In today’s roundup, “Cobra Kai” moves up its second season premiere on April 24 and Netflix releases the trailer for “Tuca & Bertie,” starring Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong. FIRST LOOKS Netflix has released the trailer for its new animated comedy series “Tuca & Bertie.” The series stars Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong as two
Television
April 18, 2019 12:00PM PT Joel Edgerton has signed on for a role in the Barry Jenkins’ Amazon series “The Underground Railroad,” Variety has learned exclusively. Edgerton will play the part of Ridgeway, a slavecatcher. He joins previously announced cast members Thuso Mbedu, Chase W. Dillon, and Aaron Pierre. The role will mark Edgerton’s first regular
“Last Man Standing” has been renewed at Fox, Variety has learned. This is the second season of the family multicamera comedy that will air on Fox, but the eighth season overall. (Its first six years were on ABC before the Alphabet canceled the series. Fox picked it up a year later.) “‘Last Man Standing’ roared
Lauren Corrao has been named executive vice president of original programming and development for Freeform. Corrao takes over the role from Karey Burke, who was named the head of ABC Entertainment in November following the departure of Channing Dungey. Corrao will report directly to Freeform president Tom Ascheim. In her new position, Corrao will oversee
April 18, 2019 10:30AM PT HBO Documentary Films is currently in production on a documentary series exploring the NXIVM sex cult case, which implicated former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack among others. The series, which is to be directed by “The Square” and “Control Room” helmers Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, will follow a range of
“The Americans,” “Barry,” “The End of the F***ing World,” “The Good Place,” “Hannah Gadsby: Nanette,” “Killing Eve,” “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,” “Pose” and “Random Acts of Flyness” have been named the entertainment winners at this year’s Peabody Awards, Variety has learned exclusively. Additionally, “Sesame Street” has been named the winner of the Institutional Award
Director Tom Shankland didn’t want his “Les Miserables” to be anything like the stage-musical version of Victor Hugo’s sweeping historical novel, nor like the 2012 Tom Hooper feature-film musical. For the BBC limited series — a drama starring Olivia Colman, Lily Collins, David Oyelowo and Dominic West, which aired the first of its six episodes in
PBS Distribution and Walter Presents are set to bring Belgian crime drama “Professor T” to audiences across the U.S. “Professor T” will be the second international title distributed under the Walter’s Choice banner, the partnership between PBS Distribution, the home video arm of PBS, and streaming service Walter Presents, which brings non-English language drama to
Kevin Hunter is out as an executive producer of “The Wendy Williams Show” on the heels of Williams’ announcement that she plans to file for divorce from her husband of 22 years. “Kevin Hunter is no longer an executive producer on ‘The Wendy Williams Show,’ ” said a spokesperson for the daytime talk show, produced
BBC Studios and German pubcaster ZDF have formed a strategic partnership to develop and co-produce “world-class content,” the two companies announced Thursday. The new long-term partnership will bring BBC Studios, the British pubcaster’s commercial arm, and ZDF together to co-develop scripted TV series, such as “The Mallorca Files,” created by Dan Sefton. Both companies will
April 18, 2019 4:10AM PT [embedded content] National Geographic has taken the bulk of global rights to documentary series “History of the Emirates,” narrated by Jeremy Irons and co-produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi together with British factual production outfit Atlantic Productions. The series profiles the United Arab Emirates’ ancient history, going back 125,000 years
Fox has canceled the Marvel drama “The Gifted” after two seasons and Lil Rel Howery comedy “Rel” after one season, Variety has learned. “Gifted” was set in the Marvel “X-Men” universe and followed a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their teenage children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on
In today’s roundup, the CW announces five returning and six new series for its summer slate. DATES “Queen of the South” will return to USA Network for its fourth season June 6 at 10/9c. Alice Braga plays the show’s lead, a woman seeking refuge in the United State after fleeing from a Mexican drug cartel.
