At the end of Fox’s “Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer,” Steven McBee and Kurt Sowers walked away with love — or so it seemed. McBee chose Calah Jackson on the finale, and the pair are still going strong nearly four months later. Sowers, on the other hand, chose Amanda Pace, and while they tried
Television
Australian independent production house Photoplay has appointed Karen Radzyner as its head of development. The company is the only Australian firm to have a show selected for MipTV’s CanneSeries. Radzyner joins Photoplay from Dragonet Films. She previously produced two award-winning TV mini-series – Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo” (with Southern Star
Keith Olbermann must be The Worst Person in the World this week to anyone who works for MSNBC or NBC News. The longtime sports and news personality spent Thursday afternoon producing an epic 21-post Twitter rant telling of a convoluted effort to return to MSNBC, where he once served as the linchpin of its primetime
Alice Eve is set to headline the “Early Edition” reboot pilot at CBS, Variety has confirmed. In the rebooted version, ambitious but uncompromising journalist Beth (Eve) starts receiving tomorrow’s newspaper today. She then finds herself in the complicated business of changing the news instead of reporting it. Beth is further described as the executive producer of
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel saw a huge paper windfall in 2021 as he was awarded stock grants valued at more than $293 million in the year that saw Endeavor complete its initial public offering on its second try. Emanuel’s payday for last year was closer to $67.5 million in terms of “recognized compensation” that is
“Squid Game” star Hoyeon has been cast in Alfonso Cuarón’s upcoming Apple series “Disclaimer.” Hoyeon will star in the series alongside previously announced cast members Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Based on the novel of the same name by Renee Knight, “Disclaimer” will star Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, a successful
After her controversial exit from CBS’s “The Talk” last year, Sharon Osbourne is joining the U.K.’s Talk TV, alongside her longtime friend and TV host Piers Morgan. The two hosts made the announcement on Thursday. “What I’m really looking for in my co-workers at Talk TV is somebody who is, well, a bit like me.
CAA has signed Peter Alexander, the co-chief White House correspondent for NBC News, and will represent him in his dealings with media and other potential employers. Alexander is also co-anchor of the weekend broadcast of “Today,” which he joined in October of 2018. He and Kristen Welker, who is also NBC News’ co-chief White House
ACQUISITION U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has picked up South African detective drama “The Cane Field Killings” starring Kim Engelbrecht (“Bullet Proof”) and Iain Glen (“Game of Thrones”). The eight-episode series, which launched last year in South Africa, will launch on Channel 4 on Apr. 10. The drama tells the story of a brilliant criminal profiler,
It may only be six months since 2021’s pandemic-delayed edition of Series Mania took place, but the annual Lille, France-based drama festival returns once again but this time in its traditional slot of March 18-25. It’s been “challenging” for the Series Mania team to pull together 2022’s program so soon after last year’s event, says
Amazon is developing a baking competition series inspired by the works of Dr. Seuss, Variety has learned. In the unscripted series, bakers will be tasked with crafting incredible confectionary creations tied to beloved Seuss characters like The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, and more. In each episode, the bakers will be given a challenge based
Jessica Biel is stepping into the shoes of one of true crime’s most notorious killers in the first trailer for Hulu’s “Candy.” Biel stars in the series as Candy Montgomery, a seemingly normal housewife in small town Wylie, Tex., who was convicted in 1980 for the brutal axe murder of her neighbor Betty Gore, played
The BBC and Commander Patrick Jephson, who was private secretary to Princess Diana, have reached a settlement over the harm caused to him around the infamous 1995 BBC “Panorama” interview. Princess Diana was interviewed by journalist Martin Bashir on the program. An independent investigation into the program, conducted by Lord Dyson, found that the public
Ukrainian producer Julia Sinkevych, named main jury president at French TV festival Series Mania, is still hoping to come to Lille this week despite the ongoing war. “Last night, there was bombing not far from Lviv, so you never know. [Producer] Dariusz Jabłoński and the Polish Film Academy are helping out Ukrainian filmmakers and they will
There’s no shortage of drama or conflict on “Outlander.” Two characters of the series who know that all too well are Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger (Richard Rankin). After a tumultuous fifth season that included traumatic assaults, a kidnapping, a near-death experience by hanging, and the low rumblings of the American Revolution, one would hope
