Television

Chick Vennera, a voice actor in numerous Warner Bros. animated projects like “Animaniacs” and “Batman: the Animated Series,” and actor in “Thank God It’s Friday” and “The Golden Girls,” died Wednesday in Burbank, Calif. He was 74. His daughter Nicky Vennera told several media outlets he died of lung cancer. Former castmate John Mariano posted

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. If your shoes grant you access to the top of the Met’s status-bearing steps, then they’re a really,

“SpongeBob Squarepants” has taken viewers to a pineapple under the sea for more than 20 years, delivering over 250 nautical episodes and three feature-length films. The show became a staple of Nickelodeon’s cartoon slate of the early 2000s and has won five Daytime Emmy awards, with two for Tom Kenny as the voice of SpongeBob.

Dominic Monaghan, best known for portraying Merry the hobbit in “The Lord of the Rings” and Charlie Pace on the ABC supernatural drama “Lost,” has signed on to star in AMC’s sci-fi thriller series “Moonhaven,” written and executive produced by AMC dramedy “Lodge 49’s” showrunner Peter Ocko. Per the logline, “Moonhaven” is focused on a

Alex Tarrant and Enver Gjokaj have joined the cast of “NCIS: Hawai’i” at CBS, Variety has learned. The duo join previously announced cast members Vanessa Lachey, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Jason Antoon, Noah Mills, Tori Anderson, and Kian Talan. In the show, the first female Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor (Lachey) and her team balance

Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick are set for two of the lead roles in the Netflix drama series “Painkiller,” Variety has learned. The six-episode limited series is about the origins of the opioid crisis in America. Along with Aduba and Broderick, the series will also star West Duchovny, Dina Shihabi, and John Rothman. Production is set

Kiefer Sutherland will star as President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Showtime’s “The First Lady.” The series is described as a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. The first season will peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of three

Hitter. Hacker. Grifter. Thief. Brains. For five seasons on TNT, “Leverage” followed four lone wolf criminals — led by former insurance investigator, Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton) — turned crew of Robin Hoods, fighting corporate and government injustices inflicted upon everyday people. Using their individual skills as a team to steal from the deceitful and remorseless

Though HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl” revival series differs from the original in key ways — a more diverse cast, LGBTQ+ storylines, the incorporation of social media — one aspect in which the show stays the same is just how high-priority its soundtrack is. The music of the original series, which premiered in 2007, helped to

“Pause With Sam Jay” has been renewed for a second season by HBO. The late-night series debuted its first season this past May, making it one of the premium cabler’s newest talk show offerings. Created by stand-up comedian, writer and host Sam Jay and Prentice Penny, “Pause With Sam Jay” uses a fresh lens to

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. The Tokyo Olympics are finally kicking off on July 23, and after a year of uncertainty surrounding the

Netflix and Shonda Rhimes are extending their creative relationship, inked in 2017, beyond television to feature films and gaming. Under the terms of the expanded deal, which encompasses Rhimes’ Shondaland Media and her longtime producing partner Betsy Beers, Netflix and Shondaland will exclusively produce, stream and distribute feature films in addition to potential gaming and

Pierre-Antoine Capton and Fred Kogel have established their respective companies, Mediawan (“Call My Agent!) and Leonine (“Dark”), as European powerhouses in only a few years. With their new joint vehicle, Mediawan & Leonine Studios, they’re now ready to gear up to the next stage with the acquisition of the award-winning U.K. production company Drama Republic

Joanne LaMarca, the spirited executive producer behind the fourth hour of NBC’s “Today” morning franchise, plans to step down from the role later in August. In a memo issued to staffers on Thursday, Libby Leist, a senior vice president at NBC News who oversees “Today,” said LaMarca was eager to spend more time with family,

Marvel Studios revealed that its first-ever animated series “What If?” will be released on Aug. 11, with new episodes dropping on Disney Plus every Wednesday. The animated series will rip the Marvel multiverse wide open, setting up unlimited possibilities for what fans could ultimately see. Each chapter of the 10-episode season will explore a pivotal

