Television

October 1, 2018 8:30AM PT “God Friended Me” debuted to solid numbers in the Sunday overnight ratings on CBS. Airing at 8:30 p.m., “God Friended Me” is currently at a 1.4 rating in adults 18-49 and 10.4 million viewers. That is on par in the demo and better in total viewers than what “Wisdom of

October 1, 2018 3:24AM PT “Babylon Berlin” has launched strongly on free-TV in its domestic German market, where it has become the most popular scripted series on free-TV this year. The landmark €40 million ($46.5 million) show launched on pubcaster ARD on Sunday, having already bowed on pay-TV platform Sky. Its audience peaked at 8.5

“Saturday Night Live” returned for its 44th season Sept. 29 and wasted no time diving back into political sketches, with Matt Damon appearing as Brett Kavanaugh and Rachel Dratch returning as Senator Amy Klobuchar for a cold open sketch about his hearing. Mysteriously absent from the top of the hearing, as Alex Moffat’s Chuck Grassley

“Last Man Standing” debuted its seventh season on Fox Friday night, with the Tim Allen-led sitcom rocketing past its previous season numbers on ABC. “Last Man Standing” averaged a 1.8 rating in adults 18-49 and 8 million viewers, airing at 8 p.m. By comparison, the Season 6 premiere on ABC drew a 1.1 rating and

September 28, 2018 7:32PM PT Bravo has suspended one of the personalities from its “Real Housewives of the Potomac” reality series amid allegations of sexual harassment from a crew member. Michael Darby, husband of series regular Ashley Darby, is facing misdemeanor charges in Potomac, Md., for improper contact with a crew member who accuses Darby

Showtime has canceled “I’m Dying Up Here” after two seasons. The drama series, which boasted Jim Carrey among its executive producers, followed a fictionalized group of stand up comedians in LA in the ‘70s. The cast was led by Oscar winner Melissa Leo, who played tough as nails comedy club owner Goldie. The cast also

“What is… yes!” Luckily, that was what Maria Shafer said to her now-fiancé, “Jeopardy!” contestant Michael Pascuzzi, when he proposed to her mid-show. “Now ladies and gentleman, normally when I interview the contestants I base my conversation on little bits of information they’ve supplied us, but with regard to Michael Pascuzzi from Orlando, Fla., I

September 28, 2018 1:45PM PT CBS Corp. is facing investigations by city and state officials in New York stemming from the reports of alleged sexual misconduct by former chairman-CEO Leslie Moonves and concerns about the working environment at the company. CBS disclosed Friday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it has received subpoenas

Walt Disney Co. further realigned its ad sales efforts, noting that it would work to position its sales teams to have “a deeper level of advisory relationships with marketers” as Madison Avenue increasingly puts new emphasis on all forms of video, not just TV, as a means of reaching consumers. Disney earlier this month combined

They’re getting ready to start the stopwatch again at CBS’ “60 Minutes.” Over the course of its more than half-century of life, the venerable CBS newsmagazine has had only two chiefs, Jeff Fager and Don Hewitt.  Now it has none. That won’t keep the show off the air. “60 Minutes” will kick off its 51st

CNN founder Ted Turner opens up about his battle with a brain disorder that is causing dementia in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” to air this weekend. Turner tells “CBS Sunday Morning” senior contributor Ted Koppel he is grappling with a condition known as Lewy body dementia. “It’s a mild case of what people

September 28, 2018 11:18AM PT The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday drew a massive audience for the cable news networks, according to Nielsen data. The hearing–which saw testimony from both Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault–aired throughout most of the day Thursday. Fox

September 28, 2018 11:13AM PT Rashida Jones has planted her flag with MRC, setting up a first-look TV development pact with the indie studio. Jones and her producing partner, Will McCormack, will develop projects for MRC through their Le Train Train production banner. The pair at present are exec producers on TNT’s “Claws” and the

September 28, 2018 11:00AM PT Jennifer Beals has joined the cast of the upcoming “Swamp Thing” series at DC Universe, Variety has learned. Beals will appear in the recurring guest star role of Sheriff Lucilia Cable. Described as tough as nails and pragmatic, Cable’s fierce devotion to her son, Matt, is rivaled only by her sworn duty

September 28, 2018 10:30AM PT ABC Studios has promoted Patrick Maguire to oversee drama development. Maguire succeeds Nne Ebong as the studio’s senior VP of drama development. Ebong exited ABC Studios in August. Maguire worked under Ebong as drama development VP. He’s been in the ABC fold since 2002 when he joined the network in

