Television

Fremantle has acquired production rights to format “The Masked Dancer” in 29 territories across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The dance guessing show is a spin-off format of “The Masked Singer” originally created by MBC in South Korea. It sees celebrity contestants wear head-to-toe costumes and face masks that conceal their identities, while performing

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the fifth season finale of “This Is Us.” The Season 5 finale of This Is Us, like so many other major episodes, ended with a surprise twist. It shouldn’t have been too surprising for longtime viewers of the NBC drama, though, that the episode that

CBS clearly knew what it was doing when it decided to launch Queen Latifah’s “Equalizer” reboot behind Super Bowl LV in February. Despite a lopsided game that forced a lot of viewers to tune out before the after-show, CBS nonetheless managed to open “Equalizer” with 20.4 million viewers, and continue to hold on to a

Peter Murrieta has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television, Variety has learned exclusively. Under the deal, Murrieta will develop original content for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. He was previously an executive producer on “Mr. Iglesias” at Netflix and recently co-wrote the Lifetime movie “Feliz Navidad” with his wife Aliza, with Mario Lopez starring. He

Jeff Zucker, chairman of news and sports at WarnerMedia, held a company town hall on Tuesday in which he addressed the recent Chris Cuomo–CNN controversy and answered questions regarding return-to-office plans. Zucker suggested CNN staffers who were vaccinated and wished to return to the outlet’s New York offices would likely be able to do so

“Expats,” the Amazon series adaptation of Janice Y.K. Lee’s novel “The Expatriates,” has found its first cast member in Ji-young Yoo. Set against the fabric of Hong Kong, “Expats” is the story of an international community whose lives are bound together forever after a sudden family tragedy. The show was originally ordered to series at

Mark Pedowitz, chairman and CEO of The CW, spoke about the upcoming Discovery-WarnerMedia merger during a programming conference call on Tuesday. Asked how the deal would affect The CW, which is owned in part by Warner Bros., Pedowitz said “At the moment, it does not. I don’t have any answers beyond that…We’re going to adapt,

One of the “Game of Thrones” prequels in development at HBO, “10,000 Ships,” has found its writer. Amanda Segel is set to pen the project, Variety has confirmed. “10,000 Ships” is one of several “Game of Thrones” projects in the works at HBO. The show would follow Princess Nymeria, who journeyed with the Rhoynar to Dorne

Endemol Shine North America has hired longtime TV Academy executive Karla Pita Loor in a new role where she will head up the company’s social responsibility efforts. As executive VP of enterprise inclusion and social responsibility, Pita Loor will report to Cris Abrego, chairman of the Americas, Banijay, and president/CEO, Endemol Shine Holdings, who made

The CW’s pilot of “Powerpuff,” the live-action series based on the popular Cartoon Network animated show “The Powerpuff Girls,” is being overhauled and re-shot because the initial pilot was “too campy” and not as rooted in reality as network execs would have liked. The CW also offered an update on the fate of “The 100”

The CW has released its new, seven-night primetime schedule for 2021-2022, filled with competitive games, DC superheroes, supernatural happenings, football and an inaugural Saturday night dedicated to laughs. This strategic mix of new and returning original scripted series and alternative programming was announced today by Mark Pedowitz, chairman and chief executive officer of The CW.

The CW has commissioned three new TV specials for late 2021: “The Scooby-Doo Reunion Special,” “The Waltons: Homecoming,” and “Beebo Saves Christmas.” In “The Scooby-Doo Reunion Special,” the Mystery Inc. gang reunites at Warner Bros. Studios to reminisce about their favorite cases and how they were filmed. But it turns out that the backlot may

The OWN Spotlight series “Black Women OWN the Conversation” is taking on the topic of mental health with its first episode of the new season — and for the deep, emotional conversation, the show enlisted a special guest. For the first time, Oprah Winfrey joins the conversation, appearing on the show virtually alongside hosts Adrienne

In a competitive situation, Blumhouse Television and Maniac Productions have secured the rights to the BBC Radio 4 podcast “The Battersea Poltergeist.” The two companies will now work to develop a scripted series titled “Blumhouse’s Ghost Story,” with the podcast serving as the basis for the first season. In addition, they will develop an unscripted

