Megan Amram, a producer and co-writer on NBC’s “The Good Place,” has apologized for posting offensive tweets several years ago that have resurfaced. “I would like to address some tweets from over the past decade that have been circulating recently. I fear this will not convey everything that I want it to, but I am
Television
After much conversation about the need during this era of “Peak TV” for the Emmy race to expand the number of nominees in key categories, the Television Academy is doing just that. The org announced late Wednesday that it would expand the number of nominations in comedy and drama to eight, regardless of the number
Production on the long-running CBS soap “The Bold and the Beautiful” has been “paused” after just one day back on set, Variety has learned exclusively. The show returned to production today in Television City Studios, however, production has been halted to “better accommodate the large volume of testing needed,” per a spokesperson for the show’s producer
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix has set a premiere date and released the trailer for new series “Say I Do,” and Amazon Prime Video shared a first look at Season 2 of “Hanna.” DATES Travel Channel announced that their new series, “Hotel Paranormal,” will premiere July 11 at 10 p.m. Narrated by Dan Aykroyd, the
Peter Hunziker, a deckhand on the current season of “Below Deck Mediterranean,” has been fired by Bravo and 51 Minds, the company that produces the show, because of a racist and misogynistic post on his Instagram account. Bravo’s Instagram posted the news of the firing: “Peter Hunziker of ‘Below Deck Mediterranean’ has been terminated for
“Sherman’s Showcase” will be back for a second season of sketches, songs and guests. The variety show created by and starring Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle has been renewed for season 2 at IFC and AMC. News of the renewal comes two days before the show’s one-hour “Black History Month Spectacular” premiering June 19 on both networks.
European Commission antitrust authorities have greenlit the launch of Buendía Estudios, the joint content creation and production company created by giant telecom Telefonica and Spain’s Atresmedia group, original co-creators of “La Casa de Papel.” Producing film, series and entertainment projects, the game-changing strategic alliance will see a joint venture between Spain’s two biggest content investors
Christopher Isham, who has been the Washington Bureau chief at CBS News for more than a decade, will cede many of his duties to focus more intently on coverage around the 2020 election before leaving the company at the end of the year. In a memo to staffers, CBS News President Susan Zirinsky said Ingrid
Comedian Chris D’Elia has denied claims of sexual misconduct. D’Elia’s name began trending on social media on Tuesday night after multiple women accused him of trying to engage with them sexually. Some were as young as 16 at the time of the alleged encounters. Many of the women accused him of sending inappropriate messages to
Matthew Cherry has signed a first-look development deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. Cherry is best known for his Academy Award-winning project “Hair Love,” an animated short film about an African-American father attempting to do his daughter’s hair for the first time. Under terms of the multi-year deal, Cherry will develop new television programming for
Sister, the content company headed by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone, has nabbed the television rights to James McBride’s novel “Deacon King Kong.” The announcement comes one day after “Deacon King Kong” was named as the latest Oprah’s Book Club selection. McBride will pen the TV adaptation of “Deacon King Kong,” set in
Bryant Gumbel is exhausted. He is taking time out from two days of video chats with a range of athletes, coaches, managers and observers (“I spoke with 18 peopole yesterday, and I’m speaking with 21 today,” he notes) that will help fill a decidedly non-traditional hour of “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” the newsmagazine he
After 39 years as Los Angeles NBC-owned KNBC/Channel 4’s lead weathercaster, Fritz Coleman is retiring, the station announced Wednesday. “After a year of planning his retirement, Coleman has decided to spend more time with his family, appreciate his good health, and dedicate more time to his comedy,” the station said in a statement. His last
Earlier this week, it was announced that TBS had given the greenlight to “Celebrity Show-Off,” which sees celebrities compete to see who can produce the most compelling content from their own homes. The show was produced remotely and will air June 23 at 10 p.m. on TBS. Production designer, James Pearse Connelly (“The Voice”) is
It’s a little hard right now to remember a time when we were all gathered in celebration, but I’ll never forget one particular moment right after January’s Golden Globes Awards. I was at the Walt Disney Co. after-party, which included 20th Century Fox TV, Nat Geo, Hulu, ABC and others, situated on the top deck
Stephen King novel adaptations are not a new concept, but mastering how to convert the famous author’s work into a compelling psychological thriller was a task that HBO’s miniseries “The Outsider” was able to accomplish, leaving fans to speculate if there might be a sequel to the drama series. After an exclusive screening, actress Cynthia
Alex Garland’s limited series “Devs” begins with Lily (Sonoya Mizuno) looking into the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend (Karl Glusman), who had just begun work on an equally mysterious tech project with their employer Forest (Nick Offerman). By the season finale, the secrets of what Forest is doing, and their larger implications for humanity, come
Guidelines from Hollywood unions on how to resume production amid the COVID-19 pandemic were released last week, but one group was noticeably left out: writers. Many film and television writers have expressed their concerns in the past few days, as the 36-page report released June 12 titled “The Safe Way Forward” includes language that would
Images have immense power. As the currency of Hollywood, they can be potent weapons against the ugly realities of racism, hate and intolerance in America. They have the power to inspire, to humanize and to dehumanize, as we saw in the video of George Floyd’s slow, violent death at the hands of the Minneapolis police.
