Food Network Expands ‘Baking Championship’ Franchise With Fifth Seasonal Spinoff, ‘Summer Baking Championship’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery finally revealed the plans (and confirmed the long-rumored name) for its new streaming service, Max, which will combine offerings from HBO Max and Discovery+ into one product, during a splashy press presentation on the Warner Bros. Studio lot Wednesday. The event kicked off at 10 a.m. at the iconic Burbank location, presided over by WBD CEO David Zaslav, president and CEO of global streaming and games JB Perrette, HBO and HBO Max CEO and chairman Casey Bloys (who now also has oversight of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network), and U.S. networks group chairman and chief content officer Kathleen Finch. Variety is on the scene, ready to fill you in on all the details about the new streamer, Warner Bros. Discovery’s direct-to-consumer strategy, the future of HBO and the standalone version of Discovery+.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic It may take a greater elixir than anything Dr. Feelgood has to offer to elicit positive vibes in the war of words — and writs — between Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars and the other three members of the group. Following a headline-making lawsuit filed by Mars against the band last week, lawyers or managers for both sides have spoken with Variety at length about the positions they are doubling down on. If you had to sum it up in a hard-rock song, it might be: “Grievances Grievances Grievances.” Until now, the Crue camp had only issued brief statements and a frustrated tweet from Nikki Sixx. But the band’s manager of 29 years, Allen Kovac, was so angered by an interview Mars gave Variety after the suit was filed that he agreed to go on record addressing what he believes are the musician’s most scurrilous accusations — including whether or not the group’s performances are largely on tape. “I have a lot of regret that I’m having to do this,” the attorney says, pointing out that he talked Nikki Sixx, the group’s unofficial leader, out of talking to the press himself, wanting the bassist to keep “taking the high road.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” Paramount’s “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Netflix’s “Arcane” are just the start of a new wave of movies and TV series based on popular video games and table-top gaming IP.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox Nation is moving further into reality TV with the launch of new series “The Real Hatfields & McCoys: Forever Feuding.” Launching April 24 on the Fox News-backed streaming service, the five-episode series “will spotlight the modern-day Hatfields and McCoys whose notoriously violence-ridden relationship has taken a contemporary twist. From the families’ brutal disputes in the 1800s to current 21st century issues, the program, set in West Virginia, highlights their ongoing rivalry.” Per Fox Nation, “Hatfield family members including Nancy Justus (the oldest surviving direct descendent of Devil Anse Hatfield), Missy Lester, Amber Bishop, Chad Bishop and Christopher Champagne will be featured on the program, while the McCoys’ Big Jim, Courtney Quick, Derek DeProspero, Casandra Champagne, James Quick and John Quick will appear.”

Valerie Bertinelli dropped the news that the upcoming season of Valerie’s Home Cooking on Food Network is the last one.

Valerie Bertinelli took to social media on Saturday, April 8, where she shared a video containing a bittersweet message.

Valerie Bertinelli shared some bittersweet news to her fans. The 62-year-old actress and host took to Instagram on Saturday to share that all-new episodes for the 14th season of her Food Network show,, premieres Sunday.The bad news? It's the last and final season.Bertinelli went on to say that the Food Network canceled  last summer. She also said she had no idea why it was canceled, before adding that she didn't say anything publicly «because honestly I was hoping they would change their mind but they have not.

Valerie Bertinelli has announced some sad news.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Gordon Ramsay is looking to find a new culinary entrepreneur to financially back in his upcoming Fox competition “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars,” and Variety has your first look at the food and drink industry execs who will be competing for the celeb chef’s $250,000 investment. Among those picked as contestants for the series, which debuts May 24 on Fox after the “MasterChef” Season 13 premiere, are the masterminds behind food brands and businesses including Fat Miilk, the Pepper app, Confetti Cakes baking kits, Snow Cone King, Happy Grub, Vegan AF, Pizza Girl, Smart Cups, Luther Bob’s and more. See the full list of competitors for “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” Season 1 below.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Hulu is adding three new titles to its growing lineup of original docs: “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” “Queenmaker: The Making of An It Girl,” and “The Jewel Thief.” “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” “recounts the rise and fall of a small Atlanta HBCU picnic that exploded into an influential street party and spotlighted ATL as a major cultural stage,” per Hulu’s description. “Can the magic of Freaknik be brought back 40 years later? Executive producers include showrunner Geraldine L. Porras and director P Frank Williams, as well as Jermaine Dupri, Luther Campbell, Peter Bittenbender and Melissa Cooper for Mass Appeal, Eric Tomosunas for Swirl Films, Terry Ross and Alex Avant. Nikki Byles and Jay Allen are producers.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Cops Reloaded” is headed to Dan Abrams’ Law&Crime Network, Variety has learned exclusively. Consisting of 158 episodes, “Cops Reloaded” features some of the most memorable suspects, car chases and action-packed moments from the long-running series “Cops.” The show will be available to stream across Law&Crime’s platforms and clips from all episodes will be available on the network’s YouTube channel. “’Cops Reloaded’ is the perfect addition to our content library,” Law&Crime president Rachel Stockman said. “We have a robust and rapidly growing fanbase that’s highly interested in content surrounding law enforcement so we are eager to continue to deliver them more of what they want to see.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “The Masked Singer” staple Ken Jeong is set to lead a new Fox single-cam sitcom based on Dan Harris’ popular book and podcast “10% Happier,” Variety has learned. Hailing from Lionsgate Television and Fox Entertainment, the comedy, which has a script-to-series commitment at the broadcaster, the centers on a family man and mid-level juice company executive who finds himself in a major life rut. After a panic attack at work, he has an epiphany where he realizes he needs to change everything about the way he lives in order to become…”10% Happier.” Apple’s “Acapulco” and Fox’s “The Cool Kids” writers and producers Michael Lisbe and Nate Reger are penning the script and executive producing alongside Jeong, author Harris, Brett Carducci and The Tannenbaum Company’s Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Jason Wang.

