Aariel Maynor, the man accused in the fatal shooting of philanthropist Jacqueline Avant at her home in December, pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge of murder. Maynor, 30, also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Avant’s security guard and to carrying a firearm as a felon. Maynor is scheduled to be sentenced on
Television
The American branch of Russian state-funded media network Russia Today (RT) is shutting down and laying off most of its staff, CNN reports. According to a memo, RT America will be “ceasing production” due to “unforeseen business interruption events.” “Unfortunately, we anticipate this layoff will be permanent, meaning that this will result in the permanent
Jack Hanick, a onetime producer at Fox News, has been indicted on charges of working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch to establish TV networks in Russia and in other European countries. Hanick, 71, is accused of working for Konstantin Malofeyev, who since 2014 has been under U.S. sanctions that were imposed in response to Russia’s
SPOILER ALERT: This piece contains spoilers for the first three episodes of “The Dropout,” which premiered on Hulu March 3. In the final moments of the third episode of “The Dropout,” Amanda Seyfried’s Elizabeth Holmes finally transforms into the figure that those of us obsessed with her story — as recounted in John Carreyrou’s book “Bad
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has released, for the first time, demographic information on the makeup of the judges behind its Daytime, News and Documentary and Sports Emmy Awards. And, by the org’s own admission, it still has some work to do on representation — particularly when it comes to the sports
Robert Downey Jr. and writer-director Shane Black are reuniting once again. The pair are teaming at Amazon Studios to develop a series of movie and television projects adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s “Parker” crime fiction series, Variety has confirmed. The first project emerging from the deal will be a feature film titled “Play Dirty,” in which
Amazon Studios exec Vernon Sanders admits he wasn’t sold on the idea of releasing Season 4 of Emmy-winning Prime Video comedy “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” over multiple weeks. The binge drop had worked for the show in the past, so why mess with it? It was creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and fellow exec producer Daniel Palladino
A massive fire broke out on Thursday afternoon local time at Dalton Mills, the disused West Yorkshire factory used on “Downton Abbey” and “Peaky Blinders” shoots. Confirming the incident, the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service posted on their website: “We currently have fire engines & specialist units in attendance at a fire at Dalton
Dorothy Ghettuba remembers the moment that changed her life. The Kenya-born entrepreneur was traveling with friends in Zambia when their driver fell asleep at the wheel, sending their van careening off the road and into a tree. The group left the accident unscathed, but the brush with death rattled Ghettuba. “Things can happen to you
“Are You the One?” is headed to Paramount Plus. The MTV Entertainment Studios reality show, which aired eight seasons on MTV, is officially making the move with a new global edition, set to begin casting in the spring and start production in the summer. For the dating competition, 22 recently single men and women from
Kal Penn has joined the “Santa Clause” limited series at Disney Plus, Variety has confirmed. The series, which was announced on Jan. 14, will see Tim Allen once again play Santa Claus/Scott Calvin and Elizabeth Mitchell reprising her role as Scott’s wife, Carol Calvin, a.k.a. Mrs. Claus. Mitchell first played the part in “The Santa
Phoebe Waller-Bridge has gotten a greenlight at Amazon for a new series, Variety has confirmed. Details on the show’s plot are currently being kept under wraps, and it is currently unknown whether it will be a comedy or drama. It is expected the go into production some time before the end of 2022. Waller-Bridge is
Kristen Campo has renewed her first-look deal with Endeavor Content. In addition, Campo has launched the new production shingle Campout Productions. “The longstanding relationship I’ve had with Endeavor Content is truly meaningful, and I couldn’t ask for better partners,” said Campo. “I’m excited to continue developing compelling premium programming for years to come.” Campo has
The Royal Television Society (RTS) has unveiled the nominees for this year’s RTS Programme Awards. “It’s a Sin” has scored six nominations, including nods for Keeley Hawes and Olly Alexander (pictured above), while Tahar Rahim has been nominated for his performance in “The Serpent.” Of the U.K.’s broadcasters, the BBC scored the most noms, boasting
Disney Plus has unveiled its first Dutch original scripted drama series, titled “Nemesis.” The 8-part series will be produced by Netherlands-based production company Pupkin. Described as a “thrilling crime drama,” the show is based on a novel written by Simon de Waal. Showrunners will be Willem Bosch and Pieter Kuijpers (“Van God Los”, “The Spectacular”).
