Television

National Geographic Channel has pulled its long-running Neil deGrasse Tyson chat show “StarTalk” off the air, at least for now, following allegations of sexual misconduct against the famed astrophysicist. “StarTalk” will remain on hiatus as a Fox Networks Group investigation into the multiple claims continues. “In order to allow the investigation to occur unimpeded we

CBS announced on Thursday the 21 performers participating in the 2019 CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase. It will begin its run of six shows starting Jan. 15 at the El Portal Theatre in Los Angeles. Beginning 14 years ago, the showcase was created to spotlight diverse talent, and it has developed into a hybrid comedy

January 3, 2019 10:30AM PT The CW has given a pilot order to a new spin on Batwoman starring “Orange Is the New Black” alum Ruby Rose. “Batwoman” is shepherded by DC TV overlord Greg Berlanti for Warner Bros. TV and was penned by “Vampire Diaries” alum Caroline Dries. David Nutter, one of the industry’s

This year’s Golden Globes fields for supporting actor and actress in a series, limited series or TV movie are as diverse — and as overstuffed — as the names imply. Recent Emmy honorees — comedy winner Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), drama winner Thandie Newton (“Westworld”), drama nominee Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), and

As the Oscars struggled last month to find a host, the Golden Globes made it look easy in comparison. Pairing Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh was an unexpected choice, but one borne out of their presenter banter at the most recent Emmys — and a recognition that another solo, white male host would be a

Carol Burnett is the kind of acclaimed performer whose awards attention isn’t merely focusing on EGOTing (although she is almost there, having won six Emmys, a Grammy and a special Tony). The legendary actress and comedian has also picked up two Peabody Awards, the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Humor, the Presidential Medal of

When NBC decided to pick up “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” the day after Fox canceled the workplace comedy in May 2018, executive producer Dan Goor was eager to continue his story about the police officers of the 99th precinct in New York City, but was not looking to make any drastic changes just because the show would

Gray Television, which just completed a $3.6 billion acquisition of Raycom Media, is expanding its use of Comscore measurement services at many of its local stations. The company, which now owns 150 affiliates of CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, said it will use Comscore at all of the stations it owned before the acquisition and at

Harrison Ford, Lupita Nyong’o, Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, and Halle Berry are among the stars set to present awards at the 76th annual Golden Globes Awards telecast on Jan. 6. Other celebrity presenters for the night include: Chadwick Boseman, Saoirse Ronan, Michael B. Jordan, Sterling K. Brown, Jessica Chastain, Kaley Cuoco, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dick

Actor Will Poulter has announced that he is taking a “step back” from Twitter and reassessing his “relationship with social media” following abuse from online trolls over his appearance in new “Black Mirror” episode “Bandersnatch.” Poulter tweeted Wednesday night that the move was “in the interest of my mental health.” The British actor, who turns

ABC’s recent tradition of family-friendly half-hours continues with “Schooled,” a half-hour spinoff of period comedy “The Goldbergs” that moves character Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka) into adulthood, where she’s returning to her high school to teach music to a group of jaded ‘90s kids. The show’s action transpires, coincidentally or not, during a golden era for

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Jan. 2 series premiere of “The Masked Singer.” Every television show has a bible — a document that details the story arc and character descriptions, as well as format and structure notes, so that writers and producers can keep things consistent and evolving over

January 2, 2019 2:23PM PT Tribune Media stations and cabler WGN America have gone dark on Charter Communications systems in 24 markets after the sides could not come to terms on a new carriage agreement. The companies had been negotiating a new deal on and off for weeks against a Dec. 31 deadline for 33

January 2, 2019 1:57PM PT Variety has hired business journalist Elaine Low as a senior TV writer. She comes to Penske Media Corp.-owned Variety from Investor’s Business Daily, where she was a news reporter and producer. In her new role, Low will handle breaking-news stories on all aspects of the television industry, from the executive

January 2, 2019 1:03PM PT “Evil Dead” actor Bruce Campbell is set to host a reboot of the durable “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” format for Travel Channel. Built around real-life stories from across the globe, each of the 10 hourlong episodes will be shot at Ripley Warehouse in Orlando, Fla. Campbell, Brad Bernstein, David Karabinas,

