Executive Producer Addresses Whether 'Downton Abbey' & 'The Gilded Age' Exist in the Same Universe

EXCLUSIVE: Payman Benz (Black Monday) has been tapped to direct and serve as co-executive producer on four episodes, including the pilot, of Blockbuster, Netflix’s upcoming single-camera workplace comedy starring Randall Park.

Naman Ramachandran Simon Thomas, veteran ITV America unscripted and international producer, has been named president of ITV Entertainment and will also serve as ITV America’s head of international programming.Thomas, previously executive VP of current programming, west coast, for ITV America, has executive produced all U.S. seasons of “Love Island,” as well as new series “My Mom, Your Dad” and the upcoming “Rat in the Kitchen.” Earlier, he worked on “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” for U.K. broadcaster ITV, the original U.K.

EXCLUSIVE: The Producers Guild of America and Google announces the two projects that will each receive $50,000 grants for the production of new short films as part of “The Short Film Project” presented by the Producers Guild of America and Google.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeJon Brockett has been tapped to serve as executive producer of the Screen Actors Guild Awards this year, joining returning EP Kathy Connell at the helm. Brockett had previously served as a producer on the show, and has been a part of the SAG Awards since its fifth show, while Connell has been with the ceremony since it began in 1995.Brockett and Connell are a part of this year’s production team, which the SAG Awards announced on Thursday. Not returning are Hazy Mills Productions’ Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner, who served as EPs with Connell of the in-person 2019 and 2020 events, as well as last year’s pre-taped virtual special.For 2022, as previously reported, the SAG Awards are shaking things up by moving venues, to Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar.

After catapulting to fame a decade ago in Downton Abbey, fans were left shocked when Lily James revealed her drastic transformation as Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy. But despite the extreme overhaul, this isn’t the first time that the actress has won fans over with her movie makeovers.

Prentice Penny (Insecure, Uncorked) has signed on to direct an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling graphic novel New Kid for Universal Pictures, tapping Eli Wilson Pelton (Insecure, Bridgerton) to adapt the script. His production company A Penny For Your Thoughts Entertainment has also come aboard to develop and produce the film alongside The SpringHill Company.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterMaster Chief is closer to landing a new commander.David Wiener (“Brave New World”) is in talks to take over showrunner duties on Paramount Plus’ “Halo,” executive producer Justin Falvey announced on Tuesday during the TCA panel for the hotly anticipated video game adaptation.Wiener’s status with the show remains in flux, as Paramount Plus has not yet officially renewed “Halo” for Season 2.

Kanye West (now legally known as "Ye") has announced the release date for his upcoming album Donda 2, as Pitchfork points out. The follow-up to his Album of the Year-nominated project is slated to be released on February 22, and will be executive produced by Future.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Golda” director Guy Nattiv has joined the Oscar-shortlisted short film “The Criminals” as executive producer.Written and directed by Serhat Karaaslan, a Kurdish director from Turkey, the film centers on a young couple in a small Turkish town looking for privacy. Shortlisted in the live-action short category for the 2022 awards, the film uses genre to discuss the way an oppressive society pushes its civilians to police each other, ultimately turning sex into a subversive act.“The Criminals” is produced by Laure Dahout through her French production company Tiresias Films.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla Shaun Cassidy is stepping into the ranch family drama game with “Unbroken,” a drama pilot ordered by NBC. The show, which hails from Universal Television and Shaun Cassidy Productions, centers on three dynastic ranch families on the central coast of California, who make love and war in a passionate struggle to survive.

If you love a period drama with a touch of class, you won’t want to miss The Gilded Age, the latest offering from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. But forget English stately piles inhabited by toffs like the Granthams – Julian has crossed the pond to America to tell this tale, set at the end of the 19th Century. It was a time when industry and the economy were on the up, creating a wealthy elite to join the old money families of the establishment.The story begins in 1882, when young Marian Brook, the orphaned daughter of a general, moves into the New York home of her “old money aunts”, Ada and Agnes.

The Gilded Age,” premiering Monday at 9 p.m. EST, chronicles the lifestyles of the rich and famous in Manhattan during the late 1800s — with ostentatious displays of wealth, ridiculous parties and heaps of tabloid-worthy gossip and scandal.Created by Julian Fellowes, the man behind “Downton Abbey,” the series also highlights the deep-rooted rivalries and prejudices among NYC high society (and the social climbers desperate to get a leg up).Here, The Post looks at some of the wildest stories of the real Gilded Age.To this day, the creations of Gilded Age architect Stanford White define New York City: the Washington Square Arch, Judson Memorial Church and the Players Club, among many other wonders.But it was his 1906 murder, and the shocking reason behind it, that really rocked the city.White, 52, had attended the premiere of the musical “Mam’Zelle Champagne” at the original Madison Square Garden, which he also designed.

Bob Greenblatt Guest ColumnistAs HBO raises the curtain Jan. 24 on the long-awaited Julian Fellowes drama “The Gilded Age,” executive producer and industry veteran Bob Greenblatt offers an inside look at the 12-plus years it took to bring the story of the wealthy and powerful families of America’s gilded age to the screen.

The Gilded Age seems destined to be a hit. After all, American viewers are huge fans of British period dramas—or so it appears. The Tudors, Downton Abbey, , and are just a few of the series to find runaway success focusing on a time that transports us to yesteryear.

creator Julian Fellowes’ newest star-studded historical drama,, is breakout star and daughter of a Hollywood icon, Louisa Jacobson. The 30-year-old actress, whose mother is none other than Meryl Streep, plays Marian Brook in the HBO drama alongside Carrie Coon, Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski. After her father dies in 1882, Brook is forced to move from rural Pennsylvania to New York City to live with her wealthy aunts, Agnes van Rhijn (Baranski) and Ada Brook (Nixon), who are part of an aging class of high society reckoning with the influx of ambitious and self-made newcomers, including railroad tycoon George Russell (Morgan Spector) and his ambitious wife, Berth (Coon). Joining Brook is Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), an aspiring writer who finds herself employed by the aunts, as the two get caught up in a social, class and economic war between old money and new money and question whether they should follow long-standing traditions or forage their own paths. And along the way, Brook and Scott develop their own friendship, even though they must navigate racial and age barriers of the time.

Cynthia Nixon will be playing another New York City singleton in the upcoming HBO series , a period drama from Julian Fellowes that’s been dubbed, the American Downton Abbey.

Michelle Dockery announced her new engagement in the most British way possible. The 40-year-old Essex native confirmed her betrothment in The Times, per Hello Magazine. “The engagement is announced between Jasper [Waller-Brige], son of Michael Waller-Bridge of King’s Lynn, Norfolk, and Teresa Waller-Bridge of Battersea, London, and Michelle Dockery, younger daughter of Michael and Lorraine Dockery of Gidea Park, Essex.”