“Catastrophe” creator Sharon Horgan is getting into business with Apple. The actor and writer has inked an exclusive first-look deal with the company, which replaces one she previously had with Amazon and which has lapsed. Horgan is in demand, having been behind “Catastrophe” and “Divorce,” among other shows. She also starred in “Catastrophe” with Rob
Television
Months after it finished filming, and weeks after public backlash demanded a more substantial response, “Survivor” finally figured out what it’s needed to do all along: ensure more thoughtful safety practices moving forward, and apologize for not doing better in the first place. When it comes to sexual harassment, it should never be much more
December 19, 2019 9:00AM PT A+E Networks is looking to expand the scope of its targeted advertising capabilities in a deal with Dish and Adcuratio that will allow marketers to serve up spots with creative messages that can be tailored for specific households. The partnership means that A+E Networks’ History, Lifetime, A&E Networks and other
December 19, 2019 8:21AM PT The second edition of ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” saw a significant dip from the first and was beaten out by “The Masked Singer” and “Survivor” finales on a stacked Wednesday night for TV ratings. Last night’s comedy special, which recreated episodes of classic Norman Lear sitcoms
Ava DuVernay is set to receive the Television Showman of the Year award from the International Cinematographers Guild in February. The prolific writer, director and producer will be presented the award as part of the 57th Annual ICG Publicists Awards luncheon set for Feb. 7 at the Beverly Hilton. Before she made her mark as
December 19, 2019 7:03AM PT Ed Henry, the chief national correspondent for Fox News Channel, has been named the new co-anchor of the cable network’s mid-morning “America’s Newsroom,” the latest shuffle in the outlet’s daytime anchor lineup in the wake of the departure of Shepard Smith. Henry, who has been with Fox News since 2011,
MADRID — Following months of reported negotiations, The Mediapro Studio, the production-distribution powerhouse launched by Spain’s Mediapro Group this March, has acquired Andreu Buenafuente’s Barcelona-based El Terrat, Spain’s premier comedy brand. No price was given for the acquisition, which involves 100% of El Terrat shares. El Terrat founder owner and “Late Motiv” host Andreu Buenafuente
The following story includes spoilers for the Season 39 finale of “Survivor.” In the wake of misconduct allegations that plagued the 39th season of “Survivor,” in which contestant Kellee Kim and others expressed discomfort with fellow player and Hollywood talent manager Dan Spilo’s physical contact with them, host Jeff Probst told Kim in the reunion
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 2 finale of “The Masked Singer” on Fox, which aired on Dec. 18, 2019. Another season of “The Masked Singer” has come to an end, which means the winner has been revealed — but more interesting than the winning character is the
“Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” ABC’s live staging of episodes of “Good Times” and “All in the Family” fell victim, briefly, to a more substantial bit of 1970s cosplay. Which is to say that the impeachment of a Republican president — a political event with inherent connections to the Watergate scandal that led
In today’s TV news roundup, Ava DuVernay’s “Cherish the Day” gets a first-look teaser, and the Apple TV Plus comedy from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s” Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day gets a premiere date. DATES Amazon Studios‘ “Russell Peters: Deported” premieres Jan. 14. The one-hour stand-up special stars comedian Russell Peters exploring life as a
December 18, 2019 12:30PM PT Soon-to-launch streamer HBO Max continues to work to bulk up its originals content library. The WarnerMedia-owned direct-to-consumer platform has set a script development deal for “The Beach,” a one-hour drama based on the book “Beach Lane,” by New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz. Erin Cardillo and Richard
Showtime’s survival drama pilot “Yellowjackets” has added four more players to its cast. Ava Allan (“Pretty Little Liars”), Courtney Eaton (“Line of Duty”) Briana Venskus (“Sorry for Your Loss”), and Liv Hewson (“Bombshell”), will all play recurring roles in the pilot, alongside series regulars Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy
Former HBO and Starz chief Chris Albrecht is teaming with Legendary on a venture designed to produce and finance TV series for the international market. The deal calls for Legendary and Albrecht to form a new, still-unnamed entity that will operate separately from Legendary TV but still have access to Legendary’s production infrastructure and administrative
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Soundtrack,” streaming now on Netflix. Veteran television writer and producer Joshua Safran says music is actually his “No. 1 passion.” Having grown up playing music well before he studied film and television, Safran has had a longtime love of musicals. He was able to
Speaking to the studio audience on Tuesday night at a dress rehearsal for this week’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” special, executive producer Jimmy Kimmel offered a quick disclaimer about how different sitcoms were back in the 1970s — in particular, Norman Lear comedies. Lear’s shows weren’t afraid to tackle messy social, political
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on if you have not watched the first seven episodes of Disney Plus’ “Star Wars” spinoff series “The Mandalorian.” After two or three episodes that felt like “The Mandalorian” was in cruise control, Chapter 7, ominously titled “The Reckoning,” kicked proceedings into hyperspace. Mando returns to Nevarro, the scene of his
The grand finale of “The Voice” season 17 saw the winner revealed, and also a downtick in the TV ratings from part 1 on Monday night. Last night’s finale scored a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 and drew 8.6 million total viewers, level with part 1 in terms of rating, but down in total viewership.
