Television

“Paper Empire,” a new series from creator Robert Gillings, has added actors Danny Glover and Richard Grieco. The project, acquired by Hannibal Pictures during this year’s European Film Market, has a previously announced cast Including Wesley Snipes, Denise Richards, Robert Davi, Steve Guttenberg, Michael Nouri, Robert Knepper, and Anne Archer. Gillings serves as writer-director on

The showrunner on Peacock’s drama reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” has stepped down, Variety has confirmed. Chris Collins will no longer serve as showrunner and executive producer on the series, which is titled “Bel-Air.” He was also set to co-write with Morgan Cooper. Instead, T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson have stepped in to serve

Hulu has given a series order to the drama “Tell Me Lies,” based on the book of the same name by Carola Lovering. Grace Van Patten will star in the series with Emma Roberts executive producing. The series follows a tumultuous but intoxicating relationship as it unfolds over the course of 8 years. When Lucy

Is there anything more romantic than a yacht in New York City’s harbor, illuminated by the yellow-orange of the setting sun and backdropped by the Statue of Liberty, a mirage in the distance? What about if the sunset-drenched yacht was filled with Amazon Studios producers and television stars, relieved that their show, about love and

Poppy Liu has joined the cast of “Dead Ringers” at Amazon, Variety has learned. She joins previously announced series lead Rachel Weisz and recently announced cast member Michael Chernus. The series was announced at the streaming service in August 2020 with a straight-to-series order. It is a modern update of the 1988 David Cronenberg film of

Kerry Bishé has joined the Showtime anthology series “Super Pumped,” the first season of which will tackle the rise of ride sharing company Uber. Bishé joins previously announced cast members Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Kyle Chandler. Gordon-Levitt will star as Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick, while Chandler will play Texas venture capitalist Bill Gurley. Bishé

Crunchyroll is developing “Dark Star Squadron,” a space-opera anime series, in partnership with Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar Pictures production shingle. Crunchyroll also announced that it now has more than 5 million paying subscribers and more than 120 million registered users worldwide. AT&T’s $1.2 billion deal to sell Crunchyroll to Sony Pictures — which owns Crunchyroll competitor

CAA has signed Academy Award nominee and Emmy-nominated “Indian Matchmaking” creator Smriti Mundhra for representation in all areas. Mundhra created and executive produced the Netflix original series, which is nominated for an Emmy award for outstanding unstructured reality program. “Indian Matchmaking” offered an inside look at the custom of matchmaking in Indian cultures through a

SALES Dori Media Group (DMG) has sold Israeli drama “Normal” to WarnerMedia in Latin America, where the series will be available on HBO Max. the series premiered in November of last year on Israel’s HOT, pulling strong reviews and ratings, finishing the year as one of the broadcasters top three most-watched dramas. Based on the

The team behind the blockbuster Michael Jordan docuseries “The Last Dance” are now taking their jam to space. Netflix has picked up “Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission To Space,” from producer Connor Schell and director Jason Hehir, which will chronicle this September’s SpaceX Dragon mission Inspiration4, in which four civilians will travel into space on a three-day

Documentary filmmaker Peter Kunhardt began working on HBO’s “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union” in 2014, while the former president was still in the White House. The director-exec producer and Jelani Cobb, a writer for the New Yorker and exec producer on this three-part docuseries, spent four years researching and discovering rare and

Comedian London Hughes (“London Hughes: To Catch a D*ck”) will deliver the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, which has also added Neil Gaiman (“Good Omens”), Steve Coogan (“Philomena”) and environmental speaker Greta Thunberg to its line-up. Hughes, the first British Black woman nominated for the Dave Edinburgh Comedy ‘Best Show’ Award in

Marina Zenovich’s “What Happens in Hollywood,” a docuseries about sex and power behind the scenes, will premiere later this month on the Roku Channel. Part of Roku Originals, a collection of 75 short-form series originally produced for Quibi, “What Happens In Hollywood” is a candid 10-part docuseries that examines Hollywood’s role in framing society’s overall

Apple TV Plus released a trailer for the second season of its anthological drama series “Truth Be Told,” premiering on Aug. 20. “Truth Be Told” stars Octavia Spencer, who also executive produces, as true-crime podcaster Poppy Parnell. In the first season of the NAACP Image award-winning series, Poppy reexamines the cast of a convicted murderer

