Television

March 19, 2019 2:34AM PT BBC Studios and Sky have joined forces to add a raft of catalogue comedy and drama from the pubcaster to the Sky platform and its Now TV streaming service. The deal kicks in next month and includes dramas “McMafia” and “Spooks” and classic BBC comedies “The Vicar of Dibley” and

A keynote speaker at Hong Kong’s FilMart this week, Jim Packer, Lionsgate’s president of worldwide TV and digital distribution, shares plans to support Starz’ international expansion. And he recounts his experience of watching Netflix change up through the gears. Back in 2012, when Lionsgate was still casting “Orange is the New Black,” Jim Packer, Lionsgate’s

March 18, 2019 10:00PM PT Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts is set to boost its OTT platforms locally and abroad with new packages and initiatives targeting the Southeast Asian market. The city’s biggest broadcaster has also renewed its partnership with China’s Huanyu Entertainment following the wild success the two enjoyed last year with palace drama “Story

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” had been scheduled to make a surprise trip to New Zealand this week — but those plans have been put on hold in light of last Friday’s terrorist attack that left 50 people dead. On Monday’s show, Colbert revealed the now-shelved trip, which had been kept under wraps but

Leaders of Hollywood agencies and the Writers Guild of America made little progress in Tuesday meeting to negotiate proposed rule revisions to how agents represent writers. The WGA said after the meeting — the fifth since Feb. 5 — that talks would resume later this week but did not give a specific day. “The Agencies

A new era for the Murdoch clan and the media business begins with the debut of Fox Corporation on Tuesday, a day before Disney completes its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The new-model Fox will begin trading Tuesday on the NASDAQ under the FOXA symbol. On Tuesday, 21st Century Fox will initiate a complex transfer

In today’s TV roundup, Netflix has dropped the first trailer for “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 2” starring Kiernan Shipka, and former “O.C.” star Rachel Bilson has been cast in Fox’s drama pilot “Lovestruck.” CASTING Former “O.C.” star Rachel Bilson is set to play the female lead in Fox’s new drama pilot “Lovestruck.” The

Imagine Television is developing “Mindscaping,” a 24-episode science fiction series written by Oscar Yang (“Medical Examiner Dr. Qin,” “The Ten Deadly Sins”). The series is the first Chinese-language series developed by Imagine Television, part of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment group, for a Chinese audience. The show is pitched as an original sci-fi

March 18, 2019 2:05PM PT The final episode of “Riverdale” before Luke Perry died more than doubled its rating in delayed viewing. The episode, which aired on Feb. 27, the same day Perry was hospitalized, saw a 133% bump from a 0.3 Live+Same Day rating to a 0.7 Live+7 rating. In terms of total viewership,

For the second pilot season in a row, multi-camera comedies have proven to be a hot commodity. The Big 4 have collectively ordered 28 comedy pilots this year, including two animated straight-to-series orders at Fox. Of those 28, 12 are single-cams and 13 are multi-cams (including one multi-cam hybrid at ABC and two at CBS).

The bitter war of words between Hollywood agents and writers continues. Agents are warning that the Writers Guild of America’s proposed elimination of television packaging fees will hurt writers to the tune of $49 million annually in commissions. Sources close to the Association of Talent Agents said Monday that the L.E.K. consulting firm has estimated  

Nearly every scene in “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists” tells one specific story: This is a series that very much wants to be “Pretty Little Liars: All Grown Up.” It’s an interesting choice for a spinoff, considering the fact that the final season and a half of “Pretty Little Liars” featured a five-year time jump

March 18, 2019 12:37PM PT Apple is expected to give a glimpse of its upcoming video streaming service at an event on its Cupertino, California-based campus on March 25. Reports over the past year have trickled out hinting at what an Apple streaming service could look like, but the company itself has been tight-lipped on

HBO’s head of global distribution Bernadette Aulestia is resigning after 22 years, the premium cabler has confirmed to Variety, though she will remain at the company long enough to help her team through the transition. Aulestia’s exit follows several others as parent entity AT&T reorganizes WarnerMedia, which is made up of Turner, HBO and Warner

March 18, 2019 11:30AM PT HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel pilot has cast Miranda Richardson as a series regular in the hotly anticipated yet-untitled series. Richardson, a BAFTA- and Golden Globes-winning actor, joins Naomi Watts, Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackle, Denise Gough and others on the series created by Jane Goldman and “Game of Thrones” author

