Television

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announced the premiere date of “Jupiter’s Legacy,” and Showtime set the premiere date for Ziwe’s new variety show. CASTING Rebbi Rosie, Keiynan Lonsdale and Enrique Murciano have joined Starz‘ “Step Up” series, while Terayle Hill was promoted to series regular, reprising his role as Marquise in the upcoming season. The new

Rouhollah Zamani, the lead actor of Majid Majidi’s Oscar shortlisted child labor drama “Sun Children” and winner of the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best young actor or actress at the Venice Film Festival, has been cast in a TV drama series, “Mehdi Bakeri,” about soldiers in the Iran-Iraq War. Variety has been given the first

Taylor Kitsch will star alongside Chris Pratt in Amazon’s television adaptation of Jack Carr’s bestselling novel “The Terminal List,” Variety has confirmed. The series is a co-production from Amazon Studios and Civic Center Media in association with MRC Television. The “Friday Night Lights” actor will play Ben Edwards, a former Navy SEAL and the best friend

We do not teach Black History as we should in schools. However, this entire country was built on the backs of Black slaves. The fact that so many people are unaware of that is astonishing to me. When you think about it, and get down to the root of it, we are still fighting for

In today’s Global Bulletin, John Boyega’s UpperRoom sets animation deal with ViacomCBS’s VIS Kids; Germany’s Bavaria Film acquires Story House companies; and International Literary Properties appoints Hilary Strong as U.K./Europe CEO. “Star Wars” and “Small Axe” actor John Boyega‘s UpperRoom Productions has set a deal to present three to five animation projects to ViacomCBS International

The Directors Guild of America’s latest breakdown of TV director employment shows major gains for women and for Black helmers overall but the numbers also spotlight the systemic lack of movement for Latinx and female directors of color. The share of TV episodes directed by women during the 2019-20 television season across broadcast, cable and

Although Monday’s primetime crown winner was ABC’s long-running dating game show “The Bachelor” in Nielsen Live+Same Day adults 18-49 dey demographic rankings, total viewership slipped from the prior week amid a controversy surrounding host Chris Harrison and frontrunner contestant Rachael Kirkconnell over past racist behavior. The “hometown dates” episode of Matt James’ season, usually one

Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins will be sleuthing his way back to the screen. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television has closed a deal to develop and produce a television series adapted from Walter Mosley’s bestselling gritty historical fiction mystery series starring Rawlins, one of literature’s most popular Black investigators. The drama, based on Mosley’s fifteen novels and collection

For years, Disney has been keeping 80% of the revenue from older shows that it distributes to streaming platforms, leaving only 20% to be available to stars and other profit participants. It does so by classifying the revenue as “home video.” Under a formula dating from the introduction of the VCR, Disney subtracts an 80%

“Ginny & Georgia” begins with a change of scenery, as Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) uproots her two kids (Antonia Gentry and Diesel La Torraca as Ginny and Austin) and heads to a bucolic town in New England to start anew. This is as promising a start as any for a show with no shortage of

Jon Stewart has lined up the key creative team for his upcoming Apple current events series. Brinda Adhikari, Chelsea Devantez and Lorrie Baranek have all joined the untitled show. Adhikari will serve as an executive producer and showrunner, Devantez as head writer, and Baranek as the executive in charge of production. Adhikari is a highly-regarded

Hulu has ordered the three-part docuseries “The Rise and Fall of Victoria’s Secret.” From director and former Vanity Fair journalist Matt Tyrnauer, “The Rise and Fall of Victoria’s Secret” takes viewers behind the scenes through first-hand accounts and investigative research to reveal the inner workings of one of the country’s largest brands and cultural institutions.

The classic 1980s video game “Frogger” is getting a modern-day competition series upgrade at Peacock. The hour-long “Frogger” will feature 12 obstacle courses — or what the streamer is calling “crossings” — that are individually physically demanding challenges based on the original video game, as well as some other nostalgic favorite games. These challenges range

Shares in Walt Disney Co. rose for a second straight day as investors were encouraged by its official launch of a new streaming-video service aimed at consumers of general entertainment in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Disney said it would fuel the new service, called Star and aimed at families, older teens and adults,

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s first major interview since splitting with the British Royal Family has sparked a hot bidding war in the U.K. for rights to air the highly coveted sit-down. Sources tell Variety that Comcast-backed pay-TV operator Sky and free-to-air players ITV and the BBC are all bidding for the CBS primetime special,

