Television

Rick Ludwin was the unsung hero of “Seinfeld.” That’s how Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios chairman and former head of “Seinfeld” producer Castle Rock Entertainment, remembered the longtime NBC executive who died Nov. 10 at the age of 71. Ludwin was instrumental in getting the beloved “show about nothing” on to NBC as a regular

November 11, 2019 5:38PM PT Kristen Bell received an email a couple of months ago from “Gossip Girl” co-creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. “They just said, ‘We’ve got really good news. It’s looking like we’re going to do another version of ‘Gossip Girl’ and we would for you to return,’” Bell told Variety while

The latest cluster of high-level ViacomCBS executive announcements — which included CBS chief creative officer David Nevins and MTV/VH1 chief Chris McCarthy expanding their oversight, and Comedy Central head Kent Alterman exiting — likely constitutes the last round of public leadership shuffling ahead of the close of the Viacom–CBS transaction in early December, according to

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announces the second season premiere date for “You,” and Quibi has named six more cast members joining its upcoming series “The Now.”  CASTING Samantha Richelle, Arthur Acuña (“Princess and I”), Nonie Buencamino (“Sparks”) and Ces Quesada (“Invisible”) have been cast in WGN’s upcoming drama “Almost Paradise.” The four members join previously announced lead cast

With the Writers Guild of America’s stalemate with talent agencies in its seventh month, the guild has doubled down on the issue of ownership of production. In a message to titled “The Truth About Agency Studios” sent to members Monday, the WGA’s negotiating committee blasted the leading agencies CAA, UTA and WME for owning the

ABC is set to become the second of the major networks to no longer use Live+Same Day figures to measure the performance of its shows (with the exception of live programming), according to an internal memo sent out by ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke. The move comes four years after Fox chose to do the

Will Graham, under his his Field Trip Productions banner, has renewed his first-look deal at Amazon. As part of his new deal, Graham has joined the upcoming Amazon series “Daisy Jones & The Six,” on which he will serve as showrunner. Best on the best-selling novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, “Daisy Jones & The Six”

“Nightly Business Report,” the PBS program that started in 1979 and became TV’s longest-running business-news broadcast, is set to cease production by the end of the year. CNBC, which picked up production of the show in 2013, has decided to end its association with the show, according to people familiar with the matter. “NBR,” originally

Rick Ludwin, the longtime NBC executive who championed “Seinfeld” and worked in late-night from the Johnny Carson era through Jimmy Fallon, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 71. Ludwin was well-liked throughout the TV industry and was highly regarded as a student of the medium. He retired from NBC after 31

November 11, 2019 12:05PM PT Apple’s Kim Rozenfeld is exiting his post as head of current scripted programming and unscripted at Apple, shortly after the launch of the tech giant’s streaming service, Apple TV Plus. The TV exec will now work with the Cupertino behemoth through his company Half Full Productions, as part of a

Live-action drama “Titans” has been renewed for a third season at DC Universe. The news comes ahead of the conclusion of the 13-episode second season, which launched on the streaming service back in September. New episodes of the show drop on Fridays. The third season is slated to drop in Fall 2020. In the second

The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) strides across a barren landscape towards a solitary drinking hole, his boots clinking like a cowboy’s spurs as he walks. Inside, he swiftly dispatches a group of vagabonds with his two fists and one blaster, whipping the weapon around like a gunslinger who can shoot faster than his own shadow. “Star

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, Disney Plus launches with Jon Favreau’s “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian,” and “The

CBS has announced the premiere date for the final season of “Criminal Minds,” as well as for its two new midseason dramas. The 15th and last season of the Jeff Davis-created show will be given a two-hour premiere on Jan. 8. The day before that, “FBI” spinoff “FBI: Most Wanted” debuts in the 10 p.m. time

WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin is returning to the WWE Network with a brand new interview series. The company’s branded streaming service will air the monthly series “’Stone Cold’ Steve Austin: The Broken Skull Sessions,” with the first episode set to air on Nov. 24 at approximately 10:30 p.m. ET after the annual WWE

With a strong “” showing on NBC and general stability across the TV ratings on Sunday night, things didn’t look so rosy for “Madam Secretary” on CBS. The Tea Leoni show sank to a new series low 0.3 rating among adults 18-49, the previous low being a 0.38 achieved two weeks back. This week, “60 Minutes”

