Television

The CW is developing an anthology series inspired by the works of Jane Austen, Variety has learned. Titled “Modern Austen,” the one-hour series reimagines Austen’s novels as six modern stories. Each season is a different novel, beginning with “Pride and Prejudice,” set in contemporary San Francisco. The series hails from Eleanor Burgess, who will serve as

Another costume for Fox’s upcoming reality competition series, “The Masked Dancer” has been revealed, and Variety has obtained an exclusive first look, which you can see in the promo above. The new costume is the Ice Cube, joining the previously-revealed Tulip, Cricket, Cotton Candy, Exotic Bird, Sloth and Zebra. “The Ice Cube costume signifies a

Verve has hired TV lit agent Davina Hefflin and talent agent Julian Cohen, Variety has learned exclusively. Hefflin joins the agency from Gersh, while Cohen joins from Management 360. Hefflin started out as an assistant at Gersh before moving up the ranks of the TV lit department. She has focused on identifying and empowering a diverse range

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released the trailer for Shondaland’s dance documentary “Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker,” and YouTube Originals debuted the trailer for Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors’ documentary series “Resist.” RENEWALS E! renewed “The Bradshaw Bunch,” “Botched” and “E! True Hollywood Story,” with new seasons set to air in 2021. “The Bradshaw

Disneyland is expected to remain closed until the end of the entertainment and media conglomerate’s fiscal first quarter, which falls on Dec. 31, Walt Disney CFO Christine McCarthy announced on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday. Disney CEO Bob Chapek expressed disappointment in California’s state leaders for keeping Disneyland from being able to

Vice TV has announced that its new series, “While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America’s Shadow Government,” will premiere on Nov. 16 at 10 p.m. Based on the book by Garrett M. Graff, the six-part series exposes the U.S. government’s flawed plans to protect its citizens. The show unpacks America’s national security spending

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer at the Walt Disney Company’s theme parks and studio entertainment divisions, the company announced in its fourth-quarter earning report that Disney Plus has reached 73.7 million paying subscribers as of Oct. 3, with the streaming service proving to be a bright spot for the entertainment giant. That marks

“Pose” star Angelica Ross understands what it’s like to struggle, to be homeless and not know where your next meal’s coming from. But nothing was going to stop her from pushing forward with TransTech, her now-six-year-old organization that provides job training and professional support for transgender men and women, and people who identify as non-binary

After months of delays, the “Friends” reunion special could be shifting out of second gear. According to Matthew Perry, one of the original show’s stars, the special is now scheduled to start shooting in March. The news comes after the special was delayed multiple times due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its impact on

“The Great British Baking Show” (or “Bake Off,” depending on your side of the Atlantic) is clearly not having too many soggy bottoms this season, at least as far as its viewership total is concerned. The cosy cooking show has cracked into Nielsen’s top 10 list of most-watched shows on streaming for the week of

After a 35th season that put its contestants in a post-apocalyptic style bunker, there was no way a global pandemic was going to stop “The Challenge.” The 36th season, subtitled “Double Agents” and shot on location in Iceland under COVID-safe guidelines, will premiere Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. on MTV, the cabler announced Thursday. Additionally,

Casey Wilson has joined the upcoming Apple dark comedy series “The Shrink Next Door,” Variety has learned exclusively. She joins previously announced cast members Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and Kathryn Hahn. Inspired by true events documented in the Wondery and Bloomberg Media podcast of the same name, “The Shrink Next Door” is described as an eight-episode

The 2020 edition of the CMA Awards drew the smallest audience in the show’s history. A total of 6.8 million total viewers tuned in the this year’s country music celebration, hosted by Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker, which represents a substantial 40% fall from last year and is comfortably a new low. The previous smallest

Canadian comedian Russell Peters (“The Indian Detective”) will executive produce half-hour series “Late Bloomer,” featuring fellow Canadian comic Jasmeet Singh Raina (AKA Jus Reign), with independent production company Pier 21 Films. The show is currently in development at Canadian public broadcaster CBC. As Jus Reign, Raina has more than 167 million YouTube views with 974,000

When you’re fighting a legion of undead, you need reliable weapons, a plucky attitude, and — this week, at least — a bottle of Mountain Dew. The citrusy PepsiCo soda will this Sunday appear in a new episode  of AMC’s “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” and not only on screen. Characters will mention the beverage

