Television

Titles backed or produced by HBO Europe (“Welcome to Utmark”), NBCU (“Sisterhood”), Fremantle (“Cargo”) and ITV  Studios (“Thin Blue Line”) have been nominated for the 5th Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, the most prestigious Nordic award for drama series screenwriting. In a powerful smackdown, a fifth series, “Cry Wolf,” is produced by DR Drama,

Sven Hjerson, the debonair Scandinavian master detective invented by crime writer Ariadne Oliver, a character in Agatha Christie’s novels, will get his own series, set in modern-day Stockholm. In “Agatha Christie’s Sven Hjerson,” Hanna Alström plays Klara Sandberg, a former trash TV producer who successfully pitches a true-life crime show starring Hjerson, who would solve

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Out of Control” and No Time for Despair,” the Dec. 17 episodes of “Station 19” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” respectively. As 2020 has brought upon more issues than seem possibly manageable — from the unprecedented health crisis  amid the pandemic to the murder of George Floyd

ABC could be returning to the world of “L.A. Law.” The Disney-owned network is developing a sequel to the iconic series which ran on its rival NBC from 1986 to 1994, Variety has confirmed. The project has Blair Underwood attached to reprise his role as attorney Jonathan Rollins and is being written by “Arrow” co-creator Marc Guggenheim

In today’s TV news roundup, Peacock has made various titles from Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Network available, and HBO Max renewed “12 Dates of Christmas” for a second season. CASTING HBO Max revealed that “Red Bird Lane” has added Crispin Glover to its cast of series regulars, while James Urbaniak, Jamie Clayton, Rya Kihlstedt,

Vivian Cannon has been upped to the head of Universal Television’s drama development unit, stepping into the role previously held by now-president Erin Underhill. Underhill was elevated to president of the Universal Studio Group’s TV arm following Pearlena Igbokwe’s ascent to chairman of Universal Studio Group in September. Calling Cannon “sharp, passionate and tenacious,” Underhill

Just weeks after being tapped to head up Banijay’s North America and Latin America operations, Cris Abrego has just been handed another major responsibility: Abrego has been elected as chairman of the Television Academy Foundation, making him the org’s first-ever Latino chair. Abrego is among the newly-elected board officers of the Television Academy Foundation, all

“The Crown” and “The Queen’s Gambit” have been engaged in a right old royal rumble in the viewership charts. For the week of Nov. 16, the drama about the royal family easily checkmated Beth Harmon and co. for the first time, rocketing into first place in Nielsen’s Top 10 SVOD programs list. “The Crown” was watched

Leading production designers John P. Goldsmith (“Perry Mason”), Lester Cohen (“The Undoing”), Kalina Ivanov (“Lovecraft Country”), Joel Collins (“His Dark Materials”) and Chris Seagers (“Raised by Wolves”) discuss their approach to building out the look and feel of their shows. In the Variety FYC Fest conversation, moderated by Variety TV Senior Features Editor Danielle Turchiano,

In a competitive situation, Amazon has acquired the rights to the Bill Konigsberg’s novel “The Bridge” with David Mandell set to adapt the book for television, Variety has learned exclusively. The limited series will be produced by Amazon Studios in association with PKM Productions. Mandell will write and executive produce, with Konigsberg also executive producing along

Even in a new content era, classic “Peanuts” specials have secured the title as the go-to family TV during the holiday season. The witty dialogue from Charles Schulz remain timeless, and the emotional scores from Vince Guaraldi have become staple additions to holiday playlists. In addition to the better-known Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials that

Heather Olander, executive vice president of alternative development and programming for NBCUniversal’s USA Network, Syfy and Peacock, is exiting the company after nine years. Having first joined NBCU in 2011 as senior vice president of alternative programming for cabler USA Network following stints in original series development and current programming at CBS and MTV, she

“Superstore” may be coming to an end, but the world of the show could live on in the form of a spinoff. Variety has confirmed that NBC is developing a spinoff entitled “Bo & Cheyenne,” which would see Johnny Pemberton and Nichole Sakura reprise their roles from the mothership series. In the new show, Bo

Ray Fisher has found his latest TV role. The “Justice League” and “True Detective” star has joined ABC’s “Women of the Movement” limited series, Variety has confirmed. The series will tell the story of key female figures in the Civil Rights Movement, with season 1 focusing on Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, played by

“AP Bio” has been renewed for Season 4 at Peacock. The series moved to the streaming service for its third season after being canceled at NBC. It revolves around a disgraced Harvard philosophy scholar, played by Glenn Howerton, who is forced to return to Toledo, Ohio, and work as an Advanced Placement biology teacher at

