Susan Sarandon and Fat Joe are set to lead the voice cast of the animated comedy series “The Movers” in development at Fox, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is based on an original idea by Sarandon, her son Jack Henry Robbins, and Danielle Uhlarik. All three are credited as co-creators and executive producers, with
Television
Powerhouse producers Valeriy Fedorovich and Evgeniy Nikishov, the creative duo behind Netflix’s first Russian original series, “Anna K,” quietly left 1-2-3 Production in early March and are now focused on their Moscow-based shingle MC2. Though the announcement was formally made just days removed from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Fedorovich said the plan to leave the
The BBC Board has said it “welcomes” the government’s mid-term charter review, which will examine the governance and regulation of the BBC. The process, which will take 12 months, will be undertaken by “officials” from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which is currently led by minister Nadine Dorries. At the end of the
Jimmy Kimmel broke down in tears during a monologue on his ABC late night series in which he addressed the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. The school shooting left 21 people dead, including 19 kids. Kimmel opened the May 25 episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” without a studio audience and demanded Texas senators
CASTING Nomzamo Mbatha (“Coming 2 America”) is set to star in period drama “Shaka Ilembe” about the iconic African king. The series is set in 1700s and will also star Lemogang Tsipa and newcomer Ntando Zondi, who will both play Shaka at different ages, Thembinkosi Mthembu as King Dingiswayo and Senzo Radebe as King Senzangakhona.
Omar Chaparro, one of Mexico’s top talents, has signed with Authentic Talent & Literary Management. The actor, comedian, TV host and singer is looking to expand his international presence and appeal to audiences across a variety of mediums. His past credits include films such as Mexico’s fourth highest grossing film of all time, “No Manches Frida,”
Lifetime has delayed the premiere of Mckenna Grace’s horror film “The Bad Seed Returns” in light of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The network confirmed to Variety that “The Bad Seed Returns” will now premiere later in 2022. Lifetime has notified the Television Academy that the film will no longer debut during the eligibility
When Maisie Williams was first offered “Pistol” — the FX limited series created by Craig Pearce and directed by Danny Boyle, about punk rock band the Sex Pistols for FX — she knew little about the band or the world of 1970s counterculture London that surrounded them. But the “Game of Thrones” star was instantly
Anna Konkle, Lisa Zwerling, and Katherine Collins are the official mentors of ScreenCraft’s 2023 pilot competition. Additionally, Colin Trevorrow and Emily V. Gordon have joined ScreenCraft’s annual Writers Summit as speakers. Konkle, Zwerling and Collins will each select one grand prize winner from the pilot competition, which is accepting submissions through Sept. 30 and will
Josh Duggar, who appeared on the TLC reality series “19 Kids and Counting,” has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. The sentencing was announced Wednesday, after Duggar was found guilty by a Fayetteville, Ark. jury last December. Duggar will spend 151 months in prison, and after
Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s directing debut has finally found a home: BET+ has picked up “B-Boy Blues,” which will debut on the streamer on June 9 in time for Pride Month. As part of the pickup, Mona Scott-Young and her Monami Entertainment has joined the film as a producer and was instrumental in getting
TV’s “upfront” ad-sales market is starting to move — and earlier than expected. Just days after the networks wrapped glitzy programming presentations to Madison Avenue executives, Walt Disney Co. is said to have written some business with at least one major media buying agency, according to three executives familiar with recent discussions. Disney is “ahead
A “Speed Racer” live-action series is in the works at Apple with J.J. Abrams onboard as an executive producer, Variety has learned. Apple has given the project, which has been in the works for a considerable amount of time, a series order. Ron Fitzgerald and Hiram Martinez are attached to write and executive produce in
Steve Kazanjian is exiting as president/CEO of Promax after more than seven years. He’ll be replaced by Stacy La Cotera, who currently serves as GM and executive producer at the org, where she’s worked for almost 14 years. Kazanjian will continue to serve as a consultant to the marketing trade association over the next few
BET+’s “Martin: The Reunion” has been given a premiere date: The special, which reunites the cast of the iconic 1990s Fox sitcom, will debut June 16 on the streamer. That’s one of several summer premiere dates BET+ is set to announce on Wednesday, Variety has learned exclusively. According to BET+, the 90-minute reunion brings back