April 17, 2019 1:42PM PT Robby Hull has been upped to executive producer and co-showrunner for season 2 of “God Friended Me,” Variety has confirmed. Hull was already a co-executive producer on the show’s first season, but will take on a more significant role alongside co-showrunners Bryan Wynbrandt and Steven Lilien for the CBS comedy-darma’s second
April 17, 2019 11:02AM PT Pablo Schreiber is gearing up for “Halo.” Schreiber has been cast in the lead role of the Master Chief in the Showtime series based on the hit video game franchise. Schreiber’s Master Chief is described as Earth’s most advanced warrior in the 26th century and the only hope of salvation
Sarah Barnett’s new job at AMC Networks has her overseeing four cable channels and two streaming platforms. She’s spent the past few months since her promotion to president of entertainment networks adjusting operations, assembling the right team and diving deeper into AMC’s investment in audience research and analytic tools. But none of that work matters
April 17, 2019 10:19AM PT Deep into “Dead to Me,” Judy (Linda Cardellini) screws her entire face up in wrenching pain, eyes brimming with nascent tears as her best friend Jen (Christina Applegate) stares on in cold fury. It’s a pivotal moment that the entire first season has been building towards, and even though Cardellini
In a matter of weeks, the broadcast networks will go through the annual process of ordering pilots to series for the fall season. The casts of this year’s pilot crop feature many broadcast mainstays and strong performers, but also illustrate that cable networks and streaming platforms are now the go-to destination for marquee stars looking
April 17, 2019 10:00AM PT Mike Myers is set to star in and executive produce a new comedy series at Netflix, Variety has learned exclusively. The half-hour series, which has received a six-episode order, will feature Myers portraying multiple characters. “I love creating characters, and Netflix has given me a fantastic playground to play in,” Myers said.
April 17, 2019 9:45AM PT The cast of the Captain Jean-Luc Picard series, which currently in the works at CBS All Access, is continuing to take shape. Alison Pill, Harry Treadaway and Isa Briones have jumped aboard as series regulars alongside Sir Patrick Stewart in the upcoming untitled “Star Trek” series. They join previously announced
April 17, 2019 7:29AM PT Netflix new live-action series based on “The Witcher” will launch in the company’s fourth quarter, which runs from October to December, the company’s chief content officer noted in an earnings call this week. Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos was responding to a question about Neflix 2019 line-up when he brought up
NBCUniversal and LA 2028 have set a far-reaching advertising partnership that allows for the coordinated sale of sponsor opportunities for four Olympic cycles culminating with the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The deal calls for NBCUniversal to make a significant financial commitment to LA 2028 and its effort to raise $2.5 billion in sponsorship
The Cook County State’s Attorney whose office was tasked with handling the prosecution of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett at one point referred to him as a “washed up celeb who lied to cops” yet argued that he was being charged with an excessive amount of felonies. In text messages obtained by Variety, Kim Foxx wrote
April 16, 2019 3:30PM PT In today’s roundup, HBO sets a premiere date for “Los Espookys,” a Spanish-language horror-comedy. DATES Produced by “Saturday Night Live’s” Fred Armisen and Lorne Michaels, “Los Espookys” premieres on HBO on June 14 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. The six-episode, mostly Spanish-language series follows a group of friends who turn their love for horror into a
April 16, 2019 3:27PM PT Alden Ehrenreich has been cast in a lead role of the planned series adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” Variety has confirmed. “Brave New World” imagines a utopian society that has achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself. As citizens of
Get Lifted Film Co., the production company co-founded by John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius, has signed a three-year overall deal with ABC Studios, Variety has learned. Under the new deal, Get Lifted will produce scripted television across all platforms exclusively for ABC. The company previously had a first look deal at Sony Pictures TV. “John Legend
April 16, 2019 2:00PM PT John Cusack will star in a series regular role as Dr. Kevin Christie in Amazon’s upcoming show “Utopia.” In “Utopia,” a group of young adults who meet online are mercilessly hunted by a shadowy deep state organization after they come into possession of a near-mythical cult underground graphic novel. They
HBO veteran and current “Veep” showrunner David Mandel has signed a new three-year overall deal with the cable network, Variety has learned. Mandel, who previously wrote, directed and executive produced “Curb Your Enthusiasm” for HBO, will continue to develop and produce TV projects for the cabler after “Veep” comes to an end this season. He succeeded Armando
“A Dangerous Son,” “The Facebook Dilemma,” “Independent Lens: Dolores,” “Independent Lens: The Judge,” “The Jazz Ambassadors,” “Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart,” “Minding the Gap” and “POV: The Apology” have been selected as the documentary winners at the 2019 Peabody Awards, Variety has learned. The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors also named Kartemquin Films the winner
Skydance Television announced Tuesday that it has partnered with the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and Concord to develop an original television series inspired by the Broadway musical “Oklahoma!” The present-day series will be set in America’s heartland and include music by the legendary duo Rodgers & Hammerstein, reimagined for a modern audience, as well as