Television

J.K. Rowling slammed Vladimir Putin on Twitter following a television appearance in which the Russian president said his country was being “canceled” by Western culture, similar to how Rowling has faced criticism over her controversial anti-trans comments. The “Harry Potter” author reacted to Putin’s name drop by posting an article on Twitter about how a

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the entirety of “Starstruck” Season 2, which is now available to stream on HBO Max. The first season of “Starstruck” was one of 2021’s most purely delightful TV surprises. Somehow, over six episodes running just 20 minutes each, creator and star Rose Matafeo managed to both embrace and

Featured in the Spanish showcase at Series Mania, “Age of Anger” (“La edad de la ira”) has the potential to grab viewers from all demographics as it tackles the fractured and complex inner workings of teenagers coming to terms with their complexities, amidst the investigation of a close-to-home homicide. Produced and distributed internationally via Atresmedia

Jon Adler, a veteran behind the production of many of CNN’s original series, has been named a senior vice president overseeing that programming at CNN as the WarnerMedia unit is creating more documentary content for its soon-to-launch streaming outlet, CNN Plus. “With the expansion of our mandate to create premium long-form programming for CNN Plus,

Italy’s Lux Vide, the production company behind “Medici” and financial thriller “Devils,” is now scoring a global hit with its medical procedural “Doc,” the second season of which had its French launch at the Series Mania fest. “Doc,” which turns on a prominent physician who, following a head injury, suffers a permanent partial memory loss

Hot off the success of “No Man’s Land,” Israel’s Spiro Films and France’s Haut et Court TV are re-teaming on “Armageddon,” a sprawling thriller miniseries looking at Christian extremists operating in the Holy Land. The show is being created by David Ackerman, who previously worked in national security in Israel and went on to pen

BBC Studios, the commercial arm of U.K. broadcaster BBC, has revealed a first look and development deal with London-based talent and entertainment company Diving Bell Group. Founded by Kim Butler and Justin Girdler in 2017, Diving Bell represents creators and innovators in the purpose-led space including model, trans activist and cultural figure Munroe Bergdorf; feminist

Physical obstacle course game show Ninja Warrior U.K. is returning to U.K. broadcaster ITV and streamer ITV Hub for a sixth season. The revamped format will feature, for the first time in the show’s history, a hunt for a female and a male champion. The contestants will face each other and also a team of

Global streamer Netflix has expanded its slate of unscripted entertainment programming in Japan. The company says it has 15 shows in the comedy, reality television and documentary genres in different stages of development. Of these, seven will launch on the platform in the current calendar year. Upcoming shows include: dating series “Love Village,” “The Future Diary,”

“Mystery Science Theater 3000” is returning for a 13th season, this time on a new indie streaming platform, Gizmoplex. Created by Joel Hodgson in 1988, the cult show “MST3K” follows a series of ordinary humans captured by mad scientists who subject them to a series of terrible B-movies. To keep their sanity, the humans create

In a scene in the first season of the Ukrainian sitcom “Servant of the People,” the newly-elected president of Ukraine is attempting to get the attention of his parliament, which has devolved from bickering into a physical brawl. Gently clearing his throat and murmuring for some peace and quiet won’t do, and this head of

As the U.S. streamers become a bigger part of the European industry landscape, production companies are starting to intensify collaborations across EU borders to make high-end shows, which is vital to keeping the ecosystem healthy. That was the main takeaway of a Series Mania panel on collaborating across borders that also looked at the ongoing

Whitney Cummings has been cast in an episode of the upcoming Fox anthology series “Accused.” The series is based on the BBC crime anthology of the same name. Each episode opens in a courtroom on the accused, with the audience knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial. There will be

A live-action version of “The Loud House” has been picked up to series at Paramount Plus. The announcement was made as part of Nickelodeon’s upfronts presentation on Thursday. Production will begin on the new series in June with the premiere set for later this year. The 10-episode show will be produced by Nickelodeon Studios for

The ‘Halo’ franchise revolves around the Spartans, super soldiers who defend the galaxy against an alien force known as the Covenant. In the new Paramount Plus TV series, one of the Spartans is played by Kate Kennedy, who talked to Variety about her experience gearing up in the armor for the show. “It was really

