Week of « Prev | Next »
1-20 of 119 items « Prev | Next »
Ted Harbert Departs NBCUniversal, Mark Lazarus Expands Role in Executive Shuffle
36 minutes ago
NBCUniversal executive Ted Harbert is leaving the company. Harbert had served as chairman, NBC Broadcasting.
With his departure, NBC Sports chief Mark Lazarus has been named chairman, NBC Broadcasting and Sports. In addition, George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy will assume responsibility for NBC’s first-run syndication business. Jeff Bader will take oversight of the Broadcast Research Group, headed by Alan Wurtzel. Cheeks, Telegdy and Bader are all part of NBC Entertainment, reporting to chairman Bob Greenblatt.
In addition, Kevin MacLellan has been named chairman, global distribution and international, adding domestic TV and new media to his purview. Maggie McLean Suniewick has been named president, NBCUniversal digital enterprises.
The changes were announced Thursday in a memo to staff from NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke.
Read the full message from Burke below:
I am writing to announce some important changes to our leadership team.
Ted Harbert, Chairman of NBC Broadcasting, has decided to leave the company. The »
- Daniel Holloway
Amazon’s ‘Hand of God’ To End After Two Seasons
56 minutes ago
“Hand of God” will end its run on Amazon after two seasons, Variety has confirmed.
Debuting in September 2015, the drama that stars Ron Perlman and Dana Delany has one 10-episode season under its belt. The second season will launch in 2017.
“We’re wrapping up the storyline in season two, which debuts next year, and are excited to bring it to customers,” a spokesperson for Amazon tells Variety in a statement.
“Hand of God” was created by Ben Watkins. The drama follows a corrupt judge (Perlman) who has a breakdown and believes God is compelling him onto a path of vigilante justice.
The series was one of the two shows picked up during the streaming service’s third pilot pitch season, which lets viewers select the pilots they’d like to see go to series. The “Hand of God” pilot was made available in August 2014, about one year before the full season launched on Amazon.
At »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
‘Mr. Robot’ Creator Predicts Show’s Run: ‘Probably About Four or Five Seasons’
59 minutes ago
Emmy Writing nominees gathered at the Television Academy to celebrate their fellow nominees Wednesday evening ahead of the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
“Mr. Robot” outstanding writing for a drama series nominee Sam Esmail shared that the recognition was unexpected.
“I mean it’s beyond an honor. Obviously we didn’t expect any of this a year ago. It’s humbling. It’s such a weird little show and we explore really dark things and the way it’s worked out is a shock, a welcome shock, but a shock nonetheless,” he said.
Although the show is currently in its second season, Esmail already has the future for the series planned out.
“Initially this was supposed to be a feature-length film and so I know where we’re going and the ending, so probably about four or five seasons. I like to know where we’re going and where we’re heading. I »
- Maria Cavassuto
Emmy Winner Peter Scolari on the Challenges of His Role on HBO’s ‘Girls’
1 hour ago
Peter Scolari won his first Emmy on Sept. 10, as guest actor in a comedy for HBO’s “Girls.” Shortly before his win, he told Variety he loves working on the show but said it’s been challenging to portray the constant angst and frustration of Tad Horvath, the father to Lena Dunham’s character. “I had to relax to play somebody in such a challenged, non-winning state,” he said. Clearly, his hard work paid off. This was his fourth Emmy nomination; he earned three in the 1980s for “Newhart.” The actor is currently on Broadway in “Wicked.”
How did you learn of the nomination?
My manager called and said, “Congratulations.” I was about to film the series finale in season six of “Girls,” so I assumed he meant that.
Did you celebrate the nomination?
When you’re 35 and nominated for an Emmy, you give fist pumps and high fives. But at 60, I felt something closer to tears »
- Tim Gray
Stephen Colbert Parodies “Fifty Shades Darker’ Trailer [Video]
1 hour ago
“50 Shades of Grey” fans got their first full look at the sequel earlier this week when a trailer for “50 Shades Darker” was released.
