November 29, 2018 4:00PM PT The CW is developing a one-hour drama series based on the book “City of Ghosts” by Victoria Schwab, Variety has learned exclusively. In the series, after a near-death experience, college grad Cassidy moves to Scotland to study paranormal psychology at the University of Edinburgh in hopes of learning more about her
Television
John Oliver, David Simon, Eric Overmyer, Tom Fontana, and Warren Leight are among the 78 writers of HBO shows who have signed a petition urging Vice Media to pen a contract with the Writers Guild of America East. “As Writers Guild members, we have protections under a collective bargaining agreement,” the petition reads. “Our fellow union
In today’s TV News Roundup, “Desus & Mero” gets a premiere date on Showtime and Jameela Jamil heads to TBS. DATES Showtime will debut “Desus & Mero,” the weekly half-hour late-night series starring Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, on Feb. 21 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. The first ever weekly late-night talk show on Showtime
“Preacher” has been renewed for a fourth season at AMC. The series, based on the graphic novels by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, follows West Texas preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), his badass ex-girlfriend Tulip (Ruth Negga), and an Irish vampire named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) as they embark on a road trip to find God and
November 29, 2018 2:00PM PT Everyone’s favorite housewife turned comic is returning once again to the small screen in Amazon Prime’s latest streaming update. Fresh on the heels of her Emmy win, Rachel Brosnahan is helping kick off the streaming platform’s holiday season with the reprisal of her titular, pink-coated role in Season 2 of
November 29, 2018 1:23PM PT WarnerMedia’s nascent streaming service will launch in beta form by the end of 2019 with three tiers of programming options, including an “entry-level” package focused on movies. AT&T unveiled plans for the unnamed service on Thursday during a presentation in New York to investors to talk up the company’s prospects
November 29, 2018 1:22PM PT CNN said it had parted ways with Marc Lamont Hill, a contributor and a professor of media studies at Temple University, after remarks he made during a talk at the United Nations generated protest. “Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN,” the network said in a statement
The Directors Guild of America will honor FX Networks with its 2019 Diversity Award — the first time in five years that the guild has selected a recipient. The DGA announced the award Thursday. It said the award is being given for the network’s commitment to, and leadership in, inclusive hiring in DGA-covered categories –-
Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association expanded their current rights pact, making the 21st Century Fox-owned unit the national TV home for the league’s races from Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park. The agreement marks the latest Fox foray to snap up live sports rights as its parent company gears up to sell
November 29, 2018 11:00AM PT Taylor Kitsch could be returning to HBO. The “True Detective” Season 2 star is attached to star in and executive produce a drama series currently in development at the premium cabler, Variety has learned. In the untitled project, Kitsch would play Chris Klug, a young, family-oriented, drug dealer who catches the wrong
You might not know it, but you’ve likely seen Bill Camp in your favorite show. The actor is known for his understated but powerful roles in FX’s “Damages,” HBO’s “The Night Of,” and Hulu’s 9/11 drama “The Looming Tower.” He appears in Paul Dano’s recently released directorial debut “Wildlife,” and plays Gerald Ford in Adam
While Netflix has great offerings for December, Hulu’s strong showing is putting up a good fight against the streaming titan. There’s the darkly thrilling “Killing Eve,” Hulu originals such as “Marvel’s Runaways” and “Into the Dark” anthology series, plus a plethora of wholesome holiday movies like “A Dog for Christmas.” Whatever you choose on Hulu,
“Blade Runner” is coming to the small screen as an animated series. Variety has learned that Alcon Television Group has partnered with Adult Swim and Crunchyroll to produce and distribute a new anime series inspired by “Blade Runner 2049.” “Blade Runner-Black Lotus,” as it will be called, will consist of 13 half-hour episodes. Details of the
Both Awkwafina and Rory Scovel have scored series orders for projects they have set up at Comedy Central. The cabler has ordered 10 episodes of the self-titled series “Awkwafina,” which is a half-hour scripted series starring the writer, actor, and rapper. In the series, she will play a twenty-something living in Queens, striving for a larger
November 29, 2018 9:00AM PT SeriesFest has partnered with producer Shonda Rhimes’ company Shondaland to launch a new initiative supporting female television directors. The Women Directing Mentorship will be an expansion of SeriesFest’s Featuring Women platform, and will offer participants the opportunity to shadow a director for an episode of a Shondaland production. “Shondaland has
