Herb Stott, a trailblazing director and producer of TV commercials, died Feb. 8 in Hollywood. He was 85. The cause of death has not been made public. Through his two production companies, Spungbuggy Works Inc. and Herb Stott Films, he produced both live-action and animated commercials. Stott’s live-action clients included McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Little Debbie, Doritos,
Television
Dwayne Johnson, Issa Rae, and Dany Garcia are set to executive produce a half-hour series in development at HBO about the creation of a backyard wrestling promotion, Variety has learned exclusively. The project is currently titled “TRE CNT” (a.k.a “TRE COUNT”) and hails from writer Mohamad El Masri. The series focuses on Cassius Jones, a
Tom Lester, best known for his role as the smart-aleck farmhand Eb Dawson on the ’60s sitcom “Green Acres,” died Monday in Nashville, Tenn. from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. Lester, who was 81, was the last surviving actor of the original “Green Acres” cast. His death was confirmed by his brother Michael on Facebook
When “American Idol” returns with new episodes next Sunday, it will adapt to these coronavirus quarantine times by taking place for the first time in the homes of the show’s contestants, musicians, judges, mentors and host. After two weeks of airing clip specials — giving producers enough time to rethink and readjust “Idol” to our
Tamar Braxton is adding to her reality TV resume with hosting a new beauty series entitled “To Catch a Beautician” for VH1, Variety has learned exclusively. The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter is partnering with celebrity hairstylist Johnny Wright on the series that debut May 25. The duo will help clients confront the beautician who damaged their hair; Wright then
Ashleigh Banfield is having a reunion of sorts with Court TV. Banfield, who rose to fame covering the 9/11 tragedy and war zones around the world for MSNBC, will appear as a special contributor on Court TV’s live primetime programming each night at 8 p.m. eastern, starting this evening. She will join anchors Vinnie Politan,
TLC is adding a new series to its late-night lineup. Variety has learned exclusively that the network has ordered the new series “Find Love Live.” The show aims to help single people find their future partner from the comfort of their couch. Originally scheduled to premiere earlier this month by utilizing a traditional production crew, “Find
Los Angeles — with its rapid and untrammeled expansion, its low-hanging sun, and its status as the factory where our collective dreams, and nightmares, are born — provides unusually fertile territory for horror. And “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” a spinoff on a previous Showtime series set in Victorian London, capitalizes, minting an engaging and
Meghan Markle gave viewers a look inside her passion project, “Elephant,” a documentary she narrated for Disney Plus. Markle spoke about “Elephant” Monday on “Good Morning America,” though she didn’t sit for an interview. Along with the clip, “GMA” aired previously recorded footage that Markle filmed with Disney last summer as promotional material. “I’m really
“This town is all about dreams,” Dylan McDermott says at the start of the official “Hollywood” trailer Netflix debuted Monday. In the upcoming streaming limited series from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, McDermott’s character, Ernie, is a man who owns a gas station that runs a secret call boy operation on the side but who
Streaming-video hub Fox Nation is opening its borders – to advertisers. The Fox News subscription service will offer marketers the chance to embed their products in some of its programs, which have in the recent past included a crime series led by Nancy Grace, a documentary series hosted by former CBS News correspondent Lara Logan,
Three of China’s leading platforms have acquired the second season of HBO and Rai drama “My Brilliant Friend.” iQIYI, Alibaba’s Youku and Tencent Video have all bought the second season of the show, entitled “My Brilliant Friend: The Story of a New Name,” from distributor Fremantle, as well as re-licensing the first. This marks the
Legendary comedian Peter Sellers is to be the subject of an in-depth BBC Two single documentary from acclaimed factual producer Brook Lapping, whose credits include “Trump’s First 100 Days” and “The Rise and Fall of Tony Blair.” Commissioned by BBC Arts, the 75-minute documentary has the working title of “Peter Sellers: A State Of Comic
London and Los Angeles-based “The Little Drummer Girl” producer The Ink Factory has appointed former Big Light Productions executive Maggie Boden as director of development. Working out of the London office, Boden will report into Ink Factory creative director Katherine Butler, former scripted creative director for Raw and deputy head of film at Film4. Boden
An average of 5.4 million viewers tuned in to see the BBC’s coverage of the “One World: Together at Home” concert, which saw artists such as Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones perform from their living rooms to celebrate healthcare workers. The U.K. version also introduced extra performances from British artists like Sir Tom Jones,
