TV News

“America’s Got Talent” actually increased its total viewers from last week’s season premiere, and NBC easily topped Tuesday primetime outright.

Last night marked just the second time in nine years “Agt” grew its audience from Week 1 to Week 2. “Songland” did not hold up as well as its lead-in.

NBC was first in ratings with a 1.4 rating/7 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 8.1 million, according to preliminary numbers. “America’s Got Talent” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. posted a 1.6/9 and 9.8 million viewers. “Songland” at 10 received a 1.0/5 and 4.7 million viewers.

Fox was second in ratings with a 0.7/4 and third in viewers with 3.1 million. “The MasterChef Junior” season finale was the only show on Fox’s schedule, averaging those numbers.

CBS and Telemundo tied for third in ratings,

Fred Kogel’s fast-growing Germany-based independent studio has recruited Christian Meinberger as its digital boss. The Kkr-backed operation has acquired German assets including independent studio Tele Munchen Group, Universum Film, and Wiedemann & Berg Film.

Meinberger will take charge of the digital business, working up partnerships in Germany, as well as in the U.S., U.K., and in international markets.

He will oversee the development and production of digital originals, the development of new online channels, and social media promotion for the new group’s theatrical releases.

The seasoned exec was a cofounder of ProSiebenSat.1’s digital business

Mackenzie Crook will write and direct the BBC’s upcoming Worzel Gummidge drama. He will also star as Worzel as the the classic walking talking scarecrow character returns to British screens in two hour-long specials. They are expected to bow at the end of the year.

Barbara Euphan Todd wrote the Worzel Gummidge books, which were the foundation for a classic British series starring Jon Pertwee in the title role in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Leopard Pictures, part of Argonon Group, has partnered with Treasure Trove Productions and Lola Entertainment for the new adaptation.

The first episode in the new run,

Musical biopics might be the new thing in Hollywood, and we can trace that back to 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie, about Freddie Mercury and Queen's rise to success, managed to snag a handful of trophies during the 2019 award season (including a Best Actor Oscar for Rami Malek), even though the

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Other Links From TVGuide.com Rami MalekBohemian Rhapsody

The latest Handmaid’s Tale answers the question: Where exactly does one go after one turns one’s house into a smoking s’mores pit? Why, a holiday by the sea, of course!

The episode, titled “Useful,” gives us a glimpse into what Serena’s been doing since the last time we saw her. There’s a whole lot of grieving for the missing baby Nichole, some smoking and a little listening to her mom tell her how terrible she is — mix in the waterfront location of Serena’s folks’ house, and it’s essentially Club Dread.

Back at the Lawrence household,

Remember when we thought The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Commander Lawrence was a white hat? Those were good times.

As becomes rather clear in “Mary and Martha,” the architect of Gilead may not be the power-hungry misogynist that his commander brethren are, but he’s also not the hero he seemed back when he drove Emily to meet up with the escape van.

His actions in Episode 2 are puzzling, contradictory and overall unsettling, which I suspect is the point. Because as we’ve learned by now, June can’t have nice things.

Also: Aunt Lydia is back! And so is her cattle prod!

Though no decision has been made, J.J. Abrams looks to be closing in on a destination for a new mega-deal for his production company Bad Robot, which could be valued at nearly half a billion dollars. Sources tell Variety that WarnerMedia is emerging as the frontrunner to land the filmmaker and TV mind behind “Alias” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” However, Apple is also said to be in strong contention for a deal that could be historic in scope.

Variety first reported last November that several major players were courting Abrams for a massive deal that would encompass films,

NBC is attempting to crack The Da Vinci Code: The Peacock network is developing a drama series featuring a young Robert Langdon, the protagonist of Dan Brown’s bestselling novels, according to our sister site Deadline.

The prequel series, titled Langdon, will be based on the novel The Lost Symbol, the fourth in Brown’s series of Robert Langdon books. But though The Lost Symbol takes place chronologically after The Da Vinci Code, Langdon will reportedly center on a young Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor “who finds himself pulled into a series of deadly puzzles when his mentor is kidnapped,

Only a few minutes of The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Season 3 premiere pass before June addresses anyone who quailed at her choice to remain in Gilead at the end of Season 2.

“I have reasons. There are always reasons,” she says, addressing the matter by way of a voiceover to her infant daughter, who’s cruising north in a frightened Emily’s arms. “I’m sorry, baby girl. Mom’s got work.”

Well, blessed be the fruit and all, but do Emily and little Nichole make it to the Canadian border unharmed? And what are the repercussions from June’s decision

The next big Netflix movie that everyone will (maybe) be talking about is I Am Mother, a sci-fi yarn that drops on Netflix this Friday (June 7). It's got robots! It's got a post-apocalyptic Earth! It's got Hilary Swank! What's not to like?!?!?!

But what it has more than all those things -- we think

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Other Links From TVGuide.com Hilary SwankRose Byrne

Upfronts may have just ended, but NBC has already put a new series into motion.

The broadcaster has given a production commitment to a drama series based on the Dan Brown novel “The Lost Symbol,” which follows the early adventures of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon. In the series, Langdon finds himself pulled into a series of deadly puzzles when his mentor is kidnapped. The CIA forces him onto a task force where he uncovers a chilling conspiracy.

