May 22, 2019 2:00PM PT The cast of the Amazon comedy pilot “Good People” continues to grow, with Martin Short becoming the latest big name star to sign on to the project. Short joins previously announced cast members Lisa Kudrow, Greg Kinnear, and Whitney Cummings. Cummings is also writing and executive producing the pilot with
Television
As traditional ratings continue to decline, so do the networks’ reliance on those numbers as a benchmark. Nowhere was it more noticeable than at this month’s upfronts presentations in New York, where the “r” word on everyone’s tongues wasn’t “ratings” — it was “reach.” Sure, everyone still touted their No. 1 status when they could
May 22, 2019 12:35PM PT Sam Champion, one of the nation’s best-known weather anchors, will return to the station where he rose to greater fame. Walt Disney’s WABC said Champion would join its staff as a weather anchor on its weekday morning and noon newscasts. He will start Monday, June 3. He is expected to
May 22, 2019 11:53AM PT There’s something to be said for a TV show that knows exactly what its lane is and fulfills its duties enough to hold together. NBC’s “The InBetween,” Moira Kirland’s new procedural billed as a “paranormal drama,” is a fan of just about every procedural cliche in the book, right down
May 22, 2019 11:10AM PT “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is officially number one. For the first time since he took over from David Letterman in 2015, Colbert and his CBS late-night show topped NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in the adults 18-49 demographic. Colbert is averaging a 0.52 rating in the
Nickelodeon has released first-look photos from its one-hour “SpongeBob SquarePants” 20th anniversary special, “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout,” set to premiere Friday, July 12, at 7 p.m. on Nickelodeon. The special mixes live-action and animation, allowing the core voice cast of Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Carolyn
You’ll have to excuse the Television Academy if its members feel a little smug when it comes to their film counterparts. As the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences keeps wading into controversy, the TV folks in North Hollywood comparatively look like they have their act together. In particular, the Emmys were already recognizing
A new winner was crowned on “The Voice” Tuesday night. But did that champion emerge from a dark chrysalis as the world’s largest and most glittery butterfly? Sorry, Madelyn Jarmon — that is a parking spot that is still very much reserved for overall life champion Taylor Swift, who took to the NBC telecast to
Female empowerment was in the air Tuesday night as showrunners, writers and performers gathered at the 44th annual Gracie Awards to celebrate women breaking barriers and shattering glass ceilings within the entertainment industry. Sandra Oh, Patricia Arquette, Rachel Maddow and Connie Britton were among the honorees at the ceremony, which took place at the Beverly
Since a ruling by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2014 that cleared the use of drones in film and TV production, the acquisition of footage by these unmanned flying machines has become de rigueur for aerial shooting in cases when cranes or aircraft are impractical or unsafe. As such, drones have been greeted enthusiastically not
Hannah Brown is one of the most honest stars of “The Bachelorette” the franchise has ever seen, and in just the two weeks her season has been airing, the reality star’s willingness to be open has gotten a lot of attention — specifically, a moment in which she firmly exclaims, “I have had sex and
Not everyone is satisfied with the way that “Game of Thrones” ended Sunday night. And that, according to HBO programming president Casey Bloys, was to be expected. Speaking to Variety, Bloys praised series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for their work bringing the premium service’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novels to a
Over the course of history, comedians have shared their take on current events with biting commentary on everything from class and gender to fashion and politics, and the current presidential administration is definitely no exception — with President Donald Trump regularly lampooned on shows like “Saturday Night Live” and by late-night TV hosts. But when
Chef, restaurateur and entrepreneur Guy Fieri has a self-titled hit Food Network series (“Guy’s Ranch Kitchen”) in production, but it’s far from the only thing he’s looking forward to this year. On May 22 the shock-haired celeb chef — only the third in his field behind Wolfgang Puck and Bobby Flay — will be honored
May 22, 2019 2:09AM PT The BBC will air a spoof talk-show fronted by an animated Vladimir Putin. The U.K. pubcaster has ordered two pilot episodes of “Tonight With Vladimir Putin,” a semi-scripted talk show hosted by a CGI representation of the Russian leader. The first guest will be Alistair Campbell, a former high-ranking political