Tyner Rushing has booked a recurring guest star role alongside Chris Pratt in the upcoming thriller drama series “The Terminal List” for Amazon Prime Video, Variety has learned exclusively. Tyner will play James Reece’s (Pratt) close friend Liz Riley, a former Army pilot, who is described as being “equal parts wit and warmth.” The character hails

Lil Nas X was gearing up for a provocative performance on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend, singing his sexed-up anthem “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” — but he ended up being way more provocative than he’d planned when his pants split as he grinded on a stripper pole and he had to finish the song

Fox News Channel said it would make its lineup of primetime opinion programs available on its Fox Nation streaming-video service just one day after they air on cable, a significant distribution element that underscores the allure of streaming for the entire media sector. Starting Wednesday, June 2, episodes of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” “Hannity” and “The

Peacock is developing a series adaptation of the Victoria Aveyard novel “Red Queen” with Elizabeth Banks attached to executive produce, direct and appear in a major supporting role. Beth Schwartz and Aveyard co-wrote the pilot and will executive produce the project, with Schwartz also serving as showrunner. Banks and Max Handelman executive produce via Brownstone

“There has never been a writer who has so seamlessly blended the realistic and the fantastic,” Ron Cephas Jones intones near the start of “Lisey’s Story,” a new Apple TV Plus limited series adapted from a Stephen King novel. Jones is speaking of Scott Landon, a character played by Clive Owen — a novelist whose

In April, Variety announced that a four-part documentary series following Spanish basketball great Pau Gasol had gone into production and was tracking his return to European basketball at 40 years old and following a serious foot injury which required surgery in 2019. Now, Spanish fans will be able to catch the yet-untitled special on Amazon

The BBC has commissioned an investigation, led by former BBC director of nations and regions Ken MacQuarrie, into the circumstances under which Martin Bashir was rehired by the corporation in 2016. “We are investigating the circumstances around the hiring of Martin Bashir in 2016,” a BBC spokesperson told Variety. “We can confirm there was an

Mark York, the actor best known for playing Billy Merchant in “The Office,” has died. He was 55. Following a brief and unexpected illness, York died early in the morning on May 19 at the Miami Valley Hospital in Ohio. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office confirmed his death, although the exact cause of death has

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” and “Judas and the Black Messiah” star Jesse Plemons has been cast opposite “WandaVision’s” Elizabeth Olsen in the HBO Max original limited series “Love and Death.” Per the logline, the show follows two church-going couples, enjoying small-town family life in Texas (or, at least they do until somebody picks up

Apple’s metaphysical thriller “Shining Girls,” based on the 2013 best-selling Lauren Beukes novel of the same name, has finally found its directors. The trio is made up of Emmy winner Michelle MacLaren (“Breaking Bad”), Emmy and SAG Award winner Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Mad Men”), and Emmy nominee Daina Reid (“The Handmaid’s Tale). Moss

Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You” and Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” were the big winners at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ (BAFTA) TV Craft Awards on Monday. BBC/HBO’s “I May Destroy You” won the key awards of director, fiction, editing, fiction and writer, drama. BBC/Amazon’s “Small Axe” had the most wins with

Showtime has ordered am anthology series with the first season set to tackle the rise of ride-sharing app Uber. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star. The series, “Super Pumped,” was first announced as being in development in 2019, though it was not planned as anthology at the time. Each season will now explore a story that rocked

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Emmys ceremonies from film awards editor Clayton Davis. Following history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Emmy predictions are updated regularly with the current year's list of contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year

Lindsay Lohan, who has largely foregone acting in recent years, will soon star in a yet-to-be-titled Netflix holiday rom-com. The streamer has made a robust business out of Christmas fare, and its original movies such as “Jingle Jangle,” “A Christmas Prince,” “The Christmas Chronicles” and “The Princess Switch” (inspired by Lohan’s “The Parent Trap”) have

The CW has given out series orders to the DC project “Naomi” and “All American: Homecoming,” a spinoff of the high school football drama “All American.” In addition, the network has decided to rework its pilot for “Powerpuff,” a live-action followup to the animated series “The Powerpuff Girls.” The show’s four leads — Chloe Bennet,

Lee Daniels has signed a new multi-year overall deal with 20th Television. Daniels has called the studio home since 2015 when he co-created the hit Fox drama series “Empire.” He then signed another deal with 20th TV in 2018, which was set to expire in June. “I’m beyond grateful to continue my partnership with 20th,