Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock reportedly made a dig at former bandmate Jesy Nelson over the weekend. Singer Leigh-Anne, 30, is rumoured to have made the jibe during her band's first performance of their Confetti tour in Belfast.
23.03.2022 - 15:23 / deadline.com
HBO Max EMEA Boss Anthony Root has set out his team’s stall to “broaden the appeal” of the streamer “beyond the die hard Euphoria fan.”
Speaking alongside his European commissioning and production chiefs at Series Mania, Root said the international team is looking to attract new subs to the platform who “might not otherwise have thought to subscribe” by commissioning “fresh” content and pushing into new genres such as competition formats and adventure shows.
His four pillars are “local first,” “broad appeal,” “distinctive storytelling” and “diverse slate.”
Root and his production team pointed to upcoming shows from new voices such as Spain’s Garcia from Sara Antuña and Carlos de Pando and Sweden’s Lust penned by four established actresses.
“We want to broaden the appeal of what we do in local original programming beyond the die hard Euphoria fan,” he explained. “I think of what we’re doing as having a local interpretation of what the HBO brand is in the U.S., with a strong point of view and big authorship.”
Root positioned the team as “very much open for business” and said budgets will be “at different price points, not always at super high drama level.”
He also cited the “huge” increase in local acquisitions as another subscription driver.
HBO Max rolled out to 15 more European territories earlier this month and is already available in many others, although not Root’s home country of the UK due to an existing deal with Sky.
Vera Peltekian, France VP and Commissioning Editor of Original Production, the newest member of the team, is yet to commission a show but said she wants to “challenge preconceived ideas” in genres such as comedy for an educated younger audience.
“It’s not only shows that make you laugh but we want to talk
Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock reportedly made a dig at former bandmate Jesy Nelson over the weekend. Singer Leigh-Anne, 30, is rumoured to have made the jibe during her band's first performance of their Confetti tour in Belfast.
Starzplay Acquires HBO’s Max’s Ken Watanabe Crime Thriller Series ‘Tokyo Vice’
The Great British Bake Off presenter Matt Lucas has hit back at claims that he was shown ‘favouritism’ when he made his baking debut in the tent. In the most recent episode of the Celebrity Bake Off, Matt donned his apron and stepped in to compete against the likes of Example and Annie Mac when another famous face dropped out of the show at the last minute.The 48 year old was seen attempting to make glass window biscuits, and judge Paul Hollywood soon stepped in to give him a helping hand.
Paul Hollywood invoked the wrath of the celebs on Celebrity Bake Off after he was caught giving Matt Lucas a helping hand. The absolute scandal of it. Little Britain star Matt, who usually hosts the baking show with Noel Fielding, stepped up to compete as a baker for this year’s series in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.
HBO Max executive vice president and general manager Andy Forssell is leaving WarnerMedia ahead of the close of the company’s merger with Discovery, which is now set to close as early as Friday, Variety has learned.News that Forssell is out the door comes just as sources confirmed WarnerMedia studios and networks group chairman and CEO Ann Sarnoff was informed on Tuesday by leadership that her position would be eliminated, and follows WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s resignation this morning.As Variety reported earlier Tuesday, though insiders previously said the transaction between Discovery and WarnerMedia’s current owner AT&T would be formally completed on April 11, leading to the creation of new company Warner Bros. Discovery, two sources with knowledge of the situation say the merger is now expected to potentially be finalized by the close of business Friday.
Great Celebrity Bake Off Stand Up to Cancer. Gamble, 36, is also a co-host of the Off Menu podcast and a Taskmaster winner. He features on Mock the Week and is a judge for the Great British Menu.
Leo Barraclough International Features EditorThree-part documentary series “Delphine: My Story” tells how the artist Delphine Boël, the illegitimate daughter of King Albert II of Belgium, fought for legal recognition, and is now known as Princess Delphine of Saxe-Coburg. It has been sold to multiple territories, Warner Bros. announced at MipTV in Cannes Tuesday.HBO Max has picked up the show in numerous territories in Europe.
