Television

Amazon has picked up “The Expanse” for a fifth season. The announcement was made during the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Saturday. Season 4 of the series is set to debut on Dec. 13. “The Expanse” aired its first three seasons on Syfy, with the cable networking having cancelled the series back in

July 27, 2019 9:16AM PT Amazon has renewed “Carnival Row” for a second season. The news comes before the Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne show has even debuted. The series is set in a Victorian fantasy world filled with mythological immigrant creatures whose exotic homelands were invaded by the empires of man. This growing population

July 27, 2019 9:00AM PT Amazon has ordered a series from two of the executive producers behind “Homeland.” “The Banker’s Wife,” an international thriller based on the best-selling novel by Cristina Alger, has been handed an eight-episode order by the streamer. Meredith Stiehm will write all eight episodes, with fellow “Homeland” executive producer Lesli Linka

Lena Waithe has signed a new overall deal at Amazon. The announcement was made at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Saturday. Waithe already has a two-season commitment at Amazon for the horror anthology series “THEM,” and will create and produce other original series under the new deal. She had previously been set

July 27, 2019 8:30AM PT Amazon announced the creative team behind the upcoming “Lord of the Rings” series during the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Saturday. Joining the previously announced behind-the-scenes members of the series are: executive producers Lindsey Weber (“10 Cloverfield Lane”), Bruce Richmond (“Game of Thrones”), Gene Kelly (“Boardwalk Empire”), and

Vice Media is in discussions to acquire online publisher Refinery29, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The talks are reportedly ongoing and may not result in an offer. Bringing the two online media brands together would expand Vice’s core audience, which is largely male. Refinery29’s content includes verticals on

There’s a place in people’s home for Starz’s streaming service, asserted Starz COO Jeffrey Hirsch at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour Friday, pushing back against the idea that it’s tough for a smaller over-the-top platform to compete with Netflix and others. “Netflix has done a phenomenal job of convincing everybody in this room and

July 26, 2019 3:35PM PT In today’s roundup, Hulu will soon stream 1980’s comedy series “Designing Women” and Comedy Central announces new Comedy Fellowship with Sundance Institute.  ACQUISITIONS  Hulu has acquired the rights to comedy “Designing Women” from Sony Pictures Television. The series, which aired from 1986 to 1993, chronicles the life of design firm

John Ferriter, a prominent WMA television agent for two decades, died Thursday at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from complications from pancreatitis. He was 59. Jamie Gruttermeyer, Ferriter’s partner at management firm the Alternative, confirmed his death to Variety. Ferriter launched the Alternative in 2015 after five years at Octagon Entertainment. Ferriter was a

July 26, 2019 2:39PM PT Starz has canceled “Now Apocalypse” after just one season. The announcement was made at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Friday. “’Now Apocalypse’ is a great show, as we all know it’s been a really good experiment, but we have made the decision not to bring it back,”

Starz is expanding its slate of historical dramas, which includes “Outlander” and “The Spanish Princess,” with a series order for another period piece. The network has committed to an eight-episode season of “Dangerous Liaisons” which is based on the 18th century French epistolary novel of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. “Dangerous Liaisons”

The cast of HBO’s latest controversial series, “The Righteous Gemstones,” had one thing on their minds at Thursday night’s premiere at Paramount Studios — male genitalia. While “Game of Thrones” inspired many a think piece over its so-called “peen problem” (and gratuitous female nudity), no one can accuse this comedy about a sinful televangelical dynasty

July 26, 2019 12:45PM PT Fox has ordered a third season of “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back.” The show features Ramsay traveling to struggling restaurants around the country in his mobile kitchen and command center, Hell on Wheels, as he goes in undercover to see their problems first-hand. After that, Ramsay and

It’s good to see Vince McMahon understand that for his World Wrestling Entertainment empire to take a step forward, he needs to take a step back. After offering excuses for WWE’s poor creative product on previous earnings calls, the WWE CEO wisely acknowledged Thursday that two new hires he made earlier this month freed him

July 26, 2019 12:40PM PT Actor Gabe Khouth, known for his role on ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” died unexpectedly on July 23 following a cardiac arrest. He was 46. Khouth’s friend Peter Kelamis, a fellow actor and comedian, took to Twitter on Thursday morning to confirm the news, writing, “On July 23rd, my friend,

