Television

Dakota Johnson is set to host “SNL” for the second time on Jan. 27 where she’ll be accompanied by Justin Timberlake as the musical guest. Johnson stars as the titular character in “Madame Web,” in theaters Feb. 14. She plays Cassandra Webb, a Manhattan paramedic whose psychic abilities allow her to see into the future

Christa Robinson and Lance Frank will take on expanded roles for CBS‘ division built around CBS News, local stations and syndicated programming, all put under the aegis of executive Wendy McMahon in August of last year. Frank, who has been with CBS News since 2011, has been elevated to executive vice president, communications for CBS

It’s game on for Amazon MGM Studios‘ TV division! MGM Alternative, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, announced a pact with the Global Esports Federation to create a range of content built around the GEF’s Global Esports Games, esports pro athletes and “the gaming lifestyle.” MGM Alternative’s productions include such reality shows as “The Voice,”

Created by Joe Murtagh, a BAFTA Award nominee for the 2019 film “Calm With Horses,” Showtime‘s “The Woman in the Wall” opens in the dreary fictional town of Kilkinure, Ireland, in 2015. As Clare Harner’s infamous poem “Immortality” echoes in the background, a woman dressed in a stark white nightgown awakens in the middle of

Scripted TV output in the U.S. dropped sharply in 2023, thanks to a combination of twin Hollywood strikes and a pullback on content spending, according to a new study from research firm Ampere Analysis. In the U.S., the number of scripted series released last year dropped 24%, to a total of 481. That’s down from

Ahead of his “Saturday Night Live” hosting gig this weekend, Jacob Elordi stopped by “The Tonight Show” to chat with Jimmy Fallon about everything from “Euphoria” Season 3 to his latest film “Saltburn.” Asked when the HBO high school series will resume filming, Elordi cheekily asked Fallon, “I don’t know, do you know?” “I hope

Fabula–Fremantle’s “Hot Sur,” The Mediapro Studio’s “El Mal”  and “Two Nights in Lisbon,” from Portugal’s Hop Films and the U.K’s Heroes Films, look like potential standouts at next week’s Content Americas Copro Pitch 2024, one of its industry centerpieces. These series projects will be joined by crime mystery thriller “Delito,” from Barcelona’s Grup Focus TV &

Red Arrow Studios International has inked a deal with Portuguese pubcaster RTP on the Icelandic family drama series “Descendants,“ from “Quake“ helmer Tinna Hrafnsdóttir. The show is vying for the €20,000 ($21,600) Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize for best Nordic screenplay at the Göteborg Film Festival‘s forthcoming TV Drama Vision confab. Seven.One Studios‘ global

CRICKET RIGHTS Warner Bros. Discovery, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pitch International have signed a package of rights that will see them broadcast live international cricket hosted in India on its linear and digital platforms, TNT Sports and Discovery+, for the next five years. The deal, which is for the U.K.

FX has released the second official trailer for Ryan Murphy’s forthcoming “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.” Tom Hollander, who plays Truman Capote in the series, faces off against the Swans in the trailer, which teases the story of the elite group of women that the “In Cold Blood” author surrounded himself with and the betrayal

Kelly Osbourne earned backlash in 2015 when a comment she made on “The View” was widely slammed as racist. Osbourne was addressing Donald Trump’s policy on immigration at the time alongside hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie Perez when she said, “If you kick every Latino out of this country then who is going to be

Fox has found its main cast for the upcoming drama series “Rescue: Hi Surf,” Variety has learned. The show was originally greenlit at Fox in April 2023. The series regulars will include: Robbie Magasiva (“Wentworth,” “Bad Behaviour”), Arielle Kebbel (“The Vampire Diaries,” “John Tucker Must Die”), Adam Demos (“Sex / Life,” “UnReal”), Kekoa Kekumano (“The

Everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed, middle-aged talking bear is back. This time, “Ted” comes back in the form of a seven-part TV series on Peacock. Seth MacFarlane returns to voice the titular teddy and direct the series. In reviving “Ted,” visual effects supervisor Blair Clark had one focus — to make sure the bear didn’t look different

Jason Momoa is living the dream. Those are his words, as he describes his latest project, Max’s unscripted travel series, “On the Roam,” during which he travels the country to seek out craftsmanship, art, adventure and friendship, meeting different people with an assortment of skills along the way. “This is everything I love to do,

