Law & Crime Channel Launches on Dish Network, Founder Dan Abrams Still Hopes to Revive ‘Live PD’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Supernatural” alum Misha Collins, who played the trench-coat-wearing angel Castiel on the long-running CW series, has been cast on the network’s “Gotham Knights” pilot, Variety has learned.Collins will play District Attorney Harvey Dent in the project, which is based on DC Comics characters. In DC canon, Dent is known for later turning into the Batman villain Two-Face.Per the official description for the “Gotham Knights” character, “Dashing, with a swagger, Harvey Dent is Gotham’s charismatic, hard-charging District Attorney.

Camila Alves nor Matthew McConaughey can keep track of their wedding date. ET's Rachel Smith spoke with Alves in New York City on Tuesday, and the author was surprised to learn that her 10th wedding anniversary with the actor is coming up in June.«Matt and I are not good with dates with our marriage,» Alves, 40, admitted.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterTyler Perry’s “The Oval” and “Sistas” have been renewed for a fourth and fifth season, respectively, at BET.Production on the new seasons of both series is set to start at Tyler Perry Studios this spring.Executive produced, directed and written by Perry, “The Oval” Season 3 averaged 1.3 million total viewers per episode in Live + 3 Day data from Nielsen, and “Sistas” Season 4 averaged 1.6 million across BET and BET Her.“Tyler Perry’s The Oval” lifts the veil of what can happen when the leader of the free world, his wife, and his family are crazed maniacs. The series also highlights the personal side and everyday lives of the staff who run the inner workings of the nation’s most iconic residence.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe series premiere of NBC’s Renée Zellweger-led limited series “The Thing About Pam” has increased its key demo rating by nearly 400% when counting a week’s worth of delayed and digital viewing, Variety has learned exclusively.The debut episode of the Blumhouse Television-produced show, which aired at 10 p.m. on March 8, initially managed a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.9 million total viewers in Live + Same Day Nielsen data.When adding in seven days of delayed viewing across linear and DVR, plus digital platforms Hulu, NBC.com, the NBC app and Peacock, “The Thing About Pam” series premiere jumped to a 1.93 demo rating (up 387%) and 8.7 million viewers (+205%).From the initial live + same day viewing, the first episode is up 387% in the demo (0.40 vs.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Saturday Night Live” has set the lineup of hosts for its next batch of shows, tapping Jerrod Carmichael, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lizzo. While Lizzo will be pulling double duty as her own musical guest, Gunna and Camila Cabello will perform alongside the other two hosts.Per NBC, Carmichael will make his “SNL” hosting debut April 2. Carmichael’s new special, “Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel,” debuts April 1 on HBO.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our revitalized TV and streaming podcast co-hosts Mike DeAngelo and Rodrigo Perez dig into the rise and trend of tech grifter television which is all the rage at this very moment. Specifically, we discuss Apple TV+’s new series “WeCrashed,” which tells the true story of Adam and Rebecca Neumann (played by Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway, respectively), founders of WeWork, which grew from a single co-working space in New York to a global brand worth $47 billion in under a decade — until disaster struck.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“American Song Contest” has revealed its detailed online and TikTok voting procedures and the 56 members of its expert jury panel, including Isaac Slade, Matt Pinfield and Jose Tillan, ahead of the U.S. adaptation of “Eurovision’s” big two-hour debut Monday on NBC, Variety has learned exclusively.Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, the all-live “American Song Contest” will feature 56 artists representing the 50 states, five U.S.

Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg will soon be teaming up to host TV's newest musical competition series,. However, the project comes nearly 20 years after their paths first crossed in a moment that left an indelible impression on Clarkson.The music icons recently spoke with ET's Cassie DiLaura about their upcoming TV event, and the two reflected on how they first met after an awards show, shortly after Clarkson became the first winner of back in 2002.«Well, I don't remember what award show it was, but it was a long time ago.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterReality dating series “The Courtship” has pulled from NBC’s lineup and will move to USA Network where it will air behind the new season of “Temptation Island,” Variety has learned.NBC’s schedule will change to the below due to the Sunday show’s move to the NBCUniversal-owned cable channel.For Sunday 3/20 only:7-8 AGT Extreme (recap / repeat)8-9 Weakest Link (original)9-11 “An Audience with Adele” specialStarting 3/27:7-9 American Song Contest (Repeat)9-10 Weakest Link (original)10-11 TransplantMore to come…

