Television

Dan Schachner has had the cutest gig in showbusiness for 12 years. As the ruff-eree of Animal Planet’s annual “Puppy Bowl,” he’s tasked with running the show as hundreds of doggy players compete for the coveted Lombarky Trophy.  When Team Ruff and Team Fluff take the field, he’s there for all the touchdowns, field goals

Jay Julian Eller, a retired attorney who represented numerous entertainment clients during his long career, died Feb. 2 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93. Eller was married to Robin Ray Eller, actor and audiobook narrator, and was the father of longtime Variety editor-in-chief Claudia Eller. “Dad was the rock and moral compass

Disney leadership broke down the specifics of the company-wide restructuring Thursday, following CEO Bob Iger’s initial earnings re-org announcement that split the media giant into three divisions: Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. As announced Wednesday, under the new structure, TV chief Dana Walden and film studio head Alan Bergman will be

Ben Wasserstein has entered a first look deal at Richard Plepler’s Eden Productions. Under the deal, Wasserstein will pursue and develop new comedy and drama series, limited series and films for Eden’s multi-year deal with Apple TV+. He will work alongside Heather Karpas, who joined Eden in 2020 after previously working at ICM Partners. Before

Netflix’s next docu-series, “Waco: American Apocalypse,” will dig into how cult leader David Koresh faced off with the federal government in bloody 51-day siege. Directed by Tiller Russell (“Night Stalker”), the upcoming series will feature three 50 minute episodes and premiere March 22, Variety has learned exclusively. The launch date coincides with the 30th anniversary

If viewers are looking for an easy watch, it’s not “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence.” And that’s the whole point. The three-part Hulu docuseries, directed by Zach Heinzerling, dives into the emotional and physical torture that students endured at the hands of conman Larry Ray. Ray was arrested in 2020, one year

Sharon Levy has been promoted to CEO of Banijay’s Endemol Shine North America. As Levy takes on her new role, Endemol Shine North America will shift from its dual role as a studio and Banijay Americas’ holding company to solely an independent production company, alongside the nine other Banijay studios in the territory. The shift

“The Peripheral” has been renewed for Season 2 at Amazon. The series, based on the William Gibson novel of the same name, debuted on Amazon on Oct. 21, 2022. The series stars Chloë Grace Moretz and hails from executive producers Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan under their Amazon overall deal. Scott B. Smith developed the

Jeremy Clarkson’s vitriolic Meghan Markle column in The Sun is being formally investigated by the U.K.’s media watchdog following two group complaints. IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organization, has confirmed that it’s launched an investigation into Clarkson’s article, which was published by the British tabloid on Dec. 17. The article was headlined “One day, Harold

SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special.” “Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” is a lot like “When Harry Met Sally,” if “When Harry Met Sally” had prominently featured a demon who speaks in rhymes to sell sex pills or a sentient lump of clay

Drag queen Alyssa Edwards is back in “Alyssa’s Secret — The Reboot.” The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 5 contestant’s return is part of World of Wonder’s 2023 slate of original content for their SVOD service, WOW Presents Plus. “Alyssa’s Secret,” which first began airing 10 years ago on the WOW Presents YouTube channel, is returning

Sling TV, the internet-streaming division of Dish Network, is doubling down on free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) and free, ad-supported VOD — looking to beef up its offering for consumers who balk at paying a monthly subscription fee. The redubbed Sling Freestream is launching with 210 free channels and 41,000-plus on-demand titles. It’s a rebranding

FIRST LOOKS Netflix has released first look images for at its upcoming limited series “Transatlantic,” the latest series from “Unorthodox” creator, Anna Winger. The seven-part series is set to premiere on April 7. “Transatlantic” follows an international group as they risk their lives to help refugees escape occupied France, including many on the Nazis’ most-wanted

CBS has announced a pilot order for an untitled father/son project from Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. “Legendary talk radio host and happily divorced “Poppa” (Damon Sr.) has his point of view challenged at work when a new female co-host is hired, and at home where he finds himself still parenting his adult son

E! Network earned a solid ratings win over the weekend with its Grammys coverage. Overall, the network’s “Live from E!” offerings from the awards show managed to deliver 171 million cross-platform video minutes — a 15% increase from last year. Hosted by Laverne Cox and Bobby Bones, this year’s telecast brought in an audience of