November 29, 2018 7:22AM PT Alison Tarrant, an NBCUniversal ad-sales executive vice president known for her smart touch with weaving advertising and content together, is leaving the company a few weeks after it restructured its ad-sales operations. “It has been a privilege to be a part of the leadership team at NBCU during the transformation
Linda Vester, a former NBC News correspondent who accused Tom Brokaw of sexual assault earlier this year, is calling on the Comcast board of directors to do a thorough investigation of harassment at NBC. Vester took out an ad in Thursday’s New York Times, calling on the board to end non-disclosure agreements and forced arbitration
In Wednesday’s roundup, ABC announces the premiere date for “Schooled,” and “Fleabag” releases a first look image ahead of the second season. FIRST LOOKS “Fleabag” has released a first look image from Season 2, which will debut on BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video in 2019. Created by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the comedy series centers
November 28, 2018 3:11PM PT Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are bringing “Console Wars” to TV. Legendary Television has closed a deal to develop the Blake J. Harris novel “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo and the Battle that Defined a Generation” as a limited drama series. The books tells the behind-the-scenes story of how Sega took on
Former CBS Corp. chairman-CEO Leslie Moonves tried to buy the silence of an actor and her manager about a decades-old sexual assault claim by arranging for the woman to be cast in a CBS series, according to a report published Wednesday by the New York Times. The revelation that Moonves pushed CBS executives to find
November 28, 2018 1:53PM PT ABC’s “The Rookie” received a gift from the delayed viewing gods in week 8 of the broadcast season. For the week of Nov. 12, “The Rookie” posted its first ever triple digit gains in adults 18-49, growing from a 0.7 rating in Live+Same Day to a 1.4 in Live+3. That
David Begnaud, the CBS News reporter whose coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico raised his public profile, will become a correspondent based in New York for CBS News. “While calling New York home, David will continue to cover the world with the same intensity and dedication he has delivered since joining
The first season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” crashed onto Amazon Prime’s shores much like its heroine crashed her first comedy stage. Cruising on a cocktail of ebullience and determination, “Maisel” broke through the otherwise grim boys’ club of Amazon’s original programming to deliver a vision entirely Amy Sherman-Palladino’s own, with all the chatty wit
November 28, 2018 11:15AM PT Donald Sutherland has joined the cast of the upcoming HBO miniseries “The Undiong,” joining previously announced stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. Sutherland is set to play Franklin Renner, Grace’s (Kidman) father, a retired financier and loving grandfather, who is tasked with protecting his family when turbulent revelations come to
November 28, 2018 10:00AM PT CAA has signed Sheryl Underwood for representation in all areas, Variety has learned exclusively. Underwood is a comedian, actress, and television host. She is best known for currently co-hosting the CBS daytime talk show “The Talk,” serving alongside Eve, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, and formerly Julie Chen-Moonves. Underwood joined the show
November 28, 2018 9:46AM PT Danish actor Claes Bang (“The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” “Borgen”) will sink his teeth into the role of Dracula in the new miniseries being developed for the BBC and Netflix by the writers and producers of “Sherlock.” The new show inspired by Bram Stoker’s fanged creation will consist of
CBS announced its winter premiere dates on Wednesday, with neither the revival of “Murphy Brown” nor freshman comedy “Happy Together” receiving orders for more episodes. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, the sitcom revival was always intended to be a 13 episode event rather than an ongoing continuation of the series. Still,
Sling TV, Dish Network’s internet TV service, has added nine Discovery networks on its national and Spanish-language services, along with several thousand VOD titles. At the same time, Sling TV customers currently remain without access to Univision or HBO channels, amid ongoing contract disputes between Dish and the programmers. As of the end of September,
MADRID — Nicolás Britos’ “Nada,” Jorge Hernández and Ainara Mentxaka’s “Los años de plomo” and Pablo Díaz and Alberto Heredia’s “La novena provincia” figure among the seven TV drama projects in development set to be presented at the 2nd Madrid TV Pitchbox. An event focused on Spanish TV drama, organized by online platform Filmarket Hub,
Netflix has ordered the planned live-action adaptation of the iconic anime series “Cowboy Bebop,” Variety has learned. The series is described as the jazz-inspired, genre-bending story of Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine and Radical Ed, a rag-tag crew of bounty hunters on the run from their pasts as they hunt down the solar system’s most