Hillary Clinton was the first big name cameo of “Murphy Brown’s” revival season. Clinton appeared in the Sept. 27 premiere of the Candice Bergen-led sitcom — but not as herself. Instead, she was “Hilary,” a woman who said she is often mistaken for the former presidential candidate but actually spells her name with only one

Nearly 1,000 SAG-AFTRA members picketed the Los Angeles office of advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty on Thursday, a week after the union struck the company. “BBH is trying to walk out on its contractual obligations and we are taking a stand,” said President Gabrielle Carteris. “As union actors, we must hold the line against those

Say this for Brett Kavanaugh’s performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee: It suited the times. In an era during which all major political news seems to happen on and for TV, the Supreme Court nominee put forward a startling performance of rage and discontent seemingly intended for an audience of one. The testimonies of both Kavanaugh

September 27, 2018 4:01PM PT Richard Gere is headed to Cannes to launch “MotherFatherSon,” his upcoming series for the BBC. Gere will be in town for Mipcom, the international TV business’ annual October get-together, where BBC Studios will be selling his new show. There are no deals yet for the series outside the U.K., but

September 27, 2018 4:01PM PT Endemol Shine’s former Asia MD, Fotini Paraskakis, has joined The Story Lab, the Dentsu Aegis-backed content company that counts “Ninja Warrior” among its shows. Paraskakis will be based in the company’s London office as EVP, entertainment, overseeing scripted and unscripted. The Story Lab said Paraskakis will work with producers, platforms, and

In today’s TV News Roundup, Fox drops a clip from the first episode “The Simpsons” season 30 featuring Gal Gadot and Emily Deschanel.  FIRST LOOKS Bart takes a dare and ends up in the hospital in the 30th season premiere episode of “The Simpsons,” airing Sunday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox. Celebrities

September 27, 2018 3:36PM PT Kevin Jackson has been terminated as a Fox News contributor following a series of tweets in which he referred to Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers as “lying skanks” as the Kavanaugh hearing played out Thursday. “Kevin Jackson has been terminated as a contributor. His comments on today’s hearings

CBS Corp. acting CEO Joseph Ianniello will not receive extra compensation for taking on the role as CBS’ interim leader following the forced resignation earlier this month of longtime chairman-CEO Leslie Moonves. CBS disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday that Ianniello would not receive addition pay after he stepped into the

Fox agreed in January to pay the NFL $3.3 billion over five years for the broadcast rights to “.” It’s about to start seeing a return on that investment. Fox’s regular-season “Thursday Night Football” package kicks off this evening with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the Los Angeles Rams — both considered Super Bowl contenders, the

September 27, 2018 10:00AM PT Hulu has greenlit the animated comedy series “Crossing Swords” for a 10-episode first season. Variety exclusively reported in June that Hulu had ordered a pilot for the series, which hails from several members of the team behind the Adult Swim series “Robot Chicken.” “Crossing Swords” will star Nicholas Hoult as Patrick, a goodhearted

The series premiere of “A Million Little Things” on ABC failed to generate much heat in the Wednesday overnight ratings. Airing at 10 p.m., “A Million Little Things” averaged a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.1 million viewers. By comparison, the Season 2 premiere of “Designated Survivor” last September also drew a 1.1 rating but

Gil Schwartz, CBS’ long-serving head of corporate communications, is set to retire as of Nov. 1 after more than 20 years with the company. Schwartz’s departure marks another transition for the company that is in the midst of a massive corporate shakeup following the forced resignation of CEO Leslie Moonves on Sept. 9. Schwartz has

The International Emmys are living up to their name, with a globe-spanning set of nominees announced Thursday for this year’s awards. Endemol Shine, HBO, Fox and Sony all scored noms, while Amazon and Netflix landed just one apiece, a modest showing given their recent run at awards shows and their increasing number of international originals.

In its fifth season, “How To Get Away With Murder” is “going back to basics with Annalise in the classroom” — but showrunner Pete Nowalk promises plenty of new mysteries, including another death and the arrival of a new law student, Gabriel Maddox (Rome Flynn). “Annalise started as a lawyer who wanted splashy cases and attention

In their breakout TV roles, Damon Wayans Jr. (“Happy Endings”) and Amber Stevens West (“The Carmichael Show”) proved themselves to be perfect sitcom utility players. Both were tasked at times with lending grounding reality to ensemble series that only just managed to keep their balance without spiraling into mania, and both displayed their own amiable