Television

Football fans will be tuning into the Super Bowl to see the 49ers vs. Chiefs showdown — but for those who aren’t passionate about the sport, the commercials are often reason enough to watch. Ads aired during the Super Bowl have generated as much discussion as the big game itself, so it’s no wonder why

It’s going to be a busy year for the Writers Guild of America, as the org will enter negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to finalize a new deal between writers and producers. At Saturday night’s WGA Awards, talk of negotiations — and the potential for a strike — were among

For those who have been disappointed with Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, “Saturday Night Live” has an alternative. The Feb. 1 episode of the late-night sketch comedy show kicked off with “The Trial You Wish Had Happened,” a cold open sketch featuring Kenan Thompson as Judge Mathis (yes, TV’s Judge Mathis) taking over the proceedings from

“Screenwriting saved my life.” That was the simple and heartfelt statement delivered by Richard Price, the acclaimed novelist and screenwriter behind such notable works as “Clockers,” “Mad Dog and Glory,” “The Night Of” and “The Wire,” as he collected the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for career achievement from the WGA East on Saturday night during

Damon Lindelof has been spiritually linked to NBC’s “The Good Place” since its launch in 2016. Not only did Drew Goddard, an alum of Lindelof’s “Lost,” direct the pilot and serve as an executive producer, but creator Mike Schur had turned to “The Leftovers” and “Watchmen” showrunner for advice on how to craft a serialized

Tracee Ellis Ross had to leave the set of “Black-ish” for a project so secret she wasn’t sure she could even tell her co-star on the show, Anthony Anderson. On Sunday, it won’t be a secret anymore. Ross is one of several handfuls of celebrities scheduled to appear in the big-budget commercials that will run

This year’s post-Super Bowl program makes a beautiful sort of sense: It’s hard to imagine a more perfect pairing for the NFL than “The Masked Singer.” That’s true both pragmatically — it’s the biggest hit on Fox’s air right now, so why not let it and the most-watched broadcast of the year pump each other

GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Munich-based Global Screen has acquired international distribution rights to Finnish procedural series “FAST,” set up at “Nurses”’ producer Yellow Film & TV, marking the first collaboration between Telepool’s sales division and the Finnish powerhouse. A 10-part series, “FAST” centers on a special task force within the police department that tracks down fugitives.

Roku and Fox Corp. announced that they reached a deal to keep Fox’s channels on the device maker’s platform, an 11th-hour agreement that means Fox apps will be available for Roku users to stream Sunday’s Super Bowl. Fox Corp. said in a statement late Friday, “We are pleased to have reached a successful agreement with

It was a surreal and heartbreaking night at Staples Center as the Lakers hosted their first NBA game following Kobe Bryant’s death. During an emotional pre-game ceremony, which featured performances by Usher and Boyz II Men, and a rousing speech from star LeBron James, the organization saluted one of the league’s all-time greats in Bryant,

Mary Higgins Clark, the prolific author known as the “Queen of Suspense” for her dozens of best-selling suspenseful novels, died Friday in Naples, Fla. She was 92. Publisher Simon & Schuster said Clark died peacefully and surrounded by family. “It is with deep sadness we say goodbye to the ‘Queen of Suspense’ Mary Higgins Clark,

George Cheeks’ decision to join ViacomCBS may have been a surprise, but he will begin his tenure as CEO of CBS Entertainment Group in March with a great deal of goodwill in hand, even as some Moonves-era staffers are said to be a mite apprehensive about the next era of their newly enlarged company. Characterized

Canada’s embattled Kew Media Group will continue to cease all trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) following a permanent cease trade order by the Ontario Securities Commission, as the firm’s portfolio of production companies scrambles to exit what one executive has called “a sinking ship.” Several people with direct knowledge of the company’s finances

January 31, 2020 5:13PM PT On Friday, LeBron James shared a closer look at his new tattoo honoring fallen NBA star Kobe Bryant. James posted the photo to Instagram with the caption “My brother” ahead of the Lakers’ first basketball game since Bryant’s death. “Mamba 4 Life,” the tattoo reads underneath a venomous black mamba

Disney has Wall Streeters and the industry eagerly awaiting the company’s quarterly earnings announcement on Tuesday, which will include the first official subscriber numbers for the Disney Plus streaming service. Disney is expected to reveal that the service has racked up 25 million to 30 million subscribers since its Nov. 12 debut. If so, Disney

