Television

ABC has confirmed that it is picking up a new multi-camera comedy pilot, “Bucktown,” hailing from ABC Signature studios and written and executive produced by Emily Wilson, co-executive producer of “The Conners.” “Bucktown” centers on a protagonist named Amy, who, after being dumped by her boyfriend and kicked out of her apartment on the eve

The NFL’s incumbent TV network partners have been put on notice. The price tag for a deal spanning at least eight to 10 years is essentially double the fees charged for the various packages in the previous contract negotiations struck in 2011. The league and top executives at ESPN, CBS, Fox and NBC have been

“Supergirl” star Melissa Benoist has formed a new production company, Three Things Productions, and inked an exclusive, multiyear overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. Through Three Things — inspired by the Mary Oliver poem “Three Things to Remember” — Benoist and her team will develop and produce original TV programming for all platforms. That

The first time we meet Nadiya Hussain in the “Great British Baking Show” tent, she’s trying to convince the judges that making a cake with green cardamom is a good idea. “Is that the only flavor?” Mary Berry asks, delicately but with enough of a point to convey her skepticism. Paul Hollywood, blunt as always,

The streaming wars are about to stop being polite and start getting real. ViacomCBS is reviving “The Real World” for streaming service Paramount Plus. The venerable reality TV franchise will be part of the March 4 launch of the service, which is effectively a rebrand of existing streamer CBS All Access. The initial installment of

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 1, Episode 6 of Disney Plus’ “WandaVision.” The last time we caught up with Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision’s (Paul Bettany) quirky adventures through television eras, we were in the curly and corny and colorful 1980s, dealing with superpowered and superaging twins (Julian Hilliard,

Former “The Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay has spoken out about her interview with Chris Harrison, which has led to considerable blowback this week, regarding the host’s controversial commentary surrounding race. Lindsay says she will not be renewing her contract with “The Bachelor” franchise when it’s up. She currently hosts a Bachelor Nation podcast, and is

“VH1 Couples Retreat,” a new six-episode series celebrating Black love, will premiere March 29 at 8 p.m., Variety has learned exclusively. The show will feature three couples best-known to audiences from the network’s “Love & Hip Hop” franchise (Yandy Smith-Harris and Mendeecees Harris; Rasheeda and Kirk Frost; Ray J and Princess Love), as well as

This Valentine’s Day, Fox is expanding its Animation Domination Sunday block with a show that immediately seems familiar enough to qualify as comfort TV from its very opening minutes. “The Great North” follows a family of lovable, scrappy weirdos — headed up by gruff but sweet dad Beef (Nick Offerman) — who stumble into strange

Fox’s newest unscripted series, “Cherries Wild,” is, among other things, a very easy trivia show, an opportunity to watch the dial of a giant slot machine turn, and a thirty-minute-long advertorial sponsored by Pepsi. It’s also something that no one would mistake, at the present moment, for a show appearing anywhere else. While the show

In today’s Global Bulletin, Warner Bros. announces several local versions of Nippon TV’s “Mute It!”, “Ugly Betty” gets a Ukrainian makeover, Twickenham Film Studios plans a facelift of its own, Australia’s Stan hires Amanda Duthie and beIN Sports gets Ligue 2 soccer in France. FORMAT Warner Bros. International Television Production has struck a deal with

Attorneys for Fox News filed individual motions Thursday night to dismiss Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit on behalf of Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, three anchors who have been named in the matter in which the voting technology company is seeking a whopping $2.7 billion. The three motions were filed by Kirkland & Ellis, the

Series Mania, the TV drama showcase held in Lille, France, is postponing its 2021 edition to Aug. 26-Sept. 2 due to the pandemic. It’s the second time the event changes dates. Series Mania was initially scheduled to take place in late March before being pushed by two months to May 28 to June 5. The

Vice TV and Vice World News have jointly commissioned a six-part documentary series from British factual producers Icon Films exploring the diversity of the Amazon rainforest.  “Unknown Amazon with Pedro Andrade” (6 x 60′) will show the real modern-day Amazonia through an exploration of the Amazon Basin, meeting a different group of people who live

In today’s TV news roundup, TBS announced the premiere date of “Wipeout,” and Netflix released the first look at Michelle Obama’s new children’s cooking show “Waffles + Mochi.”  DATES TBS announced that its newly re-imagined version of the extreme obstacle course series, “Wipeout,” will premiere on April 1 at 9 p.m. The game show will