Vice Media Group has taken full control of “Gangs of London” producer Pulse Films. Pulse co-founders Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford, who founded the edgy production outfit back in 2005, have departed the company following the takeover, although Variety understands it was their decision to step down ahead of the acquisition. It’s believed the duo
Adult Swim has ordered two new seasons of “FLCL” as well as the new anime series “Housing Complex C” in honor of the 25th anniversary of Toonami, Variety has learned exclusively. The two new “FLCL” seasons are titled “FLCL: Grunge” and “FLCL: Shoegaze,” both of which are currently in production. “Grunge” is directed by Hitoshi
ITV is setting aside £80 million ($105 million) of its commissioning budget over the next three years for a Diversity Commissioning Fund. Of the £80 million fund, at least £20 million will be reserved for shows made by Black, Asian and minority ethnic-led and disabled-led production companies. ITV has also created a new £500,000 development
Universal International Studios has struck a deal with one of the hottest players in Spanish-language programming, Buendía Estudios. Under the deal, the company, whose recent credits include the hit dramas “Cardo” and “Veneno,” will co-develop and co-produce Spanish-language series with Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. Formed in 2020, Buendía Estudios is
Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based media giant RTL Group, which owns Fremantle, has declared a group profit of €1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) for 2021, up from €625 million in COVID-affected 2020. The RTL Group has interests in 67 television channels, 10 streaming platforms and 38 radio stations. The group’s content business, Fremantle, is one of the world’s largest
Chinese-owned streaming platform iQiyi added its first Thai original series and two additional shows from Taiwan to its slate of content destined for markets outside mainland China. The additions were revealed Thursday as part of the Hong Kong FilMart rights market being held virtually this year for the third time. The Thai series is “KinnPorsche,”
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “Kiss Me and Smile for Me,” the March 16 episode of “Good Trouble.” The Fosters family is changing again — Maia Mitchell has exited Freeform’s “Good Trouble.” The actress has portrayed Callie Foster since “The Fosters” premiered in 2013, and went on to reprise the
Bachelor Nation got whiplash this week from the season finale of “The Bachelor” Season 26 — which went from breakup to makeup to another breakup and another makeup to a dual breakup, all ultimately for leading man Clayton Echard to end up with contestant Susie Evans, who had actually left the show the week before
An appeals court ordered former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett released from jail on Wednesday, just seven days into a 150-day sentence for faking a hate crime. In a 2-1 ruling, the justices ordered Smollett released pending the appeal of his conviction, on the condition that he post a $150,000 bond. The justices did not explain
CBS police drama pilot “East New York” has cast Amanda Warren (“The Purge”) in the starring role of Regina Haywood, a serious street cop turned deputy inspector. “East New York,” written by William Finkelstein and Mike Flynn, was given a pilot order last month. No other cast members have been announced. The pilot’s executive producers
Starz has unveiled the trailer and key art for “Gaslit,” its limited series that tackles the Watergate scandal. The show focuses on the perspective of Martha Mitchell (Julia Roberts), the wife of Richard Nixon’s attorney general, John Mitchell (Sean Penn). “Gaslit” will debut on Starz’s digital platform at midnight on April 24, with a linear
Scott Bakula has been cast in one of the lead roles in the NBC drama pilot “Unbroken,” Variety has learned. The pilot follows three dynastic ranch families on the central coast of California as they make love and war in a passionate struggle to survive, ultimately setting the stage for a group of fiercely determined young
If it weren’t for Richard Williams’ iconic shorts in “King Richard,” Will Smith jokes he might not have landed himself piles of trophies this award season. The Oscar-nominated star gave a special shoutout to Williams’ “red, tight short shorts” during his speech at the National Board of Review gala, where he won best actor. “With
‘”The Goldbergs” series regular Wendi McLendon-Covey said on social media that the long-running ABC comedy series is simply trying its best to work around Jeff Garlin’s departure. The show has been heavily criticized for using previously shot footage of Garlin and CGI to insert the actor’s character into episodes, and the results have been bizarre
Endeavor closed out 2021 with more than $467 million in red ink, but it also delivered updated 2022 financial guidance that indicates the company sees the wind at its back with rising consumer demand fueling its sports, entertainment and talent representation operations. Endeavor closed out the final quarter of 2021 with a net loss of