What Programming Execs From NBCU, MGM, A+E and More Are Looking for in Next Generation of TV Creators

A police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is expected to end later this year, according to reports.

A woman has revealed she was less than impressed with a "romantic" chat up attempt after buying a coffee from Starbucks.

Jeremy Clarkson, 61, is known for his opinionated but humorous tongue in cheek style, and today's tirade on Putin was no different. In the former Top Gear star's latest column he wittingly blames Vladimir Putin's height for Russia's invasion on Ukraine.Jeremy's actions, both privately and as a Top Gear presenter, have sometimes resulted in criticism from the media, politicians, pressure groups and the public.However, with such a significant public following Jeremy was credited as a major factor in the resurgence of Top Gear as one of the most popular shows on the BBC.Jeremy, acting no different, used his Times column to humorously blame Putin's height for why he's gone "mad".He penned: "The real reason for the madness is more simple.

Former Albion Rovers striker Ross Stewart is set to crown his rise up the football ladder with a call-up to the Scotland national team.

Italia’s Got Talent. And in 2016, AirOtic was born.“Initially, when we started the show, we were performing at Hunters in Wilton Manors, in Fort Lauderdale, a gay mecca,” says Kier. “We were performing in a gay venue, and the show is quite homoerotic.

The Apprentice's fired candidate Amy Anzel was reportedly not invited to the show's celebratory filming of the spin-off following the final. Amy, 48, was fired by Lord Alan Sugar in the sixth week of the competition and reportedly reached out to producers to appear on the spin-off You're Hired following the show's finale filming.

The Inbetweeners actress Emily Atack has given fans a glimpse inside her swanky kitchen in her new London pad. The Celebrity Juice star, 32, revealed that she’d moved into the lavish property back in January, making it the third move in 18 months. And now, after spending months putting her own stamp on the home, Emily has taken to Instagram to give her 1.8 million followers a sneak peek of the glam decor.The TV personality’s kitchen is bright and airy and boasts a monochrome colour palette.

Geordie Shore favourite Chloe Ferry sparked concern when she took to her Instagram to share with fans that she was in hospital over the weekend. The reality star, 26, shared a video of herself sitting in an A&E waiting room on Saturday night to her 3.7 million followers.

Julia Roberts, 54, gave a rare insight into family life with her husband, Danny Moder, 53 and their three teenage children.She confessed she had concerns when it came to advising her two sons and daughter, because she didn’t want to “mess them up”.The Pretty Woman star, who is one of Hollywood’s top-earning actresses, was reluctant to impart any wisdom to her children regarding their appearances or dressing a certain way and thought it was best to let them make their own choices.She did have a couple of tips for them, though.When asked about what Julia tells her sons and daughter about beauty and fashion trends, she replied: “It's an interesting navigation because you don't want to mess them up.“You don't want to make them aware of something that it was better if they weren't aware of it."Julia did say that hygiene was important and feeling comfortable with your look.“I don't know, as long as everybody smells good and has a smile on their face then that is a beauty regime!,” she said, speaking to People magazine in 2017.Julia is mother to twins Hazel and Phinnaeus Moder, 17, and Henry Moder, 14.She shares them with husband Danny Moder.Meeting cinematographer and camera operator Danny Moder on the set of The Mexican, which also starred Brad Pitt, Julia married him in 2002 in a private ceremony.They were both in relationships when they first met.The Oscar-winning actress is the face of Lancôme’s campaign for their popular fragrance La Vie Est Belle.The Hollywood actress has been named People’s Most Beautiful Woman five times.Last year, the couple shared rare images of their family life to celebrate their twins’ birthdays.Both parents posted photos of themselves with the family on their Instagram accounts.The snaps showed

A second independence referendum is "unlikely" to happen within Nicola Sturgeon's preferred time frame, a former SNP senior staff member said.

Martin Lewis has warned the cost-of-living crisis will be "the worst" that Brits have faced in 22 years including covid and the financial crash.

Vladimir Putin has shocked Kremlin officials by ordering a nuclear war evacuation drill amidst the ongoing severe tension with the West, a source has claimed.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “Laser Baby’s Day Out,” the first episode of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys Presents: Diabolical.”Longtime buddies and producing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have been “obsessed” with Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan for the past few years, and the idea of “doing something that had no words, no dialogue and purely physical humor.” Enter the offshoot of “The Boys,” which they executive produce, Amazon’s animated shorts anthology series, “The Boys Presents: Diabolical,” which launched Friday with all eight-episodes: the first being the Rogen and Goldberg-written “Laser Baby’s Day Out.”“We’d been messing around with some live-action movie ideas,” Goldberg told Variety. “And then when the idea to make the ‘Diabolical’ show came around, we were like, this is perfect.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterTurning a comic book into a live-action TV series is not a revolutionary idea in the current TV landscape — but turning a comic book into a live-action TV series that is then itself turned into an animated series set in the same universe is not a pitch studio and network execs get every day.That’s what “The Boys” executive producers Seth Rogen, Eric Kripke and Evan Goldberg set out to do when they came up with the idea for the very adult cartoon shorts “The Boys Presents: Diabolical,” while they were simultaneously working on the upcoming third season of the mothership Amazon Prime Video series and its recently ordered untitled superhero-college spinoff.“We were deep in the pandemic and we were looking to get something from what we’re calling the VCU on the air go before Season 3,” “The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke told Variety, citing the show’s Vought Cinematic Universe. “And with all the shooting restrictions, it was just impossible to even do a small live-action thing.

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 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 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 WriterParamount Global (formerly known as ViacomCBS) expects to direct-to-consumer content spending to increase to more than $6 billion in 2024, the company revealed Tuesday during its Q4 earnings and streaming investor day presentation.This is a jump from its previous guidance, which was that Paramount expected streaming content spend to exceed $5 billion 2024, including $4 billion of expenses associated with its DTC services. In 2021, Paramount spend $2.2 billion on direct-to-consumer content.Additionally, Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra said that the company formerly known as ViacomCBS is increasing its DTC revenue goal to over $9 billion for 2024.

Universal Content Productions, a division of Unversal Studio Group, is expanding its executive leadership team, with the hire of Rebecca Franko and Kenny Tsai as SVPs, Current Programming.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMelissa Joan Hart will star in multiple new “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” holiday movies, as well as the made-for-TV hoarder film “Dirty Little Secret” at Lifetime, as part of a new multi-year deal with the cable channel, Variety has learned exclusively.Under her new pact, Hart will star in, direct and executive produce several movies for Lifetime. For the “Ripped From The Headlines” movie “Dirty Little Secret” (working title), which is set to debut this summer, Hart stars as a mother hiding her extreme hoarding tendencies that are destroying her family.Additionally, Hart will star in and executive produce new movies for Lifetime’s 2022 and 2023 Christmas slates, having previously starred in six holiday films for the cabler, including “Mistletoe in Montana,” “Dear Christmas” and “A Very Merry Toy Store.” Hart has previously executive produced eight Lifetime films with her production company Hartbreak Films, including the recent “Christmas in Tune” starring Reba McEntire.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterRebecca Franko and Kenny Tsai have been named senior vice presidents of current programming at Universal Studio Group’s Universal Content Productions (UCP).In these newly created roles, Franko and Tsai will manage day-to-day current series across cable and streaming platforms for the studio, per UCP. They will both work closely with development on series pick-ups, serve as a liaison between production and other studio departments, manage up-and-coming writers for the studio and build and maintain industry relationships.Franko will oversee the shows “Joe vs. Carole,” “Ted,” “Gaslit” and more.