Jimmy Kimmel brought his traditional scorched earth comedy to ABC’s upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday. The late-night host took plenty of shots at his own network and its executives, while also spreading the love around to other broadcasters and some of TV’s biggest names. Kimmel need not worry about getting fired, though, considering
Television
At 22, Maisie Williams is among the very youngest series regulars on “Game of Thrones,” and, indeed, within the whole of prestige TV. She’s among the show’s living tributes to the power of casting, as she, like her Stark family siblings Sophie Turner (Sansa) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran), entered the show as a child
May 14, 2019 2:21PM PT “The Bold Type” has been renewed for a fourth season at Freeform but will switch showrunners once again. Taking the stage during the network’s portion of the Disney upfront presentation in New York Tuesday, series stars Aisha Dee, Meghann Fahy and Katie Stevens announced the return. Amanda Lasher, who took
In the past year, public backlash over Fox News pundits like Tucker Carson and Laura Ingraham have led some advertisers to pull their support. But Lachlan Murdoch isn’t fazed when it comes to advertising boycotts, saying that they don’t affect the network’s content whatsoever. “The boycotts themselves are not having a financial impact of any
ABC has released trailers for the three new shows joining its fall 2019-2020 lineup. New drama “Stumptown,” which stars Cobie Smulders, will air on Wednesday nights, while “Emergence,” which the network brought over from NBC, joins new “Black-ish” spinoff “Mixed-ish” (pictured above) on Tuesdays. ABC has notably picked up the fewest new series of the
Albert Hughes is stepping into the director’s chair of the upcoming Showtime limited series “The Good Lord Bird,” Variety has learned exclusively. Hughes takes over directing multiple episodes of the series from Anthony Hemingway, who departed the project due to scheduling conflicts. Hughes, who will also executive produce the series, will make his television directing debut
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 15 premiere of “The Bachelorette” with Hannah B. Fear not, Bachelor Nation. You have not seen the last of the Box King. “The Bachelorette” contestant Joe Barsano, otherwise known as the Box King, will be joining the cast of “Bachelor in Paradise,” Variety
Cate Blanchett, Yvonne Strahovski and Dominic West are set to star in “Stateless,” a six-part TV series about people stuck in an immigration detention center. NBCUniversal will handle worldwide distribution on the drama, which is being produced by Blanchett and her husband, Andrew Upton, through their Dirty Films banner, alongside the Australian Broadcasting Corp., Screen
There’s always a parade of new faces and budding stars at the broadcast networks’ annual upfront presentations. This week in New York, the newcomers include top executives at each of the Big Four networks. A year of M&A, consolidation, management shake-ups, restructuring and downsizing will be reflected on the stages at the iconic New York
FX has rounded out the main cast of the upcoming drama series “Mrs. America” starring Cate Blanchett. 11 actors and actresses have signed on to the nine-episode series, which tells the story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and the unexpected backlash led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly, played
May 14, 2019 8:46AM PT The penultimate episode of “Game of Thrones,” titled “The Bells,” has posted the highest ratings in series history. The episode was watched by 12.48 million viewers during its initial broadcast, which handily trumps the previous record of 12.07 million, held by the season 7 finale. Given the colossal numbers put
Just like its competition this year, ABC is using “stability” as its buzzword for next season, as well as leaning into its female-centric brand. The company announced on Tuesday that its fall 2019 schedule will feature just three new scripted series, touting that it makes for the network’s “most stable schedule in over a decade.”