Michael Stuhlbarg has signed on for a series regular role in the upcoming Hulu drama series “Dopesick.” The eight-episode series looks into the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, taking viewers from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of “one percenter” Big Pharma Manhattan. The

“Peacemaker,” the HBO Max “Suicide Squad” spinoff series, continues to grow. The show has added four new faces to its cast, namely Chukwudi Iwuji (“When They See Us”) as a series regular, and Lochlyn Munro (“Riverdale”), Annie Chang (“Shades of Blue”) and Christopher Heyerdahl (“Togo”) as recurring guest stars. They join previously announced cast members John

ABC is in early development on a primetime version of the classic daytime soap opera “All My Children.” The project is currently titled “Pine Valley,” named after the fictional Philadelphia suburb that served as the setting for “All My Children.” In the new series, a young journalist with a secret agenda comes to expose the

This year in sports can’t be summed up with Top 10 lists and reels of game clips. So ESPN is going to try some different tactics. ESPN plans a three-hour primetime event to bid farewell to year in sports that often involved events that took place well off the field.  The show, “SportsCenter Presents: 2020

MGM International TV Productions is partnering with Make It Happen Studio (“No Second Chance”) and pubcaster France Televisions for “The Reunion,” a high-profile English-language series adapted from Guillaume Musso’s bestselling novel “La Jeune Fille et la Nuit.” “The Reunion” is written by Marston Bloom (“Selection Day,” “Marcella”) and based on Musso’s novel, which revolves around

Tom Rinaldi, the ESPN correspondent known for his enterprise features and video essays, has jumped to Fox Sports, a place that has in the past not been known for delivering such things. He is expected to take up duties for Fox in 2021, “contributing across the network’s world-class portfolio of live events.” “Tom is one

Álex de la Iglesia’s spot on the Mount Rushmore of Spanish genre filmmakers was cemented long ago thanks to cult classics such as “The Day of the Beast” and “Common Wealth,” finding more recent success with local hits like “The Bar” and “Perfect Strangers.” The filmmaker has now turned his attentions to TV with his

The newest ad from Procter & Gamble doesn’t feature any of its famous products, like Tide, Pampers or Crest. The only thing the company is really trying to sell is a good feeling at the end of a bad year. A new commercial from the consumer-products giant now available online and set to debut Saturday

Lars von Trier (“Melancholia,” “The House That Jack Built”) is set to direct “Kingdom Exodus,” the third and final season of “The Kingdom,” his cult 1990s TV show about the good, evil and paranormal inside the neurosurgical ward of Denmark’s main hospital. Louise Vesth at Zentropa Entertainments is producing the five-episode season, which will start

Police in Osaka, Japan have begun a legal case against a man who is alleged to have cyberbullied Kimura Hana, the reality TV star who died earlier this year, apparently by suicide. Kimura, a professional wrestler, was one of six cast-members of “Terrace House,” which played locally on Fuji Television and globally on Netflix. The

Actor Ali Larter responded on Wednesday to the account by her “Heroes” co-star Leonard Roberts — who, in a first-person essay for Variety published earlier in the day, said Larter mistreated him while working on the first season of the hit NBC series, eventually leading to his dismissal from the show. Roberts believes the fact

In today’s TV news roundup, Showtime announced the premiere date for Season 3 of “Desus & Mero,” and Rooster Teeth and All Elite Wrestling unveiled plans for a podcast premiering Jan. 18. DATES Showtime revealed that “Desus & Mero” will return for Season 3 on Jan. 31. The late-night talk show — which marked the

Fox has unveiled the trailer to its long-awaited “The Masked Singer” spinoff series, “The Masked Dancer,” exclusively to Variety. The teaser introduces celeb contestants who will perform “unique dances, while covered from head to toe in elaborate costumes and face masks, leaving audiences to guess their identities.” According to the promo, there will be “clues

Matthew Rhys could be the lead of an FX series once again. “The Americans” star is developing a new drama called “Wyrd” at the network, teaming with “Up In the Air” writer Sheldon Turner. Rhys is in place to executive produce, alongside his wife and fellow “Americans” star Keri Russell, with an eye on playing

NBC is developing the drama series “Heirs” from Carlos Portugal. The series is set in Miami Beach’s exclusive Star Island. It follows the heirs of a Latin American ex-dictator as they face an unexpected dilemma when a young girl is kidnapped from their home on the night of their own daughter’s lavish quinceañera. Portugal will