Funnyman Stephen Colbert wanted to get in on the action, literally.
The “Late Show” host presented his own version of the trailer, which contains more laughs than lust. Watch as Colbert dons a masquerade mask in hopes of joining Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) for an intimate encounter.
Watch the video below.
The real trailer for “Darker” reveals a well, darker, storyline for the sequel.
“This time, no rules, no punishments, and no more secrets,” Steele tells her lover. Of course, secrets from his past return, in the form of a mysterious ex-girlfriend, played by Bella Heathcote.
Kim Basinger also enters the franchise as another ex-lover and Grey’s business partner, Elena Lincoln. Audiences will also meet Grey’s influential mother, played by Marcia Gay Harden.
- Lawrence Yee
Toronto: Visit Films’ Ryan Kampe Launches “Pretty __ Ideas” Incubator
1 hour ago
Ryan Kampe, president of New York-based Visit Films, is using the Toronto festival to launch a new company, Pretty __ Ideas, a film-project incubator offering broad-based production, finance and distribution support to bring movies to life and aid them through the whole industry cycle.
Backed by Kampe, Pretty __ Ideas will be run by Jennifer Sperber, following her departure from The Weinstein Company, where she contributed to John Carney’s “Sing Street” and “The Imitation Game.” Spearer’s oversight will include acquiring and managing the company’s projects and dealing with filmmakers, financiers, sales agents and festivals, Kampe said in a press statement Thursday.
Pretty __ Ideas is looking to partner on four to six projects a year, which will be a mix of English-language narrative, foreign-language narrative and documentaries. The project size can range from micro-budget to more ambitious films which have studio distribution potential. The company offers early-stage financial support
Founded by Kampe in 2005, Visit Films has carved »
- John Hopewell
‘Married at First Sight’ Spinoff Greenlit at Fyi Network
1 hour ago
Fyi has greenlit a spinoff to “Married at First Sight,” Variety has learned.
“Married at First Sight: Second Chances” follows cast members from the third season of the flagship series, David Norton and Vanessa Nelson, as they get another shot at finding love.
Fyi has ordered 12 episodes. Production will begin immediately in Atlanta, and the series is set to premiere in 2017.
The spinoff comes as “Married at First Sight” ranks as the cabler’s top series across all platforms. The current fourth season has seen double-digit growth in total viewers since it bowed in July.
On the original series, Norton’s marriage failed. Nelson’s marriage fell apart after the series wrapped. Now that their respective divorces are finalized, “Married at First Sight: Second Chances” will follow men and women in Norton and Nelson’s hometown of Atlanta as they take part in multiple rounds of dating and courtship, vying »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
‘Ray Donovan’ Finale Sneak Peek: Ray Plays God
1 hour ago
Showtime drama “Ray Donovan” airs its Season 4 finale on Sunday night, up against the Emmy Awards (where the show is nominated for the performances of stars Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight, in addition to a directing nod for showrunner David Hollander). The show has already scooped one award in this year’s Emmy race, nabbing Guest Actor in a Drama Series for Hank Azaria at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys.
The season began with Ray’s burgeoning friendship with professional boxer Hector Campos (Ismael Cruz Cordova), a fellow abuse survivor who had also turned to the church to try and get a fresh start. In a striking turn of events, Hector told Ray about one of his darkest secrets — his incestuous relationship with half-sister Marisol (Lisa Bonet).
After Hector snapped and killed Marisol for publicly revealing their controversial relationship, he asked Ray to solve the mess. However, as Variety’s exclusive sneak peek reveals, Hector »
- Arya Roshanian
FCC’s App Proposal Would Do Away With Set-Top Boxes, But Big Cable Is Pushing Back
1 hour ago
The FCC is trying to make it easier and cheaper for you to watch TV. But the plan to unleash pay TV service from the set-top box that has been its delivery mechanism for decades has opponents — notably, the Big Cable lobby — raising their fists.