Entertainment studio Topic Studios and New York-based production company Loveless have entered into an all-media first-look deal, partnering to develop scripted and unscripted projects across TV, film and podcasts. Topic Studios, the entertainment studio from First Look Media, which recently produced the Golden Globe-nominated legal thriller “The Mauritanian,” and Loveless, the production company founded by

International distributor Global Screen, part of Will Smith’s Telepool, has sold crime thriller miniseries “Dark Woods” to U.S., Canada, Spain and France, following its stellar ratings success in Germany. Inspired by a true crime, unsolved for almost 30 years, the six-part show centers on a high-ranking police officer’s desperate search for his sister, and the

The Paley Center for Media has filled out its 2021 PaleyFest LA slate with CBS’ “Evil,” ABC’s “The Good Doctor,” HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit,” Apple TV Plus’ “Ted Lasso” and FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows.” These six shows join the previously announced three (ABC’s “Big Sky,” CBS’ “The Late Late

The separation in the British Royal Family will be evident to the world in a tale of two broadcasts hours apart in March. On March 7, the Queen’s annual Commonwealth message alongside her family members, minus the voluntary estranged Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, will be broadcast on U.K. broadcaster BBC One. Just hours later,

Amazon Prime Video and Juventus soccer club have announced a new Italian Amazon original behind-the-scenes documentary series, “All or Nothing: Juventus.” The series will follow the popular Italian soccer club through the current 2020/21 season, and will stream on Amazon Prime Video worldwide later this year. It will take viewers on a behind the scenes

Red Arrow Studios International has closed a raft of global sales for controversial feature documentary “Framing Britney Spears.” The documentary shines a light on the Queen of Pop’s court battle for control of her estate and also re-examines the media’s handling of her life and career. Since its early February debut, the film has been

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Feb. 22 episode of “The Bachelor.” The final four contestants headed to hometowns. Bachelor Matt James hosted four families at the Nemacolin Resort in Pennsylvania, welcoming guests of Michelle Young, Rachael Kirkconnell, Bri Springs and Serena Pitt. Each date included a day portion

The city of South Pasadena, Calif. has reached a settlement agreement in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of actor Vanessa Marquez, who was shot and killed by police in her home in 2018. According to the Los Angeles Times, Marquez’s mother, Delia McElfresh, and the city of South Pasadena agreed upon the

While Black stories and creators face disproportionate barriers and a lack of representation in the television industry, many brilliant Black-led series can be found on streaming platforms right now. For Black History Month and beyond, Variety has you covered with 10 great shows from Black creators, so you can revisit old classics and view new fan-favorites

“The Bachelor” lead Matt James has broken his silence on the escalating controversy surrounding the show, as longtime host Chris Harrison remains under fire for perpetuating racism during a recent interview. James, the first Black star of “The Bachelor,” is not just calling out Harrison for his “troubling and painful” words, but is also holding

Ronald D. Moore is in the process of developing multiple TV projects at Disney Plus that will be set in Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Variety has confirmed with sources. The first such project will be “The Society of Explorers and Adventurers,” which Moore will write and executive produce. The series is loosely based on the fiction

If your Twitter timeline recently has been dominated by tweets about HBO’s new docu-series “Allen v. Farrow,” you aren’t alone.  The four-part documentary from filmmakers Amy Ziering, Kirby Dick, and Amy Herdy examines what happened when 7-year-old Dylan Farrow, the daughter of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, accused her father of sexually abusing her in 1992. The sordid saga has provoked fiery debates for nearly 30 years.

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announced the premiere date for “The Irregulars,” and the Critics Choice Assn. opened up submissions for its nonfiction awards ceremony.  RENEWALS ABC renewed extreme mini-golf competition series “Holey Moley” for third and fourth seasons. Rob Riggle and Joe Tessitore will return as commentators, as will sideline correspondent Jeannie Mai

Kevin Michael Richardson will be taking over the voice role of Dr. Hibbert on “The Simpsons,” replacing Harry Shearer, who portrayed the Black character since 1990. Shearer voiced Dr. Hibbert on Sunday’s episode of “The Simpsons,” titled “DiaryQueen,” for the final time. Next week’s episode “Wad Goals” will feature Kevin Michael Richardson in the role,

Ray Halbritter, the Oneida Indian Nation Representative, CEO of Oneida Nation Enterprises, and a trustee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Museum, has launched Standing Arrow Productions, a privately-funded, independent film and TV production company aimed at increasing the representation and championing the narratives of Native American and Indigenous peoples on screen.