Kate Aurthur: Last News

Kate Aurthur editor A “Vanderpump Rules” spinoff revolving around Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute — all of whom were fired from the flagship show in 2020 — is in the works at Bravo, Variety has confirmed. The show would follow the lives of them and their circle of friends in the Valley, and is in early stages of development. None of the main cast has signed yet, but the new series is from a pitch by “Vanderpump Rules” executive producer Alex Baskin. With Season 11 on the #Scandoval-fueled “Vanderpump Rules” beginning production today, this new series appears to answer the question in the negative about whether Taylor and Doute, who are original cast members from the show, will be returning. Instead, the three of them, along with new cast members, will be getting their own show. Stassi Schroeder, who also was ousted from “Vanderpump Rules” in 2020, will not be a part of the spinoff.

Kate Aurthur editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the first two episodes of Season 2 of “And Just Like That,” now streaming on Max. When it came to making the second season of “And Just Like That” — Max’s popular revival of HBO’s iconic “Sex and the City” — showrunner Michael Patrick King found that he simply couldn’t fit what he and the writers had planned into the standard 10-episode season Max was expecting. After all, “Sex and the City” stars Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie), Cynthia Nixon (Miranda) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) had been joined by four new main characters, played by Nicole Ari Parker (Lisa Todd Wexley), Karen Pittman (Nya), Sara Ramírez (Che Diaz) and Sarita Choudhury (Seema). King knew he wanted to build on those characters, and integrate them more deeply into the story in order to smooth some of the bumpiness of Season 1.

Kate Aurthur editor With the one-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson approaching on June 24, the Showrunners for Abortion Rights — the coalition of showrunners, TV creators and directors that formed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn of Roe v. Wade — has reemerged with a report card that gives an update on their work with the studios. The chart reveals how the 10 major Hollywood studios have responded to the group’s demands for abortion safety protocols for productions in states where abortion has been banned and criminalized. A second slide evaluates the effectiveness of the reproductive health and safety hotlines that was one of the group’s suggestions. The report — displayed here, along with a new statement from the coalition — reveals mixed results. Several studios, with Paramount/CBS leading the charge, have made strides in protecting the safety of pregnant workers over the past 10 months since this work began. Others have made incremental changes, and are working toward doing more. With lives potentially at stake, though, the coaliation would like the studios to move more quickly.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Garcelle Beauvais has said the new season of the Bravo reality series will drop in November — and will be a kinder edition of the franchise. “I’m hearing November is our release date. It’s back to fun and glamour and friendships,” said Beauvais of Season 13. “It’s not as toxic as it was. I think the last season was pretty hardcore on everybody.” Season 12 has been described by Variety’s resident “Real Housewives” correspondent Kate Aurthur as “grisly,” and ultimately led to the departure of long-time provocateur Lisa Rinna this past January. Rinna constantly stirred the pot on the show, and feuded heavily with Kathy Hilton. She also got into her share of spats with Beauvais, who had been friendly with Rinna, a fellow actor, prior to starring together on “Real Housewives.”

Kate Aurthur editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of HBO’s “Succession,” now streaming on Max. During their cover story for Variety’s Actors on Actors, Claire Danes — who’s starred in a number of TV shows, including “Homeland” and FX’s recent limited series “Fleishman Is in Trouble” — asked Kieran Culkin whether he’d ever done episodic television before “Succession.” The answer, even though Culkin has been acting since he was a child, was no. Danes laughed, and said, “So you just thought, ‘No, I’m just going to do the best one, and start right there.’”

Saying goodbye? Raquel Leviss revealed that she may not return to film season 11 of Vanderpump Rules after the fallout of her cheating scandal with Tom Sandoval.

Kate Aurthur editor “Vanderpump Rules” viewers did not dip out of the Season 10 finale: The ratings for the May 17 episode hit series highs for the Bravo show. The episode, which showed the fallout of the #Scandoval, drew a combined audience of 4.1 million viewers on Bravo, on-demand and the Peacock platform within three days. Of that viewership, 2.4 million were in Bravo’s target audience of 18-to-49 year-olds, reaching another series high. Those “Vanderpump Rules” ratings also buoyed those for Andy Cohen’s Bravo talk show “Watch What Happens Live,” which featured the first post-#Scandoval interview with “Vanderpump Rules” star Ariana Madix. In delayed viewing, an audience of 2.2 million total viewers across platforms tuned in to see Madix.