After committing billions over the past few years to snare valuable sports rights, Disney is signaling it might play a more careful game when it comes to ESPN. Disney on Wednesday unveiled a new corporate structure that pulls ESPN out of its shared structure with the bulk of Disney’s linear TV networks and sets it

NBC has placed a pilot order for “St. Denis Medical,” the latest workplace comedy series to come from “Superstore” alums Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin, as well as Simon Heuer. According to the show’s logline, the forthcoming comedy will be “a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try

U.S. Congressman Robert Garcia has penned an open letter to CBS Entertainment president and CEO George Cheeks calling out the network’s failure to provide closed captioning during Bad Bunny’s appearances onstage at the Grammys on Sunday. The Puerto Rican rapper and singer performed at the opening of the show and later won the award for

Disney CEO Bob Iger has implemented a sweeping reorganization of the company’s operations, creating a Disney Entertainment business unit to be led by Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, as well as a separate unit for ESPN’s operations including streamer ESPN+. Josh D’Amaro will remain in charge of the third division within the company, Disney Parks,

“From Bleak to Dark,” the title of Marc Maron’s latest comedy special, perfectly encapsulates his prickly worldview. Those looking for benign reflections on the sunny side of life should just… move along. But it also hints at the comedian’s ability to find a ray of humor in even the most tragic circumstances. “That’s what I

Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis are teaming for an Amazon series based on Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta novels, Variety has confirmed with sources. Kidman would star as Scarpetta with Curtis playing her sister, Dorothy. Sources say that deals for the show are not yet done, but that it is nearing a two-season order of

WME has signed Seth MacFarlane as well as his production company Fuzzy Door. He was previously repped by CAA and continues to be repped by Jackoway Austen and manager Joy Fehily. MacFarlane is best known for creating “Family Guy,” the animated comedy that has been running on Fox since 1999. He also voices the characters

Eugene Lee, the award-winning production designer for “Wicked” and “Saturday Night Live,” has died. He was 83 years old. His death was shared by the official Twitter page for “Wicked.” Lee had been with “Saturday Night Live” since its debut in 1975, and worked on sets including the “Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary” and “SNL

Amazon has ordered an animated adaptation of the comic book series “Wytches,” Variety has learned exclusively. The comic was created by Scott Snyder and Jock. It tells the story of “17-year-old Sailor Rooks, whose family moves to a remote New England town after a tragic accident, only to discover that a burrow of monsters—ancient creatures

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Treasure Protectors,” the season finale of “National Treasure: Edge of History,” now streaming on Disney+. In the first “National Treasure” movie, Nicolas Cage’s Ben Gates justifies stealing the Declaration of Independence by telling the authorities he is a treasure protector — but that was so 2004. In the

Netflix’s latest sports docuseries, “Bill Russell: Legend,” is sandwiched between its 10-part tennis series, “Break Point,” and its eight-part golf series, “Full Swing,” in a string of non-fiction programming demonstrating the streamer’s commitment to chronicling athletic excellence. Although there have been other docs made about Russell, a Boston Celtics legend who won 11 championships during

Super Bowl ads for beer, once one of Madison Avenue’s simplest bits of pitchery, have become as complex as solving a calculus equation after five shots of Jägermeister. Opening a cold one at the Super Bowl used to be easy. Since 1989, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev has enjoyed exclusive rights to market malt-based liquor during

Apple TV+ has renewed “Tehran” for a third season, in which Hugh Laurie will join the cast as Eric Peterson, a South African nuclear inspector. “Tehran” follows Tamar (Niv Sultan), a Mossad hacker-agent who infiltrates Tehran under a false identity. After going rogue at the end of Season 2 and reeling from the loss of

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. There is nothing more fulfilling than an ultra-specific Lego set. You’ve seen the Lego Central Perk building set, the “Seinfeld” apartment, complete with hidden superman stickers and a festivus pole, and perhaps most impressive,

Paramount+ has revealed the inclusion of “Star Trek: Picard” and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” in its international streaming catalog, excluding Canada, as part of a new agreement with Amazon’s Prime Video. The third and final season of “Star Trek: Picard” will be available on Feb. 16 in Latin America, day-and-date with the U.S., and on