Television

ESPN used to rely on two talented female sportscasters, Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor, for some of its top basketball coverage. Going forward, the network isn’t going to have either. ESPN has decided to cancel “The Jump,” the Nichols-led weekday daily basketball-news program and take the sportscaster off of NBA coverage. The decision comes after

CM Punk lit the pro wrestling world on fire when he returned to the ring for AEW on Aug. 20, but now he is getting ready to debut as a completely different character on the Starz drama series “Heels.” The series is built around a small-town wrestling promotion in Georgia and follows the rivalry between

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Clickbait,” streaming now on Netflix. In the first episode of Netflix’s new limited series, “Clickbait,” a husband and father named Nick (Adrian Grenier) is kidnapped and filmed holding a sign that says he abuses women and will be killed when the video reaches 5 million

Lin-Manuel Miranda has spoken out about the negative effects of social media at the Edinburgh TV Festival. “[The voices] can be loud in your head, good and bad,” the “Hamilton” writer and actor said. “And when you’re an artist who puts things into the world, you know, you’re always having to balance how much you

Jacob Anderson has been cast in the lead role of the “Interview With the Vampire” series at AMC, Variety has learned. Anderson will play the titular vampire, Louis, known in the novel as Louis de Pointe du Lac. The book centers on Louis as he relates the story of his life to a reporter, in particular how

Amazon Prime Video released a trailer for the fourth and final season of “Goliath,” which premieres Sept. 24. Viewers were left with a cliffhanger in the Season 3 finale, when lawyer Billy (Billy Bob Thornton) faced a murder attempt. In the new season, Billy returns to his Big Law roots and attempts to take on

United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed actor, author, activist and “In Treatment” co-executive producer Noa Tishby for representation. As an actor, Tishby recently appeared in the Showtime drama “The Affair” and completed shooting the third season of her talk show “Life by Noa Tishby.” She began her acting career in Israel as a teen and

ITV managing director Kevin Lygo used questionable phrasing to defend the duty of care standards applied to the channel’s juggernaut show “Love Island,” which has lost two former contestants and its host Caroline Flack to suicide. In a discussion of the 25,000 complaints lodged against an episode of the most recent season, which saw contestant

Fremantle and De Maio Entertainment have signed a partnership with Afua Hirsch’s U.K. based production company Born In Me for an exclusive global first look deal. The agreement will give Fremantle, in collaboration with De Maio Entertainment, the rights to co-develop, produce, and distribute, scripted and unscripted television and film projects with Born In Me.

The ongoing discussions around the working lives of U.K. TV freelancers have coalesced into The Freelance Charter, a historic document that was revealed at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday. The charter is spearheaded by pan-industry working group Coalition for Change, founded and chaired by TV freelancer and founder of The TV Mindset, Adeel Amini.

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Aug. 24 episode of “Bachelor in Paradise.” The last episode of “Bachelor in Paradise” included an elimination ceremony that left 10 pairs remaining on the beach but promised more contestants would enter. The men previously passed out the roses, but this time the

“Betty” has been canceled after two seasons at HBO, Variety has confirmed exclusively. Created by Crystal Moselle, “Betty” is a teen comedy series based on Moselle’s critically-acclaimed 2018 film “Skate Kitchen.” It follows the lives of an all-girl group of skateboarders as they navigate the male-dominated sport. “We will not be moving forward with a third season

The staff of MSNBC has voted to form a union with WGA East, marking the first such successful organizing drive in cable news. The membership voted 141-58 to organize, according to a tally by the National Labor Relations Board. The campaign had the backing of MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, Joy Reid, Medhi Hasan

William Clotworthy, a former standards and practices executive who was referred to as “Doctor No” by the “Saturday Night Live” team, died in hospice in Salt Lake City, Utah on Aug. 19. He was 95. Clotworthy’s son, actor Robert Clotworthy, confirmed the news to Variety. Born on Jan. 13, 1926, in Westfield, NJ., Clotworthy started

Fellow “Saturday Night Live” alums and Emmy award-winning actors Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg have been tapped to co-host Peacock’s new holiday culinary competition series “Baking It” from the creators of the crafting competition show “Making It.” Their former “SNL” cast member and friend, Amy Poehler, executive produces via her Paper Kite Productions banner with

