After shocking fans with a Patrick Dempsey cameo earlier this season, “Grey’s Anatomy” pulled the same trick again on Thursday night, as T.R. Knight’s character George O’Malley returned to Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo) dreams. Last night’s surprising episode managed to win the broadcast ratings race, thanks in no small part to “Thursday Night Football” being benched.
Television
Issa Rae and Adam McKay are teaming up to adapt the Serial Productions podcast “Nice White Parents” into a half-hour series at HBO, Variety has learned. The project has received a pilot commitment at the premium cabler. The show is described as a satirical look at the conflict and comedy that arise when highly resourced
When executive producer John Wells was working on the final season of “The West Wing” in 2006 he recalls having a very “easy” end point because the show began with the first year of Jed Bartlett’s presidential administration and, seven years later, it would be poetic to end with him leaving the office and a
ViacomCBS’ MTV Entertainment Group has signed a first-look development deal with Ryan Michelle Bathé. Under the terms of the deal, Bathé will develop and executive produce new series for MTV Entertainment Studios, with an emphasis on emerging talent and underrepresented voices. “Ryan is a talented, versatile performer who’s tapping into some very funny and fresh
As Brazil emerges from its shoot shutdown, the magnitude of its biggest production, Netflix fiction miniseries “Senna,” about Formula One racing genius Ayrton Senna, is rapidly becoming clearer. The series, now in development, ticks multiple boxes for both Netflix and its producer, São Paulo-based Gullane. “Language is no longer a barrier, only ambition and quality
(SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on if you have not watched the sixth episode of season 2 of Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian.”) After a wildly exciting episode which gave us the ass-kicking first live-action appearance of Ashoka Tano, this week’s edition of “The Mandalorian” was lighter on big reveals, but heavier on Mando’s parental stress
Netflix Korean-language “Crash Landing on You” was named as the best drama series at the third running of the Asian Academy Creative Awards. Malaysia-Singapore co-production “The Garden of Evening Mists” was named as the best feature film. Singapore actors features prominently among the performance winners. Yeo Yann Yann was named best lead actress for her
Ganesh Rajaram is an old hand at the game of licensing TV shows in the Asia region. Executive VP of sales at FremantleMedia, he breaks down what content is working, and where it is working, and sheds some light from a seller’s perspective on the impact of the coronavirus. Variety: It’s ATF this week. What
When I think of “Euphoria,” I think of neon lights, glitter smeared across bleary eyes, dizzying camera angles betraying the disoriented teenage mania that fuels it. I think of Rue (Zendaya) staring across a crowded room at Jules (Hunter Schaefer) with such palpable longing that it hurts. I think of the stunning last moments of
Veteran Indian producer Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP and Ramesh Krishnamoorthy’s Global One Studios will produce a series based on the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. The companies have optioned the audio-visual rights to eminent authors’ Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro’s 2001 book, “Five Past Midnight in Bhopal: The Epic Story of the World’s Deadliest Industrial Disaster.” A
ABC News is laying off staffers amid a broader reorganization at parent company Walt Disney, one that impacts a low single-digit percentage of the news division’s 1,400 staffers, according to a source familiar with the situation. In a memo to employees sent Thursday evening, ABC News president James Goldston said that the personnel reductions were
In today’s TV news roundup, Variety obtained an exclusive clip of Lauren Daigle performing in BYUtv’s holiday special “Christmas Under the Stars,” and CBS announced a premiere date for “The Equalizer.” DATES Netflix will release its upcoming drama series “Firefly Lane” Feb. 3. The 10-episode hour-long show follows the unlikely duo of the bold Tully
Rachel Kaplan has signed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, Variety has learned. Kaplan, the former head of Keshet Studios, is also launching her own production company — Absecon Entertainment. Under the deal, she will develop and produce original scripted programming to be produced by Absecon in association with Warner Bros. Television for streaming
Peacock is developing a drama series about the FBI’s notorious COINTELPRO program, Variety has learned exclusively. Set in 1965, the series centers on Amos Harvey, a conservative black cop and veteran of the Korean War, who is forcibly recruited into the FBI’s secret task-force, COINTELPRO. His job is to infiltrate the Civil Rights movement to destroy
“Superstore” is officially shutting up shop. The NBC comedy is set to end after its current sixth season, which has been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Episode 113 will be its last, meaning there are 11 episodes left to air. The show’s end comes as no great surprise, given that its biggest star America Ferrera
Dan Le Batard, the popular and opinionated ESPN talk-show host, is walking away from the sports-media giant after working there in various capacities for nearly a decade. Le Batard, who in mid-2019 openly challenged what had been ESPN’s policy not to address straight political matters, is leaving to pursue a new opportunity that neither party
A Nielsen study on TV representation has found that women and BIPOC continue to be underrepresented. The rating service has published the findings of “Being Seen on Screen: Diverse Representation and Inclusion on TV,” stating that cable in particular is lagging behind in on-screen representation. Using measurements like its Share of Screen (which looks at
Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country are shutting down early next year. Disney Branded Television president Gary Marsh announced the news Thursday, which impacts 36 part-time and full-time employees. The move comes as Marsh’s division looks to emphasize the production of kids and family content for streaming service Disney Plus and the linear Disney Channels.
