Television

Remember when the “Saturday Night Live” cast touted itself as the Not Ready for Primetime Players? These days, the long-running NBC sketch comedy series appears to be almost the only broadcast show ready for the Primetime Emmys. “SNL” landed 15 nominations this year, easily the most of anything in broadcast. The second-most-nominated broadcast program was

(SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains spoilers for the season finale of “I May Destroy You,” which airs in the U.S. on Aug. 24 but aired July 13 in the U.K.) Michaela Coel is afraid of spiders, which only makes her more determined to imagine a world in which she’s not. “I’ve fantasized about living in

Tanya Saracho has signed an overall deal with Universal Content Productions (UCP). Under the deal, Saracho will develop original television projects for UCP as well as podcasts via the studio’s UCP Audio division. She will also establish a lab and incubator program aimed to nurture, amplify, guide, and empower intersectional Latinx voices. She was previously

Jesse Goins, who appeared in the most recent season of the Discovery series “Gold Rush,” has died, Variety has confirmed with sources. He was 60. Goins was on set for “Gold Rush” in Colorado, when he was discovered unconscious by another crew member on Tuesday night, sources say. He was then rushed to hospital where

When HBO’s marketing teams began crafting the influencer marketing campaign for their sci-fi thriller “Lovecraft Country,” they made sure to keep the blerd community in mind. “It is cool to be a blerd now,” HBO’s senior VP of multicultural marketing Jackie Gagne tells Variety. “It is a very passionate group and we knew that there

Fans of “Tiger King” will not be able to visit The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park as the property has now been closed permanently, according to a Facebook post from owner Jeff Lowe. According to Lowe, he contacted the USDA to voluntarily forfeit his exhibitor’s license which allowed him to buy and sell animals, and

Oscar-nominated “City of God” DoP Cesar Charlone, who went on to direct “3%,” South America’s first Netflix series, is set to co-direct and serve as cinematographer on “Graf Spee,” a six-part human drama evolving during the most memorable of World War II naval battles, the Battle of the River Plate. Based on real events and

The lineup of judges for “American Idol” will remain the same next season. Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Ritchie have all agreed deals to come back to the series, alongside host Ryan Seacrest. The news comes around four months after ABC renewed the talent show for a fourth season at the network. Like many

It’s not often that an international Netflix Original gets to three seasons. So, logic would dictate that if two first-time creators, whose low-budget underdog comedy had become one of the platforms best-loved cult hits made it to a third season, they might stick with what was working for them in the first place. Standing on

In today’s TV news roundup, Quibi revealed a new trailer for “Reno 911!,” and Amazon Prime Video announced the premiere date for “Utopia.” DATES Amazon Prime Video has announced a Sept. 25 premiere date for the new conspiracy thriller series, “Utopia.” The show follows the fans of a comic book series called “Utopia” that seems

Netflix has launched a worldwide test of “Shuffle Play,” a feature for indecisive subscribers that starts streaming a random title based on their viewing history or playlists. The idea, of course, is to provide yet another way to encourage Netflix users to watch more content on the service — even if they don’t know what,

Dylan McDermott has been busy during quarantine. When he’s not hanging out with his kids — like watching “The Umbrella Academy” with his 14-year-old daughter Charlotte — he has been working on a memoir. “It changed me actually,” McDermott, 58, says on Tuesday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket.” “So I’m

The Television Academy has finished updating 2020’s Emmy nomination roster, and three overachievers stand out from the pack: Kerry Washington, Daniel Levy and Will Ferrell, all of whom earned four nods this year. Close behind them, Jason Bateman, Jimmy Kimmel, Issa Rae, Maya Rudolph and RuPaul each have three nominations. The TV Academy released the

In HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” Atticus Freeman, played by Jonathan Majors, is in 1950s America, in the era of Jim Crow laws, driving on a quest to find his missing father. Cars play a vital role in the series, as production designer Kalina Ivanov points out, “Black people used cars in the ’50s as a means

Amazon has given a straight-to-series order to an adaptation of David Cronenberg film “Dead Ringers” with Rachel Weisz attached to star and executive produce, Variety has learned. In the original film, which debuted in 1988, Jeremy Irons played twin gynecologists who both begin a relationship with the same woman. In the series version, Weisz will

