Jennifer Maas: Last News

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterBroadway returned to broadcast — and streaming — Sunday with the 75th annual Tony Awards. The show’s first ever live coast-to-coast telecast drew 3.86 million viewers for its three-hour portion on CBS, according to special time-zone adjusted Live + Same Day Nielsen data.Like last year’s special edition in September, the four-hour ceremony kicked off with an exclusive start on Paramount+, before CBS joined in. But unlike the fall 2021 show that was just two-hours long on network TV, the 2022 Tonys saw its CBS broadcast restored to a full three hours.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDisney Branded Television has promoted Meredith Roberts to executive vice president of TV animation, the studio said Monday.The promotion comes for Roberts following “outstanding creative and operational oversight of the Disney Television Animation studio during a period of significant growth,” per Disney Branded TV.Most recently senior vice president/general manager of Television Animation at Disney Branded TV, Roberts has managed the division since  2018, overseeing development and current animated content and production for kids 6-14 and families, including traditional 2D and CG series, movies and shorts distributed on Disney+ and Disney Channel.The studio has 1,200 half-hours of animated content currently in production for Disney’s streaming and linear platforms, and during Roberts’ tenure in 2020, Disney Television Animation earned more Daytime Emmy Award nods than at any other point in its 38-year history. “A leader of incredible vision and a true champion of artistic talent, Meredith has set a new bar for Disney Television Animation, building upon the single greatest animation legacy in the world to lead a team that is creating the most innovative, magical animated storytelling in the business,” Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, said during the announcement at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France on Monday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterCAA’s strategic consulting service CAA Social Impact has struck a partnership with global sustainability company Aspiration to provide sustainability services, carbon reduction services and customer-centric climate impact solutions to corporate, sports and entertainment industry brands, Variety has learned exclusively.Per the companies, “CAA Social Impact and Aspiration recognize the importance of sustainability as a winning business strategy and the opportunity for sports and entertainment to play a critical role in influencing culture, to build public will for solutions in the face of a deepening climate crisis.”With an increase in companies’ awareness and focus on their sustainability efforts, “the partnership enables CAA Social Impact and Aspiration to combine their expertise and resources to develop sustainability and carbon mitigation strategies for leading brands and organizations.” Additionally, Aspiration is working closing with CAA on its own carbon reduction efforts. Run by Aubree Curtis and Judee Ann Williams, CAA Social Impact has led philanthropic work for companies including KPMG, Walmart, PGA TOUR, Continental (Germany), Volvo (UK), and AppHarvest, and helped shape strategies for organizations including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Alzheimer’s Association.“Businesses urgently need clear and comprehensive solutions to curb their emissions and improve their impact on the planet,” Curtis said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Glorious Five Year Plan,” the June 10 episodes of “The Boys.”The week’s episode of “The Boys” Season 3 was all about super powers — yes, more so than any standard episode of the Amazon superhero series. That’s because it delved into people getting them (Jack Quaid’s Hughie), people losing them (Karen Fukuhara’s Kimiko), people confessing they have acquired them (Karl Urban’s Butcher) and people showing off the bonkers new ones bestowed upon them by the Russians who experimented on them (Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy).Let’s start with Hughie, who upon learning that Butcher has been shooting up Temp V decided he needs to protect Annie (Erin Moriarty), despite the fact Starlight is more than capable of taking care of herself, and takes some of Butcher’s V and uses it to give himself some 24-hour super powers.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Made for Love” has been canceled at HBO Max after two seasons, Variety has confirmed exclusively.“We are tremendously grateful for the truly spectacular journey of these past two seasons, courtesy of Alissa Nutting, Christina Lee, Cristin, Billy, Ray and the entire ‘Made for Love’ cast and creative team – especially Zelda the talking dolphin and everyone’s favorite synthetic love interest, Diane,” representatives for HBO Max said in a statement Friday. “Like a Gogol chip, the series will always be on our minds.”The cancellation of the Cristin Milioti-led Max original comes on the heels of one of the streamer’s other titles, Ridley Scott’s “Raised by Wolves,” getting the axe earlier this week amid ongoing shakeups at HBO Max’s new parent company, Warner Bros.

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”).