It’s probably no surprise that Norman Lear has seen his relevancy rise even higher in recent years. Lear’s classic 1970s sitcoms, such as “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “Good Times” and “The Jeffersons,” feel just as applicable today as they did 40 years ago. And that’s part of the motivation behind ABC’s Wednesday night special
Millions of people’s Sunday night routines are ruined now that “Game of Thrones” is over, and there are holes in their hearts as big as the hole in The Wall that are aching for a new fantasy series to fill them. Several prequel series are on their way, but as there’s no word on just
Director Allen Hughes, who helmed the award-winning HBO documentary “The Defiant Ones,” has closed a deal with Tupac Shakur’s estate for a five-part docuseries for which he will have full access to all of the late rapper’s released and unreleased recordings, writings and poetry, according to an announcement from his rep. The announcement says the
Ellen DeGeneres is sticking with her daytime talk show. DeGeneres announced Tuesday that she has signed a new deal to continue hosting “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” through 2022. There had been rumors for some time that DeGeneres was planning to leave the show when her current contract was up in 2020, something she leaned into
Ellen DeGeneres Signs New Deal for ‘The Ellen Show’ Through 2022 – Variety You will be redirected back to your article in seconds May 21, 2019 4:50PM PT Ellen DeGeneres is sticking with her daytime talk show. DeGeneres announced Tuesday that she has signed a new deal to continue hosting “The Ellen Show” through 2022.
YouTube could be the key to Will Smith finally earning a Primetime Emmy nomination — or win. The superstar Formerly Known as the Fresh Prince has been nominated for two Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and one Screen Actors Guild Award, and has won four Grammys (out of eight nominations). Yet a Primetime Emmy nomination
May 21, 2019 4:34PM PT [embedded content] Anyone who has seen Celine Dion’s long-running Las Vegas show knows she plays the comedienne almost as much as chanteuse, with a goofball quality that came in especially handy on a Monday night edition of James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke.” The 15-minute segment ended with Dion and Corden trading
Greg Kinnear has signed on to star in the Amazon comedy pilot from Lee Daniels and Whitney Cummings, Variety has learned. Kinnear joins previously announced cast members Lisa Kudrow and Cummings, the latter of whom is co-writing the series with Lee Daniels in addition to starring and executive producing. Titled “Good People,” the half-hour project
In a sign of hostility in the war between the WGA and Hollywood’s largest talent agencies, Gersh Agency has come under fire from TV and film writers for canceling a network meeting that it had arranged for a now-former client. Writer Jorge Reyes disclosed the incident in a series of tweets on Monday. Reyes asserted
In today’s roundup, Netflix announces the premiere date for “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” DATES “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” the prequel series to the original fantasy film, will premiere on Netflix on Aug. 30. Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nathalie Emmanuel will voice the three Gelfling heroes, once again portrayed as animated puppets, named Rian, Brea and
Reed Morano has decided to no longer film any scenes from Amazon Studios’ “The Power” in Georgia, following the signing of the state’s anti-abortion bill that would restrict abortions beyond the point of detection of a fetal heartbeat, which typically occurs around six weeks of pregnancy. “The Power” canceled interviews with those working in local
May 21, 2019 2:37PM PT Bryan Cogman is trading one iconic fantasy world for another. Cogman, who most recently worked as a writer and co-executive producer on “Game of Thrones,” has signed on to consult on the upcoming “Lord of the Rings” series at Amazon, Variety has learned from sources. He will work alongside the writing
As high-profile series “The Big Bang Theory,” “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” come to an end with finale episodes that received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, it becomes that much more apparent that the more invested someone is with a piece of programming, the more personally they will take the goodbye — for
Thirty-three seasons into MTV’s “The Challenge,” the reality competition series has spawned a band of traveling producers and engineers who fly around the world to create one-of-a-kind games. This includes placing cameras, smoke elements and a puzzle inside a plane that was suspended more than 30 feet above water. Executive producer Justin Booth joined “The
British “Game of Thrones” fans flocked to Sky on Monday to deliver the pay-TV service overnight viewing figures for the series finale that surpassed the record numbers set by the season opener last month. “The Iron Throne,” which aired on Sky Atlantic, scored the biggest overnight audience ever for a “Game of Thrones” finale in