Jeff Goldblum has joined the cast of “Search Party ” Season 5 at HBO Max, Variety has learned. Goldblum will appear in a recurring role as Tunnel Quinn, a charismatic tech billionaire who enters a very public business partnership with Dory (Alia Shawkat) on the other side of her near death experience. Dory folds her old

Creating a new Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream flavor is the central challenge of a new series set to debut on Food Network as well as the streaming outlet Discovery Plus. “Ben & Jerry’s: Clash of the Cones” debuts Monday, August 16 at 9 p.m. eastern on both outlets. The four-episode series is hosted by Molly

Acclaimed dramatist and playwright Jack Thorne will deliver this year’s James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival. Thorne’s credits include the West End play “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child,” Netflix film “Enola Holmes” and TV series “His Dark Materials.” As a disabled professional, Thorne is a vocal champion, campaigner and ally of

Studiocanal has acquired worldwide rights to Michel Bussi’s bestselling young adult saga “N.E.O” and will adapt it as a 12-part series with Authentic Prod. “N.E.O” will be a quadrilogy, the first two of which have been published by PKJ (EDITIS Group). Set in a world where adults have disappeared, there are shelters for the two

SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Stacey Bendet Eisner, CEO and creative director of fashion brand Alice + Olivia, has attended the annual Allen & Co. conference at this mountain resort for more than 10 years. But this time around, she’s coming as the leader of a tech startup. Bendet Eisner is the founder of Creatively, an

SPOILER WARNING: Do not read if you haven’t seen Season 1, Episode 5 of “Loki,” now streaming on Disney Plus. I think it’s when Alligator Loki ate President Loki’s hand that I realized I was in love. To be sure, I was always into “Loki,” Marvel Studios’ third Disney Plus series and the first devoted

The Hatfields versus the McCoys. Thomas Edison versus Nikola Telsa. DC versus Marvel. Dogs versus cats. … Well, maybe dog people versus cat people. Great rivalries can inspire creative competition, breed history-making moments and teach those watching the rivalry play out a lot about themselves in the process. All too often, they also cause people

Greetings Upper East Siders, Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite. Rumor has it there’s a new Gossip Girl in town, so it’s only fitting that I remind you of your roots. Get in losers, we’re going back to 2007. With HBO Max’s revival of the iconic

Matt Mauser, the singer who lost his wife in the same helicopter crash as Kobe Bryant, gave an emotional performance of “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” by Phil Collins on “America’s Got Talent.” “You know if I had it my way, I would have my wife and I’d be supporting her,

Hulu released a trailer for “McCartney 3,2,1,” premiering on July 16. The six-episode series features an intimate conversation between Paul McCartney and legendary producer Rick Rubin, who explore McCartney’s music and life from The Beatles to Wings to his over 50-year career as a solo artist. In the trailer, McCartney and Rubin discuss the stories

BTS will takeover NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on July 13 and 14. On July 13, the K-pop sensation will present the American television debut of the upcoming song “Permission to Dance” and will sit down with titular host Fallon to discuss everything going on with the band. The next night, BTS will

London and Los Angeles-based independent studio The Ink Factory (“The Night Manager”, “Fighting with My Family,” “The Little Drummer Girl”) and Endeavor Content are developing C. Pam Zhang’s acclaimed debut novel “How Much of These Hills is Gold” for television. A sweeping adventure tale told through a multi-cultural revisionist lens, the book follows Chinese-American siblings,

Giant Leap Accelerator has officially launched its first 12-week developmental program that will focus on cultivating new Asian/Pacific American (APA) stories, Variety has exclusively learned. Over the course of the 12-week program, eight emerging AAPI writers will be mentored by seven television and film writing veterans. Each writer will meet with their dedicated mentor once a

Starz has promoted Superna Kalle to president, international networks. The executive previously served as executive vice president, international digital networks at Starz when she joined in 2018 to lead the international expansion of streamer Starzplay. Starzplay is now available in 58 countries globally. Reporting directly to Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch, Kalle oversees the

Peacock has ordered a reality dating series inspired by Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” The series, titled “Pride and Prejudice: An Experiment in Romance,” is an original format that will see a “heroine” looking for her “duke.” Transported to a Regency-style England, a group of eligible hopeful suitors will have to win the heart of