As the Black Lives Matter movement took hold of the U.S., Kerry Washington could not help but remember filming “Scandal” while she was pregnant. “It’s impossible to not worry about the Black men in my life out in the world. My cousins, my dad, my husband. That is the reality of loving a Black person

In Netflix’s “Sing On!,” Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) hosts a singing competition in which contestants face-off to see who can sing popular hits with the most accuracy. The eight-episode show, which has addictive “Floor Is Lava” vibes, will premiere on Sept. 16.  As Variety reported late last year before it was officially announced, the

Kirk McDonald. a top executive at WarnerMedia’s Xandr ad-tech unit, was named the new CEO of North American operations of WPP’s large GroupM media-buying firm, marking the latest in a string of top advertising leaders to leave the AT&T media operation. GroupM is one of the largest and most influential media-buying operations in the industry,

Seth MacFarlane and Chadwick Boseman are teaming as executive producers on a limited series about the Little Rock Nine that is currently in development at Universal Content Productions (UCP). The untitled series is set in 1957 after the landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education. 14 year-old Carlotta Walls is among the

When Mike Makowsky decided to tackle the mid-2000s Roslyn Union Free School District embezzlement scandal for the screen, he wasn’t entirely sure how to navigate the story. Makowsky, who went to school in the district and met one of the key figures, Frank Tassone, as a child, visited his former high school and spoke to

In National Geographic’s “The World According to Jeff Goldblum,” streaming on Disney Plus, Jeff Goldblum pulls the thread on deceptively familiar objects and unravels a wonderful world of astonishing connections and fascinating science and history. Followed by an exclusive screening of the “Sneakers” episode, the “Jurassic Park” star joined Variety’s Michael Schneider in the Variety

One of the best examples of how Hollywood is moving toward being a place for more inclusive storytelling might be this year’s limited series Emmy race. All five of the nominees in that category tell stories about female characters; most specifically concentrating on depictions of women who have traditionally been marginalized both on and off

Jeff Goldblum is currently in London, as he starts shooting the new “Jurassic World” movie, utilizing proper COVID-19 safety precautions. But he took a moment to speak with Variety’s Michael Schneider, in the Variety Streaming Room, to discuss his Emmy-nominated National Geographic series “The World According to Jeff Goldblum,” now streaming on Disney Plus. Goldblum

The next season of “Dancing With the Stars” will premiere on Sept. 14, indicating that ABC has managed to figure out a way to produce the show during the coronavirus pandemic. The network says that additional production details will be announced at a later date. “Dancing With the Stars” is a high-energy competition series that

Netflix is looking to celebrate Black voices and authors with a new live-action preschool series. The streamer has ordered twelve five-minute episodes of “Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices,” which will feature Black celebrities and artists reading children’s books written by Black authors, which highlight the Black experience. Hosted by author Marley Dias, the collection of books

Brazil’s Globo media group has secured a nomination each in the news and the current affairs category at the International Emmy Awards nominations that were announced Tuesday by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In the news category, TV Globo is nominated for “Ghost Staff,” an investigative program following staff at Rio de

The case of NXIVM, the Albany, N.Y.-based “self-help group” whose bizarre and seemingly cult-like aspects have been covered widely — merges a sort of enormity of evil with the prosaic in ways that can make it hard to connect with at first. What was done to aspirants within the group, who allege having been starved

Veena Sud, creator of AMC’s “The Killing” and Netflix’s “Seven Seconds,” says the television industry is ready for “radical, real change,” calling on industry gate-keepers to rethink hiring practices, promote more women and people of color, and address a systematic lack of representation, “and not be in the same place we are now that we

Meg Whitman spoke for only a fleeting segment of Monday night’s opening of the Democratic National Convention. And yet the Quibi corporate leader and Republican politician’s presence seemed emblematic of the night, in at least two ways: One, she is not in fact a Democrat, and yet was given a chunk of the evening, however

HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” blends science fiction and horror with real-life terror, weaving in historical facts from civil rights injustices from America’s past. The series explores metaphors representative of deeply human fears. “Even in episode one, this idea of ‘sun down’ town — so you can’t be Black after dark in this town. That’s a horror