MADRID — As of Friday, some more contained TV events in Europe were moving full-steam ahead. One, ONSeries Lisboa, set for April 28-29, has revealed a new major section, and the enthusiastic backing of Portugal’s government. In one move, ONSeries Lisboa and Conecta Fiction have opened a joint call for projects in early development linking
Television
3Mouse House streamer Disney Plus has revealed a substantial amount of programming ahead of its March 24 U.K. and Ireland launch. This includes more than 500 films, some 350 series and a slate of 26 originals. As expected, the Marvel universe, with more than 30 films and 50 series, including “Avengers: Endgame,” “Black Panther,” “Captain
March 5, 2020 10:04PM PT Starz is the latest entertainment company to pull out of the annual SXSW festival over coronavirus concerns, a source tells Variety, canceling its screening and activation for Cape Cod crime drama series “Hightown” and its featured session for “Power.” There have thus far been 14 confirmed cases of the respiratory
It’s been almost two years since “Westworld” was last on the air, and fans could be forgiven for struggling to remember exactly who escaped the titular park at the end of season 2, and in what body. Fortunately, the upcoming third season of the HBO series “feels like the show is starting all over again,”
Perhaps it’s fitting that “Westworld” is the recipient of the most extensive, and jarring, reboot in recent TV history. After all, the show’s characters are hyperintelligent androids, forced in the show’s early going to forget who they once were and what they’ve endured in order to begin their “storylines” anew. Later on, these unhappy automatons
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Leave a Light On,” the 16th episode of Season 16 of “Grey’s Anatomy.” Adios, Alex Karev. Justin Chambers has officially been written out of “Grey’s Anatomy.” In the March 5th episode entitled “Leave a Light On,” Chambers’ longtime character revealed in a heartfelt letter that
The Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have agreed on a successor deal to the DGA master contract. The tentative agreement, announced Thursday evening, came after four weeks of talks that opened on Feb. 10. with both sides agreeing to a news blackout until the negotiations concluded. “Details
In today’s TV News Roundup, Netflix released the first trailer for the third season of “Ozark” and the premiere weekend of “Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan” broke ratings records on Nickelodeon. CASTING Mike Vogel, Adam Demos and Margaret Odette have joined the cast of the upcoming Netflix dramedy series “Sex/Life.” Vogel will play the husband of
Veteran Hollywood executives Jeff Sagansky and Harry Sloan are launching Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp. with a $600 million initial public offering. It’s the sixth public acquisition vehicle since 2011 launched by Sagansky and Sloan. These kind of acquisition companies have gained in popularity in recent years as a means for investors to participate in new
Political advertising floods the airwaves every four years like clockwork. But this time around, two candidates alone — billionaires Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer — delivered an unprecedented $600 million gift to local TV stations during the past few months. Bloomberg and Steyer together spent about $599.6 million in total TV advertising, according to Kantar/CMAG,
March 5, 2020 3:24PM PT SAG-AFTRA has reassured its 160,000 members that it will push hard for a safe working environment amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Your safety is paramount,” SAG president Gabrielle Carteris and SAG national executive director David White said in a message sent Thursday to members. “Whether it’s assuring that a set, studio
The coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate, with the death toll now topping 3,000 and as many as 90,000 confirmed cases of the disease. In addition to the human toll, the spread of coronavirus has blunted global economic activity significantly. The Dow experienced its worst week since the 2008 recession and workers continue to weigh the
Legendary Television has entered into a first-look deal with dj2 Entertainment, the production shingle behind the recent box office hit “Sonic the Hedgehog” which specializes in adapting video games for film and TV. As part of the multi-year deal, Legendary and dj2 are developing multiple projects from the likes of Ed Ricourt (“Raising Dion”), Thor Freudenthal
March 5, 2020 3:30PM PT In a competitive situation, Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is now set to develop an animated series based on the “Wings of Fire” books along with Ava DuVernay. DuVernay will executive produce the potential show through her ARRAY Filmworks production company along with author Tui T. Sutherland, Dan Milano Christa Starr,
Following the storm surrounding one pick for her book club on Apple TV Plus, Oprah has reined back on another. Winfrey had originally chosen “My Dark Vanessa” by Kate Elizabeth Russell as the March selection for “Oprah’s Book Club,” but the decision has been taken to ditch the forthcoming novel, Variety has confirmed. “Ultimately we did
