CBS has decided not to move forward with its gender-flipped “Early Edition” reboot project after completing the pilot, Variety has learned. The original ’90s drama “Early Edition” starred Kyle Chandler as a man who magically received tomorrow’s edition of the Chicago Sun-Times today, delivered to his door each morning by a mysterious ginger tabby cat.
Television
Social justice got nearly equal time with branding at the 2022 Clio Awards, as music exec Jason Flom got a special award for his work on criminal justice reform, and a public service spot that married the message of Sandy Hook Promise and Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” won a Clio in the “social good” category.
Upgrade Productions, the production company launched last year by Matt Brodlie and Jonathan Kier, is working on an epic Japanese-language TV series. “A True Novel” book cover. Courtesy of Upgrade Productions The company has teamed with venerable Japanese studio Shochiku to produce “A True Novel” as an eight-part adaptation of Mizumura Minae’s 2003 Yomiuri Prize-winning
“American Auto” has been renewed for its second season at NBC. From “Superstore” creator Justin Spitzer, Season 1 of “American Auto” debuted in December 2021. The series is a workplace sitcom set in Detroit, where Payne Motors has just hired Katherine Hastings (Ana Gasteyer), its first female CEO, who found huge success in big pharma
“Somebody Feed Phil” has been renewed for Season 6 at Netflix ahead of its fifth season premiere, Variety has learned exclusively. The five-episode “Somebody Feed Phil” Season 5, which debuts May 25, was filmed back to back with Season 6, which also consists of five episodes. “We filmed 10 episodes in the sweet spot between
SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers through Episode 4 of “The Staircase,” which hit HBO Max on May 12. Despite her death being the catalyst for a highly publicized court case and miniseries, not much is publicly known about Kathleen Peterson’s life and personality. “The Staircase,” HBO Max’s true crime miniseries from Antonio Campos and
Just a year after the premiere of its last live-action adaptation, the “Resident Evil” franchise has risen from the grave in the first trailer for the upcoming Netflix horror series. Based on the long-running Capcom survival horror franchise, “Resident Evil” stars Lance Reddick as Albert Wesker, one of the main antagonists of the original video
U.K. actor Hannah Dodd will take over the role of Francesca Bridgerton from Ruby Stokes in the upcoming Season 3 of Netflix’s hit romantic series “Bridgerton.” Stokes is exiting the role, in which she only appeared in the first two seasons a handful of times, because she’s the lead of another Netflix series, “Lockwood &
A+E Networks has partnered with educational travel provider Academic Travel Abroad to launch History Travel, a new program offering a series of domestic and international trips inspired by world history. Under the multi-year agreement, A+E and Academic Travel Abroad are designing tours that will be led by historians and local experts approved by the History
James Corden is heading home — to visit, as part of a week-long trip to Blighty for “The Late Late Show” on CBS. This will mark the fourth time “The Late Late Show with James Corden” has filmed from the U.K., but marks the first major initiative for the show since Corden announced that he
The heads of the U.K. public service broadcasters (PSBs) are in agreement that the market is undergoing seismic changes and evolution is the way forward. “There’ll be huge changes going on in this market and we underestimate it at our peril,” said Tim Davie, director general of the BBC. “We’ve got to innovate, innovate, keep
Telemundo is building its 2022-23 season lineup around the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the return of two of the Spanish-language outlet’s biggest star drama vehicles: Kate del Castillo in Season 3 of “La Reina del Sur” and Rafael Amaya rising from the dead for an eighth round of “El Señor de los Cielos.” The
Pay TV operator Sky is continuing to invest big in the U.K. The Comcast owned outfit has trebled its output of U.K.-originated content from 2019 to 200 originals in 2022 with an investment of $500 million, said Dana Strong, group CEO of Sky, on Thursday. Strong was bullish about the impending opening of the Sky
“Nanny McPhee” director Kirk Jones is set to take on Donald Trump in his first television series, “You’ve Been Trumped.” The drama, based on Anthony Baxter’s 2011 documentary, tells the story of a small Scottish village who took on the then-reality TV star when he tried to build a golf course in a nature reserve.
