Top Indian actor and producer Suriya is all set to continue his existing deal with Amazon Prime Video India. Suriya’s production and distribution company 2D Entertainment specializes in Tamil-language films. In May 2020, at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, when cinemas were shuttered, 2D bowed J. J. Federick’s “Ponmagal Vandhal,”
Television
Anheuser-Busch InBev has used the Super Bowl for decades primarily as a vehicle to sell beer. In a few weeks, however, the brewing giant will be serving a much wider array of beverages at the Big Game. The company’s flagship beverage, Budweiser, will chart a return to the gridiron classic after staying on the sidelines
SALES BBC Studios has scored a raft of sales on all seasons of smash hit series “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Amazon Prime Video will take non-exclusive SVOD global rights to all four series of the series and the special, “The Abominable Bride,” excluding the U.S., Australia,
The British Film Commission (BFC) has updated its COVID production guidance following the relaxation of rules in England and Northern Ireland. England will return to “Plan A” protocols tomorrow (Jan. 27), which includes the scrapping of work-from-home guidance and the requirement for mandatory face coverings in indoor venues. Organizations will also be able to choose
The Walt Disney Company’s streamer Disney Plus has confirmed a summer 2022 launch across Europe, Africa and West Asia in 42 countries and 11 new territories. New countries for the service include South Africa, Turkey, Poland and the United Arab Emirates. The countries that the streamer will launch in include Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Don’t Let Me Keep You,” Tuesday’s episode of “This Is Us.” While there are many loose ends that “This Is Us” still has left to tie up for fans almost halfway through its sixth and final season, the fate of Milo Ventimiglia’s Jack Pearson
In a bid to tap into the intense demand for premium Spanish-language content, veteran Spanish entertainment executive Pepe Huertas has launched TV production company, Tres Vacas. He’s joined by seasoned showrunners Pilar Nadal and Felipe Mellizo, creators of such top selling dramatic series as “Águila Roja” (“Red Eagle”) and “Un Paso Adelante” (“One Step Forward”).
Shaun Cassidy is stepping into the ranch family drama game with “Unbroken,” a drama pilot ordered by NBC. The show, which hails from Universal Television and Shaun Cassidy Productions, centers on three dynastic ranch families on the central coast of California, who make love and war in a passionate struggle to survive. Ultimately, this sets
Byrde family fans flocked to Netflix to watch “Ozark” Season 4, Part 1, drawing more viewers than any other TV series in its debut week on the streamer. The first half of the final season of the Jason Bateman-led drama landed at No. 1 on Netflix’s English-language TV Top 10 list for the week of
Digital entrepreneur Jon Steinberg is exiting the streaming business news service that he founded in 2016 and sold to cable operator Altice USA three years later. On Tuesday, Altice promoted Keith Bowen to president of Altice News and Advertising. He’ll succeed Steinberg in leading the cable operator’s in-house News 12 hyper-local news operation serving parts
Best Ever Channels and The Stand Group announced Tuesday the launch of a new FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) comedy channel Witz. Featuring stand-up comedy specials, talk shows and curated library programming, the channel is set to launch later this year. FAST channels are designed to mimic live television with ads, as opposed to on-demand
Alf Clausen, the longtime “Simpsons” composer who was fired in 2017, has dropped his wrongful termination lawsuit, in which he accused Fox of age and disability discrimination. Clausen, 80, filed the suit in August 2019, alleging that Fox and Gracie Films had fired him because of his age and Parkinson’s diagnosis. Clausen worked on the
“Peppa Pig” owners eOne have filed a lawsuit against animation studio SConnect. Vietnamese-owned Sconnect run a number of YouTube channels aimed at young children including “Wolfoo,” about a cartoon wolf and his anthropomorphic friends, stop-motion “WOA Luka” and traditional 2D animation “Max’s Puppy Dog.” “Wolfoo” boasts three verified YouTube channels, one with 10.9 million subscribers,
Sony Pictures Television has promoted Jennifer Turner to head of its TriStar Television, effective immediately. As the new executive vice president of the banner, Turner aims to expand the creative universe for TriStar Television, canvassing both coasts for fresh perspectives and projects that align with the label’s mission to champion diverse, authentic characters and underrepresented
Vachik Mangassarian, known for his work in “NCIS,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and more, has died. He was 78. A rep for Mangassarian told the Hollywood Reporter he died in Burbank, Calif. from COVID-19 complications. On “NCIS,” he played a fake Iranian president and on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” he played a cleric. His
