Television

“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” crashing host Dakota Johnson‘s opening monologue as she bantered with the night’s musical guest, Justin Timberlake. Johnson opened the show by noting it was her first visit to Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8-H since 2015, when she first hosted “SNL” on the heels

Tom Johnson, a writer and comedian whose credits include “The Daily Show,” “Lopez Tonight” and “The Jeselnik Offensive,” died Jan. 14 in his Los Angeles home. He was 55. Johnson was hired on the original staff of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” with host Craig Kilborn in 1996. He remained on staff when Jon Stewart

Comedian Bert Kreischer is sticking with Netflix, signing with the streamer to film two more stand-up comedy specials. This reps the fourth and fifth specials for Kreischer at Netflix, following “Razzle Dazzle” (2023), “Hey Big Boy” (2020), and “Secret Time” (2018). The first of the two specials will be filmed by Kreischer at the Mahaffey

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from the two-episode premiere of “Expats,” now streaming on Prime Video. Lulu Wang can’t escape Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” At first, the acclaimed writer-director of “The Farewell” thought she was just hyper aware of the 1978 classic after she’d handpicked it to score the single moment of genuine happiness

JoJo Siwa is returning to “So You Think You Can Dance” as a judge for the show’s reimagined Season 18. Siwa, who was previously a judge on the show’s Season 17 in 2022, replaces Nigel Lythgoe — who stepped down earlier this month in the wake of two lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. Siwa

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “Adios, Miami,” the series finale of “Griselda,” now streaming on Netflix. When viewers arrive at the end of Netflix’s new limited series “Griselda” — about the life and crimes of feared drug lord Griselda Blanco — they might be surprised to learn there is a lot more to the

Rod Holcomb, an Emmy-winning TV director of “ER,” “Lost” and other series, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 80. Holcomb was best known for directing both the pilot and the series finale of “ER,” winning an Emmy for that farewell episode in 2009. He was nominated four four Primetime Emmys over his career, and

Hayden Panettiere said in a recent interview with The Messenger that filming “Nashville” was “very traumatizing because I felt like I was acting out my own life.” The actor played country pop singer Juliette Barnes on the ABC musical drama, which ran for six seasons and 124 episodes between 2012 and 2018. Panettiere suggested the show’s

Fisher King, the leading Finnish company behind some of Scandinavia’s biggest scripted hits including “Bordertown” and “The Helsinki Syndrome,” has gone bankrupt amid challenges that have thrown the Scandinavian TV industry into turmoil. Beta Film, which acquired Fisher King in 2019 and subsequently launched the umbrella banner Beta Nordic Studios, said the company was declared

Discovery Channel’s hit franchises, like “Gold Rush” and “Deadliest Catch,” featured plenty of blood and sweat. But where were the tears? That’s something Howard Lee immediately began asking, upon taking control of the network at the end of 2022. After Lee was handed the keys to Discovery that December, “I spent my entire Christmas vacation

“Elsbeth,” the spinoff of “The Good Wife” coming to CBS on Feb. 29, has set a list of guest stars including Jane Krakowski, Linda Lavin, Retta and Blair Underwood. They join previously announced guest star Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The series follows Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), an astute but unconventional attorney who makes unique observations and

A cast member on an as-of-yet unaired season of “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” sued Bravo on Friday, alleging she was sexually harassed and assaulted by Brandi Glanville, a fellow cast member, during filming in Morocco. Caroline Manzo, who previously appeared on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” alleges that Glanville forcibly kissed her

Tom Hopper has been cast in a key role in the upcoming “Terminal List” prequel series at Amazon‘s Prime Video, Variety has learned exclusively. Hopper will star in the series, officially titled “Terminal List: Dark Wolf,” in the series regular role of Raife Hastings. Hastings is described as “a hunter, protector, guardian and Navy SEAL.”

