Television

February 28, 2019 3:15PM PT Olivia Thirlby has been cast in a lead role in the ABC drama pilot “Until the Wedding.” Based on the Israeli format, the project tells the story of how one couple’s decision to get married can affect everyone in their lives. The show will explore the intimate relationships of a

February 28, 2019 3:06PM PT “Resident Alien,” a comedic drama series based on the comic books of the same name, is coming to Syfy, Variety has learned. Alan Tudyk is in position to star as the lead character in the adaptation of the Dark Horse comics, which were co-created by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse. “Resident

David Levy to Leave WarnerMedia – Variety You will be redirected back to your article in seconds David Levy, the longtime Turner executive, will leave WarnerMedia as part of a broader shakeup, according to a person familiar with the matter. Spokespersons for WarnerMedia and Turner could not be reached for immediate comment. More to come…

HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler is exiting the company. Plepler made the announcement to staff in a memo on Thursday. “Hard as it is to think about leaving the company I love, and the people I love in it, it is the right time for me to do so,” he wrote. “In the past

February 28, 2019 1:00PM PT Heather Rae has signed a first-look TV deal at Amazon, the streamer announced Thursday. Under the deal, Rae will work with Amazon to develop original series to stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video “Heather Rae brings an impressive film and documentary pedigree along with her passion and advocacy to showcase

February 28, 2019 1:00PM PT Kyla Pratt has signed on to the multi-camera comedy pilot “Patty’s Auto” at Fox, Variety has learned exclusively. Inspired by Patrice Banks’ Girls Auto Clinic–an auto repair shop with all female mechanics–the project is described as an ensemble comedy centering on Patty (Carra Patterson) and the eclectic women who work for

Timothy Hutton has been cast as the male lead in the untitled Fox drama pilot that hails from Annie Weisman and Jason Katims, Variety has learned. The pilot is based on the Australian series “Sisters.” In the Fox project, only child Julia Bechley (Brittany Snow) has her life turned upside down when it’s revealed that

February 28, 2019 10:32AM PT Netflix has put out a straight-to-series order for live-action dramedy “The Baby-Sitters Club,” based on the iconic Ann M. Martin book series, Variety has learned. The books were previously adapted for TV in 1990 for a one season run on HBO, and Netflix says the new show will be a contemporary

ESPN unveiled a new “” team last fall, part of a series of maneuvers aimed at forging better ties with the National Football League. Come autumn, the sports network may have to do it again. Jason Witten, the rookie analyst who joined “MNF” last season, is returning to the field. The Dallas Cowboys said Thursday

John Turturro and the producers of “The Name of the Rose”  unveiled their ambitious English-language TV adaptation of Umberto Eco’s murder mystery in Rome on Thursday ahead of its global rollout, which will kick off March 4 on Italy’s RAI. Producers and the Italian pubcaster have high hopes the show will expand the international footprint

William Baldwin ditched his plans for law school and a career in politics when he caught a love for acting. With credits in films such as “Flatliners” and “Backdraft,” he now has several TV series in the works. Family drama “Northern Rescue” comes to Netflix and the CBC later this year, along with Amazon Studios’

CBS’ search for a chief executive to succeed Leslie Moonves has narrowed to a short list that includes – among others – acting CEO Joe Ianniello and Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, who is a CBS Corp. board member, according to people familiar with the matter. Ianniello is seen as having a potential edge because of

February 28, 2019 8:36AM PT The two-hour season finale of “The Masked Singer” on Fox blew away all of its broadcast competition on Wednesday night. The singing competition series nabbed a 3.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 10 million viewers, both of which represent new series highs in Live+Same Day. That is also an approximate

February 28, 2019 8:24AM PT TV-news veteran Greta Van Susteren has joined Gray Television as a national political analyst who will provide news operations at the company’s TV stations with coverage of national and international political news. “After more than 20 years on cable news platforms, I am thrilled to move to broadcast news and

Luke Perry has been hospitalized after reportedly suffering a massive stroke, according to TMZ. Perry’s reps confirmed to Variety that the “Riverdale” star “is currently under observation at the hospital.” Paramedics responded to a call about a stroke at Perry’s Los Angeles home on Thursday morning, TMZ reports. He was taken to a nearby hospital, and

