Newen, the production-distribution unit of TF1, France’s biggest broadcast network, has acquired a minority stake in Spain’s Kubik Films, the ambitious production label owned and operated by filmmaking brothers Alberto and Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo. It will also serve as the exclusive distribution partner for their future feature film and TV productions. “The arrival of Alberto and
Television
The future of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been in question for months, ever since the Los Angeles Times exposed its loose financial practices and lack of diversity. But with NBC’s announcement on Monday that it would not broadcast the Golden Globes in 2022, it began to seem that the HFPA might not survive
It had the same host and was held in the same venue, but the 2021 Brit Awards bore no resemblance to any other version of the U.K.’s biggest music awards. As part of the government’s Events Research Program, 4,000 people were allowed to attend — just over a quarter of the usual BRITs attendance. But
He was a man who was full of stories and full of life. That’s how “St. Elsewhere” showrunner Tom Fontana remembered his dear friend Norman Lloyd, the legendary actor who died Tuesday at the age of 106. Lloyd, who died at his home in Los Angeles, was a raconteur who loved to regale listeners with
The family of late fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick, professionally known as Halston, has issued a statement against Netflix’s upcoming series based on his life, calling it “inaccurate” and “fictionalized.” “The Halston Archives and Family were not consulted on the upcoming Netflix series involving an inaccurate, fictionalized account of famed fashion designer, ‘Halston,’” the family
“Days of Our Lives” has been renewed for Season 57 and Season 58 at NBC. “We couldn’t be happier to bring our loyal fans two more seasons of ‘Days of our Lives’ and continue what has been an absolutely remarkable achievement in television,” said Michael Sluchan, executive vice president of scripted series & kids programming
Russell Wilson and Ciara have signed a first-look television and film deal with Amazon. The pair will develop and produce scripted series and films with Amazon Studios through their production company, Why Not You Productions, “We’re so excited and honored to work with Amazon Studios,” said the Wilsons. “They’ve quickly become one of the most
AMC and AMC Plus have given a formal series order to the series “Moonhaven” from Peter Ocko. News of the order comes after it was reported that AMC had opened a writers’ room for the show under their script-to-series model. The series is expected to debut next year. “Moonhaven” is focused on a utopian colony
Michael Showalter and Jordana Mollick of Semi-Formal Productions have signed a two-year first-look deal at HBO Max. Showalter is a co-creator and executive producer on the critically-acclaimed series “Search Party,” which moved over to HBO Max from TBS for its third season. The fourth season of the series debuted on Jan. 14 with fifth already
“Legends of the Hidden Temple” is headed back to the small screen, but not in its original kid-friendly format. The Nickelodeon competition adventure series from the 1990s is all grown up in the revival ordered Tuesday by the CW. The original Nickelodeon series that aired from 1993-1995 was inspired by Nintendo’s “The Legend of Zelda”
After devoting constant chatter to the 2020 election and the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News wants to make sure to talk about other subjects, including sports and weather. During an upfront presentation to ad buyers and clients Tuesday, executives from Fox News Media told Madison Avenue they intended to expand programming beyond the news of the
Stacey Abrams’ latest novel, “While Justice Sleeps,” will be adapted for a series by Working Title Television, part of NBCUniversal International Studios. The announcement comes after a high-stakes bidding war for the former member of the Georgia House of Representatives and fervent voting activist’s new legal thriller. The Universal Studios Group division prevailed and won
Kiefer Sutherland is getting back to his espionage roots in a new drama series at Paramount Plus. The untitled series has received an eight-episode order at the streamer. It finds private espionage operative James Weir (Sutherland) in the midst of a battle over the preservation of democracy in a world at odds with misinformation, behavioral
BTS has set the television performance debut of the group’s forthcoming single, “Butter,” for the Billboard Music Awards May 23. The vocal group will perform remotely from Korea on the show, to be broadcast on NBC live across time zones in the U.S. at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. “Butter,” the group’s second English-language single,
Demi Lovato will find out if the truth is out there in a new limited unscripted series about UFOs that has been ordered at Peacock. In “Unidentified with Demi Lovato,” the music superstar and actress, her skeptical best friend Matthew, and her sister Dallas attempt to uncover the truth about the UFO phenomena. While consulting
