Television

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

March 11, 2020 2:34PM PT The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) announced on Wednesday that it will play its upcoming championship events and tournaments without fans due to the coronavirus outbreak. NCAA president Mark Emmert revealed in a statement that based on his discussions with the NCAA Board of Governors, public health officials and the

“Station 19” has been renewed for a fourth season at ABC. The news comes as “Station 19” is still airing its third season. The show, a spinoff of the ABC medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” follows a group of Seattle firefighters. It stars Jaina Lee Ortiz as Andy Herrera, Jason George as Ben Warren, Boris Kodjoe

The “Dr. Death” series at Peacock has added two more key players. “This Is Us” star Chris Sullivan and “The Act” alumna AnnaSophia Robb have been cast in the upcoming UCP drama series, joining previously announced leads Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater. “Dr. Death,” based on the Wondery podcast of the same name,

The new iteration of “Gossip Girl” at HBO Max is continuing to build out its main cast. Tavi Gevinson, Thomas Doherty, Adam Chanler-Berat, and Zion Moreno have all joined the upcoming series. Emily Alyn Lind, Whitney Peak, Eli Brown, Johnathan Fernandez, and Jason Gotay were all previously confirmed to star in the show, and Kristen Bell

Richard E. Grant might get as excited about this news as he does about Barbara Streisand. The legendary British actor is joining the cast of the “Loki” series in the works at Disney Plus, Variety has confirmed. The exact details of Grant’s role are being kept under wraps, however, a source with knowledge of the production says

The Academy of Country Music announced today the first round of performers for the 55th ACM Awards. Host and nominee Keith Urban and nominee Miranda Lambert have been added as performers. Lambert will also perform with nominated artists Lindsay Ell, Caylee Hammack, Elle King, Ashley McBryde and Tenille Townes for a live television premiere performance of the song, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.” The awards

MADRID — Telefónica, Spain’s largest telecommunications company, has announced a series of immediate and free-to-the-public initiatives in response to the country’s ongoing struggles with the Covid-19 breakout. In a surprisingly personal press release sent Tuesday, company chairman/CEO José María Álvarez-Pallete outlined the company’s plans to aid in that struggle. “Throughout our almost century-old history, Telefónica

March 11, 2020 9:05AM PT Uma Thurman has lined up another TV role, this time at Apple. Thurman is set to star in the thriller series “Suspicion,” an adaptation of the Israeli series “False Flag.” The series is about the kidnapping of the son of a prominent American businesswoman (Thurman). Twenty-one year-old Leo’s abduction from

Erin Richards has been cast in the final of the three lead roles in the ABC drama pilot “The Brides,” Variety has learned. Richards will now star as one of the titular brides alongside Gina Torres and Katherine Reis, with Sophia Tatum, Chris Mason, and Goran Visnjic also set to star in the pilot. It is

The finale of season 24 of “The Bachelor” draw the ABC dating series’ largest audience in four years. Just under 8.5 million viewers tuned in last night to see pilot Peter Weber make his final choice and take off into the sunset, well, sort of. The show scored a 2.4 rating among adults 18-49, matching

Even with the miraculous Second Coming of vinyl, the prospects for a successful reboot of the record-store drama “High Fidelity” seemed grim. Twenty years after the John Cusack film, nearly 25 after Nick Hornby’s novel, the shrines to vinyl depicted in the book and movie — epicenters of local music scenes, vanguards of taste and

Cineflix Media has appointed J.C. Mills as president and commercial director of Cineflix Productions, the company announced on Wednesday. As president, Mills will be tasked with leading the company’s growth by developing innovative content strategies, building its community of creatives, and strengthening its relationships with networks and streamers. As commercial director, he’ll join the Cineflix

BBC Studios has promoted Maggy Chan to the newly created role of managing director of its global distribution division, the company announced on Wednesday. As managing director, Chan is responsible for all business operations and is accountable for the finances and delivery of business plans for the division, which encompasses all international content sales, channels

Brazil’s José Padilha, director of “Narcos” and writer-director-producer of the “Elite Squad” feature film diptych, has been signed by Globo Studios to write, direct and produce a Globoplay original series about Marielle Franco, the Brazilian black, gay female human rights activist assassinated in a still-unresolved murder. The series, a high-profile addition to Latin America’s burgeoning

