Television

The Dish satellite operation has over the years taken on HBO, Fox News Channel and Univision, blocking carriage for days, even weeks, until executives were satisfied with new contract terms. Now Charlie Ergen’s company is going toe to toe with another big entity: The National Football League. “As of 9 pm ET NFL Network and

“So You Think You Can Dance” Season 17 is not going to air this summer on Fox as planned. A rep for the broadcast network tells Variety that production on the dance competition series cannot move forward as planned due to health and safety restrictions caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the

Jane Levy may have not been a singer before snagging the title role in NBC’s “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” but she certainly is now. In the quirky series, she plays a computer programmer who can hear what people are thinking and feeling through song. With a second season in the works, she’s already thinking of the

After nearly 18 years and 3,130 episodes, Jimmy Kimmel is taking a breather as host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The ABC late night show will shift to guest hosts this summer as Kimmel takes a sabbatical. “There’s nothing wrong, I’m healthy, my family’s healthy, I just need a couple of months off,” Kimmel said. Kimmel

When Lupita Nyong’o was asked to narrate the Discovery nature documentary series “Serengeti,” the Oscar-winning actor jumped at the opportunity — not just because the subject celebrated to her heritage as an African woman, but because it was an offer she never expected. “I hadn’t really heard of a nature documentary narrated by a woman.

Jeffrey Katzenberg hasn’t given up on Quibi’s mobile-first business model. The founder and chairman of Quibi has high hopes that his short-form premium video service — which has stalled out of the gate — will take off once COVID-19 quarantines are lifted starting later this summer. “I’m still quite optimistic this is gonna work,” said

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains details about major storylines in Apple TV Plus’ “The Morning Show.” When Gugu Mbatha-Raw read the first two episode scripts for “The Morning Show,” her character Hannah’s story wasn’t clear. But then she got on a call with executive producers Mimi Leder and Kerry Ehrin. “They basically pitched me the

In today’s TV News Roundup, Amazon announced the premiere date for Season 3 of “Absentia,” and Netflix released a trailer for George Lopez’s upcoming stand-up special. DATES Amazon has announced that Season 3 of “Absentia” will premiere on Prime Video on July 17. New episodes will follow Emily Byrne (Stana Katic) as the final days

Salma Hayek and her production company, Ventanarosa, have signed a two-year first-look deal with HBO Max. Under the deal, Hayek will bring projects to HBO Max first for potential development. Jose Tamez, president of Ventanarosa, will serve as her producing partner. Siobhan Flynn is the company’s head of production and development. “We are thrilled to

When filmmaker Ri-Karlo Handy posted a Facebook request on Tuesday for fellow Black union editors to get in touch with him, he thought he was helping diversify productions and expand opportunities for people of color. But the storm of racist responses to the post from within the post-production community has now drawn attention throughout the

HBO has renewed skater drama “Betty” for a second season. The news comes less than two weeks after the show, which is based on Crystal Moselle’s critically acclaimed feature “Skate Kitchen,” concluded its six-episode, half-hour first season. News of the pick up was announced by Amy Gravitt, executive vice president of HBO Programming. “It’s been

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has announced the latest group of entertainment professionals in the categories of Motion Pictures, Television, Live Theatre/Live Performance, Recording and Radio to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021. The new selections were revealed via the Walk of Fame Facebook page on Thursday. The

AIDS Walk New York and AIDS Walk San Francisco are coming together for the first time to present “AIDS Walk: Live From Home.” The 90-minute virtual event will be livestreamed on July 19 and benefit New York’s GMHC and PRC in San Francisco. “Live From Home,” executive produced by Erich Bergen, will feature appearances and

The coronavirus pandemic has left many Americans adhering to shelter-in-place and social-distancing regulations. The drastic change in the country’s operations has sent media consumption surging, with advertisers attempting to keep up with the different landscape and planning for what changes may be permanent. In a conversation moderated by Todd Spangler in the Variety Streaming Room, a

Comedian Ricky Velez has set up a comedy pilot at HBO, Variety has learned exclusively. Velez will serve as co-writer and co-executive producer on the half-hour project, with Judd Apatow also co-writing and executive producing. Judah Miller will serve as co-writer, executive producer, and showrunner. All three recently worked together on the film “The King of

