With the Golden Globe Awards being less than a week away, Variety editors Michael Schneider and Danielle Turchiano surveyed the drama series contenders on Awards Circuit, presented by HBO, breaking down the nominees and choosing which ones they’d like to see take home the trophy on Feb. 28. Netflix’s “The Crown” is the only returning
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ABC has given out a pilot order to the drama project “Promised Land.” The show is described as an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley. Matt Lopez is set to write and executive produce the pilot, with Adam Kolbrenner also executive producing. ABC Signature will
Norman Lear’s Act III Prods. and Sony Pictures TV have landed a pair of projects in development at Amazon’s IMDb TV, including one starring Laverne Cox and comedian George Wallace. Lear and his production partner Brent Miller are executive producers on “Clean Slate” and “Lotería,” which are set up at the quickly growing IMDb TV,
Gillian Anderson has been cast as Eleanor Roosevelt in the upcoming Showtime anthology series “The First Lady,” Variety has learned. The show is described as a reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. Anderson joins previously announced series leads Viola Davis and Michelle Pfeiffer, who
“American Idol” on ABC led primetime Sunday night, according to Nielsen Live+Same Day fast affiliate ratings, scoring a 1.0 in the key, 18-49 demographic, and drawing more than 6.51 million viewers at 8 p.m. Other than the long-running singing competition’s telecast triumph, the alphabet network ran new episodes of ”America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 p.m. (0.8,
NBC comedy “Superstore” is getting a Spanish-language adaptation, Variety can reveal. NBCUniversal Formats has partnered with Mexican production outfit Dopamine (“Hernán,” “Amarres”) to co-produce the first international version of the hit workplace comedy. The deal marks NBCUniversal Formats’ first co-production partnership in Mexico and the first time one of its scripted titles will be adapted in
BET Plus has ordered the original series “Birth of Cool” in its first-ever partnership with “Gentefied” producers Macro Television Studios and Emmy-Award winning screenwriter and actor Lena Waithe’s production house Hillman Grad Productions. The 10-episode half-hour dramedy marks Waithe’s third original production with the brand— her other two series with BET are “Twenties” and “Boomerang.”
A live-action series adaptation of the “Twisted Metal” PlayStation game franchise is officially moving forward, Variety has learned. Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions are developing a series based on the “Twisted Metal” vehicular combat games, the first of which was released in 1995. It was originally reported in 2019 that Sony was interested in
Laverne Cox and Kerry Washington know all too well what it’s like to be “the first,” as well as the mix of pride, pressure and responsibility that comes with it. That’s why they’re working to ensure that they’re providing opportunities for underrepresented artists both on-screen and behind the scenes. “All day Inauguration Day I was
Many kids love to watch TV, but have little desire to learn the intricacies of the business behind it. Nickelodeon aims to change that dynamic. The ViacomCBS kids-media giant will host a showcase on March 18 at 4 p.m., all part of the advertising-sales session known as TV’s “upfront” market. The presentation aims to lure
Starz is officially picking up “Gaslit,” an anthology series from creator and showrunner Robbie Pickering (“Mr. Robot,” “Search Party”) based on the award-winning Slate podcast “Slow Burn.” The series focuses on the untold stories and forgotten characters of Watergate, from Nixon’s opportunistic subordinates to the deranged zealots aiding and abetting their crimes to the tragic
A recent Twitter spat between presenter Piers Morgan and industry campaigner Adeel Amini has resulted in an open letter to ITV requesting that the broadcaster denounce bullying in all forms and reveal the findings of internal discussions around Morgan’s conduct. The letter, organized by an anonymous group of freelancers, began gaining traction over the weekend,
In today’s Global Bulletin, Blue Ant Media and Content Catalyst Fund team to promote women creatives working in unscripted; Abacus Media Rights secures rights to “Four Hours at the Capitol”; La Biennale di Venezia opens the call for applicants to this year’s Venice Gap-Finance Market; Goldfinch picks two video game IPs to develop as film
Discovery’s fourth-quarter earnings report beat forecasts early Monday, as the company also revealed numbers for its subscription streaming service. The company reported earnings of 76 cents per share and revenue of $2.889 billion, vs. Street projections for per-share earnings of 72 cents on revenue of $2.83 billion. During Q4, Discovery officially entered the streaming wars
In “Allen v. Farrow,” the four-part docuseries that premiered on HBO Sunday night, documentarians Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy have tackled an especially daunting and divisive subject, even for them. The filmmakers behind the documentaries “The Hunting Ground,” “The Invisible War” and “On the Record,” have investigated Dylan Farrow’s 1992 allegations that her
Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn have issued a statement to the press through a spokesperson — Allen’s sister, producer Letty Aronson — in response to the HBO docuseries “Allen v. Farrow” that premiered Sunday. The program details his daughter Dylan Farrow’s allegations of abuse against the director, and includes in-depth interviews with her, Allen’s
When Marcia Wallace died unexpectedly in 2013, “The Simpsons” producers were caught by surprise. It was decided that Wallace’s character, Bart’s teacher (and Ned Flanders’ second wife) Edna Krabappel, would also pass away. But executive producer Al Jean said it always bugged him that Wallace and Mrs. Krabappel didn’t get a proper send-off. Until now.
