed on “Cry Wolf,” an action thriller series starring British musician-turned-actor Eliot Sumner (“No Time to Die”). Ordered by Swedish broadcaster TV4, “Cry Wolf” is based on “Vargasommar,” the anticipated debut novel of Hans Rosenfeldt, the BAFTA-nominated creator

The Australian International Documentary Conference celebrated a record-breaking edition after holding its first expanded in-person event after two previous hybrid and virtual outings. Held at Melbourne’s Australia Centre for the Moving Image on March 5- 8, the lively four-day conference of industry panels, screenings and networking events was followed by a three-day online international marketplace

“Mobile 101, a Nokia Story,” a series about the dramatic rise and fall of the Finnish phone company, has been acquired by Disney+ and Walter Presents in multiple territories. The series was produced by Finland’s Rabbit Films and is represented in international markets by the outfit. The six-part series, which sheds light on how a

AFC Richmond is going to D.C. The cast of “Ted Lasso” will visit the White House on Monday to participate in a discussion with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on “the importance of mental health to promote overall wellbeing. Apple announced the meeting Sunday afternoon. President Biden teased the appearance minutes before

Everyone says: “I love you,” at least in Lille, where Japanese star Tomohisa Yamashita – in town to promote “Drops of God” – brought fans to tears. With one admitting that thanks to his 2005 series “Nobuta Wo Produce,” where he played the character of Akira, she decided not to commit suicide 14 years ago. 

“Beef” stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as two people involved in a road rage incident that spirals out of control and begins to consume their every waking moment. And despite that Yeun and Wong have no actual beef with each other, that anger began to consume them outside of the show, too — except

SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for all episodes of “Swarm” on Amazon Prime Video. Rumors of a Donald Glover project about a “Beyoncé-like figure” have been swirling in Hollywood for at least two years. And while no one involved will say Knowles’ name — though Glover has called out the Beyhive and co-creator and

Warning: This story contains major spoilers for “BMF” Season 2, Episode 10, titled “New Beginnings.” Seduction was the leading theme of “BMF” Season 2, but showrunner Heather Zuhlke and the rest of the creative team are ready to up the ante and take the show “out of this world.” As the former “50 Boyz” end

Longtime CBS talent relations executive Ian Metrose, who became wrapped up in the scandal surrounding former CBS chief Leslie Moonves, will exit at month’s end after 20 years with the network. Metrose is understood to have made the decision to leave at the end of his current contract. But there is little doubt his departure

“Succession” star Brian Cox gushed about wife Nicole Ansari-Cox at Series Mania, after she expressed solidarity with women of Iran at the fest’s opening, demonstrating the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” to the photographers.   “My wife is half Iranian and she was one of the first people to cut her hair as part of the protest.