Fremantle has acquired global rights to “The Piano,” the format from Love Productions, makers of “The Great British Bake Off.” “The Piano,” hosted by Claudia Winkleman, recently launched in the U.K. on broadcaster Channel 4 and is a ratings success. Created by Richard McKerrow, the British version of the format sees talented amateur pianists invited each week to
Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service has signed an agreement with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to produce age ratings for content. The agreement will enable Prime Video to build on their existing trust and safety tools, in order to move towards the in-house production of BBFC age ratings that are in line with
African streamer Showmax has revealed “Second Family,” its first original telenovela in Kenya. The series follows the dysfunctional Gatehi – Lang’at families. When 57-year-old billionaire Leo Lang’at dies suddenly, his secrets come to light, pitting one family against another. Battling for his wealth, power and for revenge, Sinde, the daughter of Leo’s mistress, faces off
Middle East satellite and streaming platform OSN Group has extended its relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery forging a new multi-year licensing deal under which it will become the exclusive home for HBO content in the region. In addition to HBO shows, such as “Succession,” the renewed agreement has been expanded to cover additional content and channel
Warner Bros. Discovery and Japan’s U-Next have announced an extension of their relationship with a renewed deal to supply content to the SVOD platform. The agreement sees U-Next continue as the streaming home of HBO in Japan. Featuring exclusive content rights for HBO, HBO Original and HBO Max Original series, the strengthened agreement includes: current
The Nordic region’s largest streamer, Viaplay, has debuted in Canada, continuing its expansion into North America after landing in the U.S. on Feb. 22. The direct-to-consumer platform touts itself as the premiere platform for Nordic Noir, the term used to describe the growing subgenre of Scandinavian crime dramas, thrillers, dark comedies and YA offerings. Available
TriStar Pictures film “The Woman King” has been given official permission to release in cinemas in mainland China. It is expected to debut on April 14. The Viola Davis-starring fantasy action film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year and went into U.S. and international commercial release shortly
“John Wick: Chapter 4” officially bowed at its London premiere Monday evening, with the social media reactions embargo lifting during the event. The fourth entry picks up following the end of “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” which saw Keanu Reeves’ infamous assassin take a tumble from atop the Continental Hotel after being betrayed by
SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from Fox’s “9-1-1” Season 6 spring premiere on Monday, entitled “In a Flash.” The sixth season of Fox first-responder drama “9-1-1” returned Monday after a months-long winter hiatus, with an episode in which almost everything goes surprisingly right for the 118 — until it goes horribly wrong. Before the bad
The series adaptation of “The Devil in the White City” is no longer moving forward at Hulu, Variety has learned. The series had originally been ordered to series at the streamer in August 2022 after originally being put into development there in 2019. At the time it was ordered, Keanu Reeves was attached to star
Which current popular music artists will still be significant 25 years from now? It’s a question Keith Jopling posed with the latest expansion of his Art of Longevity project, titled “Crossing the Rubicon.” The answers lie within its first “white paper,” featuring case studies of 25 artists that have guested on Jopling’s podcast of the
Netflix and the U.K.’s National Youth Theatre have launch an awareness program after a survey revealed alarming concerns about nepotism in the creative industries. A National Youth Theatre survey of 3,000 young people across the U.K. found that the “nepo-baby” effect extended beyond on screen talent to behind the scenes roles too. Some 79% of
“The Banshees of Inisherin,” starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, led the nominations for the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) as the full list of nominees was unveiled on Monday night local time, picking up 11 nods in the film category. “Bad Sisters” – Sharon Horgan’s Apple TV+ mystery series – led the pack
Nicolas Cage is a man of many talents. With an Academy Award, a SAG Award and a Golden Globe, the actor has taken on many different genres over the last four decades, which made him the perfect recipient of the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker Award at Miami Film Festival. While accepting his award on Sunday
The Santa Fe district attorney on Monday defended the appointment of a state lawmaker to prosecute Alec Baldwin in the “Rust” case, saying there is no reason she cannot fulfill both roles. Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed both face involuntary manslaughter charges in the October 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. They are scheduled
