Television

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the season finale of “Project Runway” Season 18. This season of “Project Runway” couldn’t end without Sergio Guadarrama fighting for one final cause. This time? The arctic, and what humanity is doing to it. He also stole some spotlight for a personal proposal. But

March 12, 2020 6:27PM PT NBA commissioner Adam Silver appeared on TNT Thursday evening, the day after game play was suspended indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak, revealing that the league’s hiatus would last for “at least 30 days.”  “We don’t know enough to be more specific than that,” he told “NBA on TNT’s” Ernie

The annual LA Screenings program market held every year on the heels of the upfronts is the latest industry staple to be sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic. Industry sources said it made no sense to proceed with plans for a week-long showcase of new programs for international buyers at a time when travel to and

March 12, 2020 5:47PM PT Fox News Channel said it would pull repeats off the air during overnight hours to present continuous live coverage of the national response to the spread of coronavirus, adding four new hours of live content and dedicated hosts starting Monday, March 16. Fox News said it would expand Shannon Bream’s

March 12, 2020 5:31PM PT The spread of coronavirus has been a hot topic among some of the opinion hosts on Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. But their bosses behind the scenes have been grappling with it as well. The top executives at Fox News Channel told employees Thursday to cut back on

March 12, 2020 4:21PM PT Netflix is shutting down one of its LA offices after an employee was believed to have contracted coronavirus, Variety has learned from sources. All Los Angeles employees were advised to leave and begin working from home. The building where the potential coronavirus patient worked is undergoing a deep cleaning. Netflix declined to

It might’ve been a Tuesday night in Hollywood, but the “Boomerang” cast, crew and exec. producer Lena Waithe were ready to celebrate “Waithe Wednesdays” at the BET drama’s second season premiere. “It’s a beautiful time, you know,” Waithe told Variety at the event’s green carpet, speaking to press for the third time in just over

NBC and CBS said they would suspend production of its two flagship late-night programs for a period of at least two weeks, the latest bit of fallout around wee-hours TV related to the spread of coronavirus. Starting Friday, “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night” will suspend production through a previously planned hiatus, which had been

March 12, 2020 3:52PM PT In today’s TV news roundup, PBS NewsHour announced a special focusing on the coronavirus pandemic, and Netflix unveiled cast members and key art for its upcoming adaptation of “The Baby-Sitters Club.” CASTING “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” has announced additional casting for its second season. The Disney Plus

Joy Behar is taking time off as a co-host of “The View” as a safety precaution against coronavirus, Variety has learned. Behar, 77, announced her decision Thursday during a pre-taped episode of “The View” that will air Friday. Neither she nor any of the staff members that work on the ABC daytime talk show have

March 12, 2020 1:38PM PT WWE announced Thursday that this week’s episode of “SmackDown Live” will not take place in Detroit as planned and will not have a live audience. “Friday Night SmackDown on March 13 will air live as regularly scheduled and emanate from WWE’s training facility in Orlando, Florida with only essential personnel

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA has called off the annual college basketball tournament known as March Madness, which was set to begin next week. “Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA

Reality TV producer Jonathan Murray pledged $1.1 million to the organization RespectAbility, a group that offers behind-the-camera training to people with disabilities. A portion of his donation will help fund the org’s summer lab program. Murry and his partner Harvey Reese made the announcement at an event held in their home on Wednesday. RespectAbility president

UPDATE: Disneyland is closing temporarily, announced the company on Thursday afternoon, marking the fourth time in the Anaheim, Calif. park’s history that it has shuttered. It will close the morning of March 14 through the end of the month. In light of new guidance in California that all gatherings of more than 250 people should

President Donald Trump’s 30-day European travel ban will further paralyze and isolate a film and TV industry that is frantically drawing up contingency plans for business and production. Trump’s ban on travel to the U.S., which goes into effect Friday, is set to impact 26 European countries including France, Italy, Germany and Spain, but excludes

