February 27, 2019 11:10AM PT Disney+ is developing a scripted series that will focus on iconic Disney villains, Variety has learned from sources. The series is currently titled “Book of Enchantments” and will be based on the “Villains” book series penned by Serena Valentino. It will tell the origin stories of Disney characters like Ursula from
Television
An arbitrator has ordered Fox to pay $179 million to profit participants in the long-running drama series “Bones,” finding that top executives lowballed revenue from the show and gave false testimony. In his ruling, arbitrator Peter Lichtman blasted several Fox executives by name, including Dana Walden, Gary Newman and Peter Rice, saying they gave “false
February 27, 2019 10:00AM PT The eighth annual ATX Television Festival has booked Showtime’s upcoming drama “City on a Hill” for its closing night event, as well as a panel about the “power of female partnerships,” Variety has learned exclusively. The premium cabler will screen the premiere episode of “City on a Hill” and present
In the decade since Michael Jackson’s death, the late singer’s estate has turned what had been a financial disaster into one of entertainment’s most lucrative properties. But now, the upcoming documentary “Leaving Neverland” threatens to upend all of that — and the estate is in full-blown damage control mode. Directed by Dan Reed, “Leaving Neverland”
The WGA is looking to enlist support of Hollywood managers in its battle against the industry’s largest talent agencies. The WGA has invited a slew of top managers to attend meetings set for this week and next to explain the guild’s rationale for its bid to impose tough restrictions on talent agency packaging fees. The
February 27, 2019 1:55AM PT Food Network will add a raft of Jamie Oliver shows to its menu. The Discovery-owned channel has acquired a smorgasbord of the celebrity chef’s programs that have previously aired on Channel 4 including “Jamie’s Quick & Easy Food,” “Jamie’s Money Saving Meals,” and “Jamie’s Super Food.” It has also bought
Considering Matt Bomer regularly appears at the top of “Sexiest Man Alive” lists and has voiced Superman, the most famously hunky superhero of them all, it might be considered ironic that in his new role in the DC Universe show “Doom Patrol,” he plays a character whose entire body is covered in bandages. However, at
With eight Emmys and four Golden Globes under its belt, HBO’s hit drama “Big Little Lies” returns for a second season this summer. For new viewers and returning fans, here is everything you need to know ahead of the season’s premiere. When Is the Premiere? HBO says the limited series will return in June, but
Camille Hyde and Lucien Laviscount have joined the “Katy Keene” pilot at CW, Variety has learned. They will play siblings Alexandra and Alexander Cabot respectively. Alexandra is described as a powerful, savvy and chic New York socialite. She is a Senior Vice President at her father’s company. Both respected and feared, Alexandra is competitive with her
AT&T is considering major structural changes to the Turner division of WarnerMedia now that the last legal threat to the telco giant’s acquisition of Time Warner has been removed. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court rejected the Justice Department’s appeal of the decision last June that allowed AT&T to proceed with its $85.4 billion purchase
February 26, 2019 4:45PM PT Jane Leeves has been cast in Hannah Simone’s single-camera comedy pilot at ABC, 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 been close, but after she admits
February 26, 2019 4:02PM PT In today’s TV Roundup, Netflix debuts the first trailer for Amy Schumer’s new comedy special, “Amy Schumer: Growing.” FIRST LOOKS Netflix has released the first trailer for Amy Schumer’s new comedy special, “Amy Schumer: Growing,” in which she gives a Chicago audience her unique take on marriage, pregnancy, and personal
Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Tawny Newsome have been cast in the lead roles of the ABC single-camera comedy pilot “Woman Up,” Variety has learned. Ellis will play Liz and Newsome will play Phoebe, two former teen moms who worked their asses off to see their daughters all the way through high school graduation. And now
February 26, 2019 3:30PM PT The angriest chef on television will be back for two more seasons of flaying and roasting amateurs. Fox has decided to renew Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen” for its 19th and 20th seasons, Variety has learned. The cooking show, which first premiered in 2005 and consists of Ramsay viciously putting a group
U.S. writer, showrunner and producer Ilene Chaiken, best known for “The L Word,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Empire,” will be among the recipients of the Médailles d’Honneur, a career achievement award bestowed by Cannes-based TV conference and market MipTV. The honor, handed to TV executives who have “through their talent, leadership and passion made a