Daniel Cerone will write and executive produce. Brown will also executive produce along with Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Francie Calfo, Samie Falvey, and Anna Culp.

It's time to celebrate the year's best television performances as we head into Emmys season. And with more than 500 scripted shows on television, streaming, and digital platforms, there are a lot of contenders in the mix. We don't envy Emmy voters who have to choose between this season's

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Other Links From TVGuide.com The ActJoey KingThe Other TwoThe Good PlaceD'Arcy CardenWilliam Jackson HarperJulianna MarguliesThe Hot ZoneSarah PaulsonAmerican Horror Story: Season 8The Big Bang TheoryJim ParsonsDirty JohnJulia GarnerFosse/VerdonMichelle WilliamsSam RockwellPoseBilly PorterThe Red LineRussian DollNatasha LyonneSex EducationAsa ButterfieldThis Is UsSusan Kelechi WatsonPenn Badgley

Newsmagazine show “Entertainment Tonight” has tapped longtime producer Erin Johnson to become its executive producer.

“Erin’s experience producing the TV show and having worked on the digital side of the business made her the obvious choice to take the reins at ‘Entertainment Tonight’ and lead the brand into its next decade,” said CBS Television Distribution executive vice president of programming and production Rich Cervini in a release. “She has a passion for entertainment news and a drive to be #1 that we are confident will keep the show on top.”

Johnson, who has won two Daytime Emmys during her time there,

“Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson fought back tears while sharing his story of drug addiction before the show’s premiere in Hollywood on Tuesday.

The upcoming HBO series is executive produced by Drake — who got his start on another teen series “Degrassi: The Next Generation” — and based on an Israeli series that depicts sex and drug use among teens, much of which is informed by Levinson’s personal experiences as an addict.

“I spent the majority of my teenage years in hospitals, rehabs and halfway houses,” Levinson told the audience at the Arclight Cinerama Dome. “Sometime around the age of 16, I

In today’s roundup, Comedy Central announces the “Roast of Alec Baldwin” and “The Hot Zone” brings in huge ratings for National Geographic.

Specials

Comedy Central has revealed that Alec Baldwin will be this year’s roasting victim on “The Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin.” The roast will take place in New York, and the taping and airdate will be announced at a later date. Known for his Donald Trump impressions on “Saturday Night Live,” Baldwin joins Trump, Justin Bieber, Bruce Willis, James Franco and many other celebrities as roastees.

First Looks

Starz has released the official trailer for season two of “Sweetbitter,

“Black Mirror” Season 5 has debuted on Netflix to some of the franchise’s worst reviews, with particular scorn being given to the Miley Cyrus-starring episode “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too.” The episode finds Cyrus riffing on her own industry experiences by starring as Ashley O, a global pop star coming undone because of the pressures to keep up her uber-positive pop persona. While Cyrus has drawn strong notices for pulling off the role, the episode as a whole has been criticized for going “wildly off-the-rails without bringing any depth.”

“This is a mess,” IndieWire critic Ben Travers writes in his C- review of the episode, making it IndieWire’s worst-reviewed installment of Season 5. “This overly cutesy entry feels like the biggest punt of them all. Somewhere buried within the 67-minute episode is a discussion about replacing pop stars with holograms and mining their memories for new marketable material, but

Robert Kirkman's comic series The Walking Dead -- the source material for the AMC series of the same name -- revealed a shocking development in Issue No. 192, out today, that could show how Rick Grimes' (Andrew Lincoln) story ends in the in-development TV movie trilogy. If you don't want to be

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Other Links From TVGuide.com The Walking DeadRobert KirkmanAndrew Lincoln

The best and worst part of The Handmaid's Tale returning for a new season each year is that Hulu always drops multiple episodes on premiere day. We love getting so much new story all at once after a drought, but holy crap, this show is an emotional mountain to climb in binge format.

After an

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Other Links From TVGuide.com The Handmaid's TaleElisabeth MossWarren LittlefieldBruce MillerYvonne StrahovskiBradley Whitford

Mass Appeal is a hip-hop, culture-focused brand that was born in the 1990s as a New York-based fanzine-style magazine, but CEO Peter Bittenbender is adapting for the future.

As choppy waters continue to batter the similarly situated Vice Media and other digital content endeavors in recent months, Bittenbender is looking toward diversification as a solution for today’s unstable digital environment.

Mass Appeal is riding the momentum at present from the success of its Showtime documentary series “Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men,” which exemplifies the company’s ability to produce high-end content all while handling marketing and branded content initiatives.

A series adaptation of the Wondery podcast “Over My Dead Body” is in development at the WarnerMedia streaming service from Elizabeth Banks, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.

Banks is attached to executive produce and direct the series, which follows Dan and Wendi, two attorneys whose wedding is featured in the New York Times. But when this “perfect” couple falls apart, it leads to a bad breakup, a worse divorce, and a murder case involving a menagerie of high-priced lawyers and unexpected co-conspirators.

Banks will executive produce under her Brownstone Productions banner, with Brownstone’s Max Handelman also executive producing and Dannah Shinder co-executive producing.