Television

Nicole Kidman has some discouraging news for “Big Little Lies” fans waiting for a third season: There’s still nothing in the works for a return to Monterey in the immediate future. Kidman has re-teamed with “Big Little Lies” writer David E. Kelley for the six-part limited series “The Undoing,” and met with reporters on Wednesday

“American Dad!” is sticking around for at least two more years. TBS has renewed the adult animated comedy for two more seasons. The series will hit the rare 300 episode mark in 2020, becoming one of the few scripted television shows to reach that milestone. The series was created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and

Mark Ruffalo revealed that he gained 30 pounds in order to play one of the two twins in the upcoming HBO series “I Know This Much Is True.” At the show’s Television Critics’ Association press tour panel, Ruffalo said that the character of Thomas has a mental illness which means has has to take “stabilizers

Paradigm is undergoing a high-level restructuring. Variety has learned exclusively that the agency has promoted longtime agents Scott Henderson, Scott Metzger, Andrew Ruf, and recently hired chief marketing officer Lori Feldman to managing partners. Sam Gores remains CEO while Greg Bestick remains president and Marty Diamond continues to head up Paradigm’s music division. According to

To a pin-drop silent audience at the winter TCA panel for her HBO limited series “The Plot Against America,” Zoe Kazan addressed the actions of her grandfather, director Elia Kazan — specifically when he named names to the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. The show, based on Philip Roth’s novel of the same name,

January 15, 2020 8:34AM PT Part 4 of ABC’s “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” ticked down 12% from the previous part, but still put up big TV ratings numbers on Tuesday night. The quizzing showdown, which saw Ken Jennings emerge victorious over Brad Rutter and recent favorite James Holzhauer, scored a 1.9 rating among

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is expanding its footprint on TNT. The upstart pro wrestling promotion has signed a new multi-year deal with TNT that will keep it on the air through 2021. In addition, AEW will launch a new weekly show to go alongside its already-launched series “Dynamite,” which airs Wednesdays on the cabler. “When

Endemol Shine Boomdog is amping up its comedy fare with new development pacts inked with some of Mexico’s top comedic talent. The Mexico City-based studio, a division of Endemol Shine North America, has tapped a new generation of comedy talent in Mexico, many of whom have built their following on social media and the digital realm,

January 15, 2020 6:46AM PT BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the British broadcaster, is consolidating its distribution businesses in Europe with those in the Middle East and Africa, creating an EMEA sales unit to be headed by Nick Percy. Percy, whose new role as EVP for EMEA becomes effective in April, was previously responsible

Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest owner of TV stations, plans to overhaul the primetime lineup of the WGN America cable channel with the launch of a three-hour nightly national newscast. The Irving, Texas-based broadcast group expects the “News Nation” newscast based out of WGN’s ample studios in Chicago to debut by mid-summer. Nexstar executives

The Edinburgh TV Festival has appointed new leadership, with Campbell Glennie promoted to managing director and former Variety international correspondent Stewart Clarke joining as creative director. Glennie and Clarke join the team following the departure of long-time director Lisa Campbell, who left the festival to join “For Sama” producer ITN Productions in December. The festival,

In 2011, producer Marc Obéron (“8,” “Vape Wave”) launched Le Temps Presse, an activist film festival dedicated to uniting socially minded filmmakers with an equally impassioned public in order to engage with the concerns of sustainable development and related issues facing the global community. Now entering its ninth edition (Jan. 22-26), Le Temps Presse will

Executives at Film Paris Region, the dedicated production commission for France’s Ile-de-France region, hope to make 2020 a transformative year in their ongoing push to promote sustainability as an innate industry practice. With that objective in mind, regional authorities have entered the new decade touting the results of a three-year study they undertook in partnership

Banijay Rights, the international distribution arm of France-based Banijay Group, has inked a substantial multi-season deal with Hungarian broadcaster RTL for “Survivor.” The new deal in Hungary comes as Banijay – which last October bought Endemol Shine in  a $2.2 billion deal – has been pushing “Survivor” hard. In the U.S. the iconic reality show format