February 26, 2019 2:44PM PT Ben J. Pierce has been cast in the lead role for the upcoming CW pilot “Glamorous,” Variety has learned. He joins a cast which includes Brooke Shields and Jade Payton, with Eva Longoria in the director’s seat. The pilot centers around Pierce’s character Marco, a gender non-conforming recent high school
Mary Steenburgen has been cast in the NBC drama pilot “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” Variety has learned. The project is described as a musical dramedy about Zoey (Jane Levy), who is suddenly able to hear the innermost thoughts of people around her as songs and even big musical numbers that they perform just for her. With this
February 26, 2019 11:30AM PT Megalyn Echikunwoke has been cast in the untitled drama pilot at Fox 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
Nikki Battiste’s work at CBS News has been keeping her up nights. The CBS News correspondent has over the last several months reported out a group of harrowing stories for “CBS Evening News” about a problem that has affected millions and is only now coming to greater light. She has since last summer kept tabs
The Obamas have started putting together the executive team to head their Higher Ground Productions label,Variety has learned. Priya Swaminathan, a former director of development at Annapurna, and Tonia Davis, who previously oversaw development for TV and film productions at Chernin Entertainment, have been appointed as co-heads of the Obamas’ production venture. Former President Barack
Jeraldine Saunders, author of the 1974 book “The Love Boats” that inspired the classic ABC series “The Love Boat,” died on Monday at her home in Glendale, Calif., due to complications from kidney stone surgery. She was 96. The book is Saunders’ firsthand account as the first female cruise director for a major cruise line,
Clive Standen could be returning to NBC. Variety has learned that the former “Taken” star has been cast in the NBC drama pilot “Council of Dads.” Based on Bruce Feiler’s memoir of the same name, the project follows Scott Perry and his family, whose lives are thrown into upheaval when he gets a potentially terminal
February 26, 2019 9:23AM PT HBO has picked up a second season of the news documentary series “Axios.” The new season will feature eight half-hour episodes, with four airing this spring and another four airing this fall. HBO has also ordered four specials, reacting to the most consequential news of the moment with shorter, interview-based
February 26, 2019 9:00AM PT Nathan Lane is officially the latest addition to the cast of the upcoming Showtime series “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” Variety has learned. Lane will play Lewis Michener. A veteran officer in the LAPD, wise to the ways of the world and ruthless in pursuit of his goals, Lewis becomes the
Amy Robach and David Muir aren’t in the business of making movies, but at ABC, they have gotten involved in the newsroom equivalent. The two hosts of “20/20” have been instrumental in an intriguing experiment the Walt Disney network has been conducting with the 40-year-old news-magazine. For several weeks, ABC has run versions of the
Jenna Bush Hager will succeed Kathie Lee Gifford in the fourth hour of “Today,” NBC News confirmed Tuesday, setting up a new partnership with Hoda Kotb that executives no doubt hope will prove as enduring as the one it replaces. “Jenna joined ‘Today’ nearly ten years ago and she quickly became a fixture in our
February 26, 2019 4:12AM PT Discovery Inc. said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter after posting a loss in the year-earlier period. The owner of the Discovery, TLC and OWN cable networks, which purchased Scripps Networks Interactive last year, said fourth-quarter revenue rose 51% to a little more than $2.8 billion in
February 25, 2019 5:25PM PT UPDATED: Ramos has reportedly been released. Journalist Jorge Ramos and his Univision crew were briefly “arbitrarily detained” at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas following an interview with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to the Univision News Twitter account Monday, after Maduro reportedly did not like the questions he was asked.
February 25, 2019 4:30PM PT Brittany Snow has been cast in the lead role of the untitled Fox drama pilot from Annie Weisman and Jason Katims based on the Australian series “Sisters,” Variety has learned. In the Fox project, only child Julia Bechley (Snow) has her life turned upside down when it’s revealed that her
February 25, 2019 3:46PM PT In today’s TV news roundup, CBS set a new premiere date for season four of “Life in Pieces,” and HBO announced the release date for its upcoming drama series “Native Son.” CASTING As season two of “Altered Carbon” approaches, Netflix confirmed the return of Renée Elise Goldsberry as Quellcrist Falconer