Heather Hemmens Signs Multi-Picture Deal With Crown Media Family Networks

EXCLUSIVE: Holly Robinson Peete is staying in the Hallmark Family. The actress has signed a multi-picture deal that includes exclusivity on holiday movies with Crown Media Family Networks.

Julia Garner is going into business with Tomorrow Studios. The Ozark star — who formed Alma Margo with producing partner Rowan Riley — has signed a first-look deal with the company founded by CEO Marty Adelstein.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAntoine Fuqua has signed an overall television deal with Paramount and MTV Entertainment Studios, Variety has learned.The deal comes after Fuqua served as executive producer on the Paramount Plus series “Mayor of Kingstown.” The first season of that series concluded in January with a second season on the way. Fuqua returns as an EP on Season 2.Fuqua and his Hill District Media will focus on developing original scripted and unscripted content under the deal.

EXCLUSIVE: Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) has signed on to star alongside Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee and Kaveri Seth in the film Gulmohar for Chalkboard Entertainment, Autonomous Works and Fox Star Studios, which is currently in production in New Delhi.

Life is busy enough being a celebrity but raising a family on top of that is even more challenging. These celebs with large families make it look effortless as they handled raising families of six to 14 kids in the limelight. From the Kardashians to the Marleys, here are some celebrity parents that have raised Hollywood’s largest families.

Skydance Animation has landed another major talent.Rich Moore, director of “Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” is joining the team in an exclusive, multi-year overall deal. Under the new pact, Moore will create, develop and produce original animated features for the studio.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterABC Signature has signed a two-year overall deal with Tony McNamara, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated writer who created Hulu’s “The Great” and penned films “The Favourite” and Disney’s “Cruella.”Under the pact, McNamara will develop and supervise projects for the Disney Television Studios-owned division.“Tony’s work on ‘The Great’ and ‘Cruella’ is sly, subversive and delicious, and we made it our mission to get this spectacular talent to our studio,” ABC Signature president Jonnie Davis said in a statement Wednesday. “Thankfully, he said ‘yes.’ We’re so excited to support him in whatever he wants to do next.”McNamara is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated series “The Great” on Hulu, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, which is based on his stage play.

EXCLUSIVE: Hallmark veteran Brennan Elliott is expanding his relationship with Crown Media Family Networks, with an exclusive, multi-picture overall deal.

Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwal has signed a solo deal with Sony’s RCA Records, the label of Bring Me The Horizon, The Kid Laroi and Lil Nas X.Little Mix originally signed to RCA in 2018 after leaving Simon Cowell’s Syco, the label they signed to after winning The X Factor in 2011. According to Musicweek, Thirlwal will be staying with the label as she sets to launch her solo career, with an album apparently in the works.Jade Thirlwall has also signed with Full Stop Management, who look after fellow X Factor survivor Harry Styles.Last month fellow Little Mixer Leigh-Anne Pinnock signed with Warner Records, writing on Instagram that she was “so excited for what’s to come.Delighted to welcome Leigh-Anne Pinnock to the Warner Records family! ❤Sign up to her mailing list to hear about exciting news first!https://t.co/fWVbJLRFw0 pic.twitter.com/d1rNflQCIn— Warner Records UK (@warnerrecordsuk) February 2, 2022The various solo careers follow the news that Little Mix are set to take a break after their upcoming Confetti tour.On Twitter, alongside a behind-the-scenes video of the girls in action, the group shared: “We wanted to let you all know that after the Confetti tour in April/May next year we are going to be taking a break from Little Mix.”“We feel the time is right to take a break so we can recharge and work on some other projects.”They were also quick to affirm they are not splitting up, sharing they have plans for more tours and performances in the future.

EXCLUSIVE: Jaime Camil (Jane the Virgin, Coco) has signed a first look deal with VIS, a division of Paramount, to develop an array of TV and film projects for Paramount+.

Sam Faiers is said to be wanting to distance herself from her days on The Only Way Is Essex, and rebrand herself to create a more “exclusive and high-end image". Sam, 31, quit the popular TV show in 2014 and has since gone one to welcome two children with her partner Paul Knightley, 33.The pair met shortly after she left TOWIE, and welcomed their son Paul Jnr, now six, a year later.The TV star and her family now reside in Surrey, and Sam, who's currently expecting her third child, reportedly doesn’t plan on returning to Essex.

Underwood and CBS Studios, which produces The Talk, have also entered into new two-year first look deal.

Sony Pictures Television is expanding its unscripted footprint in a big way. The TV studio has signed an agreement to acquire independent nonfiction production company Industrial Media whose portfolio includes such series as American idol, 90 Day Fiancé, Indian Matchmaking, Selena+Chef and So You Think You Can Dance. Upon closing, Sony Pictures will acquire a majority controlling interest in Industrial Media based on a purchase price which values the company at $350M. Sony’s stake is believed to be close to 100%, valuing the deal at more than $300M. (The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.)

Lacey Chabert is sticking with Hallmark Channel.

Kevin Costner’s kids! The actor has welcomed seven children with three partners over the years.

Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday) is expanding on her relationship with Netflix, with a deal for two more original films in which she’ll star, the streamer announced today.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDon’t count Nielsen out of TV’s measurement wars just yet.Many TV companies are reaching out for new yardsticks to measure audiences rushing to watch TV in digital fashion. Disney is, too — but it’s not abandoning one of the industry’s oldest measurement purveyors as it does so.Disney said Tuesday that it had entered into an agreement with Publicis Media to test work on Nielsen’s new NielsenOne system, a measurement product that aims to count unduplicated video audiences across linear and digital screens and that Nielsen expects to introduce formally later this year.