After being ousted from his post as Disney’s head of TV content, Peter Rice sent a final memo to staffers. The news came Thursday morning as a shock to the industry, including many at Disney. Rice is being replaced by his top lieutenant, Dana Walden, who continues forward as one of Hollywood’s most powerful executives.
Television
In an industry where many executives are quick to tout their own accomplishments, Peter Rice was known for turning down opportunities to take a public victory lap. The soft-spoken British executive, who was ousted on Wednesday from the top TV job at Disney, has a reputation for quietly cultivating relationships with producers and directors such
Antonio Campos’ depiction of documentary filmmakers Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and Sophie Brunet in HBO Max’s “The Staircase” has led to a public dispute over their portrayal in the miniseries adaptation. But now, the real-life main subject of both series – Michael Peterson – is speaking out in an exclusive series of emails to Variety. Peterson’s
The “Dead Boy Detectives” series at HBO Max has brought on Beth Schwartz to serve as co-showrunner and executive producer, Variety has learned exclusively. Schwartz will now co-showrun the series with Steve Yockey. This is not the first time Schwartz has been at the helm of a show based on a DC property, as she served
The trailer for “,” the HBO Max docuseries about the titular Latin American boy band, has been released. Directed by filmmakers Angel Manuel Soto and Kristofer Ríos, the four-part docuseries follows the rise of Menudo, a Puerto Rican musical group formed in 1977 by producer Edgardo Díaz that became one of the most popular boy
When Dick Wolf kicked off the “One Chicago” world on NBC in 2012 with “Chicago Fire” — a spinoff of the “Law & Order” universe — it was a bit of a boys’ club. Derek Haas, Matt Olmstead and Michael Brandt led “Fire” as showrunners; less than two years later, “Chicago P.D.” premiered with Olmstead
The membership of WGA East has ratified a change to the union’s constitution, cementing a compromise between traditional TV and film writers and newer members who work in digital media. The amendment passed overwhelmingly, with 98% of the votes in favor. Turnout was 24%. The constitutional change creates three “work sectors” within the union: Film/TV/Streaming,
What does it mean to be a Time 100 honoree? For Jon Batiste, who recently dominated the Grammy Awards with five wins and a colorful performance of “Freedom,” he emphasized the importance of leaning into one’s power. “Lean into yourself because that’s your superpower,” Batiste told Variety on Wednesday night at the Time 100 Gala
After the shocking news that Peter Rice has been ousted as the head of TV content for Disney, and will be replaced by his top lieutenant, Dana Walden, media insiders are left scratching their heads and speculating about the behind-the-scenes dealmaking taking place. For the uninitiated, Variety has put together a primer on the incoming
Jeff Frost is stepping down from his role as president of Sony Pictures Television Studios. Frost has held the position as the studio’s chief for the past five years. He was appointed by Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra following the exits of former presidents Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht for their
MotorTrend Group, a Warner Bros. Discovery company, has given a greenlight to “Super Turbo Story Time,” an all-new adult animated series telling larger than life, untold and (mostly) true stories from the automative world, it announced Thursday. The eight-episode series, the first adult animated title in the history of MotorTrend, will be produced with legendary
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Author Jenny Han on Becoming a Showrunner for the First Time: ‘It Was a Baptism by Fire’ With the June 17 debut of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Jenny Han’s career has taken another big leap forward. The bestselling YA author of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” had
In 2008, after eight seasons in her breakout role as the star of “Girlfriends,” what Tracee Ellis Ross really wanted was to do it all over again. Fourteen years later, she has — and with more freedom than ever. As the 2022 Emmy campaigns ramp up, Ross reflected on the legacy of “Black-ish,” the ABC
Welcome to Variety’s Writer Family Tree. In this series, we take an established showrunner and look back on some of the shows they have created and the writers that have worked for them. Many of those writers have since gone on to successful careers of their own and have carried lessons from those early days in
Apple has formally ordered the drama series “Sugar” starring Colin Farrell to series, Variety has learned. It was first reported in December 2021 that Apple had won the rights to the series in a competitive situation, though it had not officially been ordered to series at that time. Exact plot details for the show remain under
