Greg Daniels: Last News

Johnny Hardwick, who voiced the conspiracy-minded character Dale Gribble on King of the Hill, died August 8 at his home in Austin, Texas. He was 64.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic There’s a certain familiarity to the early going of “Praise Petey,” and not in an unwelcome way; as she did on “Schitt’s Creek,” Annie Murphy plays a child of privilege who is cast into a new, vastly more rural and isolated living situation by circumstance. Here, though, the character Murphy plays is animated, and the setting for her personal reinvention isn’t a small town but a compound we quickly learn plays host to a cult. Her late father’s cult, to be precise. Petey, a fashion-magazine functionary whom we’re told in Murphy’s charming voiceover is “a girl with a boy’s name, so you’re allowed to like me,” is living her best life in New York City. But in the midst of idle days of lunching and half-working, she’s treated as an obstacle and an annoyance by her mother (Christine Baranski). So it is that early in the first episode, she decides to learn a little more about the community her father (played, when he appears in video messages made before the character’s death, by Stephen Root) left behind. It’s called New Utopia, and the name hints at the many hopes its citizens have for what they’ll gain by giving up their lives for the cause.

“Praise Petey,” premiering July 21 (10 p.m.) on Freeform.Annie Murphy headlines the series as Petey, a millennial “It Girl” who, through a series of events, takes command of New Utopia, a small-town cult started by her hedonistic late father (Root). He, in turn, left behind a trove of weird, oft-touching life-lesson videotapes to help guide his daughter on her newfound journey — and looms large over the season arc.The all-star cast includes Christine Baranski, Paget Brewster, Kirsey Clemons, John Cho and Amy Hill.The series, created by Anna Drezen (“Saturday Night Live”), counts among its executive producers Mike Judge and Greg Daniels — co-creators of Fox’s beloved animated series “King of the Hill” (1997-2009), on which Root played sad-sack Army barber Bill Dauterive, pal/drinking buddy of Texas propane salesman Hank Hill (Judge).“He was the first one to contact me [about ‘Praise Petey’],” Root said of Judge.

, Annie Murphy has become a go-to fixture on television, with roles on, and season 6 of. Now, she's getting animated as the lead of Freeform's first adult animated series, . Ahead of its July debut, ET has the exclusive first, full-length trailer for, which stars Murphy as the voice of Petey, a New York City It Girl whose well-curated life comes crashing down.

Natalie Portman To Be Feted At Deauville

Adult Swim has ordered half-hour comedy series Common Side Effects, from director-writer Joe Bennett (Cake, Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely (American Dad, Veep) and executive produced by King of the Hill creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. The series, announced Friday at Annecy International Film Festival, “delves into the complex reactions to the revelations of the mysterious elixir of life”.

Amber Dowling If you’re an aspiring TV writer in Canada, it’s quite possible your script is in Anthony Q. Farrell’s slush pile. The Canadian showrunner is always reading projects and helping new writers get their start, and now that he’s got a few weeks of downtime before his summer projects fire up, he’s finally sitting down to read them. “I feel like I’m in a Zen place right now,” he tells Variety. “But I think the summer’s going to be bananas.” Farrell, who got his start writing for Greg Daniels on “The Office,” has helmed shows like “The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker” and “Overlord and the Underwoods.” Slowly but surely, he has become one of Canada’s most prominent showrunners and an industry leader in telling authentic and diverse stories on screen. To do that, he’s spent countless hours fostering BIPOC talent behind the scenes in writers rooms and through initiatives like the BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Bootcamp, which he ran with Jinder Oujla-Chalmers in 2021.

The Office is arguably the defining workplace comedy of the century.Adapted from the UK version created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, The Office is one of the most successful translations of a British sitcom to US shores. It became the longest-running adaptation of the show worldwide, spanning nine seasons on NBC from March 2005 to May 2013.The series stars Steve Carell as the boss of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, situated in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Steve Carell wanted to make Michael Scott his own original character. The 60-year-old star of spoke with his former co-stars, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, on their podcast, , and reflected on his turn at the lovable, goofy regional manager of Dunder Mifflin paper company.The American version was a spin-off of the comedy series that originated in Britain with comedian Ricky Gervais playing boss David Brent.During his podcast interview, Carell explained why he opted to never watch the British version of the show, even before he landed the role of Michael Scott.«I had a pretty specific take at this point, and it wasn't Ricky Gervais',» Carell shared of meeting with the show's creator, Greg Daniels, to pitch his take on the now-iconic character.

Mindy Kaling was awarded with the PGA Norman Lear Achievement Award Saturday night.