Discovery CEO David Zaslav has big ambition to build up the Warner Bros. Discovery venture to reach some 200 million streaming subscribers around the world. But first, he has to close the $43 billion WarnerMedia spinoff transaction with AT&T that surprised in the industry in May. On Discovery’s second-quarter earnings call Tuesday, Zaslav said progress

Discovery said second-quarter profit increased as advertising rebounded from a pullback last year during the coronavirus pandemic and as the company attracted new customers — 18 million to date — to its new streaming operations. Net income came to $672 million, or $1.01 per share, compared with $271 million, or 40 cents a share. The

Simone Biles earned a third place bronze medal in the balance beam final on Tuesday after returning to the Tokyo Olympics. Wearing the number 392, Biles was the second gymnast to perform. She looked strong and confident, and beamed a huge smile of relief after making a solid landing. Her grin slipped somewhat after learning

Australian drama “RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service” has been sold to a range of global broadcasters including PBS in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the U.K. It has also been acquired by Sweden’s TV4, Belgium’s SBS, Talpa in the Netherlands and New Zealand’s TVNZ. In the U.K. it will be broadcast on Channel 4’s

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the August 2 episode of “The Bachelorette.” Hometown dates on “The Bachelor” franchise are historically dominated by conversations with parents and establishing familial approval. However, Bachelorette Katie Thurston’s week of hometown dates was largely monopolized by tension with her self-described frontrunner, Greg Grippo. Greg

Judge Andrew Napolitano, a legal contributor for Fox News, is no longer employed by the network following allegations of sexual harassment. In a complaint filed on Monday, a 27-year-old Fox News associate producer alleged that Napolitano has “sexually harassed numerous young male employees during his tenure at Fox News.” The plaintiff, whose name is John

Production on the upcoming season of Fox’s “The Masked Singer” continues, even as the network confirms that 12 cases of COVID-19 have been identified on set. According to the Los Angeles County Public Health website, those 12 confirmed positive cases came at Red Studios Hollywood, where “The Masked Singer” is shooting its sixth season, set

Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe have closed deals to serve as co-hosts for the upcoming 18th season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” ABC and Warner Bros. Television have confirmed the news to Variety. Adams and Bristowe are currently co-hosting the 17th season of “The Bachelorette,” starring Katie Thurston, which is airing on Monday nights and wraps

Emmy Awareness Survey: Here Are the Nominated Shows That Audiences Have Heard Of, Have Seen and Deem ‘Excellent’ It’s a question that we always have about the nominated Emmy series: What have audiences actually heard of, and what have they seen? Greg Durkin, the principal at research firm Guts + Data, has some stats. Guts + Data

DirecTV has completed its spinoff from AT&T through complicated transaction with TPG Capital. The deal, unveiled in February, turns DirecTV into a standalone company in which TPG owns a 30% stake. The new DirecTV encompasses all of AT&T’s previous video and streaming businesses in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow called it

The $900 million acquisition of Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine by private equity giant Blackstone is a big step toward the launch of a media holding company that will revolve around the three Cs: content, commerce and community. Disney alums Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs are guiding Blackstone’s investment in content ventures and will serve as

Lily James’ transformation into Pamela Anderson on Hulu’s “Pam and Tommy” took “anywhere from three to five hours of hair and makeup every morning before we even started filming,” revealed Barry Lee Moe, hair department head for the upcoming limited series. The comedy show takes on the true story behind the first-ever viral video in

Nightbirde, the 30-year-old singer whose original song “It’s OK” stunned judges on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” announced that she will be leaving the show to focus on her fight against cancer. “Sharing my heart with the world on ‘AGT’ has been an honor and a dream come true. My point of view this summer has

“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” has been renewed for Season 2 at Disney Plus. Set in present day Minnesota, the series takes place after the events of the original films. The Mighty Ducks have evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive, powerhouse youth hockey team. After 12-year-old Evan Morrow (Brady Noon) is unceremoniously cut from

Aubrey Plaza is set to star in the Hulu drama pilot “Olga Dies Dreaming,” Variety has learned. The show was ordered to pilot at the streamer back in April. It tells the story of a Nuyorican brother and sister (Plaza) from a gentrifying Sunset Park, Brooklyn, reckoning with the absent, politically radical mother and their glittering

Peabody and Golden Globe winner Prentice Penny has signed a new eight-figure, multi-year overall deal with Disney General Entertainment’s Onyx Collective. Under the new deal, Penny will produce, write and direct new projects through his A Penny for Your Thoughts Entertainment banner across Disney platforms, including Hulu, which is the primary home for Onyx Collective