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterOne week after exploding genitalia in its Season 3 premiere and increasing viewership by 17% from Season 2’s debut, “The Boys” has been renewed for a fourth season at Amazon.While “The Boys” star Karl Urban previously spilled the fourth-season beans when he said at Variety‘s SXSW Studio on March 12 that he was “shooting ‘The Boys’ through the end of the year,” well after production had already wrapped on Season 3, Friday’s renewal marks the official Season 4 pickup from Amazon.Of course, giving “The Boys” a fourth season was always a no-brainer for Amazon, as the Eric Kripke-created show is at the center of the streamer’s first real multi-series franchise, which now includes animated anthology spinoff “The Boys Presents: Diabolical”  and the currently in-production untitled spinoff, which is set at America’s only college exclusively for young-adult superheroes.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterJeff Frost is stepping down from his role as president of Sony Pictures Television Studios, Variety has learned.A representative for the studio confirmed Frost’s exit Thursday.Deadline first reported the news of Frost leaving his post.More to come…

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterHulu has ordered four new food series from David Chang and Vox Media Studios, including a drag queen-themed dinner party competition from Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, “Drag Me to Dinner,” as well as the shows “Secret Chef,” “Burning Men,” and “Chefs vs. Wild.”“We are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with David Chang, Majordomo, and Hulu with these brand new series that will leave Hulu’s audience hungry for more,” Chad Mumm, Chief Creative Officer, Vox Media Studios, said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterPlenty of newbies will be breaking into the comedy category this Emmys season, but two leading rivals for the title will be actual competitors for the first time: “Atlanta” and “Ted Lasso.”As wildly different series that fall into the same genre in the awards competition, their performances in this race will likely lead to a discussion about the industry’s relationship with feel-good TV.“Those shows are going to have interesting moments, both with Donald Glover having been out of the spotlight for a minute, intentionally, taking a detour with a music career that was more successful than I think a lot of people expected,” a Hollywood industry insider told Variety, “while there’s been probably more publicity than I think Apple would like on the fact that the upcoming third season is likely the last season of ‘Ted Lasso.’” The Jason Sudeikis-led Apple TV+ comedy is the reigning champ and has never aired in an “Atlanta”-less world, while Donald Glover’s show is a twice-nominated FX series that has lost twice, first to HBO’s “Veep” in Season 1 and then to Prime Video’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” in Season 2.And just as “Ted Lasso” has been a topic of joyful conversation continuously for almost two years, the very idea of when “Atlanta’s” Europe-set Season 3 would finally premiere — following a four-year wait since Season 2 — has also been a much-discussed event.“I’d anticipate that if ‘Atlanta’ was gone for so long and came back as the exact same thing, it probably would have less of a chance,” another industry insider says.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAmazon’s superhero series “The Boys” got a little more super(natural) in its Season 3 debut on Friday with the introduction of Jensen Ackles to the cast in the role of Soldier Boy. His arrival on the series marked a reunion for Ackles and “The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke, as Kripke is also the creator of The CW’s “Supernatural,” which starred Ackles and Jared Padalecki as brothers Dean and Sam Winchester throughout its 15-season run.So now that Ackles has made his way from one Kripke show to another, is there any chance we’ll see his on-screen brother drop by for a cameo either in the currently airing third season or the yet-to-be-picked-up-but-definitely-a-safe-bet Season 4?“I would love a Jared cameo! He’s always welcome on the show,” Kripke told Variety.

