“The Bachelorette” always promises to provide ample drama, but this season truly lived up to franchise’s tagline of being “the most dramatic season ever” — before it even started. Production on Season 16 was shut down just as filming began, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. After a nearly four-month hiatus,
Television
“Social Distance,” a new Netflix anthology series comprised of short vignettes of life in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S., presents critics as well as viewers with a conundrum. On the one hand, it is, in the main, unimpeachably made: Using isolation-appropriate technology like Zoom and Nest cameras to tell what
Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) and Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) take center stage in “The Crown” Season 4 trailer, which also offers first footage of Gillian Anderson in the role of Margaret Thatcher. “Here is the stuff of which fairy tales are made — a prince and princess on their wedding day. But fairy tales usually
For seven years, India Oxenberg was the frog slowly boiling in the pot of water that was so-called self-empowerment group NXIVM. For about three years she was a supporting character in stories told by everyone from directors Karim Amer and Jehan Noujaim to her own mother, Catherine Oxenberg. Now, she has reclaimed her life and
In today’s Global Bulletin, Discovery orders “Billy Buys Brooklyn”; BBC sells quiz formats; AfterShock hires and promotes; and NBCUniversal’s “Transplant” heads to Africa. Discovery has commissioned “Billy Buys Brooklyn,” a series (20 x 30′) featuring antiques dealer Billy Leroy, star of the long-running Travel Channel series “Baggage Battles.” Produced by MY Entertainment, “Billy Buys Brooklyn”
Gaumont Germany is bowing its first major production this month with the premiere of the historical action series “Barbarians” on Netflix. The six-part miniseries promises to take viewers to the blood-drenched Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, in which Germanic warriors halted the northward advance of the Roman Empire in A.D. 9. Part of French film
Few Brazilian series have won such plaudits abroad as high-end medical procedural ”Under Pressure,” which was selected for the Toronto Festival, swept French Fipa TV festival awards, and is hailed as a signature series in the drive by Globo, Latin America’s biggest media company, into non-escapist, international standard social issue series. As Brazil has become
Masked talent formats and survival shows for a pandemic-hit world are among the buzz-worthy projects identified by The Wit’s Fresh TV online session at Mipcom Monday. Virginia Mouseler, the format tracker’s CEO, framed her online session on Mipcom Online+ like a TikTok feed, complete with dance moves – all while listing her pick of fresh
Production on a “Britain’s Got Talent” Christmas special was paused on Tuesday after at least three crew members tested positive for coronavirus, Variety has confirmed. “As a result of a positive COVID-19 result received yesterday we have implemented our protocols and a number of crew members are self-isolating at home,” a “Britain’s Got Talent” spokesperson
Put Jared Harris into your television series, and it rockets your chances of having a hit show. The British actor talked through some of his career highlights – playing advertising exec Lane Pryce in AMC’s “Mad Men,” King George VI in Netflix’s “The Crown” and Soviet inorganic chemist Valery Legasov in HBO’s “Chernobyl” – in
Germany’s Maze Pictures has boarded Moscow-based Metrafilm’s KGB comedy series “Pawns,” from writers Michael and Lily Idov, who penned the award-winning 2018 Cannes competition screener “Leto.” The company, which has offices in Munich, Berlin and Lucerne, Switzerland, is also developing a miniseries based on “Ghosts of Berlin,” a book of supernatural stories by filmmaker Rudolf
After years working in film and theater, celebrated Spanish author, screenwriter and filmmaker Roberto Santiago (“The Longest Penalty Shot In The World”) has returned to TV to adapt his bestselling novel “Ana” for the small screen, starring Spanish star Maribel Verdú (“Y Tu Mamá También,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”). Angela Armero (“Velvet”) co-wrote the series adaptation with
ViacomCBS Intl. Studios (VIS), the fast expanding international content production arm of ViacomCBS, is driving for the first time into animation, partnering with Marc Anthony and Argentina’s Juan José Campanella, writer-director of the Academy Award winning “The Secret in Their Eyes.” First up is a development deal on animated series “Gloria Wants to Know It
ZDF Enterprises has partnered with Story House Productions on a new series that delves deep into some of history’s most notorious deaths. From the brutal murder of Pharaoh Ramses III to the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe, “Cold Case: History” reinvestigates cold cases using state-of-the-art forensics and archaeological methods. Ralf Rueckauer, vice-president ZDFE.unscripted, said: “Developing