The animated comedy series King Of The Hill is coming back to screens.Hulu has ordered a new run of the hit series, which originally ran on Fox from 1997 to 2010.The show's co-creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels are returning to executive produce the show, while Saladin Patterson is joining to executive produce and serve as showrunner.Judge will also be back to voice the lead character, the propane salesman Hank Hill.  It's back! King Of The Hill (pictured) is returning with a revival in the works for Hulu, it was announced on TuesdayIn addition to Judge — who also voices the incomprehensible Boomhauer — Kathy Najimy of Hocus Pocus fame is back to play Hank's wife Peggy Hill.Stephen Root, possibly best known for playing the stapler-obsessed Milton in the Judge-directed live-action film Office Space, is back to voice Hank's friend Bill.Better Things star Pamela Adlon will once again be voicing Hank and Peggy's son Bobby Hill, while Johnny Hardwick will play Hank's conspiracy theorist friend Dale.Lauren Tom will be back, presumably to voice the Hills' Lao neighbor Minh, though it's unclear if Toby Huss will be back to voice her husband Kahn.Although the character received little scrutiny at the original time of airing, having Huss — a white actor — voice an Asian character could offend audiences. The original series ran for more than 250 episodes and featured a more life-like tone than other Fox animated series of the period, including The Simpsons.It focused on the day-to-day experiences of the propane salesman Hank Hill and his beer-guzzling buddies, along with Hank's overzealous wife Peggy and his difficult son Bobby.  The originals: Co-creator Mike Judge (L) returns to executive produce and voice Hank Hill and

EXCLUSIVE: WME has promoted Amanda Hacohen and Abe Cohen Hoffing to Partner in the Scripted Television department.

Mindy Kaling is the co-creator/writer/executive producer of the HBO Max series The Sex Lives of College Girls, as well as Never Have I Ever for Netflix.And the star is featured on the cover of Produced By, the official magazine of the Producers Guild of America.The 43-year-old actress said of her career choices: 'Part of the fun of my career has been to try and defy expectations whenever I can.' Boss: Mindy Kaling is the co-creator/writer/executive producer of the HBO Max series The Sex Lives of College Girls, as well as Never Have I Ever for Netflix. And the star is featured on the cover of Produced By , the official magazine of the Producers Guild of AmericaThe mom of two looked incredible on the cover, showcasing her svelte frame.The talented star sported a pink blazer featuring a fabric belt with matching trousers.

Michaela Watkins (Casual, The Dropout) and Veep alum Dan Bakkedahl will lead the cast of Amazon Freevee’s series Dinner with the Parents, a remake of the long-running British comedy Friday Night Dinner, which is being produced by CBS Studios and Big Talk.

Netflix stopped production of Bad Crimes and canceled the animated series before it even starts streaming.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to an adult animated comedy that will reunite “Silicon Valley” co-creator Mike Judge and series star Zach Woods. Titled “In the Know,” the new animated series is co-created and executive produced by Judge, Woods, and Brandon Gardner. Judge and Woods will also lend their voices to the series. The pickup of the show marks Peacock’s first adult animated series order. The show’s official logline reads, “Lauren Caspian is NPR’s third most popular host. He’s a well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod, just like you and me. He’s also a stop motion puppet. Each episode follows the making of an episode of Lauren’s show In the Know, in which Lauren conducts in-depth interviews with real world human guests. Lauren collaborates with a diverse crew of NPR staff. They are also puppets and nimrods.”

Peacock is getting into adult cartoons.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Jeanine Mason has joined the cast of “Upload” Season 3 at Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively. Season 2 of “Upload” debuted on Amazon back in March, with the show earning a Season 3 pick up in May. The series takes place in a world where people can “upload” themselves into a digital afterlife. Mason joins a cast that includes Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Kevin Bigley, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Owen Daniels, Josh Banday, and Andrea Rosen. The official Season 2 synopsis says, “Nathan (Amell) is at a crossroads in his (after) life… his ex-girlfriend Ingrid (Edwards) has unexpectedly arrived to Lakeview hoping to strengthen their relationship, but his heart still secretly yearns for his customer service angel Nora (Allo). Meanwhile Nora is off the grid and involved with the anti-tech rebel group ‘The Ludds.'”

B.J. Novak is opening up about the fate of The Office.

EXCLUSIVE: Mike Moon, Director of Adult Animation, is leaving Netflix at the end of this month to pursue other opportunities.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterEleven of the TV industry’s top comedy creators and showrunners came together to talk about the so-called return of the broadcast sitcom, the daunting task of reshaping and adhering to beloved IP and why the workplace comedy is still a tried-and-true format during Variety‘s “A Night in the Writers’ Room” event Thursday.During the comedy roundtable, TV editor Michael Schneider chatted about these topics and more with Jenny Bicks (“Welcome to Flatch”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Dave Burd (“Dave”), Greg Daniels (“Upload”), Chris Miller (“The Afterparty”), Tracy Oliver (“Harlem”), Saladin K. Patterson (“The Wonder Years”), Joe Port (“Ghosts”), Issa Rae (“Insecure”), Meredith Scardino (“Girls5eva”) and Hayden Schlossberg (“Cobra Kai”).