March 11, 2020 7:04PM PT Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has made an all-cash offer for Tegna, the station group that has attracted at least two other bids during the past week. Allen is believed to have offered $20 a share for Tegna in a bid that values the company at $8.5 billion, including more

March 11, 2020 6:37PM PT Late Wednesday, the NBA suspended its current season of play amid the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to wreak havoc with over 1,000 confirmed cases and 37 deaths in the U.S. The announcement came shortly after President Donald Trump issued a 30-day travel ban from Europe on national TV. “The NBA

March 11, 2020 6:13PM PT The stars will have to wait to get slimed. Nickelodeon is pushing back the date of its annual Kids’ Choice Awards, joining the growing list of live events, conventions and conferences that are being canceled or postponed amid a global pandemic that has seen over 1,200 confirmed cases of the

The U.S. will suspend all travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days in the latest dramatic response to the growing pandemic caused by the coronavirus outbreak. President Donald Trump announced the European travel restrictions in a somber address to the nation Wednesday night from the Oval Office. The travel restrictions, which take

March 11, 2020 6:01PM PT “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” will not be taping in front of a live studio audience, starting on Monday, as yet another television show grapples with how to continue production while the novel coronavirus spreads through the U.S. “With the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, and out of concern

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 3, episode 7 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired March 11 on Fox. We can bear-ly believe it: Former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin was unmasked as the Bear on Wednesday night’s edition of “The Masked Singer,” and her song choice was… well, unexpected.

A crew member on the upcoming Fox drama “NeXt” who tested positive for the novel coronavirus stayed on set for days despite exhibiting symptoms, and workers who came into contact with the infected person have since moved on to other shows. According to three members of the crew who spoke with Variety, the affected crew

ABC’s single-cam comedy “Work Wife,” which is inspired by inspired by the partnership between Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, has set its cast. Ripa, who was already on board as an executive producer, has been cast alongside Angelique Cabral, Tone Bell, Christopher Gorham, Annapurna Sriram, Matt Shively and Maile Flanagan. The prospective series tells the story of

The Paley Center has opted to postpone its signature annual PaleyFest LA event, which was scheduled to kick off this Friday with a tribute to retiring sitcom “Modern Family.” “For several weeks now, the Paley Center, along with our venue host, The Dolby Theatre, has monitored the situation closely, staying in daily contact with local,

March 11, 2020 4:33PM PT Production of “Riverdale” has been suspended after a member of the production came into contact with someone who recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, according to Warner Bros. Television. It is not clear whether that person is part of the cast or the crew. “We

In today’s TV news roundup, Variety obtained an exclusive first look at Adult Swim’s “Three Busy Debras” and actor Juan Alfonso will star in Disney Channel series “Ultra/Violent Blue Demon.”  CASTING Juan Alfonso will play the role of Sebastian Rodriquez on the upcoming pilot for Disney Channel original series “Ultra Violet & Blue Demon,” Variety

Ask Stanley Nelson about the key to his longevity as a documentary filmmaker and he doesn’t hesitate with his response: “Luck.” Nelson is the director-producer behind such recent films as “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool,” which premiered at Sundance last year and is now part of PBS’ “American Masters” series, 2015’s “The Black Panthers:

The Television Academy’s decision to ban DVD mailers from the Emmy Awards campaign initially earned widespread raves from networks and studios. But then came the fine print. Because of new fees attached to their online Emmy screeners, several major outlets have expressed frustration that they’re not saving money like that thought they would once the

Brian Lesser had every reason to be proud of Xandr, the ad-tech company he led. On Wednesday, it unveiled a new deal to do work with Walt Disney, WarnerMedia and AMC Networks. He celebrated in an odd way: He quit. Lesser, a well-regarded advertising executive, had expanded his profile after coming aboard in the summer

“The Hunt,” the satirical thriller from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Prods., delayed for six months following back-to-back mass shootings and a media storm amplified by one of President Trump’s habitual Twitter tirades, will finally hit domestic movie theaters March 13.  Much is still unknown about the film, which the studio put on hold last summer