Exclusive The Weeknd was faced with a tough choice — perform the Grammys or the Super Bowl — but hammering out a deal to do both could’ve cost him Grammy nominations. Sources familiar with the situation tell us The Weeknd’s team was in talks for weeks with Grammy brass, who issued the ultimatum — us
In today’s TV news roundup, Showtime unveiled a trailer for the 11th and final season of “Shameless,” and HBO Max announced the guest stars of the fourth season of “Search Party.” CASTING HBO Max announced Susan Sarandon, Busy Philipps, Ann Dowd and Griffin Dunne are set to guest star on the fourth season of “Search
The Weeknd’s absence from all Grammy nominations in a year that he dominated the music scene and the charts has astonished nearly all observers, and the artist himself has leveled an accusation of corruption against the Recording Academy. “The Grammys remain corrupt,” he wrote on social media. “You owe me, my fans and the industry
Although she famously crooned “No, no, no” in her globally successful debut single — 2002’s anthem “Complicated” — Canadian pop/rocker Avril Lavigne is saying “yes, yes, yes,” to a seriously snazzy house in the celebrity-beloved seaside city of Malibu, Calif. Records reveal the 36-year-old has paid $7.8 million for a very private estate that’s essentially
“One Day at a Time” has been canceled at Pop. This now marks the second cancelation for the reboot of the classic 1975 Norman Lear sitcom of the same name. “One Day at a Time” was originally canceled at Netflix in early 2019 after three seasons. Pop rescued the show a few months later and
The week of Nov. 9 was the first time in this disrupted TV season that ratings stalwarts “This Is Us” and “Grey’s Anatomy” clashed at the top of the Live+7 charts. For that particular week, both series added a 1.2 ratings point, with the ABC medical show narrowly coming out the winner at a 2.6
When Peter Macdissi first began going on auditions, there weren’t many roles for a young man from the Middle East. “It’s getting better,” the 46-year-old Lebanese actor and producer tells Variety. “On TV, there are some things right now, and it’s really getting better. When I first started in my twenties or early thirties, oh
The ‘Wipeout’ contestant who died after completing the game show’s obstacle course last week has been identified as 38-year-old Michael Paredes. The Los Angeles County Dept. medical examiner and coroner’s office confirmed the identity of the contestant to Variety, adding that Paredes’ autopsy is still pending. According to the county’s public records, Paredes died on
Permitting agency FilmLA has made an extraordinary pitch to producers to remain in “strict” compliance” with COVID-19 safety protocols as California tightens overall regulations. The agency made the announcement Tuesday in the wake of the new limited stay-at-home order issued by the state of California, which took effect on Nov. 21 in order to pause
Only twice in the history of the Grammy Awards has a London cast recording ever scored a nomination in the Best Musical Theater album category — first in 1984, when “Cats” won, and again in 1999 when the London cast recording of “Chicago” was nominated. This year, “Amélie” was among the albums to land a
For once, the country music patriarchy is riding shotgun. Country may be renowned as a genre where the women do not always get a fair shake, but you would not guess that from how the nominations for the 2021 Grammys shook out. Female solo artists or bands with women as primary lead singers accounted for
In a rare occurrence, there was one category actually missing from the 63rd Grammy Awards when the nominations were announced on Tuesday morning: Best Immersive Audio Album. In a statement, the Recording Academy explained that the committee that judges the award, which essentially recognizes superior sound quality, was unable to meet together in a suitable
Warner Bros. has unveiled global release dates for “Wonder Woman 1984.” As the studio announced last week, the superhero sequel — spotlighting Gal Gadot’s female heroine — will debut simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. In the U.S., “Wonder Woman 1984” is hitting the big screen on Dec. 25 as planned. But overseas, where
Skydance Media, the production company behind “Mission: Impossible,” “Terminator” and “Top Gun,” has hired Rebecca Mall as the new head of marketing. Along with news of Mall’s hire, Skydance announced that Jack Horner is departing his post as executive VP of corporate communications and publicity, while Anne Globe is exiting as chief marketing officer. In
Director and producer Garrett Bradley understands the importance of home videos to Black history in the United States. Combing through over 100 hours of family footage filmed by her subject Fox Rich for the documentary “Time,” Bradley elaborated on why this record is crucial, not only to her film, but in creating a living record
