Television

In January, the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards celebrated several winners in the film category but perhaps none as memorable as Brendan Fraser’s victory in a competitive best actor field for his career comeback in “The Whale.” A visibly moved Fraser was already emotional just getting to the stage — hugging several well-wishers along the

Warner Bros. Discovery inked a multiyear U.S. output deal with A24 bringing the entertainment company’s slate of films exclusively to HBO, Max and Cinemax after their theatrical runs. A24’s output agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery comes after the expiration of A24’s deal earlier this year with Paramount Global’s Showtime, originally struck in 2019. Among the

Juniper TV CEO Samir Shah is set to become the new chair of the BBC, the U.K.’s culture secretary Lucy Frazer said today. Shah, who has worked in broadcasting for more than 40 years, will appear before the Culture, Media and Sport committee in the U.K. for what’s known as “pre-appointment scrutiny” before officially taking

“Degrassi” fans have a reason to celebrate: a three-part documentary series is in the works about the iconic Canadian teen soap. Featuring behind-the-scenes footages and interviews, the docu-series promises to “dive into ‘Degrassi’ lore and the teenage experience with its creators, cast, crew and fans, as well as generations of filmmakers influenced by the franchise’s

Writers returned to work two months ago, and the SAG-AFTRA strike has been over for nearly a month. Production has restarted but won’t be back to full strength until mid-January. But even as Hollywood tries to return to normal, dark clouds are forming on the horizon. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees contract expires

Start practicing your Red Light, Green Light because “Squid Game: The Challenge” is coming back for another season. Netflix renewed the reality show on Wednesday morning ahead of the Season 1 finale, where one person will win $4.56 million. After nine episodes of nail-biting games, forged and broken alliances and shocking betrayals, only three contestants

HBO and Max’s “We’re Here” and ABC’s “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration” are among the first winners to pick up trophies at this year’s Emmy Awards. The Television Academy has announced early winners to this year’s 75th annual Emmy Awards via juried categories in animation, costume, hairstyling, makeup and motion design. Juried awards

Writer-producer-developer Norman Lear, who revolutionized American comedy with such daring, immensely popular early-‘70s sitcoms as “All in the Family” and “Sanford and Son,” died on Tuesday. He was 101. Lear’s publicist confirmed to Variety that he died at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes. A private service for immediate family will be held

Desi Lydic, who has gained notice during her recent tenure as one of the correspondents at Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” has signed with Artists First, the talent-management firm known for its stable of comic actors. Lydic joined “The Daily Show” as a correspondent in September 2015, just as Trevor Noah started his tenure as

Something Special, the Seoul-based international format agency founded by format specialists Jin Woo Hwang (president and executive producer) and Kim In Soon (EVP & head of content) announce that ITV Studios has optioned the hit Korean celebrity format “Battle in the Box” for France, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel.  The deal was unveiled on Wednewday, the first full day of the Asia

South Korea’s subscription video market grew by more than 700,000 in the third quarter to reach more than 19 million, according to new research from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. The firm’s “Online Video in Korea” report shows that Disney+ was the fastest growing platform in the period studied, propelled by its hit

ASIA SALES UPDATE Shows featuring Stephen Fry are popular in Asia as sales from Abacus Media Rights and Passion Distribution demonstrate. Abacus has sold more than 70 hours of scripted and unscripted programming broadcasters across Asia, it was revealed at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market. Now TV in Hong Kong has acquired factual series

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from the Season 32 finale of “Dancing With the Stars.” “Dancing With the Stars” has officially crowned the winner of Season 32! The season came to an end on Tuesday night, with the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy being awarded to Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy. The Season 32 finale

Singapore‘s Mediacorp has begun introducing virtual sets into its scripted content, starting with two Chinese drama series, it was revealed during the ongoing Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF). “Strangers in the Dark” is about an outcast in school, who uses her vivid imagination to help solve various mysteries. Virtual production allowed the production team

Canadian conglomerate, Blue Ant Media has scored sales of some 550 hours of programming to Asia Pacific broadcasters, it was revealed at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF). Content was sourced from across Blue Ant’s portfolio companies. In Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Warner Bros. Discovery picked up Hudson Yang’s food show, “Order

