September 27, 2019 1:19AM PT Beta Film has added two more high-profile Spanish scripted series from Movistar Plus to its lineup ahead of Mipcom. The Germany-based content outfit has a history of selling Spanish drama globally, and has snagged the rights to action-thriller “La Unidad” and drama series “Tell Me Who I Am.” The scripted
Television
A detail on “Raising Dion,” Netflix’s new family drama about a boy with remarkable abilities, signals quite how far the streamer’s ambitions for this show might extend. Jason Ritter’s character Pat, a geek immersed in comic book lore and thus the person on this show best able to understand the story he finds himself in,
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Just days after Amazon Studios’ “Fleabag” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” earned the studio several top honors at the Emmys, studio head Jennifer Salke switched gears from television to film, outlining the streaming service’s movie strategy and defending the performance of Mindy Kaling’s “Late Night.” Speaking at the Paley Center for
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the sixth and final season premiere of “How To Get Away With Murder,” entitled “Say Goodbye.” For five seasons on “How To Get Away With Murder,” lawyer and professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) was involved, to various degrees, in other deaths. But this time, it
It’s been quite a week for “Pose” star Billy Porter. “You know, it’s a whirlwind. I’m trying to breathe, trying to take it all in, you know. It’s a lot coming at me and I feel very blessed,” Porter told Variety on the red carpet Wednesday for the opening night of “Little Shop of Horrors” at Pasadena
WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey has asserted that the entertainment giant must improve its efforts in diversity and inclusion — while insisting he’s proud of the work done so far. Stankey made the statement Thursday as part of the release of WarnerMedia’s first-ever annual report looking at diversity, inclusion and belonging across both its corporate operations
“Modern Family” co-creator Steve Levitan is extending his relationship with 20th Century Fox Television, inking a multi-year overall deal at the studio and effectively joining the Walt Disney family. He will create, write, develop, direct and supervise series projects for 20th, and continue to oversee “Modern Family” with co-creator and executive producer Chris Lloyd through
In today’s TV news roundup, Starz announces new and returning cast members for “The Spanish Princess” and Bravo sets the Season 12 premiere date for “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” CASTING Hulu has announced AnnaSophia Robb will play the younger version of Reese Witherspoon’s character Elena Richardson and Tiffany Boone will play the younger version of
New Cadence Productions has set a first-look development pact with WarnerMedia to produce comedy specials and to develop a series for WarnerMedia platforms. Headed by writer-producer Jeff Valdez, New Cadence launched earlier this year as a production venture designed to develop series and other content from Latinx creators, actors, directors and producers. Valdez’s partners in
Terence Carter is leaving 20th Century Fox Television to become co-president and head of television at Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios, overseeing TV production and development there. “Terence’s deep relationships with creators, commitment to collaboration, and remarkable experience across television genres make him an excellent leader and creative force,” said Westbrook co-founders
At the eleventh hour, Endeavor has pulled its plan for a public offering of shares on Friday in the face of lukewarm investor reaction to the company’s financials and instability in the IPO market in recent weeks. A knowledgable source confirmed that Endeavor has tabled plans to go public as of Friday with an offering
The upcoming Netflix comedy series “Space Force” has added six new cast members, Variety has learned. John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Tawny Newsome, and Diana Silvers will all appear in series regular roles, while Jimmy O. Yang and Alex Sparrow have landed recurring guest star roles. They join previously announced cast member Steve Carell, who is
Apple TV Plus this month moved off a project in which Richard Gere was set to play a Vietnam veteran whose life is upended when the woman he loved 50 years ago dies in a car crash. According to the logline for the shelved series, her death leads to his and another character’s “lifelong regrets
The Stana Katic series “Absentia” has been picked up for a third season at Amazon, Variety has learned. In addition, Geoff Bell and Josette Simon are joining the cast, while Will Pascoe (“Orphan Black,” “Shut Eye”) has been tapped as executive producer and showrunner. “Absentia” centers on FBI agent Emily Byrne (Katic), and the new season opens
September 26, 2019 1:00PM PT Showtime has renewed the Kirsten Dunst-led comedy series “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” for a second season. Dunst stars as Krystal Stubbs, a minimum-wage water park employee in 1990s Florida who lies, schemes and cons her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise (FAM) — the cultish,
