How ‘Diabolical’ Reanimated ‘The Boys’ With Garth Ennis, Andy Samberg, ‘Rick and Morty’ Co-Creator and More

Marta Balaga “Vikings” creator Michael Hirst takes on his childhood hero in “Billy the Kid.” Starring Tom Blyth as the legendary gunslinger, born Henry McCarty, the eight-episode series – co-produced by Epix Studios and MGM International Television Productions, in association with Viaplay – is currently screening at French TV festival Series Mania ahead of its April 24 premiere.“It’s probably true that you shouldn’t meet your heroes; I have met a couple of mine and it didn’t go particularly well. But what I want more than anything else is for people to love this Billy,” Hirst tells Variety in Lille.“Michael [Wright, president of Epix] allowed me to tell a story I wanted to tell, which doesn’t happen very often.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterChristina Ricci, the actress who played Wednesday in the iconic ’90s franchise “The Addams Family,” is returning to the universe by joining Netflix’s “Wednesday” series in a mystery role, Variety has learned.The live-action series from Tim Burton stars “You” and “Jane the Virgin” alum Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams. “Yellowjackets” star Ricci will not be playing an older version of the character for “Wednesday,” but further details about her character are being kept under wraps.The eight-episode series is described as a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has reverberated across the film industry locally and globally.

EXCLUSIVE: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina alum Chance Perdomo is set as a lead in Prime Video’s college-set spinoff of The Boys. He will play a young superhero alongside previously announced Jaz Sinclair, Lizze Broadway, Reina Hardesty and Maddie Phillips.

Filmmaker Judd Apatow has hammered a multi-year production film and TV pact across NBCUniversal including Universal Pictures and Universal Studio Group. The parties’ working relationship began with the 2005 $177M-plus grossing comedy blockbuster The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Apatow’s movies have grossed close to $3 billion around the world, the studio’s most successful original comedies.

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.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSean Astin is joining Dwayne Johnson’s “Young Rock” Season 2 in the role of The Rock’s childhood nemesis, Variety has learned exclusively.A recurring guest star for the NBC comedy’s upcoming second season, Astin will play Dr. Julian Echo in the show’s fast-forwards.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“The Boys” Season 3 teaser trailer dropped Saturday, revealing an almost-two minute look at the upcoming season of the Amazon Prime Video series filled with lasers, blood, guts, glory and, apparently, dancing.In the video, which you can view below, Butcher (Karl Urban) is struggling with a mysterious case of glowing, light-beam-shooting eyeballs, while Homelander (Antony Starr) is unsuccessfully attempting to curb his rage, Hughie (Jack Quaid) is having a mental breakdown in his new supe-regulation government job, Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy has awoken, Annie a.k.a. Starlight (Erin Moriarty) is crying, and there’s something that has caused Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) to break out into an apparent big musical number, complete with backup dancers.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDwayne Johnson’s autobiographical NBC comedy “Young Rock” has cast “Ballers” actor Arlyn Broche as a very personal character in The Rock’s life: Dany Garcia, his college sweetheart-turned-ex-wife-and-business-partner, Variety has learned exclusively.Per the official description for the character, who will be a recurring guest star on the upcoming second season of “Young Rock,” Dany is compassionate and caring while also being a disciplined athlete and future CEO. She starts as Dwayne’s college sweetheart at Miami, but soon becomes a guiding force in his life as he contemplates embracing the grind of professional wrestling.Broche is best known for her breakout role as Tonya on Season 2 of HBO’s “Ballers,” starring alongside Johnson and Andy Garcia on the show, which was produced by Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks banner.