“The Righteous Gemstones” has been renewed for Season 3 at HBO. The news comes as the comedy series is still airing its second season, which is due to air its finale on Feb. 27 on the premium cabler. Season 2 kicked off on Jan. 9 with the first two episodes dropping, with new episodes airing
Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei’s documentary short “Three Songs for Benazir” is that rare love story that dares to find hope beyond war. After winning numerous awards worldwide, the film, produced by Omar Mullick (“These Birds Walk”) alongside Hamayoun Noori and Jamil Rezaei, was snapped up by Netflix. It is also shortlisted in the Academy
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched the premiere of “Promised Land” on ABC or Hulu. One could say that Matt Lopez was born to be the first to break ground at ABC as the creator of a multigenerational series about a wealthy, interwoven Latino family vying for power and prestige in
Bruce Miller has renewed his multiyear overall deal with Disney. “The Handmaid’s Tale” showrunner previously signed a joint overall pact with Hulu and MGM in 2018. Miller’s new deal is still with Hulu, but now adds in Disney’s ABC Signature to the mix. While MGM, which produces “The Handmaid’s Tale” and its in-the-works sequel “The
Jorja Fox is leaving CBS’ “CSI: Vegas” ahead of the second season of the “CSI” revival spinoff series. “Hey all you #CSI fans! After much deliberating, I have decided not to ‘Sidle up’ for CSI Vegas. For me CSI has always been a love story. The story that people can find love in the darkest
After the firestorm earlier this month caused by caused by racist (and deleted) Facebook posts by “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” cast member Jennie Nguyen, Bravo announced Tuesday that she has been fired from the show. It had recently begun filming its third season in Utah with Nguyen, Heather Gay, Whitney Rose, Jen Shah,
Let’s get after it: Even as CNN puts much of its energy into launching a new streaming-video hub, it’s also trying to figure out how to replace Chris Cuomo in its pivotal 9 p.m. time slot. Some staffers at the WarnerMedia network believe CNN has been holding the equivalent of on-air tryouts in recent weeks,
Is one football game big enough for two different networks? NBC and Fox both intend to broadcast the (new) inaugural game from the USFL, the latest in a series of efforts to launch a spring football league that can soak up attention while the NFL is on its usual hiatus. Under an agreement unveiled Tuesday,
The Göteborg Film Festival’s annual TV industry event, TV Drama Vision, has unveiled its program, which focuses on sustainability and healthy working conditions at a time of hyper-competition in the drama space. TV Drama Vision is set to unspool both in-person and online over Feb. 2-3. As opening keynote, Johanna Koljonen, author of the anticipated
With a number of remakes and a movie in the pipeline, “Call My Agent!,” the International Emmy Award-winning series set at a Parisian talent agency, has become one of the most powerful television shows to emerge from France. The series’ producers, Mediawan-owned Mon Voisin Productions and Mother Production, are co-producing the highly anticipated U.K. remake
Chinese video streaming firm iQiyi has teamed with Canada’s Wildbrain to jointly produce kids’ animation series “Jonny Jetboy.” The series was hatched by Keith Chapman, creator of “PAW Patrol” and “Bob The Builder” and will run to an initial forty 11-minute episodes. The story follows Jonny Jones, the youngest member of a family of heroes
Gaumont, the venerable French film and television group behind “The Intouchables” and “Lupin,” is launching in Italy with Marco Rosi, an industry veteran joining from Lux Vide, and a bullish first slate. The company is already well-established in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. Its expansion in Italy represents a logical step in Gaumont’s global
Reigning “Jeopardy” champion Amy Schneider is coming for Ken Jennings’ hall-of-fame spot. She may have a long way to go, but on Monday, Schneider claimed her 39th victory, making her the contestant with the second-most consecutive wins in the game show’s history. Only Jennings, who newly took over hosting duties from the late Alex Trebek,
Alyssa Milano is attached to executive produce a series adaptation of Dr. Connie Mariano’s memoir “The White House Doctor” that is in development at Fox, Variety has learned. Per the show’s logline, the White House doctor is known as the “Shadow of the President.” Whether in the ER-like Medical Unit in the White House itself or traveling
In the early 2000s, Jesse Palmer played for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. In 2004, he moved from the football field to television as the star of “The Bachelor” Season 5. Now, nearly two decades later, Palmer is the host of the reality dating show — and the former NFL quarterback says,