Television

When Chris Nee, the creator of the Disney hit “Doc McStuffins” last spoke to Variety earlier this year, she raved about the “fairy-tale” vision of artistic freedom that Netflix had offered her under an overall deal. “I was looking at the Shonda Rhimeses and the Ryan Murphys and wondering why somebody couldn’t take that active

Starlings Entertainment and StoryFirst have partnered for a drama and family entertainment development fund, with Starlings also taking a financial stake in StoryFirst. The joint venture will enable the companies to mutual select drama, family entertainment and possibly even non-scripted projects currently in development to move forward. As part of the deal, which was announced

The Mediapro Studio is teaming with “The Department of Time” and “Isabel” creator Javier Olivares to develop a new bio-series about former Spanish King Juan Carlos I in the style of Netflix’s “The Crown,” according to a report by Spanish paper El País and confirmed to Variety by The Mediapro Studio. No channel or platform

“Power Book IV: Force,” the Starz franchise’s third spinoff led by Joseph Sikora, has just lost its showrunner as well as executive producer and creator, Robert Munic. Sikora returns to the “Power” universe to reprise the iconic and beloved role of the tritagonist-turned-antagonist. In “Power Book IV: Force,” the fan-favorite character will be the primary

From TV writers’ rooms to executive offices to on-site productions, there are certain Los Angeles eateries that seem to have a ubiquitous presence at group work lunches across Hollywood: Joan’s on Third, Tender Greens, Sweetgreen. For group-order staple Mendocino Farms, over 50% of its Los Angeles business revolves around the entertainment industry. But once COVID-19

Sigmund Freud would have had a field day with Dave Burd, star of “Dave,” the hit FXX comedy about a white rapper on the ascent and his entourage. Burd’s rap alter-ego, Lil Dicky, was spawned by — what else? — not only his own micro-sized genitalia, but also a tangled urethra which required several childhood

Hello Sunshine, the media company founded by Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon, is pursuing a possible sale, Variety has confirmed. The price for the company behind “Big Little Lies” and “The Morning Show” could hit $1 billion. That’s an impressive figure given that Hello Sunshine has created some buzzy shows, but is still a relatively new player

Erika Dilday, who earlier this year became the first Black executive director of American Documentary Inc., oversees various ventures for the nonprofit, including management of the long-running “POV” series on PBS and “America ReFramed,” a showcase of independent documentaries on the World Channel. Formerly executive director of the Maysles Documentary Center, where she produced Albert

“Cruel Summer” creator Bert V. Royal is no longer affiliated with the series, Variety has confirmed. According to sources, Royal departed the series after the pilot finished filming last year due to creative differences. He was still credited as the creator and executive producer for Season 1 of the hit drama, but it is unclear what

“The Undoing” and “The Underground Railroad” regular Lily Rabe has been cast opposite “Fargo” and “Black Mirror” star Jesse Plemons in the HBO Max original limited series “Love and Death.” The show follows two church-going couples, enjoying small-town family life in Texas (at least they do until somebody picks up an axe). The series is

After streaming giant Netflix premiered its new docuseries “Dogs” in 2018, executive producer Glen Zipper recalls receiving a lot of love on social media from canine moms and dads — but he was also on the receiving end of irate tweets pressing for a companion show about cats. Three years later, as he prepares to

In the final scene of the second season of HBO’s “Succession,” Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) betrayed his father, Logan (Brian Cox), by staging a coup for control over Waystar RoyCo at the press conference at which he was supposed to take the fall for all of the company’s misdeeds. Logan had demanded a “blood sacrifice”

Netflix released a trailer for “My Unorthodox Life,” premiering on July 14.  The unscripted reality series follows fashion mogul Julia Haart, who left an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and became the CEO of Elite World Group. With four children, including a TikToker, app designer, lawyer and high schooler, Haart helps her family reconcile their orthodox upbringings

Kyle MacLachlan will play Howard Baskin in the upcoming Peacock series “Joe Exotic,” Variety has learned. MacLachlan will star opposite series lead Kate McKinnon, who will play Carole Baskin. Howard is described as Carole’s even-keeled husband who supports her throughout the endeavor with Joe. John Cameron Mitchell will play Joe Exotic. Brian Van Holt will play

ESPN had to devise a new game plan for the NBA Finals. The Disney-owned sports-media giant said it would move its veteran basketball reporter Rachel Nichols off sideline duties for the NBA Finals, slated to be broadcast tonight on ABC and feature the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the Phoenix Suns, and utilize Malika Andrews instead

Michael Yezerski composed the music for the film “Blindspotting” and was invited back for the series currently airing on Starz, this time collaborating with fellow musician Ambrose Akinmusire. Dance and music play a key role in the series alongside the spoken word, with sequences meant to be evocative and used to enhance the characters’ emotions.

