“The Walking Dead” franchise is getting another free outlet: AMC Networks inked a deal with Amazon’s IMDb TV to add six channels to its “live” lineup on the free, ad-supported streaming service. Two AMC channels already have launched on IMDb TV: The Walking Dead Universe Experience — which includes select past episodes of the original
Television
The Prague shoot for Netflix’s German-English film “Transatlantic 473” has been temporarily shut down after an extra tested positive for COVID-19, Variety can reveal. With the Czech Republic newly red-listed for travel by other European nations following a spike in infection rates — and quarantines now required for those arriving in the country — the
When author, playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnick first began writing “Coastal Elites,” the world was a very different place than the one in which it is premiering. “I started working on ‘Coastal Elites’ over a year ago because everyone I knew on every side of the political divide had spent the last almost four years
Fox Sports host Skip Bayless tried Friday to tamp down pushback to comments he made the day before criticizing Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for remarks he made about grappling with depression – just hours after his employer appeared to reprimand him for the comments. “I have great compassion for anyone suffering clinical depression, which
When Drew Barrymore started on the path to becoming a daytime talk-show host, her industry pals were quick to warn her that the daily grind of hosting a syndicated talker is one of the most demanding jobs in showbiz. That was more than a year ago. The work has only gotten more complicated since then.
“A Suitable Boy,” the six-part series based on Vikram Seth’s 1993 novel, is set against the backdrop of 1950s India, a country finding its identity as a nascent democracy and following its partition into two countries, India and Pakistan. Filmed on location in northern India with a cast of over 100 Indian actors, it has
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, through his multimedia production company Studio Ramsay, has inked a deal with the BBC to produce and host the studio’s first ever primetime game show. While Ramsay has hosted and judged plenty of cooking shows over the years, from “MasterChef” to “Hell’s Kitchen,” this will mark his first outing as a
Tamron Hall and Norah O’Donnell were among those honored on Thursday night at the The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation’s annual Gracie Awards. “I dedicate this award to Breonna Taylor and the many other women who need us to speak up for them, whether it’s justice or just to tell their complete story,” Hall
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix has released the official trailer for “The Playbook,” a docuseries produced by LeBron James, and TBS announced John Cena and Nicole Byer as the hosts of “Wipeout.” CASTING Shudder, AMC Networks‘ horror streaming service, announced that Anna Camp, Keith David, Ashley Laurence, Josh McDermitt and Adam Pally will star
“Pose” co-creator Steven Canals has set up a drama project for development at ABC. The show is currently titled “In the End.” Incapable of living life to the fullest, Kiona Brown makes the only logical choice – to embrace death as an end-of-life doula. With an eclectic list of patients – including cancer survivor Mariana
Nielsen released its new weekly rankings of streaming titles on Thursday, with Netflix once again dominating the top ten. For the week of Aug. 10-16, “The Umbrella Academy” was once again the top streaming show, though the total minutes it was streamed that week came down significantly from the week prior, dropping to 1.8 billion
“The Goop Lab” is open again at Netflix. The docuseries based on Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle and wellness empire Goop has been greenlit for a second season at the streaming giant, Variety has learned exclusively. “The Goop Lab” will return for another round of six, 30-minute episodes focused on sex, intimacy and female empowerment. Production has
Eva Longoria and Ben Spector’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment has signed a three-year extension of their first-look deal with 20th Television. “Eva and Ben’s passion for championing meaningful stories, especially those of underrepresented voices and communities is something we believe in deeply at 20th, so we jumped at the chance to extend our relationship with them,” said
A Black Lives Matter-inspired routine on “Britain’s Got Talent” by street dance troupe Diversity has resulted in 10,000 complaints from the public to U.K. media regulator Ofcom. In the episode aired on Sept. 5, Diversity, led by popular U.K. presenter Ashley Banjo, performed a routine, part of which involved him lying on the floor while
Disney Plus has picked up the female-led reboot of “Doogie Howser” to series, Variety has confirmed. The new series is titled “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.” As previously reported, it will focus on Lahela “Doogie” Kameāloha, a mixed race 16-year-old girl who works as a doctor in Hawaii. The 10-episode half-hour comedy follows Kameāloha as she juggles a
