“The Spook Who Sat by the Door” pilot at FX has rounded out its main cast with four new additions. Lucas Till, Nafessa Williams, Nathan Darrow and Tom Irwin have all joined the drama pilot alongside previously announced leads Y’lan Noel and Christina Jackson. The story follows Dan Freeman (Noel), the fictional first African American
HBO’s “The Last of Us” is bringing back a cast member from the video game to reprise her role in the TV series. Merle Dandridge, who played Marlene in “The Last of Us” game, will return to portray her in HBO’s adaptation of the beloved title. Marlene is the head of the Fireflies, a resistance
China’s top streaming platforms censored around six minutes of material from HBO Max’s “Friends: The Reunion” special on the day of its debut Thursday, deleting footage of artists like BTS previously deemed to have “insulted” China, gay fans, references to pee and a shot of Matt LeBlanc in his underwear, among other moments. “Friends” has
Lisa Marie Presley‘s wish is about to be a judge’s command — she hopes, because it’s the final hurdle to complete a critical step in her divorce. According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the court has granted Lisa’s request to bifurcate her divorce — which means she and Michael Lockwood can change their marital
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today California’s $116.5 million vaccine incentive program to boost vaccinations and ensure a safe reopening of the economy next month. Vax for the Win provides a financial incentive for Californians that have been vaccinated and have plans to become vaccinated. Beginning May 27, the next two million people who start and
“Josep,” a single-camera sitcom based on the life of a hardworking Filipino American nurse, is in development at ABC. Stand-up comedian Jo Koy is attached to star as the titular protagonist and will also executive produce. The show, which follows Josep as he navigates dating, fatherhood and his mother moving in with him, is written
Disney has expanded its board of directors to 12 seats with the election of Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald and former Cisco and Google executive Amy Chang. McDonald and Chang were elected to the board on Thursday, Disney said. “Amy Chang and Calvin McDonald are highly-respected leaders with a deep understanding of the nexus between technology
Kyle Chandler is joining the cast of Showtime’s anthology series “Super Pumped,” the television adaptation of Mike Isaac’s book, “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.” The “Friday Night Lights” and “Bloodline” actor will star as Bill Gurley, described as “the plainspoken, brilliant Texan venture capitalist who bets his sterling reputation on Uber’s success – and
“Debris” has been canceled after one season at NBC, Variety has learned. The news comes shortly after the first season finale, which aired on May 24. In the series, when wreckage from a destroyed alien spacecraft scatters across the Western Hemisphere, it soon becomes apparent the pieces are messing with the laws of physics, changing
Paramount Television head Nicole Clemens is seen as the likeliest candidate to oversee Paramount Plus’ content and programming strategy, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move comes after Paramount Plus head of programming Julie McNamara, a 15-year-veteran of ViacomCBS, announced her departure Thursday. Paramount declined to comment. If Clemens takes the reins, Paramount
Alana Bright will make her professional acting debut on the Lee Daniels and Karin Gist project “Our Kind of People,” a drama headed to Fox on Tuesday nights this fall. Bright joins previously announced cast members Yaya DaCosta (“Chicago Med”) and Morris Chestnut (“The Resident”). The series is inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book “Our
A few weeks ago, James Corden, his band and his writers were having a laugh about a new hotel chain that superstar music producer Pharrell Williams was opening. That led them down the rabbit hole of discussing what celebrity they’d actually like to see open a hotel. Drummer Guillermo Brown suggested Oprah Winfrey, and even
In a perfect symbol of our times, James Bond and Whole Foods will soon have the same owner. Tech giant Amazon on Wednesday officially announced plans to merge with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the 97-year-old studio that’s home to the 007 franchise, Rocky Balboa and “Thelma and Louise.” The eye-popping $8.45 billion sale is the second-biggest acquisition in
The 2019 Indian Film Festival Los Angeles concluded on May 27 with the grand prize going to Thamizh’s directorial debut “Seththumaan” (Pig) and Karishma Dev Dube’s short “Bittu.” “It’s a phenomenal first feature, gentle and impactful, done with heart and guts, that is at the same time very candid and very mature and complex,” the
