Television

A year after the BET Awards became one of the first major awards to take place during the pandemic (two days after the Daytime Emmys ran via a virtual event), the ceremony will return next month as the first to invite vaccinated fans to be a part of the audience. BET announced Tuesday that the

Since gaining oversight of ABC Entertainment in a December reorg at Walt Disney Co., Hulu Originals chief Craig Erwich has taken charge of “a bigger chessboard” to make programming moves. “The reorganization has given me the space to really focus on creative matters, as the excellence of our programming continues to drive our business forward,”

Michael Corn, the former top producer of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” has joined Nexstar Media Group’s “NewsNation” as president of news, the latest attempt by Nexstar to boost a programming initiative that has faced tremendous headwinds. Corn will oversee NewsNation’s current news programming and new efforts as well. The company recently indicated it would launch

Discovery said it had extended the contract of its CEO, David Zaslav, through 2027, ensuring the executive would be in place well after the proposed merger of the company and WarnerMedia is expected to be completed in the middle of next year. Zaslav’s previous contract ran through 2023. The company, which operates Food Network ,

In the “pre-show to the big show,” the Walt Disney Company put on a full-fledged production for its press briefing ahead of its upfront presentation later Tuesday, highlighting its full array of networks, from ESPN to ABC to NatGeo. While the presentation was a little light on details, FX boss John Landgraf did reveal that

Hulu announced “Nine Perfect Strangers” will premiere on August 18 and be released weekly, while “Only Murders in the Building” will premiere on August 31 and be released weekly. Based on the bestselling book by Liane Moriarty, “Nine Perfect Strangers” takes place at a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation. Nine “stressed city

After a four-year hiatus, Netflix’s “Master of None” is back with a third season marked by a tonal and narrative distance from its preceding seasons. Largely centered on Denise (Lena Waithe), Season 3, which is entitled “Master of None Presents: Moments in Love,” is a sort-of spiritual sequel to the beloved “Thanksgiving” episode in Season

Jack McBrayer is set to host a new kids series that has been ordered at Apple, Variety has learned. McBrayer co-created the series, titled “Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show,” with Angela C. Santomero. The show is said to invite preschoolers into a world where a little act of kindness can change the world. Alongside special guest

Lionsgate is reconfiguring its worldwide television distribution operations and promoting two executives as it looks to capitalize on the demand for premium content in an ever-competitive market, with more personnel announcements expected in the weeks to come. Kate Nexon, most recently senior vice president of North American TV and digital sales, has been upped to

Kumail Nanjiani will play Chippendales founder Somen “Steve” Banerjee in a limited series that has been ordered at Hulu, Variety has learned. The eight-episode series is titled “Immigrant.” It will tell the true story of Banerjee, the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. The series will detail the insane, darkly comedic, crime-ridden story behind the unique male

Discovery brought a vision to advertisers this year that it will be hard to duplicate in sessions to come. The owner of the TLC, Food Network and HGTV cable outlets spent Wednesday morning explaining how its networks, focused largely on reality and documentary programming, could stand through even conditions spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. Programming

ABC unveiled its fall TV offerings for the 2021-2022 season ahead of Disney’s upfront presentation Tuesday, with a schedule that includes several heavy-hitter mainstays as well as a few high-profile newcomers. Unscripted staples “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Bachelorette” anchor Monday and Tuesday nights, respectively, with new drama “Queens” following the dating reality show

Issa Rae, HBO Max and Miramax are reviving the critically acclaimed docuseries “Project Greenlight,” which originally spotlighted first-time filmmakers on HBO. The new “Project Greenlight” will focus on talented female filmmakers who are given the chance to direct a feature film. Rae will appear in every episode as an executive producer, providing guidance and mentorship

Barcelona production-distribution outfit Filmax is at this year’s L.A. Virtual Screenings with its most recent TV acquisition, Basque drama “Mouths of Sand” (“Hondar ahoak”) from leading regional film production company Txintxua Films, its first foray into TV production. Originally commissioned by local Basque public TV broadcaster ETB, the series’ global rights were scooped by Filmax

After the U.K. government eased lockdown restrictions from Monday, BBC Studioworks is getting audiences back into studios from Tuesday, with safety measures in place. Productions being recorded over the coming days with live audiences present include “The Goes Wrong Show,” produced by Big Talk/Mischief Screen in association with Lionsgate for the BBC; “The Jonathan Ross

