Sarah Jessica Parker paid tribute to her “Sex and the City” co-star Willie Garson, whose death on Sept. 21 at the age of 57 shocked Hollywood, in a touching Instagram post. Garson played Stanford, the stylish, gay best friend of Parker’s main character Carrie Bradshaw, in the “Sex and the City” TV show, films and
Television
Michael K. Williams, the iconic actor who was found dead on Sept. 6 in his Brooklyn residence, died of an overdose of fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine. Variety confirmed the news with a spokesperson for New York City’s chief medical examiner’s office. Williams, who brought quiet intensity to series such as “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire,”
Netflix announced “The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea” will premiere Oct. 22. The three-part docuseries follows Yoo Young-chul, a notorious serial killer who came to light as a psychopath to the Korean public in 2004. From 2003-2004, Young-chul killed a total of 20 people in various parts of Seoul, targeting wealthy elderly people
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” which entered its 23rd season this fall, and “Organized Crime’s” sophomore season with Christopher Meloni won primetime for NBC last night during their season debuts at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively. Per Nielsen Live+Same Day overnight fast nationals, the three-hour block dedicated to the Dick Wolf franchise altogether
After a long delay between its first two seasons, and shifting from Comedy Central to HBO Max, “The Other Two” is has found a happy home: HBO Max has renewed the comedy for a third season. “The Other Two” premiered on Comedy Central in January 2019, and was renewed the next month. But when the
A planned interview with Vice President Kamala Harris on “The View” was derailed Friday when two of the show’s co-hosts were asked to exit mid-broadcast because they tested positive for COVID. At the start of the show’s second segment, a producer asked Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin to exit the stage. “More information later —
A movie revival of the “Teen Wolf” MTV series is in the works at Paramount Plus as part of a new overall deal series creator Jeff Davis has signed with MTV Entertainment Studios, Variety has learned exclusively. Davis’ multi-year deal will see him write and executive produce the film, with talks currently underway with original series
BTF Media announced Friday that it is launching BTF Megaseries, a new production unit dedicated to long-form series which will bring to the international marketplaces several new fiction format proposals. According to BTF, a megaseries is any fiction drama series of more than 26 episodes. The new unit was developed and established by BTF Media
Writer-director David S. Goyer is certainly no stranger to translating beloved, larger-than-life properties to life on screen, from the superheroic (including Marvel’s “Blade” franchise and DC’s “Dark Knight” trilogy) to science fiction (“Terminator: Dark Fate” and “FlashForward”) to supernaturally mythic tales (the forthcoming “Sandman” streaming series). But Goyer had yet to face a task as
The “House of the Dragon” continues to grow, with the “Game of Thrones” prequel series announcing seven new actors for its already expansive cast. Ryan Corr, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Graham McTavish, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, and Gavin Spokes have all joined the highly-anticipated HBO series. Previously announced cast members include Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke,
Russell T. Davies, the veteran screenwriter who is credited with helping to revive “Doctor Who” in 2005, will take over from current showrunner Chris Chibnall. Davies will return to the long-running series in 2023, which also happens to be the show’s 60th anniversary. The next season will be a co-pro between BBC Studios and Welsh-based
A former top TV news producer alleged in a New York Times opinion piece that Chris Cuomo touched her inappropriately years ago when both of them worked for ABC News, a disclosure that threatens to add to public perception issues around the anchor, who leads CNN’s most-watched primetime program. Shelley Ross, a former executive producer
FESTIVAL Isabelle Huppert (“The Lacemaker,” “The Piano Teacher”) has been appointed as the president of the jury that will decide the competition winners at the Tokyo International Film Festival (Oct. 30-Nov. 8, 2021). “Ms. Huppert is not only a great French actress with intelligence and insight, but also a world-renowned filmmaker with a successful and
Sky has unveiled the official trailer for the fifth and final season of “Gomorrah,” Italy’s cult crime series produced by Sky Studios and ITV-owned Cattleya in collaboration with Germany’s Beta Film, which is the show’s international distributor. “Gomorrah” 5 is set to air locally on Nov. 19 after world premiering as the closing event of
“Foundation” isn’t TV’s first stab at adapting a dense, beloved book series to the screen, and it won’t be the last. But in taking on Isaac Asimov’s seminal works of science fiction, the new Apple TV Plus drama does, at least, do something rather unusual for adaptations. Instead of doing its best to faithfully recreate