The Disney+ series “The Muppets Mayhem” has cast both Anders Holm and Saara Chaudry, Variety has learned. The duo are the latest (human) cast members announced for the series, joining previously announced stars Lilly Singh and Tahj Mowry. The comedy series follows The Electric Mayhem Band — Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums,
Hulu has ordered four new food series from David Chang’s Majordomo Media and Vox Media Studios, including a drag queen-themed dinner party competition from Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, “Drag Me to Dinner,” as well as the shows “Secret Chef,” “Burning Men,” and “Chefs vs. Wild.” These shows join Hulu’s other shows produced under
Billy Eichner and Mae Martin have called out Netflix’s support of Dave Chappelle’s jokes about queer and trans people — in a comedy special released by Netflix itself. Both comedians appear in “Stand Out: An LGBTQ Celebration,” which debuted on June 9 after being taped at Netflix Is a Joke Fest in May. The event,
In a shocking turn of events, Peter Rice has been ousted as head of TV content for Disney, to be replaced by his top lieutenant, Dana Walden. The move enhances Walden’s stature as one of the most powerful and prominent executives in the content business. Within Disney, it elevates Walden over her longtime peer John
Jennifer Aniston has starred in her fair share of rom-coms over the years, from “The Break Up” to “Just Go With It” and “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Now, she may have discovered her newest rom-com co-lead in Sebastian Stan. The two joined forced for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, presented by Apple TV+.
Canada’s Amcomri Entertainment has belatedly announced that it has acquired the assets of Australia- and U.K.-based Flame Media, a distributor and library owner of factual and documentary TV content. Flame Media has approximately 2,200 hours and more than 500 titles of high-end factual programming in its library. Its key library titles include: “Outback Truckers” and “Outback Opal
South Korean TV network MBN is to give a weekly primetime slot this summer to a localized version of studio-based reality show “Mystery Duets.” The concept sees the nation’s most famous singers and celebrities perform a duet without knowing with whom they share the stage. It is only in the middle of the song that
President Joe Biden appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Wednesday night to discuss the recent string of mass shootings in the U.S., including one in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 elementary school children and two teachers dead. During the conversation, Kimmel asks Biden: “Can’t you issue an executive order? Trump passed those out like Halloween candy.”
A judge in New York State Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against former ABC News producer Michael Corn, who was alleged to have sexually assaulted a subordinate and to have created a toxic work environment at ABC News. In August of last year, Kirstyn Crawford, a producer who worked with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos,
When Iman Vellani booked the role of Kamala Khan — the Pakistani American teen superhero also known as Ms. Marvel — it was the first acting gig for the 19-year-old newcomer. But in assuming the mantle, Vellani also took on the responsibility of playing the first titular Muslim superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “I’m
Ellen DeGeneres’ emotional goodbye to daytime ended her flagship talk show on a ratings high note. The May 26 series finale of “Ellen” yielded a season high 1.8 rating among adults 18-49, according to live + same day Nielsen data. The number marks a 30 percent improvement from the ratings of the show at the
Early in the first episode of AMC’s new series “Dark Winds,” Zahn McClarnon’s Joe Leaphorn advises Kiowa Gordon’s Jim Chee about a way to get ahead when investigating crimes on a Navajo reservation. Leaphorn’s been doing this for a while, and isn’t impressed by his new deputy’s credentials, or his naked ambition; sometimes, pragmatic approaches
Before finalizing Discovery’s purchase of WarnerMedia from AT&T, David Zaslav spent months holding friendly conversations with Hollywood moguls and influential agents. Now he’s locked in contentious discussions with Madison Avenue. Warner Bros. Discovery is making what media buyers and other executives say are severe demands on advertisers in the course of discussions around the industry’s
BBH Entertainment, the entertainment development arm of creative agency BBH USA, said it named producer and development executive Ali Fazel as its new senior vice president and head of development and current programming. Fazel will report toAmani Duncan, CEO of BBH USA, and and Rafa Rizuto, chief content officer. Fazel will lead BBH Entertainment’s development
“The Challenge” director of photography Bruce Ready is no stranger to braving the elements for the MTV competition series. But for the show’s 37th season, titled “Spies, Lies and Allies,” Ready faced one of his biggest challenges yet navigating the minefield challenge in Episode 5 — during a torrential rainstorm. The episode required each team