Television

Chinese e-commerce and entertainment giant Alibaba has taken a $1.2 billion goodwill impairment charge against its video-streaming operation Youku. The move was disclosed on Wednesday as Alibaba revealed its financial results for the October to December 2023 period, the third quarter of its current financial year. Group revenues in the quarter were up by 5%

Fox Corp. said profit fell noticeably in its second fiscal quarter due in part to a 20% dip in advertising revenue that reflected the absence of a outsize sporting event like the FIFA Men’s World Cup in the period as well as lower political advertising at its stations and a continued glut of cheaper direct-response

Lille-based Series Mania, Europe’s biggest TV festival and forum, has revealed its impressive 2024 main competition, which includes three streamer bows  – from Peacock, and MGM+ and Disney+/HBO Europe world premieres. The starry lineup features, for example, the much-anticipated new Liane Moriarty adaptation “Apples Never Fall” with Annette Bening as the matriarch who suddenly disappears,

Banijay Asia is expanding into Southeast Asia with the formation of new entity CreAsia Studio. The outfit will focus on collaborations in the region to create local originals and produce localized Banijay IP adaptations. The move is in keeping with the Mumbai-headquartered company’s plans to grow in the Southeast Asian market, which Deepak Dhar, founder

Top Bollywood star Sushmita Sen conquered a heart attack and returned triumphantly to complete Disney+ Hotstar series “Aarya.” It is the second such comeback for Sen, a former Miss Universe, who headlines the series. The show is an adaptation of Dutch show “Penoza,” in which a woman has to join a mafia gang and avenge

Kevin Spacey will pay $1 million to MRC, the production company behind “House of Cards,” to settle claims that he sexually harassed young male staffers on the show. Spacey was dropped from the final season of the show in 2017. He was facing a $31 million judgment in the case, after an arbitrator found that

A judge has dismissed the $100 million lawsuit that Byron Allen‘s Allen Media Group filed last year in California state court against McDonald’s. Allen’s lawsuit, filed last May in Los Angeles Superior Court, asserted that the fast good giant had reneged on its promise to spend more of its annual advertising budget with Black-owned media

For the first time, the Hallmark Channel presented at the Television Critics Association press tour on Tuesday morning with three panels: one featuring their Hallmark Mystery (the channel formerly known as Hallmark Movies & Mystery) talent, one highlighting their “Loveuary” film, “Sense and Sensibility;” and the final with the cast of “The Way Home.” The

It’s a game-changer. Fox Corp., Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney are set to launch a new streaming joint venture that will make all of their sports programming available under a single broadband roof, a move that will put content from ESPN, TNT and Fox Sports on a new standalone app and, in the process, likely

The Braxtons are returning to We TV — two years after the death of Traci Braxton, a singer, actress and TV/radio personality who appeared on all seven seasons of their previous series for the AMC Networks-owned cabler, “Braxton Family Values.” “The Braxtons” will feature remaining family members Toni, Towanda, Trina, Tamar and matriarch Ms. Evelyn,

AMC has ordered Season 3 of the supernatural anthology series “The Terror.” The third installment of the series will be based on the novel “The Devil in Silver” by Victor LaValle. AMC has ordered six episodes, with the series slated to debut on AMC and AMC+ in 2025. Chris Cantwell, who previously worked on the

The Anne Rice Immortal Universe continues to progress at AMC Networks, with “Mayfair Witches” heading into production on its second season and adding new actors to its cast while “Interview With the Vampire” has set its Season 2 premiere date and added a guest cast. Alyssa Jirrels has joined “Mayfair Witches” Season 2 as a

“Animal Control” has been renewed for Season 3 at Fox. The news comes before the Season 2 premiere of the single-camera comedy. The second season is scheduled to premiere on March 6. As the name suggests, the series centers on a group of animal control workers. The cast is led by Joel McHale, who stars

New Regency has hired Netflix’s former director of U.S. overall deals Laura Delahaye as head of domestic television. In her new role, Delahaye will oversee the company’s growing slate of U.S. television projects, while the international lineup continues to be led by Ed Rubin. She will report to New Regency chairman and CEO Yariv Milchan

Actor Gina Carano sued Disney and Lucasfilm on Tuesday for firing her from “The Mandalorian” in 2021, over a social media post in which she compared being a Republican to being Jewish during the Holocaust. The suit, filed in California federal court, alleges wrongful termination and discrimination, as well as a demand that the court

