Netflix has given a series order to the YA vampire drama “First Kill,” with Emma Roberts set to executive produce. The one-hour show is based on the short story of the same name by Victoria “V.E.” Schwab that was published in the Imprint story collection “Vampire Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite” back in
Television
Securing Endeavor Content to represent a second season of a cross-cultural fantasy rom-com four years after the show’s debut was good news for “Dramaworld” and its producer, Korean-American company Third Culture Content. So, too, was the attachment of major talent, including Daniel Dae Kim, Henry Lau, and feted Korean actor Ha Ji-won (“Secret Garden,” “Duelist”).
After outlining her exec team, recently appointed Universal Studio Group chief Pearlena Igbokwe is adding another studio to that group. Igbokwe has announced, via a letter obtained by Variety, that the Universal Television Alternative Studios is being incorporated into Universal Studio Group. As part of the move, UTAS president Toby Gorman is joining Igbokwe’s leadership team. UTAS
Less than a week after Pedro Pascal wrapped production on Season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” the entire entertainment industry — and much of the world — effectively shut down in the wake of the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the new season of the mega-hit “Star Wars” series now set to premiere on
Ramsey Naito started her career at Nickelodeon back in the 1990s, and went on from there to do work as a film producer and exec at a where’s-where of major animation powerhouses including Blue Sky, Paramount Animation and Cartoon Network. Two years ago, she proved one can always go home again, and returned to the
Patrisse Cullors is making a big step into the television business. The co-founder of Black Lives Matter has signed her first over overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. Characterized as multi-year and wide-ranging, the pact will see Cullors develop and produce original programming across all platforms, including broadcast, cable and streaming. Cullors’ agreement encompasses
The Detroit Youth Choir, which was the runner-up on season 14 of “America’s Got Talent,” is getting both the scripted and unscripted treatment. Blumhouse TV has announced it is developing two projects based on the choir, which is comprised of singers aged between the ages of eight and 18 and is led by artistic director
“The Last O.G.” isn’t done yet. TBS has renewed the Tracy Morgan comedy for a fourth season, however, it will be moving forward without star Tiffany Haddish who is exiting the series, according to sources. News of the renewal comes around five months after season 3 aired the last of its 10 episodes. Of note
Rome’s MIA market, the growing showcase for international TV series, feature films and documentaries, kicked off Wednesday in the Eternal City. The sixth edition of the event—whose acronym stands for the Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, or the International Audiovisual Market—runs both physically in the Italian capital and online Oct. 14-18. (Find the full schedule here). This
Programming for the 50th anniversary of PBS’s Masterpiece will now include performances by Martin Freeman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kyle MacLachlan and Tom Hollander. The full lineup was announced exclusively to Variety on Thursday morning. The anthology drama series, produced by GBH Boston, will mark five decades on Jan. 10, 2021. While “Elizabeth Is Missing,” “All
Mipcom is the biggest international TV get-together of the year, but the 2020 event was a different beast due to COVID-19. While there were hopes the Cannes affair could take place in person this October, organizer Reed Midem revealed in September that the market would go virtual — and judging by the fast-rising COVID-19 count
WarnerMedia is pulling the plug on linear channel HBO in India and Pakistan. It will also terminate the WB movie channel in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives from Dec. 15. “After 20 years of successes for the HBO linear movie channel in South Asia and more than a decade with the WB linear movie
The BAFTA Television and Television Craft Awards are enforcing new rules from the 2021 edition of the awards, incorporating the findings of its wide-ranging diversity review carried out earlier this year and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The number of nominees in the performance categories will increase from four to six. The total number
Sony Pictures Television has picked up exclusive format and global distribution rights to “Medici” producer Lux Vide’s hit Italian medical drama “Doc – Nelle Tue Mani”. Under the deal, SPT Studios will develop a U.S. adaptation of the show, which has scored record ratings on Italy’s public broadcaster RAI. They will also distribute the original
After debuting her new “Commander in Chief” song earlier in the day, Demi Lovato delivered an emotive version of the protest song Wednesday night on the Billboard Music Awards telecast — a powerful anti-Trump message for NBC to be putting on the air, especially the night before the network is to host a controversial town