The scripted series about “Tiger King’s” Joe Exotic starring Nicolas Cage has been set up at Amazon for development, Variety has learned. Variety exclusively reported the project was in the works from CBS Television Studios and Imagine Television in May. Amazon Studios has now boarded the project and will produce along with CBS TV Studios and
Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories and producer John Cameron have optioned the rights to adapt Marie Lu’s novel “Warcross” as a television series. For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game–it’s a way of life. When a young hacker, Emika Chen, accidentally glitches herself in the game and becomes an
Although “The Comey Rule” is debuting just slightly more than a month ahead of the 2020 presidential election, creator-director Billy Ray did not make the series to change anyone’s vote. “The reason I did this was because I felt that the Russians had had a profound and unhappy effect on our political process in 2016
Yes, there will be a 46th season of “Saturday Night Live” this fall. And it will be broadcast live. Only executive producer Lorne Michaels and his team know more than that. NBC isn’t offering many other details about the venerable late-night program, as its producers and cast grapple with the task of getting the program
The series spinoff of “Blindspotting” has been officially ordered at Starz. As Variety exclusively reported last October, the half-hour dramedy will see Jasmine Cephas Jones reprise her role as Ashley from the film. Ashley was nipping at the heels of a middle class life in Oakland until Miles (Rafael Casal), her partner of 12 years
The entertainment world is paying tribute to multifaceted actor Diana Rigg, who died Thursday at her home in England at the age of 82. Rigg’s appeal transcended generations, ranging from playing the stylish Emma Peel in iconic 1960’s series “The Avengers”; Contessa Teresa “Tracy” di Vicenzo, the only woman to lead James Bond to the
Before the pandemic, Kenny Ortega was hard at work on a new series about a teenage girl who rediscovers her passion for music when she starts a band with three ghosts from the past. As Ortega was reviewing a scene, something struck him as oddly familiar. “For years and years and years, people have been asking why I’m not doing
Banijay has appointed Lars Blomgren as head of scripted for Europe, the Middle East and Asia (EMEA), where he will focus on non-English-language content. Blomgren will report into Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti. At Endemol Shine Group (ESG), before it was taken over by Banijay, Blomgren spearheaded the business’ non-English scripted production. Under his watch, in
This year’s physical edition of MIPCOM, which would have taken place in just over a month’s time, has been called off by organizers Reed Midem. The annual TV confab, one of the industry’s biggest events, will go ahead as a digital-only edition. It’s likely that ever-changing travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine periods for travellers in
The 45th annual BBC Studios Showcase is going virtual in 2021. The production-distribution giant revealed that its annual Liverpool event — a dazzling presentation of the BBC’s forthcoming productions for global buyers — will become a three-day virtual program, running from Feb. 22-24. The move has been expected in recent months, as it’s becoming increasingly
TBS has picked up a full season of an hour-long talent competition series titled “Go-Big Show.” The show is hosted by Bert Kreischer and features celebrity judges Snoop Dogg, Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Nettles and “The American Nightmare” Cody from All Elite Wrestling. The news was announced on Wednesday simultaneously on TBS, TNT and truTV, making
Paul Kagan, who built his expertise in the budding cable television business into the longtime media consulting business Kagan and Associates, died Aug. 23 of kidney failure in Carmel, Calif. He was 82. Kagan was born and raised in the Bronx and graduated Hunter College. He started out as a sportswriter in Binghampton, N.Y. and
The departure of longtime Netflix executive Cindy Holland caught the industry off guard Tuesday evening, particularly since the well-liked executive had been a driving force of the streaming service’s first-wave originals strategy, bringing hits like “Orange Is the New Black” and “Stranger Things” to viewers. Her roots at the company stretched back to 2002 as
In what is perhaps the most logical occurrence in the history of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise, a representative for Denise Richards has confirmed that she will not be returning to “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” next season. The drama around Richards during the show’s tenth season has fueled this season’s ratings — “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”
In today’s TV news roundup, FX announced a premiere date and released a trailer for “A Teacher,” and Disney Plus shared a first look into “Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.” CASTING Robin Thede and Matt Rogers have joined HBO Max‘s upcoming dog grooming competition series “Haute Dog,” which premieres Sept. 24. Rogers will be the show’s