Television

The new documentary series “Lincoln’s Dilemma” begins and ends outside of Abraham Lincoln’s era — opening with footage of the siege on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and concluding only weeks later, with the journalist Jelani Cobb’s observation that the military “occupied” Washington to keep Joe Biden safe at his inauguration. But the point

Frank Pesce, a character actor who appeared in both “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, “Top Gun,” “Midnight Run” and “Miami Vice,” died on Feb. 6 due to dementia complications. He was 75. Born in 1946 in New York City, Pesce’s circle of friends included Sylvester Stallone, Tony Danza and Robert Forster, among others. Known for his

Karrueche Tran has signed with sister companies M88 and UNCMMN for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. The companies will work in tandem to grow Tran’s work across film, TV, fashion, and in the digital space. Tran currently stars in Peacock’s drama series “Bel-Air,” a reinvention of the beloved sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” She is

MTV Entertainment Group announced that Comedy Central has renewed “Tha God’s Honest Truth With Charlamagne Tha God” for its second season, which will premiere this summer. Created and hosted by Lenard “Charlamagne” McKelvey, “Tha God’s Honest Truth” is a weekly half-hour late night series featuring Charlamagne’s takes on various social issues through deep dives, sketches

A two-part documentary about Larry David, titled “The Larry David Story,” will premiere on HBO Max on March 1. The HBO original doc captures David’s rise to comedy stardom, from his start in standup to co-creating “Seinfeld” to leading 11 seasons of the ground-breaking “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” “Twenty-five years old, I didn’t know what I

Steve Yockey has signed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, Variety has learned. Yockey is best known for creating the critically-acclaimed HBO Max series “The Flight Attendant” starring Kaley Cuoco, which is produced by WBTV. He also serves as an executive producer and is co-showrunner on Season 2. The show recently wrapped on

Keri Russell has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming Netflix series “The Diplomat.” The series was ordered at the streamer in January. In the series, in the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat (Russell) lands in a high-profile job she’s unsuited for, with tectonic implications for her marriage and her

The DC Comics adaptation “Peacemaker” has been renewed for Season 2 on HBO Max, executive producer James Gunn and star John Cena announced on Wednesday. The announcement comes the day before the Season 1 finale of the show, which continues the story of Cena’s titular costume vigilante from Gunn’s 2021 feature film “The Suicide Squad.”

Pop-country phenoms, Harmonica ruled the circuit, boasting sold-out arena tours and lavish lifestyles. When they find themselves on the other side of that fame decades later, Monica (Josephine Bornebusch) and Harry (Jonas Karlsson) have to decide whether to embark on a reunion tour or stay firmly planted in their present-day, lives racked with grief and

Film and TV crews will continue to adhere to the industry’s elaborate COVID protocols, which require masking, distancing and regular testing, at least through April 30. The protocols were set to expire on Sunday, but were widely expected to be renewed. SAG-AFTRA informed members on Wednesday that the Hollywood unions have agreed to a few

One of the biggest Netflix original series set to arrive later this year is “The Sandman,” a fantasy epic based on the acclaimed comic book written by Neil Gaiman. The author recently told Empire magazine that his main goal with the Netflix adaptation is to constantly surprise the viewer, so much so that all episodes

At around $7 million per 30-second spot, an ad for Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI did not come cheap. But with more than 112 million viewers having tuned in for the Los Angeles Rams victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the companies who shelled out that cash would likely think it was worth it to have their

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez will be honored with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at this year’s GLAAD Media Awards, the organization announced Wednesday. Now in its 33rd year, the GLAAD Media Awards honor film, TV and media that advance the representation of LGBTQ+ people and topics. The Stephen F. Kolzak award is given annually to an

While A+E’s History Channel sets out to tell the story of Abraham Lincoln in a documentary over three nights  it will also tell the stories of formerly enslaved people who were also an important part of that era in a mini-series backed by one of its advertisers. Ancestry is sponsoring a three-part miniseries that will

Following the success of Netflix’s Spanish-language teen flick “A través de mi ventana” (“Through My Window”), from Wattpad author and influencer, Ariana Godoy, Wattpad Webtoon Studios is doubling down on its Spanish-language content with plans to adapt two massive YA hits for the screen. Alex Mírez’s “Pefectos Mentirosos,” which has garnered over 105 million readers,

Featuring in this year’s eight iteration of the Berlinale Co-Production Market’s Co-Pro Series, Italian drama “Belcanto” will hope to follow a trail blazed by former participating European standouts such as “Babylon Berlin,” “Freud,” “Furia,” and last year’s Series Mania winner “Blackport.” Co-created by the trio of Mariano Di Nardo, Antonio Manca and Federico Fava and

