“The Spanish Princess,” which premiered May 5, rounds out the Starz miniseries triptych that began in 2013 with “The White Queen” and continued four years later with “The White Princess.” The latest seven episodes revolve around Spain’s Catherine of Aragon, played by Charlotte Hope, in line to receive the highly contested throne of England in
Television
May 10, 2019 10:00AM PT The costume, makeup and design teams for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” will receive the Variety Ensemble Award as part of the Designing Women Awards. New York Women in Film & Television has announced the honorees for the 20th anniversary of its Designing Women Awards, which will be co-presented by Variety
Riyadh-born Hisham Fageeh was working as a standup comedian, with shows in the U.S. and the U.K., when he decided to venture into filmmaking. “We have to wear so many hats,” says Fageeh of the showbiz climate in his Saudi Arabia. “I started as a standup comedian and then I needed more gigs, so I
In the brave new world of European TV, the old adage “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” rings true. Faced with a growing threat from the likes of Netflix and Amazon, players that once regarded each other as fierce competitors have begun forging alliances unthinkable just a few years ago. Rival channels are
ABC is continuing its Thursday walks through Shondaland. The Alphabet has renewed “Grey’s Anatomy” for record 16th and 17th seasons, “How to Get Away With Murder” for a sixth season, and “Station 19” for a third outing. The network has also announced that “Grey’s” showrunner and EP Krista Vernoff will be taking over showrunning duties
Fox has canceled both the drama series “The Passage” and the comedy “The Cool Kids.” Both shows aired for just one season. The multi-camera comedy “The Cool Kids” hailed from executive producer Charlie Day and starred David Alan Grier, Leslie Jordan, Vicki Lawrence and Martin Mull as four friends who live in a retirement community.
Female filmmakers and animals will reign in “Queens,” an upcoming National Geographic global series about matriarchal societies in the animal world. The team behind the series is led by women, with Wildstar Films on production duty and Vanessa Berlowitz exec producing. “We’re accustomed to a narrative where the male animal voice often outshines that of
Viacom eked out a profit in its fiscal second quarter, even as revenue from several of its main business lines decreased. The New York owner of MTV, Nickelodeon and the Paramount movie studio reported adjusted earnings of $383 million, or 95 cents a share, compared with $371 million, or 92 cents a share, in the
May 10, 2019 3:36AM PT “There are unscrupulous people in Russia – fortunately, I am one of them,” declares a formidable Helen Mirren in full regalia as Catherine the Great in the first trailer of the Sky series based on the Russian empress, which will be on HBO in the U.S. Oscar-winner Mirren is joined
May 9, 2019 8:22PM PT A suspect has been arrested in connection with the 1985 murder of Hollywood TV director and producer Barry Crane, who was found strangled and bludgeoned to death and wrapped in bedding on the floor if his townhouse’s underground garage in Studio City. Edwin Jerry Hiatt II was arrested in North
May 9, 2019 8:00PM PT NBC has picked up the drama “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” for the 2019-2020 season. The series follows Zoey Clarke (Jane Levy), a whip-smart computer coder forging her way in San Francisco. After an unusual event she starts to hear the innermost wants and desires of the people around her through songs.
“For The People” will not return for a third season on ABC. The legal drama was canceled by the Alphabet network, cutting the Shondaland series with homes on broadcast television down to three (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “How To Get Away With Murder” and “Station 19,” all of which are still awaiting news of their fates for
The Netflix teen drama has almost become a genre in and of itself. Between offerings such as “On My Block,” “Sex Education,” “13 Reasons Why,” and syndicated CW staples like “Riverdale,” the streaming network has found a solid niche in exploring the everyday lives of teenagers, in all their flailing, moody glory. “The Society,” Netflix’s
May 9, 2019 5:30PM PT “Angie Tribeca” is coming to an end after four seasons, Variety has learned. The show, which was created by Steve and Nancy Carrell, starred Rashida Jones as the titular LAPD detective. The series launched as part of TBS’ push to become a home for an edgier brand of cable comedy, along
May 9, 2019 4:13PM PT “Wild Kingdom” host Jim Fowler died on Wednesday, according to a tribute on the show’s website. He was 89. Fowler co-hosted Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” with Marlin Perkins beginning in 1963. He was also known for being a regular guest on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,” and Fowler
During back to back panels at Variety’s Inclusion Summit, the founder of Me Too and the executive director of entertainment at Time’s Up, among others, discussed how far the movements have come since they started, and also how much work there still is to do. “How To Get Away With Murder” writer and producer Angela Robinson
CBS has picked up three dramas and four comedies for the 2019-2020 season. The dramas are “Evil” from Robert and Michelle King, the spinoff “FBI: Most Wanted,” and the legal drama “All Rise,” formerly known as “Courthouse.” The comedies are the multi-cams “Broke,” “Carol’s Second Act,” and “Bob Hearts Abishola” and the single-cam “The Unicorn.”