Cannes Lions has launched digital education platform ‘Lions Live,’ weeks after organizers called off this year’s event. The platform will run throughout June under the theme ‘Creativity Matters,’ and activity will coincide with the original dates of the Lions, June 22-26. The initiative will be free to use for all. The Lions postponed to October
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to end all ties with the U.K.’s tabloids — the latest step in an unrelenting war with the British media. The couple, which has now relocated to California from Canada, on Sunday night sent a letter to the editors of outlets The Sun, The Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Express
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the sixth episode of “Westworld” Season 3. This week’s episode of “Westworld” was essentially one long therapy session. William (Ed Harris) found himself in an asylum, surrounded by previous versions of himself, while Maeve (Thandie Newton) sat down for a heart-to-heart with her old pal
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Monsters and Heroes,” the ninth episode of “Outlander” Season 5. On the latest episode of “Outlander,” the running theme for the main characters was that some of them were looking for a purpose, while others realized their lives could have multiple purposes. What kicked
The wild finale of Alex Garland’s sci-fi series “Devs” managed to do the impossible and reveal the full capabilities for the mysterious super computer. But like all good Garland creations, the answers only lead to more questions from the audience. Looking for clarity, we turned to the woman who runs the Devs operation, Katie, played
Andy Richter is getting used to the idea of working from home… and it’s not so bad. Variety spoke to the “Conan” sidekick on Friday as he prepared to launch a new online series, the “Anidom Beyond Show,” which will air on the social broadcasting platform Caffeine over the next five Sunday nights at 10
Breaking news alert: Some time between the first prime-time coronavirus relief special three weeks ago (“Fox Presents the iHeart Living Room Concert for America”) and Saturday night’s “One World: Together at Home,” Elton John has gotten himself to a piano. Or a piano has gotten to him. The superstar on that earlier show that he’d
The thing about standards is that it’s easy to do them badly — but that wasn’t the case on Saturday night when Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello teamed up for a cover of “What a Wonderful World,” which is probably best known in Louis Armstrong’s classic 1967 version. The two of them sat closely together
As the U.K. lockdown wears on and our reality still feels inconceivable, a TV show about a surreal TV drama became appointment viewing this week, underlining the lifeline that broadcasting has become to millions of people. Commercial broadcaster ITV consistently drew more than five million viewers across three nights for “Quiz,” from “The Crown” producer
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched the series finale of “Devs” on Hulu. Fans of the limited series “Devs” know that the “female software engineer investigating her boyfriend’s apparent suicide” logline hardly summarizes how the sci-fi thriller ultimately unfolded. The sci-fi series centered on Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno) who, yes, investigates
Hollywood studios have agreed to the Writers Guild of America’s proposal to start negotiations on a successor deal on May 11 with the expiration of the WGA contract extended two months to June 30. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced Saturday it had approved the starting date and a provision that both
Global Citizen’s “One World: Together at Home,” in collaboration with Lady Gaga, is uniting the biggest names in Hollywood for a two-hour special to support WHO (The World Health Organization) and health care workers, working the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s everything you need to know about the event. The global broadcast and digital
Ranjit Chowdhry, an actor best known for playing Vikram in NBC’s “The Office,” died on Wednesday. He was 64. The Indian daily newspaper The Economic Times reported the news on Thursday. No cause of death has been announced. Chowdhry’s half-sister Raell Padamsee also revealed the sad news on Instagram, saying, “For all those who knew
During the 1997-98 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls allowed a film crew from NBA Entertainment to document what would be the last championship run for a historic team that included Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, head coach Phil Jackson and general manager Jerry Krause. The footage would sit on a shelf for two decades.
The Writers Guild of America West has gone public with a dispute with CBS over its refusal to expand paid sick leave for its news writers who are working during the coronavirus pandemic. The guild asked its 10,000 members on Friday to sign a petition in support of the 100 WGA West members at CBS