Biographical Comedy Series ‘Julia’ Explores How Julia Child Bucked All Expectations To Become A Pioneering Celebrity Chef

Joe Leydon Film CriticIt may sound counterintuitive at best, tone-deaf at worse, to label a documentary focused on food providers aiding people in the wake of disasters as a feel-good movie. But that’s an honest, accurate and, yes, appreciative label for “We Feed People,” Ron Howard’s technically polished and emotionally stirring close-up view of celebrity chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen.The movie effectively begins in media res, with the robustly gregarious Andrés and his dedicated crew  years into their vocation, providing hot meals to isolated residents of Wilmington, N.C., in the wake of 2018’s Hurricane Florence — and coming perilously close to tasting their own disaster when floodwaters almost topple their delivery truck — before backing up to explain just who Andrés is and what started him on his mission.A native of Spain, Andrés moved to the U.S.

Marta Balaga Returning barely six months after its 2021 edition, which wrapped in September, French TV festival Series Mania welcomed Jury President Julia Sinkevych,who arrived in Lille from war-torn Ukraine.“I didn’t know if I would be lucky enough to be here tonight,” said Sinkevych to a standing ovation, with Laurence Herszberg, Series Mania general director, observing that culture cannot be insensitive to what is happening.“The whole world is now admiring our resistance, the resistance of the Ukrainian people. But there is another battlefield, which is culture, and I want us to be noticed, recognized and admired on the cultural battlefield, too,” added Sinkevych.“This [conflict] has been going on for a long time and there have been many episodes in this TV series.

EXCLUSIVE: Vito Schnabel (Before Night Falls), Julia Fox (Uncut Gems) and Steven Van Zandt (The Sopranos) have signed on to star in the dark comedy The Trainer, which Tony Kaye (American History X) is directing from a script by Schnabel and Jeff Solomon.

Marta Balaga Ukrainian producer Julia Sinkevych, named main jury president at French TV festival Series Mania, is still hoping to come to Lille this week despite the ongoing war.“Last night, there was bombing not far from Lviv, so you never know. [Producer] Dariusz Jabłoński and the Polish Film Academy are helping out Ukrainian filmmakers and they will pick me up when I am in Poland,” she tells Variety during a conversation interrupted by a siren.“Usually, it means you have to hide.

executive order that directs law enforcement officials to investigate gender affirming medical treatments for transgender youths as a crime has grown loud and intense, with many demanding LGTBQ organizations condemn the order through significant action not just words.In an op-ed posted to SB Nation’s Outsports.com on Tuesday, March 1, Brittney Miller — 11-year veteran of the Gay Softball World Series (GSWS) and manager of the Puget Sound Pronouns — called for the 2022 event to be removed from Dallas and held in another city.Citing the fact that the GSWS has an “economic impact” of $5 to 7 million, Miller stated the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) should find a new host city in a different state to support the transgender community.Miller called the executive order cruel and explained how it criminalizes the mere existence of transgender people, but her most severe criticisms were reserved for NAGAAA itself.The organization, which Miller stated is one of the “largest governing bodies of queer athletes in America,” has yet to release a statement on the issue, a decision Miller believes is indicative of how the organization views its transgender members.“NAGAAA’s failure to release even a milquetoast statement shows we [the transgender community] are an afterthought to them,” she wrote. “If the trans community can’t count on them to stand up to bullies in the face of cruelty and intolerance, who can we count on?”She explained that the “wait and see” approach NAGAAA seems to be employing with the executive order should be abandoned, immediately.

