Television

The company known for American news staples like “Today” and “Meet The Press” wants to create similar journalism landmarks for audiences around the world. NBCUniversal and Sky, both owned by parent Comcast Corp., will this summer launch NBC Sky World News, a news service aimed at English-speaking audiences around the globe. The company intends to

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Valhalla Can Wait,” the eighth episode of the sixth season of “Vikings.” When “Vikings” creator Michael Hirst came to terms with killing off the fan-favorite Lagertha character, he knew he wanted to bring portrayer Katheryn Winnick back into the creative fold at least once more

MIAMI — Jeff Zucker didn’t mince words. “Nothing is as important than what I’m doing now,” the CNN Worldwide chief said of his long career in media as he was feted Wednesday night as one of five Brandon Tartikoff Award honorees. Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide and chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports, sounded the

Greta Gerwig, Ava DuVernay, Reese Witherspoon and more than 40 other women directors are urging the Directors Guild of America to change its policies for new and expectant parents. The directors have co-signed a letter by documentary filmmaker Jessica Dimmock seeking an extension of the qualifying period for DGA health insurance coverage to 18 months

January 22, 2020 6:00PM PT NBC has picked up two more drama pilots for the 2020-2021 season. Universal Television will produce both pilots. The first is titled “At That Age.” It is described as an exploration of an African-American family’s legacy. After the Cooper family’s golden child suffers a catastrophic event, seven family members face

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announced the premiere date for “Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great!” and Quibi unveiled the title and artwork for its upcoming series starring Liam Hemsworth and Christophe Waltz.  DATES “Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great!” will launch globally on Feb. 4, Netflix announced. The veteran comedian aims to remind viewers to

YouTube has tapped ViacomCBS Networks International exec Alex Okosi as managing director of emerging markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the company announced Tuesday. Okosi will be responsible for running YouTube’s business and partnership teams in Russia, the Middle East, and Africa, and will report to the head of YouTube EMEA, Cécile

January 22, 2020 3:48PM PT Bill Simmons’ The Ringer is continuing to expand its relationship with HBO. The company, which already produced the “Andre The Giant” doc at the cabler, is teaming with HBO on a six-part docuseries about the world of music. The project is slated to air on the network in 2021 and

At Miami’s NATPE market, Viacom Intl. Studios (VIS) announced an exclusive development and production first-look agreement with Spanish-American film and TV producer Frida Torresblanco’s production company Braven Films. Braven films is run by Torresblanco and her partners Eric Laufer and Giovanna Randall and produces feature films, television series and documentaries. Torresblanco’s resumé is packed with

The opening day of President Trump’s senate impeachment trial drew a substantial amount if viewers across the three cable news and major networks that broadcast the proceedings. In total, around 11 million people tuned in to see prosecutors from the House of Representatives and attorneys for the White House argue over exactly how the complicated

January 22, 2020 2:30PM PT ABC has made their third drama pilot pick up and fourth pilot pick up overall for the 2020-2021 season. The broadcaster has ordered the drama pilot “Harlem’s Kitchen.” It is described as an ensemble family drama set in a fine dining restaurant in Harlem. Ellis Rice, Executive Chef and patriarch,

January 22, 2020 1:00PM PT Johnny Flynn has been cast opposite Andrew Scott in the upcoming Showtime series based on Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley novels. Flynn will appear in a series regular role in the eight-episode first season. In “Ripley,” Tom Ripley (Scott), a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by

Bill Abbott is exiting his post as president and CEO of Crown Media, the parent company of Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Drama. The company made the announcement on Wednesday. “After 11 years, Bill Abbott, president and CEO of Crown Media is leaving the company,” said Mike Perry, president and CEO of

Nearly 10 years and three networks later, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is finally getting its last season. Disney Plus will premiere the seventh and final season of the animated series on Feb. 21, likely releasing the 12 episodes weekly, similar to what the new streaming service did for “The Mandalorian.” It’s been six years

James Patterson’s Alex Cross could soon be coming to the small screen. Variety has learned exclusively that Amazon is currently developing an Alex Cross TV series, based on the novels starring the character written by Patterson. Throughout the book series, Cross works as a detective, FBI agent, and psychologist in Washington D.C. There is no

January 22, 2020 11:00AM PT Apple TV Plus is nearing a series order for “Extrapolations,” a new climate change anthology from Scott Z. Burns, the writer, director and producer known for “An Inconvenient Truth” and “The Report,” Variety has learned exclusively. The streaming platform is developing the anthology with an eye toward a series order,

