Television

CBS’ biggest reality stars are facing off on the upcoming season of “The Challenge: USA.” In the first trailer, shared exclusively with Variety, host T.J Lavin sets up the show with one of his famous speeches. “Extraordinary athleticism. High-octane drama. ‘The Challenge’ is more than a game; it’s a chance to go down in reality television

“The Lincoln Lawyer” series has been renewed for Season 2 at Netflix. The series adaptation of the book series by Michael Connelly debuted its first season back in May. The first season consisted of 10 episodes and was based on the book “The Brass Verdict.” Season 2 will also be 10 episodes and will be

Mediawan Kids and Family’s Method Animation, the prestige animation label behind “The Little Prince,” is set to reboot “Le Manège Enchanté” (“The Magic Roundabout”), the iconic 1960’s French stop-motion animation series. The new show, whose first season will comprise 52 episodes of 11 minutes each, will be aimed at a pre-school audiences. Founded by Aton

Amber Heard spoke with NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie on “Today” on Tuesday, doubling down on her innocence and responding to many of the claims made about her during her trial against former husband Johnny Depp. When referencing the verdict, in which Depp largely came out the winner, Heard said that the process has been “surreal

DOCUMENTARIES U.K. TV producer Content Kings and production finance broker and distribution agent Silverlining Rights have revealed a raft of international pre-sales for “Diana: The Ultimate Truth” (1×60’), a documentary which investigates the circumstances leading up to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, 25 years ago. Despite a verdict of unlawful killing and two

U.K. broadcaster ITV has acquired a majority 79.5% stake in leading natural history program producer Plimsoll Productions. The deal values Plimsoll at £131 million ($161 million) and ITV will pay £104 million ($127 million) in cash for the stake. Founded in Bristol in 2013, the BAFTA, Emmy and Academy award winning Plimsoll has produced hundreds

The Walt Disney Company’s streaming video service Disney+ will be available in 42 new countries and 11 new territories this week following the launch on Tuesday in Greece, Turkey and countries in Central Eastern Europe, including Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Croatia. Tuesday’s series of launches follow the arrival of the service in South

Martin Luther King III will host a new docuseries produced by Calabasas Film and Media, the company announced Monday. Titled “Protect/Serve,” the series sees King, the oldest child of revered civil right activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., moderate a series of conversations with law enforcement officials, activists, grass-roots organization founders, DAs and other prominent

Mehcad Brooks is suiting up to play a detective in “Law and Order” Season 22 at NBC, Variety has learned. Brooks joins a returning cast that includes franchise veteran Sam Waterston as well as Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim, Hugh Dancy, and Odelya Halevi. It was previously announced that Anthony Anderson, who returned for Season 21,

The sophomore slump is, as history has shown, a real thing. The first season of “Hacks” earned an Emmy for Jean Smart and a nom for Hannah Einbinder — so the new season had to step it up. And that’s exactly what the writers did, kicking things into high gear — literally — as Deborah

Renewals and trailer debuts were on the agenda for Netflix this week and the strategy paid off with viewers. On Variety’s Trending TV chart for the week of June 6 to 12, the streaming service secured eight of the Top 10 spots with overall mentions and engagements on Twitter. “Stranger Things” was this week’s winner

Since launching its mobile games offering to members seven months ago, Netflix has released a total of 23 titles. The streamer is debuting its “Queen’s Gambit” game later this year and has revealed plans to make other games based on popular Netflix IP — including “Shadow and Bone,” “Too Hot to Handle” and “Money Heist”

Is Alex ready to fully move on from the past? On Season 3 of Apple TV+‘s “The Morning Show,” that may be e the case — at least Jennifer Aniston hopes so. “I think it’s time to see Alex find some love and some passion,” Aniston exclusively tells Variety. “She could put the controls down and

“Tanaav,” the Indian adaptation of hit Israeli series “Fauda,” will debut on streamer SonyLIV. Set in Kashmir in 2017 and shot on locations there, “Tanaav,” which means tension, chaos, stress, tells the story of a Special Covert Ops Unit over 12 episodes. It is produced by Applause Entertainment, the content studio of the Aditya Birla

Carlos Valdes will star opposite Mae Whitman in the upcoming Hulu series “Up Here.” The series received an eight-episode order at Hulu back in January. It is described as a musical romantic comedy set in New York City in the waning days of 1999. It follows the extraordinary story of one ordinary couple, as they

