Now that WarnerMedia has dropped details on its standalone subscription video-on-demand streamer HBO Max, which launches in the spring of 2020, the arsenal on each front of the forthcoming streaming service battle is coming into view. HBO Max’s promised library points to a solid offense that notably includes exclusive licensing of all 10 seasons of
Television
July 10, 2019 2:57PM PT Amy Hartwick has stepped down as ABC Studios’ head of comedy, Variety has confirmed. The news of Hartwick’s departure comes on the same day as the studio revealed a significant re-shuffle at the top, which saw studio head Patrick Moran, who hired Hartwick, and business operations executive vice president Howard Davine leave
July 10, 2019 2:43PM PT Angelica Ross is adding another Ryan Murphy series to her resume. Ross, who has played Candy Abundance Ferocity on the first two seasons of the critically-acclaimed “Pose,” is joining the upcoming season of “American Story.” Murphy made the announcement via Instagram on Wednesday, less than a day after the most
Tucker Carlson said Representative Ilhan Omar “hates this country” during his Fox News program Tuesday night. The Minnesota Democrat responded by saying that the Fox News host is “a racist fool.” And so begins another contretemps in a news cycle dominated by President Donald Trump. During his 8 p.m. hour Wednesday on Fox News Channel,
Donna Speciale, a Madison Avenue veteran who has led advertising sales at WarnerMedia’s cable-TV operations since 2012, is expected to leave the company, according to four people familiar with the matter, marking the latest high-profile executive departure from the former Time Warner since AT&T acquired it in June of last year. WarnerMedia declined to comment
The late Rip Torn, who died July 9 at 88, had a career that included decade-spanning stage work, an Oscar-nominated performance in the film “Cross Creek,” and later turns in movies as wide-ranging as “Men in Black” and “Marie Antoinette.” But to legions of viewers, he’s best remembered as Artie, perhaps the one moral major
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — The phrase “New Coke” has become synonymous with corporate branding debacles. But enough time has passed since Coca-Cola fumbled the 1985 launch of a new recipe for its world-renowned fizzy soda that references to the New Coke launch in “Stranger Things 3” are not too painful for the company’s more than
The recently announced third “Walking Dead” series has cast three major roles, Variety has learned exclusively. Alexa Mansour, Nicolas Cantu, and Hal Cumpston will all star in the new series, which is said to follow two female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the zombie apocalypse. A second lead female role has
On a brisk morning in February, the members of the voice cast of Nickelodeon’s flagship animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants” gathered to work on a new episode, like they’ve done most weeks over the past 20 years. But instead of being in a recording booth, this time they’ve assembled at a diner in Castaic, Calif., shooting
Shonda Rhimes’ first upcoming Netflix show is rounding out its cast. Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page are among those joining the previously announced Julie Andrews in “Bridgerton,” which is based on Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton family novels. The series is set in the world of Regency London high society. From the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair to the
CBS is in the midst of very public will-they-or-won’t-they merger chatter as it reportedly circles Viacom, teasing a union that would promise big changes. But at CBS-owned Showtime, new co-presidents of entertainment Gary Levine and Jana Winograde are bullish that their premium cable network is established enough and autonomous enough to continue on its own merry
Imagine Entertainment’s Kids and Family division has partnered with Breyer, a maker of collectible model horses and other toys, to develop a live-action horse-themed TV series. The series will be executive produced by Imagine Entertainment chiefs Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, as well as Stephanie Sperber, president of Imagine Kids and Family. Ashley Avis, writer
Mindy Kaling’s forthcoming Netflix comedy series, based on her childhood, has cast Canadian newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in the lead role. Ramakrishnan was selected from 15,000 applicants who replied to the open casting call that Kaling posted online. Making her on-screen debut, Ramakrishnan will play Devi, an overachieving high school sophomore who has a short fuse that gets her
Everything old is new again in television. So how do you get the word out about a reboot when viewers are inundated with options? MTV assembled a “swat team” that worked for nearly a year on the development, marketing and promotion for the successful relaunch of “The Hills” reality franchise. Jacqueline Parkes, chief marketing officer
BET has appointed former Netflix exec Devin Griffin to lead its recently announced streaming service, Variety has learned. In his new role as general manager of BET+, Griffin will oversee oversee business strategy and operations for the African American targeted service, including original programming, content acquisitions, marketing, distribution, planning and analysis. It was announced that the Viacom-owned
