Jennifer Maas: Last News

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “Fairytale Wedding,” the Feb. 28 episode of NBC’s “The Endgame.”NBC’s new high-octane crime drama “The Endgame” aired its second episode Monday, revealing many more compelling details about its leading ladies — Morena Baccarin’s international arms dealer/crime boss Elena Federova and Ryan Michelle Bathé’s FBI agent Val Turner — than it did in its week-ago series premiere.In the episode, “Fairytale Wedding,” we saw the titular nuptials go up in flames when the church where Elena and her now-husband Sergey Vodianov (Costa Ronin) were to be wed was blown up with everyone they loved inside.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “In the Unlikely Event of an Emergency,” the Feb. 28 episode of “9-1-1: Lone Star.”Gwyn Morgan (Lisa Edelstein) went as far as she could with her son, T.K. Strand (Ronen Rubinstein), on Monday’s “9-1-1: Lone Star” before leaving him to go the rest of the way on his own — both in the past and the present.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Euphoria” is now HBO’s second-most-watched show since 2004 behind only “Game of Thrones,” per the pay TV channel.The Zendaya-led drama hit yet another series high with its Season 2 finale episode Sunday, drawing 6.6 million viewers. According to HBO, “Euphoria” Season 2 episodes are now averaging 16.3 million viewers, the best performance for any season of an HBO series other than “Game of Thrones” since 2004.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Celebrity Book Club” podcast host and Apple’s “The Problem With Jon Stewart” head writer Chelsea Devantez has signed a multi-year overall deal at Disney’s 20th Television.Under the pact, Devantez will write and produce her own comedy projects for the studio, as well as supervise others.Devantez began her TV writing career on Stewart’s writing staff on his never-released and untitled HBO show. Her other TV credits include Tina Fey and Meredith Scardino’s Peacock comedy “Girls5Eva” and Liz Meriwether and Lake Bell’s ABC comedy “Bless This Mess.” Last year, Devantez sold her pilot, “This Is Our Year,” to 20th Television and CBS.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMarna Grantham, senior vice president of programming acquisitions at Epix and a longtime TV industry veteran, has died due to complications related to COVID-19. She was 63.“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Marna twice, both at Turner Broadcasting and here at Epix,” Michael Wright, president of Epix and MGM Scripted Television, said in a statement to Variety Monday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAs Russia’s aggression against Ukraine intensifies, Discovery-owned news channel TVN24 in Poland is working around the clock to bring news and information to the nation that shares a border with Ukraine.“While the world is watching Russia invade Ukraine, for us and for our viewers, it’s not only a story of an insane and inhuman invasion on a European country, it is the story of our neighbors and friends,” TVN24 deputy editor-in-chief Brygida Grysiak, who at present is in Poland, told Variety in an interview Saturday. “People we have known for years, we have worked with for years, here in Poland and Ukraine.”Grysiak said  TVN24 has broadcast live nonstop since Russia invaded Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv Wednesday, with on-the-ground teams stationed in Kyiv and Lviv in Ukraine, as well as Moscow in Russia.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “In Perpetuity,” Friday’s episode of “Severance” on Apple TV Plus.“Forgive me for the harm I have caused this world. None may atone for my actions but me and only in me shall their stain live on.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterFox’s animation house Bento Box Entertainment has signed a development deal with former TruTV executives Chris Linn and Marissa Ronca, and their consulting firm Contrast Media.Under the pact, Linn and Ronca will work closely with Bento Box’s development department, advising on creative strategy, packaging and development of animated projects for Fox Entertainment and ad-supported streaming service Tubi, as well as third-party platforms.Additionally, the WarnerMedia alums — Linn the former president of TruTV and Ronca the cable network’s former executive vice president and head of original programming and development — “will offer support” regarding Bento Box’s NFT studio, Blockchain Creative Labs. “Chris and Marissa are fantastic executives whose work we’ve admired for quite some time,” Scott Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of Bento Box Entertainment, said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterJax Media executives Sarah Madigan and John Skidmore have joined Imagine Entertainment, the parent company of Jax, as head of business affairs and strategic partnerships and head of production, respectively, Variety has learned exclusively.Both will continue in their current roles at Jax Media, with Madigan remaining head of business affairs and Skidmore, a founding partner of Jax Media, still chief operating officer of the Imagine Entertainment-owned production company.Skidmore, who will be overseeing all projects across all divisions for Imagine, has produced some of Jax’s most popular titles, including “Broad City,” “Search Party,” “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” “Russian Doll” and the Netflix stand-up specials “Chris Rock: Tamborine,” “John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous” and “Mike Birbiglia: The New One.” Madigan currently runs business affairs at Jax Media and previously held roles at MGM and Netflix.