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‘Outlander’ Stars Talk Season 2 Premiere Revelations, New Enemies in France
40 minutes ago
Spoiler warning: This post contains plot details for “Outlander” Season 2, Episode 1, titled “Through a Glass, Darkly.”
We last saw Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) setting sail for France following a harrowing encounter with Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) in the 1700s, but the Season 2 premiere of “Outlander” opened somewhere else entirely — back in Scotland in 1948, with a distraught Claire reuniting with her first husband, Frank (Menzies), desperate to learn the outcome of the infamous Battle of Culloden, to see whether she and Jamie had succeeded in changing the course of history.
More than half of the episode was dedicated to Claire and Frank’s attempts to reconcile what had happened to Claire in the past, while looking towards an uncertain future together, before we took a jaunt back to 1745 as Claire and Jamie arrived in France and got to know Jamie’s cousin, Jared (Robert Cavanah), a wine merchant and Jacobite. »
- Laura Prudom
‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ Season 2 Clip Introduces Anna Camp’s Character
6 hours ago
For those who wished for Jacqueline Voorhees to meet a similarly materialistic character, your wish has been granted in the form of Anna Camp.
The “Pitch Perfect” and “True Blood” star is one of the newcomers who signed on to season two of Netflix’s comedy “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” playing New York housewife Deirdre Robespierre.
In the new clip, which the streaming service released this weekend, Deirdre’s chatting with Jane Krakowski’s Jacqueline, who divorced her husband in season one. And, from the backhanded compliments Deirdre slings her way on a bench in Central Park, it doesn’t look like the healthiest relationship.
“I can never tell if you’re trying to help me or destroy me,” Jacqueline laughs. As it turns out, Deirdre’s not really sure, either.
“I have a degree in political science from Princeton, and all that wasted mental energy has to go somewhere,” Deirdre replies. »
- Alex Stedman
MipTV: Variety, Sky Celebrate Jeremy Darroch’s Achievement in Intl. TV Award
12 hours ago
Cannes — At tradeshow MipTV on Monday, Variety gave Jeremy Darroch, group chief executive of European pay TV company Sky, its Achievement in International Television Award for 2016.
The award was bestowed at a special ceremony in the Grand Auditorium of the Cannes Palais, following an onstage interview between Darroch and senior international correspondent, Leo Barraclough, about Sky’s strategy. The session was hosted by Jerome Delhaye, director of Reed Midem’s entertainment division.
The event was followed by a cocktail reception at the Martinez Hotel, attended by Sky and Variety staff and valued industry partners. Among those attending were Endemol Shine boss Sophie Turner Laing, Belisa Balaban, exec VP, original programming, Pivot, Samuel and Victor Hadida, the owners of Metropolitan Filmexport, Rola Bauer, CEO of Tandem Prods., and Martin Moszkowicz, Constantin Film’s chairman of the executive board.
Among Sky staffers at the event were Jane Millichip, managing director of sales arm Sky Vision, »
- Variety Staff
‘Sleepy Hollow’ Kills Off Major Star in Shocking Twist (Spoilers)
8 April 2016 6:30 PM, PDT
Spoiler Alert: Do not read on if you have not watched the Season 3 finale of “Sleepy Hollow,” which aired Friday, April 8.
In a shocking and unexpected twist, “Sleepy Hollow” killed off one of its main stars on Friday night’s finale — Nicole Beharie and her character Abbie Mills are officially goners.
Beharie was one half of the show’s starring duo, alongside Tom Mison, in the drama — which has yet to land a fourth season renewal at Fox.
Though Beharie’s send-off may come as a huge surprise to fans of the show, the star’s departure has been in discussions since before the third season began. Insiders say Beharie has been eyeing an out from her contract for quite some time, as she no longer wanted to be on the show, and the show’s producers did not dispute her potentially leaving. Original plans called for Beharie’s character »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
Wolf Entertainment Exec Danielle Claman Gelber Departing for NBC Production Deal
8 April 2016 5:30 PM, PDT
Development vet Danielle Claman Gelber, who was integral in developing NBC’s “Chicago” franchise, is transitioning from Wolf Entertainment to the network where she has inked an independent production deal, Variety has learned.