Last week, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler unveiled a proposal that would require MVPDs (Comcast, DirecTV, etc.) to offer their subscribers an app that would allow them to access the full suite of programming they pay for, without the need for a set-top box.
The average consumer pays $231 per year in set-top box rental fees; Wheeler has likened this stranglehold to the way consumers once had to rent phones from Ma Bell. But the MVPDs are not going to let that $20 billion in annual revenue evaporate without a fight.
Another major flashpoint: Along with the app, Wheeler’s proposal calls for the formation of a body that would issue a standard license for »
- Ted Johnson and Cynthia Littleton
Emmys the Perfect Time to Showcase Season’s Big Fashion Trends
1 hour ago
Last year, fashionable lead-actress nominees Claire Danes and Taraji P. Henson picked looks flaunting chains, Kerry Washington dazzled in a metallic dress (hot off Marc Jacobs’ New York Fashion Week runway), and Tatiana Maslany nailed menswear in a Bouchra Jarrar couture cream tux. Here, top celebrity stylists weigh in on which trends will dominate the 2016 Emmy red carpet.
Prints
Micaela Erlanger, who’s previously styled fashion-forward Emmy contenders Tatiana Maslany and Michelle Dockery, predicts we’ll see plenty of prints. “Romantic florals and intarsia were all over the runways,” she says, also noting the trend’s migration onto the red carpet. “Take, for instance, Margot
Robbie’s Gucci gown from her ‘Suicide Squad’ tour.”
Bold Hues
“The Emmys are always about color,” says Cristina Ehrlich, who has worked with Allison Williams, Anna Kendrick, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and expects this year’s nominees to take risks. Tara Swennen, who styled Julie Bowen in the lime-green Monique Lhuillier she »
- Jasmin Rosemberg
TV Ratings: ‘America’s Got Talent’ Ends Season on a High, ‘Blindspot’ Gets Solid Start
2 hours ago
“America’s Got Talent” closed out its most-watched season in five years on a high note, notching a 2.8 in adults 18-49 and 14 million viewers. That rating makes it the top “Agt” finale since 2011. The closer provided a strong lead-in for “Blindspot,” which was inevitably down from last year’s heavily promoted series premiere, but up 24% from its Season 1 finale in total viewers, where it earned 7.3 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in the demo at 10 p.m.
Elsewhere, CBS’ “Big Brother” earned a 1.7 in the adults 18-49 demographic and 6 million viewers at 8 p.m., while Fox’s two-hour “Masterchef” season finale scored a 1.4 rating and 4.3 million viewers. The rest of the night’s lineup was in repeats, aside from The CW’s “Penn & Teller: Fool Us,” which nabbed a 0.4 rating and 1.4 million viewers at 8 p.m., and a new “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” which posted a 0.3 rating and 0.9 million viewers.
»
- Laura Prudom
Alex Gibney Teams With ‘Downton Abbey’ Producer Carnival on Cyber Warfare Series
2 hours ago
Filmmaker Alex Gibney, who won an Oscar for “Taxi to the Dark Side,” and producer Marc Shmuger are developing drama series “Stuxnet” with “Downton Abbey” producer Carnival Films and “The Americans” writer-producer Stephen Schiff.
The first season of “Stuxnet,” which is a working title, will be based on Gibney’s cyber-warfare documentary “Zero Days.” The film, which Gibney and Shmuger produced for Participant Media, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year to critical acclaim.
Season 1 of the thriller series will be about “what happens when a self-replicating computer virus developed by the West to disable and destroy nuclear facilities in the Middle East starts to spread beyond its intended targets, threatening the very security of those it was intended to protect,” according to a statement. “The drama will tell a tale of hackers, spies, nuclear secrets, and how one clandestine mission opens the Pandora’s Box of cyber-warfare forever — a new era of global conflict »
- Leo Barraclough
Leslie Moonves: No Viacom Talks as CBS Keeps Focus Content, Digital and International
2 hours ago
Despite rampant speculation, CBS Corp. chief Leslie Moonves made it clear Thursday that the Eye is not in active discussions to reunite with Viacom, its former corporate sibling within Sumner Redstone’s empire.
