Television

People who are interested in CNN Plus finally have a date when they can add it to their streaming repertoire. The WarnerMedia-owned cable-news outlet intends to launch the subscription broadband service on March 29. The detail — perhaps the last piece of information to be disclosed about the new media venue — comes ahead of

BBC diversity lead Miranda Wayland is set to join Prime Video/Amazon Studios Europe, Variety can confirm. Wayland was previously deputy head of diversity at the BBC. She had been at the broadcaster for five years but reportedly announced her resignation last week. She will join Amazon later this year where she will take up the

BritBox U.K. managing director Will Harrison has decided to leave the business ahead of the launch of ITV’s new streaming service ITVX. The U.K. MD role is not being replaced. Harrison joined BritBox U.K. shortly after its launch in 2019, and has played a vital role in the success of the streaming service, which now

Dutch Features has acquired international rights to Finnish streaming service Elisa Viihde’s crime series “Evilside,” a six-hour Archipelago thriller set in the Oulu region of northern Finland. Filming took place from Dec. 2021 through Feb. 2022.  “Evilside” is produced by Whatevergroup Oy in collaboration with Handmade Films in Norwegian Woods, Business Finland, Business Oulu and the

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “Dates, Decisions, and Dollar Amount Revealed,” the March 10 finale of “Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer.” Which woman hit the jackpot? During Thursday’s final episode of Fox’s “Joe Millionaire” reboot, Kurt Sowers and Steven McBee both had to choose which woman they wanted to continue

Emilio Delgado, the actor best known for his beloved role as “Fix-It-Shop” owner Luis Rodriguez on “Sesame Street,” has died, his representative confirmed to Variety. He was 81. “We are saddened by the news of Emilio’s passing,” Robert Attermann, CEO of A3 Artists Agency, said in a statement. “Emilio was an immense talent who brought

Former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett was sentenced to five months in jail on Thursday for concocting a hate crime hoax, in which he lied to police about being jumped by two men who yelled racist and homophobic slurs. Judge James Linn also ordered Smollett to pay $120,000 restitution to the city of Chicago, plus a

“WWE Evil,” the first WWE original series for Peacock, will premiere March 24, the streaming service announced Thursday. Created and hosted by WWE wrestler and actor John Cena, the eight-part docuseries examines the stories of notable “heels,” or villains, in the WWE’s history. Each episode dives into the career of a different heel, including Hulk

The Parents Television Council (PTC) is speaking out against Disney ahead of the March 16 addition of former Netflix-Marvel series “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage,” “Iron Fist,” “The Punisher” and “The Defenders” on Disney Plus. All of these series are significantly more violent and adult in theme and subject matter compared to the other offerings

Apple TV’s new limited series, “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey,” feels every bit as overdue as the justice and redemption sought by its nonagenarian protagonist. “Ptolemy Grey” is a passion project for star and executive producer Samuel L. Jackson who has tirelessly hunted for a home for an adaptation of Walter Mosley’s novel since

Sunshine Sachs, the longtime PR firm for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has dropped the organization behind the Golden Globe as a client, Variety has confirmed. The PR firm has represented the HFPA since 2011, but the Golden Globes organization has been under fire since early 2021 when the Los Angeles Times reported that the

SPOILER ALERT: Do not keep reading if you have not finished Season 5 of “The Last Kingdom.” “The Last Kingdom” is coming to an end. Although a two-hour movie followup is currently filming, Season 5 of the Netflix historical drama wraps up the story of its central character, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, played by Alexander Dreymon,

The Walt Disney Company is taking steps to halt all business in Russia following the country’s “unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” a spokesperson said Thursday. Disney announced last week it would not release new movies in Russia, but now the company is reviewing the rest of its operations there. “Given the unrelenting assault on Ukraine and

“Flip or Flop” is packing up. The HGTV home renovation series will end with its current 10th season, Variety confirms. The series finale will air next Thursday, March 17, at 8 p.m. ET. “Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack are long-time, fan favorite stars on HGTV and it’s true that ‘Flip or Flop’ is coming

For the second year in a row, the 49th Annie Awards will be virtual after ASIFA-Hollywood, the organization behind the event, decided to pivot amid the omicron-driven surge in COVID-19 cases. The show was originally going to be an in-person affair Feb. 26 at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA. Now it will be

Dominique Fishback earned acclaim in “Judas and the Black Messiah” playing Deborah Johnson, the wife of murdered Black Panther leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya, who won an Oscar for the role). She’ll next be seen in the Apple TV Plus limited series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey,” which bows March 11 on the streamer.

