NBC Plans to Test Amber Ruffin’s Peacock Program on Two Friday Nights

Rosamund Pike stores her many awards in a very unusual place.

Peacock has given a series order to Dan Brown’s Langdon (fka Langdon), based on Brown’s best-selling thriller novel The Lost Symbol.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC News already produces dozens of hours each day for MSNBC and programs like “Today.’ But it’s preparing to come up with a few more.The NBCUniversal unit is this week launching two new hours on its live-streaming service, NBC News Now, a testament to growing demand for news delivered quickly via broadband. Starting today, Aaron Gilchrist, formerly an anchor for WRC, NBC’s Washington, DC, station, will preside over a noon to 2 p.m.

Dakota Fanning is taking on a big new role.

Dakota Fanning is set to pportray Susan Elizabeth Ford opposite Michelle Pfeiffer’s Betty Ford and Aaron Eckhart’s Gerald Ford in Showtime’s anthology series The First Lady, headlined by Viola Davis, Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson. Davis executive produces the series, directed and executive produced by Susanne Bier and produced by Lionsgate TV and Showtime.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDakota Fanning has signed on to play Susan Ford in the Showtime anthology series “The First Lady,” Variety has learned.Susan is the only daughter of Betty Ford and President Gerald Ford, who will be played in the series by Michelle Pfeiffer and Aaron Eckhart respectively.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLots of unexpected things can happen in the wee hours of the morning. But NBC is keeping at least one element constant.The network recently renewed its contract with Seth Meyers to host “Late Night,” the post-midnight perennial that has been on the air since David Letterman launched it in 1982.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorOne of the nation’s most prominent TV companies intends to — finally — stop selling local commercials based on long-used TV ratings.NBCUniversal announced in 2019 that planned to shift all transactions for local ad campaigns to impressions-based deals, but granted additional time to certain clients and agencies who needed to evaluate what the move might mean to their operations.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMany kids love to watch TV, but have little desire to learn the intricacies of the business behind it. Nickelodeon aims to change that dynamic.The ViacomCBS kids-media giant will host a showcase on March 18 at 4 p.m., all part of the advertising-sales session known as TV’s “upfront” market.  The presentation aims to lure many of the advertising and media-buying executives Nickelodeon needs to fuel its operations.

Saturday Night Live‘s Feb. 20 telecast, featuring Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page in his hosting debut and musical guest Bad Bunny, drew a 4.2 rating household Live+Same Day rating in the 44 metered local markets and a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Danielle Turchiano Senior Features Editor, TV“Saturday Night Live” wasted no time commenting on the fact that everyone from critics to fans to SAG voters fell in love with Regé-Jean Page in Netflix’s “Bridgerton.”Page hosted the Feb.

Amber Ruffin is getting a linear bow for her Peacock late-night show.

Netflix) is perhaps not ideal. Marla's scheme is a particularly loathsome one, and the feeling of disgust only grows as writer-director Blakeson, the British filmmaker of the kidnap thriller “The Disappearance of Alice Creed," depicts an interwoven system of elder abuse, with doctors and nursing home mangers all taking a cut.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarnerMedia wants to open its kids-content playground to bigger crowds.Known best for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, two showcases for animation primarily aimed at young male viewers, the AT&T-backed entertainment conglomerate will launch a new preschool brand, Cartoonito, and work to bring more young girls and family viewing into its mix with new concepts that feature female protagonists as well as a weekend family block.Executives believe a ramp-up of

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAaron Eckhart has signed on to play President Gerald Ford in the upcoming Showtime anthology series “The First Lady.”Formerly known as “First Ladies,” the show is described as a reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. Eckhart joins previously announced series stars Viola Davis and Michelle Pfeiffer, who will play Michelle Obama and Betty Ford respectively.