Nyambi Nyambi has been promoted to series regular on NBC‘s revival of “Night Court,” Variety has learned exclusively. Nyambi made his first appearance on the show as a guest star in the Season 2 episode that aired on Jan. 16. He will make his first regular appearance on the show beginning Feb. 6. Nyambi plays

Emmys producers Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay had reason to be upbeat the morning after the kudocast: In what seems to be a rarity for awards shows these days, their production earned almost universally high marks from critics and viewers. For the 75th annual celebration, the Jesse Collins Entertainment trio leaned into nostalgia

Kevin Hart joined The Independent for a recent interview in which he called Jo Koy a “phenomenal” stand-up comedian following the disastrous reviews Koy earned as the host of the 2024 Golden Globe Awards. Hart made headlines earlier this month when he said he will never host the Oscars because award shows “just aren’t comedy-friendly

A multi-part docuseres about Jimmy Hoffa is in development at Village Roadshow Unscripted Television, Variety has learned. News of the show comes ahead of the 50th anniversary of Hoffa’s disappearance, which occurred on July 30, 1975. The series is being made with the full cooperation of the Hoffa family, including the assistance of his son

In an era when advertisers can buy digital inventory at any time they wish, does the media industry still need an “upfront” sales session? Warner Bros. Discovery believes it does. The media conglomerate said Thursday that it plans to hold a presentation for advertisers at 10 a.m. eastern on May 15 at The Theater at

James Brolin, Lizzy Greene (“A Million Little Things”), and Eoin Macken (“La Brea”) are set to join Netflix’s upcoming romantic drama “Ransom Canyon,” Variety has confirmed. They join previously announced leads Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly. Kelly will portray Quinn, a character who “has often found herself in the shadow of others, but after a

The entertainment law firm of Gendler & Kelly has changed its name as of today to Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham, reflecting the elevation of partner Sarah Cunningham. Cunningham joined the firm in 2018 and was promoted to partner in 2021. The etching of her name on the firm’s door comes as recognition of her contributions

Media giants spent most of 2023 looking for signs of a turnaround in advertising spending after several years of a soft market. Despite some rosy predictions, they’re still searching.  The situation could force vulnerable companies to consider merger-and-acquisition options as the content marketplace realigns around streaming economics, which generally are not as lucrative as linear

As promised, Trian Partners, the hedge fund led by activist investor Nelson Peltz, officially submitted its preliminary proxy statement for the election of Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to Disney’s board at the Mouse House’s 2024 annual shareholders meeting. In its filing Thursday, Trian also outlined its goals and initial perspectives for Disney

In its first five days on the platform, “The Traitors” Season 2 has become the most-watched reality series debut on Peacock. The streaming reach is up more than 75% from Season 1, which took home the Emmy Award this year for Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program. The first three episodes of the second season,

NewsNation wants to make a land grab on Sundays. The Nexstar Media-backed cable outlet will launch its own Sunday public affairs program on March 3, when Chris Stirewalt anchors “The Hill Sunday” at 10 a.m. eastern. Launch of the program adds another competitor in an arena that includes CBS’ “Face The Nation,” ABC’s “This Week,”

Amazon Prime Video is restructuring its international business to focus on European originals. The re-org includes cutting content and staff in Africa and the Middle East. Shows from the MENA region that have already been greenlit or contracted are still on the slate, including “LOL ZA” and “Ebuka Turns Up Africa,” but it will stop

ABC News Studios has teamed up with Neon and Network Entertainment to announce “Brats,” a feature-length documentary that focuses on the stars who came to be known in the ’80s as the famous Brat Pack. Told with the help of director and former Brat Pack member Andrew McCarthy (“Pretty in Pink,” “St. Elmo’s Fire”), the

Gamefam and Paramount Games Studio have partnered to bring the yellow sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea to Roblox for the first time. As part of the 25th anniversary of Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” franchise, the new game “SpongeBob Simulator” will be available on Jan. 26 to Roblox’s 70 million-plus daily users. “Deepening

Christian Wikander, the well-respected Swedish executive who joined Banijay nine months ago as global head of scripted, will be stepping down from his role on Feb. 2. Speaking to Variety shortly after news broke of his upcoming exit, Wikander said he was “sad to be leaving” the company, but sees as as a “reflection of

Passion and Perseverance, the two watchwords at this year’s TV Drama Vision in Göteborg will resonate across this year’s program where a record 700 delegates will take the pulse of what’s hot and upcoming from the Nordics and Europe. Unfolding parallel to the Göteborg Film Festival, the Nordics’ biggest TV drama showcase and networking event