Singapore is launching a new fund to support international coproduction of TV series. It will also expand government investment into virtual production (VP). The two moves were announced on Wednesday by senior minister of state for communications and information Tan Kiat How at the opening ceremony of the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF). Tan

“The Crown” series finale premiere in London on Tuesday evening brought out the cast and creatives behind the hit Netflix show as well as a smattering of other familiar faces keen to catch a sneak peek of the last-ever episode of the hit series. Imelda Staunton, who plays the last iteration of Queen Elizabeth II

FORMAT The BBC has revealed a first look for season 2 of show “The Traitors.” Season 1 was a huge success and won two BAFTAs, including for host Claudia Winkleman. Set in a Scottish castle, the format sees 22 strangers compete in a series of missions for a chance to win £120,000 ($151,000). However, amongst

Alecia Christina Dixon-Kurschner, a television distribution executive, died on Nov. 23 after a battle with ovarian cancer. She was 60. “Everyone that had the pleasure of knowing or working with Alecia is heartbroken over her death. Alecia was much more than a valued executive, she was also an irreplaceable friend,” Simon Sutton, former president and

Reality dance competition series “So You Think You Can Dance” has been renewed for Season 18 at Fox. The show will return on March 4, 2024 with an all-new documentary style format along with new judges Alison Holker and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Holker was formerly a contestant on the series, and was married to the late

“Leverage: Redemption” has been renewed for Season 3, but will be changing platforms. The first two seasons aired on Amazon‘s Freevee, but Season 3 will debut on sister streamer Prime Video in 2024 instead. The move is significant, as “Leverage: Redemption,” a revival of the TNT series “Leverage,” was one of the major scripted titles

Gael García Bernal is nursing a slight cold. He thinks he may have caught a bug during a flight to Los Angeles. But he theorizes it could have also come from the Academy Museum Gala, held in the museum’s open-air atrium, which he attended two nights before I meet him for breakfast at Chateau Marmont.

Telemundo has a new leader after its current chairman, Beau Ferrari was made a strategic advisor to the executive who has oversight for both news and Spanish-language programming at parent company NBCUniversal. Luis Fernandez, who retired from Telemundo in 2021, will return to the large NBCU unit. Meanwhile, Ferrari was named an advisor to Cesar

Paramount Television Studios has acquired the rights to Jakob Kerr’s upcoming debut novel “Dead Money,” Variety has learned exclusively. The rights for the book were sold to the studio in a seven-figure deal following a bidding war. The book will be published by Ballantine, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in summer 2024. Beth Schacter,

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. After weeks of ominous teasers, and finally a glorious full trailer released last month, “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy” is almost here. Bravo’s limited anthology series will premiere on Peacock on

Max has renewed “Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake” for a second season. A spinoff of “Adventure Time,” which ran on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2018, the series follows Fionna (Madeleine Martin) and her sidekick, Cake (Roz Ryan), who find themselves in the crosshairs of a powerful new foe, leaving them with no choice but

Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and the rest of the Republican field of presidential candidates aren’t the only ones who have something riding on the GOP’s next primary debate. The event will be telecast Wednesday between 8 and 10 p.m. eastern from the University of Alabama by the upstart cable-news outlet NewsNation, and has the potential

“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” has been renewed for three more seasons at HBO. The deal will keep the series on the air through 2026. “We’re very happy to get to keep making this show with our fantastic staff,” said Oliver. “We will continue trying to stretch the term ‘entertainment’ to the breaking point.”

Nickelodeon‘s Super Bowl booth is going to get really animated on Game Day. The Paramount Global kids-focused outlet plans to offer a simulcast of Super Bowl LVIII aimed at children and families while corporate cousin CBS broadcasts the more traditional version of the pigskin extravaganza. And while Nickelodeon will rely on sportscasters Nate Burleson and

Netflix has ordered the drama “Ransom Canyon” to series, with Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly set to star. Netflix has given “Ransom Canyon” a 10-episode order. The series is described as a romance-fueled family drama and contemporary Western. The official logline states that the show “charts the intersecting lives of three ranching families, all set