Tyler Perry is developing a drama prequel series about the early life of his iconic character Madea for Showtime, Variety has learned. Showtime has ordered multiple scripts for the projects, which is titled “Mabel.” Per the official description of the project, long before she was the force of nature known as Madea she was a smart,
Television
Sometimes, the simple act of counting can result in something much more complex. Nielsen and the TV networks whose audiences it measures typically work hand in hand to tell the world about how many people watch some of the nation’s most-watched comedies and dramas. But this week, at least, they’re close to bearing arms against
T’Nia Miller, JJ Feild, Charlotte Riley, Adelind Horan and Alex Hernandez have been cast in the Amazon series adaptation of the New York Times-bestselling William Gibson novel “The Peripheral” from “Westworld” creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, Variety has learned. They join Jack Reynor, who stars in the lead role of Burton along with fellow cast
“Mystery Science Theater 3000” could be coming back again…again. Series creator Joel Hodgson announced Wednesday that the show has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to create a new, independent season of the series. The current goal is to raise at least $2 million to create new episodes of the beloved cult show and what Hodgson
Nick Offerman will star alongside Lily James, Sebastian Stan, and Seth Rogen in the Hulu limited series about the theft and release of Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape, Variety has learned. The eight-episode series is currently titled “Pam and Tommy.” Stan will play Lee while James will play Anderson. Offerman will star as
Two CBS veterans, Peter Dunn and David Friend, are leaving their top roles at CBS’ local-stations division as an investigation continues into allegations they were abusive to women and employees of color. “Peter Dunn, President of the CBS Television Stations, and David Friend, Senior Vice President of News for the Stations group, will not return
Andy Cohen — the host of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” as well as the executive producer and griller of the “Real Housewives” at those reunions — will next set his sights on the Kardashian-Jenner family. “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” will come to an end after 20 seasons on E! later this spring, and
“Bachelor in Paradise” and its sister spinoff series “The Bachelorette” are headed back to ABC this summer to enrapture fans with soaring romance and dating don’ts once again after the former took a hiatus due to the pandemic and the latter had a clunky, COVID-19-friendly split-season with two leads, Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams. Adams
“Crime Scene Kitchen,” a new baking competition series hosted by comedian, actor and author Joel McHale and judged by chef Curtis Stone and cake artist Yolanda Gampp, will premiere May 26 at 9 p.m. on Fox. The network describes “Crime Scene Kitchen” as a “culinary guessing game,” in which bakers must decode what type of
“The Crown” is gearing up for its next, hotly anticipated season. Production on season 5 of the hit Netflix series is set to start in July, Variety has confirmed with the show’s producers. This season will feature a whole new cast of actors playing the iconic royals, with “Tenet” star Elizabeth Debicki starring as Princess
Midwin Charles, defense attorney and legal analyst for MSNBC, CNN and other cable outlets, died Tuesday. She was 47. Charles’ family announced her death in a statement posted to her Twitter account Tuesday night. They did not disclose the cause of death. “It is with a profoundly heavy heart and the deepest sadness that we
Niecy Nash was in bed late one Sunday evening earlier this year when she got a frantic call from her team of reps: “The Masked Singer” host Nick Cannon had tested positive for COVID-19 on the eve of production for Season 5. Would she be available to fill in? “I was like, ‘you had me
U.K. public service broadcaster Channel 4 contributes £992 million ($1.36 billion) to the economy and supports 10,600 jobs, a new report has found. The report, by consulting firm EY, was commissioned by Channel 4 and released on Wednesday. In 2018, the broadcaster announced a major shift in focus with its ‘4 All The U.K.’ strategy
Greg Berlanti’s domination of the CW continues with “Kung Fu” — and the new drama he executive produces is proof positive that the super-producer is using his powers for good. The show is a revival of a drama starring David Carradine that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1975. The whitewash of Carradine in the
Brazilian media giant Globo has forged a long-term strategic partnership with Google Cloud in its bid to become a full-fledged mediatech company. The new deal aims to bring more scale, efficiency and innovation to Globo’s operations and distribution. The brand new alliance dovetails with Globo’s recent digital transformation, with a restructuring focused on direct-to-consumer deliveries.