Nearly a year after “Grey’s Anatomy” made television history by becoming the longest-running primetime medical drama, the ABC series is taking on a new challenge on Thursday, Jan. 23: becoming more immersed with its spinoff, “Station 19,” for a more unified two-hour weekly block. But while there are natural ties between the two dramas, trying

“This Is Us” lost a little ground in the TV ratings on Tuesday night, however, it still managed to lead NBC to a narrow victory on the night. The acclaimed drama scored a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 and drew 6.5 million viewers, down fractionally on last week’s 1.5 rating and 6.7 million viewers. The

Facebook is doubling down on dishy, daytime TV-style programming: The social media giant announced a three-year renewal of “Red Table Talk” with Jada Pinkett Smith and Westbrook Studios and ordered a new offshoot of the multi-generational family talk-show format with singer Gloria Estefan. The pact will keep “Red Table Talk,” one of the most popular

The Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest, Tribeca, Bentonville, Athena, ATX Television Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival have committed to allot a portion of their credentials to members of the Time’s Up Critical database, Variety has learned exclusively. The online hub aims to increase representation of women, people of color, people with disabilities

Global distributors group Cisneros Media Distribution has announced two telenovelas to be made available on Amazon Prime Video for Latin America, “Amore Secreto” and “Gata Salvaje,” as well as three Mobius.Lab-produced titles, “Cursed Bloodlines,” “Mysterious Earth” and “Super Genios.” Written by César Sierra and starring Miguel de León and Alejandra Sandoval, “Amore Secreto” follows Irene,

MIAMI — In a big, bold affirmation of the value of movies in a new TV world, WarnerMedia’s Turner Latin America, one of Latin America’s biggest pay TV operators, is launching Particular Crowd,  a film production-acquisition company with a 90 English-language movie slate for 2020. Based out of Los Angeles, Particular Crowd will make many

MIAMI — Drew Barrymore has always loved television, but for years she was afraid of working in TV. “I didn’t like the idea of being attached to unknown material,” Barrymore said. “I thought ‘What if the scripts come in and I hate them?’ “ Barrymore conquered that fear when she committed to Netflix’s offbeat comedy

January 22, 2020 3:23AM PT “UnReal” is heading to Brazil. A+E Networks International has sold rights to the TV drama about the off-camera chaos at a dating reality show to Sony-backed Brazilian Brazilian production company Floresta Produções, they announced on Wednesday. The deal marks A+E’s first scripted format sale in Latin America. “UnReal” is a behind-the-scenes look at

MADRID — Movistar Plus’ upcoming original series “Tell Me Who I Am,” based on Julia Navarro’s popular Spanish novel “Dime Quien Soy,” has finished shooting and will head to post-production for delivery later this year. Set across multiple decades of the 20th century, the story kicks off with 30-something internet journalist Javier, tasked by his

Brazilian TV giant Globo has brought to this year’s NATPE conference in Miami one of its biggest access prime time hits in the last eight years. “A Life Worth Living” underscores that, as Globo and its SVOD service Globoplay explore ever more shorter series formats – “Second Call,” “Aruanas,” telenovelas and melodrama are still kings

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “A Hell of a Week: Part One,” the 11th episode of the fourth season of “This Is Us.” It was a moment that made actor Sterling K. Brown scream out-loud when he read it in the script: his “This Is Us” character, Randall Pearson,

In today’s TV news roundup, Marvel TV and Hulu announced the cast of its upcoming animated series, “Marvel’s MODOK” and Netflix set the premiere date for “Gentefied.” CASTING Marvel TV and Hulu revealed that Patton Oswalt, Aimee Garcia, Ben Schwartz, Melissa Fumero, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Beck Bennet, Jon Daly and Sam Richardson are joining “Marvel’s MODOK.” The animated

The cast of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” nabbed two Screen Actors Guild Awards at Sunday’s ceremony, for outstanding male actor (Tony Shalhoub) and outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series, the latter adding one more statue to star Rachel Brosnahan’s collection.  Brosnahan won a SAG Award last year for outstanding female actor in

Los Angeles and Mexico City-based studio Exile Content has teamed up with Spanish journo Ana Pastor’s media company Newtral to produce long-form unscripted premium content in Spanish and English. The joint venture’s first project is a documentary series about the genesis of the first-ever women’s soccer team at Real Madrid, Spain’s most renowned soccer team