U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, a network set up in 1982 by Margaret Thatcher with a remit of championing unheard voices and taking “bold, creative risks,” is presenting an industry first on Sept. 10, when its entire schedule — including commercial breaks — will feature Black on- and off-screen talent. Titled “Black to Front,” the initiative

NBCUniversal intends to identify a group of partners for its ambitious measurement plans by mid September — and traditional measurement companies like Nielsen and Comscore are in the mix, the company disclosed Tuesday. NBCU on Monday unveiled its ambition to launch a new, independent measurement system for advertisers, an eyebrow-raising maneuver that takes place as

All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. After a two-year hiatus, your favorite singles have returned to Mexico to find love (or at a least

During the last eight years since Dexter Morgan faked his own death and went off the grid in Showtime’s serial killer drama, he has lived a “nomadic” existence according to star and executive producer Michael C. Hall. But when the continuation limited series, “Dexter: New Blood,” picks back up with him, he has settled down

“The Witcher” writer Jenny Klein, who was on the creative team for NBC and Blumhouse Television’s limited podcast-to-screen adaptation “The Thing About Pam,” has been promoted to showrunner of the series. Klein, who has also written for “Supernatural” and “Jessica Jones,” replaces Jessika Borsiczky (“House of Lies,” “Sex/Life”). Borsiczky left the project due to creative

Showtime’s co-presidents of entertainment, Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, addressed moving the “Halo” series to Paramount Plus during a virtual TCA session on Tuesday. “The truth is that [“Halo”] was always a bit of an outlier for us in terms of its fit in the Showtime universe,” Winograde said. “And we did an amazing job

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg has said more stories need to be told about the climate change crisis. Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Tuesday alongside Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo, Thunberg encouraged attendees to turn their attention to the environment in their work. “I know so many — whether it is artists, storytellers,

The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has taken back the honorary Emmy it had awarded then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year. In a statement, the org announced on Tuesday that “in light of the New York Attorney General’s report, and Andrew Cuomo’s subsequent resignation as Governor, it is rescinding his special 2020

The animated “Magic: The Gathering” series at Netflix has cast Brandon Routh in the lead role. The announcement was made during Wizards of the Coast’s Magic Showcase 2021 stream. Plot details on the series are still being kept under wraps, but it was confirmed that Routh will voice the character Gideon Jura. It was previously

Netflix released a trailer for Season 6 of “Nailed It!,” which premieres Sept. 15. In the new season, the bakers face even tougher challenges than ever before, including making paranormal pastries, celebrating Black history by creating edible versions of historical icons, and recreating chocolate masterpieces inspired by judge and chocolatier Jacques Torres. The trailer, which

For those who have been watching “Bachelor in Paradise” this season, things look different down in Mexico. For the first time ever, the summer series is not being led by Chris Harrison. Following the longtime host’s controversial departure earlier this year, the gig is being filled by a rotating slew of celebrities: former boy bander

Yellowbrick, the New York-based online education platform that focuses on developing training and certification programs for careers in arts, entertainment, media and sports, has acquired the Animation Mentor platform that targets animation-specific instruction. Yellowbrick has also landed a seven-figure investment from Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, a venture capital fund led by Sony and others

“Love Island” scored a record 2.8 million viewers for ITV2 during the season finale on Monday night, which saw loved-up duo Millie Court and Liam Reardon take home the £50,000 cash prize along with requisite bragging rights. The numbers were 430,000 higher than the last season final, and beat the highest season 7 episode by

Netflix U.K. is growing its stable of unscripted shows with a monster-sized dance competition, an awkward dating show that puts siblings in the hot seat and a reality series that sends a group of “snowflakes” into the wilderness to learn some home truths. The streamer has also set a winter debut for its reality hit

Josh Sapan, a cable pioneer who has headed AMC Networks and its predecessors in the Dolan cable dynasty for more than 25 years, is seguing to the vice chairman role at AMC Networks. Matt Blank, a contemporary of Sapan’s who headed Showtime for 20 years, has been tapped as interim CEO while AMC Networks conducts