In a corporate synergistic dream, two stars of ABC’s hit dating show have won two consecutive seasons of the network’s hit dance competition show. Former “Bachelorette” Kaitlyn Bristowe took home the mirror ball trophy with her partner, pro dancer Artem Chigvintsev, on Monday night’s finale of “Dancing With the Stars” Season 29, following in the
On the day of the Grammy nominations, many observers were surprised at the big look Justin Bieber and his “Changes” album and its singles received — four nominations, including Best Pop Solo Performance (for “Yummy”), Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“Intentions,” featuring Quavo), Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Country Duo/Group Performance (for his feature on
YouTube has penalized the right-wing One America News Network for promoting a bogus cure for COVID-19. On Tuesday, YouTube said it removed a video posted by OANN, a relentlessly pro-Trump outfit owned by Herring Networks, because it violated the site’s policy prohibiting coronavirus misinformation. Because OANN has received a “strike,” it is temporarily prevented from
France, which has been on lockdown since Oct. 30 to curb the second wave of the pandemic, will see its cinemas, theaters and museum reopen on Dec. 15. French president Emmanuel Macron unveiled some gradual measures to ease the lockdown on Tuesday during a televised address. “The peak of the second wave of the pandemic
NBC is down to play “College Bowl” again, with new host Peyton Manning. The network has ordered a 10-episode, straight-to-series revival of the quiz show hosted by the former NFL player and two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback. A premiere date has yet to be announced. “I’ve always loved intense college competition, so I’m thrilled to
BTS earned its first major Grammy nomination on Tuesday, with members of the band sharing their live reaction to hearing the news on the group’s Twitter account. Members V, Jung Kook, RM and Jimin are sitting on the couch watching the Grammy nominations in the 19-second clip. V expresses shock as the other three jump
The Grammy Awards nominations are always a cascade of joy and tears, but this year is exceptional for a number of reasons. After 40 years with Ken Ehrlich at the helm, the show has a new executive producer, “Corden” vet Ben Winston; the Recording Academy has a new (albeit interim) chief, producer-songwriter Harvey Mason, jr.;
Beyoncé’s “Black is King” earned nine Grammy nominations Tuesday, including song of the year and record of the year. The singer, who led the nominations, also received a nomination for Best Music Film. It was the fourth time she has been nominated in that category after winning for Netflix’s “Homecoming” and getting nominations for “Lemonade”
Courtesy of Tiffany & Co. Just in time for the holiday season, there’s a new drop of fine jewelry made for the uptown girl living for a downtown world. Tiffany & Co. is typically associated with the Holly Golightly’s of the world, but today marks a new partnership with Dover Street Market, the retailer known
Check out newly announced release dates, which movies are coming to home video this week, and recommendations from your host Khail Anonymous and RT Correspondent comedian Mark Ellis, in this new episode of ‘Weekly Ticket’! ► Buy Movie Tickets: https://www.fandango.com?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc ► Buy or Rent Movies on FandangoNOW: https://www.fandangonow.com?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Tune-in to Weekly Ticket every Tuesday to
APA has made several key promotions while also upping multiple employees to agent. The agency has promoted partner and TV lit agent Kyle Loftus to the newly created role of head of scripted content development. In addition, Loftus, partner and co-head of TV lit Lindsay Howard Parker, and partner and head of worldwide music Bruce
CAA has hired agent Natasha Ahmed to work in the television department, Variety has learned exclusively. Ahmed joins CAA from UTA. There, she dedicated herself to representing women and BIPOC line producers and non-writing executive producers. She has represented clients including Michelle Wright (“Cruella,” “Bridgerton”), Carol Cuddy (“True Detective,” “P-Valley,” “Maniac”), Rose Lam (“The Last
Billie Eilish’s nomination for the new James Bond theme, “No Time to Die,” breaks with long-held Grammy precedent: it appears to be the first nominated in the “best song written for visual media” category for a movie that won’t open for months. The song was released during the 2019-2020 eligibility period, on Feb. 13, in
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Kids programming exec Amy Friedman has been named to the newly created position of head of Warner Bros.’ kids and family programming division, where she will oversee creative and strategic guidance for such programming for Cartoon Network and Boomerang, and develop kids and family content for WarnerMedia-owned streamer HBO Max. Separately, Sundance Feniger has been