Ahead of the start of Rome’s film and TV market MIA on Wednesday, Variety spoke exclusively to Giancarlo Leone, the head of Italy’s TV producers’ association APA, about the issues producers in Italy face, including COVID production protocols, a drop in TV ad revenue, and establishing new rules of engagement with the streamers. Italy, after being
Having closed Latin America with HBO earlier this year, Beta Film has clinched first-phase sales in Europe on “Tell Me Who I Am,” an epic tale of a woman’s emancipation, and its cost, which celebrates its international premiere today at Mipcom Online Plus. First fruit of a three-year, three series co-production alliance between Spain’s Movistar
Spanish formats are having a moment in Europe and further abroad, headlined by successes such as “Dangerous Moms,” “Gran Hotel” and, perhaps most successful of all, Albert Espinosa’s “The Red Band Society” — the format was sold globally, including to the U.S. Espinosa, after a decade remaking his highly autobiographical Catalan original “Polseres vermelles” (“Red
It is fitting in many ways that Movistar Plus’ “Riot Police” (“Antidisturbios”) saw its world premiere in a theater at one of Europe’s biggest film festivals: September’s San Sebastian in Spain. Feted by the domestic press — “the best Spanish series of the year,” trumpeted newspaper El Mundo — the Movistar Plus original series has
Movistar Plus, the pay TV division of giant European telco Telefonica, in 2016 started producing and releasing its own original series. In a second phase, it linked to prestige European production partners, first with Arte France on “Hierro” and now, with “Tell Me Who I Am,” a woman’s emancipation epic made with Telemundo Intl. Studios,
With depictions of pandemic catastrophes, war, failing empires, the divide between rich and poor, shooting rampages and massive power outages, Germany’s newest TV shows appear to reflect the current apocalyptic zeitgeist. German broadcasters and streaming services alike are going heavy on suspense, crime, psychological thrillers, action and adventure, often colored by themes of societal disruption
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On the third anniversary of reports on the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal, SAG-AFTRA has unveiled new resources to help prevent sexual harassment and build safer working conditions for members. In a message Monday to the 160,000 members of the performers union, President Gabrielle Carteris and National Executive Director David White noted that the union has developed
In today’s TV news roundup, Adult Swim released the premiere date for the third season of “Dream Corp LLC,” and Quibi unveiled a trailer for its true crime series “Last Looks.” DATES The absurdist, psychedelic Adult Swim workplace comedy “Dream Corp LLC” will be back for a third season Oct. 25. The series centers on a run-down dream
There’s nothing scarier than the 2020 election, which makes it the perfect opener for this year’s edition of “The Simpsons” Halloween-themed “Treehouse of Horror.” Variety has an exclusive first look at the 31st installment, which opens on Election Day 2020. Marge calls Homer to remind him to vote, and he gets to the polling station
The Walt Disney Company announced a broad structural reorganization of its media and entertainment businesses Monday, Its studios will continue to develop and produce originals for Disney’s streaming services — which include Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus — and legacy platforms. Distribution and commercialization will now be centralized under the new Media and Entertainment
MTS Media, the production arm of leading Russian telecom and internet service provider MTS, is partnering with Sreda Production to co-produce seven new series for the MTS TV streaming platform. Four of those projects will launch international sales during Mipcom Online+ this week. In the psychological thriller “Crystal City,” a veteran investigator is forced to
Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of chief content officer at Netflix, weighed in Monday on the streaming giant’s growth in global markets during the past five years and the controversy stirred in the U.S. by the French arthouse movie “Cuties.” Sarandos participated in a Q&A held in conjunction with the presentation of the Vanguard Award by Variety
Production of Turkish TV dramas has resumed at a steady pace undeterred by coronavirus concerns and, though the hand of censorship is being felt, shows are getting edgier. While the pandemic forced production to grind to a halt in March, by September almost all producers had started shooting again in Turkey, though “roughly 80% of
Meredith Ahr is out as president of NBC Entertainment’s Alternative and Reality Group, Variety has confirmed. Ahr’s exit comes a little over two months after the exit of NBC Entertainment head Paul Telegdy over accusations of racist, sexist and homophobic behavior. Ahr and Telegdy were known to work closely together at NBC, with Ahr accused of
Showtime has made a straight-to-series order of the 10-episode half-hour comedy “Flatbush Misdemeanors,” from creators and writers Kevin Iso and Dan Perlman. The comedy, a co-production between Showtime and Avalon, centers on “characters struggling to thrive in their new surroundings in the brash environment of Flatbush, Brooklyn,” as two longtime friends look to “climb out