A+E Studios is developing a series adaptation of the Peter Bognanni book “Things I’m Seeing Without You” with Alyssa Milano onboard to write, Variety has learned exclusively.  Milano will executive produce in addition to writing the project. Peter Farrelly, who won two Oscars in 2019 for his work on “Green Book,” will direct and executive

Broadway returned to broadcast — and streaming — on Sunday with the 75th annual Tony Awards. The show’s first-ever live coast-to-coast telecast drew 3.86 million viewers for its three-hour portion on CBS, according to special time-zone adjusted Live + Same Day Nielsen data. Like last year’s special edition in September, the four-hour ceremony kicked off

James Corden will be heading back to the U.K. after he wraps on “The Late Late Show” next spring, according to his Fulwell 73 co-founder Ben Turner. Turner, a founding partner of Corden’s production company, told Variety he’s “really excited to get James back in the U.K.” Turner was speaking as part of the Banff World

CAA’s strategic consulting service CAA Social Impact has struck a partnership with global sustainability company Aspiration to provide sustainability services, carbon reduction services and customer-centric climate impact solutions to corporate, sports and entertainment industry brands, Variety has learned exclusively. Per the companies, “CAA Social Impact and Aspiration recognize the importance of sustainability as a winning business

Bret Baier is gearing up for something that may surprise Fox News aficionados and its cable rivals: a debate event that features two U.S. Senators with distinctly opposing views who say they just want to talk things out. Baier will at noon on Fox Nation moderate the first event from The Senate Project, in which

The creators and executive producers of the beloved FXX series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” are taking their podcast to the live stage for the first time. Glenn Howerton (Dennis), Charlie Day (Charlie) and Rob McElhenney (Mac) will bring “The Always Sunny Podcast” to the Bourbon and Beyond festival in Louisville, Ky., on Sept. 17,

The Croatian film and TV sector is expected to get a financial boost of more than 5 million HRK ($697,200) from international streaming platforms through the Croatian Electronic Media Act, which came into effect in October 2021, the Croatian Audiovisual Center (HAVC) has told Film New Europe. Netflix is expected to participate with 3 million

Amber Heard has given her first sit-down interview following the verdict in her latest legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp. Last month a jury in Virginia ruled she had defamed Depp in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed published under her byline. In the op-ed, she spoke about being a victim of domestic violence. The “Aquaman”

Packages of TV and digital rights for the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, one the world’s richest sporting events, have been sold for a combined $5 billion, according to several reports. The successful bidders have not been named as the auction, which started on Sunday is ongoing and may run to a third day. The

Italian playwright Stefano Massini’s “The Lehman Trilogy,” which just won five Tony Awards including the prize for best play, is set to become a high-end TV series to be produced by Italy’s Fandango and The Apartment, the outfits behind HBO’s Elena Ferrante adaptation “My Brilliant Friend.” The TV project, originated by Italian producer Domenico Procacci’s

The U.K.’s most prominent television and film unions have issued a joint letter opposing the privatization of public service broadcaster Channel 4. The Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU), which is comprised of crew union Bectu, performing arts union Equity, the National Union of Journalists, the Musicians’ Union and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, together

SkyShowtime — the joint venture between Comcast and Paramount Global — has unveiled key hires for the European streaming service, including its head of programming. BBC Select executive Jon Farrar has been named head of programming, Variety can reveal. The executive joins from BBC Studios, where he led the direct-to-consumer programming strategy in his dual role as global

Nickelodeon is launching its Intergalactic Shorts Program 2.0 which opens its search for new and diverse creators from across the globe, Ramsey Naito, president of Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation, announced Monday. The Intergalactic Shorts Program 2.0 will focus on new voices and nurturing their vision for original comedy-drive content with an eye to representation,

France’s “The Tern,” “Phil & Sophia” and “Nino Dino,” along with Spain’s “Zoey Oceans,” Poland’s “Happy not Lucky,” Ireland’s “Natu Natu,” and Romania’s “Karma” lead a packed 84-title line-up of animated TV projects to pitch at the 2022 Cartoon Forum. It will take place in Toulouse, Southern France, over Sept. 19-22. “The Tern” is a 10-episode half-hour from Paris-based family entertainment company

Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you haven’t watched “starting now,” the Season 3 finale of “Barry,” now streaming on HBO Max. After three seasons of barely getting away with his many crimes, Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) has finally been caught. Season 3 of Hader and Alec Berg’s increasingly dark comedy series “Barry” ends with