To the delight of “Fleabag” fans everywhere, the “Hot Priest” Andrew Scott received his first-ever Golden Globe nomination Monday morning. His role instantly became an internet phenomenon, thanks in large part to his chemistry with “Fleabag” creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. He’s up against Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”), Kieran Culkin (“Succession”), Stellan Skarsgård (“Chernobyl”)
Television
René came into my life the way he did for so many others; I loved his performance on “Benson” and looked for him in movies and TV ever after. As a young actor, I could see every inch of him was trained to tell stories: His body, face and voice moved with ease and authority.
Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV. Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch them. This week, “Watchmen” airs its season 1 finale on HBO, and “The Expanse” returns for
ViacomCBS will explore the sale of the famous Black Rock building, which has served as the headquarters of CBS since the mid 1960s. Bob Bakish, CEO of the company, which was created last week from the merger of CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc., said the newly combined entertainment conglomerate would explore the sale of sundry
Despite gains in the number of films and TV shows helmed by women, female directors were completely shut out of the Golden Globes once again this year. The snub was immediately called out on social media, with filmmakers like “Honey Boy” director Alma Har’el tweeting, “do not look for justice in the awards system.” However,
Bill Hemmer has for years been the faithful morning co-anchor at Fox News Channel, boosting the profiles of time-slot partners like Megyn Kelly, Martha MacCallum and Shannon Bream. Now he’s set to step into his own solo spotlight. Hemmer will take over the 3 p.m. timeslot previously anchored by Shepard Smith, the last stage of
December 9, 2019 8:26AM PT Last night’s epic “Arrowverse” crossover episode “Crisis on Infinite Earths” (part one of two) propelled the CW to its highest TV rating of the season so far. The episode came in at a 0.6 rating among adults 18-49 and drew 1.67 million total viewers, the second highest viewership for any
The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) has announced its nominations for the 24th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos and animation features. Among the films recognized for outstanding production design are James Mangold’s “Ford V Ferrari,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon
December 9, 2019 7:45AM PT “Succession” boss Jesse Armstrong has inked a three-years overall deal at HBO, Variety has confirmed. Armstrong created the critically-acclaimed series and also serves as showrunner and executive producer. Armstrong formerly co-created the popular UK comedy series “Peep Show” and “Fresh Meat.” He also worked on the hit HBO comedy “Veep” during
December 9, 2019 4:00AM PT The Golden Globes annually award the year’s best TV shows and films and this year promises lots of possible surprises. TV shows like “The Crown,” “Fleabag,” and “Pose” are sure to make a splash this year, but will they steal the show with their nominations? This year’s nominations will be
Marc Antoine d’Halluin has been appointed CEO of leading Middle Eastern free-to-air satellite network MBC Group following the resignation in October of Sam Barnett as chief of the Dubai-based broadcaster. D’Halluin, who will take up the post in January, has plenty of experience in the pay- and satellite-TV sphere both in Europe and the Middle
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One,” the premiere of the 2019 “Arrowverse” crossover. Bringing “Crisis on Infinite Earths” to the small screen has been years in the making, so it’s no surprise the epic five-part crossover kicked off with plenty of action on Sunday night
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One,” the premiere of the 2019 “Arrowverse” crossover event on the CW. The “Arrowverse” “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover kicked off with a bang: Oliver Queen aka the Green Arrow’s (Stephen Amell) death. With “Crisis” finally here, Harbinger (Audrey Marie
Caroll Spinney, the puppet performer behind “Sesame Street’s” indelible Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, was remembered by friends and colleagues as a gifted artist who dedicated his professional life to the show’s mission of educating pre-schoolers. Spinney died Sunday at his home in Connecticut at the age of 85. He limned the Big Bird
René Auberjonois, best known for his roles in “Boston Legal” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” died at his home in Los Angeles due to metastatic lung cancer. He was 79. His son Rèmy-Luc confirmed the news to the Associated Press. Auberjonois was a prolific television actor, appearing as Paul Lewiston in 71 episodes of