Fans have been waiting nearly three years for the return of “Stranger Things” — and Netflix execs have too. The show’s Season 4 arrival couldn’t come at a better time for the streamer, which could use a boost from its crown jewel series after a tumultuous spring. Here’s the good news for Netflix: With 9.5
The Pearsons have left the airwaves, and their Tuesday farewell party put up big primetime returns for NBC. The series finale of “This Is Us” averaged a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 and 6 million total viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen data. Final results will be in later Wednesday, at which time Variety will update
In the ever-changing TV landscape, one thing remains key for lasting scripted shows: powerful storytelling. And it’s nearly impossible to discuss that without highlighting “Grey’s Anatomy” — the longest-running primetime medical drama in history. This month, the series created by Shonda Rhimes reaches a giant landmark. On May 26, the procedural will air its 400th
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” “Loki” director Kate Herron says she had a “conversation” with Marvel Studios about returning to direct the Disney+ series’ second season, but she decided it wasn’t for her. “I was on the show for like three years in total,” she told me Sunday at the “Loki” FYC Emmy
This past season was a strong year for television — including new outings from recent best series champs in the drama (“Succession”) and comedy (“Ted Lasso”) fields. But beyond past winners, the list of entries grows so thick that voters may need a reminder of what was great — not just the most-promoted series but
BBC “The Repair Shop’s” Jay Blades has struck a first look deal with BBC Studios via his production company Hungry Jay Media. Hungry Jay is a joint venture between Blades and production company Hunrgy Bear (“Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel”), which was founded in November 2020 by Dan Baldwin and Juliet Denison Gay. The 1-year deal
Guillermo del Toro and Kid Cudi are among the names that will appear at Netflix’s inaugural Annecy International Animation Film Festival showcase next month. The streamer is also bringing masterclasses and the world premiere of Chris Williams’ sea monster adventure “The Sea Beast,” starring Karl Urban and Dan Stevens, to the festival, which takes place
Amy Schumer, James Acaster, Jimmy O. Yang and many other comedians have joined the lineup of Just for Laughs Montreal’s 40th anniversary festival. The news comes ahead of the launch for tickets of the event, which goes live Wednesday. Schumer, Acaster, Yang, Jimmy Carr, Dara Ó Briain, Debra DiGiovanni, Jacqueline Novak, Katherine Ryan, Maria Bamford,
(SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Us,” the May 24 series finale of “This Is Us.”) Understandably, saying goodbye to “This Is Us” has not been an easy task for Mandy Moore. So, she leaned into that, especially when it came to wrapping up the NBC series with the train
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Us,” they May 24 series finale episode of “This Is Us.” Though the series finale of “This Is Us” gave fans a chance to say goodbye to almost every member of the extended Pearson family in some way or another, Randall Pearson (Sterling K.
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Us,” they May 24 series finale episode of “This Is Us.” NBC said goodbye to the Pearson family on Tuesday with the series finale of “This Is Us.” The end of the drama’s sixth and final season focused heavily on older Randall (Sterling K.
Joe Earley, the president of Hulu, never misses an opportunity to flex his marketing skills. While discussing the ongoing trend of subscribers leaving streaming platforms (also known as churn), Earley said he’s noticed one exception to the rule in bundles that Hulu offers alongside access to Disney+ and ESPN+. “The churn is so low on
Moses Ingram recently told The Independent that Lucasfilm executives warned her that she would likely face harassment online from racist “Star Wars” trolls as a Black woman entering the franchise in the upcoming series “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” POC actors such as John Boyega and Kelly Marie Train faced their own racism from toxic fans when they
CBS has pulled the Season 4 finale of “FBI” in light of the shooting at a Texas elementary school that saw over a dozen children murdered on Tuesday. The episode has been pulled due to the fact that the storyline concerned a school shooting. The official synopsis reads: “As the team investigates a deadly robbery
After a four-year hiatus, popular manga “Hunter x Hunter” may be making its grand return. Yoshihiro Togashi, the manga artist behind the popular shonen battle anime, joined Twitter on Monday and appeared to tease new chapters of the series. In his first tweet, which has amassed over 800,000 likes and 200,000 retweets, Togashi posted a