HLN is settling back into a life of crime. The cable network, operated by CNN, has been increasing its production of original series that explore mystery and crime, a move that hearkens to a previous era when the outlet was best known for its coverage of prominent court cases and exploring their ramifications with colorful
Television
Jonas Nay, best known as the star of “Deutschland 83” and its sequels, sees his upcoming period drama “The Master Butcher,” which follows a young German migrant to the U.S. in the 1920s, as having contemporary resonance at a time when so many people are geographically displaced. “For me the transition into the present day
Pluto TV has launched two new channels dedicated to drama, the free streaming service has announced. The news comes just days after Pluto announced a content-licensing deal with BBC Studios that will bring more than 700 hours of content, including iconic British shows such as “Doctor Who,” to the service. Pluto TV Drama will offer
WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey has denied a news report that says parent company AT&T is considering a sale of HBO Europe to help pay down debt. A story by the Financial Times on Wednesday said that internal discussions of such a sale had been held within AT&T but that no formal talks with potential buyers
April 10, 2019 3:25AM PT Britain’s Prince Harry has announced that he is partnering with Oprah Winfrey on a mental health series for Apple TV+. The prince, who is also known as the Duke of Sussex, announced the partnership Wednesday on his official Instagram account. The show, which will launch on Apple in 2020, is
April 9, 2019 11:00PM PT “Stockholm” is heading to Canada after Keshet International sold the drama series to Gem, the streaming service of Canadian pubcaster CBC. The drama deal was one of several inked by KI. Gem is is the first international buyer of “Stockholm,” which launched at TIFF and is based on the bestselling
Variety co-editor-in-chief Andrew Wallenstein sat down with key leaders in the media industry Monday at the Venetian in Las Vegas for NAB to discuss the impact of direct-to-consumer marketing on content and audience engagement. “I would bucket what we’re looking at at NAB, would be news gathering tools for CBS News, distribution and end monetization,”
April 9, 2019 10:50PM PT Several of Hollywood’s major players are expected to take content off the market to prop up their expected direct-to-consumer offerings, but Viacom’s message for international content buyers is that its shop will remain open. “Whilst our competitors prioritize their own platforms, Viacom is moving in a different direction,” David Lynn,
The chatter at MipTV in Cannes isn’t about the latest hot show this year. It’s about whether the global TV confab has lost its mojo, and whether a plan to revamp the market will inject new life into the event. Organizer Reed Midem took the unusual step of trotting out attendee numbers as the market
BBC Studios and UKTV have commissioned crime drama “We Hunt Together” for UKTV’s Alibi channel. The six-part thriller, which is produced by BBC Studios, marks the second original scripted crime drama commissioned for Alibi, following “Traces,” which was announced in February. The commission is the latest addition to UKTV’s expanding roster of scripted series, which
April 9, 2019 3:22PM PT In today’s roundup, “Younger” gets a sixth season premiere date and Netflix’s “Tales of the City” sets a premiere date. RENEWALS “Younger” will return to TV Land this summer and debut its sixth season on June 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The forthcoming season will see Kelsey (Hilary Duff) take
April 9, 2019 3:03PM PT Hulu has renewed “Future Man” for a third season, which will also be the show’s last. The final season will consist of just eight episodes, while the first two were both 13. The series is led by “Hunger Games” star Josh Hutcherson as a janitor and world-ranked gamer who is
Get ready for a fresh twist on a Fox animated comedy. Fox Entertainment chief Charlie Collier said the network plans to “double down” on its strength in adult animation with two new shows on deck that will offer a strong female perspective. “We know what the ‘Fox Dad’ is — Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin —
“High Fidelity,” an upcoming series starring Zoe Kravitz, has been moved from Disney+ to Hulu, Variety has learned. The decision comes only a couple weeks after Disney acquired a controlling stake in Hulu as part of the $71 billion Fox acquisition deal. “High Fidelity” was originally positioned on the slate of new series at Disney+, which
April 9, 2019 12:20PM PT “Queer Eye” helped give contestant Jess Guilbeaux a makeover in Season 3, and now fans of the show have helped her return to college. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $95,000 of its $100,000 goal. The GoFundMe page, set up by Vanessa Gamet, says Guilbeaux is a “strong, black
April 9, 2019 11:52AM PT Jason Segel’s anthology series “Dispatches From Elsewhere,” which is currently in the works at AMC, has added a couple heavyweight actors to the cast. Richard E. Grant and Sally Field have joined the hour-long series, which centers around a group of ordinary people who stumble onto a puzzle hiding just
On the Tuesday episode of CBS’ “The Talk,” co-host Sara Gilbert announced she is leaving the show after nine seasons. “This is something I have been struggling with for a while, and going back and forth. But I’ve decided it’s time for me to leave the show,” Gilbert said at the beginning of the show.
