Investigation Discovery is jumping on the “Tiger King” phenomenon, greenlighting a new program that it bills as the “definitive sequel” to the hit Netflix docuseries. “Investigating the Strange World of Joe Exotic” will examine the life of Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage and explore his rival, Carole Baskin, whom Maldonado-Passage has accused of killing her first
Television
Kelly Clarkson is returning to the airwaves this week with her syndicated talk show, and plans to continue airing new episodes weekly throughout the Spring. Her “Kelly Clarkson Show,” like virtually every other series, was forced to shutdown production on March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but managed to get enough episodes in the
The cast of beloved ’90s sitcom “The Nanny” joined forces via Zoom on Monday for a table read of the show’s pilot, bringing fans nostalgia and entertainment in self-isolation. Posted to Sony Pictures’ YouTube channel, the 30-minute video features original cast members Fran Drescher, Charles Shaughnessy, Lauren Lane, Daniel David, Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, Madeline
James Drury, best known for starring in the long-running Western series “The Virginian,” died Monday of natural causes. He was 85. His assistant, Karen Lindsey, posted the news on Facebook: “It is with immense sadness that I let you all know that James Drury, our beloved Virginian and dear friend passed away this morning of
The eleventh season of the hit animated comedy “Archer” will no longer debut in May as planned. “Due to production challenges and scheduling issues, season 11 of FXX’s Emmy award winning animated comedy series “Archer” will no longer premiere on May 6th,” FX Networks said in a statement. “FX will shift the premiere date to
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is making yet another series at Starz. The producer, who signed a massive multi-series overall deal with Starz back in 2018, is one of the creative minds behind “Black Mafia Family,” a drama which has received the greenlight at the premium cabler. “Black Mafia Family” will add to Jackson’s expanding family
For Hollywood marketers, Zoom backgrounds have become the new billboards. With millions of people working from home — and using the ubiquitous Zoom app for meetings and presentations — a slew of TV networks and movie studios have latched on to the trend of supplying images of their franchises formatted for Zoom’s virtual background feature.
“American Idol” and CBS’s country music special “ACM Presents: Our Country” vied for first place in a relatively quiet night for TV ratings, as “The Rookie” drew more Live+Same Day viewers than it has ever done before. “Idol” topped the night with a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 and 6.9 million total viewers, which represents
U.S. equities markets are starting the week with a rally driven by hopeful signs that the spread of the coronavirus outbreak may be slowing in response to aggressive social distancing measures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up more than 1,000 points in early trading Monday. That follows a 360-point loss on Friday that capped
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag” play, on which the Emmy-winning show is based, will be available to stream on Amazon Prime with proceeds helping people affected by coronavirus. Viewers in the U.S. will be able to watch the production on Amazon Prime starting on Friday, and it will be available for two weeks. People in the U.K.
ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) has acquired Israeli content producer and pay-TV channel provider Ananey Communications Group. VCNI is acquiring the shares in Ananey it does not already own, following its acquisition of a minority stake in the company in December 2016. Ananey’s founder and chairman, Udi Miron, will stay on in a new role as
Former NENT Studios U.K. boss Jakob Mejlhede Andersen has been appointed CCO of Shahid, the streaming service operated by the Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) which was just revamped. Andersen will be responsible for the overall content strategy for both Shahid and its premium offering, Shahid VIP, and will be banking on original content, exclusive premieres, and popular third-party programming in Arabic and other languages. The appointment of Andersen
After months of Quibi building up its roster with countless stars and absurdist premises, the streaming service of “quick bites” has finally arrived. The platform features abbreviated episodes only available on phones in order to cater to people with precious little time in between commitments — and yes, the timing of this launch during a
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 is understood to be preparing to announce a range of cost-cutting measures this week as it wrestles with a major slump in advertising revenues due to the coronavirus crisis. Channel 4 is examining a range of options, which include a 20% voluntary reduction in the salaries of its executive board —
