Aidy Bryant admits that she does think about the day when she’ll say goodbye to “Saturday Night Live.” “I sometimes see these new people, and I’m like, ‘I want to make room for them,’” Bryant, who has been with “SNL” since 2012, says on Thursday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket.”
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) today announced it will honor the songwriters and publishers behind its most performed songs of the past year with four virtual celebrations for its Pop, Screen, Latin and Rhythm & Soul Music Award winners. Beginning in June and continuing through mid-July, the format will feature three
Ahead of tonight’s release of “Chromatica,” Lady Gaga’s sixth studio album, the singer has released her collaboration with K-pop girl group Blackpink from the album, “Sour Candy.” Clocking in at just over two and a half minutes, the song is a sparkling combination of the two artists’ styles: the tight, almost mechanical melodies of Blackpink on
The Hong Kong government has ordered a review of Radio Television Hong Kong, the territory’s public broadcaster. As Hong Kong’s political strife has returned to boiling point in recent weeks, the broadcaster, has been regularly accused by pro-Beijing forces of being biased against the government. RTHK is technically a government department. It broadcasts on radio
President Donald Trump, triggered after Twitter applied fact-checking labels to two of his inaccurate tweets, will order U.S. regulators to reexamine a law that shields social-media companies from liability for content posted on their services, according to media reports. Trump, in an executive order expected to be signed Thursday, also wants to establish something called
The Wildscreen Festival, the world’s leading natural history TV and film event, is to take place online for its 20th anniversary edition this October. The biennial festival has become the latest in a long line of events to go virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic. Wildscreen is based in Bristol, a city in England’s southwest
China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) on Thursday gave its approval to a controversial draft security law that will apply in Hong Kong. The draft law is intended to prevent any threat to Beijing’s authority in the city through secession, subversion, terrorism or foreign interference. It may allow mainland security forces to operate within Hong Kong,
Red Arrow Studios International has secured two European commissions for its new gameshow format “Block Out,” with local versions ordered by broadcasters in Spain and The Netherlands. RTVE Spain has commissioned a domestic adaptation of the show which will air on its La 1 channel this year, and will be produced by Endemol Shine Iberia-owned
There’s a word that keeps popping up in “Screened Out,” Jon Hyatt’s must-see documentary about screen addiction in the age of mobile technology. The word is dopamine. That’s the neurotransmitter that sends signals to other cells, along pathways linked to pleasure and reward-motivated behavior. The idea that smartphones trigger our pleasure centers isn’t news, but
Guy Oseary has “stepped down” from the day-to-day running Maverick, the management collective he founded in 2014. “I’m ready for my new chapter and welcome the opportunity to have more time to focus on management of Madonna and U2 while furthering my passion for identifying and incubating revolutionary businesses,” said Oseary in a statement, first
Henry Cavill isn’t hanging up his Superman cape just yet. Sources confirm to Variety the “Man of Steel” actor is in talks to return as Clark Kent in an upcoming DC Comics movie. Warner Bros. and Cavill’s reps couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday. In addition to Zack Snyder’s Superman origin story “Man of Steel”
Matt Bomer’s career took a major upswing in 2015 when he won a Golden Globe for his performance as Felix in Ryan Murphy’s HBO adaptation of Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart.” “Larry Kramer, thank you for your anger and your passion and writing this story that changed so many lives,” the actor said in his
Ruby Rose has addressed her departure from the CW series “Batwoman,” amid reports that she was unhappy with the long hours required of her as the series lead. Although the actress did not go into detail about why she was exiting her role on the series, in a Instagram post shared on Wednesday, Rose wrote
In today’s TV News Roundup, Netflix released a trailer for Jo Koy’s new comedy special, and ABC announced impressive ratings for the 16th season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy.” DATES Disney Plus has announced that its original movie “Secret Society of Second-Born Royals” will debut on the streamer on July 17. The film follows stars Peyton
Manny Jacinto is the latest name to be added to the “Nine Perfect Strangers” series at Hulu. The “Good Place” star joins previously announced cast members Melissa McCarthy and Nicole Kidman. The show, which was greenlit by Hulu in May 2019, is based on the book of the same name by “Big Little Lies” author