Delroy Lindo has officially signed on for a starring role in the ABC pilot “Harlem’s Kitchen.” It was previously reported that Lindo was bowing out of the CBS All Access series “The Good Fight” as he negotiated a leading role in the drama project, which is described as an ensemble family drama set in a
The Television Academy is pondering Emmy Awards campaign contingency plans in the event that concern over the spread of coronavirus escalates. For now, For Your Consideration events are taking place without incident. But in an email sent to network and studio partners on Wednesday night, the org said it is “exploring options for the FYC
Art imitating life is feeling very real for James Marsden right now. The actor is currently in Vancouver shooting “The Stand,” the upcoming CBS All Access adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel of the same name about a virus that decimates the world and kills almost all of mankind. Filming during the coronavirus outbreak
CBS All Access has given out a series order to the dark comedy series “Guilty Party” with Isla Fisher set to star, Variety has learned. In the half-hour series, Fisher plays Beth Baker, a discredited journalist desperate to salvage her career by latching on to the story of a young mother sentenced to life in
A series adaptation of the Playstation game “The Last of Us” is in development at HBO. “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin is attached to write and executive produce the potential series along with Neil Druckmann, the writer and creative director of the game. Carolyn Strauss will also executive produce along with Evan Wells, president of game
Hannah Simone and Elizabeth Hurley have been cast in the lead roles of the untitled CBS comedy pilot from Corinne Kingsbury, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein, Variety has learned. Both women will also serve as producers on the show in addition to starring. In the show, when Penelope’s (Simone) career takes off at exactly the
ABC’s “Volcano Live” featuring daredevil Nick Wallenda failed to draw an explosive audience, as “The Masked Singer” continued its winning streak on Wednesday night. The tightrope walk scored a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49 and 4.2 million total viewers, which represents a 1 million viewer dip on Wallenda’s last death-defying stunt. His “Highwire Live in
Maura Tierney, who last year wrapped up her five-season arc on “The Affair,” has boarded another showtime series. She is set to join Jeff Daniels in “Rust,” a drama based on the Philipp Meyer novel of the same name. The show, which was ordered straight to series in July 2019, has also cast Bill Camp,
Kelly Day, former head of Viacom Digital Studios, has a new gig at ViacomCBS as chief operating officer of ViacomCBS Networks International. With Day’s appointment to the COO position, Melody Tan, who had served as chief operating officer of VCNI since 2017, will be leaving the company, ViacomCBS announced. As first reported by Variety, the
Comedy Central is giving its audience more “Crank Yankers.” The network has ordered 20 more episodes of the comedy puppet show from Jimmy Kimmel’s Kimmelot production banner. New episodes from the original 20-episode order will continue to air from March 17. “The successful return of ‘Crank Yankers’ in 2019 showed that the series is a
YouTube TV and Sinclair Broadcast Group reached a deal covering most of the Fox regional sports networks — but the internet TV service is dropping two of the RSNs, as well as the Yankees’ YES Network. The deal between Google and Sinclair will keep 19 of the 21 Sinclair-owned Fox RSNs on YouTube TV. The
Voot Select, Viacom18’s newly launched Indian premium streaming service, is looking to build on the success of its AVOD service Voot with a focus on content. “The biggest advantage for us, which doesn’t exist at least with the international OTT platforms that exist here is that we have a very strong AVOD business, and this
Due in part to its strong production activities and growing digital business, German broadcasting group ProSiebenSat.1 saw a 3% increase in revenue and a 65% boost in profit in 2019, despite a weakening TV ad market. The Munich-based company, which counts the transatlantic production group Red Arrow Studios among its many assets, on Thursday posted
Carolyn McCall, CEO of U.K. broadcaster ITV, has quashed any speculation around a run for the BBC’s top job. In an earnings call following the release of ITV’s full-year results on Thursday, the executive was asked about any ambitions to potentially succeed BBC director general Tony Hall, who will depart the role by July. McCall’s
Netflix is the latest company to pull out of SXSW 2020, a source familiar with the situation tells Variety, canceling five film screenings and a panel for #BlackExcellence. Screenings of five films have been canceled, including feature film “Uncorked,” and four documentaries: “A Secret Love,” “L.A. Originals,” “Mucho Mucho Amor,” “Have a Good Trip: Adventures