February 10, 2019 2:00PM PT Nat Geo Wild has renewed “Howie Mandel’s Animals Doing Things,” the network announced Sunday. “We have packed even more hilarious, heartwarming and surprising animal clips into this exciting new season,” said Mandel. “As an animal lover, I am thrilled to team up with Nat Geo Wild for more of ‘Animals
Television
Epix is joining the subscription streaming marketplace with the launch of Epix Now as a stand-alone option for $5.99 a month. MGM’s premium cabler has been developing an OTT service for some time. The company’s larger rivals — HBO, Showtime and Starz — also have services that allow subscribers to sign up for their channels
In 1999 Monika Mitchell wrote, produced and directed a short film that she took to festivals. At the time, she recalled Sunday at a Television Critics Assn. press tour panel, when her name came up in the credits there were so few women helming projects that she overheard an executive say, “Monika’s a funny name
Halfway through its first season, History has renewed the freshman drama series “Project Blue Book,” it was announced Saturday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. History has ordered a 10-episode second season of the series, which is based on the true, top-secret investigations into Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and related phenomena conducted by
The first international buyers have begun snapping up “Brecht,” a miniseries on the influential German playwright that will play in the Berlinale Special section of the film festival. The two-part project blends drama and documentary forms to tell Bertolt Brecht’s life story. Written and directed by Heinrich Breloer, it stars both Tom Schilling (“Never Look
“Leave No Trace” has won the USC Libraries Scripter Award for best movie adaptation and “A Very English Scandal” took the television award. “Leave No Trace,” was adapted by Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, based on the 2009 novel “My Abandonment” by Peter Rock. “A Very English Scandal” was adapted by Russell T. Davies from John
NBC late-night sketch comedy series “Saturday Night Live” usually calls upon Alec Baldwin to put on a suit, tie and combover wig to portray Donald Trump but in the Feb. 9 episode, regular cast member Kenan Thompson donned the look, so to speak, in “Them Trumps.” The sketch was a commercial for a fictional series
“Saturday Night Live” took a step back from politics at the top of its Feb. 9 return, instead featuring a cold open that dove into the state of journalism today. On the set of “Meet the Press,” Kyle Mooney’s Chuck Todd interviewed Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson (played by Kenan Thompson), Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy
The second season of BBC America’s cat-and-mouse drama “Killing Eve” picks up only 30 seconds after the events of the first season ended, but crafting what is to come is a new executive producer in Emerald Fennel. Fennel stepped in to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s creation after the first season was already written but before it was
The AMC dramas “Into the Badlands” and “The Son” are coming to an end on AMC, the cabler announced Saturday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “Into the Badlands” will end after the final eight episodes of Season 3. The martial arts drama returns on March 24 at 10 pm ET following a new
February 9, 2019 2:30PM PT Under its new script-to-series model, AMC has opened a writers’ room for the drama series “61st Street.” The series hails from showrunner and executive producer Peter Moffat as well as executive producer Michael B. Jordan via his Outlier Society production banner, it was announced Saturday at the Television Critics Association
“” host AJ Calloway has been suspended after multiple women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, Variety has confirmed. “Upon becoming aware of allegations of sexual misconduct against AJ Calloway, we began an internal review to determine whether there had been any misconduct by Mr. Calloway on ‘Extra’ and whether any employee of the
“Best of British” streaming service BritBox is making further moves into original production, announcing a new multi-series collaboration with Oscar-nominated writer-producer Jeff Pope during its Television Critics Association panel on Saturday. BritBox will co-produce Pope’s new dramas “The Barking Murders” and “The Hatton Garden Heist” with the BBC. “The Barking Murders” stars Stephen Merchant, Sheridan
“Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris’ willingness to tackle tough topics on primetime network television – including police brutality, corporal punishment, and the 2016 election – “opens minds and hearts into a window into a world many folks don’t understand,” said one of the show’s stars, Marcus Scribner, in honoring Barris at the 44th Annual Humanitas Prize awards
Leslie Moonves, the former CBS chairman-CEO who was brought down last year by allegations of sexual misconduct, has set up a new business venture that appears to be targeting production, distribution and streaming. Moonves’ plan to launch Moon Rise Unlimited LLC came to light in a filing to register the Moon Rise name with the
