AT&T CEO John Stankey Signals Exit From Entertainment, Telling Investors, “We’re Focused On Looking Forward”

EXCLUSIVE: Zero Gravity Management has expanded with the addition of Mia Cho as a Talent Manager, Maritza Cabrera as a Talent/Literary Manager and Producer, and Leyla Kader Dahm and Ayisha Taylor as Literary Managers.

Apple announced on Wednesday that Jemima Kirke of Netflix’s “Sex Education,” and HBO’s “Girls”, and Nico Tortorella of Hulu’s “Younger,” and AMC’s “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” have joined the cast of its limited series “City on Fire” from “Gossip Girl” duo Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.Ashley Zukerman, Xavier Clyde, Max Milner, Alexandra Doke, Omid Abtahi, Kathleen Munroe and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” star John Cameron Mitchell have also been added as series regulars.They join already announced cast Chase Sui Wonders as a murdered NYU student and Wyatt Oleff as her friend who stops at nothing to solve her death.Kirke plays Regan, the daughter of a Manhattan real estate scion who strives to succeed on her own; Tortorella is William, a brilliant, but self-destructive artist living in Manhattan; Zukerman is Keith, Regan’s husband; Clyde is Mercer, William’s boyfriend who moved to New York from rural Georgia to write the next great American novel. Musician Milner is Nicky Chaos, a charismatic activist and revolutionary with a group of followers who wage war against the 1%; Doke is Sewer Girl, who’s part of Nicky Chaos’ crew; Abtahi is Detective Ali Parsa, the workaholic detective assigned to Samantha’s case; Munroe is Detective PJ McFadden, a no-nonsense cop working the case alongside Detective Parsa, and Mitchell is Amory, an influential and ruthless executive in Manhattan.The Apple Studios murder mystery is based on the novel of the same name by Garth Risk Hallberg, and set in 2003 while police are also trying to catch a serial arsonist.Principal photography is underway in New York City.“City on Fire” is produced by Apple Studios for Apple TV+.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorJohn Legend, Carrie Underwood, J Balvin with Maria Becerra and just-announced Silk Sonic are among the performers added to Sunday’s Grammy Awards, where producers will also highlight three musical genres — gospel/Christian, tropical Latin and bluegrass — that are not traditionally part of the show. The ceremony will also feature a tribute to Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who died March 25 at the age of 50.The list of artists set to appear on the live CBS telecast from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas also include Maverick City Music, Aymée Nuviola and Billy Strings, who are lined up for “special segments that showcase Las Vegas and spotlight genres not historically represented on the Grammy Awards telecast,” per the Grammys.

NEW YORK -- Elton John has added 11 new dates on the North American leg of his farewell tour, including concerts in New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Arizona and Washington state.John begins his final run of dates in North America in Philadelphia on July 15, finishing with a three-night engagement at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 19 and 20.The new dates include concerts on July 24 in East Rutherford, New Jersey; July 27 in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Sept. 8 in Toronto; Sept.

Elton John has shared new dates for his final North American tour – tickets will be available here.The 11 new shows will take place between July 15 to November 20, with fresh stops in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ontario, South Carolina, California, Washington, British Columbia and Arizona.The tour ends with back-to-back performances at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium. See a full list of his newly added live dates below.John’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour has faced multiple postponements since kicking off in 2018, due to the pandemic as well as the singer’s hip injury.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn the heels of Elton John’s 75th birthday, the singer and AEG Presents have unveiled the final North American dates of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road The Final Tour.” The announcement promises that the 11 new dates “mark the final shows added to his North American tour.”The new dates include additional performances in East Rutherford, NJ; Foxborough, MA; Toronto,; Vancouver, BC; and Phoenix,  along with a third show added at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Concerts in San Diego, Santa Clara, CA, and Tacoma, WA, have also been added.Elton John’s final North American show – a return to the site of what is arguably his most iconic performance, Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium – on November 20 will be his 2,000th  U.S.

Sir Elton John was stopped from adopting a Ukrainian orphan because of his sexuality. The 75-year-old star and his husband David Furnish tried to adopt a child from an orphanage they visited, but they were told they wouldn't be able to because they're gay. The 'Rocket Man' hitmaker - who has Elijah, nine, and Zachary, 11, with David - said: "I was carrying this little boy around for hours.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorParis-based Italian director Gianluca Matarrese took a deep dive into the world of fashion for his latest documentary feature, “Fashion Babylon,” which world premieres on Saturday at CPH:DOX film festival in Copenhagen. Ahead of the premiere, he spoke to Variety about the film and upcoming projects.The idea for “Fashion Babylon” came to Matarrese after he met American musician and artist Casey Spooner in a bar in the Marais district of Paris, where the director lives.

Margaret Cho (Good on Paper), Blake Draper (Clickbait), Monique Green (Big Shot), Arica Himmel (Mixed-ish), Jason Sakaki (Devil in Ohio) and David S. Jung (Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.) have signed on to star alongside Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Milo Manheim in the Disney+ Original Movie Prom Pact from director Anya Adams (Ginny & Georgia).

EXCLUSIVE: AllBlk’s upcoming dark comedy Send Help, from co-creators Jean Elie and Mike Gauyo, has added Karina Bonnefil (Snowfall), Catfish Jean (To Leslie), Courtney Taylor (Insecure) and newcomer Ana Bowen to the cast.

Selome Hailu Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger have been cast as the leads in “The Winchesters,” the CW pilot that acts as a prequel to the hit series “Supernatural.”Donnelly and Rodger will lead the series Mary Campbell and John Winchester, respectively, the parents of “Supernatural’s” protagonists Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester.Mary is 19 years old and has been fighting the forces of darkness since she was a child. After losing someone close to her, the hardened hunter considers quitting the family business — until her father’s disappearance and the arrival of newcomer John forces her to lead a new team.John has recently returned from Vietnam.

American Housewife alumna Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger (The In Between) are set as series regulars in CW’s The Winchesters drama pilot. The project hails from Supernatural trio Robbie Thompson, Jensen Ackles and Danneel Ackles, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios. Glen Winter (Supergirl) will direct and executive produce the pilot. They join previously announced cast members Nida Khurshi and Jojo Fleites.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAdina Porter and Clark Backo have been cast opposite LaKeith Stanfield in the upcoming Apple drama series “The Changeling,” Variety has learned.The series is based on the book of the same name by Victor LaValle. It is descirbed as a horror story, a parenthood fable, and a perilous odyssey through a New York City you didn’t know existed.Stanfield stars as Apollo. Porter will play Lillian, his mother.