How ‘Quiet on Set’ Helped Redefine Investigation Discovery Programming: ‘It Has Been a Fundamental Shift’

Prolific British scribe James Graham will ask “why television has a problem with the working classes” in the Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart lecture this year.

We’re back! And on fire!!!

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kevin Spacey fought back tears during an interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” in which he revealed his house has been foreclosed on as he owes “many millions” of dollars in legal fees from his sexual misconduct trials. Piers Morgan asked the actor where he lives, to which Spacey said he no longer has a permanent home and barely has any money left to his name. “It’s funny you ask that question because this week, where I have been living in Baltimore is being foreclosed on.

new interview with Piers Morgan that came out Tuesday, Spacey, 64, confirmed that his “House of Cards” TV wife stopped talking to him after the scandal broke seven years ago.“I haven’t heard from Robin … since September or October of 2017,” Spacey said. However, the Oscar winner defended Wright, 58, for distancing herself from him and pushed back on the claims that she “stabbed him in the back.” “No, and I reject your suggestion,” he said to Morgan, 59. “She is a wonderful person, a wonderful actress.”Spacey and Wright were co-stars in “House of Cards” until Spacey was infamously dropped by Netflix in 2017.The “American Beauty” star was accused of committing sex offenses against four men between 2004 and 2013 while he was serving as artistic director at London’s historic Old Vic theater.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The fate of CBS owner Paramount Global remains way up in the air, and the future of broadcast TV in general remains a big question mark. But as CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said on Tuesday at the Banff World Media Festival, that’s not stopping her from plotting her primetime development plans way into the future.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large It’s been more than a year and a half since Rob Wade took over as CEO of Fox Entertainment. On Monday at the Banff World Media Festival, Wade made his first extensive public comments about how it’s been going so far — and elaborated on any new acquisition plans he might have for the company, the fate of some of the third party shows still on his air (including “9-1-1: Lone Star”) and the decision behind his recent corporate restructuring network, studio and distribution operations into their own divisions.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large I can’t help admiring the sheer audacity of Aram Rappaport. He’s the creator, writer and director behind “The Green Veil,” a drama series starring John Leguizamo that debuted with two episodes at the Tribeca fest in 2022. When he couldn’t find an outlet to pick up the full series, Rappaport decided to launch his own ad-supported streaming service — dubbed The Network — from scratch.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large George Russell, one of the most prominent characters in HBO’s sprawling period ensemble “The Gilded Age,” is many things: a self-made man; a loving husband; a titan of industry. But Morgan Spector, the actor who plays George in Julian Fellowes’ fictionalized tale of 19th century New York City, is comfortable calling the character out for who he really is. “Robber baron,” Spector declares on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast.

“Game of Thrones” prequel series, “House of the Dragon” returns for Season 2 after a long wait (Season 1 aired in 2022 and did gangbusters, with around 29 million viewers tuning in weekly). Premiering Sunday, June 16 on HBO (9 p.m.) and streaming on Max, the story picks up where Season 1 left off, following Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) ancestors around 200 years before the original show. Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) is supposed to be Queen, as her late father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), named her as his heir before he died in the first season.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large ABC series “High Potential” is getting a shift at the top, as showrunner Rob Thomas has departed the project, Variety has learned. The series, which stars Kaitlin Olson, is set to air Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large A few weeks ago, I ran into Amazon MGM Studios head Jen Salke, and we got to talking about some of Prime Video’s recent success stories. “Fallout” is at the top of that list, but the streamer has also found hits with series like “Reacher,” “Outer Range” and “The Terminal List.” Before that, it was “Jack Ryan” and, of course, the longest running of all Prime shows, “Bosch.” Salke joked that it was good to be in business with “dad TV,” but don’t laugh. It sounds a bit pejorative, but maybe these shows should wear it as a badge of honor.

A “cloud has been lifted” after councillors stepped away from mothballing a primary school.

K.J. Yossman Writer and director Gene Fallaize, who helmed Kevin Spacey’s first post-acquittal feature “Control,” has set his next project, a thriller titled “Nightmares.” Written by Fallaize, the film is based on a “true story that became the basis one of the greatest horror movies of all time, following a journalist attempting to uncover the truth behind several unexplained deaths,” according to the synopsis. Casting is already underway with the film scheduled to begin production in London and L.A.

Chris Hemsworth is in talks to star in a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie.The announcement (via Deadline) marks the continuation of Hemsworth’s collaboration with Paramount Pictures, with the Australian actor already starring in the upcoming animated movie Transformers One – scheduled for theatrical release on September 20, 2024.A crossover movie between Hasbro’s two major toy lines was teased in the final scene of Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, where the Autobots were introduced to the special-forces organisation G.I.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Ramy Youssef‘s latest HBO special, “Ramy Youssef: More Feelings,” had been in the works for years — and had evolved over time as Youssef got in a relationship and eventually got married. But some of his routine also became very more front and center for audiences in the wake of the war in Gaza. “There’s stuff that I do touch on, a tightrope walk of taking really big concepts, and then making them super personal,” Youssef tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast.

Anna Tingley The first two episodes of “Fallen Idols,” a new documentary delving into the accusations and controversies surrounding Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter and late pop singer Aaron Carter, are now streaming online. The four-part docuseries airs across two nights on May 27 and May 28 at 9 p.m.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Now, imagine being a critically acclaimed drama on a premium network/streaming hybrid in a season where the drama race is pretty wide open. You’ve got big stars, high production values and well-known source material. Shoo-in, right? Not if you’ve been canceled.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Seth Rogen has gotten into TV in a big way: As star and EP of Apple TV+’s “Platonic,” exec producer of Prime Video’s “The Boys” franchise, animated series like “Invincible” and “Sausage Party: Foodtopia,” and his upcoming Hollywood satire “The Studio,” also for Apple. But he’s still bullish on film as well. “I think people still like movies,” he tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Mouse House is bringing its Emmy-themed “Disney FYC Fest” back for the third consecutive year, kicking things off May 29 with an preview event for FX’s “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans” and ending with “Shōgun” on June 11.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Wang Chung had no idea John Mulaney’s six-episode Netflix talk show “Everybody’s in LA” would use their 1985 song “To Live and Die in L.A.” as its theme song — but they’re thrilled he did. “It’s a total surprise that it’s blown up in the way that it has,” says Wang Chung lead singer Jack Hues, who first heard of the usage on “Everybody’s in LA” via “the guy who does our merch.” For guitarist Nick Feldman, the other half of the duo, he was already a big Mulaney fan when he got the news that “To Live and Die in L.A.” was suddenly getting a new breath of life on Netflix. “It’s so nice to see it get used in such a cool way,” he says.