One of the favorites heading into this year’s Canneseries Short-Form Competition has to be the star-studded anthology series “Do Not Disturb,” spearheaded by the U.K.’s Pulse Films. Michael Haussman and Larry Volpi created the series, and its nine, 10-minute episodes were written by the two along with Olivia Poulet, Mike O’Leary, Nida Manzoor and Davey
Television
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the series finale of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” After four seasons of sending up romantic comedy tropes, expanding the quintessential love triangle into a quadrangle, and delivering 157 original music videos, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” came to an end without a romantic resolution for Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom). “What
You’d be forgiven for believing “Our Planet” is just another “Planet Earth.” Not only is it from the same creator as BBC America’s landmark series in Alistair Fothergill, but it is also narrated by the soothing tones of David Attenborough, the voice that has guided “Planet Earth” and its oceanic sister show “Blue Planet” for
As a gay man with cerebral palsy whose life was dramatically changed by a major car accident, Ryan O’Connell’s story isn’t one that Hollywood tells very often, to say the least. One in every four Americans has a disability yet, according to GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV 2018 – 2019 report, only 2.1% of
The honorees at Variety’s sixth annual Power of Women New York luncheon presented by Lifetime shared deeply personal stories that were variations on a powerful theme: Women overcoming obstacles, doubts, and naysayers to right wrongs, raise awareness, and bear witness to injustice. “When a job needs to be done and nobody’s doing it, you step
April 5, 2019 2:39PM PT “This Is Us” pulled away from “Grey’s Anatomy” in the scripted Live+3 ratings race for the week of March 25. The penultimate episode of NBC show’s third season jumped from a 1.7 rating in Live+SD to a 2.8 in Live+3, or a 65% increase. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was almost level
CBS All Access’ Monday launch of its “The Twilight Zone” reboot drove the most unique viewers ever on a premiere day for a CBS All Access original series, according to the streamer. Marc DeBevoise, president and COO of CBS Interactive, spoke with Variety about the reboot’s early success. While he would not discuss specific numbers,
April 5, 2019 1:40PM PT After only two episodes in its Wednesday time slot, CBS is pushing LeBron James’ “Million Dollar Mile” to Saturdays. The move comes after the show has posted lacklustre ratings so far, with a soft 1.0 rating debut in the key 18-49 demographic and 4.1 million viewers, which then dipped to
April 5, 2019 1:20PM PT “Page Six TV” has been canceled after two seasons, Variety has learned. The syndicated daily television show was modeled after the New York Post’s Page Six news and gossip section, and provided entertainment industry updates, exclusive first-looks and insight from the New York Post newsroom. During its second season, the show was
Welcome to “TV Take,” Variety’s television podcast. In this week’s episode, Variety senior features editor, TV Danielle Turchiano talks with Aline Brosh McKenna, executive producer of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which ends its four-season run on April 5. With the finale looming, Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) is left to choose between three guys: one jerk, one “friend-zoned” guy, and
Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are the latest high-profile creators to make the move to a streaming platform. Variety has learned that Nolan and Joy and their Kilter Films banner have signed a massive overall deal at Amazon, meaning the pair will exit their current deal with Warner Bros. Television. Sources say the new deal
April 5, 2019 12:30PM PT French director Claire Denis, who recently made her English-language debut with “High Life” starring Robert Pattinson, is to preside the Short Films and Cinéfondation Jury at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. Denis will succeed Abderrahmane Sissako, Naomi Kawase, Cristian Mungiu and Bertrand Bonello. Denis and her jury will name the
Jodie Comer’s Villanelle astounded audiences with stunning designer clothing throughout Season 1 of BBC America’s breakthrough spy series “Killing Eve.” Who can forget the sight of her in that poofy pink Molly Goddard dress she wore to a therapy session, of all places? But the international assassin with a penchant for high fashion is on
Adam Sandler is returning to the show that turned him into a household name in the mid ’90s. On May 4, Sandler will return to “SNL” to make his hosting debut, alongside musical guest Shawn Mendes. Sandler joined the show as a writer in 1990 and was in the cast from 1991 to 95, creating
UPDATED: Before Elisabeth Hasselbeck was fired from “The View” in 2013, she tried to quit the daytime talk show in the middle of a commercial break. In the new book “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View,’” Variety‘s Ramin Setoodeh details a day in a Hot Topics debate that got too heated