Lyrics from “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” have been quietly removed from the set list of Disneyland’s Magic Happens parade. The melody originates from the 1946 feature “Song of the South,” which has been criticized for featuring racist imagery and themes. Disneyland officials confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that a lyric from the song was removed from the
Gwyneth Paltrow won the Oscar for best actress thanks to her role in “Shakespeare in Love,” but it was Julia Roberts who was originally courted for the role of Viola de Lesseps. Producer Edward Zwick recently published a first-person essay for Air Mail about the the making of “Shakespeare in Love.” The director behind “Glory”
It’s been a big week for Mila Davis-Kent, the 10-year-old actor who stars opposite Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson and Jonathan Majors in “Creed III.” Last Monday, she was getting glammed up for the film’s Los Angeles premiere, decked out in a hot pink, custom Elie Saab dress and throwing faux punches for photographers outside
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. After a relatively slow couple of seasons, the Vanderpump universe has delivered some of the best (worst) drama in reality show history. Over the weekend, it was revealed that Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix
A24’s “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” is an awards season darling. The live-action hybrid stop-motion film recently picked up the Annie Award for indie feature as well as two other awards. Jenny Slate won the voice acting prize for her performance as Marcel while Slate, Dean Fleischer Camp, Nick Paley and Elizabeth Holm won
“Michael,” the Lionsgate biopic about Michael Jackson, will receive more than $21 million in California tax credits, the state’s film commission announced Monday. The California Film Commission announced the latest round of credit allocations, totaling $81.7 million for 24 projects. The commission stated that “Michael” will generate $120 million in “qualified” in-state spending, which is
Hugh Jackman is officially in Wolverine mode. The actor shared a photo of his daily meal plan as his bulking phase goes into overdrive ahead of filming “Deadpool 3,” in which he will reprise the role of Wolverine opposite Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool. The film marks the first “Deadpool” movie and Jackman’s first time playing Wolverine
Accepting the Writers Guild of America award for original screenplay on Sunday night, Daniel Kwan skipped past the typical thank-yous to his agent and manager and instead shouted out his strike captain. “Get involved,” he told the crowd. “If you don’t have a captain yet, go find one… Let’s go give ’em hell.” It was
Micheal B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson prepped for “Creed III” in an unusual way: “Mike and I actually went to therapy together,” Thompson revealed to Refinery29. “We did couples therapy.” Thompson stars in the “Creed” franchise as Bianca, Adonis’ longtime love interest and a successful music producer. The two characters are married and have a
Claire Silver, an artist who collaborates with artificial intelligence, has signed for representation with WME. The prolific Silver is known as an early adopter in the crypto and NFT space. Her current medium is post-photography, or the manipulation of data to enhance digital images. In addition to signing with the Hollywood power agency, her work will be presented at
The penultimate episode of “The Last of Us” Season 1 reached an impressive 8.1 million viewers on Sunday night. According to Warner Bros. Discovery, that makes Episode 8 the series’ most viewed thus far. Previously, that title belonged to Episode 3 with 7.5 million viewers, though WBD did not make data available regarding the audience
Mel Brooks came up with the title to his 1981 comedy feature “History of the World, Part I” as a joke. There were never any plans to make a Part II. Until now. As the streaming revolution took hold, Brooks, his producing partner Kevin Salter and rightsholder Searchlight Pictures decided to explore a long overdue
Check out the official trailer for Ghosted starring Ana de Armas and Chris Evans! ► Visit Fandango: https://www.fandango.com/?cmp=Trailers_YouTube_Desc Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to be notified of all the hottest trailers: http://bit.ly/2CNniBy US Release Date: April 21, 2023 Starring: Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Adrien Brody Director: Dexter Fletcher Synopsis: Meeting that
They are universally flattering; they do double, triple, or quad duty to go with every look; and they more often than not have an awesome origin story. The Lee Rider Jacket, an American classic, is one such treasure. Rooted in authentic cowboy culture—seriously, you had to prove your cowboy status before you could buy one
All four of this year’s original song Oscar nominees have been confirmed to perform at the ceremony on March 12 — except for Lady Gaga. Gaga, who was deemed a frontrunner early in the race, landed her fourth career nomination for the “Top Gun: Maverick” song “Hold My Hand,” but has yet to be confirmed