Bill Engvall Partners with Comedy Dynamics to Produce His Final Stand-Up Special (EXCLUSIVE)

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Former WarnerMedia tech exec Alex Maghen has joined Husslup as chief technology officer. He’ll oversee all engineering and technological aspects of the company, including strategy, as the new mobile app for creative talent discovery in media and entertainment continues its launch. The app is currently in an invite-only beta stage. Maghen will report to Husslup CEO/founder H Schuster, who announced the hire on Monday. “Any tech company is only as good as the talented people behind it, and with Alex’s arrival we are now fully positioned to accelerate our product growth and fulfill our mission of democratizing and diversifying access to the industry,” Schuster said in a statement. “Alex is a triple threat—he has deep technical expertise, an impressive CV at the intersection of technology and entertainment, and a personal understanding of the obstacles that diverse members of our creative community face.”

An open letter signed by a long list of Canadian luminaries is taking aim at Bell Media’s abrupt dismissal of Lisa LaFlamme as anchor of the company’s flagship newscast.

Nick Cannon revealed he's becoming a father once again with Brittany Bell in a maternity video shared on Instagram Wednesday afternoon.This will be his tenth child, and third with the former Miss Universe Guam. "Time Stopped and This Happened…," he captioned the short clip from a photo shoot for his millions of fans.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Amazon Studios is merging its Prime Video and Freevee unscripted teams  under the oversight of reality TV vet Chris Castallo. Having previously focused on Prime Video fare, Castallo will now oversee unscripted for both outlets and report to Lauren Anderson, who was recently named head of AVOD original content and programming at Amazon Studios. The move comes following a restructure inside Amazon’s ad-supported video on demand service. Earlier this month, Ryan Pirozzi was named head of Freevee, overseeing the business side of the streaming service, while Anderson was given oversight for programming, which includes development, production, licensing, scheduling, research and strategy for Freevee and Prime Video’s ad-supported FAST linear channels. Anderson and Pirozzi had formerly served as co-heads of content and programming for Amazon Freevee (the ad-supported video on demand service that had been known as IMDb TV).

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeComedian Nick Kroll is returning to standup — and doing it via Netflix, the home of his animated comedy “Big Mouth.” Kroll’s first stand-up special in a decade — and his first for Netflix — is titled “Nick Kroll: Little Big Boy,” and will premiere globally on September 27.The special will air a month before the Season 6 return of “Big Mouth,” which returns Oct. 28. For “Little Big Boy,” Kroll shot the special in June at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C.“I could be wrong, but I don’t know if people think of me really as a stand up, because I’ve been doing sketch and animation and acting and the writing stuff,” said Kroll, who beyond “Big Mouth” and his voicework is perhaps best known for “The League” and “The Kroll Show,” as well as playing the geriatric Gil Faizon, opposite John Mulaney, in the “Oh, Hello” sketches that eventually turned into a Broadway show (also taped for Netflix).

EXCLUSIVE: Alice Lee (Our Man from Jersey) is set to co-produce and star in the darkly comedic thriller Samson, from director Ruth Du (The Deadliest Lie). She’ll be joined in the indie’s ensemble by Will Brittain (Blow the Man Down), Emilio Garcia Sanchez (The Society) and newcomer Ryan Dance.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentFollowing on “Huesera,” a double Tribeca winner, Mexico’s Machete, headed by Edher Campos, is returning to female filmmaker social issue genre with “Cachorra,” a darkly humoured horror thriller set on the Mexico-U.S. desert border.The feature debut of Madrid-based genre scribe and consultant Elisa Puerto Aubel, who penned Sitges Audience Award winner.  “La venganza de Jairo,” “Cachorra” is one of the newest additions to a five movie 2002-23 slate at Machete, producer of Cannes Festival winners “Leap Year” and “La Jaula de Oro.” It forms part of a robust lineup at this week’s Sanfic-Mórbido Lab, which packs many of Sanfic Industria’s most commercial propositions, All of Machete’s films, three now in post-production, carry social point.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeJazz Tangcay writes:Although the Creative Arts Emmys aren’t set to be handed out until Sept. 3 and Sept.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large“Dr. Phil” is downsizing. The long-running daytime talk show, which returns in September for its 21st season, resumed production this month with 25 fewer staffers.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large“They asked, and it’s an honor,” Thompson told me Thursday on a sweltering August afternoon in Hollywood, where he was receiving his star on the Walk of Fame. “It’s a giant career milestone to host an Emmys, an Oscars, a Tonys, whatever.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLil Rel Howery has lined up his second HBO stand up comedy special, Variety has learned exclusively.This will be Howery’s second HBO stand up special after 2019’s “Lil Rel Howery: Live in Crenshaw.” The new special will tape in Howery’s hometown of Chicago in the coming weeks. It will then be available on both HBO and HBO Max.“Getting the opportunity to do another comedy special with HBO is a dream come true, but even more so this time around because I’m excited for the world to see what happens when I go back to my roots,” Howery said.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeGabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias’ landmark standup event at Dodger Stadium is finally making its way to Netflix. “Gabriel Iglesias: Stadium Fluffy Live from Los Angeles” will premiere globally on the streamer on October 18.The special, which was filmed as part of the “Netflix is a Joke” festival on May 6, made history as Iglesias became the first comedian to ever perform at Dodger Stadium.In the special, Iglesias talks about growing up in the Los Angeles region (he’s a native of Long Beach), a recent attempt at extortion towards him, and where he holds the record for receiving the highest fine on stage.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeComedian, writer and actor Larry Wilmore has been tapped to host the 46th Annual Humanitas Prizes, which return as an in-person event on September 9, 2022 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Wilmore is a previous Humanitas winner, having served as creator, writer and exec producer of “The Bernie Mac Show,” which won two of the prizes (along with an Emmy and a Peabody over five seasons).

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeThe duo’s fandom spans several generations. My parents grew up with them on “SNL” and “SCTV.” (To be fair, I was watching with them, perhaps inappropriately, also loving their work as a child of the 80s.) Over the past few years, my kids have gotten to know them as I’ve brought out “Three Amigos” and “Father of the Bride” for family movie nights. And now, we have “Only Murders in the Building” for every age range.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeHaving canceled “Live P.D.” in 2020, A&E is returning to the live docu-reality TV space — but this time, the network is trading order for law. A&E is set to launch “Court Night Live,” from former “Live PD” producers Big Fish Entertainment, next Wednesday, August 10 at 9 p.m.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeAmazon Prime Video is activating its Emmy Phase 2 plans, throwing an “FYC Fest” the weekend of Friday, Aug. 12 through Sunday, Aug. 14 to tout its 30 Emmy nominations.The weekend event will take place in three different locations in the Los Angeles area, including Sherman Oaks, Santa Monica and West Hollywood.

Clayton Davis Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeLongtime Done+Dusted partner Melanie Fletcher has been promoted to CEO of North America, recognizing her shift in recent years toward overseeing the growth of the production company’s business. Fletcher’s promotion comes as D+D prepares to produce the 74th Emmy Awards for NBC next month, as well as upcoming specials like ABC’s “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter” and “Beauty and The Beast: A 30th Celebration,” and “The Kennedy Center Honors” for CBS.In overseeing D+D’s U.S. business, she’ll focus on expanding the company’s output in original IP development, series, brands, live specials, gaming and experiences.

Twinning! Identical twins Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight have had a large social media presence since they were 13 — and the 22-year-old influencers are only gaining in popularity.