With the new production pact, Gelber will develop scripted series for NBC.
Gelber joined Dick Wolf’s company in 2011 and was head of development. Sources say there is no replacement for her position at this time.
Gelber worked with Wolf and his team to develop “Chicago Fire,” plus its spinoffs “Chicago Pd” and “Chicago Med.” She sold the flagship “Fire” to NBC on her first day at Wolf Entertainment.
“Danielle was an important member of the team as we developed ‘Chicago Fire,'” Wolf commented. “Lightning struck and we were off to the races with a hugely successful brand. With her passion for quality scripted projects, this is a logical and smart evolution to her successful career. »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
TV News Roundup: ‘Ray Donovan’ Sets Season 4 Premiere Date; Maria Botto Joins ‘Good Behavior’ Cast
8 April 2016 4:41 PM, PDT
Maria Botto has been cast in the TNT drama “Good Behavior.” Also in today’s roundup, Showtime has released a new trailer for crime drama “Ray Donovan” Season 4 and Fuse has set a premiere date for its horror film “Zoombies.”
Casting:
Hannah Marks will play the female lead in BBC America’s new scripted drama “Dirk Gently,” where she’ll star opposite Elijah Wood and Samuel Barnett, Variety has learned. Marks will play Todd Brotzman’s (Wood) sister, Amanda Brotzman, a former rebellious punk and fun gal, now sick, sidelined by a genetic disorder. Todd and Amanda are deeply connected. Marks is represented by UTA, Untitled Entertainment and Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal Laviolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman.
Maria Botto has been cast in TNT’s “Good Behavior,” Variety has learned exclusively. The sister of series regular Juan Diego Botto, Maria joins the Michelle Dockery-starring drama in a recurring guest role. »
- Alyssa Sage, Rick Kissell and Elizabeth Wagmeister
Tom Hiddleston Helped Run a London Hotel to Prepare for ‘The Night Manager’
8 April 2016 2:03 PM, PDT
In AMC’s “The Night Manager,” British thesp Tom Hiddleston portrays Jonathan Pine, the titular soldier-turned-hotelier who becomes embroiled in a plot to bring down an international arms dealer (Hugh Laurie) who is frequently described in the series as “the worst man in the world,” for reasons that soon become apparent.
During a For Your Consideration event for the six-episode limited series, Laurie revealed that he’d done some research into the deadly world that his character, Richard Onslow Roper, inhabits, telling the assembled audience, “I was immediately instructed by the corporate lawyers that I was not to discuss who this character might be based on, because if it ever came to their attention that ‘the worst man in the world’ was based on them, being sued by them would be the least of our problems … This is not fun and games, this is an enormous industry involving astronomical degrees of violence. »
- Laura Prudom
Terence Winter Out as ‘Vinyl’ Showrunner Following Creative Differences
8 April 2016 2:01 PM, PDT
Terence Winter is departing HBO’s rock ‘n’ roll drama “Vinyl,” Variety has confirmed. The showrunner, exec producer and co-creator has been let go over creative differences.
Scott Z. Burns (“The Bourne Ultimatum”) has been named showrunner and exec producer, replacing Winter. Max Borenstein (“Godzilla,” “Minority Report”) has also joined the series as exec producer.
“As we head into the second season of ‘Vinyl,’ we have decided it is an appropriate time to make a change in the creative direction of the show,” HBO said in a statement. “We have enjoyed a longtime partnership with Terry Winter at HBO on projects from ‘The Sopranos’ to ‘Boardwalk Empire’ to ‘Vinyl,’ and we look forward to our next collaboration with him. We are pleased to welcome Scott Z. Burns, executive producer and showrunner, and Max Borenstein, executive producer, as the new team helming the show.”