July 10, 2019 7:03AM PT Former “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Suits” star Katherine Heigl has been cast as one of the leads in Netflix’s upcoming series adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s novel “Firefly Lane.” Heigl will play the role of Tully Hart, who is described as a magnetic, ambitious and fiercely loyal woman. The show revolves around
It’s easy to forget now how singular “Orange Is The New Black” is in the grand scheme of TV history. With its prison setting and focus on women who rarely get the spotlight, the Netflix drama changed the game by testing the limits of what streaming television could — and should — do back in
July 10, 2019 4:00AM PT Longtime NBCUniversal research executive Tony Cardinale has launched a research and consulting shingle designed to work on brand management for corporate clients and voter tracking in the political realm. American Insight & Strategy , based in Chappaqua, N.Y., aims to offer political clients a proprietary voter-sentiment tracking system, dubbed VoterDNA,
July 10, 2019 2:22AM PT Streaming service StarzPlay has snagged “Batman” prequel series “Pennyworth.” The show is for Epix in the U.S., and Starz’s international on-demand service has snagged it for the U.K. and Ireland, as well as Austria and Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Spain. It has also picked it up for Latin America. The
SPOILER ALERT: Do not keep reading if you have not seen “Pose” Season 2, Episode 4, entitled “Never Knew Love Like This Before.” The second season of “Pose” sees the story jump forward in time to 1990, putting the AIDS epidemic even more at the center of the ballroom culture drama. However, in Episode 4
In today’s TV news roundup, Hulu drops the trailer for Season 2 of “Light as a Feather” and Netflix reveals an animated series based on the video game “Cuphead” is in the works. FIRST LOOKS CREDIT: Courtesy of HBO HBO and Rai Fiction have released the first image from Season 2 of “My Brilliant Friend
George R.R. Martin has some answers for the lingering questions facing viewers about what to expect from the upcoming “Game of Thrones” prequel series. Martin, author of the “Game of Thrones” source novels, provided a few insights into Jane Goldman’s prequel pilot in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. In the original series, seven kingdoms vie
Aziz Ansari wastes no time in his new comedy special (“Right Now”) before addressing the elephant in the room. After easing into a story about dealing with a fan confusing him for Hasan Minhaj and jokingly trying to pawn off the “whole sexual misconduct” thing onto Netflix’s other prominent Indian-American guy, Ansari takes a real
Aziz Ansari delivered a sobering reflection on the 2018 sexual misconduct allegation against him in Netflix’s “Aziz Ansari Right Now,” the comedian’s first stand-up special since the accusation was published. The Spike Jonze-directed special became available for streaming on Netflix Tuesday. Ansari began the show by telling the audience, “There’s times I felt scared, there’s
Variety has hired veteran entertainment journalist Kate Aurthur as editor-at-large. Aurthur, who has worked as a top reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, will be writing high-impact cover and feature stories about the industry for Variety‘s weekly magazine, as well as breaking news on Variety.com and
July 9, 2019 10:00AM PT WarerMedia’s streaming service is developing a drama series titled “Crime Farm” with Nicole Kidman attached to executive produce, Variety has learned. The series is described as a psychosexual love story that follows Selma and Richard Eikelenboom, forensic homicide experts whose marriage thrives on their all-consuming investigations into the depravity of
“Green Book” director Peter Farrelly is the latest Oscar-level talent to join the content push at Quibi. Farrelly is developing “The Now,” a series which centers around a guy who is about to commit suicide when he finds out from his mother that his brother just committed suicide and his dad committed suicide in the
Camryn Manheim is running for SAG-AFTRA secretary-treasurer — the third-highest elected post in the union — as part of the slate for the re-election of union president Gabrielle Carteris. Manheim’s endorsers include Marcia Gay Harden, Deborah Messing, Chad Lowe, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Maria Bello, LisaGay Hamilton, Dylan McDermott and Cheryl Hines. Election
Canal Plus has confirmed its plan to slash nearly 20% of its workforce – nearly 500 jobs – in France, where the pay-TV group has been facing the continued decline of its subscriber base. Canal Plus said in a statement Tuesday that it met with the company’s social and economic committee to lay out its
July 9, 2019 7:00AM PT Get ready for more of “The Society.” Netflix has renewed the drama series for a second season. Series creator Chris Keyser will return as showrunner and executive producer on Season 2, with Marc Webb also returning as executive producer. The second season will go into production later this year for