Harlan Coben has signed on for representation with UTA. He will continue to be represented by literary agent Lisa Erbach Vance of The Aaron Priest Literary Agency and attorney Michael Gendler of Gendler & Kelly. Coben has penned over thirty novels, includingNew York Times bestsellers “The Boy From The Woods,” “Run Away,” “Fool Me Once,”

An animated series based on the classic board game “Clue” is in development at Fox, Variety has learned. Fox Entertainment has partnered with Hasbro’s content studio eOne and Bento Box Entertainment on the series, with the three companies co-producing and Bento Box providing the animation. No writers or producers are currently attached to the project. “‘Colonel

Disney CEO Bob Chapek sounded a cautionary note about Disney’s willingness to pay huge fees for a new NFL TV rights pact as negotiations heat up between the league and its incumbent network partners, which include ESPN. Chapek was pressed Thursday by Wall Street analysts during the company’s fiscal first quarter earnings call about Disney’s

Issa Rae has landed an eight-episode series order at HBO Max for the half-hour comedy “Rap Sh*t.” The project was first announced as being in development in October 2019. It follows two estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap group. Rae is writing the pilot for the series and will executive

Another day, another GameStop project getting the green light. Netflix is currently in production on a documentary series about the rollercoaster GameStop stock fluctuation prompted by a band of retail traders on Reddit. This project, which seeks to look deeper into the “seismic shift in how the world’s money behaves,” promises exclusive access to key

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is coming to an end for the second time. NBC announced Thursday that the upcoming Season 8 of the comedy series will be its last. The show was famously canceled after five seasons at Fox in 2018 before NBC revived it for a sixth season that same year. The comedy, set in a

Tom McAlister has been promoted to president of Back Media and made the strategic communication agency’s first-ever partner. In his new role, McAlister will over see operations in the company’s Austin, Atlanta, New York City and San Francisco locations, as well as its Santa Monica headquarters. “Tom is a world-class creative marketing and communications strategist,

MTV Entertainment Group— which includes MTV, Comedy Central, VH1 and multiple other ViacomCBS brands — announced today the promotions of Lance McPherson to executive VP and deputy general counsel and Bahareh Kamali to executive VP, strategic development. “Lance and Bahareh are consummate pros who bring a high level of expertise and experience, forging groundbreaking deals

There’s a new queen in town. Variety can reveal the first look of “Queen & Slim” actor Jodie Turner-Smith as Tudor queen Anne Boleyn — the most notorious of Henry VIII’s wives, best known for her untimely demise by execution — in three-part psychological thriller “Anne Boleyn” for ViacomCBS-backed U.K. broadcaster Channel 5. The show

Paris-headquartered Asacha Media Group has acquired a majority stake in U.K. production and distribution outfit WAG Entertainment. The WAG portfolio includes “What on Earth?” and “Strange Evidence” for Science Channel, “Weird Earth” for The Weather Channel, “Combat Dealers” for Quest and “War Factories” for UKTV. Following a transition period, WAG founder and CEO Martin Durkin

Adventure reality show “Australian Survivor” is to shoot in Queensland, Australia following the injection of cash from the federal government’s Location Incentive Fund. The first five seasons of the show, which airs on Network 10, had previously lensed in Pacific island countries Samoa and Fiji. Preparations to shoot season six in Fiji had been under

A “True Lies” series adaptation has scored a pilot order at CBS, Variety has learned. Like the film of the same, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is a skilled international spy. She is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she’s recruited to

Gina Carano is “not currently employed by Lucasfilm,” the company said in a statement Wednesday after controversy erupted over “The Mandalorian” star’s social media posts. “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” a Lucasfilm spokesperson said in a statement. “Nevertheless, her social

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Purgatorio,” the fourth episode of Season 5 of The CW’s “Riverdale.” The most consistent feature of “Glee” throughout its seven seasons was a hyper speed recap of previous events that played at the beginning of every episode. Every week, the list of “what you missed on ‘Glee’!” got

If boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya does return to the ring, you’ll have “The Masked Dancer” to thank. De la Hoya was the next celebrity to be revealed on the show, as the person under the Zebra costume on Wednesday’s edition of the hit series. He was unmasked after dancing to Bobby Darin’s “Mack