In 1981’s “Lili Marleen,” directed by German provocateur R.W. Fassbinder, the titular song is repeatedly played to an imprisoned man in an effort to break his spirit. In “American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally,” it takes only one rendition to have much the same effect on the viewer, though that may be because by
Robust subscriber growth at Starz lifted Lionsgate’s earnings at a time when movie theaters are still struggling to reemerge from their COVID-era closures and the entertainment landscape is shifting rapidly. The better-than-expected results come as Lionsgate is seen as a potential acquisition target for tech giants and media conglomerates looking to get bigger. AT&T’s decision
“Oslo,” the new HBO film about the back-channel negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization that led to the milestone Oslo Peace Accords, arrives as tensions are at a high in the Middle East. It’s a moment where the hard work of peacemaking that the film dramatizes is in noticeably short supply,
Gloria Calderón Kellett has landed her first series order under her overall deal at Amazon, Variety has learned. Amazon has greenlit the one-hour romantic comedy series “With Love.” It follows the Diaz siblings, Lily and Jorge, who are on a mission to find love and purpose. The Diaz siblings cross paths with seemingly unrelated residents during
In a competitive situation, Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to a new drama series from Damon Lindelof and Tara Hernandez. The series is titled “Mrs. Davis.” Plot details on the series are being kept under wraps, but it is said to be an exploration of faith versus technology and an epic battle of biblical
Writer-director Lynn Roth instinctively knows how to pluck the heartstrings with her heartrending historical drama, “Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog.” Her adaptation retains the wit and wisdom found within the pages of Asher Kravitz’s novel “The Jewish Dog,” whose unconventional conceit chronicling the Holocaust through the perspective of a German Shepherd lends itself
Bonnie Anderle Bunyik, co-founder of the Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles, has died. She was 77. Bunyik died on May 19 in Los Angeles following a battle with ALS, according to her representatives who said she “passed away peacefully and surrounded by loved ones.” The veteran film distributor was raised in L.A. by her
Nahnatchka Khan launched a show (NBC’s “Young Rock”) during the COVID-19 pandemic, but she considers herself lucky that she was able to start the writers’ room ahead of the lockdown. This meant getting to sit with her new team in person for “five or six weeks” in early 2020. “It was honestly a gift,” she
Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Emmys ceremonies from film awards editor Clayton Davis. Following history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Emmy predictions are updated regularly with the current year's list of contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year
No one told them the song was gonna blow up this way. The Rembrandts were putting finishing touches on their third album, “L.P.,” when a sidestep into television drastically altered their course in 1994. Now, 26 years since “I’ll Be There for You” debuted on “Friends,” band member Phil Solem is reflecting on the ups
Check out the official Lansky Trailer starring Sam Worthington! Let us know what you think in the comments below. Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date. US Release Date: June 25, 2021 Starring: Minka Kelly, AnnaSophia Robb, Sam
The ongoing war of words between Twitter and the government of India has just kicked up a notch, with the government firing a strongly worded broadside against the social media platform. The saga began in February over ongoing farmers’ protests around the Indian capital Delhi, supported by the likes of Rihanna and Greta Thunberg, which
All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. After a year of shuttered theaters the blockbuster business is slowly reopening. Thanks to a strict code of
Universal Pictures has released the official trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural thriller “Old,” which is set to hit theaters on July 23. After a group of travelers finds the body of a dead woman on a beach that swiftly decomposes, they begin to realize that there is something mysterious about this seemingly idyllic vacation
Many a chef will tell you that fish and cheese don’t go together, but “Blue Miracle” says otherwise. Based on the true, headline-making story of an amateur Mexican team who won the world’s richest fishing tournament in 2014, Julio Quintana’s likable family film misses nary a cornball trick in Hollywood’s underdog-drama playbook, and just about
With allegations of abuse and inappropriate behavior against men emerging on a seemingly weekly basis in the news, men’s actions both at home and in the workplace are coming under much-needed scrutiny. Amid this increased attention, TV viewers were perhaps shocked by the arrival of a show like Apple TV Plus’ “Ted Lasso,” which places