“We are not in active discussions for anything like that,” Moonves said Thursday during his Q&A at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications and Entertainment investor conference. “We are very happy with the position we are playing now. We think we have a great future as the CBS Corporation now.”
Talk of the potential for CBS and Viacom to recombine — a decade after they were split up by Redstone — has increased in the wake of the shakeup that saw Viacom chairman-ceo Philippe Dauman exit the company this week. Many Wall Streeters have opined that CBS and Viacom would be better off together.
Moonves cautioned that his first priority to is make sure any deals or M&A options that arise are »
- Cynthia Littleton
Wild Bunch TV Scores Global Sales on Dustin Hoffman, Richard Madden-Starrer ‘Medici’ (Exclusive)
3 hours ago
Paris — Wild Bunch TV has scored worldwide sales on “Medici: Masters of Florence,” Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyer’s upscale historical drama series starring Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden (“Game of Thrones”).
“Medici,” directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (“The Pillars of the Earth”) and produced by Lux Vide (“War and Peace”) in collaboration with Big Light Productions and Wild Bunch, has pre-sold to Sky (Germany), Sbs (Australia), eOne (New Zealand), Sony Pictures Television (Latin America), Dbs (Israel), Vrt (Belgium), Canal Plus (Poland), Lrt (Lithuania), Rtv (Slovenia), Rtvs (Slovakia), Canal Plus Overseas (French Speaking Africa), Hulu (Japan), Georgian Public 1 Broadcast (Georgia), and Btv (Bulgaria), among others.
As previously announced, the gripping family saga was also acquired by Sfr/Altice Group for France, French-speaking Belgium, and Luxembourg, and by Telefonica/Movistar Plus for Spain. All these deals were signed for first window-rights. Further sales are in negotiations for Britain and Scandinavia, along other other territories.
Wme »
- Elsa Keslassy
‘Blindspot’ Season 2: Go Inside Last Night’s Premiere in Virtual Reality
3 hours ago
This post contains spoilers for the “Blindspot” Season 2 premiere, titled “In Night So Ransomed Rogued.”
NBC’s “Blindspot” returned with a bang on Wednesday night, with our tattooed heroine, Jane Done (Jaimie Alexander), escaping from a CIA black site after three months of being tortured for her involvement in the events of last season, which left FBI Assistant Director Mayfair dead. Despite going on the run, it didn’t take long for Jane to reunite with her team, who — despite their obvious trust issues — still work better with her than without her.
The action-packed hour moved fast, and soon Jane was going undercover to infiltrate “Sandstorm,” the organization that set the whole series in motion — a risky plan conceived by Archie Panjabi’s Nas Kamal, the head of a covert Nsa division that had been tracking the terrorist group since before Jane was found in a bag in Times Square in the series premiere. Following »
- Laura Prudom
Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ Gets Series Order at Netflix
3 hours ago
Netflix has given a 10-episode series order to “She’s Gotta Have It,” a remake of Spike Lee’s 1986 debut film, Variety has confirmed. Lee will direct each half-hour installment and serves as executive producer on the project with his wife and producing partner Tonya Lewis Lee.
The series centers on Nola Darling, a Brooklyn-based artist in her late twenties struggling to define herself and divide her time amongst her Friends, her Job and her Three Lovers: The Cultured Model, Greer Childs; The Protective Investment Banker, Jamie Overstreet; and Da Original B-Boy Sneakerhead, Mars Blackmon.
