Television

Issues of discrimination and exclusion in Hollywood are often driven by baseless beliefs about marginalized communities, and even efforts to increase diversity sometimes get stalled in the “listening phase” without prioritizing action. That’s why Harness (and organization founded by America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama and Ryan Piers Williams) and Untitled Latinx Project (ULP) co-produce DEAR Hollywood

TikTok sensation Francies Bourgeois is set to front a five-part digital series for Channel 4 called “Trainspotting with Francis Bourgeois.” Joining forces with celebrities including comedian Aisling Bea, Eurovision star Sam Ryder, football star Jesse Lingard, rapper AJ Tracey and “Love Island” alum Chloe Burrows, Bourgeois will give audiences – and his guests – a

Timothy Dalton has been cast in “1923,” the “Yellowstone” prequel series coming to Paramount+. He will play Donald Whitfield, a powerful, self-confident man who reeks of wealth and the lack of empathy it requires to attain it. He is intimidating and nefarious and is used to getting what he wants. “1923” will introduce a new

Prime Video shared the official trailer for upcoming Western drama series “The English,” starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer. All six episodes of the limited series will premiere on November 11 exclusively in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordics on Prime Video, following its November 10 UK premiere on BBC Two and

On the heels of Geena Davis’ revelation that Bill Murray was allegedly inappropriate with her during the making of “Quick Change” comes a new interview with Rob Schneider claiming Murray hated “Saturday Night Live” cast members Adam Sandler and Chris Farley. Schneider was being interviewed on SiriusXM’s “The Jim Norton & Sam Roberts Show” (via

Ever since “House of the Dragon” premiered, fans have sensed queer undertones in the relationship between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. The characters were played in their younger years by Milly Alcock and Emily Carey. Carey confirmed to Variety that the actors discussed the queer intimacy that might exist between their characters. “I mean, we

“Bel-Air” is getting a new showrunner — again. The Peacock drama series is undergoing a change at the top behind the scenes for the third time as it prepares its second season at the NBCUniversal streamer. Carla Banks Waddles, who previously served as a writer and co-executive producer on Season 1, will now take over

Marin Ireland has been cast in “Sinking Spring,” the upcoming Apple TV+ drama series from Peter Craig. Ireland plays Kristy Lynne, a fiery, foul-mouthed woman entrenched deeply in a high-intensity drug trafficking area in rural Pennsylvania, who survives a life-threatening assault. As she reclaims her voice and health, she becomes obsessed with finding the culprits

“Cobra Kai” closed in on nearly 2 billion minutes viewed on Netflix in the first full week after its Season 5 launch on Sept. 9, as the streaming audience for Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and HBO’s “House of the Dragon” dipped, according to Nielsen’s newly released streaming rankings for the

“Fargo” Season 5 is rounding out its main cast with five new additions. David Rysdahl (“Oppenheimer,” “Nine Days,” “Dead Pigs”), Sam Spruell (“The North Water,” “Small Axe,” “Outlaw King”), Jessica Pohly (“SMILF,” “Goliath”), and Nick Gomez (“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” “The Walking Dead”) have all joined the fifth season of the FX anthology series. They

Amazon Freevee has ordered the docuseries “,” which follows ex-football player and high school football coach Denny Duron as he returns to once again coach the Louisiana-based team that he once led. Duron has been retired for 30 years, but decides to return to Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, La., after the one-time high school

Of all the possible outcomes facing Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” the one I didn’t see coming is that I’d end up feeling a need to defend it. Basically, everything about the show’s production (i.e. a behemoth corporation spending unfathomable amounts of money on a blatant IP grab for a streaming

Hulu has placed a 10-episode order for “Interior Chinatown,” a drama based on the award-winning book of the same name created by Charles Yu. Variety first reported the series was in development in Oct. 2020. Jimmy O. Yang will star in the series as Willis Wu, described as “a background character stuck doing work in

Netflix has given a series order to the Western action drama “The Abandons,” which hails from Kurt Sutter. The show was first reported to be in development at the streaming giant back in November 2021. Netflix has given the show a 10 episode order. The show’s official logline states: “As a group of diverse, outlier

Indira Varma has been cast as Empress Natalya in “Dune: The Sisterhood” (working title), HBO Max’s upcoming “Dune” prequel series co-produced with Legendary Television. Empress Natalya is described as a formidable royal who united thousands of worlds in her marriage to Emperor Corrino. Varma is best known for playing Ellaria Sand in four seasons of