In a night that mostly celebrated last year’s hits, and introduced a few new tracks, the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) took place in a crowdless theater after being postponed from its original date and venue (Las Vegas in May) due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kelly Clarkson hosted the make-up show from Los Angeles. Televised acceptances
During Wednesday night’s episode of “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC, Maddow interviewed democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris – and criticized her parent company’s decision to hold a town hall for President Donald Trump on Thursday. After discussing Trump’s response to COVID-19, Maddow posed the following question to Harris: “Are you as mad
“LA’s Finest” has been canceled after two seasons at Spectrum Originals, Variety has learned. The series starred Gabrielle Union as Syd Burnett, a police detective with a complicated past who relocates to Los Angeles from Miami and finds an odd-couple partner in Nancy McKenna, played by Jessica Alba. Union’s role was a revival of the character
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 4, Episode 4 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired Oct. 14 on Fox. Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez isn’t known for singing, choreography or puppetry. But for “The Masked Singer,” he had to master all three. Sanchez, now a college football analyst for
In today’s TV news roundup, NBC released a trailer for the fifth season of “This Is Us,” and HBO Max renewed “Craftopia” for a second season. CASTING Kathleen Turner will reprise her role in the third and final season of Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method.” The actor returns in her role of Roz Volander, a skilled
“The Bachelorette’s” “most dramatic season ever” wasn’t about to let the pandemic stop it from debuting in style. Tuesday night, Angelenos pulled up to the rooftop of The Grove’s parking garage for a special drive-in premiere of ABC’s famed reality show. The night was filled with red roses, Bachelor franchise fanatics and plenty of on-screen
Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s “The President Is Missing” will not be making it to the small screen, at least not at Showtime. The premium cabler has decided not to move forward with its buzzy pilot which starred David Oyelowo and was based on the book of the same name by Clinton and Patterson, Variety has
There aren’t enough hours in the day for Ted Sarandos to watch every program on Netflix before it premieres on the streaming behemoth. And he’s okay with that. On the latest episode of Variety’s podcast “Strictly Business,” Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer discusses how the company manages the incredibly high volume of original content
Sharpen your knives, “Dexter” fans. Showtime has ordered a limited series revival of the beloved serial killer drama with Michael C. Hall set to return. The premium cabler has ordered 10 episodes, with production set to begin in 2021 for a fall debut. Former series showrunner Clyde Phillips is also set to return. Much like
Amazon, for the first time, will expand its NFL streaming game-plan to the league’s postseason. The ecommerce giant has acquired rights to the NFL’s Jan. 10 wildcard playoff game, one of two added by the league for the 2020 season, an NFL rep confirmed. Amazon will stream the game worldwide on Prime Video and Twitch,
In today’s Mipcom Roundup, ViacomCBS announces MIA attendance and its investment commitment in the Italian industry, NENT Studios U.K. and Amazon Prime Video make major casting announcements, All3Media sells “Roadkill” globally, Fremantle acquires distribution rights on “Day Zero” and the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announces winners for the International Emmy Kids Awards.
A popular Swedish musician-turned-filmmaker, Amir Chamdin struck a chord with his slow-burning crime thriller series “Partisan” headlined by Fares Fares (“Chernobyl”). Before playing in competition at Canneseries, “Partisan” pulled the highest ratings for an original on Viaplay, the Nordics’ leading streaming service. “Partisan” follows Johnny (Fares Fares), a mysterious man who enters Jordnära, a seemingly
Mindy Kaling has found the four main players for her HBO Max series “The Sex Lives of College Girls.” The comedy has cast Pauline Chalamet (recent “King of Staten Island” star and sister of Timothée), Amrit Kaur (“The D Cut”), Reneé Rapp (“Mean Girls on Broadway”), and Alyah Chanelle Scott (“The Book of Mormon”) to
Amazon has given a series order to their planned adaptation of the horror film “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” Variety has learned. Development of the series was first reported last year. The YA series is described as a modern take on the hit 1997 horror film. In a town full of secrets, a
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed down location production in the Los Angeles area by 54%, FilmLA reported on Wednesday. The permitting agency’s data showed 4,199 shoot days from July through September. Reality TV was up 10.3% to 1,159 shoot days, while commercials slid 41.2% to 782 days. Paul Audley, longtime president of FilmLA, said production is