The BBC has offered some staff – those working in roles related to its “public service” commitments – the option of taking voluntary redundancy. In a staff briefing, BBC director-general Tony Hall stressed the need to make £125 million ($157 million) in savings, and as a third of the corporation’s costs are from human resources
One of the most anticipated of Spanish TV fiction titles for 2021, Movistar Plus’ Original Series “Antidisturbios” (“Riot Police”), the first full TV series created by filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“The Realm,” “Mother”), was the subject of an international presentation on Tuesday at Conecta Fiction Reboot. Part of the 4th Latin America-Europe TV co-production meeting, running
When Jonathan Bennett — of “Mean Girls” and “Cake Wars” fame — got a call about starring in a TV movie called “Harvest of the Heart,” he was shopping. “I remember the moment the call came in, because I was at Costco buying groceries in safety goggles, an N95 mask, and gloves,” he said. The call was
MTV has fired Alex Kompothecras from the reality show “Siesta Key” after allegedly making racist comments on social media. The announcement came on the same day that season 3 of “Siesta Key” returned from a hiatus. Upcoming episodes will be edited to feature him less prominently, the show said. “We’ve made the decision to cut
Turkish telenovela adaptations, soccer programming, music and reality shows and amped-up news coverage are among the programming highlights of Univision’s 2020-21 content slate. The Spanish-language media giant hosted a virtual upfront presentation on Tuesday for media buyers. The event is likely to be the last public outing for Univision before it is sold to a
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix reveals a first look at Season 2 of “The Umbrella Academy,” and Showtime will host a virtual concert on June 21 benefitting the Equal Justice Initiative. CASTING Nickelodeon has signed an overall deal with 13-year-old social media influencer and hip-hop artist Alaya “That Girl Lay Lay” High. Nickelodeon and High
Showtime has announced that its miniseries on James Comey will air over two nights in late November. The network has also released a first look at Jeff Daniels in character as the former FBI Director, and Brendan Gleeson in full Donald Trump mode. Now titled “The Comey Rule” and based on Comey’s bestselling book “A
Hulu is developing a comedy series about the notorious New Jersey theme park Action Park, Variety has learned. The half-hour series is based on the book “Action Park: Fast Times, Wild Rides, and the Untold Story of America’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park” by Andy Mulvihill and Jake Rossen. The book was acquired by 20th Century
Samantha Bee will join Variety’s Kate Aurthur for an exclusive Q&A interview and screening of “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” on June 30 at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET in in the Variety Streaming Room presented by TBS. The virtual conversation will include a screening of the pilot “Pandemic Video Diaries.” The Variety
As the Emmy race heads toward the first phase of voting (with nomination ballots open starting July 2), Variety senior editors Michael Schneider and Danielle Turchiano break down the drama lead actress category for this edition of Variety’s “Awards Heat” video series. Among the top contenders: Olivia Colman, “The Crown” (Netflix); Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning
The CW announced Tuesday an additional four series acquisitions as part of its summer lineup. Making their U.S. debuts on The CW are: the horror whodunnit competition “Killer Camp,” debuting July 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT; , the docu-series “Being Reuben,” debuting on Aug. 7 at 9; the comedy panel game show “Taskmaster,” debuting on