Go language-specific, go cheap and go hyper-local to reap success appears to be the motto of a range of streamers operating across South Asia. With countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan, South Asia is a vast region populated by 1.9 billion people speaking a welter of languages. It is no
Television
World sales company Global Screen has released the first-look image of “Recipes for Love and Murder,” which has been chosen for Berlinale Series Market Selects lineup at the European Film Market. Acorn has the rights to the series for the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The 10-part South African and U.K.
Icelandic smash hit drama series “Blackport” won on Wednesday the 2022 Nordisk Film & TV Prize, Scandinavia’s top plaudit for drama series writing. The award was announced on site at the end of an intense first day of conference panels at the Göteborg Festival’s TV Drama Vision, with two of the series’ three writers, Gísli
Barcelona-based Nanouk Films and Funicular Films and Spanish pubcaster TVE are partnering to produce “This is Not Sweden,” a dark comedy half hour which marks the first Spanish show to be presented at the Göteborg’s Festival’s TV Drama Vision. Set in the idyllic Vallvidrera, a suburb in the foothills of the Collserola mountains surrounding Barcelona,
Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment have joined forces to create Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI), an entertainment company that will offer actors, musicians, sportspersons, gamers and content creators in India opportunities for co-ventures, metaverse solutions, brand partnerships and management. This is the first official cross-corporation joint venture for Sony Group in India.
New adaptations of popular adventure reality show “Survivor” are set to roll out across central and southeastern Europe, Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of Banijay, has revealed. United Media-owned Nova TV in Croatia and Nova S in Serbia will broadcast a first season of the format in late 2022. In addition, TV Markíza in
International streaming service Start has announced it is developing a limited series adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novel “Crime and Punishment.” Created and directed by Vladimir Mirzoyev (“Russian Death,” “Her Name Was Mumu”), the eight-episode drama series will follow the book’s protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov, as well as his sister Dunya. Like the book, the series
British telecom major BT Group revealed that on Thursday that it has “entered exclusive discussions with Discovery, Inc. on a deal to create a new sport and entertainment offering for customers in the U.K.” The new business would be a 50/50 joint venture, bringing together BT Sport with Eurosport U.K. “The new combined business would
The office romance that led to CNN president Jeff Zucker’s abrupt resignation on Wednesday made for shocking headlines. But for media insiders and employees of the news network, the only surprise was that it had finally gone public, sources told Variety. Zucker’s fondness for CNN chief marketing officer Allison Gollust had been common knowledge for
Leading Indian music label and film studio T-Series is diversifying into producing series designed for streaming platforms and has signed up an A-list directorial talent roster. The company’s stated aim is to create content “which shall appeal to all sectors of the audience, with gripping shows across genres,” including action thrillers, biopics, murder mysteries, jailbreak
CBS is finally confirming its celebrity-driven, “Survivor”-style reality series “Beyond the Edge,” which premieres March 16 at 9 p.m. ET. News of the show first leaked in December, including a list of most of the nine stars who had signed on to participate and compete in Panama. The nine celebrities in “Beyond the Edge” are
The death of Cheslie Kryst has spurred an outpouring of emotions around the world, as well as sparked a conversation about mental health awareness. Now, Kryst’s mother is publicly sharing that her daughter privately battled depression — an inner struggle that she did not disclose with even her family and friends. “I have never known
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. In Episode 2 of Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy,” that indeed is Tommy Lee, played by Sebastian Stan, having a deep, honest conversation with his talking penis — voiced by Jason Mantzoukas. It’s unlike anything that has ever been seen on television. Granted, it’s something that couldn’t have ever been seen
Discovery CEO David Zaslav just added another big item to his long to-do list in preparation for the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger: Find a strong replacement for CNN chief Jeff Zucker. Zucker shocked the industry by stepping down from WarnerMedia, where he was CNN president and chairman of news and sports for WarnerMedia, after an investigation into
SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in Season 1, Episode 6 of Lucasfilm’s “The Book of Boba Fett,” currently streaming on Disney Plus. The penultimate episode of the first season of “The Book of Boba Fett” has everything: The return of Grogu! And Luke Skywalker! And Ahsoka Tano! And Cobb Vanth! And Yoda’s