Studiocanal has boarded Thomas Vinterberg’s TV debut ‘Families Like Ours’ as a co-producer and distributor. Varety first broke the news last April that Oscar-winning Danish director Vinterberg (“Another Round”) was re-teaming with Danish production outfit Zentropa on his first television drama. Studiocanal previously distributed “Another Round” in the U.K. “I have worked with Studiocanal in
Australian soap opera “Neighbours” is going off air after 37 seasons. The embattled series has been under threat of cancellation ever since its primary funder, U.K. broadcaster Channel 5, pulled the plug in early February. On Thursday, the show confirmed that production would indeed end in June. Following the loss of our key broadcast partner
U.K. broadcaster ITV’s annual results for 2021 were announced Thursday and the picture is rosy. Total external revenue was up 24% to £3.4 billion ($4.6 billion), up from COVID-hit 2020’s £2.7 billion . ITV Studios total revenues grew 28% to £1.7 billion, up from 2020’s £1.3 billion and now stands just 2% below the heights
CNN and Fox News Channel are fierce rivals, and their anchors regularly take pot shots at each other. But there is at least one thing on which they agree: how much a new subscriber to their streaming outlets ought to pay. CNN will charge $5.99 per month for its new CNN Plus, a subscription-video streaming
Kirk Baily, the actor best known for his role as dim-witted camp counselor Kevin “Ug” Lee on the early Nickelodeon sitcom “Salute Your Shorts,” died Feb. 27 in Los Angeles. His domestic partner, Ranjani Brow, confirmed that he died after battling lung cancer. He was 59. Baily got his start as a sound coordinator for
The mystery continues. Apple TV Plus announced that “The Afterparty” has been renewed for a second season. Tiffany Haddish is confirmed to return in the role of Detective Danner. The series, which hails from Chris Miller and Phil Lord, is a comedic murder mystery where each episode is told in a different genre and from
Hulu has released an official trailer for “The Girl From Plainville” — a limited series inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter’s “texting suicide” case. Based on Jesse Barron’s Esquire article of the same name, “The Girl From Plainville” dives into Carter’s (Elle Fanning) relationship with Conrad Roy III (Colton Ryan) and his following
What a week it’s been for Sandra Oh! Following Sunday’s final season premiere of “Killing Eve,” which coincided with her appearance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards where she was a nominee for “The Chair,” Oh walked the red carpet on Tuesday in Hollywood for the debut of Disney-Pixar’s “Turning Red.” “Look at this, it’s
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” From “Bridget Jones’ Diary” to “Judy,” Renée Zellweger knows a thing or two about transformation. The two-time Oscar winner’s latest, as convicted murderer Pam Hupp in NBC’s “The Thing About Pam,” is no exception. “It was a team of magicians,” Zellweger told me Monday night at a press
Stacia Philips Deshishku, an ABC News veteran who has supervised audio content and was a former deputy Washington Bureau chief for the Disney-backed news outlet, has been named executive editor and senior vice president position. She reports to Kim Godwin, president of ABC News. Philips Deshishku will essentially work as the second-in-command of ABC News
Tom Hiddleston has said he sees himself as a “temporary torchbearer” when it comes to playing Marvel’s god of chaos. Hiddleston made the comments in a panel discussion about Disney Plus’ original series “Loki” on Wednesday evening hosted by the Royal Television Society. Hiddleston was joined on stage in London, U.K. by his co-star Sophia
Aidan Euan’s not entirely sure if it reads on camera — spoiler: it does — that, when dressing Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez on “Euphoria,” he gave her a modern-but-nostalgic Mexican American stamp from the homes of his youth, the first being in Yucatán and the second in SoCal. When designing the iconic outfits Maddy
“End of an era” is a term that’s thrown around a lot in this business, but this time it’s more than appropriate: Curt King is exiting Universal Studio Group at the end of March, marking the end of a more than 25 year career in various positions at the Peacock (the company, not the streamer).
Turning a comic book into a live-action TV series is not a revolutionary idea in the current TV landscape — but turning a comic book into a live-action TV series that is then itself turned into an animated series set in the same universe is not a pitch studio and network execs get every day.
SPOILER ALERT: This piece contains spoilers for “Destroyer of Worlds,” Episode 7 of “Pam & Tommy,” now streaming on Hulu. While “Pam and Tommy” has given quite an intense peek into the life of Pamela Anderson, there isn’t a closer examination at her career ups and downs than Episode 7, the second one directed by