Rising British singer-songwriter and actor Arlo, who signed a major recording deal earlier this year with Sony Music Entertainment’s Arista Records label, is developing a scripted television series with Lionsgate and Eleven Films, producers of Netflix hit “Sex Education.” Eleven will produce and develop the series, which will follow a young man in East London

The recently ended holy month of Ramadan, which is peak TV season for Arab audiences, has seen most streamers in the Middle East try to lure new subscribers with Ramadan releases, which have risen on OTT platforms with the notable exception of Netflix. Dubai-based media analyst Nader Soban — head of the Vynd data intelligence

Discovery’s tie-up with WarnerMedia has stirred up a firestorm of chatter about the impact of the deal that took nearly everyone in Burbank and Hudson Yards by surprise over the weekend. After a day of digesting the news and reading tea leaves, industry insiders were focused on the timing of WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s departure

WATCH MY SHOW: ‘Girls5Eva’s’ Meredith Scardino Fills Out Our Showrunner Seven I’ve had the “Girls5eva” songs in my head for days, and I can’t stop thinking about how enjoyable this Peacock show has been. Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Busy Philipps star in the series, which comes from creator and EP Meredith Scardino. Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, David

“NCIS: Hawai’i” has added Noah Mills to the cast, Variety has learned exclusively. Mills joins previously announced series lead Vanessa Lachey and fellow cast members Yasmine Al-Bustami and Jason Antoon. In the show, the first female Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor (Lachey) and her team balance duty to family and country, investigating high-stakes

Fox unveiled its 2021 fall schedule as part of its upfront presentation, with the network announcing renewals for a number of its shows. Both “9-1-1” and “9-1-1: Lone Star” were renewed, as was the medical drama “The Resident.” “9-1-1” will lead off Fox Monday’s this fall, while “Lone Star” is being held for midseason. “The

“The Resident” has been renewed for Season 5 at Fox. The news was made as part of Fox’s upfront presentation for the 2021-2022 broadcast season. Season 5 of “The Resident” will bow in the fall, while Season 4 had aired at midseason. Season 4 of “The Resident” jumped forward to a point in time when

Fox’s 2021 upfront presentation focused in large part on the fact that both Fox and the streaming service Tubi are entirely supported by ads, standing in contrast with other streamers associated with broadcast networks. Numerous references were made to the fact that Tubi has no paywall like other streamers, with plenty of jabs at the

While the world was in lockdown for the last 14 months, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier says the network took a close look at its approach to storytelling and gave a great deal of thought to what audiences would want after this very tough past year. “We talked a lot about themes that would be

CBS’ “Evil” plan is to move the supernatural drama to streamer Paramount Plus, multiple sources tell Variety. Ahead of CBS’ upfront presentation to advertisers and the press on Wednesday, sources expect that “Evil” will join “SEAL Team” and “Clarice” on ViacomCBS’ streaming service, which relaunched in March. As the months have ticked by, “Evil” fans

“The Great North” has picked up an early Season 3 renewal at Fox. The news comes just after the animated comedy’s first season finale. This is not the first time “The Great North” has gotten an early renewal. The show was renewed for Season 2 back in 2020 ahead of the first season premiere. “The

This week, broadcast networks and their streaming counterparts are showing advertisers and the general public what they’ve got for the upcoming season. While it’s far too early to judge the actual shows, a sense of promise — or of doubt — can be picked up from these early looks out of the upfronts presentations. Here’s

In today’s Global Bulletin, BAFTA prepares online sessions for several top 2021 TV nominees; Modern Films picks up global rights to “Lady Boss”; Mise En Scéne Company adds “Anchorage” to its Marché du Film slate; Abacus Media Rights will distribute “The Masked Dancer U.K.” abroad; Amazon launches miniTV in India and sets “Sherni” premiere date;

Morris Chestnut has been cast in a lead role of the Fox drama series “Our Kind of People,” Variety has learned. Chestnut currently appears in the Fox medical drama “The Resident.” According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, Chestnut would continue on “The Resident” in addition to starring in “Our Kind of People,” with

UPDATED: Shares of Discovery and AT&T moved in different directions in the wake of the proposed merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery. Discovery shares opened up 10% Monday — before the stock tumbled into negative territory. The stock was down 1.8% as of 11:08 a.m. ET. Shares of AT&T, which will get $43 billion in cash