Television

FX has tapped “Zola” director and co-writer Janicza Bravo to direct the pilot of “Kindred,” starring Mallori Johnson in the lead role. Based on the novel by Octavia E. Butler, “Kindred” follows Dana (Johnson), a young Black woman and aspiring writer who has moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of an independent future. She soon

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. Audrey’s mom doesn’t pay attention to her; Julien’s ex-boyfriend is crushing on her half-sister; Monet is on the

“Schmigadoon!” creator Cinco Paul may have based the premise of his six-episode Apple TV Plus comedic musical on “Brigadoon” (and parodied the title, too), but he hadn’t actually seen the Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner play, nor the 1954 film, when doing so. His love of musicals in general inspired the series. And as

As coronavirus cases rise across Los Angeles due to the Delta variant, Hollywood events are requiring even fully vaccinated attendees to show negative COVID tests. An invitation to Thursday’s Season 2 premiere of “Ted Lasso” reads, “Due to the recent increase in the Los Angeles COVID rates, all guests and personnel attending the Season 2

Garrett Bradley’s three-part Netflix docuseries about Japanese tennis sensation Naomi Osaka arrives on the streamer at a particularly fraught time in the athlete’s career. Named simply “Naomi Osaka,” it debuts one week before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, where the 23 year old will compete after having recently withdrawn from the French Open and

NBC is not moving forward with “Law & Order: For the Defense,” which had been announced earlier this spring as the latest installment of Dick Wolf’s “Law & Order” franchise. Instead, “The Blacklist” will shift to Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET this fall, when “For the Defense” had originally been scheduled. “For the Defense” had

Dr. Sanjay Gupta may just have something that helps relieve the growing swell of politicized medical information. The CNN chief medical correspondent has joined forces with Marc Hodosh, a technology  entrepreneur to launch Life Itself, a new three-day conference the duo hope will generate attention for a lot of health and wellness issues they feel

You better “believe”! “Ted Lasso” continues to pull in numerous awards nominations. Just days after the Television Academy announced the 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Award nominees, where the Apple TV Plus comedy picked up 20 nods and therefore became the most-nominated freshman comedy in that organization’s history, it scooped up five TCA Awards nominations, the

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s best-selling debut espionage thriller “The Sympathizer” is getting the silver screen treatment at HBO from A24. Robert Downey Jr. (“The Avengers” franchise, “Iron Man”) will co-star as well as produce the show. Park Chan-wook, director of 2003’s “Oldboy” and 2016’s “The Handmaiden,” will serve as co-showrunner with Don McKellar (“Exotica,” “Last Night”).

NBCU execs are wrestling with what could be their biggest sports challenge yet: the Quiet Olympics. Broadcasting and streaming the Tokyo Summer Games already had a high degree of difficulty due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Then Japan declared a state of emergency late last week, and banned live crowds, adding all kinds

Naomi Osaka’s first Grand Slam victory was so dramatic as to feel like the scripted climax to a movie. In 2018, the rising tennis phenom faced Serena Williams, one of the greatest to have ever played the sport and one of her longtime idols, and won in straight sets. But when Osaka lifted her trophy,

An increasing amount of what ESPN does isn’t going to be seen on good ol’ ESPN. “Sunday Night Baseball” has been a mainstay of the Disney sports network since the show’s launch in 1990, but on August 8, the program will air on ESPN’s corporate cousin, ABC. When ESPN this fall launches its first NHL

Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Queer Disney fans raised a rainbow flag in 2017 when it was revealed that in the Bill Condon-directed live-action adaptation of the animated hit “Beauty and the Beast,” LeFou — played by Josh Gad — was gay. Now the big question is, will LeFou be gay in the

When Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple first met, in a ladies’ loo mere minutes before the inaugural table read for “Ted Lasso,” they barely exchanged words before knowing they wouldn’t have to fake the friendship that blooms between their characters. “It was the most strange thing,” says Waddingham of their immediate connection. “It was just

ViacomCBS and Charter Communications, one of the nation’s biggest cable distributors, have struck a new multi-year distribution agreement that calls for licensing ViacomCBS’ suite of streaming services as part of the deal. ViacomCBS’ streaming brands include Paramount+, Pluto TV, BET+ and Noggin. ViacomCBS and Charter also will expand their existing collaboration around addressable media and