Subscribers to the Dish satellite service found themselves without stations and sports networks owned by Fox Corporation Thursday after the two sides found themselves at loggerheads over a new carriage deal. Dish and Fox have been haggling for weeks over new terms. And each company blamed the other for the situation. In a statement, Fox
Television executives have long maintained that every viewer counts. Never have they taken such a flurry of steps to make sure they can count every viewer. With audiences becoming consumers of video that streams from a panoply of screens, maneuvers to measure them are becoming commonplace. In recent weeks, local TV stations have declared they
“The Unicorn’s” first very smart move is to begin well into the situation it depicts. Its central character, Walton Goggins’s Wade Felton, has been mourning his wife for a year; he and his daughters (Ruby Jay and Makenzie Moss) have reached the stage of acceptance, though the white-hot heat of active grief lifting allows them
Mike Colter spent the last few years heavily immersed in the Marvel television universe as superhero Luke Cage, with a few breaks to reprise his “The Good Wife” role as a guest star on “The Good Fight.” But now he is teaming up with that showrunning duo, Robert King and Michelle King in a much
September 26, 2019 8:30AM PT Actor and producer Anthony Anderson will take part in the HGTV reboot of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” the cable network said Wednesday, joining as a guest to work with series host Jesse Tyler Ferguson. “I will be part of making a real impact on a family’s future,” said Anderson, in
BBC Studios has made progress on gender pay equality and published an action plan for further improvement, but the gap remains in double digits and men still receive far bigger bonuses, on average, than women. Figures released Thursday also show lower average pay for employees of color and for disabled and LGBTQ+ staff at the
September 26, 2019 3:06AM PT Michael Palin will be The Green Man, creator of the scarecrows, in the Mackenzie Crook adaptation of “Worzel Gummidge.” The specials will be a modern retelling of the classic stories of the eponymous walking, talking scarecrow. “The Office” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Crook is writing, directing, and taking
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched, “Mr. Jingles,” the second episode of “American Horror Story: 1984.” Last week, the main characters in “American Horror Story: 1984” decided Los Angeles was not the best scene in the summer of 1984, owing to the Olympics being in town and also crazed serial killer
With its upcoming 21st season, NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU” is primed to hit an important milestone: becoming the longest-running live-action series on a primetime network. But although its procedural format has not changed much since its inception, showrunner Warren Leight is still finding new ways to keep its storytelling fresh — from taking inspiration
September 25, 2019 7:37PM PT Former US Vice President and current US Presidential candidate Joe Biden addressed the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday. “The idea that someone would call a head of a foreign state, ahead of time withhold significant military aid that’s badly needed
The major broadcast networks and cable news outlets interrupted regular programming to air President Trump’s press conference live at the United Nations on Wednesday, the first since Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal inquiry into impeachment proceedings the day before. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox stations, as well as MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, tuned
Fox is rolling the dice on “Cousin” Sal Iacono, giving him a primetime showcase. The gambling expert and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” regular (he’s Kimmel’s real-life cousin) will be seen weekly on Fox’s “” pregame show starting Sept. 26. Iacono will appear live this week from Green Bay, where the Packers are taking on the Philadelphia
When Philip Pullman’s novel series “His Dark Materials” was at the height of its popularity in the early 2000s, Jane Tranter — then an executive at the BBC in London — bought and read the books as a fan. “This would be something perfect for the BBC,” she recalls thinking, “but the rights had already
Newly-minted Emmy winner Billy Porter can soon add another accomplishment to his resume: television director. Porter is set to direct an episode of FX’s “Pose” during its third season, Variety has learned. No word yet on which episode Porter will be helming or when the episode will head into production. Porter broke the news this week
“The Gang” is ramping up the satire for the historic 14th season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” With this latest season, the FX series has officially tied the record with “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” as the longest running live-action sitcom of all time. For a show that’s been on air for so