Scoey Mitchell, the actor best known for his work on the one-season run of the sitcom “,” died on March 19 in Torrance, Calif., his brother, Billy Mitchell, confirmed to Variety. He was 92. In a Facebook post Monday, Mitchell’s brother wrote, “He sacrificed much in the struggle to get Blacks behind the camera, into

Ambitious in scope and storytelling, “Pachinko” seems tailor-made for today’s international streaming wars. It arrives March 25 on Apple TV Plus with a literary pedigree and “Minari” Oscar winner Yuh-jung Youn in a starring role. But a greenlight was far from assured when its producers shopped it around to TV networks four years ago. At

“Archive 81” has been canceled at Netflix after just one season. The eight-episode series debuted on the streamer back in January. The show followed archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie), who takes a job restoring a collection of damaged videotapes from 1994. Reconstructing the work of a documentary filmmaker named Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), he is

Documentary short “Les Filles de Sète” (“Sète’s Daughters”) and series episode “Eva y el abedul del Edén” (“Eve and the Birch of Eden”) have secured funding through the Platino Crowdfunding platform, a new financing initiative launched last December. Initiated by the Platino Awards organization, the crowdfunding online platform for film, series and other formats was officially

After more than a two decades relationship, media conglom Atresmedia Group and the Málaga Film Festival have grown what looks like a unique case of symbiosis in the Spanish film-TV industry. Atresmedia, a driving force in Spain’s film and TV sectors, joined the Málaga Festival as an official sponsor in 2000.  The DeAPlaneta-controlled broadcaster and

Apple TV Plus drama “Severance” takes place in a world where people are able to undergo a medical procedure that gives them a literal work-life balance by implanting a chip in their brain that essentially splits them into two different conscious versions of themselves: an “Innie” who is awake only at work, and an “Outtie”

Amazon Prime Video is continuing its mission of commissioning “local for local” shows as its European operation becomes more entrenched. Georgia Brown, head of Amazon Studios for Europe, told a packed Series Mania session in Lille on Thursday that her regional staff across the continent aren’t looking for international ideas, but rather location-specific conceits. “If

Netflix and Kinetic Content are teaming up once again. The streaming giant announced a new reality show coming soon, featuring stars from “Too Hot To Handle,” “Love Is Blind,” “The Circle,” “Selling Tampa” and more. “Singles from Netflix reality shows have done some crazy things to find love. But they’re still single,” the official description

SPOILER WARNING: This story discusses specific events in Season 2, Episode 4 of “Star Trek: Picard,” currently streaming on Paramount Plus. As even casual fans of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” know, one of the beloved sci-fi show’s most meaningful relationships was between Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the proprietor of the main bar

Netflix has fully committed to the reality dating show craze, announcing a robust year-round slate, including new seasons of “Love Is Blind,” “Love on the Spectrum” and “Indian Matchmaking.” “Love Is Blind,” the second season of which premiered on Feb. 11, has now been renewed for Season 4 and 5. But fans won’t have to

More than a week before “The Ultimatum” premieres on Netflix, the dating series has been renewed for a second season, the streamer announced on Thursday amid an avalanche of other dating show news. Season 2 will follow an all-queer, mostly female cast. The Kinetic Content-produced series follows six couples on the verge of marriage. While

“Barons,” a surf and business drama series that plays this week at Series Mania, is a calling card for the newly re-structured Australian operations of TV giant Fremantle. In recent weeks, leadership of the unscripted side of the business has been put in the hands of Eureka, a company in which it bought an increased

Sharon Horgan’s new Apple series has set its main cast. The series, now titled “Bad Sisters,” will star Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson as the Garvey sisters. Claes Bang, Brian Gleeson, Daryl McCormack, Assaad Bouab, and Saise Quinn also star. The series follows the lives of the Garvey sisters bound

Less than two years after joining France Televisions, former Canal Plus executive Manuel Alduy has contributed to bolstering the French public broadcaster’s roster of international series with shows such as “Bardot,” a mini-series biopic of Brigitte Bardot, and “L’Insoumise” about Alice Guy, the first female filmmaker ever. Ahead of France Televisions’ press conference at Series

The BBC World Service has sought and will receive £4.1 million ($5.4 million) in additional funding to counter disinformation around the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The emergency funding would to help the BBC “continue bringing independent, impartial and accurate news to people in Ukraine and Russia in the face of increased propaganda from the