After months of ironing out budget concerns over Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Paramount has enlisted Apple to get the film over the hump. Sources tell Variety that Paramount will still distribute the murder mystery drama, with Apple coming on to finance the pic and also serve as the
In today’s film news roundup, Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions will close, “Kajillionaire” gets delayed, IFP Week goes digital, BAFTA Breakthrough is unveiled and the documentary “InstaBand” finds a home. CLOSURE ANNOUNCED Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions has announced that it will be closing at the start of 2021, 23 years after Allen launched the company
Breaking News President Trump is speaking out about the killing of George Floyd, saying federal law enforcement is on the case … and promising there will be justice. POTUS tweeted Wednesday about George’s death, saying … “At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the
Cash Money Records is giving back in a big way. The iconic rap label founded by Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams has donated over $225,000 to a nonprofit organization called Forward Together New Orleans (FTNO). The effort benefits those of need in the community amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the funds will specifically
Over the course of his presidency, President Donald Trump has hurled invective at any number of TV journalists, whether it be Don Lemon, Arthel Neville, Neil Cavuto, Nicolle Wallace, Brian Williams, Chris Cuomo, Leland Vittert, Peter Alexander, Yamiche Alcindor, Weija Jiang, Jon Karl or Paula Reid. But he seems to launch his worst material at
“We’re Here” stars Bob The Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and Shangela Laquifa Wadley will join Variety’s Marc Malkin for an exclusive Q&A interview and look at clips from the first season on June 8 in the Variety Streaming Room presented by HBO. The new six-episode, unscripted series recruits local residents across small-town America to participate
Writers Guild of America leaders are seeking major gains in writer pay for comedy-variety shows on streaming platforms. “Series like ‘Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,’ ‘I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson’ and ‘The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show’ provide streaming platforms like Netflix with different types of entertaining content, which in turns helps those
Former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden has announced a fundraiser for his Victory Fund featuring Barbra Streisand and John Legend. The event, titled “A Fabulous Evening with Vice President Joe Biden,” will take place virtually on June 11 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Headlined by Streisand and Legend with more special
Veteran ICM Partners executive Rick Levy has stepped down from his duties as chief operating officer and will transition out of the agency at the end of 2020, insiders familiar with the company told Variety. Levy added the title of COO to his long-standing role of general counsel in October, following the short-lived tenure of former
AMC Entertainment, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus, gave its CEO Adam Aron a compensation package worth $9.67 million in 2019. That period, of course, ended well before the pandemic upended daily life and forced AMC to close all of its more than 630 U.S. locations and furlough roughly all of its 600-person
Veteran music executive Carl Stubner (pictured) has added five managers and their acts to his Shelter Music Group roster. Joining the company are Paul Geary and Steve Wood of Global Artist Management, whose clients include Godsmack, The Hollywood Vampires, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp, Hoobastank, Like A Storm and Sully Erna; Alison Taylor of Atwork Management
“Legendary” is a fascinating, messy study in contrasts. The new reality competition series is a celebration of ballroom culture, a chronically underappreciated queer subculture, premiering on the launch day of HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s new streaming service backed by billions of corporate dollars. It shines a gorgeous, sleek spotlight on its fearsome dancers, who have traditionally
SpaceX was supposed to make history with NASA astronauts on Wednesday, but due to threatening weather conditions in Florida, the launch has been called off. Another attempt will be made on Saturday, May 30, at 3:22 p.m. ET, weather permitting. The mission, called Demo-2, is the first crewed launch in the history of Elon Musk’s
The entertainment industry’s blueprint for resuming production amid the pandemic remains a work in progress, leaders of SAG-AFTRA, the DGA and IATSE said in a rare joint statement on Wednesday. The unions asserted that they achieving “unprecedented” coordination in crafting the standards for re-opening Hollywood in the statement signed by SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris, Directors
Martin Scorsese made a short film reflecting on his lockdown experience in his New York City home during the coronavirus crisis, to be aired on Thursday on BBC Two. The “exclusive and very personal” movie will air as part of the final program in the series “Lockdown Culture With Mary Beard,” which is presented from