In celebration of the Kentucky Derby’s 150th anniversary in 2024, Churchill Downs Racetrack has partnered with Roundtable Entertainment and Wrigley Media to produce the upcoming series “The Derby.” The show doesn’t yet have a telecast partner, but will be shopped to global Kentucky Derby broadcasters at the Mipcom programming conference. “There is nothing more thrilling

Actor, singer and host Keke Palmer is prepping the launch of her digital network KeyTV, which aims to spotlight a new generation of creators. Variety has learned exclusively the channel will launch on Nov. 3. Palmer had roles in two box office hits in 2022 — voicing space ranger Izzy Hawthorne in Pixar’s “Lightyear” and

In an email to Variety staff on Tuesday, Claudia Eller announced she will return to work as Variety’s Chief Production Officer, effective this week. In this new role, Eller will work closely with Variety CEO Michelle Sobrino-Stearns and Chief Operating and Marketing Officer Dea Lawrence to book and curate Variety’s award-winning live media and events programming. Eller also will also

Molly Parker (“Lost in Space”) and Brian J. Smith (“Treadstone”) have been cast in upcoming Canadian ITV Studios drama “Essex County.” Joining them as lead cast are Stephen McHattie (“October Faction”), Finlay Wojtak-Hissong (“Blood”) and Kevin Durand (“Pantheon”). Christina Piovesan, executive producer and CEO of First Generation Films unveiled the casting. The five-episode series is

Lisa Ann Walter is busy cooking dinner as we talk on the phone. “Hang on one second — I wanna flip my rigatoni into the pot, and I don’t wanna talk over it!” the “Abbott Elementary” actor laughs in the middle of answering a question. “I’m having people over from the cast tomorrow, and some

Apple TV+ shared the season two trailer for “The Mosquito Coast,” a drama series adapted from the novel of the same title, starring Justin Theroux, Melissa George, Logan Polish and Gabriel Bateman. Based on Paul Theroux’s best-selling novel, “The Mosquito Coast” Season 2 picks up on the family after barely escaping Mexico with their lives,

Trevor Noah’s days at Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” are numbered. The comedian, who is in his seventh year of hosting the signature program of the Paramount Global network, is set to depart after a final appearance on the program on Dec. 8. The timeline gives Noah a chance to anchor the program as its cast

Amazon Prime Video and BBC Studios Factual are the latest comopanies to sign up to We Are Doc Women’s pledge to commit to 50% female directors for their factual output. They follow previous signatories BBC Documentaries, Channel 4 Documentaries, Hilary Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions, Lenny Henry’s Douglas Road Productions, Gordon Ramsay’s Studio Ramsey, and Louis Theroux’s

Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions has named industry veteran Brenda Robinson as its first head of film finance and inclusion strategies. Robinson, an entertainment attorney, financier and producer, will be responsible for bringing new partners to HiddenLight’s slate of productions across film and television. Robinson’s appointment represents a number of developments in HiddenLight’s

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez has resigned her post amid a mushrooming scandal about racist comments she made about a fellow council member that were leaked on social media. On Tuesday, Martinez stepped down from her role as council president in light of the outcry over her comments, which were secretly recorded in October

In late summer 2020, “The Vow” emerged as a creepily potent hit docuseries, which grew virally as it rolled out. Plunging deep within little-understood “self-help group”-turned-cult NXIVM to examine the hold leader Keith Raniere had over his acolytes, the documentary series excelled when depicted sympathetic people in situations the average viewer likely could not imagine.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to end its long-running writers and directors training program, which the conglom announced Tuesday as part of a series of layoffs and budget cuts at Warner Bros. TV Group, drew a strong rebuke from different parts of the industry, including a stinging statement on Wednesday by the Directors Guild of America.

Zooey Deschanel will be joining the cast of “Physical” for Season 3, Variety has learned. She joins a cast that includes Rose Byrne, Dierdre Friel, Della Saba, Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Sparks, Ashley Liao and Geoffrey Arend. Deschanel will play Kelly, described as “a former sitcom star who jumps into the burgeoning fitness industry.” According

If you’re someone of a certain (gay) persuasion, all I have to say about “High School” to pique your interest is that it’s a) a new coming-of-age drama about twin musicians Tegan and Sara Quin that’s b) based on Tegan and Sara’s own memoir, c) co-stars Cobie Smulders as their mother and d) was created

Alex Jones has been ordered to pay a total of $965 million in damages to the plaintiffs of the defamation trial surrounding his lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. The 15 plaintiffs of the case included the relatives of eight Sandy Hook victims, as well as a former FBI agent suing Jones.