In today’s TV news roundup, Apple TV Plus announces Jen Tullock and Zach Cherry have been cast in upcoming series “Severance” and HBO sets a premiere date for “My Brilliant Friend: The Story of a New Name.” CASTINGS Jen Tullock and Zach Cherry will join Patricia Arquette, Adam Scott and Britt Lower in Apple TV

Netflix has canceled the musical drama “Soundtrack” after one season, Variety has confirmed. The series had originally been set up as a pilot at Fox before moving to the streamer with a series order. It was described as a romantic musical drama that looked at the love stories connecting a diverse, disparate group of people in

CBS chief creative officer David Nevins expects a “natural transition” over the next few months as George Cheeks takes over as president and CEO of CBS Entertainment Group and outgoing acting CEO Joe Ianniello departs the company. “I’ve known George and I think he and I will work really well together,” Nevins told Variety on

January 31, 2020 10:54AM PT Owen Wilson has joined the upcoming “Loki” series at Disney Plus, Variety has confirmed with sources. The exact details of Wilson’s role are being kept under wraps. Tom Hiddleston will star in the series, reprising his role from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Variety exclusively reported in November that Sophia Di Martino is

Spend an hour watching Robin Meade and you might start to feel a little dizzy. Meade, the long-standing HLN morning anchor, was holding forth earlier this week at 6 a.m. on “Morning Express,” the program that takes up the biggest part of the CNN-owned network’s schedule. She had to juggle the biggest stores of the

January 31, 2020 10:00AM PT “Beat Shazam” has been picked up for a fourth season at Fox. Jamie Foxx will return as host and executive producer, while his daughter Corinne will also return as the show’s deejay. The game show pits three teams of two against the clock and each other as they attempt to

Maybe the empire can strike back. Or at least strike anew. Over the past few months, a number of developments have emerged for traditional media companies that indicate a spirit of reinvention and experimentation is spreading across the industry. There’s a new willingness to take a hard look at long-standing operations and make big and

January 31, 2020 9:17AM PT “Indebted,” NBC’s new sitcom, has the virtue of a top-of-the-line cast. Now if only it could figure out what to do with them. Fran Drescher makes a return to network comedy as half of a couple (along with Steven Weber) who’ve blown through their savings on luxuries with no clear

NBC’s “The Good Place” signed off last night after after seasons to its highest rating and total viewership for 12 weeks. The series finale scored a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.3 million total viewers, its best tally in both demographic since the season 4 premiere back in September. Following the finale, the network

Production spend in Ireland rose by 162% to €357 million ($395 million) in 2019, according to the country’s TV, film and animation agency Screen Ireland. Inward investment projects such as Netflix’s “Nightflyers,” BBC3 and Hulu drama “Normal People,” Apple TV Plus sci-fi series “Foundation,” and feature film “The Green Knight” accounted for €261 million (€289

“The Crown” will end after season five, in which Imelda Staunton is to play Queen Elizabeth, Variety has confirmed. The historical drama from Sony-backed Left Bank Pictures, once believed to be an open-ended pursuit that could see the inclusion of Meghan Markle and her new family, will end with Staunton, who had been rumored to be

Endemol Shine U.K.’s director of factual Kim Shillinglaw has stepped down after three years in the job. A former controller of BBC2 and BBC4 and head of natural history and science commissioning at the BBC, Shillinglaw has overseen factual at the superindie and its four U.K. production labels: Dragonfly, DSP, Tigress and Workerbee. In a

After more than three years of rancour and political infighting, the U.K. finally leaves the European Union at 11PM tonight, bringing closure to one of the most unsettling chapters in the country’s history. A transition period running until the end of 2020 will now take effect, during which trade negotiations between the E.U. and U.K.

Entertainment One and animation studio Astley Baker Davies have cast a new voice artist for the role of Peppa Pig. Nine-year-old Amelie Bea Smith makes her debut voicing the title character of the animated hit in new episodes that launch next month in the U.K., U.S., Australia and international territories that air episodes in English.

Paradigm Founder-CEO Sam Gores has denied that the agency is for sale, in the wake of a published report that the agency was in talks to be sold to CAA. “The Los Angeles Times” reported Thursday afternoon that Paradigm had held “exploratory discussions” with CAA. Gores responded by sending a company wide email that said,