Television

September 26, 2018 2:17AM PT Eva Green (“Casino Royale”) and Eve Hewson (“The Knick”) will star in “The Luminaries,” the TV adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s award-winning novel. Marton Csokas (“Into the Badlands”) has also been cast in the upcoming six-parter, which will air on BBC Two in the U.K. and TVNZ in New Zealand. The

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Nine Bucks,” the third season premiere of “This Is Us.” The third season premiere of “This Is Us” offered another glimpse at the future lives of Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Tess (Iantha Richardson) and revealed what future Toby (Chris Sullivan) looks like — notably

In today’s TV Roundup, Showtime’s “The Circus” interviews Senator Patrick Leahy on the upcoming SCOTUS vote, and “The Daily Show” plans to go live to cover the midterm elections.  FIRST LOOKS Showtime’s “The Circus” conducted an interview with Senator Patrick Leahy about the upcoming SCOTUS vote, and his thoughts on Brett Kavanaugh. “The Circus” is

Richard Parsons, former head of Time Warner, has been named interim chairman of CBS’ board of directors. The newly configured CBS board had its first formal meeting via teleconference on Tuesday after the shakeup that began Sept. 9 with the forced resignation of longtime CEO Leslie Moonves amid sexual misconduct allegations. Parsons was appointed to

September 25, 2018 3:18PM PT Former CAA agent Adam Berkowitz was fired over an incident in which he allegedly groped a top executive at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions. According to an individual with knowledge of the situtation, Berkowitz is said to have grabbed the crotch of Bad Robot’s head of TV, Ben Stephenson, at

Fox has handed out a straight-to-series order for an animated comedy titled “Bless the Harts,” Variety has learned. The half-hour series will feature the voices of Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, and Ike Barinholtz. It follows a group of Southerners who are always broke as a joke, and struggling for the American dream of status and

September 25, 2018 10:36AM PT The Television Critics Association (TCA) has voted overwhelmingly to rescind the Career Achievement Award given to Bill Cosby in 2002, the group announced Tuesday. This marks the first time the TCA has ever taken away one of its awards. The revocation of the honor will be noted in the organization’s

September 25, 2018 10:30AM PT David Decker has been promoted to oversee domestic TV sales for Warner Bros. following the retirement of longtime domestic TV distribution chief Ken Werner. A 15-year studio veteran, Decker will take on oversight of local TV station sales with Werner’s departure. Decker already spearheaded sales to cable, streaming and on-demand

In an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on Monday, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh told the anchor that “America’s about fairness, and hearing from both sides.” It was a point he hit on again and again: That the same people who’d given a fair hearing to the women accusing him of assault and harassment

The first season of “Black Lightning” on the CW tackled topical storytelling around gang and gun violence, and drugs in inner cities. With that foundation under its feet, the second season will dive even deeper into tales of police brutality and family separation. “We’re at a critical point where artists, if they so choose —

September 25, 2018 9:54AM PT SANTA BARBARA – The CEO of AT&T said he “will be disappointed” if his company has not attracted more people to watch HBO more regularly, and suggested the company could reallocate capital within its WarnerMedia unit over the next three years to make that happen. “It would be a very

September 25, 2018 9:37AM PT Danica Smith is joining Kovert Creative, the creative marketing and communications agency led by Joe Assad and Lewis Kay. Smith joins the agency after 14 years at PMK*BNC/PMK-HBH. She will be based in the Santa Monica office. “Not only is Danica an exceptional personal representative, she is also one of

Ken Werner will retire from his post as president of Warner Domestic Television Distribution at year’s end. The veteran sales and distribution executive has headed Warner Bros.’ domestic TV sales efforts across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms since 2006. Before that, he spent nine years as head of the WB Network’s distribution team. In that

September 25, 2018 9:15AM PT Robert and Michelle King have renewed their overall deal with CBS Television Studios. Under the three-year agreement with the Kings — co creators of “The Good Fight” and “The Good Wife” — CBS will have exclusive rights to produce TV content created by the Kings across all platforms. The Kings,

The series premiere of “Manifest” on NBC got an excellent start in the Monday overnight ratings, while CBS’ reboot of “Magnum P.I.” enjoyed a respectable launch. Airing at 10 p.m., “Manifest” drew a 2.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 10.3 million viewers. That built on the lead in it got from the season premiere of

