Television

Channel 4’s head of factual, Danny Horan, has spoken out about the network’s latest commission which features “Monty Python” comedian John Cleese hosting a show about cancel culture. “We’re doing that because we felt we needed to address [cancel culture] somehow and he’s got very strong views on that,” Horan said of Cleese during a

Channel 4 wants to be “braver” and “more ambitious,” said Jo Street, the network’s head of daytime and features. Street made the comments during a “Commissioners” panel at the Edinburgh TV Festival alongside head of drama Caroline Hollick, head of factual, Danny Horan and head of entertainment and events Phil Harris. “I think the next

Channel 4 chief content officer Ian Katz believes that the impending privatization of the organization will destroy the essence of the U.K. broadcaster. In a conversation with Variety international editor Manori Ravindran at the ongoing Edinburgh TV Festival on Tuesday, Katz talked up the successful programming strategy of Channel 4, including “It’s A Sin” and

Kicking off its 2021 in-person edition this Thursday, Lille’s Series Mania has announced the creation of two new initiatives which will run under its Series Mania Forum banner. This year, the festival is establishing the Woman in Series Award to honor a key female figure in the European TV industry, as well as the launching

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Aug. 23 episode of “Bachelor in Paradise.” Week two of “Bachelor in Paradise” began with the beloved cast title cards and introductions (including Kenny Braasch’s black box, the return of Connor Brennan’s catsuit and another attempt from Kelsey Weir to open a champagne

ViacomCBS’ sell-off of its iconic real estate properties may next include the CBS Studio Center, popularly known as the “CBS Radford lot,” in Studio City. In a memo to staffers, CBS CEO George Cheeks confirmed that it had hired commercial real estate firm JLL to explore a potential sale of the Radford campus. The news

Florida’s Walt Disney World and the Service Trades Council Union have reached an agreement requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for the majority of their unionized employees, Variety has confirmed. The news was announced in a Twitter post from the Local 362 union on Monday, writing that all employees represented by the STCU must show proof of vaccination by

CM Punk’s debut on “AEW: Rampage” on Friday night scored big in the television ratings. According to Nielsen figures, Friday’s episode of “Rampage” drew 1.129 million viewers, 692,000 of which were in the adults 18-49 demographic. That represents a 0.53 rating in the key demo, the largest rating for any AEW program since the premiere

A ground-breaking survey about diversity and the auditioning process for British actors, believed to be the largest of its kind in the U.K., has revealed that 79% of respondents feel roles continue to stereotype their ethnicities, and 64% have experienced racist stereotyping in an audition. Meanwhile, more than half (55%) of respondents have experienced racist

The rise and swift fall of Mike Richards has resulted in a scramble for the next permanent “Jeopardy!” host, with newly named primetime specials host Mayim Bialik stepping back in as guest host of the syndication mainstay as the search resumes. Richards, an executive producer of the show who previously worked on “The Price Is

Showtime has ordered a drama pilot inspired by the life of Rebecca Bender, a national leader on and survivor of sex trafficking, Variety has learned. The pilot is titled “Coercion.” It hails from Susannah Grant, with Sydney Chandler attached to star. The series picks up with Bender’s escape from the world of sex trafficking after six

Asacha Media Group, the Paris-based company launched in April 2020 by veteran media entrepreneurs, has acquired the French scripted production group Kabo Family. The outfit regroups 10 banners with credits including the long-running hit daily show “Scenes de Menages” and the Amazon Prime’s original series “Mixte.” Asacha Media Group was co-founded by media entrepreneurs Gaspard

Emmy nominee Cynthia Erivo will star in and executive produce “Steel,” a 1970s drama set in London about a fiercely ambitious arms dealer, for MRC Television and Civic Center Media. Per the logline, Erivo (“Genius: Aretha Franklin,” “The Outsider”), will play protagonist Madeline Crowe, a self-made woman who seizes control of her own destiny in

Freeform has renewed the drama “Motherland: Fort Salem” for a third and final season ahead of the second season’s finale on Tuesday. The series, written and created by Eliot Laurence (“Claws,” “The Big Gay Sketch Show”), stars Taylor Hickson, Jessica Sutton, Ashley Nicole Williams, Amalia Holm, Demetria McKinney and Lyne Renée. “We’re excited to bring

DeMane Davis, television director, producer and award-winning filmmaker of projects such as “Queen Sugar” and “Self Made,” has signed an overall creative deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. Under the terms of the pact, Davis joins the team of the upcoming DC Comics drama “Naomi” for The CW. Davis will serve as co-executive producer and

BAFTA-winning dramatist and playwright Jack Thorne has slammed the U.K. TV industry’s shoddy treatment of disability and has called for a quota to redress the situation. Delivering the annual James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Thorne, a disabled professional whose credits include the West End play “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child,”

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi has signed a multi-genre development deal with Boat Rocker. Kendi will develop projects under his Maroon Visions production banner, with Boat Rocker backing projects through their scripted, unscripted, and kids & family divisions. The Boat Rocker partners will hire a new creative executive to oversee Maroon Visions’ creative affairs alongside Kendi.