In its continued bid to ramp up its programming content, ViX Plus, the upcoming premium SVOD service from TelevisaUnivision, has formed a strategic alliance with Spain’s The Mediapro Studio, which will produce exclusive original content for the new Spanish-language streamer slated to launch in the second half of this year. First out the gate are
Mumbai-based Banijay Asia has struck a deal with ITV Studios’ Armoza Formats to bring an official adaptation of the award-winning Canadian mini-series, “Vertige,” to screen. The high-profile French-language show deconstructs the alleged suicide of a young girl, Daphne Roussel. Banijay Asia will reimagine the psychological thriller for the Indian audience. With a remit focused on
Warner Bros. Discovery and telco giant BT are to launch a premium sports venture in the U.K. and Ireland. The planned 50-50 joint venture will see BT Sport transferred to Warner Bros. Discovery, meaning that BT Sport and Eurosport U.K. are operated together. BT Sports’ parent company BT plc will receive £93m ($113 million) from
CBS has canceled the Chuck Lorre-produced sitcom “United States of Al” after two seasons, Variety has confirmed. “United States of Al” centers on the relationship between Marine combat veteran Riley (Parker Young) and his Afghan interpreter Awalmir, or “Al” (Adhir Kalyan), who finally lands a visa allowing him passage into the United States. Riley, who
NBC’s comedy pilot “Lopez vs. Lopez” starring George Lopez and his daughter Mayan Lopez has been ordered to series. The multi-cam is described as a working-class family comedy about dysfunction, reconnection and all the pain and joy in between. In April, Variety learned exclusively that Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez and Matt Shively would also star,
Johanna Fuentes is about to exit her post as head of global communications for WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group. Tom Ascheim, former head of the Kids and Family division, is also leaving in the latest round of high-level executive changes spurred by the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger. Fuentes joined the studio in 2020 as executive vice president
Jean Smart and her “Hacks” co-stars are under pressure. A lot of pressure. After an award-winning first season of the HBO Max series, they’re back for their sophomore outing. “Season 2 for any show means you have to prove yourself,” Smart told me at the second season premiere earlier this week at the Directors Guild
Andie MacDowell revealed to Marie Claire that she suffered a panic attack on a set in 2016 after noticing the production was populated entirely by male cast and crew. The actor was the only woman on set at the time. MacDowell said the panic attack occurred shortly after Donald Trump got elected president, which didn’t
Brett Weitz is exiting as general manager of TBS, TNT and truTV, Variety has learned. Weitz, who was appointed to the role in January 2019, was among the group of WarnerMedia execs that came over under the new David Zaslav-selected regime at Warner Bros. Discovery, following the close of the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger in early April.
Most Angelenos know the Billboard Queen, Angelyne. The enigmatic human Barbie, self-described as a “Rorschach test in pink,” has been a mainstay of Los Angeles culture ever since billboards bearing her face and name began popping up throughout the city in 1984. She’s frequently spotted driving around L.A. in her signature pink Corvette, selling merchandise
Disney has previously revealed it has 500 shows in the pipeline outside of the U.S., but on Wednesday, the company broke down for the first time how those planned local-language programs are being dispersed throughout global regions. According to Christine M. McCarthy, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, 140 of those shows are
E! is getting into the original TV movie business. The NBCUniversal cabler has announced plans to begin programming original romantic comedy films beginning in 2023. The network has commissioned six films to start, though further details about the films were not readily available. The move into made-for-TV movies at the network comes amid shifting tides
Australian pay-TV operator Foxtel has renewed its film and TV supply deal with Hollywood studio Sony Pictures. The multi-year agreement covers new release movies, library titles and TV series. Foxtel, which is owned by News Corp. and Telstra, will be able to play the content on its pay-TV channels as well as its 2020-launched streaming service
Comedies and dramas traditionally make up a large portion of the broadcast TV landscape between September and May, but networks don’t deny the continuous draw of hit reality TV and competition shows. Each season, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, the so-called “Big 4” broadcasters, bring back old staples and add in new unscripted content in
A public memorial service for Naomi Judd has been set for this Sunday evening at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, with CMT airing it live and commercial-free at 6 p.m. ET/3 PT. The lineup of participating artists who will perform or otherwise pay tribute will be announced in the days leading up to the event, with organizers
Vice TV’s “Dark Side of the 90’s” returns with its second season next month, featuring new twisted tales from the era. In the Season 2 trailer, which is exclusive to Variety, Mary Jo Buttafuoco breaks down the infamous 1992 incident in which she was shot in the face by Amy Fisher, a teenager that her