Jai Courtney to Narrate ‘For the Love of Pets’ Australian Animal Welfare Series (EXCLUSIVE)

Does Lala Kent have a new man in her life?! It sounds like it!

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Paolo Arrigo was giving the producers behind CBS’ “The Real Love Boat” a tour of the Princess Cruises ship he oversees when the creative team fell in love with the captain. They then asked Princess if they could borrow Arrigo for a few weeks — and that’s how, in addition to being a real-life ship captain, he now plays one on TV. “We were scouting the ship and met Captain Paolo, who was the designated captain of the ship at that time,” executive producer Jay Bienstock tells Variety. “When we met him, we thought, ‘Wow, you are so charming and so interesting. We’d love to have you be on the show, as opposed to being the captain while we’re filming.’ And then Princess graciously gave him to us.”

He’s never looked better. Jennifer Love Hewitt gave a rare glimpse into her marriage with husband Brian Hallisay — with a spooky Halloween twist.

Annika Pham Partly featured in James Bond’s “No Time to Die,” the rugged Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and their 53,000 inhabitants, were the setting and main inspiration for “Trom”, the first ever Faroese TV series, majority produced by Denmark’s REinvent Studios. The crime show’s creator Torfinnur Jákupsson and joint-producer Jón Hammer have now used the international success of “Trom,” commissioned by Viaplay and co-produced by Arte/ZDF, to up their game. The duo has launched Tórshavn-based GRÓ Studios, the first film and television studio of its kind in the Faroe Islands, covering development through production and sales.

Amid Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson‘s ongoing divorce, things got messier when the “Conversations” podcast host planned to spill the tea about his estranged wife and their Love Is Blind friends.

Sarah Drew is in support of her co-star, Ellen Pompeo's, decision to step back from the series after portraying Dr. Meredith Grey for almost two decades.

Sarah Drew is in support of her co-star Ellen Pomeo's decision to step back from the series after portraying Dr. Meredith Grey for almost two decades.

Elizabeth Olsen headed to Westeros? The actress is addressing casting rumors and fan speculation that she might be signing on for HBO's .The star walked the carpet at 's Power of Women gala in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and she spoke with ET's Deidre Behar about the recent rumors that she's been cast in a role on the prequel series.«I don't know how things, like rumors like that, get started, and then people think they're legitimate,» Olsen said with the laugh.While Olsen has talked openly about auditioning to pay Khaleesi years ago — the role that eventually went to Emilia Clarke — she said she had no idea how the speculation began that she's involved with «Dream casting is fun, yeah, but I heard it was, like, announced though, which is weirder,» Olsen said, explaining that several people have told her the casting rumors had been reported as fact. Seeing the record straight the actress said, «I never heard of such a thing.»That being said, Olsen would be happy to be a part of it if something came up.«I mean, sure, yeah.

Peacock has released the trailer for their upcoming two-part docuseries exploring the hit children’s show Barney & Friends.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Spain’s Marc Clotet (“The Sleeping Voice,” “15 Hours”) and Argentina’s Juan Gil Navarro (“100 Days To Fall in Love”), Santiago Achaga (“Like, La Leyenda”) and Esteban Pérez (“Limbo”) are attached to star in “Fragile,” a slice of Patagonia noir thriller from Argentina’s StoryLab.  Created and produced by StoryLab partners Nacho Viale and Diego Palacio, “Fragile” is backed by Flow, Telecom’s dominate Argentine SVOD service, and Televisión Publica Argentina, the country’s public broadcast network.  Palacio will direct “Fragile” (“Fragiles”) from screenplays penned by Lucas Molteni, whose has written on five StoryLab series dating back to 201’s “Estocolmo,” up-and-coming scribes Juan E. Cordoni and Luciano Cocciardi and Viale and Palacio. 

