Evan Rachel Wood Joins Cast of ‘Backspot,’ Executive Produced by Elliot Page (EXCLUSIVE)

Brent Lang Executive Editor Carmelo Anthony has come on as an executive producer of “The Harder They Come,” a new stage musical that is about to finish a sold-out run at New York’s Public Theater. In addition, Anthony’s long-time business partner Asani Swann, who co-founded the basketball star’s production company Creative 7, will also serve as an executive producer on the show. They are joining the production as it looks to find a regional theater where it hopes to fine-tune the show before possibly mounting a Broadway return. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, best known for “Topdog/Underdog,” penned the adaptation of the 1972 Jamaican crime film. That movie and now the show feature music from Reggae icon Jimmy Cliff. Also involved is Justine Henzell, whose father Perry Henzell co-wrote and directed the movie.

Rachel Weisz is ready for the world to see her Prime Video limited series Dead Ringers!

Kit Harington is heading back to HBO!

Alyssa Milano has signed on to executive produce the upcoming documentary “For The Animals: A Dogumentary,” directed by Sadhvi Siddhali Shree and Sadhvi Anubhuti. Milano previously teamed with Anubhuti and Shree for the production of their 2022 documentary “Surviving Sex Trafficking.” The film will be distributed by Filmhub toward the end of 2023. “For The Animals” is a feature-length documentary about a small group of animal rights activists in Houston, Texas, dedicated to saving the lives of stray cats and dogs living on the street. The group is led by twin sisters Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist who are committed to helping stray animals Texas. Proceeds from the film will be used to help companion animals find homes and contribute to their welfare.

BreAnna Bell Fox has given a straight-to-series order for the medical procedural drama “Doc.” The series is slated to debut on the network in 2023-2024. Hailing from executive producers Barbie Kligman (“Magnum P.I.,” “Secrets and Lies,” “Private Practice”), Hank Steinberg (“For Life,” “Without a Trace”) and Erwin Stoff (“I Am Legend,” “The Matrix”), “Doc” is based on the Italian series “Nelle tue mani,” which was created and is produced by Lux Vide, a division of Fremantle. According to Fox’s official description, “Doc” focuses on Dr. Amy Elias, chief of internal and family medicine at Westside Hospital in Minneapolis. “After a brain injury erases the last eight years of her life, Amy must navigate an unfamiliar world where she has no recollection of patients she’s treated, colleagues she’s crossed, the soulmate she divorced, the man she now loves and the tragedy that caused her to push everyone away. She can rely only on her estranged 17-year-old daughter, whom she remembers as a 9-year-old, and a handful of devoted friends, as she struggles to continue practicing medicine, despite having lost nearly a decade of knowledge and experience,” the description reads.

Two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race champion Jinkx Monsoon is to play a major role in the next season of Doctor Who.

Taraji P. Henson has a new role in the works, and it’s on a hit show.

EXCLUSIVE: Annette Bening has been tapped to narrate the documentary War Unfolding from Sypher Studios, with Eliza Bennett, Rachel Bloom, Gary Cole, Abigail Cowen, Laura Dern, Monique Edwards, Michael C. Hall, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Paul Walter Hauser, Thurn Hoffman, Richard T. Jones, Jay Lee, Erick Lopez, Sandra Seacat, Wes Studi and DeWanda Wise among those set to appear in the film from director John B. Benitz.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent Kelly Ripa first appeared on morning TV when she was a soap star on “All My Children.” At that time, she was being booked as a guest on “Live With Regis & Kathie Lee” by a young executive producer, Michael Gelman, who eventually helped cast her in a lead role, replacing Kathie Lee Gifford in 2001 to co-host with Regis Philbin. More than 22 years later, Ripa and Gelman are still working together every day on “Live!” which has continued on as one of the greatest successes in television history, currently reigning as the top daytime talk show in syndication. “She had that ‘wow factor’ as a guest,” Gelman tells Variety, reminiscing on when he first met a 20-something Ripa in the ’90s.

An early career pay gap. Kelly Ripa claimed that her husband, Mark Consuelos, made more money when they worked together on All My Children — despite the fact that he joined the soap opera years after she did.

Rachel McAdams is sharing how motherhood influenced her latest film.ET's Rachel Smith spoke to McAdams at the screening of her new film, , based on the beloved novel by Judy Blume. In Blume's hometown of Key West, Florida, McAdams exclusively caught up with ET and shared how she approached the movie as a mom.«Coming to this as a mom was very different for me,» she shared. «To see through those eyes, you just remind yourself of what it was to be that age, and how hard it was.

Angelique Jackson Christina Milian continues her streak of rom-coms at Netflix with the upcoming holiday movie “Meet Me Next Christmas.” The project marks the actor and musician’s third collaboration with Netflix following her popular destination romances, 2021’s “Resort to Love” — which spent four weeks on the streamer’s global top 10 film list — and 2019’s “Falling Inn Love.” Milian will executive produce and star in “Meet Me Next Christmas,” playing Layla, who, in pursuit of a fairytale romance with the man of her dreams, must race through New York City to get her hands on the hottest ticket in town: the sold out Pentatonix Christmas Eve Concert.