For anyone paying close attention, Ted Lasso’s Season 2 breakdown was inevitable. Despite the soccer coach’s aggressively sunny demeanor, the writing was on the wall from his very first press conference in the show’s pilot episode, when he gets so overwhelmed by jet lag and the barrage of sneering attention that a high-pitched ringing creeps
Emmy award-winner Uzo Aduba has teamed up with Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) for a new PSA to encourage cancer patients to share their experiences in order to hopefully accelerate the pace of cancer research. The campaigns encourage patients to share their health information, including clinical information, samples and voices. The information could play an
Jaden Michael has been cast in the lead role in the YA pilot based on the Harlan Coben novel “Shelter,” Variety has learned exclusively. “Shelter” hails from Amazon Studios and MGM International Television Productions. It tells the story of high school junior Mickey Bolitar (Michael) as he navigates his new life with a mom in
Al Harrington, the Samoan-American actor known for his role as Detective Ben Kokua on “Hawaii Five-0,” died Sept. 21 after suffering a stroke earlier this month. He was 85. Harrington was one of the last living cast members from the original CBS drama that aired from 1968 to 1980. He also had a recurring role
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which happens from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, television networks are unveiling slates of themed content including new campaigns, sports broadcasting, live specials and more. Among this year’s programming options is NBCUniversal and Telemundo’s “Come With Us,” an initiative that includes special programming and digital elements designed to reach
Carole Baskin, a major figure in Netflix’s original “Tiger King” docuseries, has lashed out about the upcoming sequel, “Tiger King 2,” and its directors. On Thursday, Netflix announced the new “Tiger King” series with brief footage of Baskin and Joe Exotic, with the latter phoning in from jail, where he is currently serving a 17-year
The 2021-2022 TV season officially kicked off Monday, with a new season of “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC, the return of comedies, “NCIS” and the new “NCIS Hawai’i” on CBS, NBC’s new season of “The Voice” and the premiere of drama “Ordinary Joe,” and Fox’s new season bow of “9-1-1” and the launch of
Viaplay, the ambitious Scandinavian streaming service from NENT Group, is about to grow its footprint in several key markets around the world. The company, whose recent hit shows include “Porni,” “Those Who Kill” and “Honour,” just unveiled its plan to launch in the U.K. in the second half of 2022, and in Canada, Germany, Switzerland
The upcoming Fox country music drama “Monarch” has cast its final two series regulars. Martha Higareda and Emma Milani have both joined the series alongside previously announced cast members Beth Ditto, Trace Adkins, Susan Sarandon, Anna Friel, Joshua Sasse, Meagan Holder, and Inigo Pascual. The series follows America’s “first family” of country music, including mother
Jake Coburn has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television. Under the deal, Coburn will develop and produce projects for broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms. Coburn most recently co-created the drama series “The Endgame,” which was picked up to series at NBC earlier this week. “Jake is a dynamic storyteller with a keen knack for
Welcome to the evening-news wars, Meghan Rafferty. NBC News named the producer to lead its “NBC Nightly News,” replacing Jenn Suozzo, who recently departed for a senior role at CNN. In a memo to staffers Thursday, NBC News President Noah Oppenheim cited Rafferty’s “keen news instincts and innovative vision” and indicated she would play a
“Derry Girls,” the popular Channel 4 comedy set in 1990s Northern Ireland, is ending after its upcoming Season 3, creator Lisa McGee announced on Twitter on Thursday. Season 3, which is heading into production, will mark the end of the show, but a trio of seasons was always the plan, McGee said. “It was always
It’s official: Another installment of “Tiger King,” the docuseries that captivated millions of Netflix users in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is coming. Netflix revealed on Thursday morning that the continuation, titled “Tiger King 2,” will premiere on the streamer later this year. The news came as Netflix announced its upcoming true crime
No matter what is going on in the outside world, one thing most of us can agree on is, there are few things better than sitting down and immersing yourself in a clever comedy for 30 minutes — or for a full season binge. On tough days, there is something therapeutic about it, while on
Award-winning Netflix series “The Crown” will give viewers a glimpse into the doomed relationship between Diana, Princess of Wales, and Egyptian department store heir Dodi Fayed that ended in their tragic deaths. Variety can reveal that “The Kite Runner” star Khalid Abdalla has been cast as Dodi, who will play opposite Elizabeth Debicki (“Tenet”) in