Smithsonian Channel has signed on for a second season of TCB Media Rights and Woodcut Media’s “Combat Ships.” Smithsonian has handed an 8 x 60’ episode order for season two, set to air on its U.S. and U.K. channels. Filming has already commenced, with a summer air date in the works. The second season of

I don’t envy the job of a debate moderator wrangling a stage full of candidates, especially when Twitter, instant replay, and 24-hour cable news breakdowns make every syllable they say the subject of such intense and immediate scrutiny. However: The one thing entirely in their control is the slate of questions they ask, and over

Starz is bouncing around ideas for “Power” prequels and sequels, said president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch at the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour on Tuesday, also discussing the “John Wick” spinoff series “The Continental” and a “Weeds” reboot. The exec also briefly responded to questions about Orlando Jones’ exit from “American Gods,” calling him

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Jan. 14 conclusion of “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” More than a month after it began, the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event crashed to a close Tuesday night on the CW with back-to-back episodes of “Arrow” and “Legends of Tomorrow” that brought the action

“Outlander” just might be on Starz until the year 2080. That’s if executive producer Maril Davis has her way. Asked for the umpteenth time about the future of the show, Davis joked that Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan will playing the lead characters “until they’re 100.” “We’ll keep going as long as there’s interest,” said

SPOILER WARNING: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the finale of The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Ezra Miller’s iteration of the Flash just crashed the DC TV universe. Miller made a cameo on The CW’s big crossover event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” on Tuesday night, officially connecting the TV and film

George Cheeks, vice chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios, has stepped down after nearly eight years with the company and is poised to join ViacomCBS as a successor to Joe Ianniello as the head of CBS’ operations within the newly merged company, sources familiar with the situation tell Variety. The surprise move on the CBS side

In today’s TV news roundup, Starz has released a trailer for Season 5 of “Outlander,” and Amazon Prime Video announced casting for “The Power.” CASTINGS WWE superstars Sasha Banks, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss, Sonya Deville, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch and Natalya have been cast as participants in Quibi and WWE’s upcoming series

Rita Vennari has been elected president of the Association of Talent Agents, the trade organization that has been locked in a battle with the Writers Guild of America for nearly a year. Vennari is president of SBV Talent, a commercial and voiceover agency that she founded in 1978. She will serve a two-year term as

Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch briefly discussed Orlando Jones departure from “American Gods” during an appearance at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Tuesday. Jones starred as Mr. Nancy on Seasons 1 and 2 of the show, but described what he called his “firing” from Season 3 by showrunner Charles “Chic” Eglee

The stakes are high for the remaining Democratic presidential candidates as Tuesday marks the final debate before the Iowa caucuses. The six qualifying candidates will take the stage in Des Moines on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET, and there are plenty of ways for viewers to follow along. The seventh debate, hosted by

January 14, 2020 2:09PM PT Actor and acting coach Stan Kirsch, best known for his role in the TV series “Highlander,” was found dead Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 51. Kirsch who played Richie Ryan for six seasons for the popular 90’s show, died of an apparent suicide, according to TMZ.

Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” series has officially announced its main cast. Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur and Nazanin Boniadi are among the series stars. Also joining the cast is Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers. “After undertaking an

January 14, 2020 12:43PM PT Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden have been cast in the lead roles of the Russo brothers’ upcoming drama series at Amazon. The announcement was made Tuesday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. The series is titled “Citadel.” Details of the plot are being kept under wraps. Amazon

Amazon is officially moving head with its “Jack Reacher” series. The streamer has officially greenlit the project, which is based on Lee Childs’ book series about the title character. Hailing from producers Amazon Studios, Skydance Television and Paramount Television Studios, “Jack Reacher” will be exec produced by Nick Santora, who will serve as writer and

“12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen and actors Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal have inked deals with Amazon. McQueen’s deal is an overall which will see him create and produce content for Amazon Studios. As part of the deal, the television project “Last Days,” a Lammas Park and See-Saw Films production, has been