Computer science experts Paul Debevec and Donald Greenberg are the first two keynote speakers locked in for October’s 2020 VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy. Debevec is a senior scientist at Google VR and an an adjunct research professor of computer science at USC, working within the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. He is a member
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the fourth episode of “Westworld” Season 3. Looks like William has finally reached the center of his maze. This episode of “Westworld” saw the return of the Man in Black (Ed Harris) — however, he was far from the confident gunslinger of the first two
Craig Melvin will take MSNBC viewers to live, on-location looks at various pandemic “hot spots” as part of a new special series at the NBCUniversal-owned cable-news network that will air over the next two weeks. “Craig Melvin Reports: Coronavirus Pandemic” will air 11 a.m. Monday through Friday in the slot the anchor normally hosts for
The “Tiger King” phenomenon is not over yet. Netflix is releasing an extra episode of the hit docu-series next week, according to zoo owner Jeff Lowe from the show. He revealed the details about a new episode in a Cameo video posted on Twitter by Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Netflix is adding
For Daniel Levy, who created “Schitt’s Creek” with his father, Eugene Levy, the show meant six seasons of inventing a world he would want to live in, one guided by compassion and love. Along the way, “Schitt’s Creek” has become part of the zeitgeist, earned four Emmy nominations and has launched Levy as a new
“Deputy,” Fox’s modern-day Western procedural starring Stephen Dorff, has been canceled after one season. The one-hour drama centered on a career lawman who steps into the role of acting sheriff of Los Angeles County following the death of the current sheriff. Despite being better suited to rounding up criminals than navigating the politics of a
“How to Get Away with Murder” star Viola Davis promises fans will enjoy a killer final batch of episodes, teasing that the story will have a “great ending,” even if it’s not a traditionally “happy” one. “I don’t know if I’m into happy endings, I’m into great endings. I think happy endings sometimes can be
Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, isn’t done with his on-camera attention just yet. The subject of Netflix’s true crime docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” has become an overnight celebrity since the show premiered last month. Based on the platform’s Top 10 most popular section, “Tiger King” has now reigned as the most watched
Logan Williams, best known for his role as young Barry Allen on The CW’s “The Flash,” died suddenly on Thursday, according to The Tri-City News and social media posts from his co-stars. He was 16. The cause of death has not been revealed. Williams was born in Vancouver, Canada, and grew up in the suburb
“Lights Out With David Spade,” which halted production last month due to the coronavirus pandemic, will not return to Comedy Central, Variety has learned. Instead, the ViacomCBS-owned brand is preparing to shop the late-night talker — which it produces through its Comedy Central Productions — to outside networks and platforms. The move comes as Comedy
In today’s TV news roundup, the 2020 CMT Music Awards have been postponed to Oct. 14, and National Geographic announced the premiere of two new specials to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. DATES CMT has officially postponed the 2020 CMT Music Awards from its original June 3 date to Oct. 14. “Our top
Anonymous Content producer Joy Gorman Wettels was driving her daughter to school one morning in 2018 when she got word that the Season 2 premiere of “13 Reasons Why,” the Netflix series she executive produced, would have to be canceled, following a shooting at a high school in Santa Fe. Her daughter, then just a
Private equity firm Standard General has increased its stake in Tegna as activist investor Soo Kim intensifies his fight for management changes at the TV station group. Kim, founding partner of Standard General, has boosted his stake in Tegna to 12% of shares, Standard General said Friday. On Thursday, Tegna blasted Kim for shifting about
Former CBS Corp. chief Joe Ianniello took in a total of $125.4 million in compensation and severance payments from ViacomCBS last year. Ianniello’s total compensation was revealed Friday in ViacomCBS’ annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ianniello received $2.8 million in salary and $84.7 million in severance payments that were stipulated years
Previously unseen photos of legendary performer Doris Day from the 1950s have been provided to Variety by her estate in celebration of what would have been her 98th birthday and to raise awareness of an auction of her memorabilia taking place this weekend. The photos show Day both at home, on vacation and on the sets of
Ellen DeGeneres and Wendy Williams are both returning to TV, following weeks of hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak. Both daytime hosts will film from home, as they practice self-quarantining, while production on the sets of their shows remains shut down. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Wendy Williams Show” will return with new content