Though it’s plenty punishing, AMC Plus’ new limited series “The North Water” has something richly escapist about it: The show, set on a whaling ship in the 1850s and shot within the Arctic Circle, creates a sense of chilliness that will permeate one’s bones on even the hottest summer night. In this adaptation of Ian

Less than 10 years ago, a typical Friday night for powerhouse fashion executive Julia Haart consisted of making Shabbos dinner for her husband and family in the ultra-Orthodox community of Monsey in upstate New York. Today, Haart’s weekends are more likely to involve rubbing shoulders with Gwyneth Paltrow or Kendall Jenner, both of whom she

With diversity among key nominees at the 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards up 17% year over year, there is great potential for even more records to be shattered come the Sept. 19 ceremony. Four of the six slots for lead drama actor went to Black actors, two of whom are former winners — Sterling K.

Eldridge Industries chief Todd Boehly has presented the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with a massive restructuring plan would create a for-profit entity in addition to the nonprofit side of the group that has come under heavy fire in recent months for the absence of Black members and for accusations of questionable ethical practices among many

Peter Dinklage and David Ginsberg’s production banner Estuary Films has inked a new first-look TV deal with Entertainment One (eOne). Under the terms of the multi-year pact, the company will develop television series for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Former HBO executive Brad Saunders, head of television, will oversee the partnership for Estuary Films. “We

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 1, Episode 6 of “Loki,” streaming now on Disney Plus. Between the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) tormenting townspeople and twisting the fabric of reality to keep her synthezoid loved one alive and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), unleashing the wrath of Kang the Conqueror

Archewell Productions, the Netflix-based shingle launched by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is getting into the animation business. Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, is the creator behind “Pearl,” described as a “family series that centers on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl, who is inspired by a variety of influential women from history.” Credited as

Jerry O’Connell has joined daytime talk show “The Talk” as its first male co-host, more than three months after former co-host Sharon Osbourne made her controversial exit. “It’s fun, and it works, and we’re going to have a lot of fun,” O’Connell said during the announcement on Wednesday’s episode. His addition comes after serving as

Fox Entertainment has upped Darren Schillace to president of marketing, adding Tubi to his oversight along with the Fox network. Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier made the announcement on Wednesday. Schillace was most recently executive vice president of marketing at Fox Entertainment. In the newly expanded role, he’ll lead marketing strategies for all business units

Oscar winner Matthew A. Cherry (“Hair Love”) is partnering with director/writer Chaz Bottoms to adapt Bottoms’ animated short “Battu: An Animated Musical” into a series. Cartoon Network Studios is on board to develop “Battu” with Cherry and Bottoms. Described as a “coming-of-age musical comedy series about a young group of misfit dreamers who move to

“Loki” creator Michael Waldron was concise with the world he wanted production designer Kasra Farahani to build, “’Men Men’ meets ‘Blade Runner.’” In addition to that, Farahani says, he and director Kate Herron were also inspired by the imposing bureaucratic world of Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil.” With that in mind, Farahani set out to bring the

Lilly Singh will join the upcoming second season of Hulu’s comedy series “Dollface,” Variety has confirmed. Singh will play a queer bar owner named Liv who explores both a relationship and a business venture with Stella (Shay Mitchell). This marks the actor’s first booked role since ending her late-night program, “A Little Late With Lilly

Joshua Jackson started his career playing some of the sweetest and therefore most beloved characters in pop culture, from Charlie Conway in “The Mighty Ducks” to Pacey Witter on “Dawson’s Creek.” Even as he matured into more adult roles, such as Peter Bishop on “Fringe,” he leaned on likable, even when they became increasingly complex

Emmy-winning director and producer Anthony Hemingway has signed with M88. Best known for “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” “Red Tails” and “Underground,” Hemingway most recently directed and executive produced “Genius: Aretha,” starring Cynthia Erivo, who earned an Emmy nomination for lead actress in a limited series for her performance as Aretha Franklin.

Bert Marcus, founder and CEO of Bert Marcus Productions, has signed with Range Media Partners. Marcus will be represented by a core team consisting of Matt Graham, CJ Cook, Tyler Henry, Ben Grayson and Rich Cook. “Bert is a creative engine, his mind works at a million miles an hour,” Graham, Range Media Partners’ managing