Coming off a lot of Emmys love, ABC comedy “Abbott Elementary” went back in session Wednesday with a Season 2 premiere that kept pace with its freshman finale last spring. According to timezone-adjusted Nielsen Live + Same Day data, Episode 1 of Season 2 averaged a 0.6 rating among adults ages 18-49 and 2.8 million
Television
Martin Short and Shania Twain are in final talks to join ABC’s “Beauty and the Beast” special. Sources tell Variety that Short would play Lumière while Twain will take on the role of Mrs. Potts in “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration.” The news comes just days after Variety exclusively reported that David Alan
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The Kardashians returns this week for a second season of their revamped reality series “The Kardashians.” When the new iteration of the reality show debuted on Hulu last April, it was the first time
Jerome Flynn has been cast in “1923,” Paramount+’s upcoming “Yellowstone” prequel series from Taylor Sheridan. “1923” will introduce a new generation of the Dutton family and explore the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west and the Duttons who call it home.
“Kim’s Convenience” producer Thunderbird Entertainment Group has appointed Nelson Huynh as director of distribution sales. Huynh will license Thunderbird’s animated and live-action kids series from Atomic Cartoons and primetime scripted series to broadcasters and streamers with a focus on Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America and Asia. Reporting to Richard Goldsmith, president of
Vince Gilligan’s next series has landed at Apple with a two-season straight-to-series order. In addition, “Better Call Saul” star Rhea Seehorn is attached to star in the series in the lead role. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps. Gilligan created the series and will serve as executive producer and showrunner. Jeff Frost and
NBA veteran Rex Chapman is turning his podcast “Charges with Rex Chapman” into a TV show. Like the podcast, the new series will come from Portal A and Steve Nash’s CTRL Media. Chapman spent 12 years in the NBA, playing for the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Bullets, Miami Heat and Phoenix Sun. But he later struggled with
Netflix has unveiled first look images of Darren Star’s Emmy-nominated hit show “Emily in Paris” season three. The show’s third and fourth seasons are currently filming in France. Netflix will be unveiling some special news on “Emily in Paris” on Sept. 24 during its virtual Tudum event. The third season brings back producer and star
It may be the first day of fall, but for Hallmark Channel, that means it’s only one month away from their annual “Countdown to Christmas” and “Miracles of Christmas” events. Variety can exclusively reveal the 40 new movies coming this holiday season — 31 on Hallmark and 9 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Beginning Friday,
Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean is set to host a new reality competition series, “The Fashion Hero: A New Kind of Beautiful.” The series will see twenty-two diverse contestants compete in a bid to “break traditional standards and define a new kind of beauty.” The contestants will be split into four teams, each guided by a
Jeff Garlin revealed he has bipolar disorder on Instagram, writing in a post: “Bipolar is a motherfucker. Sometimes it’s just too much to deal with. I’m doing the best I can. This the first time that I’ve opened up about this.” Garlin shared the message the same day as “The Goldbergs” Season 10 premiere, in
Variety has named its inaugural 10 Artisans to Watch. The honorees will be feted at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Oct. 27. With the event, Variety is looking to spotlight the behind-the-scenes artists that are invaluable to this year’s best films and shows and are rising stars in their fields. The 10 artisans selected are cinematographer
Field Yates thinks fantasy football is catching up in popularity to the real thing. “If you watch ‘SportsCenter though to the end, I’d bet if you put on an hour, there’s a pretty good chance, better than 50-50 you’re going to see at least one segment of fantasy sports,” he says in a recent interview.”