Kate Aurthur editor On June 1, Adam McKay and his company Hyperobject Industries and Sony Music Entertainment will release “Death on the Lot,” an eight-episode podcast telling the stories of the deaths of James Dean, Hattie McDaniel, John Garfield and other notable Hollywood figures who died prematurely in the 1950s. Variety can exclusively unveil the trailer for “Death on the Lot,” which was developed by and hosted by McKay. In an interview that took place before the writers strike, McKay said the project grew out of his 2021 podcast “Death at the Wing,” which examined the untimely deaths of basketball players in the 1980s, putting them in the context of the sociopolitical climate at the time.  “All during the making of ‘Death at the Wing,’ we kept saying the only other comparison we can think of is Hollywood after World War II,” McKay said. “Then we thought, ‘Well, let’s do a season about that, and see what we can uncover.’ And if possible, it was even richer and deeper, and more to the core of the American story than we anticipated.”

Kate Aurthur editor HBO Max has dropped the Season 2 teaser for “And Just Like That,” its successful revival of “Sex and the City.” The company also announced the show will premiere in June, without announcing the specific date yet — at that point, the streamer will simply be known as Max. The teaser, narrated by Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), begins with a very “Sex and the City” sentiment: “No matter what life hands you, you can always count on your closest friends to be there.” We then see a montage of scenes, that reveal the current relationships of Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Che (Sara Ramírez) and Carrie and her podcast producer, Franklin (Ivan Hernandez). “It’s just sex!” Carrie says.

McKinley Franklin editor Lisa Vanderpump, Bravo personality, restauranteur and branding mogul, labeled the “Vanderpump Rules” infidelity scandal, “a producer’s dream, but talent’s nightmare.”  When speaking with editor at large Kate Aurthur at Variety’s 2023 Entertainment Marketing Summit, Vanderpump revealed just how “gobsmacked” and “shattered” she was when the cheating scandal — aka the Scandoval — broke out between her cast members on the reality show, which she executively produces. “I was basically having a bloody heart attack,” Vanderpump told Aurthur.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Alison Herman is Variety’s new TV critic, joining chief TV critic Daniel D’Addario. In the role, Herman will be a key voice in television criticism, writing reviews, commentary, appreciations and cover stories across all of Variety’s platforms. She will work with editor-at-large Kate Aurthur, who oversees the publication’s TV criticism and features. Herman was a staff writer at The Ringer from 2016 to 2023, where she covered television and popular culture. During her tenure, she wrote columns on new shows, profiled performers such as John Mulaney and reported the definitive piece on the aesthetics of “Succession.” “TV criticism is one of the bedrocks of Variety, as the No. 1 brand covering the business of entertainment,” co-Editors-in-Chief Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh say. “Alison’s deep knowledge of television and pop culture make her the perfect addition to our team.”

Kate Aurthur editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview discusses gargantuan plot developments in “Connor’s Wedding,” Season 4, Episode 3 of “Succession,” now streaming on HBO Max. Many devotees of “Succession” assumed that sometime during its final season, the show’s patriarch Logan Roy — a businessman of unparalleled brilliance, and a churlish father, who loves his children (despite all evidence to the contrary) — would die. After all, Logan, played by Brian Cox, had a stroke in the 2018 series premiere of HBO’s Emmy-winning drama, and his ill-health has been an ongoing concern. But Logan dying in Episode 3?! A total shock to “Succession” nation.

Kate Aurthur editor Sam Page, he of “The Bold Type” and “Mad Men,” has joined the cast of “Grey’s Anatomy” in a recurring role. Page will make his first appearance during the May 4 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” playing Sam Sutton. According to the character description provided by ABC, Sam is “an Air Force pilot who is seriously injured in a base-jumping accident. Although he’s coping with trauma, he somehow maintains his sense of humor and charm.” The episode is titled “Come Fly With Me,” and in the logline, it says the character of Link (Chris Carmack) willl be wrestling “with his own self-doubt as he preps for a massive surgery.” Will that massive surgery be performed on Sam? Perhaps!

Kate Aurthur editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the Season 4 premiere of “Succession,” now streaming on HBO Max. In the season premiere of “Succession” — despite having gotten the deal he seemingly wanted — media titan Logan Roy (Brian Cox) paces through his birthday party, looking lost and miserable. Having pushed away his adult children Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) in the Season 3 finale, by totally fucking them over in favor of selling Waystar Royco to Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), Logan is dissatisfied with the party’s attendees: Of his kids, only the absurd Connor (Alan Ruck) is there. He’s surrounded by succubi and suck-ups, and he knows it.