Andy Burnham has called for an investigation into the influence of Russian money in British politics.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWarnerMedia is “pausing all new business in Russia” amid the country’s continued invasion of Ukraine, CEO Jason Kilar announced Wednesday.“I want to share with each of you a number of decisions we have made with regard to WarnerMedia’s business operations in Russia,” Kilar said in a memo to WarnerMedia staff obtained by Variety. “Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing all new business in Russia.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterIMDb TV is keeping Judge Judy Sheindlin in session. Amazon’s free streamer has renewed “Judy Justice” for a second season after the first batch of episodes drew 25 million hours viewed by users to date.Sheindlin’s second act after the end of the long-running, iconic daytime series “Judge Judy,” “Judy Justice” launched on IMDb TV last November.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “One Plus One Equals Two,” the finale of the first season of “The Boys Presents: Diabolical.”Amazon’s animated anthology “The Boys Presents: Diabolical” launched Friday, just under two months out for the third season premiere of its parent series, “The Boys.” While the majority of the bite-size shorts that make up the adult cartoon’s first season serve mainly as “a bloody amuse-bouche for Season 3” of the OG show, per “The Boys” showrunner Eric Kripke, there are pieces of the third-season plot that will be served up straight from the delicious chaos in “Diabolical.”First, there’s the finale episode, titled “One Plus One Equals Two,” written by “Diabolical” showrunner Simon Racioppa, which centers on Homelander’s (played by Antony Starr on “The Boys,” and voiced by him in this animated episode) introduction into the Supes of the Seven and the bond he forged with Black Noir (played by Nathan Mitchell on “The Boys” but voiced by no one in this because he’s always silent) out of working together to cover up a mostly accidental massacre on Homelander’s part. (Starr was arrested for alleged assault after these interviews were conducted.) “The finale is canon, yeah,” Kripke told Variety.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “Laser Baby’s Day Out,” the first episode of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys Presents: Diabolical.”Longtime buddies and producing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have been “obsessed” with Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan for the past few years, and the idea of “doing something that had no words, no dialogue and purely physical humor.” Enter the offshoot of “The Boys,” which they executive produce, Amazon’s animated shorts anthology series, “The Boys Presents: Diabolical,” which launched Friday with all eight-episodes: the first being the Rogen and Goldberg-written “Laser Baby’s Day Out.”“We’d been messing around with some live-action movie ideas,” Goldberg told Variety. “And then when the idea to make the ‘Diabolical’ show came around, we were like, this is perfect.

EXCLUSIVE: Tony Amendola (Stargate SG-1) will topline Rough Magic: Exit Shakespeare, a new film from veteran TV director Andy Wolk (The Practice) and Silver Spring Road Films that has recently wrapped production.

Amy Poehler is once again stepping into the role of director for a new documentary exploring one of Hollywood's most iconic couples: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. brings together 10 contenders competing for a chance to share the stage with Lizzo on her upcoming world tour. And the long-awaited second season of the sci-fi dramedy is finally here.Access to Prime Video is a perk included in an Amazon Prime membership, available for $15 monthly or $139 for the year. If you aren't already subscribed or interested in subscribing to Amazon Prime and just want access to the Prime Video library, a membership to Prime Video is available for $9 monthly.

Amy Poehler is once again stepping into the role of director for a new documentary exploring one of Hollywood's most iconic couples: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. brings together 10 contenders competing for a chance to share the stage with Lizzo on her upcoming world tour. And the long-awaited second season of the sci-fi dramedy is finally here.Access to Prime Video is a perk included in an Amazon Prime membership, available for $15 monthly or $139 for the year. If you aren't already subscribed or interested in subscribing to Amazon Prime and just want access to the Prime Video library, a membership to Prime Video is available for $9 monthly.

Jordan Moreau Amazon’s Prime Video has quickly become the go-to spot for R-rated animated shows, such as “Invincible” and “The Legend of Vox Machina” — and “The Boys Presents: Diabolical,” a spinoff of the mature superhero parody series “The Boys,” is a welcome addition to that bloody, irreverent family.“Diabolical” is an animated anthology series with a heroic cast of A-list voice actors and writers. At just 12 to 14 minutes long, the episodes are short and sweet, and there are a few gems that stand out among the crowd.

Does anyone remember “The Animatrix?” Released in 2003, it is an anthology film of nine animated shorts that expanded the universe of the Wachowskis’ “The Matrix” with new characters, varying styles, and unique visions. Almost two decades later, something similar has been produced for Prime Video’s smash hit “The Boys,” Eric Kripke’s critically acclaimed adaptation of the graphic novels by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAs Russia’s aggression against Ukraine intensifies, Discovery-owned news channel TVN24 in Poland is working around the clock to bring news and information to the nation that shares a border with Ukraine.“While the world is watching Russia invade Ukraine, for us and for our viewers, it’s not only a story of an insane and inhuman invasion on a European country, it is the story of our neighbors and friends,” TVN24 deputy editor-in-chief Brygida Grysiak, who at present is in Poland, told Variety in an interview Saturday. “People we have known for years, we have worked with for years, here in Poland and Ukraine.”Grysiak said  TVN24 has broadcast live nonstop since Russia invaded Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv Wednesday, with on-the-ground teams stationed in Kyiv and Lviv in Ukraine, as well as Moscow in Russia.