While costumes are always meant to complement the storytelling, in Showtime’s “The L Word: Generation Q,” they are also meant to showcase the diversity within the lesbian community. “We as women are able to dress in a myriad of ways. So I really wanted to change perceptions of what being LGBTQ is, and I did
“When They See Us,” “This Is Us” and “Schitt’s Creek” lead the 25th Annual Critics’ Choice Award noms. This most-nominated trio represents an interesting diversity of platform, with “When They See Us” being from streamer Netflix, “This Is Us” being a broadcast drama (NBC) and “Schitt’s Creek” coming from cable (Pop TV). “When They See
December 8, 2019 10:01AM PT Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for 50 years at “Sesame Street,” died in Connecticut after living with dystonia. He was 85. Sesame Workshop announced his death on their site, calling him an “artistic genius” whose “legacy here at Sesame Workshop and in the
Stephen Colbert and Julia Louis-Dreyfus swapped stories about “Saturday Night Live,” Northwestern University, “Seinfeld” and the possibility of running for office during a Q&A held Saturday as part of Montclair Film Festival’s annual “Evening with Stephen Colbert” fundraiser. Colbert, a Montclair resident, has long been a booster of the festival, which is going into its
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Kate McKinnon resumed her role as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in the Dec. 7 episode to offer a few prayers for Donald Trump. During the “Weekend Update” segment, co-anchor and “SNL” co-head writer Colin Jost first commented on Pelosi being asked if she hated President Trump during her
Jimmy Fallon, Paul Rudd and James Corden popped by “Saturday Night Live’s” Studio 8H Dec. 7 to portray Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; President of France Emmauel Macron; and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, respectively. They appeared in the cold open sketch that went behind-the-scenes of a NATO conference to see what went down
Jimmy Fallon, Paul Rudd and James Corden popped by “Saturday Night Live’s” Studio 8H Dec. 7 to portray Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; President of France Emmauel Macron; and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, respectively. They appeared in the cold open sketch that went behind-the-scenes of a NATO conference to see what went down
“America’s Got Talent” executive producer Simon Cowell has set his legal representation for an investigation into the NBC competition series, which was announced by the network this week after a lengthy meeting with ousted judge Gabrielle Union. Cowell has hired Larry Stein, a longtime litigator in Hollywood and media spaces, multiple individuals familiar with the
Richie Mehta’s harrowing Netflix series “Delhi Crime” was the big winner at the 2nd annual Asian Academy Creative Awards in Singapore on Friday. Representing the show, lead actress Shefali Shah was rushed off her feet as she repeatedly had to return to the stage. “Delhi Crime” earned her best actress in a leading role, best
December 6, 2019 5:06PM PT Robert Walker Jr., son of actors Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, died Thursday, his family confirmed to the official website for the television show “Star Trek.” He was 79. Walker Jr. is best remembered for playing the titular Charlie Evans in the “Star Trek” episode “Charlie X” from the show’s
December 6, 2019 4:37PM PT “9-1-1” can thank the absence of both its fellow Fox show “The Masked Singer” and NBC’s “This Is Us” for finishing on top of the Live+3 scripted ratings charts for the week of Thanksgiving. The procedural saw a 54% bump in delayed from a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49, to
The NBA’s TV ratings so far this season have been far from all-star level. Viewership across ESPN, TNT and NBA TV is down 15% year-to-year overall, according to Nielsen figures. TNT’s coverage is averaging 1.3 million viewers through 14 telecasts, down 21% versus last year’s comparable coverage, while on ESPN the picture isn’t much prettier. The
December 6, 2019 4:00PM PT In today’s TV news roundup, Showtime drops the trailer for the final season of “Homeland,” and National Geographic reveals the first look at Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin in “Genius: Aretha.” FIRST LOOKS Showtime released the trailer for the final season of “Homeland,“ premiering Feb. 9. The eighth and final
WarnerMedia has established a scholarship, internship program and exhibition hall at the University of Georgia to be named after maverick media mogul Ted Turner. The company has gifted $550,000 to the university to create the Ted Turner Scholarship Fund, for students attending the school’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, which is also the
The Chernin Group head and former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin believes that Hulu, not Netflix, should’ve been the dominant streaming platform of the modern era, blaming Fox and NBC for diminishing the streaming service he helped launch in 2007 in a joint venture with then-NBCUniversal chief Jeff Zucker. “The day we both left [in