Lilly Burns: Last News

Peacock has taken in for development Fear, a series based on the 1996 thriller film, from The Path creator Jessica Goldberg, Imagine Television and Universal TV, Deadline has confirmed.

Amy Stechler, the Emmy-nominated filmmaker of PBS’s The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo (2005) and the ex-wife and early collaborator of documentarian Ken Burns, died Friday, Aug. 26, at her home in  Walpole, N.H. She was 67.

Naman Ramachandran “Wedding Season,” the first U.K. original series from streamer Disney+, will premiere on Disney+ Day on Sept 8. The romantic comedy-action thriller will stream on Disney+ globally, Star+ in Latin America and Hulu in the U.S.The streamer also revealed several first look images.The series tells the story of Katie and Stefan who fall for each other at a wedding and begin an affair, despite the former already having a fiancé.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a first look at Disney+’s Wedding Season, which Deadline can exclusively reveal will launch September 8.

David Letterman’s Emmy-nominated talk show series “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman” is set to return on May 20, Netflix announced on Thursday.The fourth season of the Netflix original series will feature six episodes and a new selection of guests, including Cardi B, Kevin Durant, Billie Eilish, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ryan Reynolds and Will Smith.The show features one-on-one conversations with the legendary talk show host and the celebrity guest inside and outside a studio setting. Season four comes after a long absence from the series, as season three premiered almost 18 months ago in October of 2020.Notably, the streamer has announced that all of the episodes were filmed prior to March 2022; that means that there will be no talk of the infamous Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars slap that occurred on March 27.

Will Smith will sit down with David Letterman for his latest round of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.

Neil Patrick Harris’ return to series television is coming this summer.

Showtime’s late-night series Desus & Mero is taking the week off after Desus Nice, otherwise known as Daniel Baker, was hit by Covid-19. The series, which moved from twice a week to weekly with the return of its fourth season earlier this month, will be postponed due to the positive test.

Sasha Urban editorNetflix has dropped the trailer for “The Pentaverate,” Mike Myers’ new comedy series about a five-man secret society. The trailer comes after Myers joined Instagram last week and began posting cryptic images with fives in them: a five dollar bill, the 5 train in New York City, the five boroughs and a Five Guys storefront.Ever the chameleon, Myers is taking on eight different roles in the new series.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Jax Media is planting a flag in Atlanta.

EXCLUSIVE: Imagine Entertainment has tapped Netflix executive Kristen Zolner as Head of Imagine Television. This marks the first major executive hire since Tony Hernandez & Lilly Burns, co-founders of Imagine-owned Jax Media, were named Presidents of Imagine Entertainment earlier this month, overseeing film and television for Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s indie company, which has been the center of acquisition speculation.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorImagine Entertainment has expanded the purview of Imagine Documentaries chief Justin Wilkes to overseeing new business development as chief strategy officer for the independent content powerhouse.The move for Wilkes comes as Imagine Entertainment is actively seeking an influx of capital to fund its ambitious growth plans. The company headed by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer since 1986 is looking to bring in a new financial investor that will allow Imagine to continue operating status quo with its current management team.At present, Imagine is in talks with U.K.-based Centricus Asset Management about a sale that would value the company at around $700 million.

Brooke Posch has been upped at Jax Media.

Tony Hernandez & Lilly Burns, co-founders of Emily in Paris producer Jax Media, have been promoted at Imagine Entertainment.