Television

SUN VALLEY, Idaho — The Elon Musk watch is on. The first full day of Allen & Co.’s exclusive conference and retreat for the wealthy and well-connected concluded Wednesday at the luxe Sun Valley resort. Even among the assembled 1%-ers, there was anticipation for the arrival of the maverick leader of Tesla and SpaceX, who

Jerry Harris, the former star of hit Netflix docuseries “Cheer,” has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for soliciting sex from minors. Per USA Today, Harris’ sentencing comes five months after the former reality star plead guilty to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old in a bathroom during a cheer competition and paying a 17-year-old

Fram makes it clear that, while CMT is doing its part by guaranteeing 50% of airplay on all its cable and digital platforms to women, she’s puzzled by why her former cohorts in the radio world aren’t following along with even more modest efforts to ensure a place at the table for female artists. “I

Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams, comedian and creator of “The Ms. Pat Show,” has signed a multi-year overall deal with BET. Under the deal, Ms. Pat will produce and perform in series across BET brands, such as BET+, where “The Ms. Pat Show” airs. The series is based on Ms. Pat’s own life experiences and her

The second season of Netflix’s “The Ultimatum,” featuring an all-queer, mostly female cast, is coming very soon. “We’ve already filmed Season 2. We’re in edit on Season 2 right now,” Chris Coelen, executive producer and CEO of Kinetic Content, tells Variety. “It’s really exciting. I am deep, deep into post [production] on the show now,

Start your engines and mark your calendars for July 30. “RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under” is back with 10 all-new queens. From queens who have conquered the Perth drag scene to Sydney drag royalty, the second season of the show promises to be undeniably thrilling as they go head-to-head in the hopes of taking home

Science fiction (and speculative fiction, its bespectacled cousin) have always been uniquely fertile ground for political allegory. And sci-fi’s metaphorical potential only grows stronger when the politics and culture of real-life society start to resemble the surreality of a dark parallel universe or an alternate history. That frisson of topicality is what made Hulu’s “The

Apple’s upcoming limited series “The Big Cigar” has cast P.J. Byrne in a series regular role, Variety has learned exclusively. The six-episode series stars André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton. It is based on the Playboy magazine article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman and tells the true story of how

Five years after the conclusion of his critically-acclaimed Comedy Central series “Nathan for You,” Nathan Fielder is back in front of the camera with HBO’s “The Rehearsal.” On Wednesday, the pay cabler released the trailer for the new show. In the series, Fielder visits real people who need to undergo a difficult conversation of some

Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you haven’t watched “The Piggyback,” the final episode of “Stranger Things 4,” now streaming on Netflix. Season 4 of “Stranger Things” ends on the show’s most bittersweet note yet, with the crew barely managing to scrape together a (seemingly temporary) victory against main villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in

Universal Studio Group chairman Pearlena Igbokwe, Alex Kurtzman and Warner Bros. Television have been announced as the special achievement honorees for the 4th annual AAFCA TV Honors. Hosted by the African American Film Critics Association, the AAFCA TV honors recognize achievement in television, with an emphasis on entertainment representing the Black diaspora. At the invitation-only

Taron Egerton is at the center of Apple’s new drama “Black Bird,” a show that asks him, foremost, to be a reactive force. Tangled in the prison system after his plan to plead out for a short narcotics-charge sentence blows up, Egerton’s Jimmy Keene is offered the opportunity to get out. His freedom depends on

Disney+ has commenced production on Italian original series “The Lions of Sicily,” a family saga based on Stefania Auci’s bestseller “The Florios of Sicily.” Principal photography has started in Rome and will take place between there and Sicily. It is directed by Paolo Genovese (“Superheroes”). Set between 1800 and 1861, the eight-part series follows the

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched the Season 3 finale of “The Challenge: All Stars,” streaming now on Paramount+. Another season of Paramount Plus’ “The Challenge: All Stars” is in the books — and two people are $250,000 richer. The season finale, which dropped on Wednesday morning, picked up where the

British detective drama “Dalgliesh” is set to return after getting a second season order from AMC Networks’ Acorn TV and Channel 5. The second season, which will consist of six episodes, will be based on three more P.D. James novels with Bertie Carvel (“Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell”) reprising his role as the enigmatic chief

