Television

The U.K.’s Film and TV Charity has been liaising with Muslim, Arab and Jewish screen industry workers following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and the subsequent war against Hamas. Representatives of all three groups have taken part in a total of 10 independent roundtables attended by senior leaders from broadcasters, production companies, newsroom executives,

Germany’s Beta Film is introducing at the London TV Screenings the first episode of “Maxima,” a six-part drama about the love story between future Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and the then Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. The series is produced by Millstreet Films “The Neighbors”), with Videoland (RTL Netherlands) holding Dutch broadcasting rights. “Maxima” is

The BBC has acquired a new K-pop reality series tentatively titled “Made in Korea.” The show follows a British boyband as they head to a K-pop boot camp in Korea, where the bandmembers will learn from experts behind some of the country’s biggest music exports. “Featuring incredible performances, television gold and a band set to

One of Banijay’s scripted centrepieces at the London TV Screenings, the Swedish crime drama “Fallen” (“Sanningen”), sees the first reunion of star actor Sofia Helin, writer Camilla Ahlgren, and Stockholm-based Filmlance International since the multi-season hit crime show “The Bridge” (2011-2018). Their collaboration has paid off again as “Fallen” has wooed a first batch of

Japan will next month open the first round of film and TV production funding under its previously-teased location incentive scheme. The scheme offers reimbursement of up to 50% of qualifying expenditure in Japan, with an upper limit of JPY1 billion ($6.66 million) on each disbursement. Targeting larger-scale productions, the scheme is open to: film, TV

Israeli surrogacy drama “A Body That Works” has been renewed for a second season. “A Body That Works” (titled “Goof Shlishi” in Hebrew) was Israel’s highest rating drama of 2023. The series, which stars Rotem Sela (“The Baker and the Beauty”) and “Fauda’s” Lior Raz, tells the story of a couple struggling with infertility who

U.K.-based distributor DCD Rights has pre-sold the fourth season of New Zealand’s mystery drama “My Life Is Murder” to a raft of territories ahead of its Feb. 27 official launch at the London Screenings.  Starring Lucy Lawless (“Top of the Lake,” “Spartacus,” “Xena: Warrior Princess”), the series’ brand new season rights have been secured by

European giant Beta Film, known for ambitious titles such as “Babylon Berlin” and “The Swarm,” has shared with Variety in exclusivity a first-look picture of 1o-part series “Rise of the Raven,” which it hails as “one of the most epic European TV productions of all time.” “Rise of the Raven” weighs in as a passion project of

Is this now an age of TV caution? A brace of big swings at this week’s London TV Screenings belie that trend, and few come bigger than the English-language action thriller “Paris Has Fallen,” which Studiocanal launches at this week’s  London TV Screenings.    Like other major LTVS plays, it takes a mainstream genre  – such as,

Enough with the winter gloom: Feel-good shows are about to take over TV market London Screenings, as distributors echo Russell Crowe’s Maximus iconic words: “Are you not entertained?”  “Most platforms are looking for entertaining shows. Escapism is a big thing,” says Fremantle International CEO Jens Richter.    “You want to take the audience somewhere else

 Can NBC squeeze ten years’ worth of Jimmy Fallon at its signature “Tonight Show” into just two hours? The network is going to try. NBC plans to celebrate a decade of Fallon at the helm of its venerable late-night program with a two-hour anniversary show slated for 9 p.m. eastern on May 14. The special

The Writers Guild of America East has tapped Sam Wheeler as the union’s new executive director. Chosen by the WGA East council as successor to longtime WGA East leader Lowell Peterson, who exited his post last October after the conclusion of the writers strike, Wheeler enters the role after serving as the national executive director

E. Duke Vincent, an Emmy-winning TV producer, died on Feb. 10 in Montecito, Calif. He was 91. With Aaron Spelling, the duo worked on 43 TV series, such as “Dynasty,” “Hotel,” “Vegas,” “Matt Houston,” “The Colbys,” “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place,” in addition to seven miniseries including Jackie Collins’ “Hollywood Wives” and James Micheners’

Amazon Prime Video has ordered a drama series based on the comic book “El Gato Negro” by Richard Dominguez, Variety has learned. The series, currently titled “El Gato,” will be shot in both English and Spanish. Diego Boneta is attached to star, with Eric Carrasco adapting the comic book for the screen. “Sharing ‘El Gato’

Looks like the internet won’t have Che Diaz to kick around anymore. According to multiple sources, Sara Ramírez won’t be returning to “And Just Like That” for its third season, which starts production later this year for a 2025 premiere on Max. Ramírez has played nonbinary standup comedian Che Diaz since Season 1, during which

