Uruguay’s already expanding industry still has plenty of room to grow and looks primed to do so with its new financing pilot program about to be extended until 2025 and a host of companies who cut their teeth in international co-production. Below, Variety highlights twelve Uruguayan companies with outstanding resumes in both domestic and international
Television
Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies has made an investment in APA as the agency looks to rebound from the pandemic-induced slowdown in the entertainment industry. The agreement is not believed to be an equity investment but rather a cash influx structured as debt for the talent agency. Industry sources say APA veteran Jim Osborne, APA partner
Anna Faris is leaving the CBS multi-cam sitcom “Mom” ahead of the show’s upcoming eighth season. “The past seven years on ‘Mom’ have been some of the most fulfilling and rewarding of my career,” Faris said in a statement. “I’m so thankful to Chuck, the writers, and my amazing castmates for creating a truly wonderful
“To Tell the Truth” ended its fifth season on Thursday night with back-to-back episodes and low numbers. The Anthony Anderson game show averaged a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.8 million total viewers, a 30% rating drop from last time around. That viewership tally also represents its lowest of the season, and a 1
The coronavirus pandemic crippled production around the world across many months, enforcing an unavoidable hiatus in business that has wreaked havoc on film and TV production schedules. The summer saw a number of troubling flare-ups in certain countries as borders began reopening, but overall, the pandemic has stabilized enough in some nations to allow specific
“Demokracy,” a period women’s emancipation tale plus crime thriller, has walked off with the biggest prize at Conecta Fiction Reboot, a development deal from Spanish public broadcaster TVE. Written by Spain’s Rodrigo Martín (“Mis adorables vecinos,” “Fuera de control”) and screenwriter-producer Pedro García Ríos (“Manos de Seda,” “Lex”), “Demokracy” is set in 1979, during Spain’s
When my father, Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, I was 10 years old. Although I was heartbroken, I remember being moved to learn that members of the Pittsburgh Pirates, led by the great Roberto Clemente, refused to play in the days following the assassination out of respect for my father. Although other teams did
Silvio Berlusconi has been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. The Italian media-mogul-turned politician, who served three terms as the country’s prime minister, has been admitted to Milan’s San Raffaele clinic after he reportedly contracted the virus in Sardinia. Berlusconi, who is 83, spent the night in hospital in Milan where he has been diagnosed with being in
In an internal note seen by Variety, Gary Davey, CEO of London-based Sky Studios, has revealed to staff that Cameron Roach is to step down from his role as director of drama at Sky Studios in the spring. In his memo, Davey wrote: “Cameron has decided to take some time out and spend more time
It is, by common consent, the job from hell, but within days of starting as BBC director general, Tim Davie, achieved the impossible by generating positive headlines in outlets normally critical of the Beeb. He achieved this simply by reversing a decision not to sing “Rule Britannia” — a patriotic song linked to the United
“The Boys” are back and badder than ever. The vigilante versus superhero series — based on the best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson and developed by Eric Kripke — is known for its violence, vulgar language and insightful critique of a world where superpowers aren’t always used for good. And when fans got
Luckily, the world has already been exposed to the extent of whale violence occurring in season 2 of superhero series “The Boys.” In July, a first look clip of the season went viral due to a graphic scene involving a boat ramming into a computer-generated whale and killing it. When asked about the scene in
Amazon is not moving forward on its series about conquistador Hernan Cortes after the show was forced to shut down production due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Variety has confirmed. The Spanish-language series, which starred Javier Bardem as Cortes, was intended to be a big-budget miniseries for the streamer comprised of four episodes. However, production barely got
In today’s TV news roundup, YouTube TV added the NFL Network to its roster of content, and Showtime shared a premiere date and trailer for its new documentary, “Kingdom of Silence.” FIRST LOOKS DreamWorks has shared an exclusive first look into the animated “Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy Part 2” with Variety, introducing a new
Coronavirus can’t keep a drag queen down: The full “RuPaul’s Drag Race” TV franchise is currently in production in Los Angeles, Variety has confirmed exclusively. The Emmy-winning flagship series wrapped its 13th season last week, and production is already underway on one of the franchise’s spin-off titles. The “Drag Race” franchise usually shoots in the
