Wagner Moura has signed on to star opposite Elisabeth Moss in the Apple series “Shining Girls,” Variety has learned. The series is an adaptation of the 2013 Lauren Beukes novel of the same name. Moss plays a Chicago reporter who survived a brutal assault only to find her reality shifting as she hunts down her attacker.
Television
In a concerted bid to train the next generation of film and media industry professionals, a new training center, the International Screen Institute, has launched in Europe. The new non-profit org, founded by Vienna-based Terra Mater Factual Studios, producer of “The Ivory Game” (pictured), and Satel Film, bows March 2 at the European Film Market.
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 1, Episode 8 of Disney Plus’ “WandaVision.” Whoa, baby (witch)! In the penultimate episode of the truly wild, labyrinthine ride through television’s past that “WandaVision” has turned out to be, we found out that Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) wasn’t just “a baby witch obsessed with
Fox Entertainment has launched the digital docuseries “Making History in Hollywood,” featuring some of the network’s top Black stars as they discuss who and what inspires them in entertainment, and their experiences. The first episode, which launches on Friday, Feb. 26, features Malcolm-Jamal Warner from Fox’s “The Resident.” First known for his role as Theo
Austin Butler and Callum Turner will play the lead roles in Apple’s World War II drama “Masters of the Air,” a continuation of the “Band of Brothers”/”The Pacific” franchise from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller, “Masters of the Air” follows the true story
Debra Wilson, one of the original cast members on “MADtv,” said that she left the sketch comedy series in 2003 after hearing about a pay disparity between her and the white male actors that joined the cast after her. In an interview with Comedy Hype News, Wilson revealed the showrunners were unwilling to bump her
Freeform has given a series order to the single-camera comedy “Single Drunk Female.” The series stars Sofia Black-D’Elia and Ally Sheedy in the lead roles. In the show, after a spectacularly embarrassing public breakdown, irreverent alcoholic Samantha Fink (Black-D’Elia) is forced to move back home with her “Smother” (Sheedy) to sober up and avoid jail
When it comes to Freeform’s young adult-oriented programming, “relatable” is the name of the game. Network president Tara Duncan, who stepped into the top spot at Freeform last June — and no thanks to the pandemic, has still not set foot in the network’s Burbank offices during her tenure — sees the cabler as a
Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was set at a California high school beset by vampires, demons and toxic mean girls, but it turns out its real-life big bad was the show’s creator, Joss Whedon. Then in his early 30s, Whedon — who built “Buffy” into one of the most beloved and influential shows of the past
“Wu Assassins” is continuing at Netflix with a standalone movie. The film, titled “Wu Assassins: Fistful of Vengeance,” will be 90 minutes and will bring back series stars Iko Uwais, Lewis Tan, Lawrence Kao, and JuJu Chan Szeto. In addition, Pearl Thusi, Francesca Corney, Jason Tobin, and Rhatha Phongam will also star in the film.
AMC Networks said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter despite a decline in revenue as it narrowed losses in its international and other operations due to an increase in revenue from streaming-video subscriptions. The owner of the AMC, Sundance and IFC cable networks said net income came to $2.09 cents a share,
Already a hit for ABC Australia, where its first two episodes pulled in nearly one quarter of the audience share for its prime time slot, tasty comedy “Aftertaste” will now participate in the Berlinale Series Market and Conference looking to attract broadcasters abroad. With its comic story of a cancelled chef and his upstart baker
Sky is revealing first-look images and footage of the fifth and final season of “Gomorrah,” the groundbreaking Sky Original series produced by ITV-owned Cattleya in collaboration with Germany’s Beta Film, based on an idea by Italian writer Roberto Saviano. The series, which is Italy’s biggest TV export, is currently playing on HBO Max in the
New Zealand-based producer and entrepreneur Dame Julie Christie has acquired majority control of international factual program production company NHNZ. It will now be rebranded as NHNZ Worldwide. Canada’s Blue Ant Media, its most recent owner, will retain a significant minority interest and will continue to own NHNZ’s catalogue of award-winning series and documentaries. Other deal terms
Prince Harry simultaneously laid on the charm and tackled serious issues in an episode of “The Late Late Show With James Corden” on Thursday. The Prince spent an afternoon with his British compatriot Corden on an open bus tour of Los Angeles that was interspersed with stops. When asked his opinion on hit Netflix series
