‘Operation: Kickboxer’ Series Based On Jean-Claude Van Damme ‘Kickboxer’ Films In Works From EPs Todd Garner & Dimitri Logothetis; Gary Scott Thompson Set As Showrunner

EXCLUSIVE: Action icon Jean-Claude Van Damme (Kickboxer) is set to star in action feature Silent Kill, which Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment will be introducing to buyers at this week’s AFM.

Only Murders in the Building co-creator John Hoffman is taking on Siegfried and Roy for his next project.

ABC is comparing parenting styles in its upcoming unscripted series The Parent Test.

There’s a new Disney+ pilot in the works, and they’re looking for talent!

There’s a new Disney+ pilot in the works, and they’re looking for talent!

Hulu is in a streaming renaissance with the critical success of “The Dropout,” “Pam & Tommy,” and other series. In fact, between its original programming, its FX on Hulu shows, and exclusive movie releases for 20th Century Studios, Hulu has carved out a critical space for itself in the current market.

Sydney Sweeney has landed a new role. Sweeney confirmed that she will appear in Sony Pictures' upcoming remake of "Barbarella." The actress shared the news to her Instagram account Tuesday.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Netflix has announced high-profile Italian original documentary series “Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi,” written and directed by Britain’s Mark Lewis, who won an Emmy for the docu-series “Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer.” The streaming giant has also dropped a trailer for the docuseries, produced by British TV production company Raw. The show will premiere globally on Netflix on Oct. 20. The series is the latest probe into a case that started on June 22, 1983, when Emanuela Orlandi, a 15 year-old girl living in Vatican City, disappeared under mysterious circumstances that are believed to have involved the Vatican. The case made headlines around the world.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Village Roadshow Television has acquired the rights to Lana Harper’s novel “Payback’s a Witch” with the intention of developing it onto a TV series, Variety has learned exclusively. The book is the first installment in Harper’s “Witches of Thistle Grove” novel series, with the planned show set to take that name as well. Per the official logline, “Witches of Thistle Grove” is “a show about Emmy Harlow, a young woman with big dreams who abandoned her charming but podunk hometown to prove herself in the big city. When she’s suddenly called home nine years later to fulfill a family obligation — which, okay, happens to be arbitrating a centuries-old gauntlet — she’s forced to confront family rifts, broken friendships, and Gareth Blackmoore — a detestable but Hot AF ex who broke her heart and, it turns out, also screwed her friends: Her childhood bestie Linden Thorn, and the sexy, dangerous Talia Avramov, a bad-ass that Emmy always crushed on from afar. Reframing old friendships, reconciling with family, and enacting revenge are things Emmy used to hide from. But if she can face her fears, she can take her power back. And that’s critical. Because Emmy Harlow is a witch.”

Jessica Simpson is living a dream. It was announced on Monday that a 30-minute, scripted pilot based on Simpson's hugely successful 2020 memoir,, is headed to Amazon Freevee, with Katelyn Tarver playing the female lead alongside John Stamos starring as the male lead.Hours after the news made headlines, Simpson took to Instagram to share her excitement.

Peacock has taken in for development Fear, a series based on the 1996 thriller film, from The Path creator Jessica Goldberg, Imagine Television and Universal TV, Deadline has confirmed.

FX’s Kindred, the new drama series based on Octavia E. Butler’s novel, will premiere Tuesday, December 13 exclusively on Hulu. The premiere will include all eight episodes. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean indie production house, IMTV is developing and will produce a drama series based on the New York Times best-selling novel, “The Island of Sea Women” by Lisa See.  The story is set largely on the remote Korean island of Jeju, among the community of ‘haenyo,’ women who earn a living by free diving for mollusks, seaweed and other sea life from the depths of the ocean. Representatives of a rare semi matriarchal society, the women work while the menfolk typically stay at home, though property is passed down along male lines. Celebrated activist and Nobel Prize-winner Malala recently boarded a documentary project about the haenyo of Jeju that is set up at the A24 U.S. indie studio.

The Eye Network had a very good Friday night in the ratings wars.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Chris Messina has joined Kaley Cuoco in the Peacock dark comedy thriller series “Based on a True Story,” Variety has learned. Per the official series description, the show “is about a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star whose lives unexpectedly collide, exposing America’s obsession with true crime, murder and the slow close toilet seat.” It was previously announced that Cuoco will play a married woman named Ava Bartlett, while Messina will play a character named Nathan. All other character details are under wraps. Messina’s recent TV credits include the Starz Watergate drama “Gaslit” as well as Season 3 of the popular USA Network series “The Sinner” and HBO’s “Sharp Objects.” He is perhaps best known for his role on the comedy series “The Mindy Project,” in which he starred as Danny Castellano. On the feature side, Messina has been in films like “Argo,” “Away We Go,” “Devil,” “I Care A Lot,” and “Birds of Prey.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France tv distribution has boarded “Sweetheart” (“Chouchou”), an eight-part drama series produced by well-known Quebec-based company Passez Go. Written by Simon Boulerice, the drama show revolves around Chanelle, a 38-year-old teacher who is happily married with two children. Her life unravels after she meets Sandrick, a 17-year-old teenager who has just been transferred to her class, and falls under his charm. Chanelle tries to help Sandrick as he struggles at home with his dysfunctional mother, but their relationship turns into an illicit and passionate affair that leaves no one unscathed. The series is directed by Félix Tétreault and Marie-Claude Blouin (“Le Chalet”).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Eagle Eye Drama, the U.K. scripted production indie headed by Walter Iuzzolino that is known for hit TV shows such the British remake of Belgium’s “Professor T” have announced the launch of Belgium-based production company Happy Duck Films.  Eagle Eye, which was set up by Iuzzolino and other founders of his foreign-language drama streaming service Walter Presents, have now teamed up with Belgian director Dries Vos who directed the “Professor T” remake and local line producer Hiskia Van Aert (“Undercover,” “Rough Justice”) to set up this new venture. Happy Duck Films will be based in the Belgian region of Flanders and will produce a wide range of English language titles “with creative talent from Flanders and beyond,” a statement said. No projects were announced.

EXCLUSIVE: Ireland’s Lighthouse Studios is developing its first original series, Savage Town.