Norah O’Donnell, Lester Holt and David Muir often journey to global hot spots and scenes of national interest. In recent weeks they’ve been engaged in travel of a different sort – through time. ABC, NBC and CBS have all begun re-airing their various evening-news programs in the early morning via a select group of stations

French-German broadcaster Arte is teaming with U.K.-based production house Vernon Films to co-produce Ilinca Călugăreanu’s non-scripted hybrid miniseries “Celluloid Dreams.” Stefan Kloos’ German production company Kloos & Co, whose co-production credits take in Oscar-nominated documentary “Last Men in Aleppo,” is also on board for the project. Romanian-born writer-director Călugăreanu is best known for her debut

Leading U.K.-based indie Zig Zag Productions has recruited award-winning producer and showrunner Ronnie Krensel to lead its U.S. business. He will be EVP, Zig Zag USA, and take charge of development and pitching projects to networks, cable channels, and streamers based in the U.S. Krensel has created and produced shows for numerous U.S. outlets, including

November 10, 2019 6:16PM PT E! is set to revive its talk show comedy roundup series “The Soup” with Brazilian-born comedian Jade Catta-Preta. It’s set to premiere early next year as a weekly half-hour series. The enduring franchise that began on E! as “Talk Soup” in 1991 features a comedic take on outrageous highlights from

In another step toward integrating CBS and Viacom’s assets following the merger of the two entertainment entities earlier this year, CBS chief creative officer David Nevins is adding oversight of Viacom-owned BET Networks, while MTV/VH1 chief Chris McCarthy will take over Comedy Central, Paramount Network and other channels as longtime Comedy Central chief Kent Alterman

November 9, 2019 7:02AM PT President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to blast as “fake news” a report earlier this week that he is planning to develop a TV series with “The Apprentice” creator Mark Burnett following his time in the White House. On Thursday, the Daily Beast reported that Trump has

Charlie Higson, British writer and actor, known for his “Young Bond” novel series, has boarded “Curse of the Kohinoor,” a recently announced Anglo-Indian heist series, as its co-writer. He will join Farrukh Dhondy (“Mangal Pandey: The Rising”), screenwriter and former Channel 4 commissioning editor for multicultural programming, on the project. The thriller recounts a plot

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announces the premiere date for “Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show” and the CW releases its 2020 midseason premiere dates.  BEHIND THE SCENES “The Bold Type” actor Melora Hardin is set to make her television directorial debut with an episode of Season 4 of the Freeform drama, Variety has learned exclusively.

November 8, 2019 2:43PM PT “This Is Us” has easily emerged as the top rated show other than football for the week of Oct. 28 after three days of delayed viewing. The NBC drama, which has been tussling at the top of the TV ratings with Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” grew 71% among adults 18-49

Katie Couric discussed Matt Lauer, the Me Too movement and female leadership in business at the Dress for Success annual Women Who Inspire breakfast in New York City on Wednesday. Couric, who spoke during a fireside chat at the nonprofit’s female empowerment event, was asked about Lauer’s ouster from the “Today” show, and the many

With Hollywood already fearing a strike, the Writers Guild of America has appointed more than two dozen members to serve on its negotiating committee for upcoming negotiations on its master contract. The current three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires on May 1. The guild’s seven-month standoff with agencies

Showtime’s upcoming “Halo” series has added three more series regulars. Danny Sapani, Olive Gray, and Charlie Murphy have all joined the show, which is based on the video game franchise of the same name and is set to begin production this month in Budapest. They join previously announced series lead Pablo Schrieber, who will play

NBC has set its midseason premiere dates, including that of the highly anticipated adaptation of Jeffrey Deaver’s bestselling crime novel “The Bone Collector.” The three new shows whose debut dates have been revealed are “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector,” premiering Jan. 10 in the Friday 8 p.m. time slot, “Indebted,” debuting Feb. 6

“Sesame Street” bowed 50 years ago, on Nov. 10, 1969, one week after the launch of PBS. A month later, Variety reporter Les Brown gushed, “It may be just the show to put public television on the ratings map.”  He was right. “Sesame Street” drew 1.9 million households — especially impressive since it was seen