Television

Darren Star, the creator of “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Melrose Place” and “Sex and the City” who was celebrated at Mipcom on Monday and named patron of the upcoming Canneseries festival, said the iconic TV series he created struck a chord throughout the world because of their relatable characters and cultural grounding. “I never thought of

October 15, 2019 4:16PM PT For the first time since Nancy Pelosi launched the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, the top 12 Democratic primary candidates will take part in a debate. This marks the fourth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 campaign season. The event is co-hosted by CNN and the New York Times and

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix unveiled the premiere dates for its upcoming holiday programming and the CW renewed “The Outpost.” DATES  Netflix has announced the release dates for all of its upcoming holiday series and films. Beginning Nov. 1, the streaming service will kick off the holiday season with “Holiday in the Wild” starring

Netflix has taken global rights to the first season of “Avlu,” the Turkish adaption of Fremantle’s hit Australian prison drama “Wentworth.” Produced by Hayri Aslan and Limon Film, “Avlu” is set in a female prison in Istanbul, and has the same characters as the Australian original, all trying to survive life behind bars. The deal with Netflix was brokered by

The planned Disney Plus series centered on “Rogue One” character Cassian Andor is bringing in the film’s co-writer, Tony Gilroy, Variety has learned exclusively. Gilroy is set to write the pilot for the series in addition to directing multiple episodes. He will work alongside Stephen Schiff, who remains onboard as showrunner. No official premiere date

October 15, 2019 1:38PM PT Three new fall shows have doubled their ratings after seven days of delayed viewing. The dark Fox show “Evil” went from a 0.6 rating to a 1.2, while ABC dramas “Stumptown” and “Emergence” jumped up to a 1.5 and a 1.3 from a 0.7 and a 0.6 in Live+Same Day

“Succession” concluded its second season with a tense Roy family yacht trip, watched by over 1 million total viewers. According to HBO, 1.1 million total viewers tuned in to Sunday’s finale across all platforms, which is up 12% on the season 1 closer which garnered 1 million sets of eyeballs. The premium cabler expects total

CANNES —  The L.A. Screenings represented the coming out of Viacom International Studios, which hit the market, then Conecta Fiction in Spain, with a powerful presentation of trailers. The Conecta Fiction lineup signaled that VIS is also open to co-production and collaboration with creators in not only Latin America but far beyond; “To Catch a

Lagardère Studios is ramping up its content strategy with launch of Cameron’s, a new production label dedicated to international programming. Cameron’s is being created by Jean-Charles Felli and Christophe Tomas, who previously founded Save Ferris Studios. The label will be delivering content mainly for streaming services. Felli and Tomas have tapped Gregory Cantien as managing

October 15, 2019 12:00PM PT CBS has given out a put pilot order for a comedy set in the world of eSports, Variety has learned. The untitled single-camera series follows a recently retired pro basketball star who attempts to reconnect with his estranged son by buying an eSports franchise. Dan Kopelman will write and executive

Damon Lindelof disagrees with Martin Scorsese about his recent claims that Marvel movies don’t qualify as cinema. The director’s proclamation, along with the polarized critical reception of “Joker,” are the latest salvos in a long history of questioning comic book movies’ place in cinematic history. The lingering question: Can superhero fare be considered “high art?”

Kevin Feige’s universe continues to grow. The mastermind of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been named Chief Creative Officer, Marvel in addition to being president of Marvel Studios, Variety has learned. He will now be responsible for the overall creative direction of Marvel’s storytelling across mediums, including publishing, film, TV, and animation. Marvel Television and

HBO is developing a series adaptation of the Claire Lombardo novel “The Most Fun We Ever Had” with Amy Adams and Laura Dern onboard as executive producers. Described as a multigenerational saga spanning half a century, the story follows four sisters, each struggling to exist in the shadow of their parents’ idyllic marriage, whose lives

This is “The One Where Jennifer Aniston Joins Instagram and Crashes It With a Selfie.”  Aniston made her Instagram debut on Tuesday morning by sharing a photo of her and her five co-stars from the classic NBC sitcom “Friends.” The selfie, featuring Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc, temporarily crashed

It’s been rare in recent decades that Latin American free to air tv has ventured into social drama as the realism needed to handle the genre has often been deemed to gritty to be entertaining. That’s not been the case for Brazil’s Globo however, which has moved waves and dales, which reaping prizes, with series