Kate Aurthur editor Hello again, “You”! On Friday, Netflix announced that “You” — its hit thriller starring Penn Badgley as the prolific serial killer Joe Goldberg — has been renewed for a fifth and final season. Season 5 will have a change of showrunners, with executive producers Michael Foley and Justin W. Lo taking over for Sera Gamble, who originally developed “You” with Greg Berlanti, and ran the show for its first four seasons. “As I step back from day-to-day showrunning to focus on new projects, I’m immensely grateful to co-creator and all-around genius Greg Berlanti, Caroline Kepnes, my friends at Berlanti Productions and Alloy Entertainment, and our steadfast partners at Warner Bros and Netflix,” Gamble said in a statement. “Making the show alongside our writers, producers, directors, cast and crew has been an honor and ridiculously fun. And I feel lucky to have worked with an artist as gifted and thoughtful as Penn Badgely. I’m proud of what we’ve all accomplished and feel privileged to pass the torch. I’m excited to watch and support the ‘You’ team as they bring Joe Goldberg’s journey to its delightfully twisted conclusion.”

Kate Aurthur editor Bravo has certainly had to navigate nasty legal disputes among cast members before in order to film reunions, since certain members of “The Real Housewives” community do love sending cease-and-desist notices. But never before has one castmate taken out a temporary restraining order against another, as is the case with “Vanderpump Rules” — with Raquel Leviss having alleged that Scheana Shay physically assaulted her on March 2. On March 8, Leviss’ request for a TRO was granted by a judge, which put the March 23 filming of the “Vanderpump Rules” reunion into question. (Shay denied the allegation, saying through her attorney, “Scheana never punched Rachel, period.”)

Kate Aurthur editor “Vanderpump Rules” — after two fallow seasons of grim plots and uninspired storylines — has risen from the ashes in Season 10, and its ratings are spiking as a result. The show’s 10th season was already filled with old school “Vanderpump Rules” drama, caused largely by fallout from breakups among the core cast. That resurgence was before the March 3 revelation about the show’s cheating scandal — aka, the #Scandoval — made international headlines, with even the New York Times offering an explainer for its readership. Now, Bravo is further stoking the fandom’s ardor for more, dropping the show’s midseason teaser, and within it revealing the first look at the episode filmed earlier this month: Production restarted on Season 10 after the news broke about Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ months-long affair, which blew up his nine-year relationship with Ariana Madix.

Kate Aurthur editor Last month, when “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong announced that the fourth season of the Emmy-winning HBO drama would be its last, the internet howled in despair. But Brian Cox — who’s played the ferocious mogul Logan Roy since the show’s 2018 premiere — applauds Armstrong’s decision. “He’s very disciplined in that way, and also he’s very British in that way,” says Cox, who is Scottish, and in conversation seems to mention birthplace to explain behavior. “The American inclination is to milk it for all it’s worth.” Not that Cox, 76, won’t feel the loss. “I’ll miss the cast, I’ll miss the atmosphere, I’ll miss the bonhomie,” he says, ticking off reasons during a recent Zoom interview from London. And Logan? “Logan, probably, I’ll miss a bit. But upward and onwards.”

Kate Aurthur editor The #Scandoval has, predictably, been great for ratings: Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” is soaring.  According to the network, the March 8 episode of “Vanderpump Rules” — the first to air since the news broke about Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ months-long affair — drew 2.2 million viewers across all platforms in Live + 3 ratings. In live viewing, that episode doubled its ratings from the previous week.  The network’s nightly talk show, “Watch What Happens Live,” which featured series matriarch Lisa Vanderpump being interviewed by Andy Cohen, also benefited, drawing 593,000 viewers in the 18 to 49 demographic alone. 

Kate Aurthur editor SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from Season 4 of “You,” now streaming on Netflix. “You” can go home again: At the conclusion of Season 4 of the Netflix thriller, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) is back in New York City, alongside his billionaire girlfriend Kate (Charlotte Ritchie) — sitting on top of the world. He nearly died by suicide earlier in the episode, in some warped attempt at redemption. But by the finale’s ending, Joe, who’s has killed his way through London (in his fake identity of Professor Jonathan Moore), has emerged exultant. He’s fused with his murderous side, and seemingly happier than he’s ever been on “You.”

Kate Aurthur editor In spring 2020, during the earliest phase of the pandemic, production on Season 3 of “Barry” was shut down before it could even begin. But co-creators Bill Hader and Alec Berg — along with the writing staff of the dark HBO comedy — would soon put that time to good use. They wrote the fourth season of “Barry,” and then went back and rewrote the show’s third, which still hadn’t started filming. As Hader and Berg wrote Season 4, they started to realize that “a very clear ending presented itself,” Hader told Variety in an interview last week. On April 16, the eight-episode final season of “Barry” will premiere — and Variety can exclusively reveal that date, as well as unveil its first teaser and first look.