“News of a Kidnapping,” created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, has picked up more recognition at the Rose d’Or Latinos. The dramatic series, which won a Platino Award last April for best dramatic series, added to its collection of prizes at the inaugural event held at Content Americas in Miami on Jan. 23. The

In her stunning and unsettling Prime Video limited series “Expats,” creator-writer-director LuLu Wang turns her lens on three American women living in Hong Kong whose lives are transformed into something so warped and raw that they are no longer able to cover the imperfections. As in her acclaimed 2019 feature film, “The Farewell,” Wang explores

Hyundai hasn’t put a commercial in the Super Bowl since 2020. On Sunday, it hopes its newest auto ad makes people think of the stuff they might see in the Big Game. The automaker will take to the NFL‘s AFC and NFC Championship Games on Sunday to launch the 2024 Santa Fe — a familiar

When the news came out in December that “The Grand Tour” — Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond’s post-“Top Gear” automotive series — would be coming to an end, fans were left wondering why. But, in a new interview with The Times, Clarkson has delivered a cheeky yet straightforward answer: it’s because he’s “unfit

Just a week after wrapping on Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” biopic, Austin Butler arrived in the U.K. to start work on Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ epic World War II drama “Masters of the Air.” He was joined on the Amblin and Playtone co-production by a cast who, like Butler, are poised to become the next

Lucy van Beek, the award-winning factual TV and film specialist, has launched her own production outfit, Tailfeather Productions. The company, whose focus will be premium specialist factual documentaries and series for streaming platforms, broadcasters and theatrical release, launches with two major commissions, “Alexander: The Making of a God” for Netflix and “Born to Be Wild”

Banijay Benelux’s Belgian banner Jonnydepony has set rising star Willem De Schryver from Netflix’s YA hit show” High Tides” (“Knokke Off”) for the title role of “I Was a Cop in the 80s,” ordered by Amazon Prime Netherlands and Flemish streamer Streamz. The period crime drama in development will be pitched by seasoned showrunner Philippe

Seasoned actor Tinna Hrafnsdóttir (“The Minister,” “The Valhalla Murders”) has joined Icelandic counterparts Aníta Briem (“The Tudors”, “As Long as We Live”) and Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir (“Paris of the North”, “Happily Never After”), successful female actors who have made with panache the leap to screenwriting, sharing the distinction of a nomination for best screenplay of a

Chosen by Variety as one of 10 Euro Directors to Watch at 2013’s Karlovy Vary’ with her debut “Eat Sleep Die,” a Venice Critics Week winner, Sweden’s Gabriela Pichler confirmed her unique voice with her sophomore pic “Amateurs”, voted best Nordic film at the 2018 Göteborg Film Festival. At this year’s 47th festival, she makes her comeback with “Painkiller,”

In the final chapter of Apple TV+‘s “Masters of the Air,” a despondent Holocaust survivor reflects on burying every member of his family. He says, “To live, one must make choices.” The circumstances of war and survival make these decisions more complex and heart-wrenching. Based on the authoritative account by World War II historian Donald

Solo shows can be a blessing and a curse; they can be some of the most amazing theater you’ve ever seen… or an overindulgent trainwreck. Comedian Kate Berlant has somehow managed to capture the ineffable magic of both experiences with her one-woman show “Kate,” directed by Bo Burnham and now playing at the Pasadena Playhouse

PBS and ABC News were among the top winners at the duPont-Columbia Awards, some of the top honors accorded each year to audio and video reporting done in the public interest. The 15 award winners of 2024 were announced Thursday during a special ceremony. The awards have been administered since 1968 by Columbia University’s Graduate

“Succession” Emmy winner Sarah Snook said on a recent episode of BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program that she was too “young and naive” to push back against a film producer who openly berated her for eating cake on set. It was one of two instances of body shaming that Snook remembered during an interview with The

Paramount has decided to not move forward with a second season of “Wolf Pack,” Variety has confirmed. Based on Edo Van Belkom’s book series and created by Jeff Davis, the show follows two teens whose lives are changed when a California wildfire awakens a supernatural creature. Season 1 aired in Jan 2023 alongside the “Teen

If there’s an Avengers of television directors, “The Last of Us” just assembled it. The juggernaut HBO series has landed a murderer’s row of directing talent for Season 2: Mark Mylod, who just won an Emmy for his work on the final season of HBO’s “Succession”; Kate Herron, who directed every episode of the first

The Directors Guild of America, the Hollywood union that did not strike last year, told members Thursday that it has won additional gains, including a viewership bonus for streaming shows. DGA members will get a 50% residual bump for work on the most-watched shows on streaming platforms, matching the terms won by the Writers Guild

Felix Solis, Brooke Smith, Omar Maskati, Alana Hawley Purvis, Devika Bhise, James Purefoy, Do Hyun Shin, Young-Ah Kim, and Sanghee Lee have joined the cast of Netflix‘s “The Recruit” for Season 2, which is currently in production in Vancouver, Canada. The streamer also announced that filming will additionally take place in Seoul, South Korea. Solis