The eye of the peacock is considered by many to be a harbinger of good luck, its brilliant plume a source of pride. But given the jarring developments that hit NBC in the late afternoon of Sept. 21, just as the weekend approached, neither truism would apply to the broadcast network known in industry tradespeak

September 25, 2018 7:30AM PT The highly-anticipated second installment of “Making a Murderer” has an official Netflix premiere date, the streaming giant announced Tuesday. Part 2 will debut on Oct. 19. The first installment of the Emmy-winning documentary series followed the journey of Steven Avery. Avery was convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder in

September 25, 2018 7:00AM PT Kari Skogland, Emmy-nominated director of Hulu’s adaptation of the Margaret Atwood book “The Handmaid’s Tale,” perhaps best describes the zeitgeist-y effect of the show when she says, “I think ‘Handmaids’ is absolutely inextricably linked to the #MeToo movement.” So much so that the standard-issue scarlet-red robes and white-winged bonnets of

The streaming TV players are leaning hard on Halloween this year, with Hulu launching its monthly horror franchise “Into the Dark” Oct. 5 and Netflix’s “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” coming Oct. 26. While “Sabrina” comes pre-sold to its potential audience, tied in as it is to the “Riverdale” universe both through its source material

September 25, 2018 4:48AM PT Comcast said Tuesday it had snapped up more than 30% of the shares in Sky, the European pay-TV service that it is in the process of buying. The U.S. cable giant has a Sky-endorsed offer for the company on the table, but it can also openly buy Sky shares, except

Sharon Horgan’s burgeoning shingle Merman is launching a new digital arm, Mermade, and has brought in a clutch of seasoned industry execs the run the new U.S.- and U.K.-based business. Mermade will focus on shortform series for streamers, brands, and publishers. Rene Rechtman and Dan’l Hewitt, formerly of Disney-backed Maker Studios, will be non-executive directors.

The entire world wanted to snare an interview with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee. Martha MacCallum found out at nine this morning that he had agreed to talk to her. From there, it was a mad dash to figure out questions and logistics before taping the exchange with Judge Kavanaugh and his wife,

September 24, 2018 5:09PM PT The cast of “One Tree Hill” is partnering with Random Acts to raise money for Hurricane Florence relief in Wilmington, N.C., where the show filmed for more than 10 years. Using the hashtag #Capefearlesschallenge, cast members are encouraging direct donations from fans of the show as well as fans of

September 24, 2018 4:42PM PT Adam Berkowitz, a longtime top agent in CAA’s television department, is departing from the agency, Variety has learned exclusively. CAA declined to comment on the reason for Berkowitz’s exit beyond confirming he is no longer an employee of the agency. Berkowitz served as CAA’s co-head of television, where his client list

In today’s TV News Roundup, the Paley Center for Media is hosting a “West Side Story” celebration event and Fox is partnering with Turnaround Arts for a new social media campaign.  DATES Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights for the rom-com “California No” and is set to release the film Dec. 4 on VOD,

“New Amsterdam,” like the mammoth hospital it’s set in, has a whole lot of enthusiasm and too many areas in which to direct it. Based on Dr. Eric Manheimer’s book on New York City’s Bellevue Hospital (“Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital”), NBC’s new medical drama paints a simultaneously promising, bleak, and (unintentionally)

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A prosecutor urged the judge in Bill Cosby’s sexual abuse case on Monday to sentence the disgraced entertainer to five to 10 years behind bars, while Cosby’s defense lawyer said incarceration would be an “excessive hardship” for the man once known as America’s Dad. Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill is poised

The birth of the technology industry is an interesting story, one fueled by big money, hubris and creators’ unique ability to see a world that might be overlaying the one that exists. That’s the message that comes through in about half of National Geographic’s new series, “Valley of the Boom,” which had its world premiere

September 24, 2018 2:00PM PT The CW is developing a drama series based on Kathy Parks’ book “The Lifeboat Clique,” Variety has learned. When a freak tsunami hits a Malibu house party, a group of teenagers from diverse social circles are swept out to sea. The place where they wind up is new, but the high

Apple has yet to release a single frame from any of the original scripted shows it has ordered during the past year, but the soon-to-be streaming giant is already making a big impact. Apple has budgeted approximately $1 billion to date on their initial series development slate that will power its push into the streaming