Jennifer Fessler has «a funny feeling» the  season 13 reunion «is not going to go well.»«I don't know why I would think that, but I think the reunion is going to be in terms of where the group goes from here,» she tells ET over video chat. «I don't even know where I’m going from here!»Season 13 is Jenn's debut outing as a «friend of» in the world of .

Chris Frantz Sire Records co-founder Seymour Stein was indisputably one of the greatest music executives of all time, with a career that spanned six decades and a rare ear for talent that led Madonna, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, Ice-T, Depeche Mode, the Pretenders, the Smiths, and many others to his label. Stein, who died on April 2 at the age of 80, is remembered here by Chris Frantz, drummer of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, who, with Tina Weymouth (now his wife), Jerry Harrison and of course David Byrne, signed with the label late in 1976.  Seymour told this story many times. His first visit to CBGB’s on the Bowery was to see the Ramones. His wife Linda insisted that he see them because they were something new and fabulous and she thought he should sign them, which he did. He was standing outside the club on the sidewalk speaking with [Patti Smith’s longtime guitarist] Lenny Kaye, waiting for Ramones to go on when he heard the support band begin to play. “When my love stands next to your love….”

Lindsay Hubbard doesn't understand her  castmates' concerns that she's «changed.» «I've ,» she declares to ET, «and good, I change. I am in mid-30s.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Midseason CBS drama “True Lies” has been a solid early performer in both TV ratings and streaming viewership. Per CBS parent company Paramount, the streaming average minute audience (AMA) for the premiere episode of the Steve Howey and Ginger Gonzaga-led series ranks as CBS’s third-largest premiere this season on both Paramount+ and CBS TVE. Ahead of “True Lies” are the premieres for the second season of comedy powerhouse “Ghosts,” which sits at No. 1 on the list of CBS’ streaming debuts of the 2022-2023 season, and freshman drama “Fire Country.” Debuting on CBS March 1, the first season of “True Lies” is averaging 4.6 million total linear viewers across its first four weeks, based on the “most current” data stream from Nielsen, which includes a week’s worth of delayed viewing where available. With two weeks of (mostly DVR) playback, the “True Lies” premiere episode has risen to 5.73 million viewers, up 77% from the episode’s Live + Same Day audience.

This week’s guest is Chris Chalk.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent When Mike Fleiss announced he was leaving “The Bachelor” franchise earlier this week, he released a chipper statement to the media, congratulating the latest winning couple from the reality dating show that he created more than 20 years ago.  “First and foremost, congratulations are in order for Zach and Kaity. I wish them a long and happy life together,” Fleiss said, announcing his sudden departure. “I want to thank WBTV and ABC for 21 extraordinary years. They’ve found the perfect creative team for me to entrust ‘The Bachelor’ franchise and keep this lightning in a bottle bold and moving forward. Let the journey continue.”

Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard is Bravo’s new reality series, a spinoff of Summer House, that is set to premiere Sunday, May 7 at 9 p.m. ET.

is getting another spinoff, and this time it takes place at the illustrious vacation destination Martha's Vineyard in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.In the official trailer for the upcoming series, viewers are introduced to 12 friends — old and new — who will be spending the summer under one roof, drinking, partying, crying and laughing.The houseguests who will be bringing the fun and drama during the first season of the spinoff are Jasmine Ellis Cooper, Silas Cooper, Amir Lancaster, Jordan Emanuel, Preston Mitchum, Bria Fleming, Alex Tyree, Shanice Henderson, Jason Lyke, Summer Marie Thomas, Nicholas «Nick» Arrington and Mariah Torres.And let's not forget Milo — the adorable Dachshund — who is living rent free.In the three-minute clip, the group is ready to celebrate «Black excellence» work through new romances, newlywed life, budding relationships and heated disagreements. However, it's not all drama as they also raise glasses, strip down for the pool and partake in extravagant dinners. «I want to dance, I want to twerk, I want to drop it like it's hot. I want to twerk, I want to have a drink, order a shot -- rinse, repeat,» one houseguest declares.Martha's Vineyard has a known history for being one of the first beach destinations where African Americans could vacation and purchase property.According to one guest, «This is what the ancestors wanted.»According to Bravo's release,  «follows a group of 12 friends as they enjoy their island getaway.