Television

Now that Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) are teaming up for their own “Walking Dead” spinoff series it’s time to reflect on the years of friendship between the two. Daryl and Carol, best friends forever who sometimes have to betray their friendship and do horrific things in fields of flowers. Spoilers

Correcting reports online that the studio was exiting the sitcom business, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra clarified at BofA’s remote conference that the company was “significantly in the comedy business, to be very clear” — just not so much on the broadcast side. “The broadcast model for comedies doesn’t work anymore,” he

HBO Max is developing a series adaptation of the classic children’s mystery “The Westing Game.” The project has been given a script-to-series order at the streaming service, with MGM/UA Television attached to produce. MGM’s recent slate includes “Fargo,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Vikings,” “Get Shorty,” and the upcoming CBS drama “Clarice.” No writer is currently attached

While cameras are yet to roll on foreign productions lensing in South Africa — with international flights into the country still banned — production of local soap operas and drama series got a restart in May. That’s given the industry time to test its COVID-19 safety protocols before foreign productions return to the country, which

Filming in North America can be a tricky proposition — with no federal COVID guidelines, states, counties and local municipalities are charged with setting their own rules for navigating the pandemic. And while film commissions report that crews are ready to get back to work, other factors including coronavirus-testing capacity, health and safety guidelines and

In the Middle East, the push to get back into production is best encapsulated by Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates city that’s been steadily growing as a global hub for Hollywood and Bollywood shoots, and where even during the coronavirus crisis production never stopped. “We maintained full production throughout the pandemic,” says Michael Garin,

On May 11, Uruguay became the first country in Latin America to resume shooting following shutdowns. Several international productions relocated to the country where revenues from commercial shoots have already surpassed 2019’s, says Roberto Blatt, director of Uruguay’s Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual. Hernán Musaluppi, producer at Cimarrón, confirms its first production service begins Sept.

The coronavirus pandemic has another casualty: FX’s “Atlanta.” FX Networks and FX Productions chairman John Landgraf previously said “Atlanta” should return with its third season in January 2021, but the pandemic-forced production shutdown has pushed that date. Although he did not yet provide a specific new date, he did share, during a virtual press conference

Peter Sarsgaard has joined the upcoming Hulu drama series “Dopesick” in a series regular role. The series looks into the epicenter of America’s struggle with Opioid addiction, taking viewers from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of “one percenter” Big Pharma Manhattan. The eight-episode limited series

Mara Brock Akil has signed an overall deal with Netflix. The news comes just days ahead of the Netflix premiere of Brock Akil’s classic sitcom “Girlfriends,” which will begin streaming on Netflix on Sept. 11. Under the multi-year deal, Brock Akil will write and produce scripted content and other creative projects for Netflix. “It is

Universal Television chief Pearlena Igbokwe has been elevated to head of TV content for NBCUniversal as part of the broader shakeup of NBCU’s senior executive ranks. Bonnie Hammer, the NBCU veteran who had been overseeing all TV production, segues into the NBCU vice chairman role that was hastily vacated last month by Ron Meyer. The

“Fargo’s” highly-anticipated fourth season was just one production caught in the crosshairs of the coronavirus pandemic that forced production shutdowns across the globe. With only nine of the 11 episodes produced, original plans for a spring launch (and 2020 Emmy eligibility) were scrapped quickly, but only a few months later cameras were back up for

Outgoing top exec Susan Rovner has made her departure from Warner Bros. official. Rovner, who is expected in the coming days to be named head of television programming at NBCUniversal’s linear channels and Peacock streaming service, sent a memo to the staff of Warner Bros. TV Wednesday confirming that her last day at the studio

Eric Rochant’s spy drama “Le Bureau,” the animated series “The Fox-Badger Family” and the documentary “Cinema through the Eye of Magnum” won France’s 16th Export Awards. Hosted by the promotion organization TV France International, the Export Awards honors the French programs that have yielded the most sales abroad in the categories of animation, documentary and

Macro Television Studios, a division of Charles D. King’s multiplatform media company Macro, is bringing on board five new executives amid greater efforts to broaden its focus to include scripted and alternative programming: Inga Dyer as senior vice president of business and legal affairs, Aisha Corpas Wynn as vice president of alternative programming, Ahmadou Seck

U.K. broadcaster BBC One has commissioned a feature-length documentary looking back at the events of 9/11. Keshet International will distribute the film internationally, launching it as part of their MIPCOM 2020 slate. Produced by Top Hat Productions (“The $50m Art Swindle”), the documentary is directed by BAFTA winner Arthur Cary (“The Last Survivors”). “9/11: The

Korean production company, Story TV is to make a local version of BBC political drama “Undercover” for broadcaster JTBC. The agreement was announced Wednesday at the ongoing Broadcast Worldwide (BCWW) content market in Seoul. “Undercover” is a six-part thriller following the story of a spirited and passionate woman barrister at the very top of her profession.

