Fox and Jackal Group chairman and CEO Gail Berman are partnering on a new production venture, Variety has learned. The new company is called SideCar, which is described as a content development accelerator headed by Berman. The new unit will work side-by-side with Fox, identifying and incubating programming both for the network and third-party platforms. SideCar will
Television
Fox is developing one-hour drama “Talent,” to be written and executive produced by “The Americans” and “Justified” executive producer Graham Yost. Sony Pictures Television, Original Film and Boom! Studios will produce the show about a woman, Nicole Dane, who wakes up in a hospital, only to discover that she is the sole survivor of an
“Top Chef” and “Project Runway” producers Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth are leaving Magical Elves, the powerhouse unscripted the duo founded in 2001. The pair said Wednesday they intend to return to their roots as independent producers after a transition period. Los Angeles-based Magical Elves was acquired in 2014 by British production group Tinopolis. Tinopolis
For its 200th episode milestone in 2014, “Supernatural” went deeply meta, delivering “almost a pure homage to the #SPNFamily and the crazy things that happened to the show, from the books being written about it to the Clue games to the Funko figures,” series star Jared Padalecki recalls. Now five years later the show is
For the first few seasons after “Supernatural” debuted on the then-WB network in 2005 the show constantly lived on the bubble, with writers, producers and stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki unsure of its fate. But what a difference a few years, or in this case 14, can make. Now the show is not only
Journalist, film critic and radio host Elvis Mitchell got to travel the world and interview renowned filmmakers about their hometowns and inspirations in his new docuseries “Elvis Goes There” on EPIX. “Each place was very specific and came to mean much more than I could’ve imagined,” Mitchell told Variety. Mitchell sits down with “Black Panther” director
After 21 years as a programming executive at Disney Channels Worldwide, Adam Bonnett has joined Mattel Television as executive producer overseeing development and production of episodic content. Bonnett will spearhead animated and live-action projects for the El Segundo, Calif.-based toymaker that is looking to better exploit its popular toy brands through TV programming. Mattel is
Netflix has unveiled five new Spanish original series, including titles by well-known film director Nacho Vigalondo (“Time Crimes”) and Pau Freixas, executive producer of Spanish breakout “The Red Band Society.” The new titles see the streaming giant almost double the number – from six to 11 – of new and returning scripted series it has
February 5, 2019 5:30PM PT Fox has ordered pilots for the drama “neXt” and the single-cam comedy “Adam & Eve.” “neXt” is described as a fact-based thriller grounded in the latest A.I. research. It features a brilliant but paranoid former tech CEO who joins a Homeland Cybersecurity Agent and her team to stop the world’s first
In today’s roundup, “The Bachelor in Paradise” is renewed and Freeform releases premiere dates for shows like “The Bold Type” and “Cloak & Dagger.” DATES Colton Underwood’s journey to find love culminates with the two-night season finale event on ABC’s “The Bachelor,” which airs March 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and March 12 at 8 p.m. Underwood will
Petrice Jones has been cast in the Netflix adaptation of “Locke & Key” in a series regular role, Variety has learned exclusively. Jones has been cast in the role of Scot. Scot is described as a massive horror movie nerd and the ringleader of the “Savini Squad” — a group of teen misfits named for famed
CBS has picked up another two seasons of the multi-cam sitcom “Mom.” The show will now run through at least Season 8 on the broadcaster. The two-season pick up comes after series stars Allison Janney and Anna Farris reportedly reached sizable new deals with Warner Bros. Television. “We’re exceptionally proud to have ‘Mom’ on our
Disney will forgo about $150 million in content licensing revenue in its current fiscal year as the company prepares for the launch of Disney Plus later this year. During Disney’s quarterly earnings conference call on Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger and chief financial officer Christine McCarthy offered a few details about the financial ramifications of
Fox has picked up two more drama pilots for the 2019-2020 season. First up is “Deputy,” which hails from writer and executive producer Will Beall. In the series, Deputy Bill Hollister is a career lawman who’s very comfortable kicking down doors and utterly lost in a staff meeting. But when the LA County Sheriff drops dead,
ABC, along with its teen-focused corporate sibling Freeform, presented some of their upcoming slate at the winter Television Critics Assn. press tour Tuesday. Panels for new series included Scott Foley’s return to ABC’s air with spy caper “Whiskey Cavalier,” Elizabeth Meriwether’s “New Girl” follow-up “Bless This Mess,” and two series with high-profile celebrities as producers
New ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke expressed bullishness at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that this year’s Academy Awards telecast would be sure to draw in viewers, and downplayed the recent controversy surrounding Kevin Hart that led ABC to a host-less Oscars. When asked if the issue was prompting worry, Burke responded: “I have to be
It’s the end of a comedy era for ABC: “Modern Family” has been renewed for an 11th and final season in 2019-20. The 20th Century Fox Television series has been an anchor of ABC’s primetime schedule since its premiere in 2009. Created by Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, the domestic comedy revolving around an extended
If anyone is able to navigate the booming global market for television content, it should be Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens. The pair, who are now partners in the Propagate production venture, made their mark two decades ago in recognizing the potential of U.S. adaptations of British TV hits including “Who Wants to Be
February 5, 2019 9:03AM PT Freeform has picked up “Good Trouble” for a second season, the network announced Tuesday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. The renewal comes after the “Fosters” spinoff has aired only four episodes to date, with the fifth set to air tonight. The show launched in early January on
February 5, 2019 9:00AM PT Netflix has ordered a drama series based on the Karin Slaughter novel “Pieces of Her.” In the series, when a Saturday afternoon trip to the mall with her mother suddenly explodes into violence, an adrift young woman’s conception of her mother is forever changed. As figures from her mother’s past
“Grown-ish” has been renewed for a third season, Freeform announced Tuesday. The series, which comes from Kenya Barris, is a spinoff of ABC family comedy “Black-ish,” centered on eldest Johnson daughter Zoey (Yara Shahidi) as she navigates collegiate life. With stories told through a millennial lens, the show explores a wide berth of social, political
February 5, 2019 8:00AM PT The reboot of “Bewitched” is not moving forward at ABC this pilot season. Variety has learned that the new version of the classic sitcom has been rolled to off cycle at the broadcaster. The project is said to remain in active development. Kenya Barris and Yamara Taylor were set to write
February 5, 2019 6:26AM PT Nickelodeon Studios has cut a deal with Netflix to produce two animated movies for the streaming giant based on Nickelodeon properties “The Loud House” and “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” The pact was unveiled Tuesday morning during Viacom’s fiscal first quarter earnings call. Viacom CEO Bob Bakish cited
In an era when coverage of President Donald Trump saturates the cable-news spectrum, viewers know they can turn to CNN to get the latest reactions from politicians and analysts. Increasingly, they’ve also been able to hear from some of the titans of Silicon Valley. Laurie Segall has nabbed sit-downs with tech moguls like Apple’s Tim
Viacom said it would continue to press forward on new content ventures even as profit in its fiscal first quarter fell despite improved performance at its filmed-entertainment operations, and it grappled with a 6% decline in advertising revenue. “Viacom today is a story of execution, and evolution,” said Bob Bakish, the company’s CEO, during a
February 4, 2019 6:30PM PT NBC is no longer moving forward with its planned live version of the musical “Hair.” “Live musicals are a part of this network’s DNA and we are committed to continuing that tradition with the right show at the right time,” said Paul Telegdy and George Cheeks, co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment. “Since
Following his remarks at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour earlier Monday, FX CEO John Landgraf spoke with Variety about FX’s future as a Disney subsidiary, and how that will impact its programming and strategic choices. A condensed and edited transcript follows: So you talked about FX’s future in relation to Disney’s streaming efforts.
February 4, 2019 5:00PM PT “Riverdale” star Ashleigh Murray is on the move but staying within the Archie Comics TV universe. Murray, who plays Josie McCoy on “Riverdale,” has signed on for a lead role in the “Katy Keene” pilot currently in the works at CW. She is the first person to be cast in
FX took center stage at the winter Television Critics Assn. press tour on Monday. Panels included new shows including the upcoming limited series “Fosse/Verdon,” Taika Watiti’s comedy “What We Do in the Shadows” and “New York Times” docuseries “The Weekly,” as well as returning shows “Better Things” and “Legion.” FX President John Landgraf opened the
February 4, 2019 4:08PM PT In today’s TV news roundup, premiere dates are announced for “What We Do in the Shadows” on FX and a pair of prison films on HBO. CASTING DC Universe has announced that Meg DeLacy and Jake Austin Walker will join the cast of “Stargirl,” the subscription service’s upcoming series following high-school