Filming is underway on new police thriller “Parot” – a series based on the chaos that followed a controversial move seven years ago to reverse a piece of legislation in Spain that ensured prisoners served their full jail terms. The ten-part drama, made up of one-hour episodes, focuses on a series of retribution attacks on
Rafael Gomez is joining AMC Networks as head of business affairs for the company’s entertainment group, overseeing the development and execution of programming agreements across AMC, BBC America, SundanceTV, IFC and AMC Studios. He comes to AMC from NBCUniversal, where he was most recently senior vice president of business affairs for streaming service Peacock, and
Silk could soon be the next Marvel character to get her own TV series, Variety has learned from sources. Variety has learned that Sony, which controls the rights to the Spider-Man universe, is developing a live-action series centered on Silk. Lauren Moon is in talks to write. Like Silk, Moon is Korean-American. Her past credits include
Peter Saji is staying put at Disney. The “Black-ish” producer and “Mixed-ish” co-creator has signed a new multi-year overall deal with ABC Signature, under which he will continue to create and develop TV projects for the studio. Saji signed his first overall with what was then ABC Studios in 2017 (Disney rebranded its TV units
WarnerMedia is looking to drive up HBO Max subscribers as the third quarter of 2020 winds down. Starting Friday, Sept. 4, new and returning customers who sign up for HBO Max are eligible to get the service for $11.99 per month for the next 12 months. That’s a 20% discount off the regular $14.99 price,
ABC has called in Luke Wilson to save its fall season. The Disney-owned network has announced a new unscripted series titled “Emergency Call,” which will be hosted and executive produced by Wilson, and will premiere Sept. 28 in the 10 p.m. time slot. News of the pick up comes exactly a week after ABC unveiled
The finale of “Tough As Nails” didn’t quite nail the landing for CBS. The Phil Keoghan-hosted series signed off its first season with a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49, a tick down from the penultimate episode, and just over 3 million total viewers. Earlier on, “Big Brother” also lost a little ground, ticking down around 10%
BET will air a primetime news special on Sunday night to honor Chadwick Boseman, who died Friday at the age of 43 after privately battling colon cancer for four years. “BET and ET Present Chadwick Boseman: Life and Legacy” is hosted by Kevin Frazier and was produced in partnership with “Entertainment Tonight.” Featuring never-before-seen footage
The rather incompetent folks at the Reno Sheriff’s Department are coming back for more antics. Quibi has renewed its revival of “Reno 911!” for a second season, right as the first season on the short form content platform comes to an end. The revival, which is produced by Comedy Central Productions, recently received a pair
Gina Torres has found her latest role. The “Suits” alumna is set to join Fox’s “9-1-1: Lone Star” as a series regular in its upcoming second season, Variety has learned. News of her addition comes around five months after both “Lone Star” and its “9-1-1” originator were renewed by Fox. Season 2 of “Lone Star” is
“American Crime Story: Impeachment” — which was supposed to begin filming in the spring, but didn’t because of the coronavirus pandemic — will now shoot in early fall, Variety has learned. Michael Uppendahl, who has directed other Ryan Murphy productions, such as “Ratched” and “Hollywood,” will take over for Richard Shepard as EP/Producing Director. Uppendahl has directed
“Star Trek” is aiming to keep its fans… engaged. To commemorate the 54th anniversary of the original “Star Trek” TV premiere on Sept. 8, 1966, CBS All Access is mounting an all-day celebration of the full “Star Trek” franchise, including panels featuring cast members from and a marathon of selected episodes of every “Star Trek”
UMC, AMC Networks’ streaming service dedicated to Black film and TV, has found its latest project. The service has given the greenlight to “Millennials,” a multi-cam comedy from “In the Heat of the Night” Rugg Williams and his son Oren Williams. “Millennials” will explore the lives of four 20-something roommates – a business student, a YouTuber,
New BBC director general Tim Davie, who took charge Sept. 1, replacing Tony Hall, has addressed the long-discussed issue of the license fee that is a primary funding source for the corporation. “I do not want a subscription BBC that serves the few. We could make a decent business out of it, and I suspect
SAG-AFTRA members have ratified successor television animation contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Members approved the three-year agreements by a vote of 87.68% to 12.32%, the performers union announced Wednesday night. “This is a strong, future-focused agreement with significant gains for our members,” said SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris. “It applies scale