Winter co-created “Vinyl,” which stars Olivia Wilde and Bobby Cannavale, »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
Megyn Kelly on Trump Attacks: ‘Courage Is What We Need’ (Video)
8 April 2016 1:37 PM, PDT
Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly tackled hot-button issues at Variety’s “Power of Women” event on Friday. In a powerful speech, Kelly addressed her growth as a reporter and anchor, her run-ins with Donald Trump, child neglect and how to deal with fear.
She recalled a conversation with Katie Couric from two days prior, in which Couric asked Kelly what she learned from the first presidential debate and her contentious back-and-forth with Trump.
“Has anyone here heard of that?” she joked.
“Fearlessness is false,” she told the audience at Cipriani’s in New York. “Adversity is an opportunity, and John Denver had all the answers.”
She added: “I’m scared about a lot, often. Fear is normal; the goal is not to get rid of it but to walk through it. Courage is what we need.”
“Ok, I’m tough,” she later confessed in response to Vanity Fair calling her “the Toughest Anchor at Fox. »
- Maria Cavassuto
Esquire Network Renews ‘Car Matchmaker’ for Season 3, Jerry Seinfeld & Keanu Reeves to Guest Star
8 April 2016 12:55 PM, PDT
Esquire Network has renewed “Car Matchmaker” for a third season. Car aficionado and host Spike Feresten is set to return when the new season premieres Wednesday, June 22, at 9 p.m. with 16 half-hour episodes.
Guests for the upcoming episodes include Jerry Seinfeld, Sports Illustrated model Genevieve Morton, plus Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger, co-founders of Arch Motorcycle Company.
“Car Matchmaker” follows Feresten as he meets with people in need of a vehicle, gets to know their personalities and preferences and then finds three different options perfectly suited to the buyer — and after taking the ultimate test drive, the buyer selects his or her favorite vehicle.
The new season will see Feresten taking on an entirely new set of challenges as he draws upon his two decades of knowledge and expertise to find the perfect match for his clients, who include a couple looking to live completely off the grid for a year, »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
Phil Bergman, Former ABC Producer, Dead at 82
8 April 2016 12:49 PM, PDT
Phillip Bergman, best known as a producer for ABC’s “20/20,” “Nightline” and “Good Morning America,” died on April 6 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 82.
Bergman, who won five Emmys, spent the majority of his career working for ABC News shows including “ABC Saturday Evening News” with Ted Koppel and “World News Tonight.”
The New York native began his career as a journalist working as a reporter and editor for the Newark Star Ledger. He then worked as a reporter for United Press International. Bergman also served in the military as an Army correspondent from 1957 until 1962.
He first joined ABC in New York as a news writer and then produced the network’s late-night news show. He then became executive producer of “ABC Saturday Evening News.” He also contributed to other ABC news magazine shows as a producer.
Bergman is survived by his two sons and four grandchildren. »
- Maria Cavassuto
Fox Chief Talks Road Ahead After ‘American Idol’
8 April 2016 12:33 PM, PDT
For almost a decade, Fox Broadcasting ruled television on the back of “American Idol.” But the show that Fox said goodbye to Thursday was a shadow of the one that carried the network to eight straight seasons atop the broadcast ratings. This season, prior to its finale, “Idol” averaged 9 million total viewers and a 2.2 live-plus-same day rating in Nielsen’s key 18-49 demo—down 70% and 82%, respectively, from the show’s peak in 2006. Fox, meanwhile, watches from third place as NBC and CBS tussle for this season’s ratings crown.