“Skidmore is a founding member of Jax and Madigan has been integral to the company’s growth over the past few years, and we couldn’t imagine doing this new job without them,” Imagine Entertainment presidents Tony Hernandez and Lilly Burns said in a joint statement to Variety.Jax Media co-founders Hernandez and Burns were promoted to co-presidents of Imagine Entertainment in January and continue to lead Jax Media as CEO and CCO, respectively.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery CEO promises that the company is not in a race to win the “spending wars” on content when it closes its deal to acquire AT&T’s WarnerMedia and become Warner Bros. Discovery.“We’re going to spend more on content — but you’re not going to see us come in and say, ‘Alright, we’re spending $5 billion more on content,” Zaslav said during an investor call Thursday to discuss the company’s Q4 earnings results.Zaslav says the new company — which will run both Discovery’s current major streamer Discovery Plus and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max — will be “looking to monetize our IP to grow the value of the overall company.”Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels echoed Zaslav’s point, saying “it’s not about winning” and “spending more money doesn’t score goals.” Click here to sign up for Variety‘s free Strictly Business newsletter covering earnings, financial and investment news, and more.Discovery revealed Thursday it reached 22 million paying streaming subscribers across its portfolio of offerings by the end of 2021.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterShowtime’s upcoming “The First Lady” anthology series is described as “a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.” While the first season focuses on icons Michelle Obama (played by Viola Davis), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), the executive producers are not opposed to a potential future season including possibly the most divisive first lady: Melania Trump.During a virtual panel promoting the show at the Television Critics Association’s press tour Wednesday, “The First Lady” showrunner Cathy Schulman and director and executive producer Susanne Bier playfully tossed a reporter’s question about featuring President Donald Trump’s wife as subject before Bier answered definitively, but with a laugh: “Look, I do think that the series could do with a fun season — so let’s talk about that.” Star Anderson, who was sitting on the panel alongside co-star Davis, added: “I think the hope is that there’s going to be future seasons and there will be the opportunity to have many, many more first ladies represented. So maybe not just four — but maybe 104.”But Bier says that no matter how many seasons they do, she’d like to keep the number of first ladies to three per installment for a very specific reason.“Three is a great number for a season because you can do in-depth contrasts, but it’s also incredibly interesting how the three ladies reflect upon each other,” Bier said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAT&T and Discovery are expecting to close Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia to create new company Warner Bros. Discovery as early as mid-April, Variety has learned.According to two people familiar with the matter, with Discovery’s shareholder vote on the deal — which has already received regulatory approval from the DOJ — set for March 11, the two companies are preparing for a close between April 11-April 28.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterTelevisaUnivision revealed Univision Communications fourth-quarter 2021 financial results Wednesday, saying the company held its ad sales steady compared to the prior year and increased its subscription revenue 15% versus Q4 2020.Per the privately owned company, ad sales were up 0.1% in the three-month period ended Dec. 31, at $435.2 million versus $434.8 million. Core advertising revenue, which is adjusted for political and advocacy ads, rose 12% to $407 million compared to $363 million in Q4 2020.Meanwhile, subscription fee revenue was up 15% ($294.5 million vs.