CBS All Access’ “Why Women Kill” set its first-season action in three distinct time periods: the 1960s, 1980s and present-day, promising a titular payoff in each time period by the end of the season. In the finale, titled “Kill Me as If It Were the Last Time,” creator and showrunner Marc Cherry crafted an intricate

When the prospect of working on a reimagined “Perry Mason” was first floated to veteran TV writer Rolin Jones, he asked himself the question that many might ask themselves in that particular situation. “Everybody has the same reaction,” says Jones. “They go ‘Why? What the f–k for? No one is asking for that show.’” Fair

As a director, Derek Cianfrance is usually given a major say in determining who will be cast in a project. But in the case of HBO’s adaptation of Wally Lamb’s “I Know This Much Is True,” Mark Ruffalo was already in place to star as Dominick Birdsey and his twin brother, Thomas, when Cianfrance signed

Emmy-winner Lou Eyrich rose up to the rank of costume designer on Ryan Murphy’s “Popular” just over two decades ago and has worked with the prolific producer ever since. Three years ago she was promoted again, and now acts as a costume design producer across all of his series. This Emmy season alone that includes

For all involved in the making of HBO miniseries “I Know This Much Is True,” one word continues to come up when describing the filming process: generosity. This was the word of the hour during the Variety Streaming Room Q&A with writer and director Derek Cianfrance, executive producer and star Mark Ruffalo and cast members

“Defending Jacob” stars Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell, Cherry Jones, JK Simmons, director/executive producer Morten Tyldum, and creator/writer/executive producer Mark Bomback will participate in an exclusive Q&A and screening of the final episode of the crime drama miniseries on July 1 at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m ET in the Variety Streaming Room

Showtime will give”Desus & Mero” a Sunday-night berth, putting the program in direct competition for live viewers with John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” on HBO. The show, led by Desus Nice (Daniel Baker) and The Kid Mero (Joel Martinez), returns from hiatus on July 5, and had previously aired on Mondays and Thursdays. It will

When Yahya Abdul Mateen II first signed onto Damon Lindelof’s small-screen “Watchmen” adaptation, he had no idea he’d end up playing the iconic Dr. Manhattan. Coming off “Black Mirror: Striking Vipers,” for which he is also Emmy eligible, Abdul-Mateen took on a role that appeared to just be the loving husband to Regina King’s Angela

AMC has picked up hit BBC One drama “The Salisbury Poisonings,” based on the true story of the 2018 Novichok poisonings in the U.K. The Fremantle-distributed drama stars Anne-Marie Duff (“His Dark Materials”), Rafe Spall (“Trying”), MyAnna Buring (“The Witcher”) and Jonny Harris (“Jawbone”). It tells the story of the British city of Salisbury, which

For two seasons on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” June (Elisabeth Moss) had to repress her feelings and anger for fear of retribution. In Season 3 of the Hulu drama, she was finally able to forge her own path as a leader, to “give people a piece of her mind,” as Moss puts it. Many of the

ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) has appointed Jaime Ondarza as executive VP and general manager of a newly-created regional structure, which includes France, Iberia, Italy, the Middle East, Greece and Turkey. Ondarza will report to Raffaele Annecchino, the president of ViacomCBS Networks Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia. In this new role, Ondarza is in charge

MPC Episodic, which offers its VFX expertise to series creators, has expanded its senior team with the hire of seven key creatives. The outfit has also opened a Berlin office. Since its launch in January, MPC Episodic has been working on a number of series for clients including Disney Plus, BBC Studios, Apple TV Plus

Pitched at Annecy, “Primeras” (Firsts) is a 2D TV project which underscores how the industry is driving ever more into issues of gender and inclusion. Part of the La Liga Focus, and produced by Chile’s Typpo Creative Lab and Pájaro Studio, the 13-episode anthology series turns on Latin American women pioneers in fields of knowledge,

Movistar Plus’ first U.S. co-production, “Tell Me Who I Am,” produced with Telemundo, has been sold by Germany’s Beta Film to HBO Latin America, a deal announced today during the sales company’s pioneering live virtual pitching event – Beta Summer Insights. In addition to the Latin American deal, Telemundo’s boarding production at last year’s Natpe

AMC Networks’ Sundance Now has acquired Schiaffino Musarra’s Swedish crime comedy series “We Got This” from Banijay Rights for the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The show follows George English (Musarra),
 a recently jobless American man living in Sweden who sets off to solve the 30-year-old murder of the former prime minister Olof Palme, in