“Stranger Things” is heading into its fifth and final season, which likely won’t premiere on Netflix until sometime in 2025. Cast member Gaten Matarazzo recently appeared at MegaCon Orlando (via CBR) and was asked if there were any changes he would make to the show’s first four seasons, to which the actor didn’t hesitate to

Sarah Rose has been upped to president of Channel 5, the Paramount-owned broadcaster confirmed today. In the role Rose will also be U.K. regional lead, overseeing both Channel 5 and its streamer platform My5 as well as the company’s local pay TV brands. The news follows last week’s announcement that Maria Kyriacou was stepping down

Actor Carl Weathers has one last role to play. The popular thespian, who made a name for himself in the “Rocky” movies and the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” among other projects, has long been associated with online sports-betting company FanDuel‘s Super Bowl work. Weathers had appeared in teasers for FanDuel’s Super Bowl commercial, which will

Netflix has revealed the cast for “Department Q” from showrunner Scott Frank (“The Queen’s Gambit”). The cast is led by Matthew Goode (“The King’s Man”), Chloe Pirrie (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Alexej Manvelov (“Jack Ryan”) Kelly Macdonald (“Line of Duty”) and Leah Byrne (“Call The Midwife”). It also includes Mark Bonnar (“Napoleon”), Shirley Henderson (“Harry Potter”),

“One Day” is a charming series about friendship, grief and expectations. Based on the acclaimed novel by David Nicholls, as adapted by Nicole Taylor, the U.K.-set narrative follows Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) and Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall) for almost 20 years, from 1988 to 2007. Beginning with the euphoric evening of their college graduation, the duo

“The White Lotus” Season 3 has added Julian Kostov to its cast. Kostov will appear in a recurring role in the HBO series that was previously held by Miloš Biković. Biković was recently cut from the series, however, over his support of Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the country’s war against Ukraine. “Today,

Gary Lineker, host of popular BBC soccer highlights show “Match of the Day,” said Tuesday he didn’t feel constrained at the broadcaster when it came to expressing his point of view, despite the BBC’s social media guidelines. Speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch, Lineker – who has attracted criticism for some of his Tweets

Former HBO and Max PR exec Chris Willard is launching his own company, Chris Willard Communications. The San Francisco-based strategic communications consulting firm is described as “servicing clients at the intersection of culture and technology.” At launch, Chris Willard Communications will offer hourly consulting, narrative development, launch campaigns, media training and crisis communications services. Additional

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The last time Aubrey Plaza and her “Parks and Recreation” co-star Nick Offerman saw each other before shooting their Mountain Dew Super Bowl commercial was on the picket line during the SAG-AFTRA strikes. So,

Sky Italia has dropped a deliciously dark first teaser for “Dostoevskij,” the TV series by twin directors Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, which will launch from the upcoming Berlin Film Festival in the Berlinale Special section. The eclectic, six-episode detective drama set in the stark Roman hinterland stars Filippo Timi (“Vincere,” “The Eight Mountains”) as Enzo

Warner Bros. Discovery’s pay TV group Eurosport has unveiled a massive French programming lineup for the Olympic Games, which kick off July 26 in Paris. Eurosport, which owns linear and streaming rights to the Olympic Games in France, will showcase more than 3,800 hours of competitions across seven channels dedicated to fans. Each Eurosport channel

Phoebe Tonkin is to star in and executive produce a new Australian TV crime drama series, “The Dark Lake,” based on a novel by Sarah Bailey. The series is to be produced by Brouhaha Entertainment, the Australia-U.K. outfit headed by veteran producers Gabrielle Tana, Troy Lum and Andrew Mason. The company recently delivered Netflix’s Brisbane set

Bollywood A-lister Alia Bhatt has boarded Richie Mehta‘s already-completed Amazon original investigative crime series “Poacher” as an executive producer. Created, written, and directed by “Delhi Crime” filmmaker Mehta based on true events, “Poacher” unearths the largest ivory poaching ring in Indian history. It premiered at Sundance in 2023. The cast features Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew

Shannen Doherty fought back tears as she addressed Alyssa Milano‘s recent comments about not being involved in Doherty’s “Charmed” exit. During a panel alongside “Charmed” co-stars Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan at MegaCon Orlando on Sunday (via EW), Doherty spoke about the claims she made on her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast, in which she

Bestselling author Terry McMillan has partnered with Lifetime to executive produce a slate of new movies under the banner “Terry McMillan Presents.” Best known for her novels turned hit films “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” and “Waiting to Exhale,” McMillan’s new movies for Lifetime will focus on the love and lives of African American