Samantha Bee is getting ready to tackle one of modern culture’s most serious topics — with comedy. On Wednesday, her “Full Frontal” program on TBS will focus entirely on the challenges of gun violence in America. “Full Frontal Wants To Take Your Guns” will air Wed. May 12 at 10:30 p.m. eastern. The opening segment
Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias has partnered with Netflix for another stand-up comedy special, Variety has learned exclusively. Entitled “The Comedy Event,” it will launch on the streamer later this year. The special will be filmed at the Tobin Center for Performing Arts in San Antonio, Texas, where the comedian and actor is performing four weeks of
As announced this morning, the iHeartRadio Music Awards will return to Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater on May 27 with Usher set to host and the Weeknd with Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak as Silk Sonic, Dan + Shay and Doja Cat, among others, slated to perform. Also on deck: a tribute to Elton
The Hong Kong government has acquired the broadcast rights to July’s Tokyo Olympics in order to allow citizens to watch the games for free and cheer for athletes from Hong Kong and mainland China, the city’s leader announced on Tuesday. The games will now be shown free of charge on free-to-air channels Television Broadcasts, ViuTV
Noomi Rapace and Nicholas Pinnock are joining Matthias Schoenaerts in the star cast of “Django,” an English-language reimagining of Sergio Corbucci’s classic 1966 Western. Set in the Wild West of the 1860s and ’70s, the project marks one of the biggest high-end European series of 2021. Star of “Prometheus,” “Sherlock Holmes” and “What Happened to
Top female stars reflect on the “secret weapon” of being funny, their path to fame and their heroes in “Lifetime Presents Variety’s Power of Women: The Comedians,” which premiered Monday on Lifetime. The special featured interviews with Michaela Coel, Mindy Kaling, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kate McKinnon, Maya Rudolph and Sofia Vergara, who were celebrated in the
After the global success of “Small Axe,” the BBC and acclaimed British filmmaker Steve McQueen are teaming again for documentary series “Uprising.” The three-part series will explore three seminal events of 1981 that changed race relations in the U.K. and defined them for a generation. In January 1981, a fire at a party in the
NBC has given a pilot order to the one-hour drama “Dangerous Moms.” The show is based on the Spanish series “Señoras del (h)AMPA.” The series is described as an off-center dark dramedy about four diverse mothers who accidentally kill the queen bee of their school’s PTA during the demonstration of a new high-end food processor.
Fox has canceled “Prodigal Son” after two seasons, Variety has learned. The news comes ahead of the second season finale, which is scheduled to air on May 18. That episode will now serve as the series finale. An insider with knowledge of the situation characterized the move to cancel the series as a difficult one, but
NBC Scraps the Golden Globes in 2022 Due To Ongoing HFPA Controversy The Hollywood Foreign Press Association will now have to decide how or if it will move forward with the Golden Globes next year without its broadcast partner, or more swiftly enact changes demanded by industry leaders regarding the org’s membership and processes. “We continue
Nielsen’s TV yardstick has been found wanting. A review of recent Nielsen efforts to map out TV audience activity determined the company likely undercounted TV audiences in February of this year, a development that is expected to intensify a growing rift between the measurement giant and the TV networks who depend on it to set
After a frenzied Monday in which NBC canceled its telecast of the 2022 Golden Globes and WarnerMedia joined Netflix and Amazon Studios in boycotting the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Globes, the HFPA has revealed its time frame for “implementing transformational changes as quickly – and as thoughtfully – as possible,” which it said
Fox has ordered the single-camera comedy “Pivoting” for its 2021-2022 broadcast season lineup. The half-hour series stars Eliza Coupe, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Maggie Q as three women dealing with the death of their childhood best friend. Faced with the reality that life is short, in desperate attempts to find happiness, they make a series of
Kenny Mayne, the longtime ESPN announcer and humorist, is set to leave the Disney-owned sports-media outlet after a more-than-quarter-century run that had him hold forth on “SportsCenter,” tackle horse racing coverage and appear in some other, very unique showcases. On Twitter, Mayne cited “salary cap casualty” as the reason for his decision. He has been
Jamie Bell has signed on to star opposite Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Wagner Moura (“Narcos”) in the Apple series adaptation of the 2013 Lauren Beukes novel “Shining Girls.” Bell, a BAFTA Award-winner known best for his work on “Rocketman,” “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool” and “Billy Elliot” will play the role of