January 2, 2019 11:11AM PT Bob Einstein, an offbeat comedian and writer whose career stretched from “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” to “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has died. He was 76. Einstein was known most recently for playing Marty Funkhouser, the aggravating old friend of Larry David on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Einstein also created the

With its new installment “True Detective,” one of TV’s most baroque series, is keeping things simple — relatively speaking. Some things haven’t changed: Yes, the third season restlessly jumps through time. (It moves between 1980, 1990 and 2015, to be exact.) And as Det. Wayne Hays, a cop investigating the disappearance of two children in small-town

If not for “Up All Night With Rhonda Shear,” there would be no “Barry.” A linear precursor to binge viewing, USA’s horror-movie schlock block, which ran from late evening to early morning in the 1990s, attracted no small number of teens who had nothing better to do on a Friday or Saturday night. Bill Hader

“No, I never steal,” shoots back “Luther” creator and writer Neil Cross at what he perceives to be an accusation as we sit in his trailer on the London set of the crime show’s fifth season. The latest instalments air this week in the U.K. and later this year in the U.S., with its star,

For five years and a little over 100 episodes, “The Fosters” told emotional and oftentimes topical stories stemming from a blended family in Southern California. Now, seven months after “The Fosters” came to an end, its spinoff series “Good Trouble” sets out to further explore such themes, but in a new setting and with a

CBS, which distributes some of TV’s most-watched programs, may have to use a new way to count its viewers. CBS and the media-measurement service Nielsen are without a contract after their current deal lapsed at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter. The situation — for now — remains fluid. Talks

The third season of “Stranger Things” will launch on Netflix July 4, 2019. The streamer made the announcement via a clip that was designed to look like the local Hawkins, Ind. television affiliate. First, Dick Clark appeared during “live” footage of his 1985 “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve” special, but as the camera panned to the

December 31, 2018 7:47PM PT Tribune Media and Charter Communications have averted a New Year’s Day blackout of local TV stations and WGN America with an eleventh-hour agreement on a two-day contract extension. Discussions went down to the wire on New Year’s Eve as the companies worked against at 12:01 a.m. ET contract expiration. The

Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV. Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch them. This week, the Golden Globes airs and “The Titan Games” debuts on Fox. “Dick Clark’s

December 31, 2018 9:23AM PT Live viewership of Seth MacFarlane’s Fox sci-fi dramedy “The Orville” fell sharply in its second season premiere on Sunday despite the lead-in boost provided from Fox’s NFL coverage earlier in the day. But “Orville” still delivered a credible number and posted improvements on its first season averages. The show got

This New Year’s Eve, kick back on your couch with absolutely no fear of FOMO on the wild parties. The networks have got you covered with a long list of TV shows marathoning on TV for your binge watching pleasure. Classic shows like “The Twilight Zone,” “Friends” and “Sex in the City,” as well as newer

Disgraced comedian Louis C.K. has stirred more outrage after taking aim at Parkland shooting survivors and gender identity concerns in a recent set at a comedy club on Long Island. A 48-minute audio recording of C.K. surfaced late Sunday on YouTube. It was described as a set delivered Dec. 16 at Governor’s Comedy Club in

December 30, 2018 6:25PM PT Hector Xtravaganza, “grandfather” of the House of Xtravaganza and consultant for Ryan Murphy’s “Pose,” has died. The House of Xtravaganza announced his death in an Instagram post. “It is with profound sadness the House of Xtravaganza family announce the passing of our beloved Grandfather Hector,” the post reads. “He was

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The Birds and the Bees,” the ninth episode of “Outlander” Season 4. The latest episode of “Outlander” finally put on screen a scene book readers have been looking forward to for years. In the episode “The Birds and the Bees,” Brianna (Sophie Skelton) managed to

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The Birds and the Bees,” the ninth episode of “Outlander” Season 4. The latest “Outlander” episode continued to be quite the emotional roller coaster for poor Brianna (Sophie Skelton), who was just raped by Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers), then met her birth father and