CANNES — Norwegian police officer and inventor Magnus Undredal is a doofus. The only question is if he’s a total dipstick. Stationed in the wilds of Norway, where he’s been demoted to the rank of station janitor, he’s drafted in by the shady Geir Drageset, a Central Unit special investigator in league with U.S. military
Plano a Plano, one of the few top 100% independent production houses on the vibrant Spanish TV landscape, is exploring new market opportunities, dipping its toe into co-production, and preparing its first original series for Netflix. Since 2014, Plano a Plano has produced some of the most successful series for Spain’s free-to-air TV market, such
German public broadcaster ZDFneo has boarded Neuesuper and Beta Film’s upcoming high-end science fiction series “Children of Mars.” A low-fi near-future series, “Children of Mars” kicks off with an eccentric billionaire who organizes and funds a one-way trip to the red planet for a crew of 12 highly trained astronauts and himself, with the objective
Tracy Morgan’s new mission is to turn TV-sports fans into streaming-sports addicts. DAZN, the streaming-video sports outlet led by former ESPN chief John Skipper, is ramping up its promotional efforts by launching its first U.S. branding effort, with a goal of getting sports fans to sign up for its still nascent service. The company, operated
CANNES — In Series Mania’s 2016 Audience Award Winner, “Hotel Beau Séjour,” co-created by Belgium’s Bert Van Dael and Sanne Nuyens and picked up by Netflix as a Netflix Original, a young women wakes up as a corpse. She sets out to solve her own murder. Van Dael and Nuyens’ follow-up, “The Twelve,” which plays
CANNES — On the heels of its second edition, Canneseries has signaled a renewed commitment to the questions of gender parity that still rock the television industry, while also looking to push the conversation further still. “We can see that we’re in a context that includes Me Too and the various scandals about harassment and
CANNES — With France as this year’s Country of Honor, MipTV will unite several of the country’s top producers and executives, making Cannes’ Palais des Festival the center-stage for many of the conversations that have faced the local industry since the beginning of the year. Previewing the focus of this year’s MipTV, a prominent cross-section
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the two-hour April 4 second season premiere of “Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger.” “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger’s” second season kicked off with its central duo Tandy (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph) just starting to crack open the door of a very real, non-superpowered, problem: human
The curtain came down on an era for HBO Wednesday night as it hosted a massive final season premiere event for “Game of Thrones.” The screening of the first of the show’s last six episodes was a spectacle unto itself. Radio City Music Hall was packed with industryites and celebrities who are far removed from
April 4, 2019 4:13PM PT Freeform executive Jana Steele Helman is leaving the cable network for a new position at CBS All Access, Variety has learned exclusively. Helman was previously the vice president of programming and development at Freeform. She will now serve as the vice president of original content at CBS All Access, reporting to
In today’s roundup, trailers drop for Season 2 of YouTube Original “Cobra Kai” and Netflix’s new teen drama “The Society.” FIRST LOOKS The YouTube Original hit series “Cobra Kai” will further channel “Karate Kid” in its second season, premiering on April 24. Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) will face off again as
April 4, 2019 10:00AM PT Netflix is adding another adult animated series to its growing slate, Variety has learned. The streamer has put out a series order for “Q-Force,” a half-hour animated comedy from “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” writer-producer Gabe Liedman. “Q-Force” centers around a handsome secret agent and his team of fellow LGBTQ super-spies. Constantly underestimated by their
English actress Jodie Comer first began working in television when she was a teenager, appearing over the past decade in such series as “My Mad Fat Diary,” “Doctor Foster” and “The White Princess.” But in taking on the antagonist role of Villanelle in BBC America’s “Killing Eve,” which premieres its second season April 7, she
Amazon Prime Video has acquired second-window rights to “Apnea” (“Une Île”), the French female-powered fantasy series which competed at Series Mania and won best French show. “Apnea” will premiere on Arte and will roll out on Amazon Prime Video in France shortly after. The series will not be available on the streaming service outside of
Kate Del Castillo is jumping into the mixed martial arts ring — although she won’t be literally throwing punches. The Mexican actress acquired an equity stake in Combate Americas, an MMA sports entertainment company targeting Hispanic audiences, as part of a $20 million Series B round of funding. The round brings the company to $38