When the Real Housewives of Cheshire premiered in 2015 it became an immediate smash hit with audiences and has since cemented its place as one of the channel’s most watched series ever.The show is now heading into its sixteenth series which premieres on 20 March 2023 and all of last series’ housewives, bar Sheena Lynch, will be returning to give fans an update on their very glam lives. Ahead of the show’s return, we take a look at their luxurious (and extremely expensive) lifestyles. Lauren Simon is the only original member of the cast still starring as a series regular.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Halcyon Studios has brought on Phil Abraham to direct and executive produce the series “Beverly Hills Noir,” Variety has learned exclusively. Halcyon, a division of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, is producing the show, which is based on “Gemstone” by James Ellroy. Per the official logline, the show “follows two female detectives as they are sucked into the vortex of power, greed, and cold-blooded conspiracy in one of the most aspirational cities in the world, Beverly Hills.” Ed Decter is writing the series and will also serve as executive producer and showrunner. Along with Decter and Abraham, Ellroy, Stewart Till, and Richard Potter also executive produce. No network or streaming service is currently attached to the project.

Naman Ramachandran Emile Hirsch (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Inbar Levi (“Fauda”) lead the cast of WWII-set drama “Bau, Artist at War,” which is now in production. The film is based on the true story of Joseph and Rebecca Bau whose wedding in the Plaszow concentration camp was depicted in Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” It follows Joseph’s journey as an artist and prisoner in the Plaszow camp and his fight for justice years later. Using his skills to forge IDs, Joseph manages to stay alive while helping hundreds of prisoners escape from the camp, with his creativity and humor providing hope in a place of hopelessness. Rebecca, also a Resistance worker, serves as a spy in Kommandant Goeth’s (Josh Blacker) office. After the liquidation of the Plaszow camp, Rebecca is sent to Auschwitz, while Joseph is sent to Oskar Schindler’s (Edward Foy) factory in Brunnlitz.

Jason Ritter is set as a lead opposite Kathy Bates in CBS’ drama pilot Matlock, a new take on the classic legal TV drama that starred Andy Griffith. The new show comes from Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Snyder Urman and NCIS: Los Angeles star Eric Christian Olsen. Ritter rounds out the series regular cast for the pilot. In addition to Bates and Marshall, he joins previously announced Skye P. Marshall, David Del Rio and Leah Lewis.

EXCLUSIVE: Once Upon A Time alumna Rebecca Mader is set for a key recurring role on CBS’ drama series Fire Country. Additionally, Kanoa Goo (The Rookie) has been cast in the series starring Max Thieriot.

Charna Flam Kristin Bjorklund, co-executive producer of “Family Feud” for 40 years died on March 5. She was 67. Bjorklund was on the kidney transplant list for years, and following her surgery on March 2, she developed an aggressive infection from the incision. After attending Dartmouth, Bjorklund started her career at Goodson-Todman Productions. By 1982, Bjorklund joined “Family Feud,” making the game show her home for 40 years. In 2019, and after producing well over 2,000 episodes, the producer won an Emmy Award for her work on the series. “Family Feud” co-executive producer, Brian Hawley wrote “Kristin Bjorklund was my coworker, my buddy, my sister from another mister. She could be feisty, strong-willed and oh-so-anal, but she had a fun, raunchy sense of humor and there was nothing better than hearing her laugh” Hawley added, “When my life was a mess or my house was falling apart, I called Kristin. Without Kristin’s friendship, my first few years working in Atlanta wouldn’t have been tolerable.”

BreAnna Bell ABC has placed a pilot order for Ellie Kemper’s “Drop Off” (working title). “Julia (Ellie Kemper) is a working mom for whom nothing is working so she goes looking for her village. With the help of new friends Calvin and Liz, Julia discovers she just might succeed at balancing work and parenting from time to time. This is a comedy for anybody who’s dropped their kids at school, breathed a sigh of relief…then realized it’s Sunday,” reads the logline. Kemper executive produces alongside Sharon Horgan, Clelia Mountford, Stacy Greenberg, Kira Carstensen for Merman Television. Paul Feig, Dan Magnante through Feigco Entertainment. Holly Walsh and Helen Serafinowicz also executive produce. Michael Showalter serves as an executive producer and director. Julieanne Smolinski is attached to write and executive produce. Lionsgate and ABC Signature are the studios behind the production.

My Best Friend’s Wedding, Scream VI), Shane Paul McGhie (“American Skin,” “Deputy”), Sufe Bradshaw (“Veep”), and Kim Coates (“Sons of Anarchy,” Goon,” “White House Plumbers”) round out the cast.“The Getback” is directed by Jared Cohn and written by Chad Law and Garry Charles. Demetrius Stear, Jubal Ace Kohn, Carolina Brasil, and Chadwick Struck are all producing the film.