Amazon Studios has handed a two-season order to an adult animated comedy series from Emmy-nominated Ramy Youssef and A24. The series is part of a new first-look deal between Amazon Studios and Youssef’s production imprint Cairo Cowboy. The as-yet untitled comedy will exclusively stream on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Pete Davidson is set to play a fictionalised version of himself in comedy series, Bupkis.The series is co-written by Davidson and frequent collaborator Dave Sirus, along with Judah Miller (Crashing, American Dad!). It comes from Universal Television and Saturday Night Live showrunner Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video.According to Deadline, Bupkis is described as a “raw” and “unflinching” version of Davidson’s real life, which will include a “mixture of grounded storytelling with absurd elements”.The show has been compared to Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, which depicts a semi-fictionalised version of the Seinfeld co-creator as a semi-retired TV writer.Bupkis has yet to find an official home but it’s being pitched to streaming services.Davidson, who has been a SNL cast member since 2014, is on a leave of absence from the series to pursue other projects.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRenée Zellweger has lined up another TV role with NBCUniversal. Variety has learned exclusively that the actress is set to star in the drama “Avenger Field” that is in development at Peacock.The one-hour drama series, which hails from MGM Television, tells the story of those that established a clandestine all female US Airforce program called the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) to battle Hitler from home. Inspired by the true story of WASP leader Jackie Cohran (Zellweger) and the diverse group of women who fought the system, skeptics and even sabotage to bring everyone home safely.Felicia D.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become known globally as a key figure in Ukraine's response to the Russian invasion.

Desus & Mero are back with a fourth season but they’re cutting their on-screen time in half.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large“Entourage” creator Doug Ellin is returning to Hollywood for his next series. Ellin has recruited Charlie Sheen and several of his “Entourage” stars — including Kevin Connolly and Kevin Dillon — to play themselves in “Ramble On,” a scripted dramatic comedy about established stars looking for career reinvention, alongside aspiring performers looking to make their own name.The show, which is currently being shopped to potential distributors, comes from Angry Lunch, a new shingle recently formed by Ellin and Ted Foxman, in association with Action Park Media.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Netflix comedy series “Blockbuster” has added five new cast membersTyler Alvarez (“Never Have I Ever,” “American Vandal”), Madeline Arthur (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” “Devil in Ohio”), and Olga Merediz (“In the Heights,” “Encanto”) have all joined the show as series regulars. JB Smoove (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home”) and Kamaia Fairburn (“Overlord and the Underwoods,” “Endlings”) will appear in recurring guest star roles. Full character descriptions can be found below.The new cast members join previously announced leads Randall Park and Melissa Fumero.

LONDON -- Countries are snapping up the rights to “Servant of the People” — a comedy series starring the Ukrainian President, as the Ukrainian President.Back in 2015, former actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy played Vasiliy Petrovich Goloborodko, a high school teacher propelled to the presidency after a student’s video of him denouncing official corruption in Ukraine goes viral.Goloborodko sets about running the country while eschewing the perks of being leader by keeping hold of his normal life.A hit in Ukraine, where it ran for three seasons and a spin-off movie, interest in the show has peaked since Zelenskyy became the face of the nation as it endures attacks from Russia.Eccho Rights has distributed the program, made by Zelenskyy’s Studio Kvartel 95, since it launched. The company’s managing partner, Nicola Söderlund, said sales have increased dramatically in the last few days, calling interest in the program “remarkable.”“It’s quite an old show already,” he explains.

Naman Ramachandran Ukrainian film producer and co-founder of the Ukrainian Film Academy Julia Sinkevych (“Heat Singers”) has been selected as jury president for this year’s Series Mania Festival and its international competition. “She has always been committed to supporting Ukrainian artists and the culture of her country from Kyiv, where she lives,” the festival said in a statement.

The Co-Founder of the Ukrainian Film Academy has been named Jury President for this year’s Series Mania.

HBO Max has unveiled the first trailer for “Julia,” an upcoming series about the life of beloved culinary icon Julia Child.Created by Daniel Goldfarb (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), “Julia” focuses on Child (played in the series by Sarah Lancashire) during the years following the publication of her iconic cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” The series sees Child kickstarting her first television series, “The French Chef,” at the public television station WGBH.

HBO Max has unveiled the first footage for its upcoming Julia Child drama series Julia, starring Sarah Lancashire as The French Chef creator and host herself.

EXCLUSIVE: The story of former First Daughter Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a socialite, a writer and a force in 20th Century American politics, will be the subject of a half-hour comedy series in development at HBO Max.

As announced back in March of last year, the second season of Resident Alien is now being released in the UK.

Bella Thorne is calling on world politicians, including President Biden, to assist in putting an end to the suffering of citizens in Cuba on the heels of the country's new 10% tax on food sales. Cuba announced the tax earlier this month.