Television

Rob Master loves the idea of putting commercials into new Hollywood streaming hubs like Peacock, HBO Max and Paramount Plus. But he’s not so enchanted with the costs being demanded by the media companies that own the sites. NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia and others are seeking a premium from sponsors eager to attach their ads to streaming

HBO (and Robin Thede) will be serving up more laughs with “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” renewed Monday for a third season. Thede, the creator, showrunner, executive producer, writer and star of the Emmy-nominated narrative comedy show, said making the show has been a dream come true. “I’m honored to continue our incredible series and

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s Bassett Vance Productions is teaming with MTV Entertainment Studios and writer Nathan Alan Davis on a limited series about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, Variety has learned exclusively. News of the series comes just before the 100 year anniversary of the massacre, which left hundreds of Black people

AT&T CEO John Stankey positioned the proposed merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery as letting the companies — and their investors — better tap into the global direct-to-consumer opportunity, by separating the media assets from the telco. “I think, realistically, HBO Max would not be where it is today without the combined strength” of WarnerMedia and

The BBC board will launch a review into its editorial practices after the Dyson report on the 1995 Princess Diana interview on the “Panorama” program with Martin Bashir. The BBC said on Monday: “As members of the BBC board we were, like so many others, concerned by the findings in Lord Dyson’s report into the

Stephen Colbert will break free of his coronavirus-imposed restrictions and return to doing CBS’ “Late Show” in front of live audiences starting June 14. Colbert has led 205 episodes of the late-night program without an in-studio crowd, usually from his home or, in recent weeks, from a room at the Ed Sullivan Theater, which has

U.K. culture secretary Oliver Dowden has called for an attitudinal change at the BBC following the Dyson report into the circumstances around the 1995 Princess Diana interview by Martin Bashir on the “Panorama” program. Writing in U.K. newspaper The Times on Monday, Dowden said: “The BBC needs to improve its culture to ensure that this

Early on in the season finale of Sunday night’s (May 23) episode of “American Idol,” judge Luke Bryan informed fellow country singer Chayce Beckham he earned the ultimate prize: a chance for the two of them to go fishing. “Win or lose, we’re going bass fishing,” Bryan said. Those plans are now on hold, as

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Season 4 premiere of “The Chi,” which aired May 23 on Showtime. In several ways, the third season finale of Showtime’s “The Chi” ended on a hopeful note. Sure, the crooked Otis “Douda” Perry (Curtiss Cook) won the mayoral election and strongarmed Trig

Following last week’s news that psychological thriller series “Evil” is moving from CBS to Paramount Plus, the streamer has revealed the premiere date for Season 2 in a bone-chilling teaser trailer. The second season of “Evil” is set to premiere on Paramount Plus June 20. The 13-episode season will release episodes each Sunday on the

No one had to wait for the Weeknd to clean up at Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards. With the evening telecast still more than six hours away, the show announced winners in 42 categories Sunday, with seven of those going to the Weeknd. The late Pop Smoke was the nearest runner-up in the pre-telecast awards, earning

Sam Asghari — actor, Instagram star and Britney Spears’ boyfriend — has of late been getting conspicuous attention on television. He was featured prominently in the premiere of HBO Max’s “Hacks,” and now has a recurring role on Season 3 of Showtime’s comedy “Black Monday,” which makes its debut on Sunday. “Black Monday,” created by

He didn’t give the devil a lapdance like he does in the video for his “Montero” single, but Lil Nas X gave one of the most provocative musical performances in recent “Saturday Night Live” history this weekend — and that was before he split his pants while working a stripper pole. The malfunction occurred during

The cast of “Saturday Night Live” wrapped up their 46th season on May 22 by addressing the audience directly in the cold open to discuss the “crazy” year we all just went through due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But they weren’t alone: comedian and actor Chris Rock, who hosted the first episode of the season,

CNN is parting ways with contributor Rick Santorum, the former Republican Senator and presidential candidate who has come under fire in recent days for remarks he made last month about Native American culture. Speaking to an audience last month at an event organized by Young America’s Foundation, Santorum suggested Native American people had little influence