On Sept. 11, Netflix will premiere its first Spanish-produced original anime series “The Idhun Chronicles,” adapted from “The Resistance,” the first volumes of bestselling YA novels from writers Laura Gallego and Andrés Carrión. Turning on a group of resistance fighters exiled from their home world where dragons and unicorns are commonplace and magic is the

In a surprise move, Netflix vice president of original content Cindy Holland is exiting the company after 18 years as chief content officer Ted Sarandos, who recently stepped into the role of co-CEO, has moved to simplify the structure of the content team. In its new streamlined form, well-regarded executive Bela Bajaria is being elevated

A fourth installment in the “Black-ish” franchise could soon be a reality. Variety has confirmed that ABC is developing a spinoff of the critically-acclaimed comedy titled “Old-ish.” The new spinoff would focus on Earl “Pops” Johnson and Ruby Johnson, played in the mothership series by Laurence Fishburne and Jenifer Lewis. The project would Ruby and

In today’s TV news roundup, “The Drew Barrymore Show” has announced the lineup for its first week, and AMC released a new trailer for “Soulmates.” PROGRAMMING Oprah Winfrey and Apple Books announced the “Oprah’s Book Club” podcast. During the eight-episode series, Winfrey and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson will explore the eight pillars of caste outlined

FX’s award-winning series “Pose” is planning to return to production in October. While the situation remains fluid, a member of the “Pose” crew is getting tested for COVID-19 this week in anticipation of the show starting to film next month, a source tells Variety. Production on season 3 was halted in March, due to the

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” after ousting three top producers amid internal allegations of racial insensitivity and sexual misconduct, has scheduled its Season 18 premiere for Monday, Sept. 21. “I can’t wait to get back to work and back to our studio. And, yes, we’re gonna talk about it,” said Ellen DeGeneres in a statement, seemingly

Nick Cannon quietly returned to hosting his syndicated “Nick Cannon Radio” program on Tuesday, nearly two months after he was forced to step away amid a controversy over anti-Semitic comments that spurred him to apologize. Cannon returned to the microphone on the five-hour daily talk show, which is syndicated by Skyview Networks and Meruelo Media,

After 20 seasons, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” will be coming to an end with the final season airing in early 2021. The decision to end the show was made by the Kardashian-Jenner family and announced on Tuesday. “It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians,’” the famous

Showtime has renewed “The Chi” for a fourth season. News of the renewal comes after the series aired its Season 3 finale on Aug. 23. “Each season, ‘The Chi’s’ authentic storytelling resonates more deeply with its devoted and growing audiences,” said Gary Levine, president of entertainment for Showtime Networks Inc. “Lena Waithe together with Justin

The rules of the “Julie and the Phantoms” world and its omnipresent afterlife are deeply confusing. In 1995, three members of pop-punk band Sunset Curve die suddenly after eating bad hot dogs (yes). In 2020, they reappear in their old studio, find a living friend in astonished teen Julie (Madison Reyes) and discover that when

“The Bachelor” is looking to head into production sometime within the next month, multiple sources confirm to Variety, following a successful pandemic-proof shoot of “The Bachelorette,” which essentially filmed in a bubble with the entire cast and crew quarantined at a remote location. An insider tells Variety that the new season of “The Bachelor,” starring Matt James,

New trailers, first looks, and tantalizing hints for the future were a part of Star Trek Day, the fan event commemorating the 54th anniversary of the debut of the original “Star Trek” TV series on Sept. 8, 1966. Panels covering every “Trek” TV series, from the original TV series to the recently announced new series

Peacock has picked up two seasons of the planned drama series reboot of the classic sitcom “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Will Smith made the announcement Tuesday on YouTube, which can be viewed below. The series, titled “Bel-Air,” will be based on Morgan Cooper’s viral video that reimagined the NBC comedy series as a drama. The