February 28, 2019 6:10AM PT “Billions” and “Homeland” star Damian Lewis is making a docu-drama series lifting the lid on the most gripping international spy operations of the last forty years. A+E Networks’ U.K. and U.S. divisions are partnering on “Damian Lewis: Spy Wars” (WT), which will be produced by U.K. indie Alaska TV. A+E

In a clear sign of the shifts in the international TV business, BBC Studios, Fox Networks Group and Endemol Shine will not have stands at this year’s MipTV market in April, but organizers of the event report an uptick in registrations from Australia, France, and China, among others. MipTV remains the second-largest TV market of

In a move that suggests a rapid consolidation of its unscripted format operations for the international market, European TV giant Mediapro has sold U.S. adaptation rights to dating show “Forever or Never” to 44 Blue Productions, a Red Arrow Studios company. Produced and developed by Mediapro in partnership with Phileas Productions, a Madrid-based entertainment formats

February 27, 2019 7:52PM PT “Halt and Catch Fire” actress Lisa Sheridan, who also worked on numerous other series like “Invasion” and “CSI,” died in her New Orleans apartment Feb. 25. She was 44. Sheridan’s “Only God Can” co-star Donna D’Errico shared the news on Facebook. “It’s so rare to find kind, gentle souls like

February 27, 2019 6:18PM PT WarnerMedia is in talks with veteran television executive Bob Greenblatt for a possible role overseeing the company’s television-programming operations, including HBO and Turner. Word of Greenblatt’s possible new role comes just days after the Justice Department’s last challenge to the acquisition of the former Time Warner by AT&T was rejected

Veteran media professional, Ita Buttrose has been named as chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The appointment is a significant step towards ending the five month period of uncertainly that has followed the sacking of the organization’s chief executive Michelle Guthrie and the subsequent resignation of chairman Justin Milne. The appointment was announced on Thursday

February 27, 2019 4:23PM PT After his recent standout performance in season three of “True Detective” on HBO, Stephen Dorff has been cast to headline the Fox and Entertainment One pilot “Deputy,” Variety has learned. Dorff will play Deputy Bill Hollister, a career lawman who is very comfortable kicking down doors, but not so handy on

In today’s roundup, Netflix releases the first look at “The OA: Part II,” and “The Tick” on Amazon gets a season two trailer. CASTING Joshua Orpin will star as Superboy, a.k.a. Conner Kent, in the upcoming second season of “Titans” on DC Universe. More of an angsty teen than a Man of Steel, Superboy will

NBC has renewed “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” for a seventh season, the network announced Wednesday. However, this will only be the cop comedy’s second season airing on NBC. The show was infamously canceled at Fox last year, only to be revived at NBC shortly thereafter. Series producer Universal Television had also been in talks with Hulu to

February 27, 2019 2:06PM PT Lawrence Tu, the chief legal officer of CBS Corp.,  has decided to leave the company, CBS disclosed in a filing Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tu, who joined CBS in 2014 after serving as general counsel for Dell Inc., had decided to retire, according to a person

Former HBO exec David Levine has been named President of Television at Anonymous Content. Levine spent the past decade at HBO where he was EVP and Co-Head of Drama, and his departure from the network was announced earlier in February. In his new position at Anonymous, Levine will oversee the company’s TV division and will

February 27, 2019 1:32PM PT “Orange Is The New Black” and “American Pie” star Jason Biggs has been cast in the lead role opposite Maggie Lawson in the upcoming Fox multi-camera comedy pilot “Geniuses,” Variety has learned. Biggs will play Mike, an affable, enthusiastic dad and husband to Cay (Lawson), who is described as a true Jersey girl.

Production of “Zero Zero Zero” has been delayed by several months as a result of an on-set injury to star Andrea Riseborough, and political tensions in Mexico that disrupted the cocaine drama’s location schedule, Variety has learned exclusively. Riseborough was injured while shooting last year in Morocco, according to Riccardo Tozzi, founder of Cattleya, the

February 27, 2019 11:30AM PT Alanna Ubach has joined the cast of the untitled single-camera comedy pilot at ABC that hails from Hannah Simone, Variety has learned. Simone will star in, write, and executive produce the project, which is inspired by Simone’s family. In the project, Hannah (Simone) and her Indian-American immigrant father Sid have always

February 27, 2019 11:15AM PT Mike Vogel has been cast in the lead role for the forthcoming ABC pilot “Triangle.” He will play David Roman, an orphan who bounced between foster homes growing up. Roman’s life has always been a bit of a rollercoaster, but when the plot starts he is hoping to begin a