As Ryan O’Connell often tells it, the first season of “Special” was a tough sell. Based on his own experiences as a gay man with cerebral palsy, “getting the show made has been a fucking journey,” as he told Variety in 2019. “This might shock you, but putting a gay disabled lead on TV isn’t

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. With an end to the NBA’s regular season, the league is amping up for its playoff games which

Former BBC director general Tony Hall has resigned from his position as chair of the U.K.’s National Gallery in the wake of the investigation over his role in the Princess Diana “Panorama” interview scandal. “I have today resigned as chair of the National Gallery,” Hall said in a statement on Saturday. “I have always had

Glenn Gordon Caron, the high-profile TV producer behind hits such as “Moonlighting” and “Medium,” has exited his role as showrunner of CBS’ “Bull,” Variety has confirmed. In addition to no longer being the showrunner of “Bull,” Caron’s overall deal with CBS Studios has also ended. Reports emerged that he was dismissed after a studio investigation

The 2021 broadcast TV development cycle was unlike any other for the industry’s old-guard networks, and it wasn’t just because of pandemic-related disruptions. This year marked the first time the springtime rituals of pilot season and upfronts week unfolded in network and studio operations that have been radically restructured to position programming, marketing and distribution

Staff Me Up, a hiring and networking platform for media production professionals, is expanding its services with a service intended to highlight underrepresented groups in the industry. Called Coded for Inclusion, the initiative is endorsed by Color Of Change and supported by Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society Fellowship, Hue You Know, AMC Networks and Endeavor

Jedediah Bila, an anchor who billed herself as holding libertarian perspectives and who was once a co-host at ABC’s “The View,” is leaving the weekend edition of “Fox & Friends,” the anchor and network announced Friday. “We have mutually and amicably parted ways with Jedediah Bila and wish her all the best,” Fox News said

Padma Lakshmi is teaming up with Stella Artois to celebrate the reopening of restaurants. The host of “Top Chef” and “Taste the Nation” stars in the new campaign, “Your Table Is Ready,” which offers diners their first Stella Chalice drink for free when dining out at participating venues. The campaign also includes the sale of

HBO has offered a first look at the Watergate drama series “White House Plumbers” starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. The five-part series tells the story of how President Richard Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds, E. Howard Hunt (Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Theroux), accidentally toppled the presidency they were zealously trying to

The sentencing for “Smallville” actor Allison Mack, who was indicted in 2018 on sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor charges for her involvement in Keith Raniere’s NXIVM cult, has been scheduled for late June. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, June 30, at 11 a.m., ordered by New York judge Nicholas G.

A judge on Friday ordered “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson to stand trial on charges that he raped three women nearly 20 years ago. Masterson faces up to 45 years to life in prison if convicted on all three charges. Each of the three women testified at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Superior

Come June, Anthony Ramos will be singing and dancing his way through New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood in the delayed bigscreen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical “In the Heights,” but before then he co-stars as the more stationary Eladio in HBO’s continuation of “In Treatment.” Eladio is the lone patient of Dr.

In an unprecedented move, Kate del Castillo’s Cholawood and Fabrica de Cine’s Gaston Pavlovich, producer of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and “Silence,” have teamed up with Endemol Shine Boomdog (ESB) to co-produce “El Agente Mexicano” (“The Mexican Agent”). The series is loosely based on the true story of Francisco García, a young photographer who is

The L.A. Virtual Screenings ran May 11-20. U.K. broadcast network ITV held an ITV Festival on Wednesday. VIS Global Screenings take place on June 2. Following a brief take on what has become the May Screenings, once an on-site single event held in L.A. and what they and drama series deals this week say about

“Derek DelGaudio’s ‘In & Of Itself’” is finally hitting the big screen. The Hulu special will run at the IFC Center in New York from May 28 to June 3, marking the first time audiences can see the film version of the stage show in an actual theater. “In & Of Itself” was originally slated