In a powerful alliance, Paris-based premium kids content producer Cottonwood Media, German public broadcaster ZDF and its co-pro and distribution arm ZDF Enterprises, HBO Max and Brazil’s Globo are teaming to produce “Theodosia,” a big new live action kids adventure series targeting family audiences. No budget is given for the 26-part half hour series. Its
Theo James and Rose Leslie have been cast in the lead role of HBO’s upcoming series based on “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” Based on Audrey Niffenegger’s novel of the same name, the series tells the story of Clare (Leslie) and Henry (James), and a marriage with a problem — time travel. Clare is described as
In today’s TV news roundup, Hulu announced release dates for “Love, Victor” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and Comedy Central released a promo for the “South ParQ Vaccination Special.” DATES Hulu announced that the fourth season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” will premiere with three episodes on April 28 and then release the rest of the season
Marc Sadeghi had just returned from a work trip to New Zealand when he was asked to meet with someone from Human Resources. Sadeghi was settling into his job as global head of visual effects for Amazon Studios, based at the streamer’s Culver City office. He had quickly discovered that he had less staff support
Disney Television Studios mounted a panel Thursday at the TCA press tour entitled “Inclusion is Not A Spectator Sport” — a panel on which five of the participants were white and two were Black. According to Tim McNeal, vice president, creative talent development and inclusion and DMA (Donna Michelle Anderson), director, creative talent development and
Growing up, February came chock full of goodness: Martin Luther King Jr., Shirley Chisholm, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, Mary McCleod Bethune, Rosa Parks, plus everyone who lived during the Harlem Renaissance. There was so much to cram into 28 (or 29) days, that often, these whole entire lives were reduced to
After a year and a half, dystopian drama “The Handmaid’s Tale” is returning to Hulu amid a notably different social and political climate than the one it left. But in doing so, it will inevitably reflect on where we’ve been, as well as offer a fictional take on where we may be going. “I am
Wall Street analyst Laura Martin of Needham Co. went so far as to say “Sell Netflix to buy ViacomCBS” after Wednesday’s marathon presentation of ViacomCBS’ plan for growth in the streaming arena with the March 4 launch of Paramount Plus. But Todd Juenger of Sanford Bernstein Co. is having none of it, setting his target
Mike Tyson has come out strongly against the planned Hulu series based on his life, “Iron Mike.” The series, which was announced earlier on Thursday, has been given an eight-episode order at the streamer and is said to explore Tyson’s life and career in and out of the ring. “Hulu’s announcement to do an unauthorized
Naturi Naughton, known most for her role as Tasha St. Patrick in Starz’s “Power” franchise, is set to play a leading role in the ABC music drama pilot “Queens.” Naughton will star opposite Grammy award-winning rapper Eve. The pilot follows the four members of the Nasty Bitches, a fictitious legendary ’90s hip-hop girl group, as
This pandemic has people everywhere in a funk. But as vaccinations are rolled out and hope looms on the horizon, is a trailer-touting “funky Punky” the nostalgic lift that frazzled parents, sentimental fans, and a new wave of younger viewers need? Peacock certainly seems to think so. The 10-part “Punky Brewster” revival dropped Feb. 25
“The Flight Attendant,” Kaley Cuoco’s HBO Max dramedy-thriller, premiered to rave reviews on Thanksgiving — and the buzz for it built as episodes dropped through December. “It’s definitely been my baby,” Cuoco said during a recent interview with Variety for the magazine’s Feb. 24 cover. “I don’t mean to be cheesy, but this has definitely been the highlight of
NBC’s “Young Rock” premiered recently to a 1.0 rating in the adults 18 to 49 demographic — which sounds awful but in 2021 qualifies as a tremendous debut. In an age when almost everything does between 0.4 and 0.8 in fast national Nielsen ratings, we’ve truly gotten to the point where live+ same day or
O-T Fagbenle has been cast in the recurring role of President Barack Obama in the upcoming Showtime anthology series “The First Lady.” He will star opposite Viola Davis, who will play First Lady Michelle Obama. The show is described as a reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart
Phoebe Robinson’s bestselling book “Everything’s Trash But It’s Okay” is being adapted for the small screen. Disney-owned cable network Freeform is developing the half-hour series, titled “Everything’s Trash,” with Robinson starring and ABC Signature producing. The story centers on a 30-something podcast star navigating her messy life, when her younger brother Jayden emerges as a