The show’s end, nevertheless, presents an opportunity for its chief executives, Gary Newman and Dana Walden, who decided last year to cancel the show ahead of its 15th season. How they guide Fox to a post-“Idol” future — and fill those nearly 40 hours of programming — could define their tenures at the network. As such, they’ve been preparing for this moment for a while. »
- Daniel Holloway
Vivendi and Mediaset Forge Pay-tv Alliance with Wide-Ranging Implications
8 April 2016 10:12 AM, PDT
Rome — Vivendi and Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi-owned Mediaset have forged a pay-tv alliance with wide-ranging implications that sees the French media giant gain control of the Italian broadcaster’s Mediaset Premium pay-tv unit within a larger plan to create a potentially formidable pan-European content platform with enough scale to compete with Murdoch’s pan-European paybox Sky and with Netflix in Southern Europe.
The pact is a key plank of the expansion being pursued by Vivendi chairman Vincent Bollore (pictured), who has a longstanding close rapport with the Berlusconi family.
It sees the two partners swap 3.5% stakes and is subject to a three month due diligence period.
“The agreement with Mediaset confirms Vivendi’s intention to build strong positions in Southern Europe, a market that shares a similar Latin culture and roots,” Vivendi said in a statement.
Mediaset’s board gave the go-ahead today during a Milan board meeting and »
- Nick Vivarelli
Viacom Velocity Marketing Unit Opening Los Angeles Office (Exclusive)
8 April 2016 10:03 AM, PDT
Integrated marketing operation Viacom Velocity has opened a Los Angeles office, Variety has learned exclusively.
The West Coast group is being created to meet movie studios’ increasing demand for custom-branded content campaigns for all major studios — not only Viacom’s Paramount. Recent titles handled by Viacom Velocity include Universal’s “Sisters” and “The Boss,” and New Line’s “Central Intelligence.”
The Los Angeles team is being led jointly by Chris Lenz, senior VP of creative and production, and Danielle Della Corna-Kupchak, senior VP of integrated marketing. Lenz reports to exec VP Niels Schuurmans, and Della Corna-Kupchak reports to exec VP Dario Spina.
“Viacom Velocity has developed trusted collaborations with movie studios in part because of our proven success delivering tailored creative campaigns that redefine marketing and demand the attention of targeted audiences that live uniquely throughout Viacom’s brands,” said Schuurmans.
For example, the campaign for “Central Intelligence,” an action-comedy »
- Dave McNary
International Exec You Should Know: Keshet’s Assaf Blecher
8 April 2016 10:00 AM, PDT
It’s been barely a month since Assaf Blecher left Los Angeles for the Tel Aviv headquarters of Israeli media giant Keshet, but he’s already feeling at home.
Despite more than a decade spent in Tinseltown, mainly at Dick Clark Prods., Blecher is a native Israeli, born and raised in the sleepy Tel Aviv suburb of Petach Tikva. For the past two years, he has been at the L.A. helm of Keshet Dcp, the company’s joint production venture with DC Media, Dick Clark’s parent company. So when Keshet in January tapped him for the role of VP of development and content and asked him to come back to the Holy Land for good, he knew the transition would feel natural.
“I know the mentality here,” Blecher says. “Everyone is always thinking — thinking big and thinking different. You can’t reinvent the wheel, but you can reshape it, »
- Debra Kamin
AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ Finishes as TV’s Top Series in Key Demo for Fourth Straight Season
8 April 2016 9:59 AM, PDT
It’s official, zombies still rule the television world.
Last Sunday’s season finale of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” averaged 18.4 million viewers and 11.5 million adults 18-49 (9.1 national rating), according to Nielsen’s “live plus-3” estimates, which include three days’ worth of DVR playback and VOD where available. The network said the episode is also expected to generate more than 1 million additional digits views.
The finale caps a fourth straight year that “Walking Dead” has finished as the most popular series on television among adults 18-49 when including the three-day playback numbers, according to Nielsen. Its average for the season (9.1) towers above NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” (7.5), Fox’s “Empire” (6.7), CBS/NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Football” (5.7) and CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” (5.6). (“Sunday Night Football” again finished on top in same-day ratings.)