As the industry starts paying closer attention to Finnish films and talent – following the Cannes success of Juho Kuosmanen’s “Compartment No. 6” and Zaida Bergroth’s crowd-pleasing “Tove” – Finnish TV drama is next in line, argued the participants of the Berlinale Series Market Focus on Finland drama showcase. Kuosmanen premiered short-form series “Zone B,”

AMC Networks reached more than 9 million paid streaming subscribers by the end of 2021, the company revealed while reporting its fourth-quarter 2021 earnings Wednesday. It also beat Wall Street’s expectations for both its Q4 revenue and profit. AMC Networks previously said it expected to have 9 million streaming subscribers by the end of 2021,

Set in Costa da Caparica, Portugal, amidst the 2008 economic crisis, “Vanda” – which screened at Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market – tells the true-to-life story of distressed hairdresser turned unlikely criminal Dulce Caroço. Our titular character, played by Gabriella Barros (“Al Berto”), is introduced as she lies on the floor, vacant-faced, smoking a cigarette.

Alexander Rodnyansky’s AR Content is developing a slate of new series as the two-time Oscar-nominated producer continues his push into high-end episodic content. Rodnyansky revealed details of two new projects to Variety during the Berlinale Series Market, just days after Fox Entertainment acquired U.S. rights to AR Content’s upcoming epic action show “Khan: The Series,”

Alexander Rodnyansky’s AR Content is developing a slate of new series as the two-time Oscar-nominated producer continues his push into high-end episodic content. Rodnyansky revealed details of two new projects to Variety during the Berlinale Series Market, just days after Fox Entertainment acquired U.S. rights to AR Content’s upcoming epic action show “Khan: The Series,”

Original “Futurama” cast member John DiMaggio, who has long voiced the chain-smoking robot Bender on the show, has given an update on his tentative position on returning for the animated series’ upcoming revival on Hulu. DiMaggio shared his thoughts on Twitter on Tuesday evening, clarifying that he believes that the original “Futurama” voice cast should

Original “Futurama” cast member John DiMaggio, who has long voiced the chain-smoking robot Bender on the show, has given an update on his tentative position on returning for the animated series’ upcoming revival on Hulu. DiMaggio shared his thoughts on Twitter on Tuesday evening, clarifying that he believes that the original “Futurama” voice cast should

In their last outings as leaders of ViacomCBS, the executive team led by Shari Redstone and Bob Bakish finally started to sound like they have a solid plan to compete in streaming. On the day ViacomCBS unveiled its corporate rebrand to Paramount, starting as of Feb. 16, the company put on a nearly three-hour virtual

Allison Gollust, the chief marketing officer at CNN, has resigned from the network following corporate parent WarnerMedia’s investigation into “issues associated with Chris Cuomo and former Governor Andrew Cuomo,” according to a memo from Jason Kilar, the company’s CEO. “Performed by a third-party law firm and led by a former federal judge, the investigation was

Paramount Global (formerly known as ViacomCBS) expects to increase direct-to-consumer content spending to more than $6 billion in 2024, the company revealed on Tuesday during its Q4 earnings and streaming investor day presentation. This is a jump from its previous guidance, which was that Paramount expected streaming content spend to exceed $5 billion in 2024,

The second season of “The Amber Ruffin Show” will return with new episodes Feb. 25, Peacock announced Tuesday. The critically acclaimed late-night variety series is hosted by comedian Amber Ruffin, who made history as the first Black woman to write for a late-night network TV show when she joined the writer’s room of “Late Night

Madison Avenue is getting closer to realizing its dream of using TV advertising to talk to viewers in a style more akin to a one-to-one conversation The future of the humble TV ad has long been described as the following: New data and interactive technology will trim the practice of throwing a diaper ad or

“Sexy Beast” is back, and it’s part of a slate of six international scripted originals heading to Paramount Plus, Variety can reveal. The long-simmering “Sexy Beast” prequel series has evidently been resuscitated for the streamer after being scrapped for Paramount Network in 2020. The U.K.-originated show, based on the cult classic film of the same

“Billions” has been renewed for Season 7 at Showtime, Variety has learned exclusively. Season 6 of the series debuted on Jan. 23, with new episodes airing every Sunday on Showtime. In season 6 , the dust of season five clears to reveal a world that has evolved. With Axe (Damian Lewis) gone and Michael Prince (Corey