Sony opens Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” on July 26, close to the 50th anniversary of the murder of Sharon Tate and four others. A front-page Variety story on Aug. 11, 1969, two days after the killings, said police described the scene as “a ritualistic mass murder.” Showbiz has since then

Netflix has picked up animated comedy “Big Mouth” for Seasons 4, 5, and 6, Variety has confirmed. The renewal is part of a new multi-year deal the streamer has signed with newly-formed animation company Brutus Pink. The company is comprised of Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, the team behind the series. Under the

Contract talks between satellite-broadcaster Dish and a passel of regional sports cable networks in process of being sold by Walt Disney have reached an impasse, meaning that Dish subscribers are at present not able to gain access to outlets such as Fox Sports Arizona and Fox Sports SportsTime Ohio. In almost all cases, the 16

July 26, 2019 9:30AM PT Mahershala Ali is having a busy summer. In the space of the last two weeks, the two-time Academy Award winner has been nominated for an Emmy, was unveiled as the face of Marvel’s new “Blade” reboot during a surprise Comic-Con appearance, and is now set to join season 2 of

Offred and co. are coming back for more. Hulu has renewed “The Handmaid’s Tale” for a fourth outing. The news comes with three episodes of the third season still to air. “Handmaid’s” has become a signature original series for Hulu, which claims that it is the most watched show, original or acquired, on the streaming

Amy Schumer is coming to Hulu. Variety has learned that Schumer has set a first-look deal with the streamer. The first project under that deal will be the half-hour comedy series “Love, Beth,” which Schumer will star in, write, direct, and executive produce. The series has received a ten episode first season order and is

A third season of “Big Little Lies” seems unlikely, but some inventive viewers might be wondering whether a spinoff could be an option. It wouldn’t be completely out of character with the series — the A-list drama, which was adapted from Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name, began as a limited series and was

As moderator of one of the nation’s longest-running Sunday news programs, Margaret Brennan often finds herself jousting with top government officials. She says she’s looking for facts, not a fight. “There is a place for the hot take. There is a place for the tweet,” says Brennan. But CBS’ “Face The Nation,” she says, is

The ladies of Litchfield Penitentiary are leaving us. The cast and crew of Netflix’s game-changing original series “Orange is the New Black” gathered at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on Thursday night for a screening of the show’s first episode of the seventh and final season. “I think [with our show] the conversation

In this week’s International TV Newswire, Amazon announces a raft of international original programming, the European Animation Awards (Emile Awards) get postponed, Fremantle picks up two new executives, Viacom announces an English-language adaptation of Argentine hit “100 Days to Fall in Love,” and ITV and Alchemy Entertainment sign a first look deal. Amazon’s Big International Week In

Ryan Murphy has politics on the brain. Not only is he getting ready to see the launch of his new Netflix series “The Politician” in September, but he’s keeping an eye on the 2020 election. He’s already hosted a fundraiser at his home for Sen. Kamala Harris. “My dream ticket would be Kamala Harris and

It was only a matter of time before Netflix’s days of renewing everything came to an end. As much as the streaming platform keeps expanding, it’s also keeping a keener eye on its overall programming, making cuts even when it goes out of its way to profess that the decisions are more difficult than we

July 25, 2019 4:15PM PT “ER” producer Neal Baer is among the creatives teaming with Endemol Shine North America’s Authentic Entertainment on a new unscripted series entitled “The Mystery of the 1957 Gay Wedding Photos.” The series investigates a collection of photos which are among the first to document a gay wedding in the U.S.,

In today’s roundup, NBC sets premiere date for new late night series “A Little Late with Lilly Singh,” and Netflix’s “Orange Is The New Black” launches a new initiative supporting eight non-profit organizations.  CASTING Xosha Roquemore and Alano Miller have been cast as the lead couple, Gently James and Evan Fisher, in the new OWN

July 25, 2019 3:37PM PT In another victory for the Writers Guild of America, the Buchwald Talent Agency has signed the WGA’s three-month-old Code of Conduct that allows the agency to represent WGA members. It’s the third mid-sized Hollywood agency that’s agreed to abide by the terms of the new rules following Verve and Kaplan