March 18, 2019 11:30AM PT “Veronica Mars” star Ryan Hansen has been cast to play the Adam to Odette Annable’s Eve in the upcoming “Adam & Eve” pilot in the works at Fox, Variety has learned. The singe-camera comedy is based on the French-Canadian format of the same name. The series follows one couple at three

March 18, 2019 11:20AM PT Tika Sumpter and Anders Holm are joining the growing “Black-ish” world, Variety has learned. They will both star in the upcoming prequel episode, which could reportedly launch into its own spinoff series. As earlier reported, ABC is in development on the prequel that would focus on Tracee Ellis Ross’ character Rainbow. Holm

Kevin Tsujihara has resigned his post as chairman-CEO of Warner Bros. following an investigation into his relationship with actress Charlotte Kirk and allegations he used his clout to help her find work at the studio. In a statement, Tsujihara said he realized “my continued leadership could be a distraction and an obstacle to the company’s

Even by the standards of network television, NBC’s “The Village” wears its inspiration boldly and openly: It’s “This Is Us,” except set among the disparate residents of an apartment building rather than the members of a family. “The Village” leans, hard, into the “This Is Us” formula of trauma-as-drama, deriving its tone from its characters

MADRID — Movistar +, the pay TV unit of telco giant Telefonica, has set a March 28 release for Season 2 of “Skam España,” the Spanish remake of Norwegian cult web-TV hit teen drama “Skam” (“Shame”) whose plot, at least in the second season, begins to diverge from the Nordic original. Produced in collaboration with

The death of former “Love Island” contestant Mike Thalassitis has led to calls for the producers of this and other reality shows to take greater steps to ensure participants are properly equipped to handle the effects of being in the spotlight – before, during, and after they appear on TV. Thalassitis, who had been dealing

HBO Asia has unveiled a trio of new original series, and a second season of its hit “The Teenage Psychic” show. The new series bring the number of original shows commissioned and distributed by Singapore-based offshoot of the U.S. pay-TV giant HBO to 15. HBO Asia’s first Asian sci-fi drama, “Dream Raider,” is an eight-episode

HBO Asia has unveiled a trio of new original series and a second season of its hit “The Teenage Psychic.” The new shows bring the number of original series commissioned and distributed by the Singapore-based offshoot of HBO to 15. “Dream Raider” will be HBO Asia’s first Asian sci-fi drama, an eight-episode hour-long series that

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” the Mar. 17 episode of “Supergirl.” After seasons of build-up, Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) made his “Supergirl” debut in the fourth season episode entitled “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Initially, the supervillain positioned himself as a sick man, eager

George M. Lehr, associate producer on such classic TV series as “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “Police Woman,” and later a professor at USC’s School of Cinema & Television, died March 14, in Erie, Pa., after a short illness. He was 87. Lehr worked on television shows at MGM, 20th Century-Fox and Columbia for more

It was a case of art imitating life at Saturday night’s Hollywood premiere of “The Perfectionists” — Freeform’s “Pretty Little Liars” spinoff about a scandal involving college students striving for excellence by any means necessary. The TV show’s debut was coincidently preceded by a real-life college scandal involving Hollywood celebrities who allegedly didn’t let a

On Tuesday, Jay Leno said on the “Today” show that he doesn’t miss being a late night host because “everyone has to know your politics.” At his Paleyfest deep dive into being a late night host on Saturday, which was moderated by Pete Holmes, Stephen Colbert said he agrees with Leno that today’s late night

“Judge Jeanine” isn’t holding court Saturday night. Fox News Channel replaced tonight’s broadcast of Jeanine Pirro’s weekly program with a repeat episode of its documentary series “Scandalous,” just days after the 21st Century Fox-owned cable-news network said it condemned remarks the outspoken host made about Minnesota Democrat Ihan Omar. The change in Fox News’s schedule

March 16, 2019 10:25AM PT Esports has made it into the world of “The Simpsons.” Sunday’s episode of America’s longest-running sitcom series, titled “E My Sports,” will see Bart Simpson begin to excel at video game competitions with Homer as his passionate coach. When Lisa attempts to bring her father back to earth, however, chaos

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 2 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” In the final moments of Season 2 of the Amazon smash hit “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) comes to her husband Joel (Michael Zegen), who left her in the very beginning of Season 1, for comfort.