Netflix announced that “Maid” will premiere Oct. 1. The limited series inspired by Stephanie Land’s memoir, “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive,” centers on Alex (Margaret Qualley), a single mother who turns to housecleaning to support herself and her young daughter after leaving an abusive marriage. The show also stars

“Drag Race” fans, rejoice: VH1 has renewed three of RuPaul’s signature shows, including “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked.” “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will return for its 14th season with a new group of queens. The Season 13 premiere was the most watched episode in the franchise’s history. The

In a premise that seems borrowed from “Black Mirror,” Adrian Grenier’s Nick Brewer appears in a startling web video near the start of Netflix’s “Clickbait, holding a sign indicating that once his taped confession of abuse gets 5 million views, he will die. The clip, of course, goes viral. And unsure where he is, his

The TV industry has for decades relied on a single yardstick: Nielsen ratings. Now NBCUniversal has suggested it may have to accept multiple measurement benchmarks. The Comcast-backed entertainment conglomerate says it’s in the midst of “assembling a full suite of interoperable measurement solutions that are as advanced, diverse, easy-to-use, and multi-platform as the ways people

On Monday morning, Apple TV Plus unveiled a full second season trailer for “The Morning Show,” the series that launched the streamer on Nov. 1, 2019. The 10-episode Season 2 of the morning news drama — starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and run by executive producer Kerry Ehrin — will premiere on Sept. 17,

UPDATED: After targeting ITN’s London offices, anti-vaccination protesters moved on to Google’s U.K. headquarters. “They are not giving you the right information,” the protestors chanted. 🚨 | NEW: Anti covid vaccine protesters are now trying to get in to the Google Headquarterspic.twitter.com/3xnZ9QA3Fk — News For All (@NewsForAllUK) August 23, 2021 Anti vaccination protestors previously stormed

Netflix has released first look photos of the upcoming “Cowboy Bebop” adaptation starring John Cho, which premieres on Nov. 19.  Based on the renowned late ‘90s anime series of the same name, this live-action reboot is an outer space-set western that follows a team of bounty hunters led by Spike Spiegel (Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa

“CSI: Vegas” star William Petersen was briefly hospitalized on Friday after feeling unwell on the set of the sequel series, Variety has confirmed. However, a representative for Petersen says the 68-year-old actor was taken to the hospital “as a precautionary measure,” as he has been exhausted from working long hours on the set of the show

Fox News said it has helped to evacuate four Afghan freelancers and their associates — 24 people in all — as part of a larger move by media organizations to secure an exit from the country for nationals who have helped their on the ground efforts in the region. In a memo to staffers on

Rachel Maddow will stay at MSNBC, according to two people familiar with the matter, after negotiating a new pact that will keep her at the cable-news outlet beyond 2022. Maddow, who is the linchpin of the network’s primetime lineup, had been considering her own independent content ventures, and had enlisted top executives at Endeavor to

Michaela Coel, Norman Lear and Steve McQueen were among the special achievement honorees at the third annual AAFCA TV Honors on Saturday. The event, presented by the African American Film Critics Association, was held virtually, with Emmy-nominee Yvette Nicole Brown hosting the award show. Honorees including Wanda Sykes, Naomi Ackie and Omar Sy beamed in from

Nickolas Davatzes, longtime CEO of A+E Networks who steered the launch of A&E Network and History Channel, died Saturday at his home in Wilton, Conn. He was 79. Davatzes joined the company as CEO in 1983 just as A&E Networks was formed through the merger of fledgling cable channels Entertainment Network, owned by RCA and

As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 fast approaches, you’ll have no shortage of options should you want — for whatever reason —to watch a documentary about it. As a mere sampling: there’s “One Day in America” from National Geographic, “Generation 9/11” from PBS, “9/11: Inside the President’s War Room” from Apple TV Plus, and an