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Honoree Daisy Ridley Reflects on Life Since ‘Star Wars’ at Oscar Wilde Awards
12 hours ago
The Force was strong at the U.S.-Ireland Alliance’s 11th annual Oscar Wilde Awards, held at the sprawling offices of Bad Robot, the production company topped by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” director J.J. Abrams.
Luminaries from the world’s two biggest sci-fi franchises rubbed elbows at the bash, with “Star Trek” thesps Karl Urban and John Cho among those gathered to help celebrate “The Force Awakens” star Daisy Ridley and other honorees, including Dublin-born Lenny Abrahamson, the Academy Award-nominated director of “Room”; “Penny Dreadful” actress Sarah Greene; Northern Irish band Snow Patrol; and James Corden, host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show.” The event, founded by Trina Vargo, is designed to honor Irish talent — even if their connection to the country is a tad tenuous (Corden was made an “honorary Irishman” — a distinction previously bestowed upon Abrams and writer Jim Brooks — after he performed with the cast »
- Laura Prudom
TV News Roundup: USA Cancels ‘Satisfaction’; David Spade Cast in CBS Comedy Pilot
13 hours ago
USA cancels “Satisfaction” after two seasons, David Spade has joined CBS comedy “The Kicker,” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” director Sam Taylor-Johnson will helm a Netflix series. That and more in today’s news roundup…
Cancellations
USA Network has canceled “Satisfaction” after two seasons, Variety has confirmed.
As first reported by THR, the drama will not return for a third season, having wrapped its second in December. It was created by former “Suits” executive producer Sean Jablonski and starred Matt Passmore.
Casting
CBS has added stars to two upcoming pilots, Variety has confirmed.
“Graceland” alum Vanessa Ferlito has been tapped to co-star in the drama pilot “Drew,” a modern take on the character of Nancy Drew, who is now in her 30s and working as an NYPD detective. Ferlito will play Nancy’s best friend George, an NYPD homicide detective and Nancy’s former partner on the force, who has »
- Jacob Bryant
‘Making a Murderer’ Filmmakers Eye Second Installment of Netflix Series
13 hours ago
The filmmakers behind “Making a Murderer” have taken preliminary steps to produce new installments for Netflix’s true-crime documentary series.
During a Stranger Than Fiction panel discussion at New York’s IFC Center on Thursday, “Making a Murderer” directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos said that they have spoken to Steven Avery’s new lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, about the prospect of filming and have continued to record their conversations with Avery. The 10-part “Making a Murderer” docu series revolved around questions about the judicial process behind Avery’s 2005 conviction for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach, as well as the related convictions of his nephew Brendan Dassey.
“From our perspective this story is obviously not over,” Ricciardi said. “It’s real life and (Avery’s and Brendan Dassey’s) cases are both still pending. We have no idea when the magistrate will make a decision in Brendan’s case. We »
- Addie Morfoot
Essence Lunch Guest Oprah Believes That ‘When Black Women Are Together, a Sacred Space Can Be Conjured’
13 hours ago
Essence hosted its ninth annual Black Women in Hollywood awards luncheon Thursday at the Beverly Wilshire, where celebrities including Zendaya, Chris Rock, Keke Palmer and Nick Cannon gathered to celebrate the impact of black women in entertainment.
“The idea that we gather in this space to speak each other’s names in praise and raise each other up in celebration, that’s a divine moment,” said Oprah Winfrey, who’s televising the awards event on Saturday at 10 p.m. Et/Pt on the Own Network. She continued, “As my friend and prolific storyteller, Ava DuVernay, who’s not here today because she’s shooting a new series for Own, says, ‘When black women are together, a sacred space can be conjured.’ So I say, let the conjuring begin.”
Winfrey referenced Essence’s 2013 Fierce and Fearless Award recipient Gabrielle Union, citing the actress’s acceptance speech as influential in creating a dialogue about inclusion. »
- Alyssa Sage
Melissa Harris-Perry Walks Away From MSNBC Show
14 hours ago
Melissa Harris-Perry may be too progressive for the new MSNBC.
The anchor, who has hosted a weekend program on the NBCUniversal-owned cable-news outlet since 2012, said she will not host her show this weekend in what appears to be a significant difference of opinion regarding her role at the network, which has in recent months focused more intently on breaking-news coverage and politics in recent months.