Peacock has shared the first look at its new upcoming comedy series “Killing It,” streaming this April. Created by “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” producers Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici, “Killing It” stars Craig Robinson (“The Office,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) as Craig, a man who competes in a state-sponsored python hunt in his quest to achieve the American
Starz dropped the first teaser for its Sean Penn and Julia Roberts-led Watergate limited series “Gaslit” on Wednesday, revealing the actors’ on-screen transformations into Attorney General John Mitchell, President Richard Nixon’s most trusted advisor and best friend, and his whistleblower wife Martha Mitchell. Also announced was the show’s premiere date, which Starz has set for
Four people have been arrested on federal charges stemming from the overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams last September, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York announced on Wednesday. Irvin Cartagena, 39, is accused of selling heroin laced with fentanyl to Williams in Manhattan on Sept. 5, the day before Williams was found dead
Netflix has ordered the drama series “The Brothers Sun” from co-creators Brad Falchuk and Byron Wu, Variety has learned. The streamer has given the series an eight-episode order. It follows a Taipei gangster, Charles Sun, who’s settled into his life as a ruthless killer. But when his father is shot by a mysterious assassin, Charles must
A new video-streaming service targeting senior citizens is betting that advertisers will finally wake up to the purchasing power of a demographic Madison Avenue has largely ignored. On the latest episode of Variety’s “Strictly Business” podcast, Saltbox TV CEO Jerry Goehring explains how his new venture customizes its product to meet the unique needs of
Donald Trump called Jeff Zucker “a world-class sleazebag” in a statement reacting to Zucker’s shocking resignation from CNN, where he served as the president of CNN Worldwide from January 2013 to February 2022. Zucker announced Feb. 2 in an email to CNN staff that he was resigning from the company immediately, after he failed to
Three of CNN’s top managers, Michael Bass, Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz, were named Wednesday to lead CNN as interim chiefs in the wake of the departure of Jeff Zucker. “We are fortunate to have three senior leaders within the News organization who have agreed to serve as interim co-heads for CNN beginning today through
The “V.C. Verse” has found its official home at A+E Networks. The Lifetime parent company has acquired the rights and licenses to “Flowers in the Attic” author V.C. Andrews’ entire library collection, including all new releases. As part of the deal that gives A+E Networks exclusive access to more than 138 Andrews books, Lifetime —
Whoop Goldberg’s “The View” co-hosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin remained silent on the Wednesday, Feb. 2, episode of the ABC daytime talk show regarding Goldberg’s two-week suspension. ABC News president Kim Godwin announced in the evening of Tuesday, Feb., 1 that Goldberg would be suspended from “The View” following Goldberg’s remarks that
Perhaps the most welcome thing about David Letterman’s Tuesday night return to “Late Night” — the NBC franchise he launched as host 40 years ago — was how perfectly low-key it was. Interviewed by the current “Late Night” host Seth Meyers to mark the anniversary, Letterman was fondly nostalgic about his time as a nightly
ITV Studios Finland and French production and distribution group Oble have partnered up on “Helsinki Crimes,” a new Finnish crime drama which will debut at Goteburg TV Drama Vision. “Helsinki Crimes” is an eight-part crime series based on Matti Yrjänä Joensuu’s bestselling novels. Set in contemporary Helsinki in the height of summer, the series revolves
Janine Sherman Barrois remembers being one of the only Black people in the writers’ room — or on set — when she began in television more than 20 years ago. At the time, she was grateful to get a seat at the table, given how few opportunities there were for Black women in Hollywood. Fast-forward
SkyShowtime, the joint streaming venture between Comcast and ViacomCBS, has received full regulatory approval. It will launch in Europe later this year. SkyShowtime’s CEO Monty Sarhan, who was put in charge of the project last month, will lead the roll-out. Sarhan is a veteran of both Comcast and ViacomCBS. He previously spent more than a
Netflix and Finnish broadcaster YLE are set to co-produce “Dance Brothers,” a young adult dance drama series which marks Endemol Shine Finland’s first scripted commission. “Dance Brothers” is a 10-part Finnish language series created and produced by Max Malka, Endemol Shine Finland’s head of scripted. Filming is set to kick off in the Spring in
Veteran producer and reality TV judge Simon Cowell suffered a bike accident last week and was hospitalized, claim multiple U.K. media reports that emerged on Tuesday night. The “America’s Got Talent” judge had the accident near his London home last Thursday, was hospitalized and then released, the reports claim. “Simon was on the e-bike with