The long-awaited publication of Ronan Farrow’s book “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators” has unleashed a furor within NBC News. “Catch and Kill,” set for release Oct. 15, portrays NBC News and its leaders as compromised while Farrow pursued the story of sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein — because

The Oct. 12 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets in the Chinese city of Shenzhen might have seemed like business as usual, with thousands of basketball fans out in force for the rare opportunity to see their beloved NBA teams compete live. But below the surface, tensions were high at the

One of Norah O’Donnell’s highest-profile moments since taking over as anchor at “CBS Evening News” in July didn’t occur behind the desk of the venerable program. In late September, O’Donnell snared a much-coveted interview with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and immediately pressed him about the assassination of journalist Jamal Khash­ogghi, which the CIA

Keeley Hawes will take the title role in “Finding Alice,” a drama series for ITV about a woman who loses her husband in a freak accident only to find he has left her to unravel a trail of secrets, debt and criminality. Hawes, who is hot off her star turn in Emmy-nominated “Bodyguard,” created the

Cineflix Rights has pre-sold Australian wildlife documentary series “Inside Taronga Zoo” to Nat Geo Wild for the U.S. and More 4 for the U.K. The 10 part series is produced by McAvoy Media for Nine Network Australia, where it will air as “Taronga: Who’s Who In The Zoo.” “Inside Taronga Zoo” follows the 240 keepers and vets caring for

“Watchmen,” the 1980s DC Comics series whose popularity demands adaptation and whose singular vision makes that near-impossible, might be too much itself to bring out the best in any artist. But it has brought out the most in Damon Lindelof. As a follow-up to HBO’s “The Leftovers,” Lindelof returns to the cabler to remix and

Montreal-based producer and distributor Reel One Entertainment has partnered with U.S. producer Element 8 Entertainment and Paris-based La Sabotière to develop an anthology series based on the novels of American crime writer Mary Higgins Clark. U.S. screenwriter and author Ilene Rosenzweig, whose credits include “Station 19” and “Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce,” is attached as writer

In Variety’s third Mipcom Roundup Alibaba’s streaming platform Youku gets BBC programs, Lagardère buys full ownership of Barcelona’s Veranda, Banijay rolls out Guinness World Records series, Blue Ant International sells and renews and All3Media Intl. extends into Japan and Taiwan. All3Media Strikes Deals in Japan, Taiwan All3Media has grown its footprint in Asia thanks to newly announced

CANNES —  Forging what could well be a fertile relationship, Studiocanal has sold North American SVOD rights on Canal Plus Creation Original “Vernon Subutex,” and “Pros and Cons,” from Denmark’s SAM Productions, to First Look Media’s Topic. Targeting “culture cravers,” “an audience deeply involved in social, political and cultural issues of today,” general manger Ryan

Endeavor Content has closed a co-production deal for Glassman Media’s hit gameshow “Spin the Wheel” with France’s leading commercial network, TF1. The deal marks the first major international primetime commission for the show. Production is set to start in early 2020 and TF1 will air it on primetime. Glassman Media will be building an international

A new kind of reality TV format is hitting Mipcom. AGC Television, the TV production and distribution unit of Stuart Ford’s indie content studio, AGC Studios, has joined forces with Emmy-winning executive producer Gretchen Goldsmith to produce a new hybrid format called “The Fandom.” This is the first music/reality show from AGC TV, which has

October 14, 2019 8:00PM PT U.S.-based producer and distributor Electric Entertainment is launching Electric Now, a linear OTT channel that will feature its top series and library content. The channel will have episodes of “The Outpost,” the fantasy-adventure series that has just had its third season greenlit by U.S. network The CW. The new season

It’s no secret that many assistants in Hollywood bear heavy workloads for low pay. But the entertainment industry’s labor practices when it comes to those workers have now become the subject of intense social-media scrutiny. TV writer and WGA board member Liz Alper shone a light on the issue Monday with the creation of the

October 14, 2019 5:14PM PT Megyn Kelly is returning to Fox News Channel – briefly. Tucker Carlson has scheduled an interview Wednesday with the former Fox News and NBC News anchor, who will make her first appearance on her former employer’s programming since leaving in early 2017. The “Tucker Carlson Tonight” segment would also mark

October 14, 2019 4:01PM PT Hit BBC thriller “Doctor Foster” is to be remade in India following the sale of the scripted format to streaming platform Hotstar Specials. Disney-owned Hotstar has collaborated with BBC Studios to adapt the series for Indian audiences. Indian filmmakers Tigmanshu Dhulia and Aijza Khan are directing the show, which is