This week’s episode of “The Bachelorette” saw many firsts. Tayshia Adams replaced Clare Crawley as the season’s leading lady, after Crawley made an unprecedented exit early on the season — and Adams became the second woman of color to step into the role of “The Bachelorette.” “I just love that I have the opportunity to

Sebastien Raybaud’s production and financing company Anton, which co-financed shows like “His Dark Materials” and “McMafia,” and sales and production company WestEnd Films are to co-fund a development slate of television series. The first project will be a thriller series from television writers/producers Ron Leshem (“Euphoria,” “No Man’s Land,” “Beaufort,” “Allegiance”) and Amit Cohen (“False

In a wide-ranging interview with Variety, British actor David Harewood has opened up about moving back to the U.K. after almost a decade in the U.S. and the continued challenges for Black actors in Britain. Harewood is this year’s recipient of the Variety Outstanding Achievement Award, distributed in association with the Edinburgh TV Festival. With

The U.K.’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has cleared broadcaster BBC of complaints over gender pay discrimination. Following complaints that female employees were not being paid equally to their male colleagues, the regulator opened an investigation last year and has been in discussions with the BBC about staff pay. The Commission looked at a

U.K. broadcaster ITV’s revenues for the nine months of 2020, ending Sept. 30, have plunged by 16% compared to 2019 levels. The company in its Q3 results on Thursday posted total external revenue at £1.86 billion ($2.45 billion), down from £2.21 billion ($2.91 billion) in 2019. Revenues for ITV Studios, the broadcaster’s production-distribution engine, were

HBO Asia is to begin screening its first original romantic comedy series “Adventure of the Ring” from mid-December. Joining other internationally-targeted shows made in Taiwan, “Adventure of the Ring” is directed by Helmed by Nelson Yeh (“Far And Away,” “Mad King Of Taipei”) and Kitamura Tayoharu (“Running Man,” “Q Series – Love Of Sandstorm”). The

President George W. Bush, actors Bryan Cranston, Jake Gyllenhaal and Kevin Bacon, talk show host Tamron Hall and country star Trace Adkins were among the notables who paid tribute to America’s veterans in the “Variety’s Salute to Service Presented by History” TV special that aired Wednesday to mark Veterans Day. The hourlong special spotlighted the

The planned spy series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger has been set up at Netflix for development, Variety has confirmed. The series, which hails from Nick Santora and Skydance Television, is described as a global spy adventure with a father and daughter at the center of the story. Monica Barbaro is attached to play Schwarzenegger’s daughter in the

In today’s TV news roundup, Oprah will interview former president Barack Obama on Nov. 17 for “The Oprah Conversation,” and Netflix released a trailer for “We Are the Champions,” narrated by Rainn Wilson. DATES A new episode of “The Oprah Conversation,” scheduled to premiere on Apple TV Plus on Nov. 17 at 9 a.m. ET,

“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” has stopped filming after a member on the production team tested positive for COVID-19. A source close to production tells Variety that the temporary shutdown will last two weeks, as a cautionary measure. Bravo declined to comment on the matter. “As part of ‘RHOA’s’ regular testing protocol, it was confirmed

Netflix’s newly minted head of global TV, Bela Bajaria, laid out her vision for her new role during a panel at the Paley International Council Summit on Wednesday. In a chat with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Bajaria was asked what her goals were now that she has moved up to such a powerful position within

Black Bear Television has nabbed the rights to Mary Kubica’s “Local Woman Missing,” an upcoming mystery novel about a series of strange disappearances. The deal come in advance of “Local Woman Missing’s” release in May 2021. The story is told through different perspectives and timelines, and revolves around three missing women from the same town

Fox has locked “Lego Masters” for a second season. The competition series, hosted by Will Arnett, has already been casting and will shoot in the spring for an airdate sometime in 2021. A pickup has been expected for months, particularly after Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch revealed that preparation had begun on Season 2 during an

Jeff Dunham must be feeling pretty special right now. The ventriloquist and stand-up comedian has inked a deal for not one, not two, but three specials at Comedy Central. The first of which, titled “Jeff Dunham’s Completely Unrehearsed Last-Minute Pandemic Holiday Special,” is set to debut on the network right after Thanksgiving on Friday, Nov.

The “Suicide Squad” spinoff series “Peacemaker” at HBO Max has cast Robert Patrick, Jennifer Holland, and Chris Conrad. The trio joins previously announced series lead John Cena and cast members Danielle Brooks and Steve Agee. Patrick will star as Auggie Smith, while Holland will reprise her role from James Gunn’s “Suicide Squad” as Emilia Harcourt.