In today’s roundup, Showtime debuts the trailer for the miniseries about Fox News founder Roger Ailes, and Tom Hanks and Savannah Guthrie will co-host a special hour of NBC News’ “Today.” FIRST LOOKS Showtime has released the official trailer for the seven-part limited series “The Loudest Voice,” about Fox News founder Roger Ailes. The series will
Ann Curry spoke out on workplace harassment and what can be done to change the culture that has allowed the behavior to continue for decades. The former TODAY host and award-winning NBC News journalist sat down for a candid conversation with Variety co-editor-in-chief Claudia Eller and “Chasing the Cure” executive producer and showrunner Kim Bondy at
The New Fox is ramping up for the 2019-2020 season with six new series pick ups. The broadcaster handed out orders for four dramas — “Deputy,” “Prodigal Son,” “neXt,” and the untitled Annie Weisman/Jason Katims project — as well as two comedies. One of the comedies is the animated series “The Great North” and the
Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television will no longer produce the CBS drama “Bull,” Variety has learned. The move comes after series star Michael Weatherly was accused of making inappropriate comments to actress Eliza Dushku on set, with Dushku eventually receiving a $9.5 million settlement. Spielberg was an executive producer on the show along with Amblin TV heads
“Conan” host Conan O’Brien was sued in July 2015 by Robert Alexander Kaseberg, who accused O’Brien and others on the TBS show of stealing five jokes from Kaseberg’s Twitter account and blog. Here, O’Brien explains why he reached a settlement in the case, which had been expected to go to trial in federal court in
One of the most closely watched legal cases in the comedy world will not be going to trial. Attorneys for Conan O’Brien, TBS and joke writer Robert Alexander Kaseberg announced on Thursday that they have settled a dispute over allegations of joke theft. Kaseberg filed suit back in 2015, alleging that O’Brien had stolen five
When South African writer-director Gareth Crocker was developing “Shadow,” a series about an ex-cop with superpowers who fights crime in Johannesburg’s underworld, he took the unusual and risky approach of bypassing local broadcasters to get the project made. The show’s executive producers wanted to keep the rights to a series they thought had global potential. “We
May 9, 2019 9:00AM PT The world of Harvey Birdman is expanding. Adult Swim has given a series order to “Birdgirl,” a spinoff of “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law” with Paget Brewster set to lend her voice to the title character. Brewster previously voiced Birdgirl in the original series as well as the recent special
After 12 seasons and 279 episodes, “The Big Bang Theory” will sign off on Thursday, May 16. But the decision to end the comedy came in August of 2018, which has allowed the cast and creative team to have a long goodbye to the series — for better or worse. “It’s like a long, drawn-out
May 9, 2019 7:28AM PT Fox News is known for its flagship property, the Fox News Channel, but in months to come executives intend to expand its halo, the unit’s top executive said in remarks to investors Thursday. “Fox news is an important part of the company’s DNA,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said to
May 9, 2019 7:01AM PT FX has boarded “Peaky Blinders” scribe Steven Knight’s upcoming adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” with Guy Pearce playing Scrooge and Andy Serkis the Ghost of Christmas Past. The new take on the Dickens classic had already been announced in the U.K., and FX has now come on as the U.S.
After a landmark year for female pilot directors in 2018, the 2019 season has seen further movement in representation for women behind the camera With execs at the major broadcasters making decisions on the fate of pilots at this very moment, it’s worth noting that of the 63 pilots ordered this season across the five
Rupert Murdoch opened Fox Corp.’s Investor Day presentation on Thursday with a promise that the slimmed-down company will be a Wall Street growth story. Murdoch, Fox Corp. chairman, told the crowd in New York that he decided to sell most of his Hollywood assets to Disney in order to make the most out of all