J.K. Rowling criticized Sky News on X (formerly Twitter) after the British television news channel posted a story about a 26-year-old being jailed for murder and referred to her as a “woman” and not a transgender woman. Scarlet Blake was found guilty last week of murdering a man four months after she live-streamed a video

Netflix has acquired the independently produced sitcom “Tires” from stand-up comedian Shane Gillis, who stars and serves as an exec producer. The six-episode scripted comedy, which was self-financed, will premiere on May 23. As part of the deal with Gillis, Netflix will also produce a new stand-up special with the comedian — his second for

Jennifer Yale has joined the untitled Peacock espionage thriller series starring Simu Liu as co-showrunner, Variety has learned. The show was announced with a straight-to-series order earlier in February. Thomas Brandon created the series and will also serve as co-showrunner alongside Yale. The official description of the series states, “Five minutes in the future, a

Charithra Chandran is not in Season 3 of “Bridgerton,” the British star has confirmed, but she has a range of other projects coming up. Chandran, who is of Indian heritage, will produce a reality TV series based on ancient Sanskrit-language text the “Kama Sutra.” While the text was primarily designed as an art of living

Gemma Garcia has been named the new head of Noticias Telemundo, Telemundo’s news division, a move that puts an executive with deep experience in digital content and distribution in charge of the company’s news operations She will report directly to Luis Fernández, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. Garcia will oversee Noticias Telemundo’s news programming, editorial

“First-Time Buyer’s Club,” the unscripted series where teacher-turned-realtor Amina Stevens supports clients intimidated by buying a home for the first time, has been renewed for a second season by the Oprah Winfrey Network. Production on the next season will kick off later this year, with an air date scheduled for 2024, according to the network.

Picking up on Berlinale Series Market hits, such as “Lost Boys & Fairies,” and teasing some of the big main competition swings at Series Mania – “Apples Never Fall,” “Rematch,” “So Long, Marianne” – the 2024 London TV Screenings are a powerhouse showcase of some of the biggest TV highlights of 2024, plus the trends

Underscoring the enduring popularity of crime drama, Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, has announced a slew of sales on two titles, led by Showmax Original “Catch Me a Killer,” a true crime  drama with “Game of Thrones’” Charlotte Hope playing South Africa’s first and most famous serial killer profiler. Hope also headed “The

Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind docuseries “The Staircase,” has once again struck a chord with “Samber,” a limited series about a French serial rapist that explores the damages of sexual violence against women and children. “Samber,” a six-part thriller series directed by de Lestrade, charts the true case of Dino Scala, a seemingly

The “Outlander” prequel series at Starz has cast four actors as younger versions of key characters from the original show. “Outlander: Blood of My Blood” has added Rory Alexander (“Inland,” “Pistol”), Sam Retford (“Hoard,” “Ackley Bridge”), Séamus McLean Ross (“Rebus,” “Payback”), and Conor MacNeill (“The Tourist,” “Industry”) to its cast. Alexander will play a young

Of all the shows that have sought or earned comparisons to “Game of Thrones,” most have emulated its genre conventions. From “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” to “Foundation,” fantasy and science fiction series have thrived in recent years, riding on the momentum of a blockbuster hit that proved lore and maps

MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Paramount Global and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have partnered on “In Bloom,” a short film anthology focusing on gender equity. Directed by emerging female filmmakers from Nigeria, Kenya, India, the U.S. and Brazil, the anthology addresses a range of issues including period poverty, child marriage, gender-based violence, HIV self-

UPPING THE ANTE France’s Canal+ Group said that it has increased its stake in multi-territory Asian streaming platform Viu to 30%. “This additional investment underlines the confidence that Canal+ has in Viu and its teams. It also highlights the determination of Canal+ to make Asia its next growth vector, through its strategic partnership with PCCW,

Steven Moffat began working on his new limited series “Douglas Is Cancelled” in 2018, before most people — Moffat included — had even heard of the term “cancel culture.” It was only later he realized his story — about a distinguished news anchor whose life is turned upside down when an unguarded comment goes viral

Chris Gauthier, a Canadian actor known for “Once Upon a Time,” “Smallville” and “Eureka,” died on Feb. 23 from an unspecified short illness, according to his management. He was 48. In a statement posted to Facebook, TriStar Appearances’ Chad Colvin confirmed the news: “When his wife Erin reached out to me yesterday with the news,