The upcoming “Hawkeye” series at Disney Plus has cast a number of key roles, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. Along with series leads Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld, Vera Farmiga, Florence Pugh, Fra Fee, Tony Dalton, Alaqua Cox, and Zahn McClarnon will all appear in the series. Reps for Disney and the actors did not
“The Masked Singer” and “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” went head-to-head on Wednesday night, with the NBC festive event coming out on top in the total viewers column. A total of 7.1 million viewers tuned in to the special, which featured the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Meghan Trainor, Earth, Wind & Fire, Dolly Parton and Jimmy Fallon. Meanwhile 6.4 million
In April 2020, just when “The Challenge” audience was getting used to sheltering in place in their own homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MTV launched the “Total Madness” season of that reality competition series, which sealed its contestants off from the general public and housed them in a bunker, due to its post-apocalyptic theme.
Following a lengthy production shutdown in British Columbia due to the coronavirus pandemic, the B.C. film and TV industry is now officially back in full swing. Given the jurisdiction’s appealingly lower COVID-19 infection numbers, productions have been betting on B.C. — in fact, it’s even busier than prior to the March 13 shutdown. For example,
The opening of “Your Honor” is a full horror movie in and of itself. Over 15 tense and terrible minutes, director Edward Berger traces the growing unease of one chilly New Orleans morning with ominous patience. A teenager (Hunter Doohan) wakes up in bed with his girlfriend (Sofia Black-D’Elia), kisses her goodbye and heads out
ViacomCBS’ MTV Entertainment Group is committing $250 million over the next three years to nurturing content from women- and BIPOC-owned and operated production companies, by providing them with funding, production infrastructure, services and staff. Unscripted executive producers Lashan Browning and Adam Gonzalez, who last year inked overall deals with MTV Studios, will create their own
Jonathan Capehart and Tiffany Cross were supposed to throw glasses at each other, not toast one another with them. And yet the duo took to Zoom earlier this week to share a cocktail. After weeks of competing for a coveted weekend slot on MSNBC previously held by Joy Reid, both will get part of it:
The upcoming “Lord of the Rings” series at Amazon is adding 20 actors to its cast, Variety has learned. The new additions are: Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait,
Production and distribution powerhouse All3Media has acquired leading natural history producer Silverback Films. Founded in 2012 by Alastair Fothergill (pictured, left) and Keith Scholey (right), Silverback Films is the U.K.’s top natural history producer outside of the BBC Natural History Unit, and creates wildlife content for film and TV. Recent credits include the documentary “David
ViacomCBS International Studios is developing a TV series depicting the life of groundbreaking Spanish fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga with British director James Kent (“Testament of Youth”) on board to direct and Spain’s Frida Torresblanco (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Assassination of Richard Nixon”) to serve as executive producer. Balenciaga was born in 1895 in Getaria, a fishing
“Fangio,” a series about the triumph and tragedy of Juan Manuel Fangio, whose five Formula One World Championship wins stood as a record for 46 years, is now in the works in Argentina. Presented at Ventana Sur, the portrait of a legend who put racing and winning above all else, at large emotional cost, is
Francisco Ramos, VP of Spanish-language Originals for Netflix in Latin America, headlined a Ventana Sur chat on Wednesday, joined virtually by Latin American industry journalist Nicolás Smirnoff, managing partner of Editorial Prensario and director of Prensario International and Prensario TI Latin America. Titled Netflix, between the Pandemic and the New OTT Ecosystem, the talk focused