“Here is the reality: Our show was taken — without comment or discussion or notice — in the midst of an election season,” Harris-Perry wrote in a note that was reported previously by the New York Times, then posted on Medium. “After four years of building an audience, developing a brand, and developing trust with our viewers, we were effectively and utterly silenced. Now, MSNBC would like me to appear for four inconsequential hours to read news that they deem relevant without returning to our team any »
- Brian Steinberg
‘House of Cards’ Promotes Pair as Showrunners For Season 5
15 hours ago
“House of Cards” has promoted two insiders to take the reins as showrunners for season five from creator Beau Willimon.
Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese will serve as co-showrunners on the next season of the Beltway drama, which is expected to bow in 2017. Season four of the series starring Kevin Spacey as a scheming career politician who winds up in the Oval Office bows March 4.
“I welcome Frank and Melissa in their new roles on ‘House of Cards’ and look forward to collaborating with them and our creative team on season five,“ said Spacey, who is also an exec producer.
Gibson and Pugliese joined the show, produced by Media Rights Capital, in its third season. Willimon last month announced his decision to exit after running the show for four seasons. That news came at the same time Netflix renewed the drama for a fifth season. The fact that Mrc »
- Cynthia Littleton
’24: Legacy’: Jimmy Smits Joins Fox Revival Pilot
15 hours ago
Fox’s “24: Legacy” pilot has cast “Sons of Anarchy” alum Jimmy Smits in a lead role, Variety has learned.
Smits will play John Donovan, a powerful U.S. Senator with higher political aspirations, who is married to Rebecca (Miranda Otto), the blazing smart former head of CTU. Smits and Otto will star alongside “Straight Outta Compton’s” Corey Hawkins, who plays military hero Eric Carter, who returns to the U.S. and finds that trouble has followed him back — compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what potentially could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on American soil.
“The Flash” and “Masters of Sex” star Teddy Sears was recently cast as Keith Mullins, Rebecca’s ambitious former second-in-command who has now replaced her as head of CTU.
Kiefer Sutherland’s “24” hero Jack Bauer will not be a part of the revival if »
- Laura Prudom
Al Jazeera America Shutters Online Operation with ‘Goodnight, and Good Luck’ Sign Off
15 hours ago
Al Jazeera America is shuttering its online news operation as of today. For its swan song, the website has posted several farewell stories including a “valedictory note” headlined “Goodnight, and Good Luck” penned by senior executive digital producer Tony Karon.
After today, the Al Jazeera America website will no longer be updated although it will continue to exist as an archive of material produced during the past three years. Users will be redirected to the Al Jazeera English website for breaking news coverage and streaming video from the news org’s English-language service, which predated the August 2013 launch of Al Jazeera America as a liner news channel. The TV channel will continue to operate through April 12.
“We tried in our brief tenure to uphold the fine tradition of an American journalism that comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable,” Karon wrote. “Tradition long predates Ajam and will hopefully long outlive it. »
- Cynthia Littleton
CNN Alleges Equipment Tampered With During Trump Telecast
15 hours ago
CNN and MSNBC experienced surprise interruptions during their attempts to broadcast New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s endorsement of Donald Trump’s bid to be president of the United States.
During a Friday telecast of the event, held in Fort Worth, Texas, both cable-news networks appeared to suffer from technical issues. Fox News Channel’s broadcast aired without incident.
A spokesperson for CNN says the network’s equipment was tampered with. A person familiar with the situation said MSNBC experienced a loss of signal while transmitting the event.
Viewers of both networks saw blurs momentarily until the outlets resorted to the use of still photos.
»
- Brian Steinberg
‘Star Trek: Wrath of Khan’ Director Nicholas Meyer Joins New CBS Series as Writer and Producer
16 hours ago
Nicholas Meyer, who directed “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” in addition to writing the screenplays for “Undiscovered Country” and “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” has joined CBS Television Studios and Bryan Fuller’s new “Star Trek” series as a consulting producer and writer, the network announced Friday.
“Nicholas Meyer chased Kirk and Khan ’round the Mutara Nebula and ’round Genesis’ flames, he saved the whales with the Enterprise and its crew, and waged war and peace between Klingons and the Federation. We are thrilled to announce that one of ‘Star Trek’s’ greatest storytellers will be boldly returning as Nicholas Meyer beams aboard the new ‘Trek’ writing staff,” said Fuller in a statement.
As previously announced, the new series will launch with a special preview broadcast on CBS in early 2017, with all subsequent first-run episodes then bowing exclusively on CBS All Access, »
- Laura Prudom
Bill Paxton to Star in ‘Training Day’ Pilot for CBS
17 hours ago
Bill Paxton will star in CBS’ “Training Day” pilot, Variety has learned.
Paxton will play Frank Rourke, a veteran Lapd cop who leads the Special Investigation Section, in the TV sequel to the 2001 film starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Washington earned an Oscar for his leading role.