France’s Series Mania, one of Europe’s biggest TV festivals, has been canceled following new French government coronavirus health restrictions. “Series Mania attracts 80,000 festival attendees and 3,000 industry professionals every year. Given the French government’s ban of meetings of over 1,000 people and numerous restrictions on the travel of French and international delegates, we’ve decided

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead, if you have not watched Peter Weber’s season finale of “The Bachelor,” which aired Monday night, Mar. 10, on ABC. Chris Harrison always says it, but this, truly, may have been the most dramatic season finale ever in the history of “The Bachelor.” The two-part finale kicked off on Monday

March 10, 2020 8:30PM PT Marvel Studios has commissioned Québec City-based animation studio Squeeze to create five episodes of “What If…?,” its new animated series set for release on the Disney Plus platform in summer 2021. The first animated series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “What If…?” was announced by the Mouse House when it

According to Chris Harrison, nobody knew how bachelor Peter Weber’s journey ended. Not even Weber (or producers, or his contestants, or Reality Steve, for that matter). But on the latter half of the two-night finale, audiences were finally clued in when the saga ended with a proposal – and then some. The evening started with

March 10, 2020 6:50PM PT A crew member who tested positive for the coronavirus worked on the upcoming Fox show ‘NeXt’ at Chicago’s Cinespace, SAG-AFTRA has confirmed. The production of “NeXt” was headquartered at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. “Fox/Disney notified cast and crew today that a production member for the show neXt, which wrapped production

March 10, 2020 4:54PM PT The next Democratic National Committee debate will feature all qualifying candidates, but the event may be more notable for an element that will be missing. Due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus. there will be no live audience when former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, both

March 10, 2020 4:11PM PT Several NBC shows were among those that showed above average audience growth in delayed viewing for the week of Feb. 24. The third episode of “Good Girls” season 3 was the largest grower percentage-wise after seven days of delayed viewing, jumping up 150% from a 0.4 in Live+Same Day to

Filming on the Disney Plus series “Falcon & Winter Soldier” has been shut down in Prague due to concerns over the coronavirus, Variety has confirmed. The move comes after the Czech government placed a ban on movie screenings, elementary and high school classes, sports matches, and cultural events. The Prague Film Festival has also been canceled.

ABC’s drama pilot “Harlem’s Kitchen” has cast Clare-Hope Ashitey, Adrianna Mitchell, and Pepi Sonuga, Variety has learned. The series is described as an ensemble family drama set in a fine dining restaurant in Harlem. They join previously announced cast member Delroy Lindo, who will play Ellis Rice, the head chef at the restaurant at the heart of

Netflix’s “On My Block” is back … and it’s sexier than ever. Well, “sexy” is just one of the ways the cast of the coming-of-age show describe the upcoming third season. “We talk a lot about love and romance,” Brett Gray, who plays Jamal Turner, explained as the cast sat down with Variety to preview

March 10, 2020 3:58PM PT In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released a trailer for its upcoming docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” and Awesomeness Studio made plans to produce a new young adult drama series.  FIRST LOOKS Netflix has released a trailer for “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” an upcoming seven-episode docuseries

Veteran Hollywood executive Paul Hanson is launching Capacitor Studios a pair of projects based on toy lines — a Kid Robot movie and a Feisty Pets animated series, Variety has learned exclusively. Hanson, the former CEO of Cover Media and chief operating officer at Annapurna Pictures, is partnering with Elan Freedman of Surge Licensing, development executive Ian

Global dating app Tinder has scrapped international release plans for its original, in-app streaming series “Swipe Night,” the company told Variety exclusively. The decision comes on the heels of advice it gave users about meeting potential love interests in person, as coronavirus continues to spread worldwide. The tech company has paused the release out of

“The Outsider” may not have generated quite as much buzz as “Watchmen” or “True Detective,” but the Stephen King-based drama has drawn more viewers than both. The Cynthia Erivo and Ben Mendelsohn series’ finale was watched by 2.2 million viewers across all platforms, per HBO, which represents a whopping 1 million viewer boost from the

The upcoming Clarice Starling series at CBS has added two more cast members. Lucca de Oliveira and Devyn A. Tyler have both joined the show, which received a series commitment at the network in January. It follows follows FBI Agent Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds) in the aftermath of the events of “Silence of the Lambs”