‘My Brilliant Friend’ Renewed for Fourth and Final Season

RuPaul is expanding even more internationally!

Marta Balaga The 7th MipDrama ended on Sunday with German series “House of Promises” named as the winner of the Buyers’ Coup de Coeur Award. While the showcase received mixed reactions from the participants, gathered onsite in Cannes – with only Italy’s “Bangla” opting for a more humorous approach – the event marked a win for Finland’s Elisa Viihde, presenting “Evilside,” “Summer of Sorrow” and “The Invicibles” (with Viaplay also attached.) It must be some kind of a record that three out of 10 series are from the same commissioning broadcaster,” said Sari Lempiäinen, executive producer at Elisa Viihde.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAbacus Media Rights has closed a flurry of sales for the six-part documentary series “Evolve,” which looks at how scientists are learning from evolutionary adaptations found in the natural world. Patrick Aryee, the series’ presenter, will give the keynote address this week at MipDoc, part of the MipTV television market in Cannes.Deals for the show, produced by Beach House Pictures for Curiosity, in association with Blue Ant Media, have been secured with ABC in Australia, Viasat World for Nordic and Central and Eastern Europe, RAI in Italy, Studio Hamburg in Germany, UR in Sweden, NRK in Norway, and VRT in Belgium, with more deals in the pipeline at MipTV.Production took place last year, over the course of around 12 months.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorJuliet Stevenson has joined the cast of crime drama “Professor T,” production partners Eagle Eye and Beta Film announced at MipTV in Cannes Sunday. The companies also said that they have greenlit a second season of period drama “Hotel Portofino.” Eagle Eye’s Walter Iuzzolino said his firm was working on two further shows with Beta, yet to be revealed.Stevenson will play the therapist to the titular character, played by Ben Miller, in “Professor T,” which is shooting its second season in Cambridge and Belgium.

Walter Iuzzolino’s Eagle Eye Drama and Beta Film’s Hotel Portofino has been commissioned for a second series.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentTV production is growing in Italy, where U.S. streamers are gradually raising their investment levels just as pubcaster RAI, which is still the industry’s main driver, is cutting back.According to local TV producers association APA, the Italian market in 2022 will generate more than €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) worth of scripted content resulting in double-digit growth.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentWith U.S. streamers still driving local market growth, TV producers in continental Europe are juggling between the Hollywood studio business model — under which Netflix and the likes get all rights in return for full-financing plus a fee — and the pre-existing European model based on co-productions that leave indie producers with backend and give them more creative control.But that is starting to change.Thanks to the E.U.’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS) — currently in various stages of implementation across Europe — there are early indications that giant platforms are slowly becoming more open to flexibly structured deals.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorStudio 100, a leading studio for kids and family entertainment, and ZDF Studios, the commercial arm of the German public broadcaster, have joined forces to offer kids and family programs on Amazon Prime Channels under the channel brand Pash.The collaboration on Amazon Prime Channels will kick off in the U.K., Italy and Spain, with further territories in the planning. The programming lineup from both ZDFS’ and Studio 100’s catalogs will include well-known series and kids’ brands such as “Maya the Bee,” “Mia and Me,” “Heidi,” “Peter Pan,” “H20” and “Find Me in Paris.”The Pash brand was created by ZDF Studios, which has already launched Amazon Prime Channels in various countries.

In her television series acting debut, supermodel Bella Hadid has joined the upcoming third season of Hulu comedy Ramy in a recurring role. Details of her character and storyline are being kept under wraps for now. Stay tuned.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBanijay has acquired Tooco, the production banner behind the non-scripted hit “Guess My Age,” to further bolster its French outpost. Under the pact, Tooco will be part of the Banijay France brand and will focus on originating concepts for the French and international markets.Tooco, spearheaded by Aurélien Lipiansky and Mikaël Moreau, has been delivering popular French formats, such as Le club des invincibles, produced with Banijay’s Air Production; and Guess My Age which has so far travelled to 22 countries, including Italy, Spain, and Germany.

It’s Bridgerton premiere week and the show will be debuting on Netflix in just a matter of hours!!

Eva Longoria is ready for a walk down to Wisteria Lane —see what we did there? The actress and businesswoman recently spoke about the possibility of bringing back Desperate Housewives ten years after its season finale.Longoria, who portrayed Gabrielle Solis in the comedy-drama and mystery television series created by Marc Cherry, revealed that she would be the “first to sign up’” for a Desperate Housewives reboot. “Believe me, I would be the first to sign up,” Eva said during an appearance on GoodDay New York, “like, I’m already on Wisteria Lane, and I’d be like ‘sign me up.’” According to Eva, although she is down, Cherry isn’t as interested.

My Brilliant Friend is coming to an end at HBO. But not quite yet.

Strictly Come Dancing star Nikita Kuzmin has discussed his grandmother's escape from Ukraine which saw her having to walk miles for the first time since undergoing an operation.

Francis Ford Coppola became the 2,715th celebrity to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, March 21.

Peaky Blinders has responded to some criticism of the latest season.While the season has been largely praised by critics and fans alike, some have criticised the pacing of the show and its lack of action when compared to previous seasons.Director Anthony Byrne, who worked on both seasons five and six, told Radio Times that he has “no problem” with criticism but added: “you can’t continue to give people what they’re expecting.”He continued: “You’re taking a show like Peaky that is culturally relevant, it’s a TV phenomenon, and there’s an expectation of, ‘I want Arthur kicking the s**t out of people and I want Tommy being Tommy and more Peaky stuff.’“Season four was that. Season four was a gangster season with the Italians and the Peakys.

Ellise Shafer The second installment of HBO’s “The White Lotus” has added Italian stars Beatrice Grannó, Sabrina Impacciatore and Simona Tabasco to its cast.As Variety exclusively revealed in January, the highly-anticipated Season 2 of Mike White’s social satire will take place at a luxurious resort in Sicily. Impacciatore will play Valentina, the manager of the White Lotus Sicily resort.