“Walking Dead” fell off a little this season, but still held up better than most other entertainment »
- Rick Kissell
Endemol Shine Taps Tamaya Petteway to Lead New Brand and Licensing Partnerships Division (Exclusive)
8 April 2016 9:30 AM, PDT
Endemol Shine North American has named Tamaya Petteway senior vice president of its new brand and licensing partnership division. The new department combines the company’s previously separate franchise-management and licensing-integration teams under Petteway’s leadership.
As part of the reorganization, Kelly C. Hill will join the company as vice president, licensing partnerships.
“Combining the franchise management and brand operations under Tamaya’s guidance in this newly formed division provides our partners with expanded creative resources across a multi-talented group,” said Vivi Zigler, president of digital, brand and audience development. “Since joining Endemol Shine North America, she has proven herself a strong leader and a creative collaborator to our commercial partners.”
Petteway joined Endemol Shine in 2015 as senior vice president, brand integrations and partnerships. In that role, she launched brand partnerships with Olive Garden and Fox’s “MasterChef Junior,” oversaw the opening of the Biggest Loser Resort in Palm Springs »
- Daniel Holloway
President Obama Praises ‘American Idol’ for Motivating Young Voters: ‘All of Our Voices Matter’
8 April 2016 9:02 AM, PDT
President Barack Obama bid farewell to “American Idol” on Thursday night by praising the show for motivating “millions of young Americans to vote, often and with enthusiasm.”
In a pre-taped message that was also posted on YouTube, Obama said that he believes “it should be almost as easy voting on ‘American Idol,’ and we’re working on that. But when we choose not to vote, we surrender that right.”
He praised the show for transforming television, inspiring young artists and captivating audiences across the country. “And it taught America what it means to be pitchy,” he quipped.
“When we choose not to vote, we surrender that right. We surrender our voice to someone else,” Obama said. “Not all of us can sing like Kelly Clarkson, but all of our voices matter.”
He then urged viewers to go to Vote.gov to register to vote.
»
- Ted Johnson
‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 Sneak Peek: Jon Snow Makes an Appearance
8 April 2016 9:00 AM, PDT
Much like Jon Snow, we know nothing about “Game of Thrones” Season 6, now that the HBO hit has largely progressed past the plots laid out in George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels.
Thankfully, star Liam Cunningham (aka Ser Davos Seaworth) stopped by Conan O’Brien’s “Conan” on Thursday night with a first look clip from the Season 6 premiere, which airs on April 24. And even though we’ve repeatedly been told that Jon Snow is dead, that doesn’t stop him from making an appearance in the new footage — albeit as a corpse.
In the preview video, we see Ser Davos; Jon’s direwolf, Ghost; and the few remaining Night’s Watch loyalists preparing to fight Ser Alliser Thorne, Olly and the other traitors who killed the Lord Commander at the end of last season.
HBO has also released the title and plot summary for the Season 6 premiere, »
- Laura Prudom
Ratings: ‘American Idol’ Exits With Largest Finale Audience in Three Years
8 April 2016 8:29 AM, PDT
America bid farewell to one of the biggest hits in television history last night, with Fox’s “American Idol” attracting its largest audience in a couple of years and its biggest finale audience in three years.
More reliable Nielsen numbers will be available in a few hours, but the star-studded, 126-minute “Idol” finale averaged a 3.0 rating/10 share in adults 18-49 and 12.9 million viewers overall from 8 to 10 p.m. last night, with these averages expected to rise once the final six minutes are included. Given that the final half-hour averaged a 3.4 in the demo and 14.5 million viewers, it’s likely that its average for the night will finish in the vicinity of 13.4 million.
Prior to last night, the show’s season peak came with its premiere on Jan. 6, which did a 3.0 in 18-49 and about 11 million total viewers. The show had averaged about a 2.3 same-day rating and 10.5 million total viewers on Wednesdays and Thursdays this season. »
- Rick Kissell
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