Netflix Orders Docuseries ‘The Future Of…’ From Vox Media Studios, Shawn Levy (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has boarded “Darlings,” headlined by top Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and directed by feature debutant Jasmeet K. Reen.Written by Reen, Parveez Sheikh (“Queen”) and Vijay Maurya (Disney+ Hotstar series “The Great Indian Murder”), “Darlings” is billed as a dark comedy which explores the lives of a mother-daughter duo trying to find their place in Mumbai, seeking courage and love in exceptional circumstances while fighting against all odds.The film is produced by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Bhatt’s Eternal Sunshine Productions.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer, aka the Duffer brothers, were being quite sincere when they teased ideas for expanding the show’s universe in a February letter to fans announcing the end of the Netflix show.The Duffers actually do have an idea for a spinoff series to follow the conclusion of the story of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Hopper (David Harbour), Joyce (Winona Ryder) and the rest of the Upside Down crew — and only one person outside of the duo knows what it is.“We do have an idea for a spinoff that we’re super excited about … but we haven’t told anyone the idea yet, much less written it,” the Duffer brothers wrote in an emailed interview with Variety last week. “We think everyone — including Netflix — will be surprised when they hear the concept, because it’s very, very different.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorShout! Studios has acquired North American distribution rights to family film “Three Wishes for Cinderella,” starring Norwegian pop singer Astrid Smeplass, in a deal with Sola Media.The retelling of the classic tale was a big hit in Norway, only outperformed by “No Time to Die” in last year’s box office. It is directed by Cecilie A.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterChip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network has ordered four new original series as part of its Summer/Fall 2022 slate, including a new edition of “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home” set at the couple’s Cottonland Castle in Waco, Texas and a baking competition hosted at their own Silos Baking Co., Variety has learned exclusively.Additionally, the Magnolia Network, which is a co-venture with Warner Bros. Discovery, has picked up a renovation series starring Annie Hawkins and Brittany Baker, a Casey Corn-hosted family-recipe docuseries and new seasons of “The Lost Kitchen,” “Restoration Road With Clint Harp” and “Zoë Bakes.”While “Silos Baking Competition” is the only food competition on the new lineup, Variety is told it is planned as the first of many at Magnolia Network with more coming later this year.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorNetflix has quietly been getting member feedback on original content — ahead of its public release — for about a year.Since May 2021, the streamer has been reaching out to small groups of subscribers with a proposition: The company is inviting them to participate in a panel to provide feedback on Netflix’s upcoming movies and TV shows before they’re released publicly.“We at Netflix are building a community of members to view and give feedback on upcoming movies and series, and we’d like to know if you’re interested in being a part of it,” according to a recent email sent to a group of subscribers, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. “It’s simple, but an incredibly important part of creating best-in-class content for you and Netflix members all around the world.” Netflix confirmed that it has been running the subscriber-feedback panels, which have taken place only in the U.S.Such focus-group testing is commonplace in Hollywood and has been for years.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Somebody Feed Phil” has been renewed for Season 6 at Netflix ahead of its fifth season premiere, Variety has learned exclusively.The five-episode “Somebody Feed Phil” Season 5, which debuts May 25, was filmed back to back with Season 6, which also consists of five episodes.“We filmed 10 episodes in the sweet spot between Delta and Omicron. Remember that? So from August to January, we pretty much filmed everything,” Rosenthal told Variety.

A New York judge said that he will lift contempt order against Donald Trump, but the former president must comply by paying $110,000 in fines and fulfilling other conditions.

Canadian unscripted producer Sean Connolly has set up his own production business and tied up a multi-year strategic deal with compatriot firm Great Pacific Media.

Matt Blank, interim CEO of AMC Networks, said the company has “no plans” for ad-supported tiers of its family of targeted streaming services including Shudder, Acorn TV and AMC+.

The Big Day Collection 2” as well as Vogue — have listed their Tribeca pad for $5.25 million.Irina is an interior designer, while investor Piplani made partner at Goldman Sachs when he was just 29, and is the former chairman of Polaris Investments in Hong Kong. They bought the stunning seventh-floor loft at 11 Beach St.

topped 120 million hours viewed with in its first three days. The latest episodes saw John Kreese (Martin Kove) bring “Karate Kid III” bad guy Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) back into the Cobra Kai dojo.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix’s reboot of the “Iron Chef” franchise is bringing former “Iron Chef America” host Alton Brown and Mark Dacascos, who played the iconic role of “The Chairman” on the competition, back into Kitchen Stadium for another round.The streaming service’s “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend” will see Brown return to host along with “Top Chef” winner Kristen Kish, and Dacascos reprise the part of The Chairman.Here is the official description for the “reimagining” of “Iron Chef,” which will launch on June 15: The legendary Iron Chef series is reborn with a supersized approach to the ground-breaking culinary competition that started it all. It’s been called the toughest culinary challenge a chef will ever experience.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSteve Carell’s “Space Force” has been canceled after two seasons at Netflix.The second season of the comedy, which re-teamed Carell and “The Office” creator Greg Daniels, debuted on Feb. 18.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has taken in for development Confessions (working title), a drama series starring and executive produced by The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley, I have learned. Written and executive produced by TVD co-developer, executive  and showrunner Julie Plec and Bradley Paul (Better Call Saul), the project, which is in early stages, is based on Jason Smith’s non-fiction 2015 article The Confessions Of a Drug-Addicted High School Teacher.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterLimited series “Anatomy of a Scandal” has ended “Bridgerton” Season 2’s reign as the No. 1 English-language TV series on Netflix, according to the streaming service’s newly release Top 10 rankings.For the week of April 18-April 24, “Anatomy of a Scandal” was viewed for 75.6 million hours in its second week of availability, while “Bridgerton” racked up 46 million and landed in the No.

), Rob Delaney (“Catastrophe”), Dexter Fletcher (“Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels”) and Sally Phillips (“Bridget Jones’s Diary”).The film adaptation follows in the footsteps of Netflix’s previous projects with ACE Entertainment, including all three “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” films as well as the upcoming book to screen adaptation “Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between,” also written by Smith and slated for release this summer.Vanessa Caswill (“Little Women” miniseries) directs the adaptation, with the script by screenwriter Katie Lovejoy (“To All the Boys: Always and Forever”) based on Smith’s novel. Matt Kaplan produced the feature through ACE Entertainment.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterIn the wake of big spender Netflix’s Q1 shocking subscriber loss news, David Zaslav made a point to say Warner Bros. Discovery “will not overspend to drive subscriber growth” during Discovery’s first-quarter earnings call Tuesday.“As you’ve heard me say, we are not trying to win the direct-to-consumer spending war,” the WBD CEO said, instead promising that the newly combined WarnerMedia-Discovery company would “invest in scale smartly.”Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterHBO’s “House of the Dragon” cost under $20 million per episode to produce its 10-episode first season, which debuts Aug. 21, a source close to production told Variety.For comparison, “Game of Thrones” cost HBO around $100 million to per season.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix’s “Bridgerton” was viewed for more than 2.5 billion minutes during the week of its Season 2 debut, according to Nielsen’s newly released streaming Top 10 rankings.The Chris Van Dusen-created period romance was easily the No. 1 program on streaming for the week of March 21-27 on Nielsen’s charts, even though only its first season was available for the majority of that week, as Season 2 premiered on March 25.