The third season of “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” will premiere on June 9, BET announced Tuesday. The one-hour drama will pick up right where the Season 2 finale left off, in the aftermath of Gary (Chido Nwokocha) being shot. The show follows a group of single Black women as they navigate love, careers and friendship in
WarnerMedia has revitalized one of the most iconic names in animation history with the establishment of London-based Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. The newly renamed facility, which was formerly known as Cartoon Network Studios Europe, operating from Great Marlborough Productions, will be WarnerMedia’s flagship television animation studio within Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Sam Register, president
‘Twas the night before Earth Day, and all through houses tuned in to National Geographic’s website or YouTube channel will be the sounds of artists including Willie Nelson, Valerie June, Ziggy Marley and My Morning Jacket, all performing for “Earth Day Eve 2021: A Virtual Celebration.” Others joining in in song for the 90-minute webcast
TBS wanted to find a way to reach more Black viewers with its lineup of scripted and unscripted comedies. To do so, the WarnerMedia cabler turned to a pair of former TBS marketing executives who launched their own creative shop last year in Atlanta last year. Lori J. Hall and Jessica D. Lane, co-founders of
A documentary series spanning over two decades of footage and home videos of Kanye West’s life and work has landed at Netflix. Billboard, which first reported the news, cites sources putting the price tag at Netflix at $30 million, though a person familiar with the matter tells Variety that that is not an accurate figure.
Just ahead of its Season 2 premiere next month, Fox renewed animated sitcom “Duncanville” for Season 3. “Watching Amy [Poehler] bring her incredible talent to ‘Duncanville’ both on and off the screen these past two seasons has been an amazing experience,” said Fox entertainment president Michael Thorn. Poehler executive produces and stars in the show
Disney’s search for a new leader for ABC News continues weeks after the company unexpectedly disclosed the former president, James Goldston, would leave the post. Goldston’s last day came at the end of March and the company has yet to hone in on a candidate to replace him, according to four people familiar with parts
The Screen Actors Guild Awards shrunk to one hour this year, and despite solid critical reviews of the telecast, so did the viewership. The 27th Annual SAG Awards, which aired on Sunday, April 4, averaged 957,000 viewers on the TNT/TBS simulcast. The Easter night telecast also averaged a 0.22 rating among adults 18-49 via both
Natalia Anderson will direct the ABC single-camera comedy pilot “Maggie,” Variety has learned exclusively. Anderson started out as a director and producer on the CBS comedy series “Life in Pieces,” directing multiple episodes. Other TV directing credits for Anderson include “Black-ish,” “Single Parents,” “Brews Brothers,” “Grown-ish,” “American Housewife,” and “Perfect Harmony.” She previously worked at Brownstone
#MeToo movement founder and activist Tarana Burke and her producing partner Mervyn Marcano have struck an overall producing deal with CBS Studios to develop scripted, unscripted and documentary projects for linear television and streaming platforms. Their entity Field/House Productions will serve to develop and produce stories that “embrace complexity and highlight underrepresented voices,” with the
FX released a trailer for the third and final season of “Pose,” which will debut on May 2. Nearly two years after Blanca Evangelista’s (Mj Rodriguez) triumphant return to the ballroom, she gets a new job working at a hospital, while newly-engaged Angel (Indya Moore) and Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel) seem happy as ever. Following
The 1990 robbery of Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum remains a part of that institution’s life to this day, as empty frames hang on the wall marking the spots from which paintings were removed. The case remains unsolved — vexingly so. The items stolen, including works by Vermeer and Rembrandt, were cut out of their
Nicely Entertainment has hired NENT Studios U.K. executive Scott Kirkpatrick as executive VP of distribution and co-productions. Kirkpatrick joins the Los Angeles-based Nicely following his departure from the Scandinavian NENT Group-backed distributor and producer, which was previously known as DRG. Kirkpatrick was senior VP of North American sales, co-production and global digital strategy for the
Prince Harry’s next on-screen appearance will look rather different from his last. While he was most recently on CBS alongside Meghan Markle in a revealing interview with Oprah, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now focusing their efforts on their first project with Netflix through Archewell Productions since signing a deal with the streaming
Apple TV Plus announced “The Line,” its first combination podcast-TV original production — a bid to exploit the tech giant’s podcast footprint to seed signups for its TV subscription service. “The Line,” from Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, comprises two non-fiction series: a six-part narrative non-fiction audio series that debuted Monday (April 6) on Apple Podcasts