Angelique Jackson Lamorne Morris has signed with CAA for representation.Best known for starring as Winston on the hit Fox comedy “New Girl” opposite Zooey Deschanel, Morris currently leads the hybrid live-action and animated series “Woke.” The second season of the Hulu series premiered in April and followed the aftermath of Morris’ cartoonist character Keef Knight being thrust into the spotlight after standing up against the white police officer who had racially profiled and assaulted him in the series premiere. The eight new episodes explored how Keef, an apolitical artist-turned-activist, grappled with the responsibility of gaining a following.“The question for Keef this season is, what else can you do? Are you a one-trick pony?” Morris told Variety TV business writer Jennifer Maas ahead of the season’s launch.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterKids’ television industry vet Cyma Zarghami’s MiMo Studios has launched a new preschool series aimed at preparing young children for consuming content and games in the Metaverse, Variety has learned exclusively.Titled “@HippoPark,” the animated kids’ series is described as “a place where you can splash, climb, run, slide and play with your friends all of the time. You might see a hippo, you might pilot a plane, you might grow your own garden, you might dance in the rain.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Stranger Things” Season 4, Volume 1 has already smashed multiple Netflix viewership records in less than two weeks after its release, and anticipation for Volume 2’s July 1 launch is building more by the day. But the success of the streamer’s first-ever two-batch drop with just over a month in between releases does not mean Netflix is considering shaking up the “Stranger Things” model further ahead of its fifth and final season, meaning there are no plans to shift the Duffer Brothers series to a weekly release.“For the fans of ‘Stranger Things,’ this is how they’ve been watching that show, and I think to change that on them would be disappointing,” Peter Friedlander, Netflix’s head of scripted series for U.S.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterChicken Soup for the Soul Studios has picked up two new shows, including a new wedding talk show hosted by Olympic figure skater Tara Lipinski, and renewed Joe Morton’s Crackle series “Inside the Black Box” for a second season, Variety has learned exclusively.Created in collaboration with wedding-centric media company Love Stories TV, Lipinski’s series is titled “Wedding Talk” and includes event planner José Rolón and wedding designer Jove Meyer as her co-hosts. Chicken Soup for the Soul Studios, the production arm of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, has also picked up “World’s Best Wedding,” another Love Stories TV-backed reality show that follows couples from different cultures, background and orientations as they tie the knot.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterA+E Networks has promoted Juliana Stock to chief marketing and brand officer.Most recently, Stock served as executive vice president of corporate brand strategy and chief of staff to A+E Networks president and chairman Paul Buccieri. In her new role, Stock will have oversight of the global media company’s strategic, creative and corporate brand marketing teams, which will be combined into one division under Stock.She will report directly to president and chairman Buccieri.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMedia stocks were up when the bell rang Monday, showing growth from where they closed the Memorial Day-shortened trading week last Friday. The movement is a bit of a rally in the market, which has been trending toward bear territory for two months, that comes days before the U.S. consumer-price index release.The tech-sector heavy Nasdaq index closed at 12,012.73 on Friday, which was down 0.9% for the week and -9.5% year-to-date.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterZendaya made history in 2020 when, at age 24, the “Euphoria” star became the youngest actor to win the Emmy for lead actress in a drama for her role on the first sea- son of the HBO show. The victory was a highly celebrated upset that proved acclaim for a show centered on teens is possible when on the rare occasion it breaks through with older audiences.While “Euphoria” is still in the game, Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” has also buzzed its way into the awards conversation, and roughly 50% of that is thanks to the show’s younger stars.“‘Yellowjackets’ is so unique in showing just how complicated and messy humans are, never mind teenagers,” says Samantha Hanratty, who plays teen Misty vs.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Payback,” “The Only Man in the Sky” and “Barbary Coast,” the first three episodes of “The Boys” Season 3.Everything is finally going well for Hughie (Jack Quaid) in “The Boys” Season 3 premiere until, as star Claudia Doumit puts it to Variety, “In true ‘Boys’ fashion, just at the end of the first episode, we’ve seen enough of that and we need blood, we want chaos.”After spending the year following the Season 2 finale working for Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Doumit) at the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, Hughie finds out at the end of Friday’s Season 3 premiere that Neuman is a supe herself. She kills an innocent man from her past to keep her status quiet, not knowing Hughie is watching in the shadows, horrified to learn who his colleague and friend truly is.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe first season of Apple’s “Severance” concludes with a jam-packed finale that sees the Innie ver- sions of MDR employees Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower) and Irving (John Turturro) awaken in the real world for the first time during an escape attempt, which leads Helly to find out she’s actually the Lumon CEO’s daugh- ter, Mark to realize his wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman), is alive and Irving to discover Burt’s (Christopher Walken) Outtie has a part- ner, all in just a few scenes. Constructing the episode in which Milchick (Tramell Tillman) and Cobel (Patricia Arquette) realize what’s going on and then try to stop it, all while Dylan (Zach Cherry) is desperately trying to simultaneously hold the control room switches that will keep his friends awake, required more effort than the eight episodes that came before it.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWhen Sterling K. Brown won lead actor in a drama series for play- ing Randall Pearson on the first season of NBC’s “This Is Us” at the 2017 Emmys, it marked his second win and the show’s first.