ABC has announced its schedule for the fall, with only two new dramas and one new comedy joining the lineup. The network picked up the fewest new shows of any of the big four. Here’s the schedule and descriptions of the new scripted series: ABC FALL 2019-20 SCHEDULE (New programs in UPPER CASE; all times
A high-end television drama based on an original screenplay by acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has been set as a first scripted project for new European production company Media Musketeers. “God Fearing Man” was one of two initial projects announced Tuesday by the company, which was officially launched in April by former Warner Bros executive Chris
Disney is now the only one with its hands on Hulu’s steering wheel. Disney and Comcast announced a deal under which Disney will assume full operational control of Hulu, effective immediately. Within five years, Comcast has agreed to sell its Hulu stake to Disney for at least $5.8 billion. Under the deal, Comcast’s NBCUniversal will
It’s the kind of comeback that would make a perfect underdog-conquers-haters storyline in the ring for World Wrestling Entertainment. The company that embodies modern professional wrestling — or “sports entertainment,” as coined by CEO Vince McMahon — has been on a growth rampage during the past 18 months. Its stock price has more than doubled
Madonna’s much-publicized performance at this weekend’s Eurovision Song Contest could be in question after the show’s organizers revealed that no contract has yet been signed. The news comes despite the music legend’s scheduled arrival in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning aboard the private jet of Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams. Speaking at a press conference in
Walt Disney will make a big pitch today for billions of dollars in advertising. One of the tools in its arsenal to win commercials? Commercials. During a glitzy “upfront” presentation Tuesday afternoon at David Geffen Hall in New York’s Lincoln Center before dozens of prominent Madison Avenue executives, Disney will tout new programs on ABC,
Red Arrow Studios International has secured a raft of deals for feature-length documentary “Slender Man: The Untold Story.” The true-crime documentary, about the case of two girls whose obsession with a fictional internet character was cited for their attempted murder of a friend, was picked up by Nine Network in Australia. European sales have also
Hannah Gadsby will debut her new Netflix comedy special “Douglas” globally in 2020, the comedian announced Monday night. Gadsby appeared at Netflix’s FYSEE event to discuss her special “Nanette,” which was released on the streaming platform in 2018. “I’m so excited to announce today that Douglas will be released on Netflix in 2020,” Gadsby said.
May 13, 2019 9:10PM PT “Fox NFL Sunday” host Terry Bradshaw has apologized for “offensive comments” he made about actor-comedian Ken Jeong during Fox’s upfront presentation in New York on Monday. During his appearance at the Beacon Theatre, Bradshaw made mention of having been eliminated from competition on another Fox series, “The Masked Singer,” by
Pamela Adlon is a child of television — literally. Not only was the small screen a tremendous influence on the “Better Things” creator and star while she was growing up, but as a young actress she also made an impression on some of those very same iconic series. Among Adlon’s early credits are “The Facts
May 13, 2019 6:06PM PT Mr. Ratburn from “Arthur” had a same sex marriage in the show’s 22nd season premiere Monday — and Twitter is sharing the love. For fans of the show, it’s no secret that the third grade teacher loves cake, which now comes adorably full circle as Mr. Ratburn shares wedding cake
Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier has taken to saying that the relaunch of the broadcast network following the historic Disney-21st Century Fox transaction has turned Fox into a “startup company.” During Monday’s upfront presentation at the Beacon Theatre, the startup seams were showing at times as the new-model Fox unveiled a large slate of new
“L.A.’s Finest” isn’t just a cop show. It’s a gambit — a bet placed by cable provider Spectrum that by providing not just access to HBO and HGTV but original programming of its own, it’ll stand out. The series, a Jerry Bruckheimer production set within the universe of his “Bad Boys” film franchise, is the
The major TV studios have all but closed out their business with the broadcast networks for the 2019-2020 season. In all, 35 new series have been ordered across the Big 4 and The CW, with one or two projects still outstanding as potential contenders for midseason pick ups. But with the buying mostly done, here
May 13, 2019 4:29PM PT Despite ABC’s recent decision to cancel “Whiskey Cavalier” after only a single season, the show continues to do perform well in Live+7 for the network. For the week of April 22, the show saw a 150% ratings jump from a 0.4 to a 1.0, a solid return given that it
In today’s roundup, Netflix release the trailer for the thriller series starring Renee Zellweger, and Kerry Washington joins the cast of ABC’s live sitcom event “Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons.” FIRST LOOKS Netflix dropped a trailer for the upcoming neo-noir thriller “What/If,” starring Renee Zellweger. The show asks, “What if a
Fox held its first upfront presentation on Monday as part of the newly slimmed Fox Entertainment company, and new Fox still feels a lot like old Fox: Live sports, edgy reality shows and animation at its core. But the network is also tapping into its early history as a smaller disruptor, and it’s something Fox
Fox has released trailers for three of its new shows premiering on the network this Fall, as well as a bunch for its midseason offerings. New drama “Prodigal Son,” which features Michael Sheen, will join Fox’s Monday night lineup, “Not Just Me” will air Wednesday nights, and animated comedy “Bless the Harts,” from Amy Poehler,