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterReese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine has acquired lifestyle brand The Home Edit, the company announced on Wednesday.Founded by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, The Home Edit offers “full service organizing” in Washington, D.C., Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, NYC, Nashville, Orange County, Salt Lake City and San Francisco, as well as “travel and DIY services” globally. Shearer and Teplin are the authors of New York Times bestseller “The Home Edit Life” and the creators of multiple product lines, including a recently announced exclusive Walmart collection.Shearer and Teplin are also the stars of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated “Get Organized with the Home Edit,” which is produced by Hello Sunshine and will debut its second season this year.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Call Me Kat” actress Schuyler Helford’s teen-parenting comedy “Unplanned in Akron” has received a pilot order at CBS.Written by Helford with Emily Wilson (“The Conners”) supervising, the multi-cam project follows two teenagers navigating parenthood in the best way they know how. With a little help from their friends and parents, they’ll learn that mistakes in life don’t have to derail your life – that no matter what age you are, taking care of a child is no joke – but sometimes, you just gotta laugh (or cry) your way through it.Helford is co-executive producing the potential series.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWith Peak TV still getting peak-ier, it’s harder than ever for a series to really break through with audiences. And that means it’s even harder for a new writer to get their project noticed with the studio executives who are sifting through pitches looking for the next show that will break through with audiences.During a “Meet the Executives” virtual panel at SCAD TVfest last Thursday, five top programming execs offered up some key advice to SCAD students on what they are looking for in a script from the next generation of TV series creators.The panel, which was hosted by Variety‘s TV business writer Jennifer Maas, included JoAnn Alfano, executive vice president of scripted current series and head of international business development at Universal Studio Group; Jasmine Russ, vice president of development and production at Fabel Entertainment; Max Kisbye, executive vice president of development and production at MGM/UA Television; Tana Nugent Jamieson, senior vice president of creative affairs at A+E Studios; and Naomi Funabashi, senior vice president of film and television at Hillman Grad Productions.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterInvestment firm Standard General has struck a deal to purchase TV broadcaster Tegna Inc. for $24 per share in cash, the companies announced Tuesday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Red vs. Blue,” Monday’s episode of “9-1-1: Lone Star.”Lisa Edelstein is exiting “9-1-1: Lone Star” after playing Gwyneth Morgan, the wife of Rob Lowe’s Chief Owen Strand and the mother of Ronen Rubinstein’s T.K. Strand, for two seasons on the Fox drama, Variety has learned exclusively.Edelstein’s departure was hinted at in the final moments of Monday’s episode of “Lone Star,” when T.K.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterCBS has ordered comedy pilots from “Jane the Virgin” creator Jennie Snyder Urman and Lonely Island crew Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone.The Urman-produced multi-cam project is called “Sober Companion” and follows Eliza, a hot-mess alcoholic who owns a bar with her uncle in New Orleans. She is forced to get her life together when the court appoints her an exhaustingly upbeat sober companion with whom she has to live 24/7.The potential series is based on a story by Urman, Gracie Glassmeyer and David Rosenthal.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Good News About Hell” and “Half Loop,” the first two episodes of “Severance,” which premiered Friday on Apple TV Plus.The Ben Stiller-directed “Severance” debuted its first two episodes Friday, revealing a fictional world where people, like Adam Scott’s Mark Scout, are able to undergo a procedure that allows them to mentally separate their work and home lives. Why a person would choose to do this and why Lumon, the company that created the process, would require it of some of its employees is just the start of the questions posed by the initial pair of “Severance” episodes.“What we know of them is that they are a med-tech company.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDisney Junior exec Joe D’Ambrosia has been hired as executive vice president and general manager of Sony Pictures Television’s Silvergate Media. D’Ambrosia will be taking over for Silvergate founder Waheed Alli, who is stepping down from his post as CEO this summer.In his new role at the Sony-owned children’s programming producer, D’Ambrosia will serve as Silvergate’s creative and strategic business leader, overseeing day-to-day operations of the company.