Example has revealed that Matt Lucas had to step in as a contestant on The Great Celebrity Bake Off after Martine McCutcheon pulled out of the show last minute. The Great British Bake Off special in aid of Stand up to Cancer has seen a new host of celebrities step into the famous tent to bake for the judges, Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.
EXCLUSIVE: Vivian Bang, the co-writer and star of the Sundance Film Festival debut White Rabbit, has boarded the New Line ensemble comedy The Parenting for HBO Max.
Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticThe first thing you need to do whilst watching HBO Max’s “Julia” is to get all other versions of Julia Child out of your head. That proves easier than might be expected, given such enduring depictions as Meryl Streep’s lauded turn in Nora Ephron’s “Julie and Julia” (2009) or, most cartoonishly, Dan Aykroyd’s “Saturday Night Live” performance of Child as a careening agent of chaos who constantly bleeds out like a geyser.
The Great British Bake Off, returns once again as a whole of host of stars take on baking challenges in an effort to raise money and awareness for Stand Up to Cancer. The Channel 4 series, which started on airing on Tuesday March 22, will see contestants take on a range of challenges including making decorated biscuits, a technical round involving making madeleines and an another round to showcase their secret baking talents.
Manori Ravindran International EditorIn one of its first major overtures to the European drama community since expanding across the continent, HBO Max commissioners used a rare Series Mania presentation to lay out their strategies and wish lists for the platform.The team was speaking as part of a panel on Wednesday that drew a queue of at least 500 people who were snaked around the Lille Grand Palais in hopes of getting in. HBO Max is, for many a drama producer in town, the ideal partner in Europe given its existing track record as HBO Europe.
reboot!In the season finale, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) are all making big moves in their lives. Carrie decides to spread the ashes of her late husband, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), off a bridge in Paris, France, and comes back to New York City to start a new podcast, appropriately titled, and makes out with her podcast producer, Franklyn (Ivan Hernandez), in an elevator. As for Miranda, she divorces her husband, Steve Brady (David Eigenberg), and jets off to Los Angeles to be with her new romantic partner, Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez), as they start their new pilot.And as for Charlotte, she has a bat mitzvah for herself after her youngest child, Rock, refuses, and is facing menopause later than the rest of her friends.'s finale also opens a door for one leading lady to return.
The newest season of Stand Up to Cancer Bake off is due to air tonight with 19 celebs joining together under the familiar white tent.
What happens after you blow up your entire life to be with the person you love? The second season of “Starstruck” explores the question that rom-coms generally leave unanswered after their happy endings, wisely acknowledging that a big romantic gesture doesn’t erase all the obstacles present between two people getting — and staying — together. On its surface, the British import on HBO Max seems like a standard wish-fulfillment fantasy à la “Notting Hill”: a “normie” finds unlikely romance with a star.
John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLaunched in 1998, the Malaga Film Festival first grabbed attention as a Spanish movie showcase and birthplace of a Spanish star system, TV actors walking a red carpet to acclaim from milling throngs. Under Juan Antonio Vigar, director from 2013, it has consolidated as a platform for a new generation of Spanish filmmakers while adding ever increasing industry heft – co-pro forums, WIPs, a HACK digital forum initiative – and also opening up to TV. In 2021, however, Malaga Festival and Spanish Screenings have exploded in scale, impact and attendance. The narrative of this year’s event is largely one of that growth. Eight takes on this and other Malaga highlights:Malaga Lifts Off Little wonder Malaga forms part of what’s now the Spanish Screenings XXL.
As The Wanted wrap up their UK tour, reports have claimed that singer Max George has split from his girlfriend Stacey Giggs after four years of dating. Max, 33, and 38 year old Stacey have unfollowed each other on Instagram and have seemingly deleted all traces of their relationship on social media too. According to an insider, friends have been left “stunned” by the split.The source told The Sun: “Pals have been stunned by this bombshell as the idea of separating was once unthinkable for Max.