Paxton’s character “lives by the law of the jungle” and isn’t too happy about being appointed mentor to a new trainee, Kyle Craig, who’s still uncast. Meanwhile, the young African-American police officer struggles to get along with his commanding officer.
The TV reimagining picks up 15 years after the events of the Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures film.
Danny Cannon will direct the pilot, which is being penned by Will Beall (“Castle”), an exec producer on the series and a former Lapd detective.
The original “Training Day” movie’s director, Antoine Fuqua, will exec produce the show alongside »
- Maane Khatchatourian
Alfre Woodard on Her 1984 Oscar Nomination and Marvel’s ‘Luke Cage’
19 hours ago
An Oscar nominee for “Cross Creek” in 1984, Alfre Woodard has won four Emmy awards. But her first mention in Variety was for her work Off Broadway in the ensemble show “So Nice, They Named It Twice” presented by Joseph Papp at the Public Theater.
How well do you remember the production?
There were 27 of us in the cast and only two dressing rooms, one for the women, one for men. And there weren’t as many men as women. There were probably 18 women sharing a dressing room.
How did you land the role?
I was in town because I had been an understudy in “Me and Bessie.” I was going to go right back to Los Angeles when that show closed, but the casting director, Rosemary Tischler, said, “Come down; we’re doing this play. You don’t have to go back to California.” So I got in that play, »
- Jenelle Riley
International Star You Should Know: ‘Game of Thrones’ Newcomer Pilou Asbaek
19 hours ago
Danish actor Pilou Asbaek made his name as the villainous spin-doctor Kasper Juul in political drama series “Borgen,” and in three films directed by Tobias Lindholm, the latest of which, Afghanistan combat drama “A War,” was nominated for the foreign-language film Oscar. In the past year, he’s broken through into Hollywood movies, including Timur Bekmambetov’s “Ben-Hur.”
Employment Options: Asbaek attended the Copenhagen Intl. School of Performing Arts in his early 20s, and has been working ever since. “I started quite late,” he notes. “I didn’t know acting was a job.”
Musical Interlude : Asbaek, 33, enjoys the notoriety he gets on “Borgen,” but is concerned that some see his corrupt character as a role model. In 2014, in an effort to work on something different, the actor served as a host on pop-music show “Eurovision Song Contest,” with a live TV audience of 200 million viewers. “I was so irritated »
- Leo Barraclough
Ratings: ‘The Big Bang Theory’ 200th Episode Dominates Thursday
19 hours ago
On a night when a feisty Republican debate on CNN stole away some viewers from the top entertainment series, CBS comedy powerhouse “The Big Bang Theory” towered above everything else, including Fox’s “American Idol,” which edged up with a special appearance by Kelly Clarkson. ABC’s drama lineup, which took a tumble in its second week back last week, mostly stabilized last night.
The tenth Gop presidential primary debate of the 2016 election cycle averaged a 9.9 combined household rating on CNN and Telemundo from 8:30 to 11 p.m. Et, according to Nielsen overnights. When total-viewer estimates are released later today, it’s expected to come in with between 14 million and 15 million, making it the most-watched debate of either party since a Dec. 15 Republican gathering on CNN drew 18.2 million viewers.
Looking at Thursday’s broadcast ratings action, “The Big Bang Theory” (3.7/13 in 18-49, 15.7 million viewers overall) was in line with last »
- Rick Kissell
‘Full House’ Creator Jeff Franklin Shares Audition Memories of Olsen Twins, John Stamos, Others
19 hours ago
“Fuller House” reunites the majority of the original cast back for the revival series — but before there was Netflix, there was “Full House.”
Jeff Franklin, creator of the iconic family sitcom, says finding the perfect cast members in the ’80s was a pretty seamless experience, which is unusual for the typical tedious casting process.
“It was a dream to cast,” Franklin says. “Pilots are really, really tough. Everybody’s casting at the same time so you have 100 shows all fighting for the same talent pool. Most pilots fail because the cast isn’t right — not necessarily that the writing is bad because you have so many scripts that are written and the ones they pick are usually the cream of the crop, for the most part.”
“Fuller House,” which premieres on Netflix today, will feature the entire “Full House” cast — besides the Olsen twins. But, Franklin says the famous sisters »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
T.R. Knight Returns to ABC for Drama Pilot from Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea
20 hours ago
“Grey’s Anatomy” alum T.R. Knight is returning to ABC for a role in Meaghan Oppenheimer’s untitled drama pilot, Variety has learned.