After 20 years on reality TV, the Kardashians know their worth. For their upcoming Hulu reality show, they will be earning nine figures, insiders reveal in this week’s Variety cover story. “We are all equals,” Khloé Kardashian says of the family, who will all receive the same salary for “The Kardashians,” which debuts on April

“Top Chef,” “Chopped” and “Cutthroat Kitchen” alum chef Antonia Lofaso is the head judge of Food Network and Discovery Plus’ upcoming primetime cooking competition “The Julia Child Challenge.” It’s important to make that title clear up front as, though Lofaso is the vibrant live chef in the room with the contestants, the vibrant Julia Child

Cassidy Freeman has only just given birth when she hops on the phone with Variety to talk about HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones.” The actor, known for her roles on “Longmire” and “Smallville” before portraying Amber Gemstone, a televangelist housewife with killer aim and a fierce disposition, doesn’t know what these moms are complaining about. “It’s really easy!…

Amazon has ordered two seasons of an animated comedy from Ramy Youssef, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is part of new first-look deal Youssef and his Cairo Cowboy production banner have signed with the streamer. Youssef leads Cairo Cowboy with Andy Campagna, the former senior vice president of television for Sam Esmail’s Esmail Corp.

After six years, Jimmy McGill is on the verge of breaking bad. AMC has released the official trailer for the sixth and final season of “Better Call Saul,” the popular “Breaking Bad” prequel series starring Bob Odenkirk. The show features Odenkirk reprising his role as the fan-favorite “Breaking Bad” character Saul Goodman, a crooked criminal

MSNBC intends to make some of its best-known opinion programs available to premium tier customers of the NBCU Peacock streaming service, allowing the shows to be seen by consumers who might not subscribe to the cable network and continuing efforts by cable-news outlets to monetize their efforts beyond their biggest sources of distribution. Starting in

When “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” debuted, Kendall and Kylie Jenner were just kids, and it was Khloé Kardashian who was known to audiences as the youngest sister of the core trio. Over the decade-and-a-half that the Kardashian-Jenner family has ruled television, Khloé has transformed from a 20-something reality star to a successful businesswoman and

“Silverton Siege,” an action thriller inspired by the real life incident that sparked the global Free Mandela movement, is being added to Netflix. The film is directed by noted South African filmmaker Mandla Dube (“Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu”) and stars Thabo Rametsi, Noxolo Dlamini and Stefan Erasmus. Set in 1980, Rametsi, Dlamini and

Nick Cannon’s daytime talkshow is coming to an end after one season, Variety has learned. Staffers at “The Nick Cannon Show” were informed at work Thursday morning that the show would not be renewed for a second season, and that it would be the final day of production. However, enough episodes have been pre-taped and banked,

Sky Studios has tapped Tilly Coulson and Sam Hoyle to join its U.K. drama commissioning team. Coulson has joined as head of development while Hoyle joined as executive producer. Both execs started in Feb. They will report to director of commissioning, drama, Gabriel Silver. Hoyle’s role will include developing new projects and overseeing production across

Season 6 of “Peaky Blinders” is heading to Netflix. The show, which stars Cillian Murphy, will hit the streamer on June 10. Season 6 is also set to be the final season of the hit series, although a film adaptation is in the works. It is set to go into production in 2023. The latest

SkyShowtime has made a number of senior appointments to its leadership team under CEO Monty Sarhan ahead of the platform’s launch later this year. The European streamer — which was announced last year as a joint venture between ViacomCBS (now Paramount) and Comcast, with equal investment and joint control — will include over 10,000 hours

Canadian director Philippe Falardeau (“Monsieur Lazhar”) and screenwriter Florence Longpré, who has “Audrey’s Back” at April’s Canneseries, have teamed up on new series “Last Summers of the Raspberries” which pulled off the rare feat of screening at Berlinale Series, before being selected for Series Mania, where it will compete in the International Panorama. The heartfelt

U.K. broadcaster ITV has appointed Andrew Cosslett as its new chair to succeed Peter Bazalgette, who will step down after six years in the role and nine years on the board. Cosslett will join the board as an independent non-executive director and chair designate from June 1 and 1 will become non-executive chair from Sept.