The completion of CAA’s acquisition of ICM Partners last month set Hollywood buzzing about the future of the agency world, as the mega consolidation turned the Big Four (CAA, ICM, WME and UTA) into the Big Three. The deal’s 10-month delayed close was immediately followed by news that more than 100 ICM staffers would not

James Rooke, a cable-industry veteran, has been named president of Comcast Advertising, the ad-sales arm of Comcast Corp. He will replace longtime chief Marcien Jenckes, who has taken a new role overseeing a new streaming joint venture for Comcast and Charter Communications. In his new role, Rooke will oversee operations of ad-sales and ad-tech businesses

Mona Hammond, a former “EastEnders” star and West End trailblazer, has died. She was 91. No cause of death has been given. Hammond was best known for playing “EastEnders” matriarch Blossom on the long-running British soap opera as well as co-founding the Black British theater company Talawa alongside Yvonne Brewster, Carmen Munroe and Inigo Espejel

British comedian, actor and screenwriter Jamie Demetriou, winner of four BAFTAs for Channel 4/HBO Max sitcom “Stath Lets Flats,” has inked a creative partnership with BBC Studios. The multi-year agreement will see Demetriou co-develop and co-produce new projects through BBC Studios’ production scripted portfolio and his own People Day Limited. In “Stath Lets Flats,” written

Amazon Prime Video has canceled “Night Sky,” its science-fiction series starring Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons. Amazon Studios and Legendary Television co-produced the series’ first season. The decision to not move forward with another installment comes about six weeks after the first season premiered all eight of its episodes on the streamer May 20. “Night

SUN VALLEY, Idaho — David Zaslav was upbeat as he arrived in Sun Valley, Idaho on Tuesday for Allen & Co.’s gathering of business media and tech moguls. The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO had kind words for Netflix and “Stranger Things,” and he told reporters that he expects the annual summit to be “a great

Teri Hendrich Cusumano went into contract negotiations with the major studios with the goal of making major gains for animation color designers. Such workers choose the color palette for animated films and TV shows, and traditionally they have tended to be women. They have also been paid about $300 per week less than the designers

Nickelodeon has elevated Sabrina Caluori to executive vice president and head of marketing and brand strategy. She enters the role as Jenny Wall exits as chief marketing officer, having stepped down this week. Caluori previously served as senior vice president of brand and content strategy. She will now lead on- and off-air consumer marketing and

“Million Dollar Listing New York” — a key installment in Bravo’s long-running real estate franchise — won’t be returning anytime soon, sources tell Variety. Bravo never uses the word “canceled,” instead considering series to be “paused,” since it sometimes brings shows back years later, as was the case with the revived “Real Housewives of Miami” on

Halfway through Summer, networks are already gearing up for fall TV. While it will still be a few months until broadcasters NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and the CW air their new and returning fall series, the networks have revealed the debut dates for the shows on their respective lineups. Below Variety has rounded up the

Brett Goldstein has signed with WME for representation, Variety has learned. He continues to be repped by Mosaic and Hansen Jacobson in the US, as well as B-Side Management and LARK in the UK. Goldstein is best known to American audiences for his breakout role as veteran footballer turned coach Roy Kent in the Apple sports

David Harbour isn’t precious when it comes to the future of his fan-favorite “Stranger Things” character Jim Hopper. In a recent interview with GQ magazine, the actor said he is eager to see another performer take over the role should series creators Matt and Ross Duffer decide to create a spinoff series centered on the

HBO Max on Tuesday released the official trailer for “Rap Sh!t,” an original comedy series from from Emmy nominee Issa Rae (“Insecure”). The series premiere on July 21 with two episodes at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET. The eight-episode season continues with one episode weekly until September 1. The series follows two estranged high school

Peacock’s upcoming mystery thriller “The Resort” will hold its world premiere at San Diego Comic-Con, the streamer revealed on Monday. A special advance screening of the first episode will be held on Saturday, July 23, at 5:30 p.m., followed by a panel discussion with creator Andy Siara and stars William Jackson Harper, Cristin Milioti, Luis

After pledging $4 million to Brandeis University over “guilt” about the lack of racial diversity on “Friends,” co-creator Marta Kauffman is now expressing regret over how the show represented another demographic: transgender people. In an interview with The Conversation on the BBC World Service that will air on July 11, Kauffman called it a “mistake”