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 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.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDisney CEO Bob Chapek said Wednesday the company is pledging $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations protecting LGBTQ rights following backlash to the company’s initial quiet response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, as well as a report that the company has given money to all of the bill’s sponsors. Chapek, who is taking his first public stance against the bill, says he will also be meeting with Republican Gov.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe “Vikings: Valhalla” team is already hard at work on a second and third season following the launch of the Netflix historical drama series.“Valhalla,” a followup to the History Channel’s original series “Vikings,” previously received a 24-episode series order from the streaming service, which Netflix confirms will now be broken into three, eight-episode seasons. Jeb Stuart will return as creator, showrunner and executive producer for both upcoming seasons, along with stars Sam Corlett (Leif Eriksson), Frida Gustavsson (Freydis Eriksdotter) and Leo Suter (Harald Sigurdsson), among others, reprising their roles.“Vikings: Valhalla” chronicles the heroic adventures of some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived — the legendary explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his fiery and headstrong sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter).

EXCLUSIVE: Matthew Carnahan (House of Lies), Emmy nominee Nadia Hallgren (Becoming), and Ben Crump are developing the legal series Stokes, based on Crump’s life and work as a civil rights attorney. The series will also follow Crump and his team as they travel the country fighting to change the problems within the justice system.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterParamount Global CEO Bob Bakish says Disney Plus’ decision to launch a cheaper, ad-supported version later this year is “validation of the strategy,” which Paramount (recently rebranded from ViacomCBS) itself uses for a tier of its streaming service Paramount Plus.“They’re 100% right,” Bakish said during Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference Tuesday, when asked about Disney’s announcement last week to roll out an ad-supported subscription plan for Disney Plus, to launch first in the U.S. in late 2022.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterTech-centric holding company Ballantyne Strong has launched Strong Studios to create content under the company’s Strong Entertainment division. David Ozer, formerly CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment’s Landmark Studio Group, will serve as president of the new studio.Based in New York, Strong Studios will develop and produce original feature films and television series, as well as acquire third party rights to content for global multiplatform distribution.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe Scott Foley-led drama “The Big Leap” has been canceled after just one season at Fox, Variety has learned.A modern tale about second chances, chasing your dreams and taking back what’s yours,”The Big Leap” revolves around a group of diverse, down-on-their-luck characters attempting to change their lives by participating in a potentially life-ruining reality dance show featuring a modern reimagining of “Swan Lake.”“The Big Leap” starred Scott Foley, Teri Polo, Piper Perabo, Simone Recasner, Kevin Daniels, Ser’Darius Blain, Jon Rudnitsky, Mallory Jansen and Anna Grace Barlow.The drama from creator/executive producer Liz Heldens (“The Passage,” “Friday Night Lights”), director/executive producer Jason Winer (“Modern Family,” “Perfect Harmony”) and executive producer Sue Naegle (“Soundtrack,” “The Plot Against America”) premiered as part of Fox’s fall lineup. It averaged a 0.4 rating among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic and 2.8 million multiplatform viewers throughout its 11-episode run in Nielsen’s Live + Same Day data, which counts a week’s worth of delayed viewing where available.

Love Is Blind season 2 may have featured a love triangle between Shayne Jansen, Shaina Hurley and Natalie Lee, but the latter didn’t completely realize what went down until she watched the Netflix show back.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSelwyn Seyfu Hinds has signed an overall deal with UCP, which will see him adapt the Civil War graphic novel series “The Sixth Gun” into a TV series for the Universal Studio Group-owned studio.Under the pact, Hinds will produce projects across various platforms through his production company Mad Massive Entertainment. First up is “The Sixth Gun,” based on the graphic novels from Oni Press by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt.Per UCP’s description for the potential show, “During the darkest days of the Civil War, vile men unearthed six pistols of otherworldly power.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMary J. Blige’s iconic ’90s song “Real Love” is being turned into a Lifetime movie, with the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul executive producing the made-for-TV film.One of her most beloved and memorable tracks, “Real Love” was Blige’s first song to hit the Top 10 and was certified gold two months after its release in 1992.Per Lifetime, in the coming-of-age romantic drama “Real Love,” Kendra sets off on her own for the first time to a college in upstate New York, determined to focus on her studies.