The drama, executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea through their Pacific Standard banner, centers around a ruthless Dallas divorce attorney whose life begins to unravel when her emotionally damaged, love-addicted sister resurfaces, triggering self-destructive tendencies and exposing long-hidden family secrets.
Knight plays Mark, the work nemesis of lead character Gemma, who is competing with her for the same position. On the outside he’s a jolly and likeable guy, but really he’s calculated backstabber you don’t see coming.
The project hails from ABC Studios. “We Are Your Friends” scribe Oppenheimer is co-executive producing.
Knight is currently starring in Hulu’s “11.22.63” alongside James Franco and Sarah Gadon. He was most recently seen on Broadway alongside Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and F. Murray Abraham in “It’s Only a Play, »
- Laura Prudom
‘UnReal’ Alum Joins NBC’s ‘Cruel Intentions’ Reboot
20 hours ago
Nathalie Kelley has been cast in NBC’s “Cruel Intentions” revival, landing a series regular role in the pilot, Variety has learned.
Kelley joins a growing cast, most notably original star Sarah Michelle Gellar who is reprising her role as Kathryn Merteuil in the potential series. Kelley will play Carmen, the stunning chief for staff for Kathryn and her husband Pascal. She lives in their mansion, along with her teenage brother.
“Cruel Intentions” kicks off 15 years after the film ended, revolving around Kathryn (Gellar), as she vies for control of Valmont International, as well as the soul of Bash Casey (newcomer Taylor John Smith), the son of her brother, the late Sebastian Valmont (the character that was played by Ryan Phillippe in the ’90s film) and Annette Hargrove (the character played by Reese Witherspoon). Upon discovering his late father’s legacy in a hidden journal, Bash is introduced to a world of sex, »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
Feisty Gop Debate on CNN, Telemundo Draws Largest Political Audience of 2016
21 hours ago
Update: In final Nielsen nationals, the viewership total for CNN’s coverage of the debate (8:42-10:53 p.m. Et) came down a bit, to 13.101 million. As a result, last night’s English-language telecast of the debate ended up drawing a slightly smaller audience than either of the recent debates on ABC (13.335 million on Feb. 6) or CBS (13.444 million on Feb. 13).
An average audience of 1.22 million watched Telemundo’s coverage of the debate, bringing the two-network total to 14.32 million and making it the most-watched debate of 2016. The Telemundo/CNN debate took place one week after a Telemundo/MSNBC Democratic Town Hall from Las Vegas, as the Spanish-language network was able to offer a direct dialogue between all Presidential candidates and the Latino audience before Super Tuesday.
The final Republican primary gathering before Super Tuesday produced plenty of insults and fireworks on stage Thursday night — and the largest audience for any »
- Rick Kissell
Review: ‘Blindspot,’ ‘Gotham’ Returns Explore Mythology, Launch New Threats
21 hours ago
“Blindspot” was a bright spot for NBC through much of the fall, while “Gotham” – after a successful first season – has looked shakier on Fox. So both return from their midseason breaks on Feb. 29 with something to prove, as the former picks up on its cliffhanger, while the latter hopes to heat up its ratings with a new arc featuring the villains Mr. Freeze and Hugo Strange.
Frankly, the big twist that capped “Blindspot’s” fall run (and Spoiler Alert if you’re not caught up) had a pretty blatant “Total Recall” vibe, with the anonymous super-soldier Jane (Jaimie Alexander) being shown a taped message from herself. If that video is to be believed, the reason the FBI discovered her naked and tattooed in Times Square (a title that Discovery is probably developing at this moment) is all part of a plot that she hatched, the details of which remain vague, »
- Brian Lowry
Univision Sets Joint Venture With Producer Patricio Wills
22 hours ago
Univision Communications has launched a joint venture with former Telemundo Studios president Patricio Wills to produce exclusive content for Univision sibling channel UniMas and its digital platforms. The focus will be on developing edgy, high-octane series for U.S. Hispanic auds.
Wills’ TV credits include such telenovela hits as “La Reina del Sur” (“Queen of the South”) starring Kate del Castillo, “La Viuda Negra” (“Black Widow”) and “Zorro” among others. Wills is “without a doubt an innovator and one of the best content creators in media,” said Univision president-ceo Randy Falco.
Wills serves as the executive producer of “La Viuda Negra II” (“Black Widow II”), which will have its world premiere simulcast on Univision, UniMas and Galavision networks, as well as on Univision Digital platforms on Sunday.
“We are in the right place, at the right time and with the right partner,” said Wills. The company will be based in Miami. »
- Anna Marie de la Fuente
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