“Heartstopper,” Netflix’s hit teenage romantic drama, has started production on Season 2 in the U.K., with four new cast members joining the series based on Alice Oseman’s best selling graphic novels about the budding love story between the bashful Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and the earnest Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). Jack Barton (Netflix’s “The Letter
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The Emmy-winning Netflix series “Squid Game” is set be the most popular TV-inspired Halloween for the second year in a row. According to data collected by CasinoTop10, Squid Game costumes outnumbered Google searches for
An English-language reimagining of the world of Sergio Corbucci’s cult 1966 spaghetti western “Django,” which launched the career of Italian icon Franco Nero, is set to launch from the Rome Film Festival in October. The high–concept TV series, titled “Django,” will play in 2023 exclusively on Sky and its streaming service NOW in all countries
A pre-school series produced by Ireland’s Paper Panther Productions, “Little Whale” was one of the early-breakouts at this year’s Cartoon Forum. Following their Tuesday pitch, series director Carol Freeman and producer Chris Hees greeted a steady stream of French studios and U.K. buyers, among others, auguring a bright future for the maritime project. Paper Panther
Filming for the fourth season of the Sky Original series “Das Boot” wrapped in Malta last week, and the first look images have been released. NBCUniversal Global Distribution is handling international sales of the series, which is produced by Bavaria Fiction, on behalf of Sky Studios. In Season 4, which is coming to Sky’s premium
Ben Stephenson’s new transatlantic scripted label Poison Pen Studios has tapped Sky Studios exec Preethi Mavahalli as its new creative director. Before joining Sky, Mavahalli was at indie Mammoth Screen, where she as director of drama she developed and executive produced hits including “The Serpent,” “Noughts + Crosses” and “The War of the Worlds.” She
BUSAN AWARD Korean film producer Baek Jaeho has been named as the inaugural recipient of the Choon-yun Award, a prize set up in honor of Lee Choon-yun, the late chairman of the Korean Association of Film Art & Industry. The award, worth KRW10 million ($7,100), will be presented on the sidelines of the Busan International
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 8 season premiere, part one, of “The Masked Singer,” which aired Sept. 21 on Fox. Two legends exited “The Masked Singer” in week 1 of the show’s Season 8 — and both have a lot to say about it. “Monty Python” star
You know how they always say this is the most dramatic finale in “Bachelor” history? Well, this really might have been it. “The Bachelorette” Season 19 began with leading ladies Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey both in seemingly happy relationships, with each only having one suitor left — for Rachel, it was Tino Franco; and
School is back in session at “Abbott Elementary,” this time with high-profile guest stars such Leslie Odom Jr. and … Gritty, the famous mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers. The fuzzy orange hockey supporter plays himself in the Season 2 premiere, titled “Development Day.” Janine, the second grade teacher played by series creator and recent Emmy
ABC is celebrating Norman Lear’s 100th birthday with a television special on Sept. 22. Variety was on hand for exclusive interviews with Lear and his starry guests as they made their way into the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel earlier this month for the filming of the show, “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter.” Lear, who
After locking a multi-picture deal with cable network Great American Family, actor Danica McKellar is slated to executive produce her debut holiday feature for the channel, “Christmas at the Drive-In,” this holiday season. McKellar will also co-star in the film alongside fellow actor Neal Bledsoe, both of whom previously worked together in the Hallmark Channel
There are changes coming to Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. Both Guy Lockard and Sarah Rafferty, who portrayed Dr. Dylan Scott and Dr. Pamela Blake, respectively, are leaving NBC’s “Chicago Med,” Variety confirms. Additionally, Yaya DaCosta, who exited the show in 2021 after six seasons, has returned as April Sexton. During the Season 8 premiere Dylan
It takes six episodes for “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (yes, that is indeed the show’s full name) to meaningfully expand beyond the scope of either the serial killer or Evan Peters’ portrayal of him. In that episode, “Silenced,” directed by Paris Barclay and written by Janet Mock and David McMillan, the story
This week’s season finale of “The Bachelorette” saw a happy ending for leading lady, Gabby Windey, who received a proposal from her final suitor, Erich Schwer. But despite the couple’s engagement, their road to find love on reality TV was not without controversy — and not just the on-screen drama you expect from a dating
Albert Cheng has been promoted to vice president of Amazon Prime Video U.S. He most recently served as chief operating officer of Amazon Studios. The news came Wednesday in a staff memo written by Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. Cheng enters the newly created position effective immediately and will
The rescue, in summer 2018, of a youth soccer team and their coach from a flooded cave system in Thailand remains one of the most outright inspiring stories of recent years. Amidst intense interest and scrutiny, an international team came up with a plan to anesthetize the boys and maneuver them out of the flooded