Homer Simpson has had a long love affair with television (“Teacher! Mother! Secret lover”), so it’s probably no surprise he’s a major proponent of binge TV. And Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos is more than happy to indulge “The Simpsons” character. As a matter of fact, Sarandos appears in Sunday’s episode of “The Simpsons,”
In today’s roundup, “Free Solo” gets a Nat Geo premiere date and E! reveals the premiere date for ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ Season 16. DATES The Oscar-nominated documentary “Free Solo” will debut commercial free on National Geographic on March 3 at 9 p.m. From documentary filmmaker Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and photographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin, the
February 8, 2019 4:24PM PT “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi shared fond thoughts about late “Top Chef” star Fatima Ali, who recently lost her battle with cancer at the age of 29. Known as Chef Fati on Season 15 of the Bravo series, the “Top Chef” contestant died in late January from a rare form of
Albert Finney was destined to play Winston Churchill. That was the view of the producers behind the 2002 HBO movie “The Gathering Storm,” which earned Finney his first and only Emmy Award. Finney, who died Thursday in London at the age of 82, was envisioned for the role of Churchill in “Storm” from the outset,
February 8, 2019 4:19PM PT HBO has begun offering voluntary buyouts to older employees who have been with the company for at least 10 years. “In the interest of costs and operating efficiencies, HBO has offered voluntary early retirement packages to a segment of our employees,” the company confirmed in a statement. HBO sources emphasized
HBO is looking to go big — and small — with its programming this year. HBO programming president Casey Bloys spoke with Variety at the Television Critics Assn.’s winter press tour on Friday about company’s increased investment in original programming and its embrace of “intimate” shows alongside blockbusters such as “Game of Thrones” and “Westworld.”
HBO is sticking with its decision to release a controversial documentary about Michael Jackson in the face of criticism from the late pop singer’s estate. “It doesn’t change our plans,” HBO programming president Casey Bloys told Variety Friday. “We announced the air date. It will air as planned.” Earlier Friday, the Jackson estate sent a
One day after Susan Lucci revealed she underwent emergency heart surgery, the soap star stepped out at the American Heart Association’s 15th annual Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection runway event. Moments before she took a tumble on the runway (and expertly recovered), Lucci spoke to Variety about why she decided to come forward and open
The first season of “Big Little Lies” may have come to an end with an answer to the murder mystery, as well as a sense of the Monterey Five solid in their friendship. But when the cast and producers realized they wanted to reunite, and they saw there was equal audience demand for more of
February 8, 2019 2:02PM PT BBC America will serve up a third installment of its popular “Planet Earth” series in 2022 after setting a five-year extension with BBC Studios for high-end natural history programming. The deal covers BBC America’s rights to the ambitious “Planet Earth III” production as well as “Frozen Planet II” in 2021
February 8, 2019 10:36AM PT Sam Esmail is staying put at Universal Content Productions (UCP), with the “Mr. Robot” creator inking a rich new overall deal with the studio. Under the new multi-year deal, Esmail will produce content for linear and streaming platforms, including NBCUniversal’s recently announced streaming service. “As a creator, nothing is more important
February 8, 2019 10:00AM PT Malin Akerman has been cast in a lead role of the NBC drama pilot “Prism,” Variety has learned. “Prism” is an exploration of a murder trial in which every episode is told through the perspective of a different key person involved. Each new version of the facts ratchets up the mystery
National Geographic is launching a slate of new series that will showcase the natural world, exotic wildlife, and a veteran Nat Geo photographer in action in the field. The channel will launch “America,” a new series using high-end camera tech to offer a new portrait of the U.S.; “Planet of the Whales,” a landmark series
Few people could introduce a fake documentary called “Bats— Valley” with a straight face. But if there’s anyone for the job, it’s Dame Helen Mirren. Clad in a shin-length orange dress, Mirren, studio host of the parody series “Documentary Now!,” stood resolute at her mark and took a lengthy pause before delivering the introductory line,
Talpa Media Promotes Kim Dingler to Head Talpa Global – Variety You will be redirected back to your article in seconds February 8, 2019 8:41AM PT Talpa Media had appointed Kim Dingler as the new managing director of its worldwide licensing arm Talpa Global. Dingler takes over the role from Maarten Meijs, who was recently