Former ABC Exec Stephanie Leifer, Whose Oversight Included ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Dies at 56

“Armchair Expert” podcast last week and opened up about why he was fired from the hit ABC series in 2012.“I didn’t leave so much as I think I was let go,” he said.Dane played the handsome and charismatic Dr. Mark Sloan on “Grey’s Anatomy” from Seasons 3 to 9.

More than a decade later, Eric Dane is reflecting on the behind-the-scenes downfall of Dr. McSteamy.

A former Royal Air Force pilot running the length of the country for charity in a gruelling 35-day challenge has reached a Highland city.

Eric Dane is reflecting on being let go from Grey’s Anatomy.

Stephanie Leifer, a former programming executive who worked a combined 28 years at ABC Signature and ABC before leaving the company in 2022, died Thursday of cancer. She was 56.

Playing Anastasia Steel in Fifty Shades of Grey elevated Dakota Johnson‘s star power to the next level, and she faced stiff competition to land the role.

EXCLUSIVE: HBO is rounding out the cast for Welcome To Derry (working title) its It prequel series starring and executive produced by Bill Skarsgård.

Vin Diesel in a recent interview.During a press junket for Inside Out 2, the actor made comments suggesting that the Fast And Furious star “mistreats” cast and crew members.When Hauser was talking about his character in Inside Out 2, Embarrassment, he said: “It’s cool to get to be a part of a character that kinda has an arc and he helps in the end.”The interviewer then said: “You’re like Vin Diesel now,” to which Hauser responded: “Please don’t say that.”Hauser then went on to make suggestive comments without specifically calling out Diesel.He elaborated: “I like to think I am on time and approachable.”Paul Walter Hauser has no shame calling out Vin Diesel's unprofessional behavior during our 'Inside Out 2' interview pic.twitter.com/Iw4PBSTWuu— CinemaBlend (@CinemaBlend) June 25, 2024He continued to allude to Diesel’s alleged behaviour, saying: “I love people, but when I hear stories about Hollywood actors who get paid really well and mistreat people… I out them constantly, and it’s a blast.”Lewis Black, who plays the role of Anger, appeared to agree with Hauser’s point, saying: “That’s awful.”Diesel wasn’t the only person Hauser went after in the interview. When Black answered the question about which emotion best personifies him, he said: “If intelligence were an emotion, I would choose to be intelligent.

Alex Ritman Bec Mortimer, Fiona Lamptey, Amber Taylor and Vinnie Shergill, four former senior Netflix executives who between them have decades of experience in the entertainment industry involving some of the world’s most successful shows, have joined forces to launch Juno Studios. Headquartered in London, the new venture is described as an “innovative entertainment studio” with production capabilities and creative expertise across development, production, distribution and marketing.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large ABC News Studios is teaming up with Imagine Documentaries to tell the story of Barbara Walters, the legendary broadcast journalist, anchor and host who died in 2022. Emmy winner Jackie Jesko is set to direct the film, which will debut on Hulu in 2025.

Danish film and TV company Zentropa, the more recent credits of which includeNikolaj Arcel’s historical drama The Promised Land and Lars Von Trier’s drama The Kingdom, is moving into documentary.

EXCLUSIVE: Fremantle has picked up global distribution rights to Hell Jumper, the BBC‘s upcoming doc series about a British aid worker who died in Ukraine.

The Fifty Shades of Grey movies are some of the steamiest blockbusters of all time!

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Jamie Kellner, who made his name as the only exec ever to create two broadcast networks — Fox and The WB (both of which also achieved profitability under his watch), died Friday at his home in Montecito, Calif. He was 77.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Todd Harthan has been tapped as the new showrunner and executive producer of ABC’s “High Potential,” starring Kaitlin Olson. Harthan was previously executive producer/showrunner of Fox’s “The Resident,” which ran for six seasons and recently was a hit off-net for Netflix. Harthan replaces previous showrunner Rob Thomas, who departed the project earlier this month.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large My colleague Emily Longeretta had a Variety scoop recently that was such a perfect sign of the times. As she reported, FX’s Emmy-winning series “The Bear” — about to premiere its third season at the end of June — finally had its premiere on FX at the start of the month, via a four-night marathon of Season 1 episodes. “Hit FX Series to Finally Premiere on FX,” we joked should be the headline.

Jonathan Axelrod, prolific studio and network executive, television producer and writer (Dave’s World, Can’t Hurry Love, Garage Sale Mysteries…), and son of the late George Axelrod (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Manchurian Candidate, The Seven Year Itch…), died in his sleep on June 13 in Los Angeles. His death was confirmed to Deadline by his ex-wife, television director/producer Katy Garretson. He was 74. 

Selena Kuznikov Jonathan Axelrod, a studio and network executive and television producer and writer, died June 13 in Los Angeles. His ex-wife, television director Katy Garretson, reported his death.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Lionsgate has upped Chase Brisbin to exec VP of international SVOD sales and head of global channels. The news was announced Tuesday by Lionsgate’s worldwide TV distribution prexy Jim Packer.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Former Berlanti Prods. exec Ryan Lindenberg, who played a hand in the creation of hits such as The CW’s “All American,” Netflix’s “You” and NBC’s “Blindspot,” has joined 5X Media as a scripted partner/producer.