Lee released the following statement on the series pickup:
“She’S Gotta Have It Has A Very Special Place In My Heart. We Shot This Film In 12 Days (2 Six Day Weeks) Way Back In The Back Back Of The Hot Summer Of 1985 For A Mere Total of $175,000. Funds That We Begged, Borrowed and Whatnot To Get That Money. This »
- Laura Prudom
HBO Now Is Coming to Sony PlayStation Consoles
3 hours ago
HBO Now, the premium cabler’s standalone subscription package, will launch on Sony’s PlayStation 4 and PS3 game consoles ahead of the Oct. 2 premiere of sci-fi thriller “Westworld.”
HBO also announced an agreement with Sony to bring HBO and Cinemax to PlayStation Vue, the over-the-top live TV service from Sony Interactive Entertainment, in the same time frame. HBO and Cinemax will be available for $15 each per month through PlayStation Vue. Under the terms of the deal, PlayStation Vue users who subscribe to HBO can access original series and other programming via HBO Now using multiple devices.
The companies are touting the fact that the new distribution agreements will go live in time for the debut of HBO’s original series “Westworld,” created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy and adapted from the 1973 film directed by Michael Crichton and starring Yul Brynner. The HBO series stars Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden »
- Todd Spangler
Rachel Martin To Join NPR’s Flagship ‘Morning Edition’
4 hours ago
Rachel Martin will join NPR’s flagship morning drive program, “Morning Edition,” solving the riddle of which member of the public-broadcaster’s staff will fill a spot soon to be vacated by longtime co-host Renee Montagne.
Martin, who has been host of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday,” will join Steve Inskeep and David Greene, who will head to the outlet’s “NPR West” offices in Culver City. Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPR’s Brazil correspondent, will take over as weekend Sunday host starting in January.
The personnel moves aren’t to be taken lightly. “Morning Edition,” along with “All Things Considered,” are two of public radio’s most listened-to programs. NPR in July announced Montagne would step down from “Morning Edition” after the November elections and transition into a special correspondent focused on long form reporting. The show saw its overall audience grow 26% as of August compared to the year-earlier period, according to Nielsen. In »
- Brian Steinberg
‘Oitnb’ Star Lorraine Toussaint to Guest on ‘Black-ish’ (Exclusive)
5 hours ago
Lorraine Toussaint will guest star on “Black-ish,” playing the sister of Laurence Fishburne’s character, Pops, Variety has learned exclusively.
Her character is named Almaviligerais, though everyone calls her “A.V.” Described as someone who is always on the hustle, pulls no punches and is down for whatever, she is strongly disliked by Ruby (Jenifer Lewis) so Dre (Anthony Anderson) has to conceal his love for her whenever Ruby is around.
For now, Toussaint will appear in one episode of “Black-ish” Season 3. She films next week, and the season returns on Sept. 21.
“We knew we needed an actor formidable enough to go toe-to-toe with both Pops and Ruby. That’s a short list, and Lorraine Toussaint was at the top of it. We’re so thrilled she’s joining us,” executive producer and co-showrunner Jonathan Groff tells Variety.
“It’s exciting and great fun to work with my friends on such a groundbreaking and funny show,” Toussaint »
- Maureen Ryan and Elizabeth Wagmeister
‘Suits’ Star Gina Torres Joins ABC’s ‘The Catch’ for Season 2
6 hours ago
Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers regarding the “Suits” Season 6 summer finale, which aired on Wednesday, Sept. 14 on USA Network.
Gina Torres has joined ABC’s Shondaland series “The Catch” for Season 2, Variety has learned.
Torres’ casting comes just after she exited “Suits” on the show’s summer finale last night. She had been on the long-running USA Network series for five-and-a-half seasons. However, Torres is joining ABC’s “The Catch” in a recurring role, and “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh said in recent interviews there is a possibility the actress can return to his show in guest spots.
Last pilot season, Torres was cast as the lead in ABC’s “The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez,” and though the project was not picked up to series, her “Suits” departure came into discussion at the time of that pilot. Though “Eva Sofia Valdez” didn’t go all the way, the network kept an eye on Torres and found »
- Elizabeth Wagmeister
1-20 of 119 items « Prev | Next »