On this day five years ago — July 6, 2016 — Gretchen Carlson sued Roger Ailes, the larger-than-life founder and CEO of Fox News, for sexual harassment. The allegations in the lawsuit were explosive, and were levied against one of the country’s most powerful men: “Ailes has unlawfully retaliated against Carlson and sabotaged her career because she refused his sexual

The “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” at HBO has cast Milly Alcock and Emily Carey in recurring roles. “House of the Dragon” is set a few hundred years prior to the events of “Game of Thrones” and tells the story of House Targaryen and the Targaryen civil war that became known

The Los Angeles LGBT Center will host its second annual live Love in Action telethon on Aug. 14. The star-studded lineup includes Adam Lambert, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Manila Luzon. “LGBTQ people have been disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the work to build back amid the full reopening of

ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish in early June predicted this year’s upfront ad-sales session would be “off the hook” for his company, and, in general, the media industry. And it was — but perhaps not in the way many executives would like. Big entertainment conglomerates ranging from WarnerMedia to NBCUniversal have called this year’s haggle with

Michelle Yeoh has joined the prequel series “The Witcher: Blood Origin.” Yeoh joins previously announced cast member Laurence O’Fuarain. Yeoh will star as Scían, the very last of her nomadic tribe of sword-elves. No one can come close to her artistry with the blade, and no one carries as much loss within their heart. When

Carlyle Group co-founder David M. Rubenstein is expanding his relationship with Bloomberg Media with the launch of the new bi-weekly program, “Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein.” Rubenstein, who also hosts the interview program “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations,” will use the new forum to speak one on one with high-profile investing executives. The first

Your inclination towards “Schmigadoon!,” at least in its early going, will likely be determined by your reaction to its title. If you think it’s a clever, charming wink to “Brigadoon” — the Lerner and Loewe musical about an enchanted village, don’t you know? — then you may very well be along for the ride from

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the July 5 episode of “The Bachelorette.” Last week’s blast from the past brought former contestant Blake Moynes into the cast for consideration of Katie Thurston’s final rose. Blake — who formerly appeared on Season 16 of “The Bachelorette” — moved into the resort and

Rachel Nichols typically uses the opening moments of the ESPN basketball program, “The Jump,” to talk about the latest news in the NBA. On Monday, she used it to address a growing story that has her at the center. In July of last year, Nichols was caught on video speaking to representatives of LeBron James

After seven seasons of gleeful hedonism and wild twists on top of twists, TV’s first iteration of “Gossip Girl” ended with an anti-climax of true loves pairing off and one of the medium’s most nonsensical reveals, period. The show’s narrative had relied on a disembodied source of gossip (voiced by a purring Kristen Bell) to

STREAMING Over the weekend, the La Biennale di Venezia launched its new Biennale Cinema Channel in collaboration with Italian streamer MYmovies, offering up a streamable selection of films which have featured in previous editions of the Venice International Film Festival but which are not currently available elsewhere in Italy. The channel drops with an initial

Herbert G. Kloiber, who was formerly the owner of German TV and film giant Tele München Group (now known as Leonine), and Constantin Film have set up Vienna-based production company High End Productions, which will produce premium European fiction series for the international market. Jonas Bauer has been appointed as managing director. Bauer comes from

After joining forces last year to launch a banner together, indie powerhouses Mediawan (“Call My Agent”) and Leonine Studios (“Dark”) have acquired a 51% stake in Drama Republic, the award-winning U.K. production banner behind “Doctor Foster” and “The Honourable Woman.” The acquisition marks a milestone in developing the recently-launched Mediawan & Leonine Studios across English-speaking

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “A Rickconvenient Mort,” the third episode of Season 5 of “Rick and Morty.” Despite a surefire premise to work with, “A Rickconvenient Mort” is the weakest episode of “Rick and Morty” Season 5 so far. Considering just how strong the first two episodes of the