April 9, 2019 11:05AM PT TF1 Studio, the film and TV co-production and distribution arm of France’s leading commercial network, has signed a deal with Universal Pictures Video to distribute its content. Starting this month, Universal Pictures Video will be handling all the distribution of TF1 Studio’s films and series on its home entertainment platforms.
Ronan Farrow is set to host the 78th Annual Peabody Awards, Variety has learned. Additionally, the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors have announced this year’s 60 nominees across entertainment, news, podcasts, web and documentary categories. “It is our great honor to recognize the most powerful and compelling, but also most brilliant and creative programming of
April 9, 2019 10:58AM PT SAG-AFTRA is launching an automated residual payment process that will be available to its 160,000 members as of May 1, replacing paper residual checks. The union currently mails more than 10,000 paper checks a day. The performers union first announced in 2017 that it had entered into a multiyear agreement
April 9, 2019 10:39AM PT Brian de Palma is developing an English-language remake of the long-running French period drama hit “Un Village Francais.” The “Scarface” director is currently collaborating with Frédéric Krivine, the co-creator of “Un Village Francais,” on the U.S. remake which will unfold during the Civil War, according to the French magazine Telerama
Two minutes. Two minutes is the magic number for Ben Mankiewicz. The primetime host of TCM has recorded hundreds of introduction segments for movies that air on the film lover’s cable haven. After much experimentation and market research, the TCM team has concluded that two minutes is the ideal length for the amuse bouche delivered
April 9, 2019 10:03AM PT Company veteran Dana Kopper promoted to General Manager Jim Berger has struck a new deal with ITV America that calls for him to become chairman of High Noon Entertainment, the Denver-based production company that is home to TLC’s “Cake Boss,” HGTV’s “Fixer Upper” and other cable hits. Berger will also
Jason Winer and his Small Dog Picture Company have signed a new, multi-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. Under the deal, Winer will develop, executive produce and direct projects for all platforms. In addition to directing projects he develops, the deal also contemplates him potentially directing those he does not develop personally, as
During a succession of keynote addresses at MipTV, Canal Plus Group’s chairman and CEO Maxime Saada, France Televisions’s president Delphine Ernotte Cunci and TF1’s chairman and CEO Gilles Pelisson spoke about strategic alliances with European broadcasters and streaming services. Although Canal Plus Group has been impacted by the launch of Netflix in France and currently
Werner Herzog’s latest documentary, a tribute to writer Bruce Chatwin, will air in Britain on the BBC, which commissioned the film for its long-running documentary series “Arena,” the pubcaster announced Tuesday. “Nomad – In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin” is scheduled to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28. In
Talpa and Madrid-based media giant the Atresmedia Group have strengthened their already solid relationship with the commission of a four brand new TV formats package for Spain, led by Talpa’s newest reality show “Home Alone.” Further new formats licensed by Atresmedia in Spain take in interactive game show “5 Gold Rings,” reality show “Trouble with
Picture Perfect Federation, the company recently created by Patrick Wachsberger and Pascal Breton, is teaming up with Anonymous Content to produce a premium TV show based on Christian Jacq’s “Ramses,” an epic saga of the formidable Ancient Egyptian king and conqueror. Anonymous Content and Picture Perfect Federation have jointly acquired rights to Jacq’s five international
CANNES — It’s a two-way street. At Mipcom 2017, Studiocanal, the giant production-distribution-sales subsidiary of Canal Plus Group, took on sales duties on Viaplay, the ambitious Nordic SVOD service which is attempting to consolidate as a Canal Plus of the North: Committed to localized European drama with a social edge and international appeal. Later that
Season 2 of “Les Bracelets Rouges,” the French adaptation of Filmax’s children’s hospital drama “The Red Band Society,” has become a big audience hit for broadcaster TF1. This confirms “The Red Band’s” status as one of the biggest Spanish TV formats of all time. Aired from March 11 to April 1 on TF1 over Monday’s