“SEAL Team” actor Justin Melnick is recovering at home after falling from a helicopter during a private commercial shoot on Saturday, Variety has confirmed. Reports first surfaced last night that a stuntman fell 15-20 feet from a helicopter while fast-roping during a shoot near Blue Cloud Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita, Calif. The Santa Clarita Sheriff’s
Disney Plus has added a content disclaimer to the beginning of 18 episodes of “The Muppet Show,” which started streaming on the platform on Friday. “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now,” the disclaimer reads. “Rather than remove this content, we want
A settlement deal has been reached in a 2019 lawsuit alleging that James Franco intimidated his students into sexual situations at the acting school he founded. According to a joint status report filed on Feb. 11, two of Franco’s former students at his now-defunct Studio 4 school, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, have agreed to
“Saturday Night Live” wasted no time commenting on the fact that everyone from critics to fans to SAG voters fell in love with Regé-Jean Page in Netflix’s “Bridgerton.” Page hosted the Feb. 20 episode of the NBC late-night sketch comedy series and he started his monologue by pointing out that everyone knows him now from
Britney Spears has been back in the news again, first because of FX’s latest installment of “The New York Times Presents,” which was entitled “Framing Britney Spears,” which made #FreeBritney trend on social media. Then, the pop star continued her legal battle to remove her father’s conservatorship over her estate. Now, she was the subject
Comedian and actor Chris D’Elia posted a 10-minute YouTube video Friday in which he addressed the sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him last summer, stating that he has a “problem” and that sex “controlled” his life. However, he maintained that all of his relationships have been consensual and legal. “I have a chance to apologize
In today’s TV news roundup, “South Park” is back with a new COVID-19 vaccine special, and Amazon Prime Video offered a first look at animated series “Invincible,” starring Steven Yeun. CASTING The Feb. 22 episode of “The Good Doctor” will feature Southern California Special Olympics global messenger Caley Versfelt, Variety has learned exclusively. She portrays
A “Criminal Minds” revival is in early development at Paramount Plus, Variety has learned from sources. As the project is still in the early stages, details are still being finalized, including which of the original cast members would return. However, sources say that longtime “Criminal Minds” showrunner and executive producer Erica Messer would return to work
Nissa Diederich, most recently the executive vice president of production for Touchstone Television (formerly Fox 21 Television Studios), has been named head of production at 20th Television in the wake of the consolidation of the Walt Disney Company’s TV studios. Longtime production executive Jim Sharp, who had served as 20th’s production head and spent decades
When “Mythic Quest’s” second season premieres on May 7 on Apple TV Plus, one of its essential supporting players, F. Murray Abraham, will be in limited scenes. This was because, as co-creator and star Rob McElhenney put it during a virtual Television Critics Assn. press tour panel for the show on Friday, he “did not
NBC has stocked its Peacock streaming-video hub with a handful of late-night-style series. Now it’s planning to try one of those programs on actual late-night TV. “The Amber Ruffin Show,” a comedy-talk series that currently streams on Peacock on Friday nights, will get a limited run in the wee hours of two Saturday mornings on
Having already plumbed the depths of the Superman well for “Smallville,” which survived the demise of the WB network to run for a full decade, The CW’s gone back to its Kansan/Kryptonian roots for “Superman and Lois,” a strangely grim take on one of comics’ brightest heroes. From Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing (“The Flash”),
Judy Greer has signed on for a guest starring role in the upcoming Showtime series “The First Lady.” Formerly known as “First Ladies,” the show is described as a reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. Viola Davis will star as Michelle Obama, while