Poland’s Tako Media is to produce a local version of Russian comedy series “The Ivanovs vs. the Ivanovs” following a format deal with All Media. The series turns on the premise that two babies were accidentally swapped at birth and then brought up by two very different families – one rich, the other poor. When
December 18, 2019 12:01AM PT In its first season, “You” was more interesting as state-of-the-industry case-study than as television. A semi-satirical stalker drama whose ability to compel coexisted with certain deep flaws, “You” failed to catch on as a Lifetime series and seemed destined for a short life — up until it was, in its
Lionsgate has struck a deal with Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecoms firm, to further carry streaming service Lionsgate Play. Content will be available on the Airtel Xstream app and Airtel’s web platforms, which already have over 10,000 movies and shows, and 400 TV channels. Lionsgate Play sees a selection of Lionsgate and Starz content curated
Buena Vista Original Productions is re-teaming with Argentina’s Pampa Films (“Chinese Takeaway”) on “Mariposas,” a new BVOP original series set in 1950s Dominican Republic, under Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship, arguably the most bloody and extreme of any in recent Latin American history. The true events-inspired 13-episode fiction series, which has just initiated production, reunites Buena Vista
CBS announced Tuesday evening that it will implement new policies and procedures following the ejection of “Survivor” contestant Dan Spilo amid misconduct allegations. The Hollywood talent manager was removed from Season 39 of the unscripted competition series after several female contestants had expressed discomfort over his physical conduct — contestant Kellee Kim, notably, had directly
Executive producer Don Hardy first teamed up with Guide Dogs for the Blind for a 2018 documentary that followed a litter of puppies from their birth through two years of training to become guide dogs. Entitled “Pick of the Litter,” the documentary showcased what it takes for these dogs (and the humans who raise them)
“His Dark Materials” star Morfydd Clark has landed a lead role in Amazon’s upcoming “Lord of the Rings” series. She joins a cast that includes Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle and Maxim Baldry. Sources say Clark will play young Galadriel, the character famously portrayed by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The
In today’s TV news roundup, Quibi has greenlit a new series from Cam Newton and Netflix released the trailer for “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch.” DATES Season 2 of “Narcos: Mexico” will premiere on Netflix on Feb. 13. Diego Luna returns as Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (“Félix”), the leader of the Guadalajara cartel,
Emmy winner Uzo Aduba is set to star opposite Lupita Nyong’o in HBO Max’s “Americanah,” the limited series based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best-selling novel of the same name. Zackary Momoh also recently joined the cast. “Americanah” is a 10-episode limited series that tells the story of Ifemelu (Nyong’o), a self-assured young woman raised in
Leslye Headland is getting back in business with Fox 21 Television Studios. The “Russian Doll” co-creator, who worked with the studio on the 2010 FX series “Terriers,” has signed a multi-year overall deal with the Disney-owned studio. As part of the deal, Headland will be looking to create, develop and direct series for network, cable
December 17, 2019 2:57PM PT Ebenezer Scrooge is a character whose iconic status is earned through his simplicity. Through endless retellings of Dickens’s novella “A Christmas Carol,” his nature and his story have the starchy plainness not to warp: Scrooge loves money over people, and has entirely lost his way as regards human relationships. Give
Netflix averaged just over one new original TV program or movie for every day of 2019. The streaming giant released 371 new TV shows and movies on the service in the U.S. this year, according to data from Variety Insight. This is an increase of 54.6% over the 240 shows and movies Netflix released in