Michaela Zee editor Trioscope has hired Kyle Hoedl as chief marketing officer and Joe Snowden as chief operating officer, Variety has learned exclusively. “Both Kyle and Joe embody the acumen, energy and long-term vision that’s needed to scale our slate and catapult the company to the next level,” L.C. Crowley, co-founder and CEO of Trioscope, said in a statement. “Their hires are cornerstone to Trioscope’s evolution as a high-growth brand and business within a hyper-competitive global industry.” Hoedl will lead marketing and communications for the company’s business sectors, including Trioscope Studios and Trioscope Platform. Previously, Hoedl led marketing and digital content strategy for Trioscope and Quality Films’ “Takeover,” an action thriller film starring Quavo, Billy Zane and Serayah, as well as conceptualized the Web3-enabled virtual world “Takeover World.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sally Aitken a two-time Emmy nominated writer and director (“Playing with Sharks”) and producer and media executive Aline Jacques (“Lindy Chamberlain: The True Story”) have launched SAM Content. The Sydney-based independent production company will develop and produce all genres of unscripted and scripted projects for local platforms and the international marketplace. They open their doors with four film and TV shows in production with Australian broadcasters and screen agencies. They include an untitled Wiggles project in partnership with Augusto Entertainment’s Cass Avery and Daniel Story, and with funding from federal screen agency Screen Australia. The Wiggles is a successful children’s musical group that has been on the scene for 30 years and has been involved with both TV and film.

Selome Hailu Bruna Papandrea’s production company and Fifth Season, formerly known as Endeavor Content, have acquired the rights to “The Wakes,” Dianne Yarwood’s upcoming debut novel, Variety has learned exclusively. “The Wakes,” which will be published in 2023, is described as heartfelt, funny and uplifting story about two failing marriages, two strangers falling in love, two friends embarking on a catering business — and the funerals that connect them all. This is a book about living. After all, the thing about death is that it makes life important. Hachette will release “The Wakes” in Australia, while Orion Publishing imprint Phoenix Books will publish in the U.K. The book was acquired by Hachette Australia and Orion imprint, Phoenix, in a six-figure two-book deal. Rebecca Saunders, head of fiction at Hachette Australia, struck the deal with Catherine Drayton at InkWell Management, with U.K. and Commonwealth rights, excluding Australia, going to Francesca Main at Phoenix.

My First Movies,” a three-book collection devoted to introducing your youngster to some classic genre. Because what toddler doesn’t want to know the fundamentals of Italian giallos?“My First Movies, Vol.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief SK Global’s “Thai Cave Rescue” series faced almost as many obstacles as the specialist divers drafted to bring out 12 boys and their coach from a waterlogged grotto in summer 2018 in front of a blaze of media attention and an expectant Thai nation. The show debuts on Netflix on Thursday, a timing that means it follows three feature-length depictions and multiple news media specials retelling the watery events. It is also the retelling that is most closely associated with the Thai government, which auditioned prospective production companies and streamers and has carefully held the real-life rescued youngsters close to its chest.

Lise Pedersen Beginning today, Cartoon Forum, the annual European pitching & co-production event for animated TV projects, is a mirror of the times we live in, according to its general director, Annick Maes.  “This year’s Cartoon Forum will incorporate the transformations we are going through in one form or another,” she told Variety. “There are a lot of projects about the ecology, about living together – quite a few targeting adults and teenagers.  “They really reflect the times in which times we are living. For example, the impact of women is growing, there are more and more female producers and directors. It’s an industry where we’ve pretty much reached gender parity among our participants. You can’t say the same for fiction or documentary.” 

Ben Croll Emmy-winning writer Alice Prodanou and cross-media brand Star Stable Entertainment will bring their hit web show “Star Stable: Mistfall” to television. Working with animation studios Ferly and Atmosphere Media, Prodanou will oversee creative duties on the tween-skewing episodic series, set to enrich and expand the world of the YouTube short-form that premiered in 2020. “We’ve always intended on doing a full-length series,” Prodanou tells Variety. “The 10 x 5-minute YouTube series that we’ve already produced was proof-of-concept and an exciting part of our development process. [The web series] got over 15 million views and amazing engagement from fans who were vocal about wanting to see more.”

GOT7 singer and soloist JAY B has released a highlight medley for his forthcoming mini-album, ‘Be Yourself’.In a visual framed through the lens of a security camera on a music video set, the highlight reel sees JAY B perform snippets of the title track ‘go UP’ and the five other tracks from the forthcoming project. Each performance of the track is shot from a different part of the set.It’s the latest taste of the singer’s second mini-album.